Two-step movement

Within SAP Inventory Management, there are two methods how stock are moved between plants using a 2-step process:
Stock Transport Orders (UB)
Transfer Posting

What does 2-step mean?Example: Let’s assume stock is moving from Plant A (Storage Location 0001) to Plant B (storage location 0002). Two step means that two transactions will be used to move the stock. After the first transaction, stock has left plant A but it is not yet available at Plant B. Only after the second transaction is it available for use in Plant B.

Some reasons for using 2-step movements (and not 1 step):
1. Long time span between leaving Plant A and arriving at Plant B
2. Need to control when goods leave plant A but not received at plant B

Using Stock Transport Orders (STO) Steps:
Create a Stock Transport Order (ME21N, Purchase Order doc type UB)
Process Goods Issue against STO (MIGO > Goods Issue > PO) – movement type 351
Process Goods Receipt against STO (MIGO > Goods Receipt > PO) – movement type 101 The use of Planned Orders and Purchase Requisitions are optional.

Using Transfer Postings (TP) Steps:
Process a Transfer Posting (MIGO > Transfer Posting) – movement type 303
Process a Transfer Posting (MIGO > Transfer Posting) – movement type 305

Configuring Availability check

There are three types of availability checks –
A. Check on basis of ATP quantities.
B. Check against product allocation.
C. Check against planning.

Configuring Availability check through Checking Groups
1. The checking group + checking rule determine how the availability check is to be performed.

2. The checking group determines whether and how the system checks the stock availability and generates requirements for material planning. The checking group defines what type of requirements will be passed on i.e. summarized requirements (daily/weekly) or individual requirements for each sales order.

3. The checking rule applies to how the availability check is to be carried out at the transaction level. Note that you must define checking rules for each individual application such as for production orders for example. In Sales and Distribution, the checking rule is specified internally within the system and cannot be changed.

4. The checking rule, in conjunction with the checking group, determines the scope of the availability check for every business operation; that is, which stocks, receipts and issues are to be included in the availability check and whether the check is to be carried out with or without the replenishment lead time.

5. Briefly explaining the above – checking group determines which type of requirement to be passed on to MRP whether it be individual or summarized and checking rule which is at the transaction level and can be configured independently for each application module, determines which stocks, receipts and issues to be taken into account. For performing an availability check checking group has to work in conjunction with checking rule.

6. Advantages of individual processing over summarized processing –Backorder processing is possible.You can access (MD04) order, line and schedule line individually which gives a greater control on available stock and requirements placed on stock.The system automatically uses individual requirements in case of special stock items.

7. Required data for the Availability check to be carried out –The Availability check must be switched on at the requirement class level.The Availability check must be set at the schedule line level.A requirements type must exist by which the requirements class can be found.A plant must be defined in the sales order for each schedule line item (in other words plant must be defined for every material in MMR). A checking group must be defined in the material master record in the MRP3 screen in the availability check field.

8. Configuring Availability check and defining Checking Groups –Checking groups are introduced into the sales order based on the setting in the material master record.SAP standard checking groups are
01 – summarized requirements and
02 – individual requirements or you can create your own by copying the standard ones.
Total sales and total deliveries columns are there to configure a checking rule to sum up requirements to post to MRP either individually or by day or week.Block quantity required can be set if you want several users to be able to process the material simultaneously in different transactions without blocking each other.The no check indicator is CHECKED when you DO NOT want the system to carry out ATP check.

9. Defining material block for other users – the block check box is an indicator that enables you to block material master records of a particular material during the availability check and restrict other users from accessing same master record and reserve the material. If the block is not set, two users can confirm the same material at the same time for two different orders, not knowing if the stock is available or not. If you select this field, the material is blocked during the availability check and other users cannot:
a) Make changes in the material master record.
b) Create purchase orders for the material.
C) Create orders for the material.

10.Defining default values for checking groups - Checking groups are introduced into the sales order based on the setting in the material master record. However if there is no entry present in the material master record for the checking group, a default value can be set here, depending on material type and plant.This default value will be used by the system depending on the material type mentioned in MMR and plant in sales order.If an entry exists, this default value is over written by MMR.

11.Controlling Availability Check – in this section, you tell the system what stock on hand and what inward and outward movements of stock it must take into account when performing the availability check in addition to whether or not to consider the replenishment lead time.

12.These settings are based on the checking group that is assigned to the material master record and the checking rule that is predefined and assigned to the sales and distribution transaction.

13.These settings carry out control both for sales order and delivery as well. This is due to the fact that you may want to include specific stock or incoming stock for the sales order, yet at the time of the delivery only include physical stock on hand waiting to be shipped.

14.It is possible to indicate to the system that you would like the availability check NOT TO CHECK the stock at the storage location level. This indicator is used to set the scope of the availability check.

15.It is used to switch off the check at storage location level. You create a reservation for a particular storage location. However, the scope of the availability check is set in such a way as to exclude the storage location. In this case, the system carries out the check at plant level only and does not take the storage location into account that is specified in the reservation.

16.Should you not want the system to automatically check RLT, you may indicate so here. RLT is the time taken for a material to become available. It is only used when doing an ATP check and is taken from MMR.

17.defining the elements in the availability check entirely depends on the business needs, but a few tips are given under –When controlling the Availability check at the time of the sales order, a purchase requisition does not necessarily indicate by it is going to come into the plant.A shipping notification on the other hand - a confirmed purchase order – is a good indicator of receiving stock on a specified date.It is always recommended not to select the shipping notifications for the delivery requirements type as you may not actually receive the stock into plant or warehouse for which you are creating a delivery.

Availability check

1. Availability check is an integral part of the business process that determines if the required delivery quantity can be met on a required delivery date. For this purpose the system takes into account pre-delivery activities such as scheduling for picking or packing times and the time taken to produce or obtain the material. It also performs several background functions such as
Backorder processing, rescheduling and ATP quantities.

2. Backorder processing: processing of a sales order that has not been fully confirmed or not confirmed at a certain delivery date.

3. Rescheduling: is a proposal of how – confirmed quantities already assigned to a sales order can be reassigned to other sales orders that have a higher priority.

4. Available to promise (ATP): is a process of checking the available quantities of a material. The ATP quantity consists of warehouse stock + planned receipts (incoming stock) – planned issues (outgoing stock). to examine stock on hand (CO09) proceed to logistics – sales & distribution – sales – environment – availability overview.

5. Replenishment lead time (RLT): is the time taken for the material to become available either internally (in house production) or externally (from a vendor). The most important things to consider during an external procurement are purchasing and MRP2 (procurement) views of MMR where the processing time for purchasing, planned delivery time and goods receipt processing time are taken into account. On the other hand internal procurement is based on in house production time (MRP 2 view) goods receipt processing time or alternatively RLT time, which is found on MRP 3 view.

6. RLT (Replenishment Lead Time) is the time taken for the material to become available. RLT is only used when doing an ATP check (Available To Promise). The value of RLT for a material is specified on material master record.

Information Structure

We can make use of information structure as transaction data table to do various custom made
The information structure started with S03X is related to inventory controlling.

For examples, S031- Stock Movement. All key figures relating to material movements involving current valuated stock are updated to this information structure.

1) S031 Movements
2) S032 Stocks
3) S033 Movements (individual records)
4) S034 Movements (Batches)
5) S035 Stocks (Batches)
6) S039 Planning
If you wish to fill the information structure S039 with actual data, then you can use the report RMCBS039.
7) S094 Stock/Requirements Analysis

It is referenced from http://help.sap.com/saphelp_di46c2/helpdata/EN/c1/37551e449a11d188fe0000e8322f96/content.htm

Common Tables used by MM

Below are few important Common Tables used in Materials Management Modules:
EINA Purchasing Info Record- General Data
EINE Purchasing Info Record- Purchasing Organization Data
MAKT Material Descriptions
MARA General Material Data
MARC Plant Data for Material
MARD Storage Location Data for Material
MAST Material to BOM Link
MBEW Material Valuation
MKPF Header- Material Document
MSEG Document Segment- Material
MVER Material Consumption
MVKE Sales Data for materials
RKPF Document Header- Reservation
T023 Mat. groups
T024 Purchasing Groups
T156 Movement Type
T157H Help Texts for Movement Types
MOFF Lists what views have not been created
A501 Plant/Material
EBAN Purchase Requisition
EBKN Purchase Requisition Account Assignment
EKAB Release Documentation
EKBE History per Purchasing Document
EKET Scheduling Agreement Schedule Lines
EKKN Account Assignment in Purchasing Document
EKKO Purchasing Document Header
EKPO Purchasing Document Item
IKPF Header- Physical Inventory Document
ISEG Physical Inventory Document Items
LFA1 Vendor Master (General section)
LFB1 Vendor Master (Company Code)
NRIV Number range intervals
RESB Reservation/dependent requirements
T161T Texts for Purchasing Document Types

Relevant MM T-Codes

Purchase Order Requisition-ME51N
RFQ to Vendor ----------------- ME41
Raising Quotation ------------- ME47
Comparison of Price ----------ME49
Vendor Evaluation -------------ME61
Creation of PO ------------------ME21N
Goods Receipt with PO ------MIGO
Goods Receipt without PO --MBIC
Invoice Verification -------------MIRO
Goods Issue --------------------- MB1A
Physical Inventory -------------- MI01( Create doc) MI04 (Enter Count) MI07 (Post)

MM Process Flow

PR (Purchase Requisition) > Release the PR > RFQ (Request for Qotation) > Quotation > Quotation Comparison > PO > Release the PO > GR (Goods Receiving) > Invoice Verification

The typical procurement cycle for a service or material consists of the following phases:
1. Determination of Requirements
Materials requirements are identified either in the user departments or via materials planning and control. (This can cover both MRP proper and the demand-based approach to inventory control. The regular checking of stock levels of materials defined by master records, use of the order-point method, and forecasting on the basis of past usage are important aspects of the latter.) You can enter purchase requisitions yourself, or they can be generated automatically by the materials planning and control system.

2. Source Determination
The Purchasing component helps you identify potential sources of supply based on past orders and existing longer-term purchase agreements. This speeds the process of creating requests for quotation (RFQs), which can be sent to vendors electronically via SAP EDI, if desired.

3. Vendor Selection and Comparison of Quotations
The system is capable of simulating pricing scenarios, allowing you to compare a number of different quotations. Rejection letters can be sent automatically.

4. Purchase Order Processing
The Purchasing system adopts information from the requisition and the quotation to help you create a purchase order. As with purchase requisitions, you can generate Pos yourself or have the system generate them automatically. Vendor scheduling agreements and contracts (in the SAP System, types of longer-term purchase agreement) are also supported.

5. Purchase Order Follow-Up
The system checks the reminder periods you have specified and - if necessary - automatically prints reminders or expediters at the predefined intervals. It also provides you with an up-to-date status of all purchase requisitions, quotations, and purchase orders.

6. Goods Receiving and Inventory Management
Goods Receiving personnel can confirm the receipt of goods simply by entering the Po number. By specifying permissible tolerances, buyers can limit over- and underdeliveries of ordered goods.7. Invoice VerificationThe system supports the checking and matching of invoices. The accounts payable clerk is notified of quantity and price variances because the system has access to PO and goods receipt data. This speeds the process of auditing and clearing invoices for payment.

SAP Steps for Opening previous period in MM

If you want to open previous period for reversal entry or additional entry
The following are steps for Opening previous period in MM :
1. Go to TCode SU01 (see OSS NOTES 487381)
2. Choose "change" tab with your loging Name
3. Choose "Parameter" tab and give Parameters MMPI_READ_NOTE with date format as YYYYMMDD
4. SAVE.
5. Go to T-code MMPI
6. open the old periods which you want to post into
Note : the period opening will be valid for only for the particular day only.
7. Complete the posting you want to reverse or add
8. Go to MMPV to close the periods
Note : If we enter the date or month in MMPV means we are opening that date or month by closing previous date or month (Never use MMPV without completing the transaction in previous month)

Will Source List automatically appear in Material Master as default at plant level?

If you have maintained source list requirement in OME5 and have not maintained the source listfor the material. PO cannot be released. You are required to maintain source list for all materialsin the plant where the indicator is set if you maintain source list at plant level.
Else you can make use of info record to do so automatically.

How can we delete materials permanently from Material master?

Use transaction MM70 - Material Master->Other->Reorganization->Material->Choose.
Build variant with selection range of material master records to be selected for deletion and maintainrun parameters.Execute.
Use transaction MM71 - Material Master-> other-> Reorganizationn-->Material->Reorganization
Build a second variant, Maintain run parameters and execute.
It is also important to remove the records manually from info record, POs, PRs, reservation etcfor successful deletion of the material.

Pricing in MM

Standard price are used for products that do not fluctuated frequently. It is usually used for finished or semi finished products.

Moving average price are used mainly for raw materials that are purchased externally.
The advantage of using moving average price for your raw materials is that your inventory costs will always reflect the current market cost.
SAP strongly recommends that you do not select price control V for semi-finished products and finished products, because doing so will very easily cause the calculation of unrealistic valuation prices.
SAP recommends: Price control V for raw materials and trading goods; price control S for semi-finished products and products.

If we select std price for any type of material or mav and then make po, it will pick from material master or what?
The Purchase Info Record have the FIRST priority. When no po info record is found, the Purchase Order will pick the user LAST enter price. The PO module do not pick up any price from material master.

Setup discount based on vendor

The procedure for applying discount based on vendor is as follow:
1) Use MEK31 and choose condition type RL01
2) Select Key Combination à Vendor
To type in the related pricing condition data: vendor, discounted percentage, valid period

Enhance MB51: Material Document List

Fields selection for MB51 - RM07DOCS
You can enhance MB51 by reconfiguring the fields contained in the field catalog.

IMG -> Material Management -> Inventory Management and Physical Inventory -> Reporting -> Define field Selection for Material Document List