Introduction
SAP Variant Configuration is a powerful feature that allows companies to manage products with multiple variants using a single configurable material, instead of creating separate materials for each variant. This approach significantly reduces master data complexity. At the same time, it maintains flexibility in product offerings.
Variant Configuration enables you to create configurable materials that represent all possible variants of a product. Instead of maintaining thousands of individual materials, BOMs and routings, you use:
- One configurable material master
- A super BOM containing all possible components
- A super routing with all possible operations
- Characteristics to define product features (such as color, engine type, performance level)
- Classes to group related characteristics together
Object Dependencies - the Control Mechanism
Object dependencies are the core control mechanism in Variant Configuration that define the interdependencies between different objects in a configuration. They serve several critical functions:
Preconditions - Control whether characteristic values can be set or whether a characteristic can have values assigned.
Selection Conditions - Determine that a BOM item or operation is selected, or that a characteristic must have values assigned.
Procedures - Derive characteristic values through a set of instructions processed in sequence, like a program.
Constraints - Check the consistency of configurations and handle complex interdependencies between characteristics.
Constraint Nets - Group-related constraints together for complex scenarios
Where Object Dependencies Are Applied
Object dependencies can be assigned to various objects:
- Characteristics - Control when characteristics are available or required
- Characteristic Values - Control when specific values can be selected
- BOM Items - Determine component selection based on configuration
- Routing Operations - Control which operations are executed
- Configuration Profiles - Define overall configuration behavior
- Classes - Apply rules at the class level
Object dependencies prevent invalid combinations (such as incompatible engine-transmission pairs), automatically select the proper components, and ensure configuration consistency. They are processed during configuration according to a predefined execution sequence and can handle both single-level and multi-level configurations.
Additional Information
Note
If you want to learn more about Variant Configuration, look at the course "S41500- Variant Configuration in SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management"https://learning.sap.com/courses/variant-configuration-in-sap-s-4hana-enterprise-management.
Be aware of the following: the exercises and demos run in a SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition environment. Most of the features and functions are also available in a SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud Edition.
Variant Configuration
The following video shows how Variant Configuration can manage multiple product variants in one configurable material and one supersession BOM.
Variant Configuration Processes
In this session we cover five different processes in the area of Variant Configuration:
- Engineer to Order: a sales order for a configurable material is created. Inside configuration an issue occurs. Sales order representative decides to handover data to engineering. Engineering changes data and finally corrected sales order is saved.
- Make to Order: a sales order for a configurable material is created. A MRP run takes place. Production execution happens and the product is delivered to customer.
- Procurement: a sales order for a configurable material is created. A MRP run takes place and a purchase requisition is created. Based on this requisition a purchase order is created. Finally goods receipt are created for this purchase order and a supplier invoice is created.
- Make to Stock: a material variant for a configurable material is created and put to stock based on planned-independent requirements. A sales order for the configurable material is created. The material variant is found and directly delivered to customer.
- Setting up a configurable BOM is the final scenario.. It gives you a clear understanding of how to define object dependencies in the Product Modeling Environment app. The creation of variant tables, constraint nets or configuration profiles is also shown.
Summary
After completing this lesson, you are able to:
- give a brief overview of the SAP Variant Configuration capabilities
- understand the benefits of using SAP Variant Configuration
- give a brief overview of the main processes of SAP Variant Configuration