Describing the Concepts of Characteristic Derivation and Valuation

Some key points about derivation are as follows:

• Derivation supplements, or overwrites, specific automatically-mapped characteristic values.

• A derivation strategy is a sequence of steps, where each step uses one derivation technique to calculate one or more values for one or more corresponding characteristics.

• Control attributes can be assigned to each derivation step. These control attributes include conditions for execution, reactions when unsuccessful, and overwriting authority.

• The system creates some derivation steps at generation time. It is possible to modify some of these steps or create your own derivation steps.

Some key points about valuation are as follows:

• Data that is passed directly from transactions into CO-PA is supplemented by valuation with calculated, retrieved, or accessed values.

• A valuation strategy can contain CO-PA costing sheets, sales order management pricing procedures (in planning), product costing calls, and user exit calls in a sequence that can be customized.

• Valuation strategies must be assigned to record types, points of valuation, and plan versions when the plan version needs to be activated.

• Using valuation is optional. It is simply a tool that can be used to retrieve detailed information from CO-PA.

Each activity relevant to CO-PA in the SAP system (for example, billing) creates line items. The data created in CO-PA is defined by automatic and manual assignments, as well as by the configuration of the characteristic derivation and valuation.

For each sales order management transaction, the system automatically imports the following items:

• Sales organization

• Distribution channel

• Division

• Customer

• Product

• Profit center

• Business area

• Any sales order management partners from the original document, such as sales order

In addition to the customer number, further characteristics are derived from the customer master record. Characteristics are also derived from the material master record to the corresponding material number in the sales order item. Derived characteristics could be overwritten, if the following events occur:

• An assigned characteristic group in the customizing of CO-PA to the business transaction does not define the entry status for that characteristic as "not ready for input".

• The overwrite of the derived characteristic does not lead to an inconsistency.

In addition to the values that the system determines through automatic mappings, derivation can access additional information, such as characteristic values, both on and off the originating transaction. For example, derivation can retrieve the sales district from the invoice and the product group from the material master.

In addition to the values imported through the manual mappings, valuation can also import information that is off the originating transaction. For example, it can retrieve in-depth product cost breakdown information from product costing, which is not available on the sales document.

All transactions relevant to CO-PA are affected by derivation configuration, and some of the transactions are potentially affected by valuation configuration, which is optional.

• Derivation supplements or overwrites specific automatically-mapped characteristic values.

• Valuation supplements transaction data in CO-PA with calculated or retrieved values.

• Automatic and manual assignments define data in CO-PA transactions.

• Valuation imports detailed product cost breakdowns not available in sales documents.