Creating a Logistics Project

In the following lessons you will carry several steps relating to your logistics project F-120##.

Project F-120## is a customer prototype project. You’ll map this project using a WBS that contains activities. The activities define the flow of the project and form a quantity structure for determining costs and payment data automatically.

You’ll use the project cost plan to create quotations. When the sales order is received, it is assigned to the project. This means that you can use it to plan and post revenue.

Activities will be confirmed, generating actual costs, components will be purchased, and invoices will be assigned. Actual revenue will be posted to the project by means of milestone billing and resource-related billing.

Two companies are responsible for executing the project:

• Company 1010 is mapped using company code 1010, and it performs all services except for those planned in WBS element F-120##.2.

• Company 1710 is mapped using company code 1710, and it performs some of the engineering services (WBS element F-120##.2). Company 1710 bills its services to Company 1010 on a resource-related basis.

Finally, you'll perform a results analysis for the billing elements F-120## and F-120##.2 in the project. The results analysis values are settled to the profitability segment.

This figure represents the forklift project, F-120##, from a WBS perspective.

The WBS structure provides a functional (responsibility-oriented) view of your project.

Network activities have been assigned to various WBS elements to show the project phase in which activities will be performed.

Your company uses the project cost plan to develop sales pricing and billing plans for the sales inquiry, quotation, or order. You link the project to sales by making an account assignment of the appropriate WBS elements on the sales inquiry, quotation, or order.

This figure represents your Forklift project, F-120##, from a network perspective.

The network provides a view of the activities (steps) that need to be performed and their relationship.

In the Project Builder, you can create activities for WBS elements. Activities are assigned to WBS elements, and the planned and actual data for activities (dates, costs, and payment data) can be aggregated at the WBS element level.

Your Forklift project will have two linked networks. The second network will be created for the engineering activities to be performed in the US. The second network will be assigned to WBS element F-120##.2 of company code 1710 (US). Engineering work is executed at work centers in plant 1710 (Palo Alto, US). Relationships are defined between this network and your first network — the primary project network — to facilitate the development of a total project schedule.

The network contains activities that describe the work or project steps. Activities are linked to each other by means of relationships, which result in a casual and temporal activity sequence.

Activity elements provide more detail for activities. For example, there may be more than one department working on different internal activities, or an activity can contain both internally processed parts and parts procured externally.

Production resources, production tools, milestones, PS texts, documents, and material components can be assigned to activities.

Material components lead to additional planned costs, and then to commitments and actual costs when a project is executed.

Use activities in the network to plan the labor, capacities, materials, tools, and services you require to perform various tasks in your project.

Note that the main focus of these activities is resource management, which includes scheduling, capacities, and costs.

This figure identifies the business functions supported by network activities.

You can use the Project Builder to create or change objects in your project (for example, project definition, WBS elements, activities, activity elements, PS texts, documents, milestones, and material components). You can use detail screens, lists, or graphics (hierarchy graphic or network graphic) for this purpose.

In addition to creating project structures manually, you can use operative project structures (work breakdown structures or networks) or standard structures (standard work breakdown structures or standard networks) as templates.

You can also include work breakdown structures, standard work breakdown structures, and standard networks in an existing project structure.

When you create projects, you can copy an operative project or standard project together with all of the lower-level objects (for example, WBS elements, activities, PS texts, documents, milestones, or components).

You can use the Project Builder as the primary tool to create and maintain projects. You can also use tools available in the Project Planning Board and Special Maintenance Functions menus to create and maintain a project.