Controlling Source Determination with Quota Arrangements

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to create and maintain quota arrangements

Quota Arrangement Functions

Similar to the source list, a quota arrangement facilitates the administration of supply sources at plant level. If you would like to procure a material from different sources within a certain time period, you can assign a quota to each source. The quota indicates which share of the requirements arising for the material over a certain period is to be procured from which source.

If a valid quota arrangement exists for a material, it is taken into account during source determination. A quota arrangement is agreed for a certain period of time, and a quota arrangement item is created for each source during that period. If a quota arrangement applies, this does not mean that the quantity of a single manually created purchase requisition is automatically apportioned among different sources. The entire requested quantity of a purchase requisition item is assigned fully to one source in accordance with the quota arrangement. You can only divide up a single requirement according to the quota in the planning run.

Quota Arrangement Maintenance

The figure provides you with an overview of a quota arrangement

To Create a Quota Arrangement for a Material

  1. After entering the material and plant on the initial screen, specify, in the header overview, the date that the quota arrangement is valid until.

    The start date is always the current date or the follow-on date from the end of the previous quota arrangement.

  2. Enter a quota arrangement item for each source of supply that you want to use in the quota arrangement.

    You must do the following:

    • Specify the procurement type – in-house production or external procurement – for each source.

    • Where appropriate, specify the special procurement type.

      You can use the following special procurement types in quota arrangement:

      • In-house production
      • Production in another plant
      • Consignment
      • Subcontracting
      • Stock transfer
    • Enter the vendor. If it is a stock transfer, specify the supplying plant.

    • Specify the quota that you want to assign to this source.

    • Specify further details if required for the individual quota arrangement items.

  3. The system calculates the percentage distribution of the requirements on the basis of the quotas. The system updates the quota-allocated quantity following each assignment of requirements effected on the basis of the quota arrangement.

Note

In Customizing for Materials Management under PurchasingQuota ArrangementDefine Number Ranges for Quota Arrangements (Purchasing), you define the number range for the quota arrangements and you specify whether the number is to be assigned by the system or externally.

On the SAP Fiori launchpad, you can use the Manage Quota Arrangements app in the Source of Supply Management tile group.

To create a quota arrangement in the SAP GUI on the SAP Easy Access screen, choose LogisticsMaterials ManagementPurchasingMaster DataQuota ArrangementMaintain (MEQ1).

Operation Mode for Quota Arrangements

The individual values are defined as follows:

  • Quota-allocated quantity:

    This is the total quantity of all requirements that have been assigned to a source since the start of the quota arrangement. The quota-allocated quantity is updated automatically. The update also takes place when you delete or change objects after the assignment.

  • Quota base quantity:

    This is the quantity used for manual control of the quota arrangement (for example, when new sources are included).

  • Quota:

    This number determines how requirements are apportioned among the various sources.

    Hint

    The current quota rating is not displayed in the quota arrangement.

In the source determination process outside MRP, the source with the lowest quota rating is always assigned. If two or more sources have the same quota rating, the system assigns the first item, not the one with the highest quota.

You use the quota base quantity when a new source is included in an already existing quota arrangement or to remedy a disproportion between quota and quota-allocated quantity.

Example of Quota Base Quantity Usage

You include a new supplier in an already existing quota arrangement. The existing quota arrangement consists of two suppliers, who are each assigned 50% of the material requirements that arise. Each of these suppliers has a high quota-allocated quantity, because your company has already ordered a lot of material from them during the validity period of the quota arrangement.

The new supplier is to be assigned the same share of forthcoming requirements as the other two. However, according to the formula for calculating the quota rating, all new requirements would be allocated to the new supplier until its quota number exceeds that of one of the other two suppliers.

If purchase requisitions are to be allocated equally with immediate effect, as if the new supplier had been part of the quota arrangement from the beginning, you must enter a quota base quantity for the new supplier accordingly or have the system determine it.

In the GUI transaction MEQ1 the system provides the following procedures for calculating the quota base quantity:

  • Individual calculation:

    This calculates the quota base quantity for the selected quota arrangement items. Select the items whose quota base quantity is to be recalculated and choose EditBase QuantitiesIndividual Calculation.

  • Collective calculation:

    This calculates the quota base quantity for all quota arrangement items. Use this procedure if you want to set the quota rating to the same value for each source. Choose EditBase QuantitiesCollective Calculation.

 Example of Quota Rating Calculation

You create a purchase requisition for 100 pieces of a material for which the source determination process in the requisition is regulated on the basis of a quota arrangement.

The following table shows the situation of the quota arrangement at the time of source determination:

Quota Arrangement

SupplierQuotaQuota-Allocated QuantityQuota Base Quantity
A37800
B23800
C10260

In accordance with the formula Quota rating = (Quota-allocated quantity + Quota base quantity)/Quota, the quota ratings for vendors A, B, and C are as follows:

Vendor Quota Ratings

SupplierQuota Rating
A(780 + 0) / 3 = 260
B(380 + 0) / 2 = 190
C(0 + 260) / 1 = 260

This means that the source representing supplier B will be assigned to the next requisition item because this supplier has the lowest quota rating.

Quota Arrangement After the Requisition Is Saved

After the requisition is saved, the quota arrangement is as follows:

Quota Arrangement After Requisition Is Saved

SupplierQuotaQuota-Allocated QuantityQuota Base Quantity
A37800
B24800
C10260

In accordance with the formula mentioned earlier, the quota ratings for suppliers A, B, and C are as follows:

Vendor Quota Ratings

SupplierQuota Rating
A(780 + 0) / 3 = 260
B(480 + 0) / 2 = 240
C(0 + 260) / 1 = 260

In the GUI transaction MEQ1 you can simulate source determination using the quota arrangement. To do so, go to maintenance for quota arrangement and choose ExtrasSimulationQuota Arrangement or ExtrasSimulationSource of Supply. If you choose the first menu path, only the quota arrangement is checked. If you choose the second menu path, outline agreements, info records, and source lists are also included.

Test Source Determination with Quota Arrangements