Purchasing with Manufacturer Part Numbers (MPNs)

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to execute a purchasing process with MPNs

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) Usage

You want to influence the source or quality of materials that you do not directly order from the manufacturer.

For this purpose, you can inform the supplier from whom you purchase a particular material (that is, a supplier who acts as an intermediate) of the following:

  • The desired manufacturer’s name

  • The part number used by the manufacturer for the material

  • The description used by the manufacturer

  • If applicable, the desired manufacturer plant from which you want to source the material

For example, your supplier procures ball bearings for resale from two manufacturers, A and B. Since the quality of A ball bearings does not satisfy your requirements, you want to have the B product. You inform your supplier of this by specifying the manufacturer and the MPN in the purchase order.

Manufacturer Part Number

Prerequisites and Master Data

The following preconditions must be met before you can work with MPNs:

  1. In Customizing, the general use of MPNs must be active.

  2. In Customizing, at least one manufacturer part profile must exist.

  3. You have to create a master record for your enterprise’s own material.

  4. You have to create further MPN material master records if there is more than one MPN material.

Activating MPN Usage and Defining a Manufacturer Part Profile

Manufacturer part profiles enable you to specify, for each of your enterprise’s own materials, the conditions under which the MPN material may be used in the procurement process.

In the profile, you can specify the following:

  • Whether the purchase order text for your internal material or the MPN material is used

  • Whether it is mandatory to enter an MPN material in the purchase order (MPN mandatory)

  • Whether purchasing info records need to be created for the internal material or the MPN materials (this is possible for MPN materials only if MPN is mandatory)

  • Whether the MPN material can be changed during the procurement process

  • Whether the system is to check the AMPL when an MPN material is entered (AMPL management)

  • Whether the manufacturer must be entered as a partner in the vendor master record for the use of the AMPL

Note

New price determination is not possible after you change an MPN material when posting the goods receipt. If the parts have different prices, you should prohibit the change using an appropriate manufacturer profile or ensure that the purchase order is changed accordingly before the goods receipt is posted.

You enter the manufacturer part profile in the Purchasing view of your internal material.

You activate MPN usage in Customizing for Logistics - General under Material Master → Basic Settings → Make Global Settings.

You create a manufacturer part profile in Customizing for Materials Management under Purchasing → Material Master → Define Manufacturer Part Profile.

Hint

If you activate the list of permitted MPN parts in the manufacturer part profile, manufacturer master records with the MNFR account group must also be available as business partners.

Creating MPN Material Master Records

If you want to store different prices for different MPN materials for an internal material, you can create purchasing info records for the MPN materials. To do so, you must stipulate in the MPN profile that purchasing info records can be created for MPN materials only. You cannot then create an info record for your internal material.

You can always create contracts for both the MPN material and your internal inventory-managed material. If you do not specify the MPN material in the contract itself, you can do so in subsequent contract release orders.

Source Determination for MPN Materials

Approved Manufacturer Parts List

To check and control which MPN materials may be procured, use the Approved Manufacturer Parts List (AMPL).

In the AMPL, you can specify the following for each MPN material:

  • Whether it may be procured for a specific plant only or for all of the plants in your enterprise

  • In which period the MPN material may be procured

  • Whether it has to belong to a specific revision level

  • Whether it may be procured only from a specific manufacturer plant

  • Whether it is blocked and, if so, why

In Customizing for Purchasing, you can define blocking reasons for MPN materials. The following are the prerequisites for using approved manufacturer parts:

  • In Customizing for the manufacturer part profile, set the indicator for AMPL management so that the system checks the AMPL when you enter an MPN material.

  • Enter the manufacturer part profile in the material master for the inventory-managed material (Purchasing view).

You have to perform the following for the system to check whether you have entered an approved manufacturer plant:

  • Create master records with the MNFR account group for the manufacturer plants in the vendor master record.

  • Enter the manufacturer plants with the HR (Manufacturer) partner role in the manufacturer or vendor master record.

  • Define a checking rule in the manufacturer part profile in Customizing for Purchasing.

After this, maintain the AMPL in Purchasing under Master Data → Approved Manufacturer Parts → Maintain.

Material Types: Interchangeable Part and FFF Class

With SAP S/4HANA, the functionality of inventory-managed manufacturer parts is available in the core system. Previously, it was limited to some industry solutions. The following are the material types for inventory-managed MPNs:

  • HERB Interchangeable Part

  • FFFC Form-Fit-Function Class

You use the HERB Interchangeable Part material type for interchangeable, inventory-managed manufacturer parts. You can maintain all views for a part with this material type.

You use the FFFC Form-Fit-Function Class material type for the part that defines an FFF class, and as a link for grouping all interchangeable inventory-managed manufacturer parts. You can only maintain the Basic Data view for this material type. You have to specify a manufacturer part profile.

Structure

When you define new material types, you should consider the following fields for the material type properties:

  • Non-Inventory Managed Manufacturer Part indicator:

    You use a material type with this attribute for standard non-inventory-managed manufacturer parts. Do not select this indicator for material types that you use as inventory-managed manufacturer parts (for example, the HERB Interchangeable Part material type).

  • FFF Class indicator:

    You can maintain only the Basic Data view of a material type with this attribute. You must set this indicator for material types that you use for FFF classes (for example, the FFFC Form-Fit-Function-Class material type).

You can select one of these indicators or neither of them.

Note

For more information, see the SAP documentation for Parts Interchangeability on the SAP Help Portal.

Optional: Purchase with MPNs

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