Identifying BOM types

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to describe the difference between classical BOM and version-controlled BOM.

Classical Versus Version-Controlled Bills of Material

In manufacturing, a bill of material (BOM) lists all required materials and their quantities for a process. The list contains the description, the quantity, and the unit of measure. The components are known as BOM items.

In SAP S/4HANA PEO, BOMs (like shop floor routings) are version-controlled. "Version-controlled" means that a BOM is not dependent on time but on its version and status. Each version represents an instance of the BOM. Any changes made in a new BOM version do not affect a previous version.

The production version determines which MBOM version is used in production. The BOM components aren't adjusted based on production dates.

BOM Version Statuses

In Process: You can make any changes to a BOM version in this status.
Released: No changes are allowed. The only way to modify such a BOM is to create a new version.

Further differences between classical BOMs and version-controlled BOMs are described in the table below.

Attributes	Classical BOM	Version-Controlled BOM
Identification	Identified by material, plant, usage, and alternative.	Identified by material, plant, usage, alternative, and version.
Change States	For BOMs with a change history, the change states are identified using engineering change numbers (ECNs).	No change states exist for BOM header or BOM item. Each version represents an instance of the BOM. Any changes made in a new BOM version do not affect a previous version.
Edit Control	The BOM alternative is always open for editing. Engineering change numbers are used to ensure the date effectivity of change states.	Once released, a BOM version is frozen and cannot be changed. If changes are required, a new version of the BOM alternative is created by copying the previous version.
BOM Determination for Production	Which MBOM alternative is to be used for production is determined by the production version but which components to be used are determined based on the production date.	Which MBOM version is to be used for production is determined by the production version. There is no further determination of the BOM components according to the production date.
App Access	Can be accessed using the SAPGUI transaction in the SAP Easy Access menu as well as the new Maintain Bill of Material app.	Can be accessed using the new Manage Unassigned EBOMs and Manage Unassigned MBOMs apps only.

The Prepare MBOM Creation App

As a production engineer, you use this app to prepare for the EBOM to MBOM conversion of a particular EBOM that is part of a new or updated Engineering Snapshot.

Each MBOM that you are going to plan needs to be assigned to a specific production plant and manufacturing change record. If multiple MBOMs are produced at the same plant, they can be assigned to a single manufacturing change record. The app also creates a new planning scope to aid MBOM creation using the Visual Enterprise Manufacturing Planner (VEMP). This concept is detailed in the following sections.

Flow diagram depicting the use of engineering snapshots

To Prepare MBOM Creation

The Prepare MBOM Creation app guides you through the preparation process and validates your entries after each step.

Enter the EBOM/Production details. Select the EBOM you want to convert to one or more MBOMs. Then determine the production plant and usage (should be V for version-controlled BOM). If a change record and planning scope already exists for this EBOM, it displays as an option.
Select Engineering Snapshot. EBOM is displayed in detail as part of complete Engineering Snapshot. You can view the attached 3D visual linked to the Engineering Snapshot or filter only on selected EBOMs.
Choose Change Record. You may assign the EBOM to an existing manufacturing change record or create a new one for this particular EBOM to MBOM conversion. The app then creates a planning scope which is automatically added to the change record.

The Manage Unassigned EBOMs App

The Manage Unassigned EBOMs app is used for new or changed EBOMs which are separately imported or created in SAP S/4HANA PEO and not contained in an Engineering Snapshot.

As a production engineer, you use this app to view the status of all the EBOMs. You can assign EBOMs to a planning scope and a change record so that the correct manufacturing engineers and departments can work on them. You must hand over any new versions of the EBOMs or status changes to manufacturing so that the corresponding MBOMs, routings, and so on can be updated, created, or deleted according to the change.

In the app, you can set the assignment status filter to Unassigned to view the unassigned EBOMs only or to All to display both the assigned and unassigned EBOMs in your queue.

Screenshot showing how to display all EBOMs where the assignment status dropdown is expanded and highlighted.

For each new version of an EBOM, you can determine the planning scope for the incoming EBOMs and assign them to the relevant manufacturing change record to initiate the manufacturing handover process.

If the relevant planning scope and change record are already available, they are displayed in the Recommended Planning Scope and in the Open Change Records sections correspondingly.

Screenshot highlighting the view all and create options in the open change reports window.

You can also assign an EBOM to an existing planning scope (using the View All button to search for all available planning scopes) or you can create a new one. You can also assign an EBOM to an existing change record or create a new one to be included in the planning scope.

You can preset filters to search for the EBOMs based on multiple criteria available in the app and then save it as a customized tile. In this case, in the tile on the SAP Fiori launchpad, the system displays the real-time count number of EBOMs based on the predefined search criteria.

Screenshot of the Managing Unassigned EBOM tile showing the queue number.

Caution

You must configure the app settings to define the production plant(s) for the version-controlled BOMs for which you are responsible.

To Manage Unassigned EBOMs

Launch the Manage Unassigned EBOMs app.
Choose your user icon in the top-left corner.
Choose App Settings.
Enter the plant 1020 and choose Ok

Summary

This lesson explains the difference between classical BOMs and version-controlled BOMs, the use of the Prepare MBOM Creation app, and managing unassigned EBOMs in SAP S/4HANA PEO. Understanding these processes is crucial for effective production engineering.

Version-controlled BOMs allow for changes without affecting previous versions, unlike classical BOMs which use time-based changes.
The Prepare MBOM Creation app assists production engineers in converting EBOMs to MBOMs using Engineering Snapshots.
Manage Unassigned EBOMs app organizes and assigns tasks for new or changed EBOMs, facilitating the manufacturing process.
Effective BOM management requires assigning EBOMs to planning scopes and change records for accurate production adjustments.

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