Reviewing the MRP Material Exceptions Use Case for Exception Handling (J44)

The SAP_PP_MRP_MATERIAL_EXCEPTION (MRP Material Exceptions) use case of Situation Handling was created for the Material Requirements Planning business scenario.

As you can see in the flow diagram, the main purpose of the Material Requirements Planning scope item is to automate procurement in the material requirements planning (MRP) thereby ensuring material availability and avoid delays in order fulfillment. The planning run checks availability of each material and, in case of shortages, creates purchase requisitions, or delivery schedules if a scheduling agreement exists. For the purpose of triggering notifications related to this use case, pay particular attention to the "Detect MRP Situations for Material Exceptions" sub-step because this is where Situation Handling logic will pass exceptions (20-CAN) to Situation Handling for notifications. By default, the SAP_PP_MRP_MATERIAL_EXCEPTION situation type (PPH_MRP_SITUATIONS_CREATE) will trigger a notification for (i.e., from procurement document items, production order items, and inspection lots) "20-CAN" material exceptions. SAP S/4HANA automatically assigns the 20-CAN exception to procurement documents/production order items when it determines that the additional supply that would be generated by them is not needed based on current demand (i.e., from sales). By raising the CAN exception, the system is essentially suggesting to the planner to cancel the additional would-be supply to avoid unnecessary overhead cost associated with storage. Situation Handling plays a role in delivering this "suggestion/recommendation" to the planners in the form of a notification to give them enough lead time to carry out the cancellation process.

The J44 scope item describes the "Material Requirements Planning" process. During an MRP run, the system automatically generates purchase requisitions or planned orders to meet demands (i.e, from sales) according to the organization's make or buy strategy (in-house production or external procurement). However, occasionally stock is adjusted (increased for various reasons) after the procurement documents or production orders have been created, rendering the additional supply unnecessary. In such a case, the procurement document or production order will be assigned a CAN (cancellation process) exception. The main purpose of the SAP_PP_MRP_MATERIAL_EXCEPTION situation type is to notify the preconfigured business users (planners), whenever a procurement document or production order item (not limited to these 2 document types) has a 20-CAN exception, so they can consider cancelling the planned supply to avoid overhead cost associated with storing excessive inventory.

The figure highlights the main steps leading up and including the detection of MRP situation for material exceptions. For the purpose of Situation Handling, pay particular attention to the "Detect MRP Situations for Material Exceptions" sub-step. With this Situation Handling use case, the system will notify the business user when either a procurement document or production order item (not limited to these 2 document types) for a material has the exception 20-CAN. This exception is raised because the system has determined that the additional supply that will be created by the procurement /production item is unnecessary based on current demand. By raising this exception, it is the system's suggestion to cancel the procurement or production items. For the purpose of testing/learning about this situation type, there are 2 ways to go about it:

External Procurement Approach:

Keep in mind the purpose of the SAP_PP_MRP_MATERIAL_EXCEPTION situation type is to notify the business user that a procurement document or production order item has a 20-CAN exception. Basically, the system assesses the current supply and demand situation for a material and assigns the exception to the procurement document items that would generate unnecessary/excessive supply. Start by creating/identifying a "Finished/Trading material" that uses external procurement as a way to replenish, under MRP settings. The material XYZ should be assigned to a sales organization for direct sales and it should have zero available quantity. If material XYZ has a positive available quantity then create a demand (i.e., sales order) to bring the stock level down to zero. If the available quantity is negative then perform an MRP run for the material XYZ so the system can generate a purchase requisition for the shortage which will bring the stock to 0. Zero available quantity in this case means that there is no supply at hand but also no demand (a clean slate on which to learn). With the available quantity now at zero, creating a manual purchase requisition will raise the 20-CAN exception because there is no demand for the supply. The CAN exception is the system's suggestion to Cancel the purchase requisition. Now, the logic (PPH_MRP_SITUATIONS_CREATE) on the Situation Handling side will pick up the CAN exceptions (raised on the PP side) to trigger notifications.

In-house Production Approach:

Keep in mind the purpose of the SAP_PP_MRP_MATERIAL_EXCEPTION situation type is to notify the business user that a procurement document or production order has a 20-CAN exception. Basically the system assesses the current supply and demand situation and assigns the exception to the procurement documents that would generate unnecessary/excessive supply. Start by creating/identifying a "Finished/Trading material" that uses in-house production as a way to replenish, under MRP settings. For testing purposes, the material should be assigned to a sales organization for direct sales and it should have zero available quantity. If the material has a positive available quantity then create a demand (i.e., sales order) to bring the stock down to zero. If the available quantity is negative then perform an MRP run for the material so the system can generate a planned order for the shortage which will bring the stock to 0 - For good measure, convert the planned order to a production order. Zero available quantity in this case means that there is no supply at hand but also no demand. With the available quantity now at 0, creating a manual production order will raise the CAN exception because there is no demand for the supply. The CAN exception is the system's suggestion to Cancel the production order. Now, the logic (PPH_MRP_SITUATIONS_CREATE) on the Situation Handling side will pick up these CAN exceptions (raised on the PP side) to trigger notifications.

Note

The 20-CAN exception is not limited to procurement documents and production orders. For example, the system can also raise the CAN exception during the QM inspection stage.

To follow the steps, first download the test script for scope item J44 from the SAP Best Practices Explorer.

• Step 1: Refer to section 2.4.2.2 of the test script under scope item J44 for detailed instructions on creating and activating this Situation Type.

• Step 2: Refer to sections 4.6.1 through 4.6.4 to run MRP to generate PR or perform/mimic supply/demand activities; Use the "Manage Material Coverage" app to view available stock throughout the process.

• Step 3: Refer to section 4.6.5 of the test script or create a manual purchase requisition to increase inventory.

• Step 4: Refer to section 4.6.6 to schedule batch job for PPH_MRP_SITUATIONS_CREATE to pick up the material exceptions for triggering notifications.