Running an Available-to-Promise (ATP) Check in SAP S/4HANA Sales

Note

See the following video to get an introduction to the concept of an availability check:

Note

If you use SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition only two methods are available: a check against the Available-to-Promise (ATP) quantity and a check against product allocations.

In this course, the check against the Available-to-Promise (ATP) quantity is covered, which is also the most commonly used method in practice. If we are talking about an availability check in this training, this only refers to this type of check.

In addition to the basic solution Available-to-Promise (ATP), SAP S/4HANA also contains the business function Advanced Available-to-Promise (aATP), with additional features in the area of availability checking.

Note

In SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, aATP is the only code line that is present. This means that aATP is always active. Its functionality is deployed using two different solution processes (previously called "scope items"). One of these is called "Basic Available-to-Promise". It is part of the standard license and offers basic functions in the area of availability checking. The second one is called "Advanced Available-to-Promise", and this solution process contains additional functions, but it also requires an additional license.

In SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition or in SAP S/4HANA on-premise, please be aware that you need to activate aATP if you want to use it; this then also requires an additional license.

This course is based on an SAP S/4HANA on-premise environment with activated Advanced Available-to-Promise (aATP) and the course uses some of its features.

Note

In SAP, the term "Customizing" refers to the options available to configure the system to the needs of the customer.

The customizing options of SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition may differ when compared to SAP S/4HANA on-premise or SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition. All notes in this course regarding the configuration of the availability check are valid without restrictions for SAP S/4HANA on-premise and for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, but be aware that for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, the configuration options may be different.

No matter which deployment option you choose (SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition or SAP S/4HANA on-premise), or whether you use the "classic" Availability-to-Promise functionality or the Advanced Available-to-Promise (aATP) functionality, the core concept of an availability check is the same. That is what this course is teaching you.

In the sales document item, the requested material, the requested quantity, and the requested delivery date of the customer are entered. Scheduling uses the requested delivery date to determine a material staging date in shipping. This is the so-called material availability date. This is the requirement date of the sales order item.

The delivering plant of the sales order item is determined automatically by plant determination or entered manually by the processor of the sales order.

In the context of the product availability check, SAP S/4HANA checks whether the requirement quantity is covered by the cumulative ATP quantity on the requirement date in the delivering plant of the item:

• If yes, the item is available. At the same time, this requirement reduces the cumulative ATP quantity. As a result, this quantity is "reserved" for the current sales requirement and is no longer available for other requirements. The result is documented in the details of the sales order item by a confirmed schedule line. Only confirmed schedule lines can be delivered to the customer.

• If not, the item is not available as requested. SAP S/4HANA then checks the cumulative ATP quantity from the requirements date into the future. The cumulative ATP quantity in the future is the basis for the delivery proposal(s). If there is no cumulative ATP quantity in the future, the item cannot be confirmed. The schedule line is unconfirmed and cannot be delivered.

If the availability check is switched on for the operation and the material when creating a sales order, the availability check runs automatically in the background.

If successful, the user does not notice the availability check and the system confirms the requested material, in the requested quantity, on the requested delivery date. The result is documented in the sales order by a confirmed schedule line for the sales order item. A delivery item can subsequently be created for the due and confirmed schedule line to trigger and execute shipping.

If unsuccessful, the system can branch to the Review Availability Check Result screen or, if Advanced Available-to-Promise (aATP) is deactivated, to the Availability Control screen, or automatically choose the delivery proposal defined. The result is an unconfirmed schedule line for the sales order item if the material is not available. This means that shipping without subsequent backorder processing is not possible. If a partial quantity is available, a partially confirmed schedule line is created and a partial delivery is possible. However, several schedule lines are also possible for an order item if several partial deliveries are possible due to the availability situation.

The fact that the item is not confirmed, or not confirmed as requested, is indicated in the order item by the check mark in the Schedule Lines Exists field.