Maintaining Master Data for Outbound Delivery Inspections

Certain control parameters must be active and various master data records must be maintained in the QM and SD components. The QM component automatically creates an inspection lot for a delivery item if the following conditions have been met:

• Your Application Consultant has assigned an inspection lot origin to a delivery type in customizing.

• The Quality Planner maintained the QM inspection data in the material master records for the materials to be inspected.

To maintain QM inspection data in the material master, they can use the Change Material (MM02) app.

In addition, the Quality Planner can influence an inspection for a delivery by defining customer specifications and customer info records. To do this, they can use the Create Quality Info Record - Sales (QV51) app.

The Quality Management view of the material master contains the control parameters you need to execute quality processes throughout the logistics supply chain. For deliveries, the following inspection types are relevant:

The inspection type, which can be set up in customizing, is always assigned to an inspection lot origin, which is predefined by SAP. To activate an inspection-lot related process, the Quality Planner must assign the respective inspection type to the material in the QM view of the material master and also activate it. Usually, there is one inspection type defined and assigned for each inspection lot origin.

For outbound delivery inspections, the following inspection lot origins are relevant:

• Inspection lot origin 10: Quality inspections for deliveries with reference to a sales order

  You use this lot origin if you create deliveries with reference to a sales order.

• Inspection lot origin 11: Quality inspections for deliveries without reference to a sales order

  You use this lot origin if you create deliveries without reference to a sales order, for example free express deliveries.

• Inspection lot origin 12: Quality inspections for deliveries without customer reference

  You use this lot origin for general deliveries without reference to a customer.

For outbound delivery inspections in the context of SD, the SAP standard offers the inspection types Inspection for delivery to customer with order (inspection type 10) or Inspection for delivery to customer without order (inspection type 11). For both inspection types, the Quality Planner define a combination of parameters in the inspection type setup of the material master influencing the details of the quality inspection process, for example:

• The quality inspection is defined in an inspection plan or in a material specification.

• If a task list is used, is it possible to capture actual inspection results or only defects?

• Should the system overrule the sample calculation procedure of each inspection characteristic and trigger a 100% inspection?

• Is is possible to execute an automated usage decision?

• Should the system generate inspection characteristics for parameters used in the batch search strategy?

  When inspection lots are created for batch-managed materials, the system takes into account the specifications that have been defined in batch determination. These specifications have precedence over those from the material specification or task list.

• If the material is batch managed, should the system create one inspection lot for each batch split item in the delivery or one inspection lot for the main item?
• And so on.

The following image shows different variants when goods issue inspections are performed in SAP S/4HANA:

In SAP standard, you execute the quality inspection before the delivery. Technically, the Warehouse Clerk cannot post a goods issue for the delivery before the Quality Engineer executed a positive usage decision for the inspection lot. If this is the desired system behavior, the Quality Planner must assign and activate an inspection type for outbound deliveries to the material master.

In the first example, the Quality Planner activated an inspection for a delivery for material A. In this case, when you create the outbound delivery for any customer, the system creates the inspection lot. After the Quality Technician recorded the inspection results and the Quality Engineer recorded the usage decision, the Warehouse Clerk can post the goods issue for the delivery.

If you do not want to follow the standard approach, you can define your own control data on the following level:

• Customer

  Once a customer master record has been created for a customer in the SD component, you can define several inspection-related default specifications for the customer. These specifications apply to all materials that are delivered to this customer.

  In the second example, the Quality Planner defined that for customer B, no quality inspection is required. Therefore, when you create an outbound delivery to customer B, the system does not create an inspection lot and the Warehouse Clerk can immediately post the goods issue.

• Customer, Sales Organization, and Material

  The customer info record defines the inspection requirements for a specific customer/material combination (per sales organization). You can use the customer info-record to override the default customer specifications.

  In the third example, the Quality Planner defined a Quality Info Record (SD) for the material A and customer B in your sales organization, and choose the option to execute a quality inspection after delivery. In this case, the system creates an inspection lot when you create the delivery. However, the Warehouse Clerk can post the goods issue parallel to the quality inspection.

In the system, the Quality Planner uses the app Create Quality Info Record - Sales (QV51) to define default settings on the customer level, and to create new info records on a customer, sales organization, and material level.

If deliveries to the customer are intended for different purposes, then the QM system can provide different inspection plans. Often, for a sample delivery, quite different characteristics should be inspected before the outbound delivery than for a regular delivery of the same material.

Play the following video to learn more:

To enable this process, the Application Consultant must configure the following settings in customizing:

• One inspection lot origin must be entered for each delivery type.

  For example, they assign inspection lot origin 10 (Inspection for a delivery for an order) to delivery type LF (Delivery).

• One or more inspection types are assigned to each inspection lot origin.

  For example, they assign inspection types 10 (Default delivery inspection for an order) and 1001 (Sample delivery inspection for an order) to inspection lot origin 10 (Inspection for a delivery for an order).

• You assign an inspection type to a combination of the inspection lot origin and the usage indicator.

  For example, they assign inspection type 10 (Default delivery inspection for an order) to inspection lot origin 10 (Inspection for a delivery for an order) without a usage indicator. They furthermore assign inspection type 1001 (Sample delivery inspection for an order) to inspection lot origin 10 (Inspection for a delivery for an order) to usage indicator Sample.

In the example, the system creates (by default) inspection lots with inspection type 10. If the sales order item has the usage indicator Sample, the system creates an inspection lot with inspection type 1001.