Posting Documents to Networks

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Assign documents to networks
  • Processing purchase requisitions

Account Assignment of Documents

Business transactions that establish a connection to work breakdown structure (WBS) elements or activities via an assignment are shown. They are explained in the text that follows.

The figure shows business transactions that establish a connection to work breakdown structure (WBS) elements or activities via an assignment. By assigning the appropriate documents, the commitment or actual costs can be posted directly to a WBS element, network, activity, or activity element.

During the project planning phase, you can plan the costs for purchase requisitions, purchase orders, and goods receipts at the network or activity level using externally processed activities, service activities, or material components that are procured directly. Using internally processed activities, you can withdraw stock from the warehouse, post invoices using cost activities, and post costs arising as a result of confirmations.

Actual costs arising from purchase requisitions, purchase orders, goods receipts, or activity allocations are compared with planned costs from primary cost planning or activity input planning data for the network.

Procurement Processes

James and Manuel Discuss the Material Procurement Process

James is a project planner at Hybrid Machinery. Manuel is responsible for project procurement. They discuss the project procurement process.

Note

This is their conversation:

Procurement for Networks

The external procurement process for a network is shown.

Purchase requisitions are generated by the network for externally processed activities, service activities, and materials that are procured externally. These purchase requisitions are passed on to the purchasing department for further processing.

The purchasing process involves the following activities:

  1. Issuing a request for quotation to vendors (bid invitation)
  2. Entering these quotations in the system
  3. Selecting vendors
  4. Converting the purchase requisitions to purchase orders
  5. Monitoring the orders until goods receipt and invoice verification

A service activity triggers a similar purchasing process, but can also contain a hierarchy of planned services to be purchased and value limits for unplanned services.

Instead of goods receipt, service processing involves the following two steps:

  1. Entering services performed
  2. Accepting services performed

A purchase requisition results in purchase requisition commitments for the account assignment object (activity or WBS element). When the purchase requisition is converted to a purchase order, this results in purchase order commitments for the account assignment object (this is a different value type from purchase requisition commitments). Depending on the account assignment category of the purchase order, actual costs are posted when the goods or invoice are received. The actual costs are passed on to the network activity or WBS element, depending on the account assignment. Instead of having the network generate purchase requisitions automatically, you can create purchase requisitions and purchase orders manually and assign them to WBS elements.

Using the Manage Material Coverage app

With this app, you can display and analyze coverage issues that exist for selected materials. For each material that you select, you can display a stock / requirements list including material shortage information, which helps you determine shortages that can cause disruptions to production or to the fulfillment of customer demands. You can also take actions directly from the app, for example, start an MRP run or edit MRP elements to resolve coverage issues. The app considers net requirements segments, individual customer and project segments, and direct production segments that exist for each material.

A screenshot is shown of the Manage Material Coverage app.

You can use this app to do the following:

  • Display a list of materials according to the selection criteria that you specify. This list can include collective requirements materials as well as make-to-stock and make-to-order materials.

    Depending on which filters you want to use, you can specify filter values directly in the app or define default values using the settings that are available from the user actions menu. Default filter values are automatically applied to all apps that reference them and support the default values option.

  • Select a shortage definition depending on how you want the system to calculate material shortages. You can choose from the following shortage definitions by default:

    • MRP Standard

      Represents the standard MRP logic

      Use this option to compare all supplies with all demands.

    • Stock Days' Supply

      Calculates the stock days' supply

      Use this option to compare available stock with planned demands.

    • Ordered Requirements

      Use this option to calculate whether you have sufficient planned receipts (supplies) to cover your ordered demands (requirements).

    • Ordered Receipts

      Use this option to calculate whether you have ordered enough receipts (supplies) to cover your planned demands (requirements).

    Note

    You can define additional shortage definitions in the configuration settings for material shortage profiles.

  • Open the stock / requirements list for each material to display the coverage situation and determine actions that might be required

  • View the stock / requirements list as an aggregated table in which the same MRP elements for the same day are aggregated into one line

  • Open quick-views to display additional information about each MRP element included in the stock / requirements list

  • Display detailed material information, including the days' supply and a stock availability chart for the next 42 days

  • Perform an MRP run at material level

  • Create purchase requisitions, stock transport requisitions, planned orders, or schedule lines for scheduling agreements

  • Perform a rescheduling check to determine issues and proposed actions for MRP elements and execute these actions as required

  • Hand over, edit, convert, or delete receipt elements directly from the stock / requirements list

  • Create MRP change requests to notify your suppliers and keep track of changes when an existing purchase order or stock transport order must be updated

  • Accept shortages if they do not require any action

  • Display, edit, and enter notes for the material

  • Navigate to other apps to access further information or to change material data

Procure Material Components and Services

Part 1 of the exercise/simulation:

Part 2 of the exercise/simulation:

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