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Understanding the Available Backflushing Methods and their Use for the Bike Company Scenario

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Describe the general posting effects of backflushing.
View the backflushing scenario for the production of the semi-finished product Handlebar.
Understand how to use the Confirm Repetitive Manufacturing App.

Usage of the Confirm Repetitive Manufacturing app

This figure illustrates the three types of backflushing methods in repetitive manufacturing: Assembly Backflush, Component Backflush, and Activity Backflush.

You can use the Confirm Repetitive Manufacturing app to carry out the backflush and thus confirm the work progress in repetitive manufacturing.

Note

Link to the Confirm Repetitive Manufacturing app: https://fioriappslibrary.hana.ondemand.com/sap/fix/externalViewer/index.html#/detail/Apps('MFBF')/S34

You can also enter confirmations, also called reporting point backflushes, at each reporting point that is set as a milestone.

As a result, according to the settings in the series profile Z001 - report. Point BF/Prel.cost of the Bike Company actual costs are collected on the product cost collector when a reporting point confirmation is carried out as follows:

The system determines the components by dissolving the current BOM and thus automatically posting the goods issue for the components consumed between two reporting points from the production storage locations.
An automatic activity allocation is generated.
Optionally, actual times can be posted if the actual production times differ from the times in the routing.
Work in process (WIP) and total variances are calculated dynamically and posted in real-time to the product cost collector.
A total cost posting can be posted at the time of the production cost backflush.
An automatic goods receipt is posted at the time of the last reporting point backflush.
At the end of the production process, the system posts the material costs, overhead, and production costs to the product cost collector.
The system posts single documents for the respective postings and additionally a total document.
Optionally, the total variance can be split into variance categories by a splitting run.

In repetitive manufacturing, assemblies, components, or operations can be backflushed.

Backflushing Methods

Confirmation Type Assembly Backflush

You can use the assembly backflush to enter the additional consumption of components and/or production activities. If the consumption of components and/or activities does not change, their standard consumptions according to BOM or Routing are automatically posted on save.

Note

In the following, we will use this confirmation type for the Bike Company scenario.

Confirmation Type Component Backflush

This notification type can only be used for make-to-stock production.

You can use this confirmation type to enter only the additional consumption of components. You cannot enter and post additional consumption of production activities. Similarly, the standard consumptions for activities according to the routing are not automatically posted.

Additional consumption as variance (exactly Input Quantity Variance) is posted with goods issue movement type 261 - Goods Issue. In parallel, a separate cost element is defined for the total variance in Controlling. In the Bike Company scenario, the posting is done using account number 55100000 - Adj. Plnt Act. Prod. In other words, this confirmation type is intended for subsequent postings.

Confirmation Type Activity Backflush

This confirmation type can also only be used for make-to-stock production.

If more activities are consumed than planned for the production of a material, this can be posted using this confirmation type.

You cannot use this confirmation type to enter additional consumption of components.

Similarly, the standard quantities of components according to the BOM are not automatically posted. As a result, no goods issue is posted using this confirmation type. This means that this confirmation type is also intended for subsequent postings.

Backflushing Scenario

This figure illustrates the production process flow and cost collection for manufacturing 10 S11-000 handlebars, detailing the operations, timings, materials, and reporting points involved.

The above example describes the production process for 10 units of the semi-finished product S11-000 - Handlebar using the backflushing method.

Operations 0010 and 0020 of the Bike Company scenario are defined as reporting points, that is, these two operations are marked as milestones in the routing.

Operation 0010 - Cropping and Forming

In the reporting point backflush, the system backflushes the material component R111-000 - Bar, which has been consumed at the confirmed reporting point operation, from the warehouse stock and posts the goods issue of the input material automatically only when you confirm operation 0010 - Cropping and Forming, that is, when you confirm that you have completed the operation. The actual withdrawal quantity corresponds to the default value.

As a result, in the backflush procedure, there is no need to manually post a goods issue of the input material from the warehouse at the start of the operation.

The automatic goods issue posting creates (posts) work in process (WIP) on the product cost collector.

The activities that occurred at the confirmed reporting point operation also have to be posted. In the handlebar production scenario, the actual consumed activity quantities are higher than the default values that are recorded in the routing.

In our scenario, 4 MIN of activity type MACH are booked instead of 3 MIN per handlebar, and 3 MIN of activity type PERS instead of 2 MIN per handlebar.

This leads to a difference between target costs and actual costs and therefore to variances.

Operation 0020 - Assembly

After the operation Cropping and Forming on the input material R111-000 - Bar is finished, the two input materials R112-000 Brake lever and R113 - Grip are assembled on the material R111-000- Bar. This corresponds to Operation 0020 - Assembly.

At the start of operation 0020, no goods issue for the two input materials R112-000 Brake lever and R113 - Grip is manually posted from the warehouse.

This is created by confirming operation 0020 - Assembly, that is, the notification that the operation is completed, automatically posts a goods issue of the input materials R112-000 Brake lever and R113 - Grip.

During this confirmation, the actual activity quantities also differ from the default values of the routing.

In our scenario, 20 MIN of activity type MACH are booked per handlebar instead of 15 MIN, and 15 MIN of activity type PERS instead of 10 MIN per handlebar.

Again, there is a difference between target costs and actual costs and therefore variances.

Since at the same time the completion of operation 0020 - Assembly completes the production of 10 units of semi-finished material S11-000, due to the setting in the series profile, an automatic goods receipt is posted to the warehouse of 10 units of the semi-finished material at the time of the last reporting point backflush.

Due to the automatic goods receipt posting of the S11-000 Handlebar, Work in Process (WIP) is reduced again because the product creation has been finished completely.

Assembly Backflush

If the confirmation type, Assembly Backflush, is selected in the Confirm Repetitive Manufacturing app, you must first enter the confirmation quantity, that is, the quantity of the semi-finished product (assembly) or the finished product, and the unit of measure.

You must then enter the material to be confirmed (assembly or finished product), the producing plant, and the production version. They describe the product cost collector.

This figure illustrates the assembly backflush method with specific details on posting headers, goods receipt quantities, and actual activities.

You must then select Reporting Point. Then select the relevant operation, for example, 0010 - Cropping and Forming.

If a standard consumption with regard to material components and production activities transaction 0010 has to be posted, the Post button can be selected directly. The system then automatically posts the goods issue of the components and the default activity quantity consumptions.

If, on the other hand, you have to change the component quantities and/or activity quantities compared to the default values in BOM or routing, you must first choose the pushbutton, Post with Correction, instead of Post.

In the next screen, you can change the material input quantities compared to the default values. If necessary, you can use the Actual Activities button to change the activity type input quantities compared to the default values in routing.

Finally, select Post.

If operation 0020 - Assembly is completed at a later point of time, reporting point 0020 must be selected on the screen of the Confirm Repetitive Manufacturing app.

Then, if changes also have to be made for this operation compared to the default values of the components and/or activities, you can select the Post with Correction pushbutton again, enter the actual component values and, if necessary, click the Actual Activities pushbutton afterwards to enter the different activity values.

As part of the assembly backflush method, the correction of component quantities and activity input quantities can be carried out together for each reporting point, that is, for each operation.

The figure above shows the structure of the respective screen within the Confirm Repetitive Manufacturing app. The numbering describes the sequence of the navigation steps within the app for the example of reporting point 0010 - Cropping and Forming.

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