Backorder Processing in SAP S/4HANA at a Glance
Relevant SAP Fiori Apps for Backorder Processing
For the configuration and execution of backorder processing in SAP S/4HANA, several apps are available:
Each app contains Web Assistant documentation that provides additional information on key on-screen elements and concepts used.
In addition, the Schedule BOP Run app can be used for scheduling backorder processing runs to execute interactively or as a background job.
General Restrictions
The use of backorder processing in SAP S/4HANA has the following general restrictions:
The item does not belong to a checking group or the checking group is not configured for advanced product availability checks.
The requirements class to which an item belongs is empty or is not configured for product availability checks, including product availability checks against product allocation.
The schedule line category to which an item belongs is empty or is not configured for product availability checks, including product availability checks against product allocation.
The Fixed Date and Quantity flag is set in the sales order document.
- The advanced ATP functions have not been activated in Customizing.
Note
The functions for backorder processing in advanced Available-to-Promise are dependent on the SAP HANA Rules Framework being installed.
The following SAP Fiori apps are available for processing backorders and releasing sales orders for delivery in aATP. The business document sales order is supported by all apps. The business document stock transport order is, in addition, supported by the Configure BOP (backorder processing) Segment, Configure BOP Variant, and Monitor BOP Run apps.
Use the Configure BOP Segments app to configure backorder processing.
With this app, you can define a set of rules with which to prioritize the distribution of supply when the demand for the materials in sales and stock transport orders exceeds the available inventory or capacity. Using a combination of filters and prioritizers, you can automate rescheduling and redistribution in line with your company strategy.
Configure BOP Segments
It is important to understand how these strategies work.
| Confirmation Strategy | Processing Priority | Definition | System Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2 | Assigned requirements are fully confirmed on the requested date (or immediately, if their requested material available date is in the past). | If requirements cannot be fully confirmed on time, the BOP run stops immediately, an alert is raised, and the corresponding sales document is not updated. All other sales order documents for the same material-plant combination are also not updated. |
| Gain | 3 | Assigned requirements retain, at least, their confirmation or, if possible, improve. | If current confirmations cannot be retained, the BOP run stops immediately and an alert is raised. When this happens, all requirements for the same material-plant combination are excluded from the BOP run. |
| Redistribute | 4 | Assigned requirements can get a better, equal or worse confirmation. | BOP may release quantities of requirements so that they can be used to fulfill requirements with higher priorities. BOP may produce a worse confirmation when requirements with a higher priority have reduced the available quantity. Note that the Redistribute confirmation strategy is the only strategy currently supported by product allocation (PAL). |
| Fill | 5 | Assigned requirements do not gain additional quantity or get an earlier confirmation date. They get an equal or worse confirmation. | To confirm requirements from Win and Gain, BOP releases quantities of requirements assigned to Fill. This can result in a later confirmation or a loss in confirmed quantity. |
| Lose | 1 | Assigned requirements lose their current confirmation and are not confirmed. | The released quantity of the Lose requirements can be used to confirm more important requirements or left as quantity available to confirm future requirements. |
BOP segments offer you a flexible tool set to build up your business roles for backorder processing in SAP S/4HANA. Therefore it is possible to implement the following business scenarios.
Confirmation Strategies
This app is one of four apps that you can use to set up, configure, and execute backorder processing in advanced ATP.
In daily life it is often not sufficient to work with a simple alphanumeric sorting. Therefore, SAP S/4HANA advanced ATP enables you to adopt customer-specific BOP sorting.
Configure Customer Specific BOP Sorting
With this app, you can create sequences for prioritizing requirements from sales and stock transport documents according to attributes that do not allow simple alphanumeric sorting (for example, customer/sold-to party). In doing so, you define a logic by which requirements are prioritized accordingly in the Configure BOP Segment app and in subsequent backorder processing runs triggered from the Configure BOP Variant or Schedule BOP Run apps.
This is the second (optional) app for setup backorder processing (BOP) in advanced Available-to-Promise (aATP).
In the next step you set up a BOP variant using the Configure BOP Variant tile.
With this app, you can define a variant for backorder processing (BOP), including an optional combination of filters and prioritizers, with which you can automate rescheduling and redistribution of materials in limited supply.
This tile offers you the possibility to configure BOP variants so that availability checks can be run for sales documents and stock transport orders, also against supply assignment. The configuration options include:
The document type (sales order and/or stock transport order) for which the BOP variant is valid and the availability check is to be executed.
The execution method (Available-to-Promise or Supply Assignment (ARun)) and business scenario/check rule to be used for the availability check.
If release checks or global segments are to be considered.
In addition you have the following options:
Assign confirmation strategies.
Define new requirement categories.
Enable and define global filters.
Simulate and schedule backorder processing runs in one step.
Configure BOP Variant: Fallback Variant
It is also possible to define fallback variants in the header settings of a variant obtain the following system behavior:
Schedule BOP Run
Results of the BOP Run: Monitor BOP Run
Here, you will receive a detailed view about the result of the BOP runs including additional information in the case of a failed BOP run.
