Customizing: Master Data

You are able to decide, which field inside material master becomes a required field, is displayed one or hidden.

Please perform the following steps:

You can find out the table name of a field by using the technical information in the F1 help.

In Customizing, you can use the table name to help you find the appropriate field selection group.

A separate control string exists for each of these influencing factors.

Each position in a control string of this kind applies to a specific field selection group. The field option applies to the entire field selection group and all the master data contained in it.

Field selection in a material master transaction is generally determined by several control strings. The entries of all the control strings for the relevant transaction are linked to one another.

The link rules shown above determine which fields are selected for each group of material master fields. In order of priority, the signs mean:

• - Hide
• * Display
• + Required entry
• . Optional entry

You can structure the material master according to your company's requirements:

• You can remove screens, which are not required, from the screen sequence.

• You can create your own screens, by adding or deleting screen modules.

• You can influence individual fields in the screen modules.

In Customizing for the material master, you can:

• Create and maintain screen sequences

• Maintain logical screens

• Maintain the order of logical screens in a screen sequence

• Determine which subscreens appear on which logical screens

• Assign influencing factors for field selection to a screen sequence

• Assign a user or user group to a screen sequence

• Preset the default organization level, default industry sector, and logical screens for a user or group of users

The views of the material master record correspond to the logical screens in Customizing. The logical screen is the visible data screen.

There are main screens (maximum of 29), additional screens (maximum of 15) and other screens (non-configurable, for example, initial screens).

The additional screens are assigned to the main screen using the PB## function codes (this corresponds to the name of the pushbutton in the Screen Painter).

The secondary screens can be added to the additional data screens with automatic numbering (maximum of 15 additional screens including secondary screens).

A screen sequence consists of logical screens (views) and secondary screens.

The sequence of the screens can be specified for each screen sequence.

You can define a screen sequence to suit your requirements.

A logical screen (view) consists of several screen modules. It consists of a subscreen container where you can enter several subscreens (maximum of 6).

Standard screen modules (SAPLMGDI) have exactly one frame that can contain up to 10 lines and they have exactly 83 columns.

You are free to choose the sequence of the screen modules.

You can vary the number of subscreens for each logical screen.

Subscreens from different logical screens can be grouped together on one screen. The maintenance status of the screen module fields must be the same as the maintenance status of the logical screen. You may have to extend the status of the logical screen in Customizing.

Changes to a logical screen are saved in the screen sequence that is changed. This means that if you change the structure of MRP 1 in sequence 99, this change is only effective in sequence 99.

When creating your own logical screens, we recommend that you use the standard subscreens that are already available.

You will need your own subscreens if different field groups or new fields are required.

To create your own subscreens, copy standard program SAPLMGD1 to its own function group (for instructions, see the IMG). Then create the required subscreen in the new function group.

Append structures have been defined in DDIC for including your own fields.

You can only include fields from user-specific tables and user-specific subscreen containers in program SAPLMGMM by using modifications.

Before you configure your own material master record dialogs, be sure to read the IMG.

The material master contains a series of fields that are checked against other tables. These tables must be set up before you create material master records.

Default values for the BOM header and settings for variable-size items are defined in Customizing:

• Base quantity for bill of material

• BOM status

• Unit of measure for size and number of variable-size items

The following default values can be defined by the user or preset in Customizing:

• Item increment

• Item category

• Material provision indicator

• Various BOM reporting options

You can use default values to organize data entry effectively.

Each user can also define their own default values to optimize or simplify data entry. However, this requires specific authorization. Alternatively, these settings can be defined for a user in Customizing.

The following table lists the abbreviations used in the figure:

At BOM header level, the department or person responsible and the history requirement for bills of material can be defined. When you process a bill of material with history requirement activated an additional authorization object is checked (C_STUE_NOH). If this authorization is assigned to a user, the user can change bills of material that have a history requirement without a change master record.

The object types for BOM items may not be changed.

The user-specific settings can be defined in Customizing for each user – with a high administrative overhead – or each user maintains their own user-specific settings in the master data functions for bills of material.

The BOM status controls BOM processing in different application areas. When you configure your system in Customizing under Bill of Material → → Define BOM Status, you define the statuses for different indicators that allow or disallow BOM processing.
 For example, BOM A: A BOM with status 1 can be exploded in MRP and released for a planned order. BOM B: A BOM with status 2 cannot be exploded in MRP or released for a planned order.

When you configure your system in Customizing (Bill of Material → BOM usage → Define BOM usages), you define which item statuses are allowed or disallowed for each BOM usage (general setting is valid for all items). Fine-tuned control is defined for each individual item. You can define item status fields as required, optional, or disallowed for a specific application area in your company.

In addition, you can specify a selection ID that decides the sequence in which the system searches for bills of material if several bills of material have been created for one material with different usages. For this purpose, a selection ID with a selection priority is maintained for each BOM usage. The selection priority is entered as a number, whereby the lowest number has the highest priority.

Enter this item category to represent parts of a material of different sizes under one material number.

On the detail screen: After entry, the system calculates variable-size quantity of the material consumed by the component usage.

Advantages:

• MRP can be executed by exploding the BOM without any additional work steps.

• You do not have to create a separate material master for each size.

Entering a formula for variable-size item calculation also enables complex calculations.

In Customizing for item data, you can define your own formulas and assign them when creating new, variable-size items.

The following table explains the formula that is used if you do not enter a formula key:

The item category controls:

• Whether a material must, can, or cannot be entered

• Whether quantities can be negative or positive or both

• Whether quantities can be negative or positive or both

• Whether subitems are allowed

• Which item detail screens (ItmCtrl) are required for specific item categories. Example: A variable-size item requires variable-size item data.

The control key is the central control element of the process.

The control key is a required field for the process. The control key can originate from the work center, either as a reference or as a proposal.

There is a maximum of three lines per formula. Possible arithmetical operations are: +, -, *, /, SIN, COS, DIV, MOD, SQRT, EXP, and LOG.

Conversion of units of measure takes place automatically.

• General operation value:

  The parameter is linked to a field in the general operation data. The value of this field is entered in the formula. Typical fields are lot size, base quantity, number of splits (partial lots), and number of employees.

• Work center constant:

  The parameter is assigned a constant value in the work center. This value is used in the formula.

• Standard value:

  Using the standard value key, you can assign a standard value that is used as a parameter in the formula.

• User field in the operation:

  The value of a custom field in the operation is assigned to the parameter.

• Value from PRT assignment:

  This could be either the quantity or the usage value of the production resource/tool (PRT). This parameter can only be used for formulas that are used for PRT management.

• PRT constant:

  You assign a constant value to this parameter in the PRT master record. These formula parameters can only be used in formulas for PRT management.

• General formula constant:

  A value is assigned to this parameter, which is then used in the application.

• Creating capacities

• Assigning capacities to a work center, including intervals of available capacity, shift sequences, shifts, and so on

These check tables are found in Customizing, and some of them can also be found also in the work center menu by choosing Environment → Current settings.

Suitability and wage group are parameters from human resources. These are defined here if you do not use the SAP solution for human resources.

In Define material type assignment, you can define, for each material type, which task list types can be used to create routings.