Executing the Various Steps of Production Order Processing

A production order is a complex object in the SAP S/4HANA system. The order has a life cycle that is partially predefined, but can also be adapted to your individual production process. During its life cycle, various roles (for example, the production supervisor, production operator, warehouse clerk, and so on) execute various steps in the orders life cycle. In the next video, you will learn about the production order’s life cycle and the steps that are executed.

As you have seen in the previous video, order release is an essential step in the order’s life cycle. If a production order was not released, you cannot execute subsequent functions (for example, goods issues, goods receipts, order confirmations, and so on). Therefore, before the production operator can execute the actual assembly process of the bike, the order must be released by, for example, the production supervisor.

The following simulation shows you how to release a production order in SAP S/4HANA:

After the production order is released, the production operator can execute the required assembly steps for the bike manufacturing. As you have learned previously, the operator assembles various components (for example, wheels, chain, frame, and so on) that must be available at the workstation where the respective manufacturing step is executed. Therefore, before the operator can assemble any components, the required components must be staged to production by, for example, warehouse clerks.

The next video shows you how to pick components for production orders and post goods issue.

Since all components are now available, the production operator can execute the individual production operations (for example pre-assembly, assembly, quality inspection, packaging, and so on) at their respective workstations. To document their efforts, they confirm the operations in the system. When posting a confirmation, the following information is transferred:

• Operation quantity: For each operation, the production operator confirms the yield, scrap, and rework quantity of an operation. Yield quantity is the quantity that was correctly manufactured and is therefore transferred to the next work center. Scrap quantity is posted if the manufacturing operation failed, and a partially assembled bike was destroyed during assembly. Rework quantity corresponds to a quantity that stays at the work center until it was repaired.
• Operation time and efforts: Let us assume that the operator required 45 minutes to execute the pre-assembly for 10 bikes. The respective time effort is posted in the system and the costs attributed to the effort are accounted to the order. Furthermore, when comparing scheduled to real operation times, you can analyze where more or less time than initially planned was consumed and, in the long run, fine-tune your planning data for better planning results.

Usually, the production operators confirm each production operation in the system, which you will see in the following demonstration:

After all production operations were executed, you need to update the inventory records in SAP S/4HANA and post the goods receipt of the manufactured product, for example, a bike. In the following demonstration, we will check the stock of the manufactured bike before the good receipt posting, post the goods receipt, and then re-evaluate the stock situation.

After the final assessment, you have completed the course "Discovering the Basics of S/4HANA Manufacturing". Through the manufacturing scenario of the Bike Company, you have gained a high-level understanding of production planning processes in SAP S/4HANA. This includes forecasting, demand management, material requirements planning, and capacity planning. You have also been introduced to production execution, covering topics such as production types, transitioning from planning to order execution, and posting goods receipts for finished products.

In the upcoming courses, you will have the opportunity to delve deeper into these topics and further expand your knowledge.