The Bike Company has prepared the necessary master data, and the planned orders have been transferred from production planning. Now we move to production execution. During this phase, a process order undergoes several steps, which we will briefly outline here. We will delve into the most crucial steps in greater detail in the subsequent unit.
A process order undergoes several steps throughout its lifecycle: The primary steps in order processing include order creation, order release, goods issues, confirmations, and goods receipts. While there are various methods to create a process order, the typical method is order creation by planned order conversion, as demonstrated in our example process. Upon order creation, the necessary master data is selected, and the order is scheduled. This sets the order to a 'created' status. In this status, the order cannot undergo certain processes in production; for instance, goods movements and confirmations cannot be posted. Once an order is released, it becomes available for production processing, and its status changes to 'released'. In this status, various actions such as goods issues, confirmations, and goods receipts can be posted, among other processes. Posting goods issues and material components to process orders records the corresponding material consumption, reducing stock quantities and values. Conversely, posting goods receipts for finished products documents the production quantities, increasing the stock quantities and values of those products.
In between the main steps, the system offers various supporting functions, for example:
Availability checks for materials and capacity evaluation and leveling
Between order creation and order release, you execute various checks to ensure the order can be processed correctly. Material availability checks confirm that the required material components are available in the necessary quantities and at the appropriate time. Capacity evaluation and capacity leveling ensure that the production work centers are neither overloaded nor underutilized, optimizing efficiency.
Batch determination for components
Batch determination for components is carried out to identify the correct component quantities with the necessary properties. The system, for instance, verifies if the properties of a component batch align with the required properties of the raw material intended for a specific process order. Take, for example, component material batch A with a concentration value of 7 % and batch B with a concentration of 15 %. If the required concentration value ranges between 5 % and 10 %, the system would recommend batch A over batch B. When multiple batches qualify, the system suggests the one that aligns most closely with the requirement, such as by ranking available batches based on their concentration values. A first-in, first-out strategy might also be employed to prioritize older batches. Beyond properties, the system evaluates the necessary quantities for each batch. If a batch lacks the required amount, the system might suggest combining two component batches (if permitted) or might recommend another batch with an adequate quantity.
Batch number assignment for the manufactured product
Depending on the master data settings, the system automatically or manually creates a batch number for the manufactured product that will be used when the shop floor personnel posts the goods receipt.
Order printing
In paper-based production processes, various order-related documents, such as operation lists, operation control tickets, goods issue slips, and wage slips, can be printed after order release. These documents are handed over to shop floor personnel who don't have access to the SAP S/4HANA system, ensuring they are informed of the necessary steps to execute. The shop floor personnel then records production efforts, component consumptions, quality inspection results, and more on these papers to document order execution. However, it's important to note that a significant drawback of this approach is the need to manually input the recorded data into the SAP S/4HANA system after order execution.
Download to and upload from process control
In many companies, manufacturing execution systems are employed to orchestrate the flow of orders on the shop floor, replacing paper-based production processes. Order information is transferred from the SAP S/4HANA system to the process control system, while actual production data, such as material consumption and confirmation data, is uploaded in return. In this setup, shop floor personnel directly interact with the manufacturing execution system, recording production-relevant data through an intuitive interface tailored to your company's needs. The manufacturing execution system then relays the recorded data back to the SAP S/4HANA system, ensuring data consistency.
Material staging
Before goods issue postings to the process order can be made, it might be necessary to stage the material components from a central storage location to the production storage location.