Maintaining Sites for Retail (3I3)

The figure shows the basic set-up of a Retail organization with the headquarters (US Retailer Inc.), and their distribution centers and stores. Additionally, there are the (external) business partners: suppliers for merchandise procurement, and customers (wholesale, re-sellers,..), and consumers on the sales side.

This unit focuses on the headquarters processes, which cover site maintenance, setting up merchandise categories, and creating retail articles, including vendor data. Furthermore, assortment modules are created, connecting sites and articles. To complete master data maintenance, sales prices are created. With that, the basis for retail operations are set.

In solution process Sites for Retail (3I3), sites are set up across SAP Central Business Configuration, retail-specific product configuration, and master data maintenance in the application. Site groupings are created for use in reporting, as selection criteria in various applications, and to select sites in various applications. The merchandise category hierarchy, covered in solution process Product Taxonomies for Retail (5FJ), is the central classification for the retail articles. Characteristics can be used to define attributes for information purposes, but can also be assigned to classes, which are then used to define the variants of generic articles. The solution process Products for Retail (3I1) explains the retail article categories single article, generic article, and structured articles, and how to maintain vendor-article specific data in purchasing info records. It also introduces functions for managing retail article master records, such as data creating via interface, mass maintenance, discontinuation. The Assortments (3I5) solution process introduces the maintenance of assortment modules, which are used to connect articles and sites, which includes the creation of article-site specific data in the background. With that, the articles are ready to be ordered, received, and sold in the sites. Actually, to be sold, a sales price has to be defined for the articles. The system supports the creation of sales prices for the articles on different pricing levels in the sales price calculation function, as explained in solution process Sales Pricing for Retail (3I4).

Each solution process represents a lesson in this unit, and can be completed individually.

This lesson covers the solution process Sites for Retail (3I3).

In the retail industry, specific terms differ from the standard terms used in other lines of business. The following terms are used synonymously in this document:

A retail site is an organizational unit that is used to order and receive merchandise, to keep it in stock, and to distribute or sell it. Correspondingly, the related business processes are executed for the site. These for example include requirements planning and ordering, goods receipt, inventory management and physical inventory counting, as well as outbound logistics processes including goods issue, based on customer- or warehouse orders, or selling merchandise to consumers using a customer checkout solution (point-of-sale system).

As a retailer typically owns more than one step in the supply chain. These steps include warehouse operations, as well as selling merchandise to consumers. Therefore, the retail site comes in two variations, that is, in two site categories:

• Distribution centers carry stocks to provide merchandise for other sites or customers: the task of a distribution center is handling the transfer of merchandise from external suppliers to stores and customers along the supply chain as efficiently as possible.

• Stores present merchandise on the sales floor and sell it to consumers or customers, using a point-of-sale system, or issue merchandise in a omni-channel scenario (e.g. click-and-collect / BOPIS: buy online, pick up in store).

The following figure, Site and Organizational Assignments, illustrates the connections between the organizational units with the site, which is in the center of the retail operations.

Flexible organizational units in SAP Retail make it possible to map even complex organizational structures. A large number of organizational units makes it possible to map the legal and organizational structure of a retail company from different business viewpoints. Typically, the structure is represented by different departments: finance and controlling, purchasing, distribution center (DC) and store logistics and inventory management, sales from DCs and stores. Many organizational units are also data retention levels, which means that, when there are several organizational units like this, different data can be stored for each one. For example, different purchase prices for an article in different purchasing organizations, or different sales prices for different distribution chains.

In the following you find some examples for the organizational units representing specific departments (not a complete overview):

• Finance and Controlling: Company Code, Controlling Area, Cost- and Profit Centers
• Purchasing: Purchasing Organization
• DC in- and outbound logistics, Inventory Management: Distribution Center (Site), Valuation Area, Shipping Points, Storage Locations, Warehouse number for warehouse-managed storage locations
• Store logistics and Inventory Management: Store (Site), Valuation Area, Shipping Points, Storage Location(s)
• Sales: Sales Organization, Distribution Channel, Division.

The organizational units are connected with each other, centering around the company code. For example, a company code and controlling area are connected, a sales organization is connected to a company code as well. To form Sales Areas, the Sales Organization, Distribution Channel, and Division are connected. The combination of Sales Organization and Distribution Channel is referred to as Distribution Chain. Shipping Points, representing shipping offices, are responsible for the deliveries; usually, each site has one or more shipping points. Inventory is stored on site / storage location level. The storage location represents either a site, or parts of a site, where the goods are kept.

Sites are embedded in the organization structures of a retail enterprise: From an organizational point of view, each site belongs to a company code, and usually assigned individual cost and profit centers. The valuation area is automatically created in the background, when the site is created. Furthermore, each site is assigned to one or more purchasing organizations, sales areas, shipping points. For each site, storage locations are created, and specific to DCs, some storage locations are managed using a warehouse management system. This is represented by a warehouse number, which is then assigned to the relevant storage location.

Some of these assignments are mandatory when creating a site, for example the company code. This means, initially the relevant organizational units have to be defined, before a site master record is created. The site itself also represents an organizational unit, and is therefore also - like the other organizational units - created in the SAP Central Business Configuration of your development (DEV) system. There, it is also assigned to these organizational units.

After you have completed creating sites and setting up the organization structure, the business configuration expert chooses Confirm Milestone under Scope and Organizational Structure Phase Is Completed in the Project Experience in SAP Central Business Configuration.

After completing this milestone, the business configuration expert proceeds to the Product-Specific Configuration phase of your project to adjust site-specific system settings to your business requirements.

There, you can carry out further configuration activities to continue maintaining your retail sites. These include:

• Maintain Default Purchasing Organization for Retail Site
• Maintain Retail Site Parameters
• Assign Picking Locations
• Assign Shipping Points
• Assign Storage Location for Advanced Returns Management
• Assign Goods Receiving Points for Inbound Deliveries
• Assign Document Type, One-Step Procedure and Under-delivery Tolerance

The Sub-Type in SAP Central Business Configuration (sometimes referred to as distribution chain category) describes the logistical function of the combination of a sales organization and distribution channel. In SAP Retail, a distinction is made between consumer/retail sub-types (for stores), and sub-types that are used by distribution centers, or in wholesale scenarios. Note: The sub-type e-commerce is mapped to sub-type (distribution chain category) store.

Each distribution center (DC) is organizationally assigned to a DC distribution chain (this is then the main distribution chain of this site), as its main task is to provide other sites with merchandise. However, additional distribution chains, for example a wholesale distribution chain, can be added, when the DC also ships merchandise to wholesale customers, or the e-commerce chain, if it also supplies e-commerce customers, and so on.

Each store is organizationally assigned to a store distribution chain (this is then the main distribution chain of this site), as its main task is to sell merchandise to consumers (via the store's point-of-sale / customer checkout system). However, like for DCs as well, additional distribution chains can be added. For example, a DC does not only provide merchandise to stores (DC distribution chain), but also delivers merchandise to wholesale customers (wholesale distribution chain), and so on.

Once the set-up of a site in SAP Central Business Configuration (CBC) and product-specific configuration is completed, it can be maintained in the application by the master data specialist for retail sites. This involves the creation of the Business Partner of the site, and further master data enhancements, such as the assignment of merchandise categories, and other data.

A site also acts as a customer, as it receives merchandise for example from a supplying site using inbound logistics processes. For example, a local warehouse receives goods from the regional warehouse, or a store receives goods from its supplying DC. Also, a site may receive merchandise from another site, or customer, in a returns process. For this reason, a site always includes an internal customer master record, that is, the corresponding (internal) business partner (BP) in SAP Retail. It is an integral part of the site, therefore referred to as internal customer. The business partner maintenance can be accessed from the Maintain Retail Site app.

For external customers, for example wholesale customers, an individual (external) customer business partner record is created.

A site is also an internal supplier, as it supplies other sites with merchandise. For this reason, a supplier master record, that is, a corresponding (internal) business partner (BP) is created in the system, especially for cross company code scenarios: when creating the resp. cross-company purchase orders, for example, details such as payment terms and condition control are picked up by the system from the site's supplier business partner. Also the supplier business partner is an integral part of the site, therefore referred to as internal supplier. As mentioned before, the business partner maintenance can be accessed from the Maintain Retail Site app.

For external suppliers, an individual (external) supplier business partner record is created.

A business partner grouping, which is part of the retail site profile (configuration), is used for the site-specific, internal business partner maintenance. This Retail Site BP grouping, S_CUVNX comprises 5 roles: the site role, 2 customer roles, and 2 supplier roles. The 2 customer-roles cover the accounting and sales area data, and the 2 supplier roles cover the accounting and purchasing data. With the business partner creation, also the local assortment of a site is created in the background.

The Maintain Retail Site app (F5375) is the central app for enhancing the master data of a site.

To ease the creation of this additional data to a great extent, the Copy Master Data function (see figure above, Maintain Retail Site) is available: With that, you use any well maintained site as a reference / source for the copy process to your newly created target site(s). This copy process not only includes creating master data and further assignments, such as assigning merchandise categories to the site, but also creates the internal SAP Business Partner (BP) with the relevant BP roles for your site. The business partner is created with the same ID as the site ID.

In general, for Retail processes, it is mandatory that a BP is linked to a site – otherwise Retail processes do not work.

Merchandise categories are assigned to sites to define specific settings for various functions and processes.

For example, there are settings which are relevant for retail pricing, such as the assignment of a price list. In addition, store order/replenishment control data can be maintained at site/merchandise category level. Furthermore, valuation- and inventory-management settings can be made in this view.

It is also possible to define the supplying site(s) at site/merchandise category level. This then overrules the supplying site(s) defined at the general site level. For example, a food retailer operates a special distribution center for perishables, whereas all other merchandise is supplied from the regular dry goods DC. In this case, the perishables DC is assigned as supplying site to all perishables merchandise categories (such as Loose Fruit, Packaged Lettuce, and so on), whereas the other, non-perishables merchandise categories have no specific supplying site assignment. With that, automatically the supplying site assigned at the general site level is used for the goods of these merchandise categories.

For the assignment of merchandise categories to sites, a mass assignment option is available with the Assign Merchandise Categories - Sites app.

The SAP classification system also contains class types for grouping sites, these are class type 030 (Site Grouping), and 035 (Site Hierarchy). One site can be assigned to several classes (site groups) of class type 030, but only to one class (site group) of class type 035. The site groups are then used in certain business processes, for example to define the range of sites participating in a retail promotion, or receiving merchandise through an allocation table. Furthermore, site groups can simplify the data maintenance in specific processes, for example in retail pricing, it is possible to select the sites assigned to a site group to carry out the price calculations for these sites. So instead of specifying each site individually in that selection screen, you just enter the site group. Another example is the Advanced Stock Overview app, where you can select a site group to display the article stocks of the assigned sites. In this app, the system uses the site hierarchy structure (class type 035) to display the stocks of the selected article in the sites. So, for example, you can create site groups in the site hierarchy structure (class type 035) by country / regions for a better overview of the article stocks in your organization.

Numerous applications are available to create and maintain site groups in class types 030 and 035. The figure above, Site Grouping, shows examples of the apps to display ...

• these classes: Display Store Group - Store Groups
• the classes a specific site is assigned to: Display Store in Groups - Store Groups
• which sites are assigned to a site group: Display Stores in Group - Store Groups

The Site app (F0335A) is a Fact sheet, which allows the master data specialist to access site master data and context information easily and efficiently. The app displays all relevant information about a site in one place, and enables you to navigate directly to related business objects.

The app displays important master data for the site in the General Information, Product Groups (Merchandise Categories), Supplying Sites, Assortments, and Receiving Points areas. Also, Promotions, Allocation Tables, and Purchase Orders are displayed, and you can directly navigate to these business objects, and use the Related Apps links to access apps for the site maintenance.

Sometimes it is necessary to block sites for specific operations. For example, reasons might be a temporary closure due to renovation, or the site is moving to a new location, or it will be go out of business in a few weeks, and so on. Therefore, blocks can be set on various levels - either all operations, that is, ordering, deliveries, sales, and billing are prohibited, or only specific operations, for example ordering and delivering, but sales still may continue. Blocks are a set on the customer and / or supplier - thus, on the business partner - level of a site, and can also be set for specific organizational levels. For example, a site's customer can be blocked client-wide, on company code level, or for a specific sales area.

For a central site customer block, it is possible to define blocking reasons in configuration. There, you can determine if the site's customer should get an order-, delivery- and/or billing block. A blocking reason can then be assigned to a site for a specific period. A batch program checks daily whether any relevant blocking reasons exist and sets/deletes the appropriate blocking indicator in the customer data of the site.

Summary

The key process flows covered in the tutorials for this process are to:

• Create a new Site using SAP Central Business Configuration and the Maintain Retail Site app
• Assign Merchandise Categories - Sites
• Assign Business Partner to Site
• Maintain Store Groupings