Introduction
Multi-variant products have a vast selection of variants, arising from the combination of individual product features. Variant configuration is used in the SAP system for this reason.
As you would expect, complex products are reflected by complex configuration tasks in sales and production. However, a company that sells or produces products with variants must perform these configuration tasks quickly and accurately.
A product that is to be manufactured in multiple variants is described as a configurable material. In the SAP system, characteristics are used to describe the features of configurable products. This covers all possible features of the product and does not refer to a concrete article.
Variant Configuration
The following video shows how Variant Configuration can manage multiple product variants in one configurable material and one supersession BOM
Variant Configuration Processes
In this session we cover five different processes in the area of Variant Configuration:
- Engineer to Order: a sales order for a configurable material is created. Inside configuration an issue occurs. Sales order representative decides to handover data to engineering. Engineering changes data and finally corrected sales order is saved.
- Make to Order: a sales order for a configurable material is created. A MRP run takes place. Production execution happens and the product is delivered to customer.
- Procurement: a sales order for a configurable material is created. A MRP run takes place and a purchase requisition is created. Based on this requisition a purchase order is created. Finally goods receipt are created for this purchase order and a supplier invoice is created.
- Make to Stock: a material variant for a configurable material is created and put to stock based on planned-independent requirements. A sales order for the configurable material is created. The material variant is found and directly delivered to customer.
- Setting up a configurable BOM is the last scenario. It gives you a deep impression how to define object dependencies inside Product Modeling Environment app. The creation of Variant tables, Constraint nets or configuration profiles is also shown.