VARIANT

CONFIGURATION

Prepared by : Ramesh Kumbum

Training Agenda

Target Audience
Overview of Variant configuration
Cross module integration
Process steps
Master Data
Characteristic and Class
Configuration profile
Configuration stimulation
Object dependencies
Training Manuals
Q&A

Target Audience
Primary:

SAP SD Consultants
SAP PP Consultants
SAP Solution Architects

Secondary

Other SAP Consultants

Delivery Team

OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW

VARIANT CONFIGURATION OVERVIEW

Variant configuration is useful if you have large number of

combination of parts that go into a product. It means
different permutations and combinations of the parts of
the same material
Example:
A Customer ordering a computer can choose
different
combinations of monitor ,CPU, keyboard.
A customer ordering a car can choose different
combinations of accessories and colors.

VARIANT CONFIGURATION-OVERVIEW
Variant Configuration is a tool which improves information
exchange between sales,engineering and production.
Variant configuration helps sales person to put together
specification for the product, so that product can be
produced from these specifications.
Variant configuration is for manufacturing complex product
which contains various characteristics and variants

VARIANT CONFIGURATION-OVERVIEW
What is Configurable Product???

Products with...

Colors

Features

Options

Customer Choices

EXAMPLE FOR VARIANT CONFIGURATION

Power Supply
160 V
230 V

Type of Intermediate Plate

430 V

Intermediate plate with pin

Intermediate plate w/o pin

No. of Employees to be
Trained
3

Wrist

Wrist IW 49 II

15

Wrist IW 90 II
Arm Type
Arm type 30-K/1

Enhancements

Arm type 60-K/1

YES

Arm type 60L45-K/1

NO

EXAMPLE FOR VARIANT CONFIGURATION

VARIANT CONFIGURATION INDUSTRIES

new industries - new requirements...

Elevators
Automotive

Food

High-Tech

Gear units

Aircrafts

Telecommunication
Steel

Chemicals

CROSS MODULE INTEGRATION

MASTER DATA FOR VC

Super BOM

Super Routing

Characteristic and Values

Classification

Object Dependency

Configurable Profile

Configuration stimulation

SD Condition Records

MODELING VARIANT CONFIGURATION

KMAT VS FERT?

FERT

Non-Variant
Parts

KMAT

Variant
Parts

Non-Variant
Parts

PROCESS STEPS
Process steps
1 Creating Sales Order
2 Checking Requirements using MRP
3 Requirements Planning
4 Converting the planed order into a Production order
5 Confirming the production order
6 Checking the production order settlement
7 Creating the delivery
8 Creating the billing document

CONFIGURATION OF VC

Create a Material - KMAT type with Item category (002)

Create characteristics

Assign Characteristics to class

Assign the class to material master

Creating a configuration profile

Configuration stimulation

Assign object dependences

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings:

Basic data 2 : Set Material is Configurable indicator

To determine item category TAC in sales order, maintain the

suitable item category such as 0002

MRP 2 View: set Procurement type E

MRP 3 View :Set strategy group 25: Make to order for

configuration

MRP3 :set Availability check 02 ;Individual Requirement

Class view ; Attach the variant class

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings:

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings:

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings:

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings for VC

Master data settings for VC

Bill of Material
T.Code
:CS01

CHARACTERISTIC AND
VALUES

Characteristics describe the properties of objects.

The values of a characteristic specify these properties.
Example
Material
PC
Chracteristic
Values
RAM
256 MB,512 MB, 1 GB
Hard Disk
80 GB,120 GB,160 GB

Chracteristic Value can be Numeric ,Characters,Date and

Time and Currency format.

It can be single or multi value or restrict value.

Screens for maintaining the characteristic

Reference Characteristics

Reference characteristics are characteristics that refers to tables &fields

Tables and structures whose fields values can be changed by

dependencies

SDCOM-Communication between the SD and Variant configuration

VCSD_UPDATE: Table for updating sales documents from the

configuration

Create the Characteristic and values

T.code:CT04

Create the Characteristic and values

T.code:CT04

Create the Variant pricing Characteristic

Create the Variant pricing Characteristic

T.code:CT04

Table
SDCOM,
Field
VKOND

CLASS AND CLASS

TYPE

A Class is used to hold the characteristics that describe

about configurable material.

Class type used to determines which object types can be

classified.

Class types 200 and 300 are defined for material which are
used in variant configuration/Classification .

Create classes type 300 assign characteristics

Create classes type 300 assign characteristics

Screens for maintaining the classes

Assign class to material

T.code
CL24N

Assign class to material

CONFIGURATION
PROFILE

Configurable Profile is used for assigning one or more

variant classes to configurable material.
A configurable material has several profiles.Profile is
selected during configuration or according to priority.
It also possible to define central settings for Configurable
Object.

CONFIGURATION PROFILE

CONTD..

Create Configuration profile

T.Code :
cu41

T
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C
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d
e
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Create Configuration profile

T.Code :
cu41

T
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C
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Create Configuration profile

Create Configuration profile

Create Configuration profile

Create Configuration profile

Tcode:
CU41

ASSIGN DEPENDENCIES

CONFIGURATION SIMULATION

Configuration simulation to check configuration model.

In the configuration simulation, one can test whether it has

created the objects correctly and whether dependencies
work.

CONFIGURATION SIMULATION
Tcode:CU50

CONFIGURATION SIMULATION

CONFIGURATION SIMULATION

CONFIGURATION SIMULATION

CONFIGURATION SIMULATION
1. Select Characteristic
Value
2. Press ' Assign Variant
Condition' button.
3. Enter Variant Key
4. Save

Create Variant Keys with any Name and Description

T.Code :
VK30

T
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C
o
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Create Variant Condition with Variant Price

T.Code :
VK11

T
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C
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d
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Create Variant Condition with Variant Price

T.Code :
VK11

T
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C
o
d
e
.

Material Variant in sales order

Tcode:VA01

Material Variant in sales order

SECOND DAY

DEPENDENCIES
Super BOM contains all the required and Variable items. From the variable
items required items will be selected which are Matching the characteristic
value.

DEPENDENCIES TYPE
The following types of dependencies are available in VC

Preconditions

Selection conditions

Actions

Procedures

DEPENDENCY PRECONDITION

Preconditions are used to hide characteristics and

characteristic values that are not allowed.

Example: Material Bicycle ( Configurable Material)

Characteristic
Value
Precondition

Model
17

Racing
Mountain
12
model eq racing

Standard
Gears

10

DEPENDENCY - PRECONDITION

DEPENDENCY - PRECONDITION

DEPENDENCY - PRECONDITION

DEPENDENCY - PRECONDITION

DEPENDENCY - PRECONDITION

DEPENDENCY PRECONDITION

DEPENDENCY- SELECTION CONDITIONS

Selection conditions can be allocated to the following objects:

Characteristics

BOM items

Operations in task lists

Sub-operations

Sequences of operations (Alternative or Parallel)

Production resources/tools (PRTs)

A selection conditions describe which BOM components or

Routing Operations has to be copied during
configurations.
Example: Material Personal Computer
1 PC
Component
Quantity
selection condition
RAM-256
1
RAM-512
1
RAM 1 GB
1
Hard_disk GE 80GB

DEPENDENCY- SELECTION
CONDITIONS

DEPENDENCY- SELECTION CONDITIONS

DEPENDENCY - PROCEDURE

Procedures can be assigned to the following objects:

The characteristic value

The characteristic

The configuration profile

BOM items to change the component quantity

Operations in task lists to change the standard values

Example

Bicycle -

Configurable material
BOM Components Qty.
Procedure
Brake
2 Quantity = 3 if Backpedal
When Backpedal option is selected by customer system
automatically propose 3 qty of brake instead of 2.
Syntax: $SELF.QUANTITY = 3 if BACKPEDAL = 'Yes

DEPENDENCY - PROCEDURE
Characteristic

Values

Condition

Characteristic

Values

Weight calculation

WEIGHT

(3 figures, 1 decimal place)

FRAME

EXTRAS (multiple-value)

Aluminum

10 kg

Steel

14 kg

Mudguard

0.5 kg

Luggage rack

1.0 kg

DEPENDENCY - PROCEDURE

1. Create a procedure for the weight of the BIKE, depending on the frame.
This procedure has the following source code:
$SELF. WEIGHT = 10 if FRAME = Aluminum,
$SELF. WEIGHT = 14 if FRAME = Steel.
3. Allocate the procedure to the configuration profile of material

DEPENDENCY - ACTION
The following Objects can assign to action:
The characteristic value that triggers the action
The characteristic that triggers the action
The configuration profile of the configurable object
Configuration profile
BOM items to change the quantity
Operations in task lists to change the standard values
Since Action is lead to serious system performance problems, it
replaced by Procedure and Constraint.
Actions are used to infer characteristic values. An action is processed
as soon as the characteristic to which it is assigned has a value.
It is not possible to overwrite the characteristic values that are set by
an action.

DEPENDENCY - ACTION
Characteristic

Values

Action

MODEL

Racing

SADDLE = Leather

Standard

Mountain

SADDLE

Plastic

Leather

Dependency - Action
If the value Racing is set for MODEL, the value Leather is
automatically set for SADDLE, because racing bikes are
always supplied with a leather saddle.
Procedure
1. Create an action.
2. Enter the following source code in the dependency editor:
$SELF.SADDLE = Leather if MODEL = Racing
3. Allocate the action to the configuration profile of material
BIKE.
Result
If the value Racing is set for MODEL when you configure the
BIKE, the value Leather is automatically set for SADDLE.

Questions

Who?

What?
Why?
Where?

When?
How?

TRAINING
TRAINING MANUALS
MANUALS

TRAINING MANUALS
User Manual: It contains
Overview
Step by Step guide
Transactional
Material Master creation
BOM Creation

Configuration Manual: It contains

step by step guide for Variant
configuration

Micros oft Word

Document

Micros oft Excel

Works heet

THANKS

Q&A