Variant configuration is for manufacturing complex products. The manufacturer can always have to offer new variants of its products. Usually, new variants are created by modifying existing product designs as you process the order. The important thing is to react instantly to customers’ requirements. The product configurator improves the information exchange between sales, engineering, and production. Variant configuration helps the customer to put together specifications for the product and ensure that the product can be produced from these specifications. It also ensures that production costs do not overstep the mark.
In this tutorial, you will learn
Introduction to SAP VC
What is Configurable Material?
Super BOM in VC
Configuration Profile
Variant Tables
Material Variant and Planning Material
Modeling Environment for Variant Configuration
Introduction to SAP VC
Variant configuration is for used manufacturing complex products in which customer determines the features of the product. The objective of variant configuration is to react quickly to customers’ requirements.
Here it doesn’t need to create separate material for each variant of a product. When businesses introduce variant configuration this often goes beyond a business process re-engineering project. The variant configuration offers an opportunity to restructure product structures for which then processes are defined. This has a direct impact on core areas such as marketing and product data management.
Advantages of VC
- It’s no need to Create separate material master for each variant combination.
- Super BOM and Super Routing are enough for representing all possible Variants and Operations.
- Able to react more flexibly to customer demands.
- It increases the Information exchange between sales, engineering, and production.
What is Configurable Material?
A material with different features or characteristics is known as configurable material. Example: PC, Car. Configurable materials are either created in a material type, allows the configuration (n the standard system, the material type KMAT) or they are given the indicator Configurable in the material master record.
Master Data used for
VC
The following Objects are used as Master data for Variant configuration.
- Super BOM
- Super Routing
- Characteristic
- Class
- Object Dependencies
- Configuration Profile
- SD Condition records
Super BOM in VC
Super BOM Contains all the components for producing configurable products. It contains both variants as well as non-variant parts required for producing a configurable product.
Super BOM with Class Item
Class items can be used to control the selection of variant parts in a BOM. Variant parts are classified in a class, and the class is entered in the BOM as a class item. When you configure the material then the class is replaced by a suitable variant part.
These are the following steps involved in super BOM with Class:
- Determine all Characteristics and its Values assign it to Class with type 200.
- Assign a characteristic Values to materials by using Classification material
- Assign class 200 with the material instead of assigning all BOM items.
- Create and Assign class 300 (with same characteristics) with configurable products using configuration profile.
Super BOM with Material Components
This BOM (bill of material) of a configurable material contains all the components that are required to manufacture the material. The BOM contains components that are only used in specific variants (variant parts), as well as components that are used in all variants (non-variable parts).
These are the following steps involved in super BOM with Material Components:
- Describe all Characteristics and its values assign it to Class with type 300.
- Assign Class with configurable material in the Configuration profile.
- Bill of Material is created with all variant and non-variant items.
- Describe interdependency between objects (Characteristic, BOM item, Routing Operation, etc?) by using Object Dependencies.
- Assign class 300 with configurable products using the configuration profiles.
Configuration Profile
Configuration profile for a material controls the configuration process in the sales order. The configurable profile also used to define central settings for configuring the object. Using this profile it is possible to hide some of the characteristic value defined during character creation. We can assign any number of profiles for a configurable material in which the selection is based on either priority or manual selection during configuration.
By defining a filter in the configuration profile, possible to describe the scope of the BOM items to improve system performance when exploding the BOM. The filter is active in high-level configuration, result-oriented BOMs, and SET processing.
Following objects can be used as a filter:
Object type: Class, material, document, text
- In the standard system, all object types are selected and therefore collapsed in the configuration. Remove the selection for the object types, which you do not want to be displayed.
Item category: Example stock or non-stock item
- All item categories in the configuration are collapsed in the standard system. Deselect for the item categories you do not want to be displayed.
Item status:
- You can maintain the status of a BOM item in maintain BOM dependent on its usage.
- All the items are visible regardless of their item status in the standard system. However, only the items with this status are displayed when you select specific item statuses. Items are not visible that does not have the selected status.
Sort string:
- You can use to assign sort strings for BOM items in maintaining BOM and you can restrict the display of the BOM items by using these sort strings.
- Only items can carry sort strings are checked and only those that match are displayed. Items that have no sort of string are always displayed.
Variant Tables
Tables are used to store combinations of values for different characteristics for example, you can only have a gray car interior if the car’s paintwork is blue.
Tables are an aid to entry for dependencies. You enter the table in a dependency. The system uses the table to infer and check the values. If the interdependencies between characteristics change that you change the table, not the dependencies.
Integration
- You can use tables in selection conditions, preconditions, actions, and constraints.
- In selection conditions, preconditions, and the conditional part of actions and procedures, tables are used to check the consistency of the values entered.
- In actions, procedures, conditions, and constraints, you can use tables to infer values.
- In constraints, you can use tables to restrict the allowed values for a characteristic.
Material Variant and Planning Material
Material Variant
- Material Variant is a material that can arise from individual Configuration of a configurable product and can be kept in stock
- For variants that are required to create material variants frequently, which can be produced without a sales order and kept in stock. When a sales order is received, it is possible to check whether the variant required is in stock, so that it can be delivered immediately.
- For material variants, a separate material master record is created with a material type and that is kept in stock.
- Separate the BOM and routing for a material variant, or you can link the material variant to the BOM and routing of the configurable material. The correct BOM items and operations are defined from the characteristic values assigned to the variant.
Planning Material
- Planning Material is a material that contains all the non-variant parts.
- Using the planning material all non-variants are procured/produced before sales order.
- It is also possible to plane the Planning Materials without reference to any sales requirement.
- Planning material is planned separately by using strategy 65 and produced before sales order creation.
Modeling Environment for Variant Configuration
The use modeling environment for Variant Configuration is to view product configuration models in their entirety, edit the objects in the model, and test the model itself. You can specify which configurator is to be used for interactive product configurations involving the material that you have loaded in the modeling environment.
You can use this tool as a simple alternative to the traditional functions for maintaining models.
Features
The modeling environment shows the key objects in the form of a model tree. It also provides detailed views for each object and shows the object’s attributes. You can create new objects and you can edit existing ones in both the tree structure and detailed views. The environment is mainly used to create and edit object dependencies.
You can load existing objects that do not belong to the model you are currently editing into your work list in the modeling environment, which groups all the objects that belong to your model in a clear overview. A favorites list allows you to manage frequently used objects separately.
You can able to test the model directly from the modeling environment. You can also use both the standard Variant Configuration function and the Internet Pricing and Configurator (IPC) to simulate configurations.
Activities
To launch the modeling environment, you can choose Modeling Environment for Variant Configuration from the Variant Configuration menu.
- Configurable material
- The class type that is allowed for Variant Configuration
- Date or change number
- Plant or BOM application