Welcome to my Discrete Industries in SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 blog post. Here you’ll find the latest highlights in the area of Consumer Product Industry, Industrial Machinery & Components Industries and Automotive Industries.

Table of Contents

Consumer Products Industry

Procurement with and Without QM – Consumer Products (5W3)

Subcontracting – Consumer Products (5W4)

Advanced Returns Management – Consumer Products (‏61V‏)

Product Cost Related Master Data Changes – Consumer Products (‏61W‏)

Industrial Machinery & Components Industry

Lot Size of One with Advanced Variant Configuration (‏55E‏)

Product Change Mgmt with Change Records – Discrete Industries (‏64E‏)

Automotive Industries

Manage Customer JIT Calls by Component Groups

Manage Customer JIT Calls – Create, Manage

Process Customer JIT Calls – By Scan/Data Entry

Self-Billing with Invoice Creation

Integrating SAP Supplier Problem-Solving with SAP S/4HANA Cloud (2F9)

Consumer Products Industry

What we are currently doing in the Consumer Products Industry?

We are using already existing SAP Best Practices (scope items) and combine/enhance them with specific requirements for this industry. This has the advantage that we have SAP Best Practices with specific industry master data and each individual process can be activated if needed. Ultimately, we will release an end-to-end process by combining the individual Consumer Products Industry SAP Best Practices to one overall scenario with the same set of master data. In the Consumer Products Industry, this will happen within the next releases. But let’s look at the individual ones first for the 2202 release.

Procurement with and Without QM – Consumer Products (5W3)

In this scenario, we provide procurement processes for raw materials (with QM) and packaging materials (without QM) relevant for the production process based on SAP Best Practices for scope items J45 and 1FM. The SAP Best Practice was enhanced with the following:

Setup for Consumer Products Specific Sample Master Data

Figure 1: Consumer Specific Sample Master Data

Use of Material Types Relevant for Components

Two products (materials) were added to this specific scenario:

Figure 2: Use of Material Types Relevant for Components

Inspection Plans with more than one Operation

Two operations (activities) “Physical Inspection” and “Sensoring Inspection” were added to this industry specific scenario:

Figure 3: Inspection Plan with Activity 0010

Figure 4: Inspection Plan with Activity 0020

Procurement of Production Relevant Materials

In this process step, purchase requisitions are created either MRP run or manually. In this example, I created them via MRP:

Figure 5: Purchase Requisitions created by MRP

Important to know here is that in this scenario (creating with MRP), the scope items 5HK and 5OI must be activated.

Use of Batch Managed and non Batch Managed Material

The scenario uses the following master data with or without “Batch Management” activation:

Figure 6: Master Data Batch Managed and not Batch Managed

The batches can be managed in the “Manage Batches” app:

Figure 7: Manage Batches

Also, if more information is needed or wanted, one can use the Batch Information Cockpit functionality:

Figure 8: Batch Information Cockpit

On the roadmap; we further plan to enhance this scenario with the following in the upcoming releases:

• Adjustments/improvements for optional consumption of data (Excise Tax)
• Source Inspection
• Approval Process of Purchase Requisitions

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Subcontracting – Consumer Products (5W4)

The above mentioned process manages the subcontracting process in purchasing in the Consumer Products industry and it’s based on the SAP Best practices scope item BMY. The scope item was also enhanced with the specific sample master data (seen above in 5W3).

MRP Area (Assigned to Subcontractor)

A MRP area called 1010SUB051 was pre-configured for this SAP Best Practice process (The ID in the configuration is 103069):

Figure 9: MRP Area

Further functionality was added in evaluations in Stock/Requirements list related to MRP areas and Quality Management during goods receipt from subcontractor, as well as the use of batch managed materials as seen in the above SAP Best Practice 5W3. 

Also here; we plan to bring further functionality with future releases by enhancing:

• Adjusting/improving optional consumption of data (Excise Tax)
• QM setup improvements

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Advanced Returns Management – Consumer Products (‏61V‏)

In this new scenario, the return process “Return to Seller” is introduced and it’s based on SAP Best Practice BKP. The following industry specific enhancements are included:

Setup of Consumer Products Specific Sample Master Data

With this scenario we enriched the master data in the form of introducing a trading good (material):

Figure 10: Master Data Trading Material

Consumer Products Specific Return Reason “Delivery Refusal”

In the Consumer Products Industry, it sometimes happens that customers deny to receive the goods shipped to them. In that case, the truck returns to the delivering plant without having the goods unloaded. At the plant, the goods need to be checked if they have been damaged during transport. For this process a special return reason “delivery refusal” has been created in the configuration (ID 102382):

Figure 11: Customer Returns – Define Return Reasons for Customer Returns

Here the return code ZC1 is added:

Figure 12: Customer Specific Setup for Return Reason for Customer Returns

Seamless Integration into Sales Process

Of course, this scenario is tightly integrated into the sales process. Let’s assume the delivery is refused and we create an accelerated return (follow-up activities would also be possible directly from the app, e.g. inspection on customer site and many more):

Figure 13: Accelerated Return with Return Reason

The return delivery is easily created:

Figure 14: Track Sales Order with Return Delivery

Now it depends a bit on the process steps how you continue, but let’s assume the truck with the goods returns to our plant and we do an inspection in the warehouse. Then the refund determination is finally decided and a credit memo created from the request. With that you finished your sales process and probably store the returned goods back into your warehouse for other customers.

For the future releases, we plan on adjusting and improving the optional consumption of data (Excise Tax).

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Product Cost Related Master Data Changes – Consumer Products (‏61W‏)

This process is used to have options for necessary standard cost updates outside of annual operations planning caused by changes in quantity structure and price changes. It is based on SAP Best Practices Scope Items 3LO, 1ZT, BEG and 3LP. The scope item 61W is enhanced for the Consumer Products Industry by the following:

• Support updating on standard costs of outside the annual operation planning process
• Enable update on standard costs in case unforeseen events are influencing the material valuation significantly
• Update required master data changes
• Maintain valuation prices independently in up to three currencies or valuations
• Support group and local currencies in pre-delivered content
• Control updates in bill of materials for production centrally with change master

Also here, we plan to do adjustments/improvements for optional consumption of data (Excise Tax) with the following releases.

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Industrial Machinery & Components Industry

In the area of Industrial Machinery & Components Industry, I would like to emphasize two things.

Lot Size of One with Advanced Variant Configuration (55E)

This end-to-end process focuses on a make-to-order scenario (Lot Size of One) integrating with production planning and execution, procurement, sales, and logistics execution up to invoicing and incoming and outgoing payments, covering multilevel configurable materials. The configurable material is defined as a bill of material. The main process steps are the following:

• Exhibit multilevel configuration of products in sales orders using advanced variant configuration
• Perform material requirements planning and evaluation of stock requirement list based on sales order demand
• Procure configured subassemblies including inbound delivery
• Perform quality inspection in production
• Handle production order processing: Material staging, order release, order confirmation, material movement postings for goods issue and goods receipts of serialized products
• Perform inspection (Quality Management) for configurable products
• Execute purchasing, easing direct procurement
• Perform outbound delivery and pick items
• Post goods issue
• Execute customer billing
• Post incoming and outgoing payments

The complete end-to-end demo can be seen here:

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Product Change Mgmt with Change Records – Discrete Industries (‏64E‏)

With this scope item, it is possible to handle several types of objects that are affected by the intended changes, such as Materials (Products), Bill of Materials (BOMs), Master Recipes, and Documents. The change record keeps all information in one place. The progress of the change is controlled by a dedicated status management, and the change process is supported by workflow capabilities of process routing. Collaboration using comments during the change process allows effective communication with all involved parties. With the latest release, we have seen several updates that I would like to feature here:

Change Record Structure Overview

Now hierarchy of Change Records can be seen in a table and the selected hierarchy item is displayed in read-only mode now:

Figure 15: Change Record Structure Overview

Graphical Comparison of Redlines in the Change Record

With the latest release, a user can now compare up to three redlines, in case multiple redlines exist:

Figure 16: Redlines

Enhanced Handling of the Change Record

Now users can add multiple change items collectively into a change item table using paste from excel function, when the change item relevancy is create. Enjoy the following video:

Colorful Labels as Change Record Status

As from now on, users can represent the user status description of a change record with color coded labels and indicate the present status of the record:

Figure 17: Colorful Labels as Change Record Status

Default Class Support for Change Record

With 2202 release update, users can maintain default classes for a change record type. The classes are automatically assigned when a change record of the specific change record type is created. Check out this video:

Change Record Support for Task List Objects

Users can now add Equipment (Type E), Functional Location (Type T) and General Maintenance Task List (Type A) into the change record as a reference or as subject of the change:

Figure 18: Task List Objects

Change Record Support for Classification System Objects

Now users can add Classes and Characteristics into the change record as a reference or as subject of the change:

Figure 19: Change Record Support for Classification System Objects

Change Record Support for Various BOM Types

Users can add Equipment BOM, Standard BOM, Functional Location BOM, Variant BOM and Order BOM into the change record as a reference or as subject of the change:

Figure 20: Change Record Support for Various BOM Types

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Automotive Industries

In the Automotive Industries, I would like to mention and explain the innovations and enhancements in the area of Just-in-time / Just-in-Sequence processing, SAP Self-Billing Cockpit and the integration to SAP Supplier Problem-Solving.

Manage Customer JIT Calls by Component Groups

With the latest release, this app performs certain permitted actions on component groups assigned to summarized or sequenced JIT calls. First select the Team ID and then you can perform the action assigned to you:

Figure 21: Manage Customer JIT Calls by Component Groups – Team ID

Prerequisite for that is that your user is assigned in the app “Manage Teams and Responsibilities – Just-In-Time” either as team owner or member – in my example this would be this team:

Figure 22: Manage Teams and Responsibilities

And in the team itself; I defined the following type and category in my example:

Figure 23: Team Information – Type and Category

As well as those responsibility definitions (you can also leave them blank, if you don’t want to specify them):

Figure 24: Responsibility Definitions

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Manage Customer JIT Calls – Create, Manage

This app is the successor of the Manage Customer JIT Calls app. The Manage Customer JIT Calls app is deprecated as of SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 and will be deleted from the SAP Fiori launchpad in an upcoming release. Check out the look and feel of the new app entry screen:

Figure 25: Manage Customer JIT Calls – Create, Manage

And the detailed view:

Figure 26: Manage Customer JIT Calls – Create, Manage – Details

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Process Customer JIT Calls – By Scan/Data Entry

With the 2202 release, this app now supports the processing of packing groups by means of confirmation scans for verification:

Figure 27: Process Customer JIT Calls by Scan/Data Entry

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Self-Billing with Invoice Creation

With the 2202 release we have seen nice enhancements in the area of self-billing with invoice creation. Check out my colleagues Clark Huang’s blog post about the latest news: Self-Billing with Invoice Creation | SAP Blogs

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Integrating SAP Supplier Problem-Solving with SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Finally, the wait is over – we introduced the integration between SAP Supplier Problem-Solving with SAP S/4HANA Cloud. For those who want to know more about it, please read here:

SAP Supplier Problem-Solving – SAP Help Portal

For those who want to see what the integration looks like, check out this short video demo:

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If you want to know more on the manufacturing side of things, please visit the blog post by my colleague Gerhard Welker: Manufacturing in SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202

I hope you enjoyed my latest blog post on Discrete Industries in SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 innovations.

I would love to hear from you: what works for you, what doesn’t? Did I leave anything out? Are there further topics you would like to see included here?

Take care folks!

Markus