Configuration describes the way a system is set up, or the assortment of components that make up the system. Configuration can refer to either hardware or software, or the combination of both. A configuration basically consists of various attributes or characteristics that can be assigned different values. The following figure gives an example of a Configurable Product –
Configurable product has features, options and configuration rules. It can replace billions of ‘finished’ materials. Examples: cars, PCs, medical devices, pumps, telecommunication products.
Configuration is used in the customizing of products in sales documents. Line items in a sales document could be associated to a configurable product. The line item can then be configured by associating different values to the various available characteristics. The configuration can then be saved to theline item. In Mobile Sales, it is used as Questionnaire in Activity checklists. It is used for the following purposes - to get feedback about products, Sales analysis based on product configurations, Market analysis for product and point of sales information for sales and marketing.
Configuration can be of two types – simple and multi-level.
Simple ConfigurationThis is a configuration with only one product which has associated characteristics. The following figure gives an example of a simple configuration –
This is a complex structured configuration where there is a hierarchy of products. There is a root product which may contain one or more sub-products. Each sub-product could in turn be configurable. The following figure gives an example of a multi-level configuration –
