Example: Configurable Materials in Purchasing

You are responsible for procuring office supplies for your company, including envelopes. A
printing firm supplies you with envelopes featuring your company logo in various sizes, with or
without an address window.

In order not to have to create separate material master records for every possible combination
(e.g. C5 with window, C6 without window), you wish to use a configurable material.

You must carry out the following activities for a configurable material:

1. Create characteristics
2. Create class
3. Create material
4. Create configuration profile

Create Characteristics
You define the criteria you use to differentiate between the variants of a material (in this case, the
size of the envelope and the address window) by means of characteristics. You must create a
characteristic for each criterion under Logistics  Central Functions  Classification System 
Master Data  Characteristics Management.

Characteristic: Size of envelope

1. Enter size_of_envelope in the field Characteristic.

2. Choose Create.
3. Enter the following data on the tab page Basic Data:

 Description: Size of envelopes

 Data type: Character format

 Number of characters: 20

This indicates how many characters a characteristic value may comprise.

 Select the Single value indicator in the area Value assignment.

If you set the Single value indicator, one value only may be assigned to the characteristic.
For example, only one size may be chosen when you specify the dimensions of the
envelopes that are to be ordered in a PO.

4. Enter the following data on the tab page Values:

  Enter possible values for the characteristic:

Characteristic value Description

DIN C4 229 mm x 324 mm

DIN C5 229 mm x 162 mm

DIN "Langhülle" 218 mm x 114 mm

DIN C6 162 mm x 114 mm

 Select the Additional values indicator.

If this indicator is selected, you may also specify values that you have not yet defined
here when assigning values to the characteristic.

5. Choose the class type 300 (variants) on the tab page Restrictions.
6. Choose Save.

Characteristic: Address window in envelope

1. Enter window_in_envelope in the field Characteristic.

2. Choose Create.
3. Enter the following data on the tab page Basic Data:

 Description: Address window in envelopes

 Data type: Character format

 Number of characters: 4

 Select the Single value indicator in the area Value assignment.

4. Enter the following data on the tab page Values:

 Values of characteristic: yes , no

 Do not select the Additional values indicator.

5. Choose the class type 300 (variants) on the tab page Restrictions.
6. Choose Save.
Create Class
You group several characteristics to form a class. The class is then assigned to a material.

1. Choose Logistics  Central functions  Classification system  Master data  Class

management.
2. Enter the following data on the initial screen:

 Class : Envelope

 Class type: 300 (variants)

3. Choose Create.
4. Enter a short description of the class in the Description field on the tab page Basic data:
Envelopes with company logo.
5. On the tab page Characteristics, enter the characteristics you created previously:
size_of_envelope, window_in_envelope .
6. Choose Save.

Create Material
1. Choose Logistics  Materials management  Material master  Create material 
Create (general)  Immediately.
2. Enter the following data:

 Material: Envelope

 Industry sector: Office supplies

 Material type: Configurable material

3. Choose Enter.
4. Choose the views Basic Data 1, Basic Data 2, Purchasing, and Accounting 1.
5. Enter plant 0001.
6. Enter the following data on the tab page Basic Data 1:

 Short description of the material: Envelopes with company logo

 Base unit of measure: KI (box)

 Material group: Office supplies

7. On the tab page Basic Data 2, check whether the Material is configurable is selected.
8. On the tab page Purchasing, select the Subject to batch management indicator.
9. On the tab page Accounting 1, enter the following data:

 Valuation class: <Valuation class>

 Price control: V
  Moving average price: 99.95

10. Choose Save.

Create Configuration Profile

In the configuration profile, you assign characteristics to the material via a class.

1. Choose Logistics  Central functions  Variant configuration  Configuration profile 

Create.
2. Select Material and choose Enter .
3. Enter envelope in the field Material.
4. Choose Goto  Profile overview.
5. Enter the following data:

 Priority: 01

 Profile name: Envelopes

 Class type: 300 (variants)

6. Choose Goto  Class assignment and enter envelope in the Class field.
7. Choose Save.

Use in Purchasing
You can now create, change and display this configurable material in all purchasing documents.

Display

If a configuration already exists for the material, you can display it in the purchasing document.

Change

If the configuration of the material was adopted from a sales order or from the material master
record, you can change it in the purchasing document. This may be necessary if a material with
the selected characteristic value cannot be supplied (is not available) and has to be changed to
the material in the quotation.

If you change the configuration of a material in the purchasing document:

 A new price determination process is carried out

  You do not change the original configuration in the sales order or
in the material master record as a result
 Subsequent changes to the sales order or the material master
record do not affect the configuration in the purchasing
document

Create

If no configuration yet exists for a configurable material, you can create one in the purchasing
document. This may be necessary, for example, if a configurable material is to be ordered without
reference to a sales order.

Subcontracting items and the archiving of the characteristic values are not
supported.

For more information on configurable materials, refer to the section LO Variant Configuration.