Use of validity date information in DP-BOMs

[Former Member]

All,

My client has the following requirement: to be able to change components and/or component quantities at a point in the future and have the dependent (DP-BOM) demand account for the changed components and/or component quantities.

My first question is whether this is even possible or not. It seems logical that it would be, but I do not have deep experience with dp-boms.

If it is possible, what specifically needs to be done in the PPM to accomplish this? I have already tried using the "Time Dependent Parameters" button in the alternative components section of the PPM, with no success. Our "normal" dp-bom solution is currently working in our test environment.

Example:

FG1 has the following demand:

Jan-08 | Feb-08 | Mar-08 | Apr-08

100 | 100 | 100 | 100

FG1 has the following PPM values (generated using the "time dependent parameters" button in the component display of the PPM):

Product | I/O | Valid To Date | Var. Cons | UOM

FG1 | O | 12/31/9999 | 1000 | EA

RM1 | I | 2/1/2008 | 400 | YD

RM1 | I | 12/31/9999 | 500 | YD

What we expect is that the following dependent demand is generated in the planning book:

Jan-08 | Feb-08 | Mar-08 | Apr-08

40 | 40 | 50 | 50

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Sean

[Former Member]

For anyone watching this thread, I was able to finally figure out how to set the validity dates in the PPM (you only get one chance to do this...at PPM creation and then the valid to date switches to display only). The problem is that it looks like the "add BOM information" funcationality only adds BOM information that is currently relevent.

Example:

PPM:

Output product A 1000 EA valid from 01/01/1970 to 12/31/9999

Input product 1 500 yd valid from 01/01/1970 to 07/31/2008

Input product 2 500 yd valid from 08/01/2008 to 12/31/9999

CVC before execution of /SAPAPO/TSPSTRU_PPM_MERGE (Add BOM Information)_

Output product A/Output

CVC after execution of /SAPAPO/TSPSTRU_PPM_MERGE (Add BOM Information)_

Output product A/Output

Input Product 1/Input

**So, based on the fact that the output product 2 does not get a cvc created for it, it looks to me as though the system is only creating CVCs for BOM items that are valid at the time of the execution of /SAPAPO/TS_PSTRU_PPM_MERGE. This would lead me to believe that DP-BOM functionality DOES NOT support the use of validity dates.

I currently have an OSS Message in on this and will update if my supposition is incorrect.

Sean

[Former Member]

Hi Sean,

Did you meet any success on this. I would also like to know if you have explored "product-product" supercession in interchangability of product. I am exploring the same scenario. My easiest guess is to maintain mutiple PPM's and keep only one PPM active and deactivate others and run realignment of CVC's to refer to the PPM that is currently valid. This is just kind of commonsensical guess and am yet to explore the APO DP BOM functionalities fully.

Regards,

AS

[Former Member]

AS,

SAP is still looking at the problem (it took me a couple of iterations to convince them that this is not a consulting issue). My gut feel here is that since the system does not create a CVC for a component whose validity window does not contain the current system date, the use of validity dates in DP-BOM functionality is not possible. Your approach outlined above is probably the simplest approach to work around this. We are considering the use of a custom table and a user exit macro to handle this.

Sean

[Former Member]

SAP has finally responded on this issue and their response was as I had suspected it would be: "this is pure standard behaviour.

The purpose of having a validity period for components is this, if the validity date is passed, then they will not be considered. this is the sense of the date."

I had expected this response after doing some testing which showed that any component with a validity period that did not contain the current (system) date would not have a CVC created for it by the "Add BOM Information" functionality.

We are pursuing an option to use a z-table and a user exit macro to accomplish this functionality.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond to this message.

Sean

[Former Member]

Hi Sean,

Thanks for the reassurance. I could note the same, CVC's are not created for componets that are not in the current date. but i did this while specifying the components and choose from-to dates. the to date is grayed out and the way to chnage that again is to delete the line and recreate it. I am still not getting the check on time dependent data. It is always in gray. how do i go abt checking whats to configure in time dependent data. The objective in my case is to have flexibility in plannable CVC's for demand and supply planning. e.g temporary discontinuaiton, substituton, addition etc.during the "course of business". Is this the best way to address it.

Rgds/

[Former Member]

I concur that the only way I found to be able to enter in the date from/date to information at the component level was when initially creating the PPM and they are greyed out after that.

My guess here is that this is functionality that SHOULD be available for DP-BOM functionality but that it was deemed to be too difficult to provide. The scenario where a valid-to date falls in the middle of a time bucket would require some assumptions to be made or additional parameters to be created to influence which BOM value is to be used or if a complicated 'blended' structure is to be used. I assume that SAP's stance here is that if you change the components, the finished good should now be a different number (form-fit-function).

This thinking does not necessarily hold true in certain industries (retail clothing being my relevent example). We have articles of clothing for which component substitutions are made, but it would be unheard of to create a new finished good for it (you wouldn't have a different SKU in a store for the same shirt just because the components are different).

[Former Member]

Hi Sean,

Did you manage to get the validity dates working thru a user exit??

If you have, can you please let me know how you went about it.. My client is in the A&P phase for using DP BOMs to forecast independent and dependent demand and we have the same issue of components changing midway thru the Horizon.

Would appreciate if you could help us out.

Cheers,

VK

[Former Member]

Hi Sean,

I didnot completely understand your question. As I understand you are either trying to give validity period for your components's demand or update the Dependant demand automatically by changing the top level component.

Conceptually DP PPM is very different from SNP and PPDS PPMs. Once the DP-PPM is created, it looses all the relations between the top level component(or Finished good) and the underslying components and also it's single layered. Any subsequent changes in the BOM have to be updated manually.

In first case, yes, there is a parameter called valid from in DP PPM that can help you with this. But the way you have to give it for one product from one time to other and then other after that period. Again any changes in relations have to be maintained manually.

Hope I answered your question....please let me know if not...

Thanks.

[Former Member]

Visu,

The scenario that I am trying to accomplish is being able to have different components be valid at different times and have the DP BOM functionality account for this.

The simple scenario is this:

Finished Good 1 has the following BOM structure

Current:

2 ea of raw material A

4 ea of raw material B

6 months into future:

2 ea of raw material A

4 ea of raw material C

--> So when I create a plan for FG-1 that goes from current to 12 months into the future, I need to see 12 months of dependent demand for RM-A, 6 months of dependent demand (0-6 mo) for RM-B, and 6 months of dependent demand (6-12 mo) for RM-C.

My thought is that the DP-BOM functionality should pick up the validity dating in the PPM, but I have not been able to get the dependent demand to show this in the DP-BOM planning books.

[srinivas_krishnamoorthy]

Am little suprised that DP is not creating dependent demand based on validity dates of DP PPM. you should probably raise an OSS message for this.

The other option is in DP PPM itself you have the ability to define time-dependent component consumption. The time dependent check box does how up under details of the activity of the DP PPM.

[Former Member]

Hi Sean,

May be my explanation was a little confusing but what you are asking in the example is part of my explanation. It should work. Did you try with different quantities like making the new quantities 0 and so on? What do you see? Do you see the same quantity all the way through not taking validity dates into consideration?

[Former Member]

Srinivas,

I had been using the time dependent parameters button to add the validity date information, but if using the time dependent parameters button is the alternate way of adding the validity date information, what is the preferred way? Using the validity dates at the PPM header level?

Sean

[srinivas_krishnamoorthy]

Preferred way will be to do it through PPM Header. The time-dependent option would be an less preferred alternative. You would need to technically evaluate on which option works.