Sap Notes Interview
Sap Notes Interview
integrates the important parts of its business. An ERP management information system integrates areas such as
planning, purchasing, inventory, sales, marketing, finance and human resources.ERP is most frequently used in
the context of software
SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a commercial software that integrates all the information in a single
software, considering various factors such as time and cost. Organizations can easily meet their business
demands with the help of SAP.
SAP MM is a part of logistics functions and it helps in managing the procurement activities of an organization.
It is the backbone of logistics that incorporates modules such as Sales and Distribution, Production Planning,
Plant Maintenance, Project Systems, and Warehouse Management.
Features of SAP MM
The features of a SAP MM system are as follows:
SAP MM is one of the modules of SAP that deals with material management and inventory
management.
Material Management as a process ensures no shortage of materials or any gaps in the supply chain
process of the organization. SAP MM speeds up the procurement and material management activities,
making the business run smoothly with complete time and cost efficiency.
Procurement.
Every organization acquires material or services to complete its business needs. The process of buying materials
and obtaining services from vendors or dealers is called procurement.
1 Basic Procurement
2Special Procurement
Basic Procurement
Basic procurement is a process of acquiring goods or services in the right quantity, at the right price, and at the
right time. However it is critical to maintain a right balance between quantity, price, and time. Consider the
following example:
Organizations try and keep inventory levels at a minimum, due to the prices associated with high levels
of inventory; at the same time, it can be detrimental to stop production due to shortage of raw materials.
Getting the minimum price for a product or service is often necessary, however it is equally important to
maintain a balance between the product availability, quality, and vendor (seller) relations.
Procurement Lifecycle
Procurement in most modern organizations follow some sequential steps which are
described below:
Supplier Contact
After gathering the requirements, one looks for the suppliers who can fulfill those requirements. Based on that,
quotation requests or information requests are sent to the suppliers or they are contacted directly.
Background Review
Once the supplier is known, the product/service quality is checked, and any necessities for services such as
installation, warranty, and maintenance parameters are investigated. Some samples of the products can be
obtained for quality examination.
Negotiation
Some negotiations with suppliers is made regarding the price, availability, and delivery schedule of the
products/services. Thereafter, a contract is signed that is a binding legal document between the supplier and the
ordering party. A contract will include all necessary information such as price and quantity of material, delivery
date, etc.
Order Fulfillment
Ordered material is shipped, delivered to the ordering party, and the supplier is paid accordingly. Training and
installation of product or services may also be included.
Contract Renewal
Once the products or services are consumed or the contract expires and needs to be renewed, or the product or
service is to be re-ordered, the experience with the vendors and service providers is reviewed. If the products or
services are to be re-ordered, the company decides whether to order from the previous supplier or think about
new suppliers.
Procurement Description
Activities
Determination of It is the logical subdivision where it is determined what material
Requirement or services are required, and which supplier can fulfill the
requirements.
Creating purchase It is the phase in which the purchasing department is informed
Requisition about the requirement of items or services. A requisition is an
internal document.
Creating purchase It is the phase when an order is created from requisition and it
Order is approved and assigned to a supplier.
Goods receipt/ It is the phase in which the material is received by the company
Invoice received and its condition and quality are being inspected. In this phase,
an invoice is received from the vendor (seller).
Invoice It is the phase in which the vendor (seller) is paid from the
verification/Vendor company and reconciliation of the invoice and PO is
Payment accomplished.
1 Procurement for Stock - A stock material is a material that is kept in stock. These materials are kept in stock
once received from the vendor. The stock of this material keeps on increasing or decreasing based on the
amount of quantity received or issued. To order a material for stock, the material must have a master record
within the system.
2 Procurement for Direct Consumption - When the procurement is for direct consumption, i.e., it will be
consumed as soon as it is received, the user should specify the consumption purpose. To order a material for
consumption, the material may have a master record within the system.
External procurement - It is the process of procuring goods or services from external vendors. There are three
basic forms of external procurement generally supported by the purchasing component of the IT system.
One-time orders are generally used for material and services that are ordered irregularly.
Longer-term contracts with subsequent issue of release orders – For materials that are being ordered
regularly and in large quantities, we can negotiate a deal with the vendor (seller) for pricing or
conditions and recordthem in a contract. In a contract, you also specify the validity date.
Internal Procurement - Large corporate organizations may own multiple separate businesses or companies.
Internal procurement is a process of getting material and services from identical companies. So, each of these
companies maintain a complete bookkeeping system with separate Balance, Profit and Loss Statements, so that
when any trade occurs between them, it will be recorded.
Special Procurement
Special stocks are the stocks that are managed differently, as these stocks do not belong to the company. Special
stocks are kept at some particular location. Special procurement and special stock types are divided into the
following categories:
Consignment Stocks
Consignment stocks are those material that is available at our store premises, however it still belongs to the
vendor (seller) of the material. If you utilize the material from consignment stocks, then you have to pay to the
vendor.
Third-party Processing
In third-party processing, a company passes on a sales order to the associate external vendor (seller) who sends
the goods directly to the customer. The sales order is not processed by the company, but by the vendor (seller).
Third-party items can be entered in purchase requisitions, purchase orders, and sales orders.
Pipeline Handling
In pipeline handling, the company need not order or store the material involved. It is obtainable as and when
required via a pipeline (for example, oil or water), or another style of cable (such as electricity). The material
that is consumed is settled with the vendor (seller) on a regular basis.
Subcontracting
The vendor (the subcontractor) receives components from the ordering party with the help of which it produces
a product. The product is ordered by your company through a purchase order. The components required by the
vendor (seller) to manufacture the ordered product are listed in the purchase order and provided to the
subcontractor.
An enterprise structure defines various levels in an organization. These levels are placed according to some
hierarchy. An enterprise structure defines various organizational units that are present in an enterprise. The
organizational structure in MM consists
Client : According to hierarchy, a client occupies the highest level in a SAP system.
Company Code : Within client, a company code is an independent accounting unit. It is a legal entity
that has its own profit, loss and balance statement.
Plant : It is a unit having manufacturing facility, warehouse distribution center, or a regional sales office
within logistic. It subdivides an enterprise in different aspects.
Purchasing Group
Purchasing group is an organizational unit responsible for the everyday procurement activities within an
organization.
Create Company
Company is the topmost organizational unit after client, which incorporates individual financial accounting
statements of several company codes
An organization structure can be defined as the framework of a company that describes the entire structure and
functioning of the company. Organization structures are split into different levels and each level is placed
according to a hierarchy. These levels have direct or indirect relationship with one another. The various levels
in a standard organization are as follows:
Company
Company code
Plant
Storage location
Purchasing organization
Purchasing group
All the organizational units combined together form the framework of a company. These organizational units
can be considered as different levels that describe the structure of
an enterprise. Every level has a particular functionality associated with it. Also, every level in one or the other
way is related to each other. These levels are placed according to some hierarchy, Company being at the top.
To establish a relationship between these levels, we have to assign them to one or other in such a way that they
still lie in the same hierarchy. For example: As Company is at the top level and plant is below it, it is necessary
that the plant has some relation with the company. As the plant is a sub-part or a smaller division of the
company, it will be assigned to the company. A standard SAP has the following four basic and essential
assignments:
SAP R/3 works on real-time data, i.e., there is no time lag between data entry and data availability. The
important thing while creating any data is to maintain data integrity. SAP R/3 data is categorized into two:
Master data - Data that is created centrally, and is valid for all applications. It remains constant over time but
we need to update it on a regular basis. For example: Vendor is a type of master data that is used for
creatingpurchase orders or contracts.
Transactional data - Data that is associated with processing of business transaction is transactional data.
This is the enterprise main source of material-specific data. This data will include information on the materials
that a company can procure, produce, store, or sell. The data screens that are used to create material master can
be divided
1:Main Data: It includes basic data (base unit of measure, weight), purchasing data (over tolerance and under
tolerance), and accounting data (standard price, moving price).
2:Additional Data: It includes additional information such as short description about material, currency, etc.
Number Range
When we create a material master record, every material is recognized by a unique number that is known as the
material number. We can assign a number to a material through two ways:
1:External number assignment - While creating a material, you have to enter your own number (containing
alphabets or digits), and that should be unique.
2:Internal number assignment - While creating a material, you need not enter any number. The system
automatically generates a unique number to that material. Material master has four characteristics, which we
will discuss one by one in the following sections.
Material Types
Materials with some common attributes are grouped together and they are assigned to a material type.
Material group
Material group is a wider range of material type. Materials with some common attributes are taken together and
they are assigned to a material group.
Number Range
When we create a material master record, every material is recognized by a unique number that is known as the
material number. We can assign a number to a material through two ways:
External number assignment - While creating a material, you have to enter your own number (containing
alphabets or digits), and that should be unique.
Internal number assignment - While creating a material, you need not enter any number. The system
automatically generates a unique number to that material
Vendor Master Data is the enterprise main source of vendor-specific data. It includes information on vendors
from which a company can procure, or can sell.
A vendor master record contains information such as vendor's name, address,
etc.
vendor number
When we create a vendor master record, every vendor is recognized by a unique number known as the vendor
number
Source list includes a list of possible sources of supply for a material over a given framework of time.
Source list specifies the time period of ordering a particular material from a given vendor.
Source list can be copied from one plant to another plant.
Procurement Cycle
Every organization acquires material or services to complete its business needs. The process of buying materials
and obtaining services from vendors or dealers is called procurement. The steps required to procure material
forms the procurement cycle. Every organization performs some common sequential steps to procure material
in the right quantity at the right price. The important steps in a procurement cycle are as follows:
Determination of Requirement : This is the first step in a procurement cycle. It is the logical subdivision,
where it is determined what material or services are required by the company, and which supplier can fulfill the
requirement
Creating Purchase Order : Purchase order is the formal and final confirmation of the requirements that is
sent to the vendor to supply material or services.
Posting Goods Receipt : After processing the purchase order, the vendor delivers the material to the
ordering party and this process is called Goods Receipt. It is the phase where the material is received by the
ordering party and its condition and quality are verified. Once the material is verified against the predefined
quality, a goods receipt is posted.
Posting Invoice : Invoice is received from the vendor after goods receipt, and then the invoice is verified by
the ordering party. This is the phase where the vendor (seller) is paid from the company and reconciliation of
the invoice and PO is accomplished.
Purchase Requisition
A purchase requisition is a request that is made to the purchasing organization toprocure a certain list of
materials.Purchase requisition can be created for the following procurement types:
1Standard: Getting finished material from vendor.
2Subcontracting: Providing raw material to vendor and getting finished
material.
3Consignment: Procuring material that is kept in company’s premises and
paying to vendor for that.
4Stock transfer: Getting material from within the organization.
Manually
Automatically from a Purchase Requisition
Outline Agreement
Vendor selection is an important process in the procurement cycle. Vendors can be selected by quotation
process. After having shortlisted a vendor, an organization enters into an agreement with that particular vendor
to supply certain items with certain conditions. Typically when an agreement is reached, a formal contract is
signed with the
vendor. So, an outline agreement is a long-term purchasing agreement with a vendor. The key points to note
about an outline agreement are as follows:
1. An outline agreement is a long-term purchasing agreement with a vendor containing terms and
conditions regarding the material that is to be supplied by the vendor.
2. The terms of an outline agreement are valid up to a certain period of time and cover a certain predefined
quantity or value. An outline agreement can be of the following two types:
Contract
Scheduling Agreement
Contract
A contract is a long-term outline agreement between a vendor and an ordering party over a predefined material
or service over a certain framework of time. There are two
types of contracts:
Quantity Contract: In this type of contract, the overall value is specified in terms of the total quantity of
material to be supplied by the vendor.
Value Contract: In this type of contract, the overall value is specified in terms of the total amount to be
paid for that material to the vendor.
Scheduling Agreement
A scheduling agreement is a long-term outline agreement between the vendor and the ordering party over a
predefined material or service, which are procured on predetermined dates over a framework of time. A
scheduling agreement can be created in the following two ways:
posting period
SAP ERP systems were designed so that business can be conducted in an efficient way. Documents such as
purchase order, request for quotation, goods receipt are essential elements in a business. These documents need
security, i.e., if any of the documents is posted incorrectly, then the business can get affected at various levels.
In order to secure these documents, we have a concept known as the posting period.
Fiscal year variant is the time period during which financial statements are withdrawn for a company. Different
companies have different fiscal years. Fiscal year variant can be
maintained (ob29)
Posting period allows you to post and make changes in the documents only in a specific
time period
In service, a third party provides services to a company. These services include maintenance functions such as
electricity and oiling of machines. Follow the steps given below to create a service purchase order.
TCode to create Purchase Order: ME21N
Service Item Category: D
Inventory Management
Procurement process starts with gathering requirements and ends with procuring goods from vendors. Once the
goods are procured from a vendor, they need to be placed in the company’s premises in correct place so that
they can be consumed when required. Inventory management deals with placing and handling the stock
received from the vendors in correct place within the company’s premises.
Listed below are the points to note about inventory management:
1. Inventory management deals with the management of stock, either on value or
quantity basis.
2. It includes planning, entry, and keeping records of all the movements of goods.
3. Goods movement creates a document that updates all the stock quantity and value in the inventory that
is known as the material document.
4. A material document is referred by a document number and document year.
One normally comes across the following terms while doing inventory management:
Movement Type
Goods Receipt
Reservation
Goods Issue
Invoice Verification
Every organization acquires goods or services to complete its business needs. Once goods are procured from a
vendor and placed in company’s premises through goods receipt, we need to pay to the vendor for the acquired
goods and services. The amount to be paid along with the details of the material is provided by the vendor in the
form of a document that is known as the invoice. Before paying to the vendor, we need to verify the invoice.
This process of verifying the invoice before making a payment is known as invoice verification. The key points
to note about invoice verification are as follows:
1. Invoice verification marks the end of procurement, after purchase order and
goods receipt.
2. Invoiceosting updates all the related documents in financials and accounting.
3. Blocked invoice that vary from actual invoice can be processed through invoice verification.
One normally comes across the following terms in invoice verification:
Posting of Invoice
Blocked Invoice
Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS)
Posting of Invoice
Posting of invoice is done after having received the goods from the vendor and after having completed the
goods receipt. The invoice received from a vendor is verified against cost, quantity, and quality by the ordering
party, and then the invoice is posted against that purchase order. This is the phase where the vendor (seller) is
paid from the company and reconciliation of the invoice and PO is accomplished. Follow the steps given below
to post an invoice.
Blocked Invoice
Sometimes the accounting department may not be able to pay a vendor as per the invoice raised. This may
happen in the following scenario. You try to post an invoice, however the system expects certain default value
against the purchase order or the goods receipt and the posted invoice differs from the default value. This may
lead to invoice blocking. Invoice blocking is caused due to:
1. Variance in amount at item level.
2. Variance in quantity at item level.
It is difficult to analyze small variances in invoice. So, tolerance limits are set up in the system and if the
variance in the invoice is within the tolerance limit, then the system accepts the invoice. If the variance exceeds
the tolerance limit, then it may lead to invoice blocking. In such cases, we need to manually unblock or release
the blocked invoice if it has to be processed.
Q: What are some of the movement types for stock transport order?
A: One step transfers of materials can be posted using movement type 301. Other movement types are 303, 351,
641, or 643 in the stock transport order.
The main concept of pricing procedure is combination of different type charges, like Gross price, freight, discount,
surcharges etc etc.
We use pricing procedure to determine these all conditions into one procedure, where we can find the sub-total for
net amount.
3. Condition Type
4. Condition Record.
5. Schema Group
6. Calculation Schema
7. Schema Determination
1. Condition Table
It’s a table where we can save the all fields with the combination for individual condition record. Suppose if I use
Plant as condition table, then the condition record will be created for plant only.
We can use many fields in one condition tables.
2. Access Sequence
The main concept of Access sequence is, it searches condition record for condition type from condition table.
3. Condition Type
In simple term, condition type is used for different type of charges. Like gross price, discount, freight, rebate etc etc.
Suppose we purchase a material for price 10, we get a discount of price 2. Then the price 10 will be going to a
condition type and the price 2 will be going to another condition type.
4. Condition Record
Condition record contains the record which is maintained against condition table with regards to condition type.
5. Schema Group
It’s assigned to our vendor and Purchase Organization, It helps the vendor and purchase organization to choose
pricing procedure.
One schema group will be assigned to vendor and one schema group will be assigned to Purchase organization.
With this combination, system will fetch the pricing procedure.
6. Calculation Schema
Here we maintain sequence for the pricing calculation, like gross price, discount, rebate, surcharges etc. Here we
maintain the calculation for all condition types and group together all required condition types for our pricing
procedure.
7. Schema Determination
Here we maintain the pricing procedure for purchasing document. We maintain calculation schema combination of
per each vendor – schema group and each purchase organization – schema group.
In general, below image will give the concept how a condition type will search for the condition records :