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First, this blog post starts with the table of contents for ease of reference and allows you to navigate directly to the topic you are interested in by clicking on a specific entry:
Check out my video highlighting the following manufacturing release highlights:
Simplified Selection of Planning Strategy Group and New Strategies
Quality Management - Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Video 1: Highlights for Manufacturing in the 2202 release
Product Development
Compare Bills of Material
First of all, I would like to start with a short addendum to my last blog. With the 2111 release, the new SAP Fiori app Compare Bills of Material is available. With this app, you can compare same or different types of BOMs with several comparison parameters. The app allows you to analyze and understand the similarities and differences between the compared BOMs.
Item grouping in multilevel BOM allows BOM engineers to group BOM items together so as to structure the BOM in an organized fashion without creation of subassembly material. This enables BOM engineers to:
Represent the modular structure of the product in a multilevel BOM
Group component variants in variant BOMs
Group a BOM without creating additional materials
Figure 2: Item Grouping in the SAP Fiori app 'Manage Multilevel Bill of Material'
Preliminary Component Maintenance in BOM Management
With this feature, you can create a preliminary component for which the material assignment hasn't been done for the BOM. You can create the preliminary component only for engineering BOMs. You can later convert the preliminary component to stock or nonstock item and assign a material.
Figure 4: SAP Fiori app 'Maintain Bill of Material' - New item category 'Preliminary Item (P)'
With the Manage Resources app, you can perform all operations on production resources from one central app. As a Production Engineer in the Process Manufacturing Industry, you can navigate to all the relevant apps to display resources, create resources, change resources, replace existing values in resources, check usage and navigate to mass maintenance of work center capacities for creating or updating of intervals and shifts and to edit the capacities.
With the new Manage Work Centers app, you can perform all operations on work centers from one central app. As a Production Engineer in the Discrete Manufacturing Industry, you can navigate to all the relevant apps to display work centers, create work centers, change work centers, replace existing values in work centers, check usage of work centers and navigate to mass maintenance of work center capacities for creating or updating of intervals and shifts and to edit the capacities.
Simplified Selection of Planning Strategy Group and New Strategies
Planning strategies represent the business procedures for the planning of production and procurement quantities. 10 additional planning strategies and planning strategy groups are available now. A selection guide facilitates the selection of a suitable planning strategy for your product. It is available in the Manage Product Master Data app under Plants -> MRP Data -> Strategy Group . A set of questions guide you step-by-step to find the appropriate planning strategy group.
The selection guide offers the following new planning strategies:
Strategies for Make-to-Stock Production
○ Production by Lot Size (30)
○ Gross Requirements Planning (11)
○ Planning Without Final Assembly and Without MTO (52)
○ Planning with a Planning Material and Without MTO (63)
Strategies for Make-to-Order Production
○ Planning with a Planning Material (60)
○ Make-to-Order Production (20)
Strategies for Planning Components
○ Planning Without Final Assembly at Assembly Level (74)
○ Spare Part Sales with Final Assembly (47)
○ Spare Part Sales Without Final Assembly – Make-to-Stock Production (53)
○ Spare Part Sales Without Final Assembly -MTO (57)
Watch the video below in which my colleague Markus Oertelt uses the new selection guide to find the right planning strategy group:
Video 2: 'Manage Product Master Data' app - use the selection guide to select the strategy group
With the 2202 release, the calculation of the Accuracy in the Maintain PIRs app considers the withdrawal quantity making the forecast accuracy of the planned independent requirements (PIRs) even more precise.
In addition, you can use the Accuracy - Last Period filter option to track the forecast from week to week or from month to month depending on the time period used for the materials
Watch the next video in which Markus shows the enhanced capabilities to analyze the planned independent requirements (PIRs) accuracy.
Video 3: 'Maintain PIRs' app - enhanced analysis of planned independent requirements (PIRs) accuracy
By the way: The Analyze PIR Quality app will be deprecated soon and will be deleted from the SAP Fiori launchpad in the upcoming release SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2208 as the functions will be made available in the Maintain PIRs app.
As a BOM Engineer, Production Engineer, Master Data Specialist for Product Data, or Maintenance Supervisor you can create and edit BOM explosion numbers for your material and add a fixed key date that is valid across material components of a multi-level BOM. This ensures that for a certain production unit, the BOM structure is always exploded using the same date. The following new apps are available:
Maintain BOM Explosion Numbers
This app allows you to create and change BOM explosion numbers for material and to specify a fixed key date.
You can also assign a new key to the BOM explosion number. A new key is required to determine that the main assembly is always produced with one standard BOM explosion number.
Display BOM Explosion Numbers
This app allows you to display the BOM explosion number and check the details, for example, the fixed key date.
Figure 7: New SAP Fiori app 'Maintain BOM Explosion Numbers'
The MRP Change Request Integration Scenario improves the communication with suppliers (see my blog posts for 2108 and 2111). With the 2202 release, we have enhanced the scenario:
Default Priority for MRP Change Requests
Now, you can define a default priority that is assigned to change request proposals in the Create MRP Change Requests app.
You can use change request priorities to indicate which change requests are most important and must be processed first. If required, the system can assign a default priority to new change request proposals. This priority is displayed in the Create MRP Change Requests app and copied to the change requests that are created based on these proposals. It can be changed manually before change requests including priority information are transferred to suppliers.
Figure 8: Use configuration activity 'Define Priorities for MRP Change Requests' to define a default priority that is assigned to change request proposals in the 'Create MRP Change Requests' app
The priority of change request proposals can also be determined based on an implementation of the
Business Add-In Retrieve Priority for MRP Change Request (PP_MRP_CR_RETRIEVE_PRIORITY). The default priority is only assigned to change request proposals if no priority can be determined from an implementation of this Business Add-In.
In addition, the Create MRP Change Requests app is enhanced with new columns:
New Change Request status datetime columns – Created on, Changed on and Distributed on
New Change Request sending status column – Sending Status
Figure 9: 'Create MRP Change Requests' app with new change request status datetime columns and sending status column
Schedule Processing of MRP Change Requests
The app Schedule Processing of MRP Change Requests was enhanced to provide additional selection criteria for the automatic processing of change requests for which no response has been received from suppliers. The following fields were added as selection criteria:
Purchase Order
Purchase Order Item
Purchase Order Schedule Line
Figure 10: 'Schedule Processing of MRP Change Requests' app with additional selection criteria
For a short recap about Time-Dependent Stock Levels read my 2111 blog.
With 2202, the app Maintain Time-Dependent Stock Levels was enhanced with the following features:
Deletion of validity intervals
You can now delete validity intervals that are no longer required. When an interval is deleted, the system automatically adapts the end date of the preceding interval to the end date of the deleted interval to make sure no gaps exist and stock levels can be uniquely determined at all times.
If you create new validity intervals that overlap with one or more existing intervals, the system automatically adapts the start and end dates of the existing intervals to remove the overlaps and make sure stock levels can be uniquely determined. If a validity interval that you add covers one or more of the existing intervals, the intervals are automatically merged.
The apps Monitor Material Coverage - Net Segments and Monitor Material Coverage - Net and Individual Segments have been enhanced to provide information about master data issues for materials and to enable additional navigation options to related apps.
Master Data Issues
An additional column was added to indicate whether master data issues were identified for a material during the MRP run. The column displays the number of master data issues that were detected. To access additional information, you can open a quickview that displays the number of issues per category (Error, Warning, or Canceled) and allows you to navigate to the Display MRP Master Data Issues app for a detailed analysis.
Figure 13: 'Monitor Material Coverage - Net and Individual Segments' app - Master Data Issues
Check Material Stock
To get an overview of the stock that is available for a material, you can now navigate to the apps Stock - Single Material and Stock - Multiple Materials from the material quickview.
Figure 14: 'Monitor Material Coverage - Net and Individual Segments' app - Material quickview with new navigation options
With the 2108 release, we have launched the new SAP Fiori app Manage Reservation Items in Inventory Management (see my 2108 blog for Supply Chain).
With this release the user can navigate automatically from the Monitor Stock/ Requirements List app to the Manage Reservation Items app to have reservation items changed directly for stock-transfer scenarios. The function is available for the role SAP_BR_PRODN_PLNR (production planner) in combination with the role SAP_BR_WAREHOUSE_CLERK (warehouse clerk).
Figure 15: Navigation from 'Monitor Stock/ Requirements List' app to the 'Manage Reservation Items' app
With the 2108 release we have launched the new SAP Fiori app ‘Mass Maintenance of Work Center Capacities‘. Watch the demo videos in my previous blog posts for 2108 and 2111 to recap the functionality.
With 2202, the list report of the Mass Maintenance of Capacities shows a new filter and column pMRP change Proposal for each capacity and the object page shows a new facet that displays the data from the pMRP proposal table. Planner can now understand the proposed capacity request and compare it with the current shift capacity for a specific period. User actions such as Mark Adjustedand Reject are also provided to help the planner to track the proposals.
Figure 16: New pMRP Change Proposal facet on the object page of the 'Mass Maintenance of Work Center Capacities' app
At the time of releasing a simulation in the Process pMRP Simulation app, you can choose to have capacity proposals created and exported to the Mass Maintenance of Work Center Capacities app for capacity adjustments. There the capacity planner can view and adopt or change the capacity changes proposed by the simulation of predictive material and resource planning (pMRP).
You can now manage collective orders. In a collective order, planned orders or manufacturing orders are linked to one another over several production levels. Each order in the collective order has its own order number. Collective orders are useful if subassemblies are produced directly for superior orders within a production process, without physically entering the warehouse.
Changes to an order automatically affect dependent orders or superior orders. For example, if you change the order quantity in an order, the relevant quantity changes are automatically made to dependent orders, and the requirements quantity of the directly produced component is automatically changed. Goods receipt from a dependent order in a collective order is automatically issued to the superior order.
In the next video, Markus shows first how to set the special procurement type in the product master data and how to choose the MRP settings for using collective order. Then he explains his simple collective order example in the Manage Material Coverage and the Stock/Requirements List apps. At 3:33 minutes he creates the collective order. At the end of the demo he shows the scheduling of the order.
Video 4: 'Manage Product Master Data' app - set the special procurement type for collective order
The enhancements for the Manage Production Orders apps support you even more in your daily work as a production supervisor. With the Check Components button, you can now manually check if all components are available that are required for completing a production order. A popup displays if and how many components are missing.
Figure 18: 'Manage Production Orders' app - new 'Check Components' button
Also the Manage Production Operations apps are enhanced. The Sales Order and Sales Order Item filters now consider any category of sales order or sales order item as long as they are assigned to a production order.
Confirm Production Operation
With the Confirm Production Operation app, you can partially or completely confirm production operations. This app has been enhanced to support you even more in your daily work as a production operator.
The following enhancements have been made to the app:
In the Activities section, the app now displays the name of the person confirming an operation next to the Personnel Number field
Figure 19: 'Confirm Production Operation' app displays the name of the person confirming an operation
For the sequence of operations, the app now displays warning messages in addition to the already shown error messages if configured.
Figure 20: 'Confirm Production Operation' app displays additional warning messages
You can control which business transactions are allowed for a production order or an order operation
depending on other business transactions that are executed.
Figure 21: 'Manage Your Solution' app - Configuration Step 'Define Business Transaction Control'
This function is available in all apps that make changes to orders, for example, Create Production Order (CO01), Release Production Orders (CO05N), or Confirm Production Order (CO15).
Now, you can use the Set Kanban Container Status app also on mobile devices to scan container labels.
The figure below shows a Kanban print card with the barcodes for Full or Empty container status. An external barcode scanner is used to scan the container label and the scanned information is directly visible in the Set Kanban Container Status app on a tablet that is connected with the barcode scanner.
As an alternative to the external scanner, you can also use the built-in camera of your mobile device for barcode scanning.
In the user menu of the SAP Fiori launchpad for this app, choose Scanner Settings to configure settings for the barcode scanner:
Prefix and suffix character for detecting scanned barcodes
Switch for the visibility of the scan button used for barcode scanning with the device camera
Figure 22: 'Set Kanban Container Status' app on mobile device that is connected with an external barcode scanner
Kanban Card Printing on Goods Receipt Posting
This feature enables you to print kanban cards automatically on goods receipt.
In the Print Control tab page of the Manage Kanban Control Cycles app, you can select Print Card option Print on goods receipt in the Print Kanban Card section.
Figure 23: 'Manage Kanban Control Cycles' app - Kanban Card Print Control
Configuration for Kanban
With this release, new configuration options for making settings related to Kanban have been added to your configuration environment.
Sub-Day Scheduling of Kanban Replenishment
For Kanban stock transfer and external procurement replenishment strategies, new options are available to schedule the delivery dates for replenishment to the minute.
Figure 25: Configuration step 'Define Stock Transfer Strategies'
Define Kanban calculation profiles
With this feature you can define profiles for the calculation of the number of containers or the quantity per container in Kanban control cycles.
Define time definitions for Kanban summarized JIT call processes
With this feature you can define the period in which material requirements are grouped in a Kanban summarized JIT call.
Figure 27: Configuration steps for Kanban Summarized JIT Call Process
You can find more information about the new configuration options for Kanban in the What's New document in chapter 13.4.13 .
Situation Templates for Just-In-Time Supply to Customer
In addition, the following new situation templates have been included for Just-In-Time Supply to Customer:
Situation Template: JIT Call Component Groups Due for Delivery
This situation template is available for Manage Customer JIT Calls by Component Groups app.
Situation Template: JIT Call Component Groups Due for Goods Issue Processing
This situation template is available for Manage Customer JIT Calls by Component Groups app.
Situation Template: Status of Jobs in Just-In-Time Supply to Customer
This situation template is available for JIT Supply to Customer functions that utilize application jobs.
Integrating SAP Supplier Problem-Solving with SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP SupplierProblem-Solving is a solution that enables a collaborative problem-solving process together with suppliers. It supports you in identifying root causes of problems, taking actions to prevent such problems in the future, and documenting the problem-solving process. With this solution, quality engineers and suppliers can collaborate in analyzing and resolving defects using the 8D methodology.
You can trigger a problem-solving process in SAP SupplierProblem-Solving for defects identified in purchase orders. You do this by creating a quality notification of type Q2 (Complaint Against Supplier) and then use the relevant function of the integrated action box to request a problem-solving process in SAP SupplierProblem-Solving.
I have already explained the SAP Supplier Problem-Solving cloud application in my 2020 blog.
First, this application was fully integrated with SAP S/4HANA Quality Management, now we have integrated SAP Supplier Problem-Solving with SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
In the next short video Markus shows the integration by opening a notification of type Complaint against Supplier via the Change Quality Notification app and choosing the Action Box option Review Solution by Supplier.
Video 5: 'Change Quality Notification' app - Navigate to SAP Supplier Problem-Solving by choosing the Action Box option Review Solution by Supplier
You can find more information about SAP SupplierProblem-Solving on SAP Help Portal under https://help.sap.com/sps.
Now I come to an innovation that I already highlighted in my video at the beginning of this blog post, the Advanced closed-loop inspection planning process in Quality Management that includes a graphical user interface for Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA).
This feature enables you to execute a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis – a method for detecting and preventing potential failures and weak points in products and processes early on. Different apps are delivered, for example, the Manage FMEAs app for executing an FMEA using a graphical framework.
Read the SAP Help documentation which explains the typical process flow of executing a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. The SAP Help provides also an useful Feature Comparison for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) which compares the features offered by various apps for executing an FMEA.
Watch the next video in which I show you a simple FMEA example in the Manage FMEAs and FMEA Cockpit apps:
Video 6: 'Manage FMEAs' app - new graphical user interface for FMEA
Filter inspection lots based on serial number and serialized material on the worklist page
Display inspection lots with serialized material on the worklist page
Display the list of serial numbers for an inspection lot on its object page
Search for a specific serial number on the inspection lot object page
Figure 31: 'Manage Inspection Lots' app - Support of Serialized Materials
Manage Usage Decisions
With the Manage Usage Decisions app, you can now make usage decisions for inspection lots with serialized materials. As a Quality Engineer, you can now choose single inspection units (serial numbers) of an inspection lot on the usage decision details page and selectively post them to different stocks, such as, unrestricted use, scrap, sample, blocked, new material, or reserves.
Figure 32: 'Manage Usage Decisions' app - Support of Serialized Materials
With the 2108 release, the new Record Inspection Results app was introduced as the successor of the Record Inspection Results (Deprecated) app (see my 2108 blog).
With the new Record Inspection Results app, a Quality Technician can now:
View the number of defects on the worklist page
Display defect number, defect code group, defect category, defect description, and date of creation of defect on the defect details popover
Navigate to the Process Defects app from the defect details popover
Make automatic usage decisions for inspection lots if the following conditions are met:
○ Results recording and valuation for all the characteristics in the inspection lot are completed
○ None of the characteristics in the inspection lot are rejected
○ No defects or quality notifications are created for the inspection lot
Automatic Profile Determination in Quality Certificate Apps
With this feature, the system automatically assigns a certificate profile (including certificate type and version) whenever you create a quality certificate for a batch or an inspection lot. As a prerequisite, you must maintain the certificate profile assignment in the condition tables.
You can use this feature in the Manage Quality Certificates for Batches and Manage Quality Certificates for Inspection Lots apps.
Figure 34: 'Manage Quality Certificates for Inspection Lots' app
In addition, you now receive a message with certificate profile details whenever you create a quality
certificate for outbound delivery.
Figure 35: Message with certificate profile details in outbound delivery log
Would you like to learn more about how innovative organizations utilize Industry 4.0 to improve manufacturing processes? Register now for the Industry 4.0 Intelligent Products Report.
For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, check out the following links: