Master Data

Overview
• The focus of this unit is on maintaining the
material and vendor master data
• It also deals with the significance of the
organizational levels with regard to this data
Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
• Explain the significance of vendor master records
• Create and maintain vendor master records
• Name the organizational levels that are important for the
maintenance of vendor master records
• Explain the significance of material master records
• Create and maintain material master records
• Name the organizational levels that are important for the
maintenance of material master records
Objectives
• List the different entry aids for the maintenance of the
vendor master record and material master record
• Outline the creation of a vendor master record with
reference
• Create a material master record with reference material
• Use collective entry for storage location data in the
material master record
• Name the objects that can be processed using the mass
maintenance function
• Outline the flow of mass maintenance
Contents
• Vendor Master Record
• Material Master Record
• Entry Aids
• Mass Maintenance
Lesson Overview
• Introduces the vendor master record, which is of
importance in both the ordering and invoice
processing phases of procurement
• Deals with the structure and maintenance
(creation, changing, and display) of the vendor
master record
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you’ll be able to:
• Explain the significance of vendor master
records
• Create and maintain vendor master records
• Name the organizational levels that are
important for the maintenance of vendor master
records
Master Data in The
Procurement Process
 Master Data in The
Procurement Process
• Master data comprises data records that are stored in the database
for a long period of time
• These data records are stored centrally, and are used and processed on a
cross-application basis
• In this way, the multiple storage (redundancy) of data is avoided
• The vendor master record, the material master record, and the
purchasing info record belong to the most important master data in
the procurement process
• When creating purchasing documents, data is transferred to the
purchasing documents by default from existing master records
• This lessens the effort required to enter the data
• Other data from the material master record, such as units of
measure, material short text, and the PO text, is also adopted in the
new document
• The data in the vendor master record includes address and payment
data
• User can store vendor-specific data on a certain material (for example,
delivery time and purchase price) in purchasing info records
Vendor Master Data
 Vendor Master Data
• The vendor master record contains information on an
enterprise's vendors
• This information is stored in individual vendor master records
• In addition to the vendor's name and address, a vendor master
record contains data such as the following:
• Currency used in transactions with the vendor
• Terms of payment
• Names of important contacts (e.g. salespersons)
• Since, for accounting purposes, the vendor is also a
creditor of the enterprise, the vendor master record also
contains accounting data such as the reconciliation
account from the general ledger
• The vendor master record is therefore maintained by both
purchasing and accounting
• This is also the reason for the subdivision of the data in the
vendor master record into different categories
Vendor Master Data
Vendor Master Data
• Vendor master data include the data needed to
conduct business with a vendor and to execute
transactions related to the purchasing process
• Data in the vendor master are grouped into three
segments: general data, accounting data, and
purchasing data
• The relationships among the three segments and the
two departments responsible for the data—
accounting and purchasing—are depicted in the
next figure
• Specific data that are included in each segment are
highlighted in the next figure
Vendor Master Record:
Organizational Levels
Vendor Master Record:
Organizational Levels
• The data in the vendor master record is subdivided
into the following categories:
• General data:
• This data is valid for the whole client
• It includes the vendor’s address and bank details, for example
• Accounting data:
• This is maintained at company code level
• It comprises data such as the number of the reconciliation
account and the payment methods for automatic payment
transactions
• Purchasing data:
• This data is maintained for each purchasing organization
• It includes the purchase order currency, Incoterms, and
various control data pertaining to the vendor
• User can also maintain different data for specific plants or for
vendor subranges
 Vendor Master Record:
Organizational Levels
• General data include the vendor’s name, address, and communication
information such as phone and fax numbers
• These data are defined at the client level and are consistent across all company codes
and purchasing organizations in the enterprise (client)
• General data are common to the purchasing and accounting departments and can be
maintained by either department
• Accounting data include tax-related data, bank data, and payment terms and
methods
• These data are defined at the company code level and are relevant to all purchasing
transactions in the company code
• The accounting department will typically complete this segment of the vendor master
• Accounting data must also specify the reconciliation account in the general ledger (A
vendor account is a subledger account and that the reconciliation account identifies
the accounts payable account in the general ledger associated with the vendor)
• If the vendor supplies multiple companies (company codes) within the enterprise, then
the data very likely will vary for each company
• The reconciliation account will be different if each company uses a different chart of
accounts and general ledger accounts
• Bank data and payment terms may vary as well
• Thus, accounting data are maintained separately for each company code with which the
vendor had dealings
Vendor Master Record:
Organizational Levels
• Finally, purchasing data include various terms
related to determining prices, creating and
communicating purchase orders, verifying invoices,
and other steps involved in executing purchases with
the vendor
• The purchasing department will typically complete this
segment
• Purchasing data are defined at the purchasing
organizational level and are applicable only to that
organization
• If an enterprise has multiple purchasing organizations
that deal with the vendor, then it must maintain separate
data for each one
• For example, delivery and payment terms may vary for
different purchasing organizations
 Vendor Master Record:
Organizational Levels
• User can decide whether vendor master records are to be
maintained centrally (that is, all data is maintained together), or
on a decentralized basis (that is, the relevant departments each
maintain their own data)
• If company only gives its purchasing staff the authorizations for
transactions MK01, MK02, and MK03 (Logistics→ Materials
Management → Purchasing → Master Data → Vendor → Purchasing
→ Create/Change/Display), they will only be able to maintain the
general address and control data and the purchasing-specific
data
• Accounting personnel must enter the payment transaction data and the
company-code-specific data
• However, company can also give its staff authorization to maintain
the vendor master data under the menu path Logistics → Materials
Management → Purchasing → Master Data → Vendor → Central →
Create/Change/Display (transactions XK01, XK02, XK03)
• In this case, staff can maintain all the data in the vendor master record
• Before user can order anything from a vendor, user must have
previously maintained the purchasing data
• A precondition for invoice entry is the prior creation of the accounting data
Account Group
 Account Group
• When creating a vendor master record, user must decide
which account group he is going to assign to this vendor
• The account group has control functions
• When user maintains the vendor master record, for example, only
the screens and fields that are needed for the relevant role of his
business partner appear and are ready to accept user’s input
• This is controlled by the account group
• Among other things, the account group determines:
• The type of number assignment (internal or external) and the
number area from which the account number that the system uses to
identify the vendor is to be assigned
• The field selection - which fields are ready for user input, which fields
must be maintained, and which fields are hidden
• Which partner schemas are valid
• The status - whether the vendor is a one-time vendor
• User maintains the account groups in Customizing for
Logistics - General under Business Partner → Vendor →
Control → Define Account Groups and Field Selection (Vendor)
 Account Group
• As external procurement and invoice verification are not possible
without a vendor master record, there are special account groups
for what are known as CpD vendors (one-time vendors; CpD
stands for Conto-pro-Diverse)
• A CpD vendor master record is always used in purchasing documents and
invoices where no separate master record exists (or is to be created) for
a vendor
• This enables user to work without a vendor-specific master record if a
material or a service is to be procured from a vendor only once
• Unlike with other master records, user can use a one-time-vendor
master record for several vendors, which is why it is known as a
collective master record
• For this reason, no vendor-specific data such as an address or bank
details are stored for one-time vendors
• This data is recorded in the relevant document only
• When a purchasing or accounting document featuring a one-time vendor is
created, the system automatically invokes an additional data screen
• This is where user enters the specific data, such as the vendor's name,
address, and bank details
Reconciliation Account for
Vendor Master Record
 Reconciliation Account for
Vendor Master Record
• When user creates a vendor master record, user needs a unique number
for the vendor (creditor)
• This is assigned either automatically by the system, or manually by the clerk,
depending on the account group
• The vendor (creditor) number is also used as the subsidiary ledger number in
financial accounting
• In subledger accounting, the total liabilities are continually updated for each
vendor
• When creating a vendor master record, user must also maintain a
reconciliation account
• The reconciliation account is a G/L account in G/L accounting
• It depicts a company's liabilities towards several vendors in G/L accounting
• When entering invoices, user enters the vendor and the system produces
the reconciliation account from the vendor master record
Partner Roles
Partner Roles
• The business partner “vendor” can assume various
roles in dealings with enterprise
• For example, during a procurement transaction, the
vendor is first the order recipient, then the supplier of
goods, and finally the invoicing party (invoice presenter)
• The maintenance of partner roles in the vendor
master record enables user to distribute one or more
of these roles among different vendor master records
• Using the partner role functionality, user can define a
different creditor as a freight forwarder for a certain
vendor, for example
 Blocking Vendors
• In certain cases, user may wish to stop the procurement of goods from a certain
vendor
• This may be, for example, because the vendor has supplied company with
products of inferior quality
• In such a case, user has the option of blocking the vendor in the vendor master
record
• Once user has set the blocking indicator, purchase orders can no longer be
placed with this vendor
• The block applies until user deselects the indicator
• If user wishes to prevent just one particular material from being procured from this
vendor, blocks the vendor in the source list for the material, not in the vendor
master record
• To block a vendor master record, chooses from the Purchasing menu, Master Data →
Vendor → Purchasing → Block (transaction MK05)
• User can decide whether the vendor is to be blocked for just one purchasing
organization or for all
• User also has the option of setting the Block for quality reasons
• The Block for quality reasons is effective only for materials for which quality
management is active in procurement
• The blocking function used here determines which procurement function (such
as RFQ or purchase order) is to be blocked for quality reasons
Lesson Overview
• Introduce the material master record as one of
the central master records in logistics
• Discuss the structure and maintenance (creation,
extension, changing, and display) of the material
master record
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you’ll be able to:
• Explain the significance of material master
records
• Create and maintain material master records
• Name the organizational levels that are
important for the maintenance of material
master records
Material Master Data
 Material Master Data
• The material master record is an enterprise's main
source of material-specific data
• It is used by all areas of logistics
• The integration of all material data in a single database
object eliminates the problem of data redundancy
• All areas, such as purchasing, inventory management, materials
planning, and invoice verification, can jointly use the data stored
• The data stored in the material master record is required
for many purposes, including the following:
• Purchasing data is required for ordering purposes
• Inventory management data is needed to post goods
movements and carry out physical inventories
• Accounting data is required for material valuation (valuation
class, price control)
• Materials planning data is needed for material requirements
planning
 Material Master Data
• Since different user departments within an enterprise work
with one material, and each department enters different
information relating to it, the data in a material master record is
subdivided according to area of use
• Each user department thus has its own view of a material master
record and is responsible for maintaining the data covered by this view
• Although materials are relevant to many processes, each
process uses the materials differently
• For example, the procurement process buys materials, the production
process makes materials, and the fulfillment process sells materials
• Each process, therefore, requires data about the material that may or
may not be needed by other processes
• For example, the procurement process requires data concerning who is
responsible for purchasing the material and how much should be
ordered
• Similarly, the fulfillment process utilizes data concerning product
availability and shipping conditions
 Material Master Data
• It should be evident that because the material master
is used in numerous processes, it must include a
large amount of data
• To manage these data, the material master groups them
into different categories or views, each of which is
relevant to one or more processes
• Figure in the next slide illustrates the major views of data
in the material master
• Basic data, such as material number, description, and
weight, are relevant to almost all processes
• The other views are relevant only to certain processes
• For example, purchasing data are relevant to the
procurement process and sales data to the fulfillment
process
 Views Relevant to Purchasing
Financial Accounting Data
• Financial accounting data include the valuation currency, the valuation class, and the price control
• Valuation currency is the currency that the materials will be priced in, such as U.S. dollars or
euros
• The valuation class identifies the general ledger accounts associated with the material
• The general ledger accounts are used to maintain the value of the inventory in stock and
are updated as materials are purchased, sold, or used in production
• Valuation class provides an important integration point between purchasing and
financial accounting because it allows the system to automatically make postings to
appropriate stock or inventory accounts in the general ledger
• Typically, all materials with similar characteristics are assigned to the same valuation
class
• Consequently, all financial transactions for these materials are posted to the same general
ledger account
• For example, because off-road bikes and touring bikes are both finished goods, their
transactions could be posted to the same finished goods inventory account
• In some cases, however, materials with similar characteristics are assigned to different
valuation classes and therefore to different general ledger accounts
• Referring back to the previous example, the bikes could be assigned to the off-road bike
inventory account and the touring bike inventory account, respectively
• Assigning materials with similar characteristics to different valuation classes is
appropriate when a company maintains separate general ledger accounts for different
materials
• The last and simplest option is to assign materials with different characteristics to the
same valuation class and therefore the same inventory account
• This strategy is appropriate when the enterprise does not need to track the value of the
materials separately, as is the case, for example, with office supplies
 Views Relevant to Purchasing
Financial Accounting Data (Cont.)
• Price control identifies the method that is used to value the materials
• The two options for price control are moving average price and standard
price
• Both options define the price per unit of materials in stock, such as helmets
• In the moving average price option, the total value of the materials is divided
by the quantity in stock to determine the average price per unit
• For example, if a firm has 1000 helmets in stock and they cost $34,000 to
purchase, then the moving price is $34 (34,000/1,000)
• This price is called “moving” because it is updated each time a process step
affects the price; it represents an average price of the materials in stock
• Thus, if the enterprise purchases an additional 100 helmets for $3,500,
then the new moving price increases slightly to $34.09 (($34,000 +
$3,500)/(1,000 + 100))
• In contrast, standard price is constant for a specified period of time and does
not fluctuate, even when an event occurs that causes the value of the materials
to change
• The standard price is updated periodically — for example, monthly or
quarterly — to account for changes in the value of materials
• Thus, in the example above, if the firm’s policy is to update the standard
price at the end of each month, then it does not make any price changes
when it purchases the additional helmets
• Instead, it updates the standard price at the end of the month
 Views Relevant to Purchasing
Purchasing Data
• Another key component of the material master is the purchasing data or view
• The key data in the purchasing view are the purchasing group, the goods receipt processing
time, and the delivery tolerances
• The purchasing group is responsible for purchasing the materials
• When a company receives materials from a vendor, it requires a certain amount of time to
receive them and place them into storage
• For instance, it must unpack the boxes, count the materials, inspect their quality, and
physically move them to the appropriate storage location
• This is the goods receipt processing time
• An estimate of this time is included in the material master
• The ERP system utilizes this estimate in planning activities, for instance, to determine
when an order should be placed so that the materials are available when they are needed
• It is not uncommon for the shipment from a vendor to include either more or less material
than the actual quantity ordered
• When this occurs, the receiving organization may or may not accept receipt, depending
on its policies and its agreements with its vendors
• The delivery tolerances in the material master specify how much over delivery and
under delivery the ordering party will accept
• If the quantity delivered is within these tolerances, then the ordering party accepts
delivery
• If the quantity exceeds the tolerances, then it refuses the shipment and returns it to the
vendor
 Views Relevant to Purchasing
Purchasing Data (Cont.)
• Some of the data in the material master can vary for each relevant organizational
level
• In purchasing, the relevant organizational level is the plant
• If a company has multiple plants, then the material must be defined for all
plants in which it is stored
• For example, the purchasing group and goods receipt processing time can vary
by plant

Plant Data/Storage
• Most materials that are purchased from a vendor or produced in-house ultimately
are received into inventory
• For this step to occur, the plant data/storage view must be included in the material
master
• The plant data/storage view includes data that are needed to properly store
materials
• Examples of these data are:
• Environmental requirements such as temperature and humidity
• Special containers that are required for storage
• Shelf life; that is, how long a material can be stored before it becomes obsolete
or unusable (common in pharmaceutical and food services industries)
• Instructions for special handling, for instance, if the material is fragile or
hazardous
Data Screens in Material Master
Record Maintenance
Data Screens in Material Master
Record Maintenance
• The data screens used to process material master
records can be subdivided into the following types:
• Main data
• These are the screens for the individual user departments,
such as basic data, materials planning, and so on
• Additional data
• These are the screens on which user finds additional
information, such as alternative units of measure, material
short descriptions, and consumption values
• The data maintained within a view may be valid for
different organizational levels
Material Master: Organizational
Levels
 Material Master: Organizational
Levels
• Some material data is valid for all organizational
levels, while some is valid for certain levels only
• So that the material data can be administered centrally,
without unnecessary load on the database due to redundant
information, the material master is organized in such a way
that it reflects the structure of an enterprise
• For example, a distinction is made for:
• Data at client level:
• General material data that is valid for the whole enterprise is
stored at client level
• Data at plant level:
• All data that is valid within a plant and for all storage locations
belonging to it is stored at plant level
• Data at storage location level:
• All data that is valid for a particular storage location is stored at
storage location level
Material Master: Organizational
Levels
• The above-mentioned organizational levels are
relevant for the external procurement process
• Client, plant, and storage location play a role when
user enters data for purchasing, inventory
management, and accounting
• Other organizational levels can be relevant for
other departments
• For example, the sales and distribution data is
entered depending on the sales organization and the
distribution channel and user must specify a
warehouse number and storage type for the
warehouse management data
Maintain Material Master
Record: Screen Sequence
 Create Material Master Record
• The data for a material is structured by area of use and organizational
level and is also apparent in material master record maintenance
• When processing material master records, user has to negotiate
several dialog screens before user can actually start to maintain
data
• On the initial screen, user will see two successive dialog boxes
• In the first dialog box, user specifies the views user wants to process
• In the second one, user specifies the relevant organizational levels
• After this, the data screens appear
• User can influence the standard screen sequence with presettings
• Some screens are not integrated in the standard screen sequence
• User can only access these screens by choosing them specifically
from the menu bar
• When creating a new material master record, user must choose a
material type and an industry sector to which the material is to be
assigned
Material Type
 Material Type
• Another factor that influences the type of data or view needed is the type of material
• Materials are categorized into different material types based on the way they
are used in the firm’s operations
• Each material type has different characteristics and is used for different purposes
and in different ways
• The material type determines which business processes are permitted to use the
material
• This, in turn, determines which types of data must be maintained for the material
• Therefore, the data in the material master will vary for different types of materials
• Specifically, material type determines, for example, the screens that appear in the
material master record, the department or function-specific data that must be
maintained, how the material numbers are determined, the appropriate
procurement types (in-house or external), and the general ledger accounts that
need to be updated
• Materials with the same properties are assigned to the same material type
• Examples of material types are raw materials, semifinished products, and finished
products
 Material Type
• Among other things, the material type controls:
• The type of number assignment (internal or external)
• The permissible number range intervals
• Which screens appear and in which order
• Which user-department-specific data is suggested for entry (in
views)
• Which procurement type is allowed for a material (that is, whether
the material is produced in-house, procured externally, or both)
• Along with the plant, the material type determines a
material's inventory management requirement (whether
quantity changes are continuously recorded in the material
master record and/or value changes in the stock accounts of
financial accounting)
• Furthermore, the material type determines which accounts
are posted when a receipt of a material into (or an issue
from) the warehouse is booked
• Various types of material are delivered as standard
• If enterprise needs additional material types, user can define these
according to his requirements in Customizing
 Material Type
• The four most common material types are raw materials,
semifinished goods, finished goods, and trading goods
• Raw materials (ROH) are purchased from an external
source—a vendor—and used in the production process
• Typically, raw materials are not sold to end-customers
• Consequently, the material master will contain data related to
procurement and production but not fulfillment
• Examples of raw materials are frames, wheels, tires, and tubes
• Semifinished goods (HALB) are typically produced in-house
from other materials (e.g., raw materials) and are used in the
production of a finished good
• Consequently, data related to production must be maintained
for semifinished goods
• Front wheel assemblies are an example of semifinished
goods (tires, wheels, and tubes are purchased and then used to
create wheel assemblies)
 Material Type
• Finished goods (FERT) are created by the production
process from other materials, such as raw materials and
semifinished goods
• They are generally not purchased
• As a result, the material master for finished goods will include
data related to production and fulfillment, but not procurement
• An example of a finished good is the deluxe touring bicycle,
which is produced from raw materials (e.g., frames) and
semifinished goods (e.g., wheel assemblies)
• Trading goods (HAWA), like raw materials, are purchased
from a vendor
• Unlike raw materials, however, trading goods are resold to
customers
• Significantly, the company does not perform any additional
processing of the material prior to reselling it
• Therefore, the material master for trading goods will include data
related to purchasing and selling but not production
• An example of a trading good is a helmet (company simply
purchases the helmets from a supplier and resells them to its
customers; no other steps are involved)
 Material Groups
• Related to material type is the concept of a material
group, which includes materials with similar
characteristics
• For example, all of the materials used in the production of
bicycles, such as tires and tubes—which are raw materials—and
wheel assemblies—which are semifinished goods—can be
included in one material group called production
• As another example, all bicycles, which are generally finished
goods but can also be trading goods, can be placed into one
group called sales
• Alternatively, bicycles can be grouped based on how they are
used, such as touring and off-road
• In the retail industry, material groups represent merchandise
categories such as footwear, clothes, and beverages
• Materials are grouped so that they can be managed collectively
• For example, planning for off-road bicycles is performed for all of
the bikes in that material group rather than for individual bikes or
brand names
Industry Sector
Industry Sector
• Like the material type, the industry sector also has a
control function
• When user creates a material master record, the
industry sector determines:
• Which screens appear and in which order
• Which industry-specific fields appear on each screen
• The industry sector user assigns to a material
cannot subsequently be changed
• In Customizing, user can define new industry
sectors and maintain the field reference for field
selection control according to his enterprise-
specific requirements
 Industry Sector
• Most data in the material master record can be
maintained directly by the user
• But some information is automatically updated by the system
• When user enters goods movements, for example, the system
updates the stock and consumption data
• Statistical information, such as the date of original creation
and that of the last change, can be invoked with Information on
material button (with the quick-info text Information on
material)
• Some data in the material master is used for information
purposes only, for example, description, size, and
dimensions
• Other material data has a controlling function in an
application
• For example, the MRP type controls the MRP procedure and
the price control indicator determines which material
valuation procedure is used
Extend Material Master Record
 Extend Material Master Record
• Once a department has created data for a material, the
material master record exists in the database
• If someone from another department later wishes to enter data, he or
she does not have to create the material master record from scratch, but
only has to extend the existing record by adding the information from
his or her department
• A material master is also extended when data pertaining to the material
is stored for further organizational levels
• User uses the transaction Create material master (MM01) to
extend a material master record by adding missing views or
organizational levels
• With the Change Material transaction (MM02), user can only change
the data of already maintained views and organizational levels
• Any changes user makes to data in a material master record
(using the Create or Change transactions) are logged in a
change document
• This means that user can trace and verify the change history at any
time
Lesson Overview
• For master data maintenance, different functions
can be used to simplify the data entry
• This lesson covers entry aids for the vendor
master record and the material master record
• Mass maintenance is also explained with a
simple example
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you’ll be able to:
• List the different entry aids for the maintenance
of the vendor master record and material master
record
• Outline the creation of a vendor master record
with reference
• Create a material master record with reference
material
• Use collective entry for storage location data in
the material master record
Creating A Vendor Master
Record With Reference
Entry Aids for Vendor Master
Record
• To help user creates a vendor master record, user
can use an existing vendor as a reference
• The system copies the master data from the reference
• However, the system does not copy all data, such as the
address
• The system prompts user to maintain the data (for
example, address)
• The control data is copied from the reference, but user
can overwrite it
• The transfer depends on several factors:
• The system copies only data that is not vendor-specific
• The address and blocking indicator are therefore not copied
from the reference
Entry Aids for Vendor Master
Record
• The transfer of reference data depends on the data
user has already entered for his vendor
• It is generally true that maintained data is not
overwritten by the reference data
• This means that the following happens:
• If user has already created the general data (name, address,
and phone number), only the company code data is adopted
when user enters the company code data. User must also
specify the reference company code. When user creates the
data for the purchasing organization, the system adopts only
the corresponding data from the reference.
• If user has not yet created the general data, the system
adopts only the language and country from the reference
address data
• In addition, user should specify the areas to be
adopted from the reference
• For example, if user does not specify a purchasing
organization, the system does not adopt the purchasing data
Entry Aids in Material Master
Maintenance
 Entry Aids for Material Master
Record
• When user maintains material master records, different
functions are available to simplify and accelerate his work
• The following entry aids facilitate material master
maintenance:
• Settings
• Many presettings can be used to avoid entering or selecting the same
data more than once
• User can preset the views that he is responsible for in the Select Views
dialog box
• User can also decide whether the dialog box is displayed only if he
specifically request it
• Similar presettings are also possible for the Organizational Levels
• In the transaction Create material MM01, user can choose Defaults →
Industry sector to specify the industry and then hide this field
• The default values specified like this are user-specific and can be
overwritten or reset at any time
 Entry Aids for Material Master
Record
• The following entry aids facilitate material master
maintenance (cont.):
• Reference material
• When user creates a material master record, user can also adopt the
data from an existing master record
• On the initial screen, enters the number of the reference material in
the corresponding field
• On the dialog box for entering the organizational levels, user will then
receive additional fields to specify the organizational levels of the
reference material
• If user wants to copy the purchasing data for a material, determine the
following:
• Whether only purchasing data that is valid cross-client is to be copied
from the reference. In this case, do not enter a plant for the reference.
• Whether the plant-specific data of a particular plant is also to be copied
from the reference. In this case, user specifies a plant (for which the
reference material is created)
 Entry Aids for Material Master
Record
• The following entry aids facilitate material master
maintenance (cont.):
• Profiles
• If a material is to be automatically planned or forecasted, user
must create data in the material master record
• To simplify entry of this data, user can use MRP and forecast profiles
• A profile is a key user can use to store MRP or forecast parameters
independently of the material master record
• This means that a profile is a collection of information for the
configuration of material master records
• The information stored in a profile is standard information that is
required for maintaining different materials again and again in the
same or a similar constellation
• If user creates MRP or forecast data for a material, user can enter
the profiles in the Organizational Levels dialog box
 Entry Aids for Material Master
Record
• The following entry aids facilitate material master maintenance
(cont.):
• Collective entry of storage location data
• One material can be stored in different storage locations
• To save storage location-specific data for a material master record, user must create
or extend the material master record for each storage location that is affected
• If the material master record already exists, it can be extended manually or
automatically with the storage location-specific data
• Manually:
• Here user enters the storage locations for a material master record using
collective entry
• This is much faster than entering the data individually for each storage location
• In the Material master menu, the function is under Other → Enter Storage
Locations (transaction MMSC)
• Automatically:
• Here the system automatically extends the material master record with the
storage location data after the first goods receipt postings
• All data that refers to the storage location affected is updated in the material
master record
• The system must be configured accordingly in Customizing for Inventory
Management and Physical Inventory under Create Storage Location Automatically
 Entry Aids for Material Master
Record
• The following entry aids facilitate material master
maintenance (cont.):
• Mass maintenance
• With a special mass change function, user can change several
material master records at the same time (for example, if
existing data has to be changed due to new circumstances)
• However, only experienced users should execute this function
Lesson Overview
• Cross-application mass maintenance provides
a tool with which many objects can be changed
simultaneously
• These objects include, material and vendor
master data, info records, and purchasing
documents
• An overview of the functions of mass
maintenance is provided in this lesson and it is
explained using a simple example of the process
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you’ll be able to:
• Name the objects that can be processed using the
mass maintenance function
• Outline the flow of mass maintenance
Mass Maintenance for Data
Objects
 Overview of Mass Maintenance
• Mass maintenance is a generic (cross-application) tool that can be used
to change large data quantities or to create new data
• With mass maintenance, user can change many objects at the same time
• This tool should therefore be used only by users with the corresponding experience
• These people must also have knowledge of the field names and tables used in the
SAP system
• This tool can be used by, amongst others, the applications listed in the
graphic “Mass Maintenance for Data Objects”
• For example, user can change the data in the material master records quickly
and easily in one simple step
• User has the option of changing the purchasing group or adjusting the GR
processing time in particular materials
• User can perform mass maintenance online or in the background
• If user wants to change many objects at the same time, chooses background mode
to avoid system strain
• In this case, the system issues a log with the changes executed and any errors that
occurred
• The system performs a consistency check for the changed data
• The system does not make any changes that would lead to data inconsistencies
• It flags these entries in the log
Perform Mass Maintenance (1)
 Mass Maintenance Process Flow
• User can find the mass maintenance tool under Logistics →
Central Functions
• User uses the object type to decide which application user wants to use
it for
• If user accesses mass maintenance from the menu of an application, the
correct object type appears automatically (for example, Logistics →
Materials Management → Material Master → Material → Mass
Maintenance)
• When user has selected the object type, the system displays
the relevant tables and fields
• Selects the tables in which user wants to change data
• Selects several tables only if user wants to make the changes in all
tables at the same time to keep the data consistent
• Otherwise, edits the tables one at a time to avoid poor system
performance
• User can select the fields with values user wants to change
immediately on the initial screen or on one of the screens that
follows
Perform Mass Maintenance (2)
Mass Maintenance Process Flow
• To limit the number of objects to change, enters
user required selection criteria
• With Choose selection fields button, user can
select further fields
• With Execute button (with the quick-info text
Execute), user starts the selection of data records
• Depending on the number of selected data
records, the system asks if user wants to execute
the changes online or in the background
Perform Mass Maintenance (3)
Mass Maintenance Process Flow
• Then chooses the fields user wants to change using
Choose fields button (with the quick-info text
Choose fields), and enters the new values in the
corresponding columns
• Select the column header and the data records to
change, and choose Perform mass change button (with
the quick-info text Perform mass change)
• User also has the option of changing a field entry
only when it has a particular value
• To do this, choose Restrictions button and enters the
new value in the first line and the value to be replaced in
the second line
• Saves the changes
• The system performs a consistency check
Any Question?