Scheduling agreement konwledge paper

Schedule agreement release processing -1-

Schedule agreement release processing

As of SAP R/3 Release 4.5

Overall process

In simplified terms, scheduling agreement processing consists of three main steps:

Material requirements planning
Release generation (FRC/JIT)
Output/Transmission of releases

1. Material Requirements Planning

The current overall delivery schedule for a material that is procured via scheduling
agreement releases changes continuously during an MRP run due to the
requirements for that material (dependent requirements and so on). This results in
quantities and delivery dates that are to be transmitted to the vendor in the form of
releases against the relevant scheduling agreement. Therefore the field EKPO-
ETDRK will get a value unequal “space”. Is the value 1, then this does mean that the
delivery schedule was created via MRP, is the value 2, then the delivery schedule
was created via ME38.
The prerequisite for automatic creation of schedule lines during requirements
planning is that a scheduling agreement is flagged as MRP-relevant in the source list.
You can do this in the Purchasing menu: Master data -> Source list -> Maintain
(transaction ME01).
You must maintain a record for the material here and in this record, the field ‘MRP’
must contain the indicator ‘2’. The schedule lines created by the MRP run are
assigned creation indicator ‘B’ and are contained in table EKET in field ESTKZ.
In contrast, manually created schedule lines are assigned creation indicator ‘R’.
Another difference between manual schedule lines and schedule lines from
requirements planning is that you can only enter a time for manual schedule lines.
We will not go into more detail on the individual steps of MRP here.


2. Release types / Release generation

Basically, release generation ‘translates’ the current overall delivery schedule in the
system into a release. Releases inform the vendor of which quantities of a material
are to be delivered on which date. The individual releases are recorded using the
release documentation and can therefore be displayed at any time. You can only
create releases for scheduling agreements with release documentation. (Document
type in the standard system is LPA or the Release docu. indicator must be flagged in
Customizing for Purchasing -> Scheduling Agreement -> Define Document Types.) If
a scheduling agreement was created under these customizing settings, the field
EKKO-LPHIS has got the value “X”. Via this check you see very fast if you are
working with LPA or LP.

Note:
There is no release documentation for stock transport scheduling agreements. Even
if the Release docu. indicator is flagged for document type LU in Customizing, it has
no effect.
There are the following types of releases

• Forecast delivery schedule (FRC)
Provides the vendor with information over the longer term about which quantities
of a material are to be delivered on which date. Delivery dates are usually
specified as calendar months or weeks.

• JIT delivery schedule (JIT)
Provides the vendor with information about which quantities of a material are to
be delivered at which point in time in the near future. Exact delivery dates
(calendar days) or even delivery times are usually specified. The suggested
quantity for goods receipts is based on the last release transmitted. If you use
both types of release, the system suggests the data in the JIT schedule. If you
use only the forecast schedule, the system suggests the data in the forecast
schedule.

Note: In order to work with JIT delivery schedules, you must have set the JIT
schedule indicator in the material master record (MARC-FABKZ) and in the
scheduling agreement item. (You do this on the ‘Purchasing’ view or on the ‘MRP
2’ view of the material master record.) This indicator controls whether JIT delivery
schedules can be created for a material in addition to forecast schedules.


Possible cause of error: Customer cannot create any JIT schedules:
If you have set the JIT schedule indicator in the material master record and the
scheduling agreement had, however, already been created, you cannot create any
JIT schedules for this scheduling agreement. Check if there are any change
documents in the material master record for the JIT schedule indicator and check
when the scheduling agreement item was created.
You can use creation profiles to influence the quantities and dates transmitted. You
configure a creation profile in Customizing for Purchasing by choosing Scheduling
Agreement -> Maint. Rel. Creation Profile for Sched. Agmt. w. Rel. Docu. (transaction
OMUP). We will go into more detail on these Customizing settings later.
The system stores a transmitted release with a release number and includes the
document in the release ‘history’. The system then generates the next release of that
particular release type with a number increased by one. Forecast schedules and JIT
schedules have separate number ranges.

Table:

EKEK (Header Data for Scheduling Agreement Releases)
EKEH (Scheduling Agreement Release Documentation)
When creating releases, the system reads extensive control parameters from the
creation profile.

Creating a release:
You can create releases using a report (RM06EFLB up to Rel. 4.5X) (intended for
regular releases). Please see also note 182210 which describes which report is valid
for the appropriate Release.

You can also create releases manually. You can do this from the scheduling
agreement delivery schedule by choosing Edit -> Generate JIT sched. or Generate
forc. schd. as well as from the item overview screen of transaction ME38 by choosing
Edit -> Generate JIT sched. or Generate forc. schd.

Note:
You must note that the system does NOT carry out a tolerance check or backlog
determination when you manually create releases. The system only aggregates
scheduled quantities. The backlog determination is only active if it is defined in the
creation profile. When creating releases the function module
ME_CREATE_SCHEDULE_DOC will be called (this is independent if transaction
ME84 oder ME38 is used). If a creation profile is maintained in the scheduling
agreement item and in this creation profile the flag “Determine backlog” is set, then
the routine Backlog_IM_Requirements will be called.


To check how a release was created (e.g. via report RM06EFLB or via transaction
ME38) it is possible to look in table EKEK. In field STAAB there could be the
following entries:

Space: this does mean via ME38
1: this does mean via ME84
2: this does mean MDXX (transactions like MD03, MD04)

Release creation basically consists of the following steps:

• Conversion of the current overall delivery schedule in the system into
aggregated release dates and quantities where applicable (see also ‘Creation
Profile’ for more information on this)
• Creation of a release (FRC/JIT) in accordance with a particular creation
strategy (for example, next creation date reached, current overall delivery
schedule has changed). You use both the ‘General parameters’ and the
‘Creation periodicity’ in the creation profile to control this. You can prevent
release creation based on a change in the current overall schedule by means
of a tolerance check, if necessary, so that minor changes compared to the last
release do not necessarily lead to the creation of a new release.
• Optional calculation or statement of backlogs and immediate requirements, if
this function is active.
• In the case of release creation ‘Based on changes’, optional tolerance check
that only allows creation of a release only if changes that lie outside a defined
tolerance limit have occurred since transmission of the last release

If the system creates a release, it also creates a message record at the same time.
This message record is a prerequisite for the output and transmission of the release
to the vendor.


Output / transmission of releases

You can process the message records for the newly created releases either
immediately or in a subsequent collective output. Messages are output immediately if
transmission time ‘4’ is set.

Collective processing is possible if you are working with transmission time ‘1’ (output
via RSNAST00) or ‘3’ (output via the application-specific output program).

Attention: RSNAST00 can process only datasets with dispatch time 1 and 2. The
report does not process data sets with dispatch time 4.

You create message condition records in the Purchasing menu by choosing Master
data -> Messages -> Sch. agmt. schedule -> Create.

When the system outputs a message (function module
ME_UPDATE_FROM_PRINTING is therefore responsible), certain updates take
place that designate the release as ‘completed and output’. Therefore it is necessary
that in customizing in transaction OMQP the field for “Update print-dependant
data”for the appropriate message type is set (T161N-DRUAB). If the system has not
yet output a release as a message, any generation of a further release will cause the
last release, which the system has not yet output, to be overwritten.

After the system has output the release using the main message type (see below for
an explanation of this), the fields ‘Output date’ and ‘Output time’ are filled.
Another important detail that is updated at this point in time is the resetting of the
‘Changed’ indicator (EKPO-ETDRK is changed into space) in the scheduling
agreement item. This means that after a release is output, the scheduling agreement
item in question is no longer regarded as ‘Changed’ (as regards the overall delivery
schedule in the system) until you process the schedule again manually or by means
of the MRP run.

The system can create a separate message for each release for a scheduling
agreement item. This means that the vendor receives one document for each
release. This lets you output releases individually or re-output releases that have
already been transmitted.
In order to have the system create a separate message for each release, you must
set the indicator ‘Rel. mess.’ (message per release) in Customizing for Purchasing,
by choosing Messages -> Message Determination Schemas -> Define Message
Schemas for Scheduling Agreement Release/Expediter -> Assign Schema to
Scheduling Agreement Release/Expediter.

If the R/3 system is customized in that manner then we talk about ”message
determination on release level”. With this customizing setting NO change messages
can be created. Technical explanation for that: Change messages can only be
formed when in table NAST already an entry exists with the same objectkey. This
means you can only work with change messages when in customizing the message
determination is maintained at “header level”. Messages created under “message
“determination at release level” can be displayed in transaction ME38 by selecting


the relevant item and choosing SA Release docu., then selecting the relevant release
number and choosing Messages per release, NOT via ME38 -> Header ->
Messages.

Note:
You can only output messages created at release level via the Purchasing menu, by
choosing Outline agreement -> Scheduling agreement -> Delivery schedule ->
Print/transmit (transaction ME9E).

If there are messages for the scheduling agreement that have not been output and
you subsequently set the ‘Messages per release’ indicator, you can still find the
messages that have not been output via Header -> Messages. You will find newly
created messages via the release documentation (ME38 -> select the relevant item -
> SA release docu. -> select the relevant release -> Messages per release).

The system stores the messages for a release in table NAST using the following key:

Object key (this means the document number)
Item
Release type (FRC or JIT)
Release number

Prerequisites for the transmission of scheduling agreements releases as messages
to the vendor:
As of Release 4.0, you must define exactly one message type as the ‘Main message
type’ for each release type in Customizing for MM, Message Determination for
Scheduling Agreement Schedules. Field ‘U’ (Update print-dependent data) must be
flagged for the message type in question in Customizing for Materials Management -
> Purchasing -> Messages -> Output Control -> Message Types -> Define Message
Types for Scheduling Agreement

Alle Abrufe müssen immer mit der Hauptnachrichtenart erstellt werden, da das
System sonst die druckabhängigen Daten nicht aktualisiert. Dies ist insbesondere
dann wichtig, wenn Sie mit verschiedenen Nachrichtenarten arbeiten.

Set the flag „Update print-dependant data“ or not?
In Release 4.6B you will get an error message if you try to set this flag several for the
same operation type.
In Release 4.6C you get a warning message. Background for this different
systembehaviour is the following:
If you are working with message determination on “release level” then several
message types for one operation could be flagged. If you work with message
determination at “header level” then only one message type per operation should be
flagged.


Recommendation:
You must always use the main message type to create all releases, otherwise the
system does not update the print-dependent data. This is particularly important if
you use several different message types (e.g. main message with medium 6 for EDI
and another message for medium 1 for printing which is not maintained as main
message.

You can only set the indicator once for each release type. Operation ‘9’ corresponds
to the forecast delivery schedule, and operation ‘A’ corresponds to the JIT delivery
schedule.
Example (transaction OMQP):

Operations for Message Type U (Update Print-Dependent Data)

9 LPH1 x main message type for FRC
9 LPH2 additional message type
A LPJ1 x main message type for JIT
A LPJ2 additional message type

After determination of the message type that updates the print-dependent data for
each release type (that is, for each operation), you must make sure that releases are
always created with this message type (called ‘main message type’).
You are allowed to create a second message type in parallel, whereby the main
message type should be the one that is created first (such as LPH2 as the second
message type for LPH1).

Please note:
Messages which aren’t the main message are called auxilliary messages. These are
all messages which have not set the flag for “update print-dependant data”.
Auxilliary messages must always be output before the main message is output, when
you work with message determination at “header level”.

After determination of the message type that updates the print-dependent data for
each release type (that is, for each operation), you must make sure that releases are
always created with this message type (called ‘main message type’).
You are allowed to create a second message type in parallel, whereby the main
message type should be the one that is created first (such as LPH2 as the second
message type for LPH1).

The messages for scheduling agreement delivery schedules in the standard system:

• LPH1 for FRC; updates data relevant for printing
• LPJ1 for FAB; updates data relevant for printing
• LPET for conventional scheduling agreements without release documentation
• LPMA for scheduling agreement expediters


Creation Profile

The extensive configuration options in the creation profile allow you to produce the
most varied results within the scope of release generation.

The creation profile is assigned to an SA item. (SA release item overview screen ->
Item -> More functions -> Additional data)
You create creation profiles in Customizing for Purchasing via Scheduling Agreement
-> Maint. Rel. Creation Profile for Sched. Agmt. w. Rel. Docu.

Creation profiles are plant-dependent and consist of the following

• General parameters
• Aggregation horizons
• Creation periodicity

General Parameters:

In the general parameters, you specify the following for each release type:
• If and, if so, under which conditions, the system creates a release of this type
(Creation strategy)
• If backlogs and immediate requirements are to be calculated and identified
Backlog: Quantities with a delivery date in the past that were transmitted to
the vendor by means of a scheduling agreement release, but which have not
yet been delivered
Immediate requirements: Quantities that are required immediately (today or
earlier) but which have not yet been transmitted to the vendor by means of a
scheduling agreement release.


Notes on Creation Strategy:

The settings for the creation strategy in the profile of the scheduling agreement item
act as a filter for the creation strategy of the creation run.
This ‘filter function’ is necessary, since it makes more sense to execute the creation
run using the strategy ‘Changed or next date’. This selects all scheduling agreements
in the plant in question that either indicate a change in the overall delivery schedule
in the system or for which the next transmission date is the same as or earlier than
the current date. This means by working with transaction ME84 with the scope of
select = blank determines the maximum number of scheduling agreement items. The
settings in the release creation profile restrict the selection then once more.
The creation strategy in the profile now controls if, and if so, on the basis of which
events the system has to create a forecast schedule and/or a JIT schedule for each
scheduling agreement item.

Schedule agreement release processing - 10 -

Only in this way is it possible, for example, to prevent creation of both a forecast
schedule and a JIT schedule during the creation run if the overall delivery schedule
for the scheduling agreement is changed. In the example, the system should only
create the forecast schedule based on the next creation date.

Indicator: Determine backlog/imm.reqt:

This indicator is also taken into account while creating a release via transaction
ME84. When the flag for “Determine backlog/imm.reqt is set in the release creation
profile, then in table EKEK the field RUSKZ is unequal space.

Explanation to the settings of the above screenshot:
In the JIT schedules is the presentation of “backlog/imm.reqt” activated, in the
forecast schedules cut off.

Basically is recommended by SAP, that backlog and immediate requirement should
only be presented in the delivery relevant release.

Indicator: „Backlog creation-relevant“:
This field is only relevant when transaction ME84 is used.

Please note:
If transaction ME84 is executed “without restrictions” then the settings in the release
creation profile are effectless. Only the settings concerning aggregation horizons und
the settings concerning internet are checked.


Aggregation horizons:

In the ‘Aggregation horizons’ area, you specify for each release type which time
horizon the system uses to determine release quantities and for which periods the
system aggregates the quantities to ‘period quantities’, where applicable.
The example below shows how you would set the parameters in the ‘Aggregation
horizons’ area to transmit monthly requirements quantities for the next nine months in
the forecast schedule and daily quantities for the next ten days in the JIT schedule.

In the field ‘Plan. ca’ (Planning calendar), you can store a planning calendar. You
maintain this planning calendar in Customizing -> Materials Management ->
Consumption-Based Planning -> Master Data -> Maintain Planning Calendar

The data entered in this example results in the system determining daily quantities
for the next ten working days in the JIT schedule.

The system determines monthly quantities for the next 180 working days (= 9
months, each containing 20 working days) in the forecast schedule.


Creation Periodicity:

In the ‘Creation Periodicity’ area, you specify for each release type if, and if so, at
what intervals, the system is to create a release of that type.

Every time that the system creates a release, it calculates the next transmission date
for periodic transmission based on the date.

Example:
The system is to create a forecast schedule once a month and at least one JIT
schedule per week. You need to set the parameters in the ‘Creation periodicity’


Tolerance Profile:

In the ‘Tolerance Profile’ area, you specify for each release type if the system checks
by how much the current release to be created differs from the last release
transmitted, and if so, how it carries out this check.

The purpose of the tolerance check is to limit the frequency of schedule updates

Hints:
• During the tolerance check, the system compares the release schedule lines in
table, not the schedule lines in table EKET and of the latest transmitted delivery
schedule (not necessarily to the last generated delivery schedule).

• During the tolerance check, the system does not check backlogs and immediate
requirements.

• There is a User-Exit to change the results of the tolerance check, please have a
look at note 506600.

Difference between individual and overall check:

The example below contains the following schedule lines

Old schedule line Schedule line changed to the following values:
--------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Day Quantity old Quantity new
xx.xx.xx 20 40
xx.xx.xx 30 30
xx.xx.xx 40 36
∑ 90 ∑ 106

In the tolerance check, upper and lower tolerance limits for this period are set to
20%.
If you make these changes to the schedule lines, with a basic overall check with 20%
as the upper and lower tolerance limits, the system does not create a new release.
The overall quantity of the schedule lines was 90 pieces and after the changes the
total of the new schedule lines is 106. Therefore, the change does not exceed the
20% upper limit. 20% of 90 pieces = 18 pieces and the quantity has changed by only
16 pieces.

In this example, if you check the schedule lines individually, the system would create
a release because you have changed the quantity in the first line by more than 20%
and it therefore exceeds the tolerance limit.


Internet:

Specifies whether the type of release created is an Internet release.

Use:
Internet releases are not made available to the vendor in the conventional manner as
printouts of EDI or fax messages. Instead, if the Supplier Workplace is used, the
vendor can view them via the Internet and acknowledge them if necessary.

Dependencies:

If you wish to use Internet releases, you must implement the Supplier Workplace and
enable your vendors to access it via the Internet. Internet releases are displayed in
the Supplier Workplace and can be acknowledged there by your vendors.

Via the Acknowledgment by vendor indicator, you can specify that the Internet
release does not count as "outputted" until it has been acknowledged by the vendor.

If you do not set this indicator, the Internet release counts as "outputted" immediately
it is created or itself released (approved).

In both cases, the output date and time are updated and the Internet release is
included in the release documentation. When the next release creation cycle takes
place, a new release number is generated.


Programs:
SAPLEINL main program for release documentation
RM06EFLB Release generation report as of release 4.5

Function group MEDE (Scheduling Agmt. Schedule Lines from MRP):

ME_UPDATE_SCHEDULES_DISPO Create scheduling agreement schedule lines
from MRP

Funktionsgruppe EINM (EDI Message Output: Purchasing):

IDOC_OUTPUT_DELINS Ausgabe Lieferplaneinteilungen LAB
(neu ab 4.0)

Funktionsgruppe EINL (Scheduling Agreement Releases):

ME_CREATE_SCHEDULE_DOC fixieren des auszugebenden Lieferplanabrufs

ME_READ_LAST_RELEASE Lesen des letzten übermittelten Abrufs
(hier ist insbesondere Kennzeichen FABKZ
wichtig. Wenn FABKZ gesetzt, dann bringt er
den letzten Feinabruf (FAB), wenn nicht
gesetzt, dann ist der letzte Lieferabruf (LAB)
relevant.

ME_SIMULATE_SCHEDULE_DOC dieser FB läuft bei der Toleranzprüfung, FB
wird durchlaufen, wenn man sich den
neueste Abruf ansieht

ME_UPDATE_SCHEDULE_DOC Verbuchung der fixierten Abrufdaten; wird bei
der ME84 direkt aufgerufen. Bei der ME38
wird er indirekt aufgerufen, d.h. in
ME_UPDATE_SCHEDULE_DOC wird
ME_UPDATE_DOCUMENT aufgerufen.

ME_UPDATE_SCHEDULE_EKPO Fortschreibung des nächsten
Übermittlungsdatums. Wird nur bei der ME84
aufgerufen und ist zuständig für das nächste
LAB/FAB Datum. Dieser FB wird nur
durchlaufen, wenn mit einem
Erstellungsprofil in der Lieferplanposition
gearbeitet wird.


Funktionsgruppe MEDRUCK:

Include LMEDRUCKF17 is important, because here does the output for the release
takes place.

Funktionsgruppe EINL:

ME_CHECK_TOLERANCE Toleranzprüfung bei Lieferplanabrufen

Printprogram: SAPFM06P
• Program ENTRY_LPHE should only be used for LPA’s and not for LP’s.

• Beginning with Rel. 4.0B the field EKPO-DRUNNR is no more longer used,
but rather the field Feld EKEK-ABRUF => Therefore no gaps can exist in the
release docuemdadurch.

Tables:

EKET
EKEH
EKEK


FAQ:

While using transaction ME84 messages can drop away.
Via ME84 you create at the same time JIT and forecast delivery schedules. This
phenomenon can only occur when message determination is customized at header
level.

Solution: So that no messages can drop away you have to execute the ME84 one
time for JIT and a second time for forecast delivery schedules.

Specific messages can’t be output:
You work with several messages at the same time and you have maintained the
message determination at header level.

Solution: The main message (that message which has got in customizing the flag for
„update print-dependant data „ must be printed last. Therefore you should work with
dispatch time 3 for this mainmessage to make sure that this message is printed last.

This difficulty concerns only LPA’s. For LP’s you don’t work with mainmessages and
auxilliary messages.

Is there a possibility to repeat printout for a release?
If you are working with message determination at release level, then a repeat printout
is always possible.

Are you working with message determination at header level, then auxilliary
messages can be repeated output as long as the main message is not output. As
soon as the main message is output, then the auxilliary messages can no longer be
output. A main message can’t be repeated, there is only the possibility for a testprint.

When do you work with change messages for delivery schedules?
Change messages could only be generated if you work with message determination
at header level. You can only generate a change flag for the message if there is
already existing an objectkey in table NAST. By using message determination at
release level the objectkey is always unique and therefore it can’t happen that there
is existing the same entry yet.

The objectkey is established as follows:

XXXXXXXXXXYYYYYZAAAAAAAAAA

X stands for purchasing document (10 digits)
Y stands for item (5 digits)
Z stands for release type (1 means forecast schedule line, 2 means JIT)


A stands for release number (10 digits)

Example: In table NAST we have got the following entry:

55000006270001010000000001

 It is scheduling agreement 5500000627
 Item 10
 Release type 1 => Forecast delivery schedule
 Release Number 0000000001

Scheduling agreement konwledge paper

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