Overview of Variant Configuration

Variant configuration enables the manufacturing of complex products that also have many variants. Often, new variants are created
by modifying existing product designs as the order is processed and reacting quickly to customers' requirements is also necessary.
With variant configuration, the customer or a salesperson can also determine features of a product, collect and document
specifications for the product and ensure that the product can be produced with those specifications while productions costs are
automatically calculated. The product configuration also improves information exchange between sales, engineering, and production.

Variant Configuration is integrated with or has interfaces to the following modules:

CA-CL	Classification
LO-MD-BOM / LO-MD-MM	Material Master, Bill of Material
PP	Routings, MRP, Production order
PP-PI	Master Recipes
SD	Sales, Conditions
MM	Purchasing
CO	Costing

Additionally, interfaces to CRM (IPC) and APO are also provided.

It is possible to configure:

• Materials
• Standard networks in the Project System
• PM General maintenance task lists
• Model service specifications

The  master data of a configuration model comprises materials, bills of  material (BOMs), classes, characteristics,
dependencies, and  configuration profiles.

In the material master, the MARA-KZKFG indicator determines  whether a material is configurable. Before a  material
can be configured, at least one valid configuration profile and one variant  class (standard class type 300) must be
assigned to the material.

The realization of a product's Bill of Materials / routings is controlled by the configuration model and its dependency knowledge
which is modeled and designed by the user.

The following steps are required to be able to configure objects and simplify and automate the production process:

Most important configuration tables:

Table	Description
MARA	General material data
CUCO	Master data table for configuration profiles
INOB	Assignment of internal number to object
MAST	Assignment: material to BOM
KSSK	Assignment: object to class
CUOB	Assignment: object to dependencies
STPO	BOM items
CABN	Characteristic master data
KLAH	Class header master data
KSML	Assignment: characteristics to classes
CAWN	Characteristic value master data
CUEX	Dependency source code - compilation
CUKB	Administrative information for dependency maintenance
CUKN	Dependencies for variants / configuration Database

Configuration Profile

The configuration profile contains the main dependency logic for the configurable material, controls how
BOM explosion is processed and allows further specifications for the BOM. Additionally, the class assignment
can also be maintained here.

For BOM processing, the following options are available:

1. Planned/Production Order
2. Sales Order (SET)
3. Order BOM

1.Planned/Production Order

When the level of BOM explosion (none, single level, multi-level) in the sales order is selected, the following
processes apply:

• All configurable items are configured in the sales order
• Sales relevant items are copied to the sales order as sales items
• Value assignments are stored on the data base for each configurable material

2.Sales Order (SET)

• Products are supplied together, but not assembled together (Its just a grouping)
• Only sales relevant BOM items are exploded
• 11, 12, and 13 have their own BOM, can be sold separately, not only in group 1

3.Order BOM

Order BOM is used for customer specific adjustment of the BOM and the value assignment is done in SD,
but not in BOM explosion.

Two types of order BOM can be choosen:

1. Result oriented (saves the final result with manual changes) 
2. Knowledge based (saves the Super BOM , manual changes, dependency knowledge)

Generally, the BOM explosion is controlled by the BOM usage, the BOM application and the BOM filters. 

Dependency Knowledge

The following type of dependencies are used in variant configuration:

Dependency Type	Where it is attached	What it is used For	Processing order
Preconditions	Characteristic value Characteristic	Hide a value Hide a characteristic	Preconditions are processed after the value has been set (by pressing enter)
Selection condition	Characteristic BOM/Routing	Make a characteristic required Select components	Selection conditions are processed after the value has been set (pressing enter)
Procedure	Characteristic Value Characteristic Configuration Profile BOM/Routing	Infer values, send values from root material to subcomponents	Procedures are processed in sequential order after the value has been set (pressing enter)
Constraint	Configuration Profile	Infer values top down and vice versa	Processing order of constraints is not fixed

The objects in the BOM can be called by either: $SELF , $PARENT or $ROOT depending on the level on which the object can be found.

Low level and high level configuration

High Level

On high level, every interactive configuration and all dependencies are processed. 

Low level

 Low level configuration refers to background explosion of BOM, production order creation and MRP restrictions of the selection condition,
the procedures changing master data and the class nodes replacements.

In low level configuration, processing of dependcies is limited and some syntax such as $set_pricing_factor is not read.

Class Nodes

Class nodes can be created by using classes as nodes instead of setting multiple BOM items in a following manner:

Database storage 

The main anchor where the configuration of an object in an application is stored is TABLE_APPLICATION-CUOBJ

Table	Description
AFPO	Production order
PLAF	Planned order
RESB	Reservations
VBAP	Sales orders
MARA(CUOBF)	Plant independent material variants
MARC(CUOBJ/V)	Plant specific material variants
EQUI	Equipments
SER00	Serial numbers
EBAN	Purchase requisitions
LIPS	Deliveries
EKPO	Purchase orders
VBRP	Invoices
BGMP	Master Warranty Item
ESLH	Service packages
PBED	Independent requirement data

Use CUOBJ and go to transaction CUTABLEINFO .
There you get all relevant configuration data stored in different tables on the data base on one screen.

Table	Description	Important fields
IBIB	Basic data	Ibase, objnr
IBIN	Instance	Instance (=ibase+1) In_recno (internal uni identif) Valfrom, valto, cuco (profile)
IBINOWN	Owner of instance	Inttyp, (obtab), objkey
IBINVALUES	Characteristic values of an instance	Sybmol_id, ataut
IBSYMBOL	Char-value combinations	Atinn, atwrt, atflv

Communication with other applications 

Very important is the pricing Reference characteristic to SDCOM-VKOND

Very common is changing master data via dependencies e.g. number of components in the BOM
Reference characteristic STPO-MENGE

The following fields can be changes by variant configuration.

Reading access to sales order data

Table	Description
VBAK	Header data
VBAP	Item data
MAEPV	Material master fields
MAAPV	Material master fields
VBKD	Sales document: commercial data
VBPA_AG	Partner: sold-to party
VBPA_WE	Partner: ship-to party
VBPA_RE	Partner: bill-to party
VBPA_RG	Partner: payer

Changing access by using VCSD_UPDATE Structure

Table	Description
BRGEW	Gross weight of   item
NTGEW	Net weight of item
GEWEI	Unit of weight
VOLUM	Volume
VOLEH	Volume unit
KWMENG	Item quantity
VRKME	Sales unit of measure
ZMENG	Target quantity
ZIEME	Target quantity unit
ARKTX	Article description

You moreover have the possibility to change master of BOM, routing and master recipes

Table	Description
STPO	Bill of Material (BOM)
POTX1	Item text
POTX2	Item text
ROMS1-3	Variable-size item   sizes 1-3
ROANZ	Number of variable-size items
ROMEN	Variable-size item quantity
MENGE	Component quantity

Table	Description
PLPOD	Task list and master recipe
LAR01-06	Activity types
VGW01-06	Standard values
VGE01-06	Unit of measure
ARBPL	Work center
LTXA1	Operation description
LTXA2	Operation description

Table	Description
PLFLD	Sequence of operations
LOSVN	Lot size from
LOSBS	Lot size to

Table	Description
PLFHD	Production resources/tools
MGVGW	Quantity
MGFORM	Quantity formula
EWVGW	Required quantity
EWFORM	Required quantity formula

Important function modules / programs 

Standard function module for interactive processing (high level)
ce_c_processing
Standard function modules for low level configuration BOM explosions
CUBX_CONFIGURE_MDSP  
CUBX_CONFIGURE_OBJECT
CUBX_CONFIGURE_STPOB 
CUKO_DDB_HAS_COMPONENTS  (SD)
CUBX_MDSP_HAS_CONFIGURATION (multi-level)
CUBX_STPOB_HAS_CONFIGURATION (multi-level)

Standard reading configuration from data base vc_i_get_configuration  (with dependency knowledge)
vc_i_get_configuration_ibase (without dependency knowledge)

External value set (BAPI/IDOC) Use transaction BAPI
-->  Sales and distribution
-->  Sales
-->  Sales Order
Relevant function module cei0_ddb_set_values_for_idoc

Performance issues 

• Number BOM explosions (SAPLCUKO)
• Perform BOM_EXPLOSION  CHECK_UNPROCESSED_DDB_MSGS in function group cuko
• Procedure and Constraints run too often • Procedure may be turned into constraints
• Reduce the amount stored values on data base • SDCOM_VKOND with $set_pricing_factor
• SCREEN_DEP-INVISIBLE
• Do not use actions
• Reduce the amount of values, may be check tables/function modules
• Do not use Overwritten characteristic
• Do not use class hierarchies / intersections
• Use class items instead of many selection conditions
• Make use of SAP_PRICNG
• Avoid empty fields in variant tables
• Do not assign small variant tables to data base tables (10chars*10000lines)
• Use Dependencies instead of manual conditions to set values SDCOM-VKOND
• Note 736268