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The following functions are available to you in time scheduling: Sets of dates: Basic and forecast dates can be used as planned dates.

Actual dates are also shown here. Check dates: You can check consistency of the dates within the project

structure with or without taking activities into account. Inherit: Dates within the work breakdown structure can be inherited. Extrapolate: You can use the extrapolate function to calculate the dates for

higher-level WBS elements. Shift: You can shift all of the planned dates for the WBS elements or just

the dates in subhierarchies. Planning different calendars: You can use a different factory calendar for

each activity or WBS element. Scheduling: The scheduling function automatically calculates the dates for

activities and networks. Planning methods: You can use the planning method to extrapolate dates

automatically when you save your data.

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In projects without networks, dates can be planned manually for the WBSelements (basic dates).You can use the project planning board to plan basic dates for the WBSelements simply by dragging your mouse. You can plan these dates in theform of a table in Structure Planning.Basic dates can be extrapolated from lower to higher-level WBS elements or,conversely, inherited from higher to lower-level WBS elements. You can checkthe consistency of your scheduling data within the WBS structure.In the execution phase, you can enter actual dates by dragging your mouse.In the project planning board or the information system, you can compare theactual dates with the planned basic dates.

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In projects without networks, dates can be planned manually for the WBSelements (basic dates).You can use the project planning board to plan basic dates for the WBSelements simply by dragging your mouse. You can plan these dates in theform of a table in Structure Planning.Basic dates can be extrapolated from lower to higher-level WBS elements or,conversely, inherited from higher to lower-level WBS elements. You can checkthe consistency of your scheduling data within the WBS structure.In the execution phase, you can enter actual dates by dragging your mouse.In the project planning board or the information system, you can compare theactual dates with the planned basic dates.

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Each time a network is scheduled, the system carries out forward andbackward scheduling and determines floats and capacity requirements (ifactivated), as follows: Forward scheduling determines the earliest dates. Backward scheduling determines the latest dates.

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Floats occur if the earliest dates are different from the latest dates.The following list details the scheduling results: Scheduled start and finish for the network header Earliest start and finish dates (earliest dates) and latest start and finish

dates (latest dates) for the activities Earliest and latest dates for the relationships The reduction of activity durations if a reduction level was used in

conjunction with network scheduling Float times (total and free float) for the activities Capacity requirements for activities The requirements dates of the components assigned to the activity

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Depending on the settings used, you can use different scenarios for timescheduling. Two typical time scheduling scenarios are discussed below.In projects with assigned networks, you can use scheduling to derive thedates of the activities and WBS elements automatically.You can use the project planning board to select WBS elements and schedulethe activities assigned to them. The scheduling parameters determine how theactivities are scheduled.Networks are always scheduled forwards and backwards. The schedulingtype determines the original direction in which scheduling is carried out. Thesystem determines the earliest dates of the activities by means of forwardscheduling and the latest dates by backward scheduling.The differences between the earliest and latest dates of an activity arereferred to as floats. If these are less than or equal to zero, then the activity isdefined as a critical activity. Critical activities define the critical path in theproject.The dates of the assigned activities are summarized to give the scheduleddates of the WBS elements (thin time bars in the project planning board).The dates scheduled in the WBS structure can be copied to the basic dates ofthe WBS elements for the purpose of extrapolating them up the projecthierarchy. If the appropriate settings have been made, this can happenautomatically.

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In work breakdown structures with assigned networks, you can also plan thebasic dates for the WBS elements manually to specify that a certain part ofthe project has to be completed within a fixed time period.You can use the Top-Down scheduling scenario or suitable schedulingparameters to stipulate that activities are scheduled within these timeconstraints: For this, you may need to deselect the Network determinesscheduling and Adjust basic dates indicators.

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As of Release 4.6, you have the option of using predefined schedulingscenarios. The standard scheduling options are of course still available.Depending on the transaction from which you trigger the scheduling, you useeither the Parameters for WBS scheduling table or the Schedulingparameters for the network type table.Caution: The scheduling result depends on the transaction from which youstart the scheduling. In the project planning board, ensure that you select allobjects that you want to include in the scheduling. You can also use thisoption to schedule only subareas of a project.show session trace | show current state

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Scheduling types are used both for network scheduling and for WBS scheduling. The indicators have thefollowing meanings: Forward The system first schedules forwards from the start date in the network header or the WBS

element and then schedules backwards. Backward The system first schedules backwards from the end date in the network header or the WBS

element and then schedules forwards. Cap.requirements only No scheduling is carried out at all. Instead, the start and finish dates of the

network header are copied to each activity. Today's date Backward scheduling is carried out first, followed by forward scheduling starting from

today's date. Basic dates with times This indicator is not relevant for networks.

Scheduling parameters are created for specific plants and network types. The scheduling parametersdetermine scheduling, for example, in the transactions network maintenance (CN22) and scheduling of theoverall network (CN24). The indicators have the following meanings: Adjust basic dates Determines that the scheduled dates are copied to the basic dates of the network

header after a scheduling run. The settings for secondary requirements do not have any impact in thenetwork. Scheduling typeDetermines the type of scheduling - for example, forward first, then backward.

Start in the past:Determines how long ago (in days) the start date can be. If it is more than the specifiednumber of days, scheduling is carried out for today's date.

Automatic schedulingScheduling is carried out on saving. Log automaticIf a log is generated, it is displayed automatically. Break spec. schedulingThe exact time at which a break is scheduled (in the work center) is taken into

account. Shift OrderDetermines how the system deals with partially confirmed activities during scheduling. Latest material datesThe requirements dates for a material are determined based on the earliest or latest

date. Reduction TypeThe activity duration is reduced for either all activities or only those along the critical path

are reduced. Maximum reduction levelA reduction strategy can have up to six levels. The highest level of reduction is

specified here. ReschedulingDetermines how the system deals with work allocated in workforce planning after

another scheduling run has been carried out.

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The control keys for activities are set in Customizing using the transaction OPSU. The control key has indicators that define the following functions: Schedule Activities and activity elements are scheduled. For activity elements,

the dates for the activity are determined. Det. cap. req.Capacity requirementsare determined for activities and activity elements. The capacity requirementsare determined using the scheduling results. Therefore, only set this indicator ifyou also set the scheduling indicator.

Costs act.This indicator specifies that you use the control key for general costsactivities.

CostingThis indicator determines that activities and activity elements are takeninto account in costing.

Print time ticketThis determines whether time tickets can be printed. Timetickets are only printed if the Print indicator is also selected.

ConfirmationDetermines whether activities and activity elements can beconfirmed.

External proc.Determines whether activities and activity elements areprocessed internally or externally.

ServiceDetermines whether services can be planned for activities and activityelements. Only set this indicator if you select the External proc. indicator toallow external processing.

Print conf.This determines whether completion confirmation slips can beprinted. Completion confirmation slips are only printed if the indicator is alsoselected. For information on further relationships, see the online help.

PrintDetermines whether work papers (such as time tickets and completionconfirmation slips) are to be printed. For information on other relationships, seethe online help.

Sch. ext. proc.Determines whether activities are to be scheduled in line with thePlanned delivery time or Normal duration .

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Relationships determine the chronological sequence of the individual activitiesin a network (or standard network). You can enter additional data (such as atime interval or reference to a particular factory calendar) in the detail screenfor each relationship.The network graphic allows you to view the activity relationships in a time-dependent manner to display the logical sequence. All relationships in thenetwork graphic are displayed as FS relationships by default.

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A network is always scheduled forwards and backwards. The scheduling typespecifies whether forward scheduling or backward scheduling is carried outfirst.Forward scheduling calculates the earliest start and finish dates for theactivities. All activities that do not have predecessors are start activities. Thescheduling start date is the start date in the network header or the start datedetermined from backward scheduling.Backward scheduling calculates the latest start and finish dates for all theactivities. Last or finishing activities are network activities that do not havesuccessors. The scheduling start date is the finish date in the network headeror the finish date determined from forward scheduling.In the figure, the start dates are set to the beginning of the day (00:00) and thefinish dates to the end of the day (24:00). If work centers are entered for theactivities, the start and finish dates are within the operating time of the workcenters affected.

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Unlike activities, activity elements are not scheduled independently. Thesystem calculates the dates for activity elements with reference to the start orfinish dates of the activity. If required, you can maintain a time interval for thestart and a time interval for the finish in activity elements. The dates of theactivity element must always lie entirely within the duration of the higher-levelactivity.

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The system calculates the requirements date for components with referenceto the start or finish date of the activity. You can use the Schedulingparameters for network type or the Parameters for WBS scheduling to controlwhether the earliest or latest start date is used as the requirements date. Thetransaction used to trigger the scheduling determines which of the two tablesis used. If you schedule within the network or the overall network, theScheduling parameters for the network type apply. If you schedule within theproject planning board or using structure planning, the Parameters for WBSscheduling apply.If the requirements date is before the finish date of the activity, you can store acorresponding time interval by using an offset to the finish date.You can also set a requirements date for a material manually, independentlyof the activity date.

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The figure shows a milestone that is assigned to a network activity. Theplanned date is either entered manually or with reference to the activity. If thedate refers to the activity dates, you must decide whether it is to refer to theearliest or latest dates and the start or the end of the activity. Additionally, youenter a positive or negative offset for this reference date.You can also assign milestones to WBS elements. As of Release 4.6, theplanned dates for a milestone can refer to the basic start or finish date of aWBS element.

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You can maintain time constraints for the start and finish of activities. Theconstraints apply both for the latest and the earliest dates of the activities andactivity elements.You can maintain constraints for basic and forecast date sets.

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You can use reduction if the time period within which the activities are to bescheduled is not long enough to process all activities. This allows you toreduce the scheduled duration of internally processed activities.Reduction only affects the activities for which a reduction strategy has beenstored. At the most, the system reduces as far as the level of reductionstrategy entered in the network header.During scheduling, the system determines one reduction level for eachactivity. For example: The system calculates the earliest dates and determinesreduction level 2 for an activity. This reduction level is transferred to the latestdates.Important: Remember to be careful when using the reduction function as thesystem does not know whether the duration of an activity can be reduced. Itdoes not carry out plausibility checks or check available capacities.You can use reduction strategies to control how an activity's lead time can bereduced in levels. You can enter a reduction strategy in each activity.You can define up to six reduction levels for each reduction strategy. For eachreduction level, you can enter the reduction percentage you choose.

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To monitor the dates for a project, you compare the basic dates with the actualdates or forecast dates.Actual dates can be set manually for WBS elements. If you are using networkactivities, actual dates are typically set by confirming activities. If activities areassigned to a WBS element, the actual dates of the activities are proposed tothe WBS element as provisional dates that can be transferred to the actualdates of the WBS element if necessary.Note: Actual dates are usually updated for an activity during activityconfirmation. You can suppress this update if necessary. To do this, select theNo date update indicator during confirmation.

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For WBS elements without assigned activities, the following tasks apply: You can always maintain the actual start if the WBS element has the

status Released or Partially released . You can only maintain the actual finish if all lower-level WBS elements

have an actual finish date and the status of the WBS element is Released .

For WBS elements with assigned activities, the following tasks apply: You can only maintain the actual start if the assigned activity has the

status Partially released or Released . You can only maintain the actual finish date if all the lower-level WBS

elements also have an actual finish date and all the activities for the WBSelement have the status Finally confirmed .

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Actual dates are normally entered in networks using confirmation. This can becarried out using individual or collective confirmation, or the cross applicationtime sheet.Once an activity has a final confirmation, the start and finish of the earliest andlatest dates match the actual start and finish dates.Partial confirmations affect the scheduling result for the earliest date inaccordance with the Shift order indicator as follows: The Shift order indicator is not set: The actual start date and forecast

duration of the partial confirmation are taken into account when theearliest date is calculated.

The Shift order indicator is set: The actual start date of the partialconfirmation is not taken into account when the earliest date is calculated.

To call up an overview of your planned dates at a certain point in time(baseline), use either project versions or forecast dates.

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The planning of internal activities has a considerable influence on otherobjects and aspects in the Project System and in Capacity Planning.

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The figure illustrates all of the events in the lifecycle of an internally processedactivity. You can omit some of the events, if required. For example, capacityleveling or workforce planning may be unnecessary if the time and effort theseinvolve outweigh the benefits.

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The figure, highlights the following main settings for capacity requirements forinternal activities: The Control key , among other things, is used to set whether an activity is

relevant at all for determining capacity requirements. The value in the Work field generally determines the size of the planned

capacity requirements. The DistKey Inc proc. field determines how the capacity requirements are

to be distributed over the duration of the activity. If this field is blank, thedistribution key is determined from the work center. If the work center fieldis also blank, the work is distributed evenly to the latest dates.

The system can only determine capacity requirements if you have entereda work center . The requirements are generated at this work center andthe work center supplies the available capacity.

The Activity Type is determined from the work center. This is essential forthe calculation of the cost for an activity.

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The figure, highlights the following main settings for defining the capacities ofa work center: On the Capacities tab page, you can specify the individual capacity

categories (labor, machine, for example) of a work center. Each capacitycategory has its own available capacity.

The formula for calculating the internal processing requirement defineshow capacity requirements are to be determined from the activity details.Usually, only the Work field is used from the activity.

The distribution key of the work center is only used by the system if nodistribution key is specified in the activity.

The following tasks are performed in the header for the capacity category: You define the standard available capacity for the capacity category. This

standard available capacity can be refined using additional intervals. The Relevant to finite scheduling switch allows you to determine whether

the capacity category is to be considered in an availability check. You canperform this availability check from the network or during capacity leveling.

The overload specifies the percentage of capacity requirements that theavailable capacity may exceed without the availability check affectingactivity scheduling.

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The capacity data in the work center and the available capacity determine theavailable output of labor and machines within a certain time period. Availablecapacity specifies the performance of a capacity category in a work center.The formulas in the work center determine how capacity requirements arecalculated.

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Scheduling determines the capacity requirements using the scheduled datesfor the service to be performed. The system determines the capacityrequirements using the formula in the work center and the work from thenetwork activity.

Capacity requirements can also be determined for externally processedactivities. To do so, you must set the Scheduling and Capacity requirementsindicators in the control key. Capacity requirements are determined in thesame way as internally processed activities.

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You can evaluate capacity requirements directly in the Project Systeminformation system. Use the enhanced individual overview for capacityrequirements from the Structures Information System. The overview isstructured in exactly the same way as the Structures Information System. Youcan use PS info profiles, for example, to determine what information isdisplayed.Alternatively, you can also use the Capacities individual overview, which wasdeveloped for the R/3 Enterprise release. This is designed for occasionalusers and is easy to use. However, the information it provides is not asdetailed as in the enhanced individual overview.

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You can use capacity evaluation to analyze the capacity loads in yourcompany. You can perform various evaluations, as follows:

You can use the standard overview to provide an overv`iew of the loadsituation at selected work centers. It compares the capacity requirementsand the available capacity of the selected work centers with the capacityalready filled by the work centers for each period.

You can use the capacity detail list to display details of the orders andnetworks that create capacity requirements at the work centers.

You can use the variable overview to evaluate and display any data fromcapacity planning.

You can display the different evaluations in tabular and graphical formusing the SAP Business Graphics.

You can display or process work centers and capacities from all evaluationlists. You can also process orders and confirmations and displaystock/requirements lists from the detailed capacity list.

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The following list outlines various capacity leveling methods for networks andactivities: You can use the project planning board to display the capacity load for the

work centers assigned to the internal activities. These work centers appearas bars on a time axis. Red sections on these bars indicate an overloadwithin a specific time period. You can select a particular work center anddisplay a capacity load curve that shows both the capacity requirementsand the available capacity. You can use the project planning board to levelcapacities, for example, by changing the work center or rescheduling theactivity to a period when capacity is available.

For capacity leveling, you can use the capacity planning board either ingraphical or tabular form. Each of them has at least two sections, one forthe available capacity of the work center by period and the other for thecapacity requirements of different orders or networks.

Workforce planning is a user interface that you can use to distribute givenwork to people allocated to the work center.The following list outlines different views for capacity planning and forworkforce planning:The work center view selects all capacity requirements for the specified workcenters within a given time.The project view selects all activities with work centers for a specified project.

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Using workforce planning you can assign personnel to activities.The following are characteristics of workforce planning: Two different views: the work center view and the project view Personnel can be assigned to activities quickly and easily Data display:

- Availability of the person (read from HR)- Total capacity load on the person- Activity data

You can assign the personnel, who are assigned to the work center for theactivity; or personnel that belong to the project team assigned to a WBSelement; or, if the settings allow, personnel that are available in HR.The evaluation is carried out using the SAP List Viewer (ALV). The standardfunctions of this tool allow you to use the evaluation as a basis for printingworkforce planning, sending it to other users, or storing it in a local file.

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You can assign people to work centers at the following levels: At capacity category level At work center levelAssignment of persons to work centers is important in order to complete thefollowing: Workforce planning The time sheet, which proposes a worklist for entering activities for a

person

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In the execution phase of your project, you use confirmations to documentinternal services that have already been performed and record the processingstatus of activities. You can also use the Cross-Application Time Sheet torecord time data.Confirmations document the processing status of activities. Usingconfirmations you can enter forecasts for the remaining work and duration todefine how the project will progress. Various business transactions areexecuted automatically using confirmations, for example, posting actual costs,actual dates, actual labor and, if applicable, changing the activity status.You can create confirmations in the following ways: Individually for a network, activity, activity element, or capacity split As a collective confirmation for several network activities Using the Structures Information System (by selecting activities and

accessing individual or collective confirmation). You can send aconfirmation workflow from the information system to another user or to anorganizational unit

Using the Cross-Application Time Sheet (CATS) Via the Internet (by creating an individual or collective confirmation or

entering time data via the CATS) Offline using Mobile Time & Travel Via the PDC interface or using BAPIs to copy actual dates and actual work

from external systems (from SAP R/3 Enterprise)

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The Cross Application Time Sheet (CATS) is an integrated function forentering actual times that are important in HR, PS, PM, SM, CO, and MM-SRV.You can define the layouts and different functions of CATS yourself using dataentry profiles. By using different settings in the time entry profile, you candefine controls for entering adjustments.Reports pass on the entered, released, and, if necessary, approved data tothe various applications. The actual times may be important for variousapplications at the same time. In this case, multiple data transfers are made tothe different applications. As of Release 4.6, you can use a report to transferthe data to several target applications at once.

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Time data is entered for one or more people.CATS facilitates a flexible screen configuration for the settings, the worklist,and the data entry section, depending on the following: The group of employees (via data entry profile) User-defined (via table control)

You can use worklists to simplify time data entry for the employees.Employees use the data in the worklist (for example, the information for theaccount assignment object) as templates for the data entry section. Theworklists can be filled in using the following data: Activities to which the employee is assigned via the work center or

workforce planning (for PS, PM, SM) Activities via pool of confirmations (for PS, PM, SM) Objects the employee is working on (using the CATS database) Objects via BAdIs

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You use activities in the network to plan the resources required for a project.The Project System distinguishes the following resources: An internally processed activity defines the output to be provided by

machines and/or personnel of the actual company to complete the activity.You can evaluate the capacity load utilization of the work centers involved,schedule these capacities as necessary, and distribute work amongemployees.

You use an externally processed activity to specify the services that needto be provided by other companies to complete the activity. ThePurchasing Department is responsible for the purchasing of external work.

Service activities are also used to procure services externally. In contrastto externally processed activities, service activities allow you to draw upservice specifications and enter value limits for any unplanned services.The purchase of the required services along with the entry andacceptance of the services performed is also carried out by thePurchasing Department

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In the figure, the data for the external activity was read from a purchasing info-record. The fields read, for example the price per unit, are referenced, whichmeans that changes are no longer allowed in the activity.

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Externally processed activities, service activities, and a material that is to beprocured externally, trigger purchase requisitions. Depending on theconfiguration of the SAP project system, one purchase requisition may begenerated for each object or for each network.

However, within a project, project-specific purchase requisition collectiveindicators can be introduced. These indicators are not pre-configured inCustomizing for SAP PS; instead, they are user-defined character strings.They are then assigned to the relevant external activities, or service activities,or to the relevant material components.

Due to the purchase requisition grouping indicator, you have the option togroup several external processing activities, service activities, or materialcomponents in a purchase requisition within a network.

In addition, you also have the option to use several networks to groupservices and a material into one purchase requisition.

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You can create external activities and activity elements for the procurement ofexternal services (for example, if you commission a design office to design amachine). When you create an activity of this type, a purchase requisition isalso created and processed further in purchasing. When creating an externalactivity you can access data from Purchasing by using, for example, apurchasing info-record, which contains data on prices and delivery times.You can generate a purchase requisition for externally processed activitiesfrom the Project System. This purchase requisition is converted to a purchaseorder in Purchasing. A goods receipt and invoice receipt can then be postedfor the purchase order. Depending on whether the goods or invoice receipt isvaluated, you post the costs to the externally processed activity using one ofthe two business transactions.Externally-processed service activities are determined using the control key.You can also assign a work center and planned work to an externallyprocessed activity. This allows you to carry out capacity planning for yourvendors.

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If changes are made in the network to dates, or quantities for materialcomponents, or external activities for which a purchase order has alreadybeen created, a workflow can be triggered automatically. As a prerequisite,workflow for PO changes must first be activated in the Parameters for networktype .

The persons responsible in Purchasing receive a work item via SAP Officewith information on the required changes. They can then process thepurchase orders directly from the mail.

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In Customizing of the network profile, you can set default values for thefollowing fields of external processed activities: Control key, cost element,currency, purchasing organization, material group, purchasing group, andorder unit.

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You can use the following information systems to evaluate key figures for yourproject:The structure information systemThe cost, revenue, and payment (controlling) information system withhierarchy reports, cost element reports, and SAP List Viewer for line itemsCapacity analysisThe order report, lists of reservations, purchase requisitions, purchase orderspertaining to the project, and ProManThe stock or requirements overviewProgress analysis and progress trackingSAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW)The following reports and systems are available for cross-project evaluations:Project summarizationExecutive Information SystemProfit Center Accounting reportsProfitability Analysis reports

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The simplest scenario involves assigning material components directly to anetwork or directly to a network activity in the material overview screen. Eachmaterial component assigned in the material overview screen contains detailscreens which define information on procurement.As of Release 4.6, the item detail screen includes the ProcurementParameters tab that contains information on the item category, thecharacteristics of the material, and the account assignment of the component.

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The way in which components are procured depends on a variety of settings.The item category of the component assigned is an important indicator. Youhave several options. If you do not want to include the components inInventory Management but want to use them immediately in the network,choose item category Non-stock item ( N ). If you do, however, want to postthe components to a warehouse first (in other words increase stock) and usethe components in the network at a later stage, choose item category Stockitem ( L ). Furthermore, additional item categories (for example, variable-sizeitems or text items) are available.

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The way in which components are procured depends on both the itemcategory and the attributes of the material. The material master storesinformation in the following situations: The procurement indicator in the material master defines whether the

material is externally purchased, or manufactured internally, or both. Individual or collective requirements (or both) are possible for the material. The material can be procured in advance.

The control data of the project definition determines whether stocks can bebuilt up for your project.

The account assignment category of the sales order determines whethersales order or project stocks can be built up.

Using a special procurement key within the bill of material can specify that thecomponents are procured independently of the material master settings.

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The procurement indicator helps you to assign components to the activity. Itcontains default values for determining the stock and the procurement type.You can use a procurement indicator to prevent additional dialog boxes fromappearing during the material assignment.In the network profile, you can propose a procurement indicator that isdefaulted in the component assignment.

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The item category N non-stock item is used for components that are notprocured by way of warehouse stock, project stock, or sales order stock, butare procured directly by the network activity.Purchase requisitions are created for these components. These requisitionsare passed directly to Purchasing. When the goods are received, they are notplaced into stock, but posted to the activity.Non-stock items cannot be managed as project stock or sales order stock.

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If you choose direct procurement with item category N , you can choosebetween two procurement types: Either purchase requisition for the network orthird-party requisition . The procurement type itself is displayed on thePurchasing Data tab page on the detail screen for the assigned component.You can change the procurement type at a later stage.The purchase requisition number is displayed on this tab page. You can callup the purchase requisition directly from here. If a purchase order is alreadyavailable, its number will be displayed on the Procurement Parameters tabpage. You can also call up the purchase order from here.

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As long as you have activated the requirements within your network (for theentire network, the individual activity, or the individual component), a purchaserequisition is generated when you save data. You can analyze all purchaserequisitions and subsequent purchase orders for your project in theinformation system.In the Purchase Requisitions for the Project report, you can analyze thepurchase requisition, assign vendors, and create purchase orders for thepurchase requisition.In the Purchase Orders for the Project report, you can check and change allpurchase orders for your project.

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The item category L stock item is used for components kept in stock. Whenyou save, the system creates a reservation for the required material.The main function of material requirements planning is to ensure materialavailability (in other words, to procure the required quantities on time bothin-house and for sales). This includes monitoring stocks and, above all,creating procurement proposals for purchasing and production.Independent requirements (requirements for finished products, saleableassemblies, trading goods, and spare parts) trigger requirements planning. Tocover the requirements, order quantities and dates have to be determined,and the corresponding procurement elements scheduled. The procurementelement for requirements planning is a planned order, or for externalprocurement a purchase requisition. Dependent requirements are determinedby exploding the bill of material for materials produced in-house to determinethe quantity of components required to manufacture a finished product orassembly. Planned orders are created at each BOM level to coverrequirements when a material shortage occurs.Once quantities and dates have been planned in requirements planning, theseplanned procurement elements are converted into exact procurementelements: For production, this is the production order and, for externalprocurement, the purchase order.

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On the detail screen for assigning components for stock items, you can selectthe General Data tab page to change the requirements date, check thewithdrawal and confirmed quantity, and check the reservation number. On theProcurement Parameters tab page, you can determine when the reservationwill take effect for planning.The reservation either takes effect immediately, after release, or never takeseffect automatically. The last case is possible as of Release 4.6. This enablesyou to release the activity but leave the reservation inactive for planning. Youcan make the reservation active for planning at a later stage.

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The current stock/requirements list shows the current stock/requirementssituation of a material. This evaluation is contained in the project system underProject System Material Planning .The various MRP elements are reread and displayed when the list iscompiled. This means that the stock/requirements list always displays thecurrent availability of the material. Changes that are made after the planningdate are displayed directly, in other words the list is dynamic.Stock/requirements lists are not stored permanently in the system but arevolatile and are only stored in the working memory.From this list, you can display and change the individual objects that generateand cover requirements, you can display the associated master data, and youcan convert planned orders to production orders or purchase orders, forexample.As of Release 4.6A, the current stock/requirements list can be called up viaindividual access for a material number, but also evaluated via collectiveaccess according to product group, class, MRP controller, vendor, orproduction line.

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The MRP run for the project differs from the standard planning run. When theMRP run is carried out for the project, all components for the project areselected (as long as you select them via the project definition and not viasubhierarchies). The MRP run generates the dependent requirements ofcomponents with a BOM and generates a procurement element for thesedependent requirements.

In the turbine project, material T-20600 was assigned as a required assembly.The figure shows that the MRP run has generated a planned order for thereservation. Since T-20600 has a BOM with three components, the MRP rungenerates reservations for the corresponding dependent requirements andgenerates three further planned orders or purchase requisitions.

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The MRP run for the project differs from the standard planning run. When theMRP run is carried out for the project, all components for the project areselected (as long as you select them via the project definition and not viasubhierarchies). The MRP run generates the dependent requirements ofcomponents with a BOM and generates a procurement element for thesedependent requirements.

In the turbine project, material T-20600 was assigned as a required assembly.The figure shows that the MRP run has generated a planned order for thereservation. Since T-20600 has a BOM with three components, the MRP rungenerates reservations for the corresponding dependent requirements andgenerates three further planned orders or purchase requisitions.

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In engineering projects, it is common for critical components with long andunreliable delivery times to be purchased at an early stage in the project, wellbefore the project activities, where these components will be consumed, arespecified. Advance procurement is used to this end.You can only use advance (preliminary) procurement if you are working withstock. This means that you must use item category L when assigning yourcomponents to ensure that stock can be managed. To offset the requirementsfor procurement against those of consumption, the components must bemanaged in the same (sales order or project) stock.

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In engineering projects, it is common for critical components with long andunreliable delivery times to be purchased at an early stage in the project, wellbefore the project activities, where these components will be consumed, arespecified. Advance procurement is used to this end.You can only use advance (preliminary) procurement if you are working withstock. This means that you must use item category L when assigning yourcomponents to ensure that stock can be managed. To offset the requirementsfor procurement against those of consumption, the components must bemanaged in the same (sales order or project) stock.

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The availability check is controlled by multi-part checking rules.Checking rules must be determined for the individual application (for example,requirements planning, order management and so on) in Customizing.Checking rules include various elements: Checking group: Assignment in material master (planning data screen) Checking rule: Assignment to order type Scope of check: Specification of checking details for each checking rule

and groupCheck times: Checks carried out manually or automatically (at networkcreation and/or network release).Checking results: Missing material status or assignment of confirmed quantity.

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The scope of checking determines which stocks, issues, and receipts will betaken into account in the availability check. In the ATP check (available topromise, available on the requested date), only receipts that are posted beforea requirement (issue) are included in the check for this issue. The ATPquantity of a receipt is the quantity that has not yet been consumed byissues.

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Project-Oriented Procurement (ProMan) is a tool that helps you to perform project-oriented procurement. It supplies information about the status and progress ofinternal and external procurement activities.The Project System is integrated with many other applications in the SAP ERPsystem. An area in which this is particularly noticeable is the internal and externalprocurement of material and activities: As soon as an object is generated in theProject System, the relevant documents (for example, purchase requisitions) arecreated in other applications.These documents are processed by the corresponding departments (for example,Purchasing). Previously, this meant that the project team only had limited access toinformation that was important for the project, information that was actuallytriggered by the Project System.ProMan offers the following solutions to this problem: Consolidated information from the procurement process from a variety of

applications Structured display of information. The display can be adapted to suit the individual user Execution of individual steps in the procurement process directly from ProMan Access to data from the Project System, Purchasing, Production, Requirements

Planning, and Inventory Management All objects and documents are taken into account, both planned and unplanned

objects Manually created documents are also displayed

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When you call ProMan (transaction CNMM ), the system displays a selectionscreen. The ProMan selection screen is subdivided into three sections.The first section is where the components and external services are actuallyselected. You do this by specifying the project definition, sales order number,WBS element, or network. In the second section, you can enter a ProManprofile . This determines the display of variances and the selection ofdocuments that ProMan is to display. In the third section you define the criteriafor filtering the selection. In general, the filters can refer to attributes of thecomponents or the activities and activity elements.The selections you make here can be very complicated. You can save theselection criteria you maintain on the selection screen in a selection variant forfuture re-use.After you maintain the selection screen and execute the transaction, ProMandisplays a navigation area and different views of the project. The system usesthe SAP Application List Viewer (ALV) to create the views; as a result, you canuse your own layouts. One of the views that is used most frequently is thecomponent overview.

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The following information is displayed in the Components view, for example: Reservation number including item Name and description of the material Requirements quantity with unit of measure Item category Purchasing data (purchasing organization, purchasing group)In the navigation area, in addition to simply navigating, you can also assigncomponents from one activity to the next.

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The orders/documents view provides you with information about orders (forexample, planned orders, production orders) and documents (for example,purchase requisitions, purchase orders, requests for quotation, materialdocuments) that are assigned to the selected components (or externalservices). The individual documents and orders can be displayed directly fromProMan by simply double-clicking the individual document or order number.You can also create new documents from all of the overviews. The object thatyou have selected and the view that you are currently using both determinewhich documents you can actually create.The following list shows all the options that can be created: Reservation or purchase requisition Grouping to purchase requisition Purchase order Delivery Goods receipt and goods issue Transfer stock posting

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The Quantities view supplies you with detailed information about thequantities and stock levels of components. In detail, you see the followinginformation: Requirements quantity of the reservation Quantity in the planned order and in the production order Quantity of the purchase requisition and the purchase order Stock Quantity withdrawn Quantity in the material document

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The date overview gives you detailed information about the dates ofcomponents (and external services). For example, you are provided with thefollowing information: Requirements date Delivery date of the purchase requisition and purchase order Basic start and finish date of planned orders and production orders Final delivery date of production orders

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