Dependency planning enables you to base planning on value and quantity for primary costs (activity-independent and dependent). You do so by using proportional dependencies between the cost incurring object and the required component. The system can calculate primary costs for a statistical key figure (activity-independent and dependent), and for an activity type (only activity-dependent), by using a dependency.

When you base your dependency planning on values or costs, you plan primary costs for each unit of a statistical key figure or an activity type. These costs are either activity-independent or activity-dependent. Dependency planning that is based on values is normally used in administration, where it is normally very time consuming to determine proportional relationships. It is more common to group different cost incurring portions under a collective term, such as office supplies, and to plan per cost incurring unit, such as employees.

When you base your dependency planning on quantities, you plan the consumption of a resource for each unit of a statistical key figure or an activity type. For example, this could be screw consumption per car, or Lubrication oil consumption per production hour. The total planning costs are calculated from the consumption of each unit of activity or statistical key figure, multiplied by the quantity of the cost incurring object (for example, number of cars), and the valuation of the resource price. Dependency planning based on quantity is normally used in production, where there are usually simple proportional dependencies between the end product and the required additional substances.

You want to plan costs to create the bodywork for a car. You need various body parts, lubrication oil, screws, rivets and so on, which all need to be defined as resources. In dependency planning, the SAP R/3 System calculates the cost using the planned quantities of each part required (for example, metal parts, screws, rivets), the corresponding prices and the amounts needed for each car body (= dependency quantity).

The dependency type controls the different planning choices in dependency planning. You use it to specify what the dependency price or dependency quantity are to refer to.

The dependency type can have the following values:

1.

The dependency price or dependency quantity refers to the plan quantity of a statistical key figure, which was planned either independently or dependently of activity.

If you use dependency planning with activity, the SAP R/3 System uses the statistical key figure quantities that were planned with activity to calculate the plan costs. If an activity-dependent statistical key figure has not been planned, the system sets the value of the statistical key figure to zero.

If you use dependency planning without activity, the SAP R/3 System uses the statistical key figure quantities that were planned without activity to calculate the plan costs.

The SAP R/3 System updates the costs as 100% fixed costs.

2.

The dependency price or dependency quantity refers to the plan quantity of a statistical key figure, which was planned independently of activity.

The SAP R/3 System updates the costs as 100% fixed costs.

3.

The dependency price or the dependency quantity refers to the plan quantity of an activity type. You can only use dependency type three for objects that are to be planned independently of activity.

The SAP R/3 System updates the costs as 100% variable costs.

The dependency type is directly correlated to the dependency source type. This specifies whether the system uses quantities of statistical key figures (or of activity types) that have been planned independently, or dependently of activity to calculate the plan cost and plan consumption. The system places the plan quantity for the dependency source type in the dependency source quantity.

The SAP R/3 System calculates the plan costs specific to the period.

To plan additional fixed costs that are not based on dependencies using the same cost element, you must define another resource, for example, additional fixed costs. You need to specify the resource price with 1.

Before you execute dependency planning, you need to do the following:

For dependency planning based on cost:

For dependency planning based on quantity:

Resource definition, price maintenance, planning resource consumption.

You can also use data from external systems for dependency planning.

Dependency planning includes the following functions:

SAP provides the SAPR&R standard planner profile. This planner profile contains standard planning layouts for the value and quantity-based dependency planning on cost centers.

If you change the quantity for a statistical key figure or an activity quantity, the SAP R/3 System revaluates your planning automatically.

If you execute dependency planning with values that you did not plan manually (such as statistical key figures or activity types), the SAP R/3 System does not automatically revaluate your plan. If this is the case, you need to revaluate the planned costs. This is the only way to ensure that your planning is up-to date.