Identification of a Material

Use

If you want to use the Configuration Engine in mySAP ERP to configure a product for a specific configurable material, you must identify this material accordingly.

Integration

You can use either the modeling environment for Variant Configuration or a utility to identify the material for the configurator.

Prerequisites

Note the prerequisites and constraints for using the Configuration Engine to configure products in ERP.

If you want to use the modeling environment for Variant Configuration to identify a material, you must load the material to the modeling environment and edit it.

Constraints

You can also change existing materials so that they can be used for product configuration with the Configuration Engine . When you do so, however, this applies only to future configuration tasks. The standard Variant Configuration function is still used for existing sales orders and material configurations.

Features

If you are familiar with the procedure for modeling a configurable material for use with the Configuration Engine and simply want to check that a material is identified correctly and edit it, you can use the following programs:

  • RCUIPCSWITCH for identifying the material

  • RCUIPCSWLIST to display an overview and identify a material

You can use these utilities to choose one of the following three options for configuring a product interactively:

Variant Configuration

Only the standard Variant Configuration is used for the material.

This is the default setting.

You cannot choose this option if your material is already configured for use with the IPC.

Variant Configuration in Productive Use – IPC for Testing

In this scenario, the IPC is used to simulate models while the standard Variant Configuration function is used in production operation. With this option, you can switch between the two configurators to simulate models.

You cannot choose this option if the IPC has been defined as the sole configurator for the material.

IPC Only

In this scenario, the IPC is used exclusively for the material.

You cannot choose this option if an

  • Order BOM

    or

  • Sales order (SET) with manual changes

has been configured for the material. The system checks this when the material is identified. Subsequent changes to the configuration profile (order BOM or SET with manual changes) should not be made.

You cannot change the IPC Only setting.

Activities

To start the RCUIPCSWITCH or RCUIPCSWLIST programs, proceed as follows:

  1. Choose Start of the navigation path System Next navigation step Services Next navigation step Reporting End of the navigation path .

  2. Enter one of the two program names and choose .

RCUIPCSWLIST

This program displays a table that shows an overview of all the configurable materials for which a configuration profile or configurator indicator has been set.

If order BOMs exist for a material, or the SET with manual changes option is configured, this is shown in the corresponding columns.

  1. Flag a material in the IPC Activation column.

  2. Use the input help to choose a different indicator (see the above explanations of the alternative settings).

RCUIPCSWITCH

Enter the name of the material and choose Get Setting for Material to find out how the material has been defined. Or else, choose one of the three radio buttons for the material (see explanations above):

  • Variant Configurator (VC)

  • VC in Production, IPC in Test

  • IPC Only

Choose .