Automatic Load Building (SAP Library

Automatic Load Building

Use

In the automatic load building function, the system builds a load from existing purchase requisitions and purchase orders. It only takes purchase requisitions and purchase orders into account placed on behalf of a single site or site group with a single vendor.

Integration

For further information on the possible process variants, see Load Building.

Features

The system determines all the open purchase requisitions and purchase orders placed with a particular vendors by each site or site group and combines them in a single load. It determines the total weight, total volume, total units and total value for each load. The results are documented in a list of results.

Three different cases can occur:

The load meets all the requirements contained in the restrictions.

The system generates a purchase order. You can define a release strategy via the collective purchase order number (see Approval and Release Procedures).

The load does not meet the minimum requirements contained in the compulsory restrictions (because the value is too low, for example).

The system determines the articles that can be ordered automatically in load building. Using the forecast data, it finds the articles with the shortest range of coverage for increasingly larger periods in the future. It then increases the number of articles to be ordered until the restrictions are met for the load. The maximum number of days for which the system determines future requirements can be defined as required. The system does, however, keep the shelf-life expiration date of the merchandise in mind.

As a result:

If order items exist for an article, an item is added to a new purchase order.
If a quantity of an article is required in a purchase requisition, the existing quantity is increased.
If no order or purchase requisition items exist for an article, an item is added to a new purchase order.

If this results in the minimum requirements being met for the load, the system generates a purchase order and releases it automatically. If it cannot release it, it blocks it and flags the entry in the log for manual processing.

The load does not meet the maximum requirements contained in the compulsory restrictions (because the load is too heavy, for example).

The system generates a purchase order, but does not release it and flags it as requiring manual processing.

All purchase orders and purchase requisitions processed and generated in automatic load building as well as additional quantities in purchase orders that were optimized are displayed in the list of results.

Activities

To run automatic load building, from the Purchase Order screen, choose Order optimizing ® PO-based load building ® Load building run.