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Settings for Physical Inventory

In this step, you make the basic settings for the physical inventory. You define that:

• Change documents are activated

• The book inventory balance is adjusted in the physical inventory

• document

• Serial number management is set up

Activating the creation of change documents

The system creates a change document when a user changes a physical inventory document or physical inventory count. The system creates a new change document every time a change is made.

Adjusting the book inventory balance in the physical inventory

document

This function defines how the system reacts when you post a goods movement for a material that is currently subject to an active physical inventory and for which the book inventory balance was frozen in the physical inventory document. The book inventory balance was frozen when you chose the Freeze book inventory balance indicator or entered the count results in the physical inventory document.

If inventory differences result from a book inventory balance that is no longer up-to-date when the differences are posted, you can normally initiate a recount. This means that you have to start a new physical inventory for the inventory document items that are to be recounted.

A recount cannot always be carried out, for example, if:

• It is not possible due to lack of time, because the physical inventory has to be carried out and completed in one weekend.

• The physical inventory count data is not entered in the system for a while after the count and the inventory differences are not checked until even later.

• Not all goods movements were posted in the system at the time of the count. For example, because data from a branch had not yet been transferred to the head office.

In the following example, there is an inventory difference of 920 pieces. But the actual difference at the time of the count was only 20 pieces, for 900 pieces were issued on 06.30.99 but were not entered in the system until 07.03.99. To calculate the actual inventory difference, the goods issue that was subsequently entered would have had to reduce the book inventory balance in the physical inventory document by 900 pieces.

Example of an incorrect book inventory balance in the phys. inv. doc.:

Curr. date | Pstng date | Goods movements | Book inv.bal.| Qty entered
------------------------------------------------------------------------
07.01.99 | 07.01.99 | phys. inv. count| 1000 pcs | 80 pcs
| | | |
07.03.99 | 06.30.99 | goods issue | 100 pcs | 900 pcs

You can use the Adjust book inventory balance indicator to configure the system so that when it posts goods movements, it recognizes the postings that would have affected the book inventory balance in the physical inventory document.

• When the indicator is not set (standard configuration), the system does not carry out any further checks regarding active physical inventory transactions.

• When the indicator is set, the system checks whether the goods movement would have affected the book inventory balance if the goods movement had been posted earlier. If this is the case, the book inventory balance in the physical inventory document and the inventory difference are adjusted by the amount of the goods movement. During this process, the system asks for the date of the goods movement. The goods movement must have taken place at least one day before the physical inventory count.

To include goods movements that have an identical posting date and inventory count date, you can set the indicator in one of two ways:

• When you set the indicator to 1 (active, physical inventory before goods movement on same date), the system assumes that the physical inventory was carried out first.

• When you set the indicator to 2 (active, goods movement before physical inventory), the system assumes that the goods movement was carried out first.
  

Set Up Serial Number Number Processing

When you carry out a physical inventory for materials that have serial number requirement, you can configure:

• Whether the existing serial numbers are displayed to facilitate data entry when you enter a physical inventory count in the dialog box for serial number entry.

• Whether the serial numbers are printed along with the physical inventory documents and, if so, how many characters these should contain. Each material that has a serial number is printed on a page of its own.

• How many lines should be printed for serial numbers per physical inventory document item.

Standard Settings

• The system does not create change documents for physical inventory

• documents.

• Adjustment of the book inventory balance in the physical inventory

• document is not active.

• The system does not display serial numbers when you enter an inventory count.

• The system does not print serial numbers along with the physical inventory documents.

• The system does not print lines for serial numbers when it prints physical inentory documents.

Recommendation

SAP recommends that you accept the settings defined in the standard system. In this case, no action is required on your part.

Activities