Flagging Master Records for Deletion 
Use
You use the deletion flag for the master record of a technical object if it is no longer needed in the system.

You can set and reset deletion flags at any time.
Prerequisites
Do not confuse the deletion flag with the deletion indicator.

You cannot reverse the effects of a deletion indicator. If you discover that a master record has inadvertently been given a deletion indicator, you can only transfer its data to a new master record by copying.
Features
What are the Consequences of Setting a Deletion Flag?
When a deletion flag is set for the master record of a technical object, this means that:
What Happens When you set a Deletion Flag?
The deletion flag is of prime importance if a data reorganization has to be performed for the Plant Maintenance (PM) area. With the aid of a preprocessing program, the system administrator then establishes whether active dependencies belonging to the object marked for deletion still exist in the system. If this is not the case, the preprocessing program automatically sets the deletion indicator for the master record. Dependencies that are themselves flagged for deletion will no longer be taken into consideration by the program.
If no deletion indicators are set for a master record, this means that:
For more information on archiving PM master data, refer to the SAP documentation CA - Application Data Archiving.