You need make-to or assembly order processing in sales order-related production for a sales order with requirements that cannot be met by the stock of finished products in the warehouse.

• In sales order processing for assembly products, the components have already been manufactured and are ready in the warehouse for a one-level assembly.
• There is, in general, more than one manufacturing level in sales order processing make-to-order. Additionally, a part of the components is usually not covered by warehouse stocks, but must be created or procured for this sales order.

You can start production directly from the sales order, or after requirements planning has been completed once the planned order has been converted.

Sales order processing differentiates between:

• Products without variants
• One-level products with variants, but without a bill of materials (BOM)
• Multi-level products with variants with or without BOMs (only make-to-order)

Products without variants are uniquely identified with a material number and are described as a single-level bill of material (BOM), or as exactly one variant in a multi-level BOM. In these cases, you normally want to start production without calculating the requirements for the product in preliminary planning. Assemblies can, however be planned in advance without specific requirements and be calculated using dependent requirements. Here, sales order processing is no different to that for other uniquely identified products.

In comparison, products with variants need additional information and master data such as:

• Characteristics and values
• Class and object dependencies
• Configuration profiles
• Variant conditions for pricing (optional)
• BOMs and routings with items and operations that can be selected

In these cases, the product is configured according to specific customer requirements. This means that the system uses the classifying characteristics to make an evaluation in the sales order. It uses the evaluation later in the production process to select the exact assemblies from a planned super BOM, which can be forwarded from regulations, stored in the system. This type of product definition is particularly useful for complex products with large numbers of variants.

This procedure is also suitable for sales order-related products that can be described in detail using characteristics.

When absolutely necessary, a configured variant can be used in the sales order as the basis for other structural adjustments made to meet for this customer requirement. This is then called an order BOM.

You can only access order BOMs directly from the sales order. They have to be processed and adjusted after posting the sales order.

The following R/3 components are integrated in assembly and make-to-order sales handling:

An interface provides access to the enterprise areas of Planning and Production in Logistics.

• A combination of characteristics can be used for pricing in the sales order. Individual pricing conditions can contain individual condition texts. Pricing can be dependent on the characteristic values but regardless of the quantity of the product.
• The cost of goods manufactured can be calculated by costing the configured product. This will also determine which master data is necessary for the configuration of the sales order. You start this function directly from the sales order. The value that arises from pricing is copied into the sales order and is used as the basis of the sales price.
• At the same time, a cost object is created that includes profits and costs as well as all the target and actual values in the sales order, which are assigned to accounts. The profit margin can also be evaluated in the sales order.
• Availability check of components
• Transfer of requirements to program planning
• Delivery scheduling
• Credit limit check
• Export control

In credit management you can run static or dynamic checks on credit limits at different stages in sales order processing (for example, in the order, the delivery or at goods issue).
Risk Management provides additional procedures for guaranteeing against credit risk, such as documentary payments, payment cards or export credit insurance.

• The system checks availability in the customer special stock in production.
• The system re-checks the validity of the shipping deadlines.

2. In picking, you remove goods from the warehouse and prepare them in the picking area. These functions are also supported by the Warehouse Management system.
3. Delivery items are packed by assigning shipping units that can be composed of materials and packing, or just the delivery item.
4. Goods issue is the final step in shipping. This leads to a reduction in the customer special stock levels and an update in the balance sheet account in Financial Accounting (FI).

Picking links warehouse management (WM) with sales order processing. The system differentiates between picking in warehouses with fixed bin locations, or in warehouses with random storage (using transfer orders).

The information system helps you in planning, forecasts, and analyses. It uses master data and any transaction data that may result from the business processes for its evaluations.

The following scenarios can also be used in conjunction with sales order handling for assembly or make-to-order orders: