When do I Create a Variant BOM? (SAP Library

When do I Create a Variant BOM?

The term "variant" refers to changes to the basic model of a product. These changes occur when components are left out or added.

If you are producing several similar products that have a lot of common parts, you can describe these products using a variant BOM. This is the case, for example, if you replace one material component with another to make a different product. Variants can also differ by containing different quantities of a component. You create the new BOM as a variant of an existing BOM.

You can only create a variant BOM from a simple material BOM. No multiple BOM can exist for the material.
A multiple BOM cannot be converted to a variant BOM.

The following graphic shows two products, which are represented by a variant BOM.
The variant BOM contains components, which are only used in one of the variants, and one component, which is used in both variants.

Variant BOMs are supported for the following BOM categories:

Material BOMs

Document structures

Equipment BOMs

Functional location BOMs

Several products that are created as variants of one variant BOM are stored as a BOM group under one internal BOM number.
You can enter a description to describe all the variants of a variant BOM. You enter this description in the BOM group (BOM header).

As soon as you process one variant of a variant BOM, all the other variants are locked for processing.

As soon as you process one variant using a change number, you must use a change number to process all the variants in the BOM group.