The KANBAN method for controlling production and material flow is based on a backward chaining of operations in production. Replenishment or production of a material is only triggered when a production level actually requires the material.

In KANBAN, material replenishment can be triggered, for example, by the work center that requires the material sending a card to the vendor responsible for manufacturing the material. This card describes which material is required, the quantity of the material required and where the material is to be delivered. The name KANBAN originally stems from these cards, which are called "kanban" in Japanese.

A further advantage of KANBAN is that the replenishment data can be automatically transmitted. In other words, the bar code reading is enough to transmit the data necessary for procurement and to post goods receipt on receiving the materials.

Using the Internet application component KANBAN, the vendor can request information about empty containers directly over the Internet. This type of replenishment transmission is an alternative to sending the vendor the kanban (i.e. the card) or giving the vendor kanbans for empty containers, if he or she delivers the requested containers. In addition, the vendor can confirm planned deliveries directly over the Internet.

Business-to-Business

If, as a customer, you want to offer a vendor company the Internet application component KANBAN, you will have the following advantages:

• The vendor has a clear overview of the product stock in all relevant control cycles and can determine which quantities of which products must be delivered. The vendor can also send notification of delivery quantities directly via the Internet from the same view.
• The evaluation of your product stock with the vendor, the compilation of the delivery due lists and the confirmation of the delivery quantities can all take place at any time of day, and are available all over the world.
• The Internet application is constructed simply and the layout can be adjusted to suit the vendor’s company requirements. The vendor does not require any R/3 knowledge.

The user, who is to check and refill the product stock, must have authorization for access to the following data:

To begin the application component in the Internet, the following prerequisites are necessary:

• The vendor must be entered in the vendor master of the SAP customer system.

• The vendor requires an Internet user master record of user type BUS1008 and a password in the SAP customer system.

Using transaction SU05 you can create, change and delete passwords for Internet users. To clearly identify the vendor, enter the object type BUS1008 next to the vendor number.

In the customer system the data necessary for KANBAN with replenishment strategy "external procurement" must be maintained. This includes control cycles, corresponding replenishment strategies, purchasing info records, contracts or scheduling agreements.

The Internet application component is a specific view of the kanban board, tailor-made for the vendor’s requirements.

The following differences exist between the R/3 standard transaction (kanban board: supply source at vendor) and the Internet application component:

• In the Internet application component the control cycles can be put together online according to various criteria. In addition the vendor can compile a delivery due list and confirm it directly. As a result of the confirmation, the vendor receives an overview of successful or faulty postings.

• In the Internet application component the status of the kanbans can only be set to "IN PROCESS". In the R/3 transaction other statuses are available.

For the Internet application component KANBAN you can expand the data, which is displayed from the control cycle. To do so the standard transaction must be adjusted slightly.

In the Internet application component there are four tables. In each table there are more program-internal fields available than are displayed in the standard version in the Internet. In order to display further fields in the tables in the Internet application component, you must add the table field corresponding to those table fields already displayed in the step loop of the relevant screen and the relevant template.

The data exchange over the Internet takes place on R/3 pages via transactions and function modules. The following development objects are necessary for KANBAN in the Internet:

Data output takes place using the Internet Transaction Server. Here, the data is mixed with output forms and made available to the Internet/Intranet in HTML format.

The output forms can be found in the subdirectory PKW1 in the TEMPLATES directory. The following forms are used:

SAPMMPKW_100.HTML

SAPMMPKW_110.HTML

SAPMMPKW_120.HTML

SAPMMPKW_1001.HTML

SAPMMPKW_1101.HTML

SAPMMPKW_1102.HTML

SAPMMPKW_1103.HTML

SAPMMPKW_1104.HTML

SAPMMPKW_1201.HTML

SAPMMPKW_1202.HTML

SAPMMPKW_1999.HTML

PKW1_D.HTRC

PKW1_E.HTRC

The figures in the names of the forms correspond to the appropriate R/3 screen numbers.

The service name of this Internet application component is PKW1. Under this service name in the SAP@Web Studio you can find all the appropriate files.