Distribution of Material Variants 
Use
If you use ALE to distribute
Material Variants, you can send the values assigned during configuration in the IDocs of the material master. You have the following alternatives:
- Send material variants directly
- Send material variants using change pointers
The system generates a change pointer when you create or change a material in dialog mode, if the values assigned to a material variant during configuration are changed, and if the generation of change pointers is activated for message type MATMAS.
Integration
The following rules apply when saving configuration data:
- Before transporting the configuration, the following data must already exist in the target system:
- The configurable material (KMAT)
- Characteristics
- Classes
- Class assignment for the configurable material
- Configuration profile
- Dependencies, if required
- In the target system, the system uses the object dependencies to run checks in the background, and only saves the configuration if it is consistent and complete.
- The configuration profile is transported with the IDoc for information only, and is not saved. However, the source system compares the configuration profile in the IDoc with the configuration profile in the target system. The material is only saved if the two profiles have the same scenario and the same name.
- These consistency checks can be switched off or made less thorough by implementing one or more of three modifications.
The following restrictions apply when sending configuration data:
- Configurations for mySAP Retail cannot be transferred.
- If you have used a user exit to implement multilevel configuration for material variants (see note 211898), multilevel configurations of material variants cannot be transported.
- If units of measure are overwritten in the configuration, the units are not transported as overwritten. The unit of measure defined in the characteristic is always transferred to the target system.
- If you use an IDoc to overwrite material master data in the target system, and the IDoc does not contain a configuration but the target system does, the configuration remains unchanged in the target system – it is not deleted.
- If you change the cross-plant material status, thereby releasing the distribution lock for a material, the material is sent in its entirety. In this case, all configuration data is sent with it. This also applies if the material status was not changed in dialog mode (for example, planned changes were activated, or an IDoc was imported).
Prerequisites
You have defined the following settings in Customizing for the material master:
In Customizing for the material master, choose Basic Settings then
Make Global Settings and set the When Sending Complete Material indicator.
- Send using change pointer
In Customizing for the material master, choose Basic Settings then
Make Global Settings and set the When Configuration Is Changed indicator.
Activities
To send direct, proceed as follows:
- In the SAP Easy Access Menu, choose Tools ®
ALE ®
Master Data Distribution ®
Cross-Application ®
Material ®
Send.
- Enter the material you want to distribute, and the class belonging to it (see also
Sending Material Master Data).
To send with change pointers, proceed as follows:
- From the SAP Easy Access Menu, choose Logistics ®
Materials Management ®
Material Master ®
Create/Change (see also
Creating a Material Master Record, and Changing a Material Master Record with Immediate Effect).
Change the configuration values assigned to the selected material (see also Maintaining Material Master Records for Variants).
The system generates a change pointer.