Distribution profiles are templates, which you can, for example, apply to materials when trying to determine the SKU data for a material quickly and easily. If you have a quantity for an AFS material and want to specify the SKU data for a purchase order, for example, you can carry out presizing based on distribution profiles to speed up the process and maintain accuracy. You can create distribution profiles based on historical data by using mapping. Distribution profiles are either material-dependent or material-independent. You can manage distribution profiles for the ratio of an AFS material in multiple plants according to the validity period and version. You can only use distribution profiles for plants, categories and periods in conjunction with AFS planned independent requirements.

The system offers the following levels for maintaining distribution profiles:

You can manage distribution profiles at client or material level. That is, you define which distribution profile the system is to use by defining which distribution profiles are valid for a particular plant and category, for example, and which are valid for the entire client if no specific plant version exists.

In a distribution profile, you determine a relationship for a particular AFS material or set of materials with the same grid between multiple

After carrying out presizing and copying a quantity from material level to SKU level in an application such as the purchase order, you can make manual changes to the quantity. Presizing describes how to bring a quantity from material level to SKU level, based on the relevant distribution profiles but does not prevent you from making exceptions and overriding the quantities at SKU level after presizing has run. The distribution profile is therefore only a template for breaking down material quantities to SKU level. You can also make changes to the distribution profiles themselves at any time and at any level.

You must create valid versions and validity periods for distribution profiles in AFS Customizing.

You can maintain default distribution profile versions for presizing to access the following three levels (material level has the highest priority and client level the lowest):

• Material Master and Plant Level AFS MRP view

• Material Master Level AFS Basic Data

• Client Level Customizing

You can override the default distribution profile when accessing presizing from planned independent requirements maintenance. You cannot override the default distribution profile in Purchasing.

By accessing Input Help for material-independent distribution profiles, you gain an overview of which profiles have been maintained for categories, grid values and so on.