This function enables you to combine the advantages of procuring materials on the basis of scheduling agreements with those of procurement by means of a centrally agreed contract.

Used in conjunction with your materials planning and inventory control system, scheduling agreements make it possible for you to procure required materials on a "Just-in-Time" basis. Two types of "scheduling agreement (SA) release" are available for this purpose: the "forecast (FRC) delivery schedule" and the "Just-in-Time (JIT) delivery schedule". The precise quantities and delivery dates set out in the SA releases directly reflect the requirement situation in the relevant plant. SA releases are thus an instrument for local procurement.

In contrast, as their name implies, centrally agreed contracts are negotiated centrally by a strategic purchasing organization (the reference purchasing organization) for the entire corporate group. Such contracts are therefore an instrument for centralized procurement. This usually results in especially favorable conditions for the buying entity.

The conditions of a centrally agreed contract negotiated by the reference purchasing organization can be used by all other purchasing organizations through SA releases issued against the centrally agreed contract. The instruments of centralized and localized procurement are thus combined.

In order that you can use a scheduling agreement that references a centrally agreed contract, the following must apply:

• The scheduling agreement must have time-dependent conditions.
• The contract must be a centrally agreed contract.