ERP Master Data and Configuration Engine (SAP Library

ERP Master Data and Configuration Engine

Master data that you create and maintain in mySAP ERP can be used in Variant Configuration (LO-VC). If you want to use this master data with the Configuration Engine, you must take structural and functional differences into account and include them in the modeling process (delta list).

The Configuration Engine is also occasionally referred to as the Internet Pricing and Configurator (IPC) or the Sales Configuration Engine (SCE).

Overview

Common features:

● Both configurators require a product model that consists of objects such as materials, classes, characteristics, classification, and BOMs.

● The same object dependencies and variant tables are included in the configuration.

● Characteristics are usually assigned values during the interactive configuration process.

● The criteria for completeness and consistency are to a large extent the same.

● The configuration result is stored in similar structures.

The two configurators differ mainly in terms of the data basis used: while LO-VC can access the master data directly, the Configuration Engine uses self-contained copies of the master data, referred to as knowledge-base objects. The master data can be replicated in the form of knowledge-base objects and therefore can be used in environments in which the Configuration Engine is deployed.

Prerequisites

You maintain master data in mySAP ERP. To use master data to configure products in a different environment, such as CRM or Internet Sales, you must provide it in the form of knowledge bases.

List of Differences

The following list (delta list) can be divided into the areas:

● General Differences

● Bills of Material

● Objects of the Class System

● Object Dependencies

● Engineering Change Management

● Composite SAP Note

For all SAP Notes related to individual points in this list or other differences between the Configuration Engine and LO-VC, see SAP Note 837111 - Variant Configuration Delta List.

The differences between Variant Configuration (LO-VC) and the Configuration Engine shown in the list below refer primarily to the modeling process, which must ensure that the model operates as required in both configurators when it is used subsequently.

General Differences

Short Description	Configuration Engine	Variant Configuration (LO-VC)
Maintaining master data	The master data is write-protected in the knowledge base. Knowledge bases form the basis of every configuration carried out using the Configuration Engine.	Master data is edited in the ERP data base. For the configuration, LO-VC accesses the master data directly.
Reference characteristics that can be used	The master data tables that are available as standard depend on the integration environment. For more information, see Reference Characteristics and the Configuration Engine.	All ERP master data tables are available and contain relevant data for all application areas.
Configurable objects	Only configurable materials can be configuration objects.	Different objects can be configured; in addition to configurable materials, these include task lists, service specifications, or standard networks.
Configuration profile	Configurable materials without a valid configuration profile cannot be used.	Without a valid configuration profile, materials are regarded as not configurable.
Settings for the configuration profile, the initial configuration screen, BOM explosion	The Single-Level BOM Explosion setting is not supported. Moreover, the same restrictions that apply to Variant Configuration (LO-VC) also apply here.	See SAP Note 148778 for the permitted combinations of configuration profile.
Setting application views for the configuration profile	Application views defined in the configuration profile do not have any effect.	In the configuration profile, you can determine which application views are to be active.
Scenario setting for the configuration profile	The BOM is not exploded if the order BOM scenario is configured. Once the configuration result has been transferred to an ERP system, the BOM can be exploded in this system.	No restrictions
Search for product or material variants	For product variant searches, a string comparison is used for numeric characteristics. To achieve variant matching similar to LO-VC, specific Customizing settings are required.	When searching for material variants, LO-VC uses a tolerant comparison for numeric characteristics.
Product and material variants and BOM explosion	No BOM explosion for material variants because they represent single-level products.	Material variants can be created in such a way that the BOM explosion is copied to the sales order as a list of subitems under the relevant order item.
Definition of the initial configuration screen	In the knowledge-base profile	In the configuration profile
Conflict handling	Detailed conflict resolution help for occasional users	Technical conflict handling for modelers and experts.
Trace, troubleshooting	No trace	Trace is available in the configuration simulation and when a sales order is created.

Bills of Material

Short Description	Configuration Engine	Variant Configuration (LO-VC)
BOMs for each material	One bill of material	A material can have several alternative BOMs for different lot sizes.
BOM items	Objects that can be used: ● Materials ● Classes	Objects that can be used: ● Materials ● Classes ● Documents ● Texts and images
Data for BOM items	A BOM item contains: ● Component quantity ● Sales relevance indicator	A BOM item contains data that is relevant to all application areas.
Key for BOM items (key = number of the BOM item plus material number)	BOM item keys must be unique – they must not occur more than once in a BOM.	BOM item keys may occur several times. The BOM item is identified by an internal number.
Creating or deleting BOM items	Not possible	You can create or delete BOM items belonging to an order BOM.
Class items	Class items are only replaced automatically by materials during the configuration if a unique specialization can be found. For this purpose, the class item characteristics must be assigned a value manually, or the valuation must be derived from the original material by means of object dependencies.	The first material that matches the configuration query is used automatically to replace the relevant class item.
Manual specialization of class items	A class item cannot be replaced manually by a material (specialized).	Class items can be specialized manually.
Mandatory specialization of class items	A configuration is only considered complete if every class item is replaced (specialized) by a material – the replacement is therefore obligatory.	In the case of class items, you can specify whether the specialization is optional or mandatory. If there are no specialized class items in a multi-level configuration, this configuration is only considered incomplete if there are mandatory specializations below it.
Accumulation of quantities in the configuration	Quantities in multi-level BOMs are not accumulated. The configuration result indicates the quantity of a subordinate object for each unit of measure of the superior object. In the case of a vehicle with four wheels, each of which has five wheel nuts, the quantity of wheel nuts is indicated for each wheel (5), but not the total quantity of wheel nuts that belong to the vehicle (20).	Quantities can be converted and accumulated. The configuration result indicates the number of subordinate objects in a multi-level BOM.
Number formats	Only integers allowed.	No restrictions A quantity of 1.674 liters is possible.
Selecting components by classifying materials	Not possible	Possible
Selecting runtime versions according to plants	You cannot specify plants to select runtime versions.	You can select runtime versions on the basis of the plant that was specified when the version was created.

Objects of the Class System

Short Description	Configuration Engine	Variant Configuration (LO-VC)
Class assignment of characteristics	Characteristics that are not assigned to a class are automatically assigned to all classes.	Reference characteristics do not have to be assigned to a class.
Inheritance, class networks, class hierarchies	A unique list of predecessor classes must be available for class networks. This list is necessary to be able to determine the inheritance logic for default values of characteristics. If a list with superior classes cannot be created when the runtime version is generated, an error message is displayed, for example: Inconsistent class network CLASS_01 is assigned to CLASS_02, which, in turn, is assigned to CLASS_03. CLASS_01 is also assigned directly to CLASS_03. The second assignment is superfluous and inconsistent.	Class networks are completely flexible. The class network in the error message example for the Configuration Engine would be accepted in LO-VC.
Data types DATE, CURRENCY, TIME in the object dependency	Characteristics with the data type DATE can be used. The data types ● CURRENCY ● TIME cannot be used.	All data types can be used.
User-defined data types	Characteristics with user-defined data types (UDEF) cannot be used.	No restrictions
Value hierarchies	In the case of characteristics, value hierarchies are not copied; the values are output in a simple list.	No restrictions
Intervals for numeric characteristics	Numeric characteristics can be assigned only specific figures during the configuration process. Although the numbers can originate from an interval that is defined in the model as a value range, intervals themselves, however, are not permitted as value assignments.	Models can also contain intervals for assigning values to numeric characteristics.
Characteristic groups relevant for display, assignment of characteristics	A characteristic can be assigned to a maximum of one characteristic group relevant for display. Other assignments are ignored.	A characteristic can be assigned to several characteristic groups relevant for display.
Reference characteristic SCREEN_DEP	Restrictions must be observed. The following are supported: ● SCREEN_DEP-INVISIBLE ● SCREEN_DEP-NO_INPUT The following is not supported: SCREEN_DEP-RESET	No restrictions The facets of a characteristic can be created in such a way that they behave dynamically during the configuration process, that is, they change depending on which characteristic is valuated, and how. Here, you use the reference characteristic SCREEN_DEP during the modeling process.
Table reference of reference characteristics	Characteristics can refer to only specific fields and write to ● STPO-MENGE ● SDCOM-VKOND The table fields that can be read depend on the application environment in which the Configuration Engine is running (see also Reference Characteristics and the Configuration Engine). In general, the following applies: one table field for each characteristic in a runtime version. The contents of tables VBAK and VBAP can be loaded only using sales applications, such as the functions for entering quotations or orders, because the table contents are not part of the knowledge base.	No restrictions You can create an unspecified number of characteristics with reference to the same table field.
Changing reference characteristics	Only read access to input parameters for reference characteristics. The changed values are not analyzed. Send a configuration to the ERP system to be able to check it including the values to be derived.	A standard set of reference characteristics can be changed (structures SDCOM and VCSD_UPDATE, for example, for sales).
Class-specific overwriting of characteristic attributes	The attributes Not Ready for Input, No Display and Additional Values Allowed must be edited in the characteristic itself.	You can overwrite the characteristic attributes Not Ready for Input, No Display, and Additional Values Allowed based on specific classes.
Class-specific overwriting of characteristic value descriptions	Characteristic value descriptions must be edited in the characteristic itself.	You can overwrite characteristic value descriptions based on specific classes.
External value check	Not possible	You can use external value checks that are defined by means of a table or an ABAP function module.
Variant condition keys	If you want to assign variant condition keys, you must create a reference characteristic with reference to the table field SDCOM-VKOND and the variant class. This is checked when the knowledge base is generated. Variant conditions can be represented only as values of the reference characteristic SDCOM-VKOND.	Variant condition keys can be assigned directly to characteristic values.
Presentation of numeric characteristics	Values and value intervals are sorted in ascending numerical order. Long texts, value ranges, and exponential representations are not supported.	Values and value intervals are sorted based on the way they are created in the model. Long texts for values, value ranges, and exponential representations are supported.
Templates for characteristic values	Templates for characteristic values are supported only to a limited extent. Value templates defined in the IMG are not supported at all. In the case of numeric characteristics where the format has been specified (and a value template derived automatically from this), language-dependent decimal separators as well as the number of digits before and after the decimal point are checked when they are entered on the keyboard.	During the interactive configuration process, characteristic values entered using the keyboard are checked to determine whether they match the template for the characteristic value.
Variant tables	You can access variant tables or database tables only if these are referenced in the object dependency.	You can access variant tables or database tables by means of function modules without explicitly using object dependencies.
Characters outside the 7-bit ASCII character set in language-neutral fields	Language-neutral fields can contain 7-bit ASCII characters only (for example, no umlauts).	Characters outside the 7-bit ASCII character set can also be used in language-neutral fields.

Object Dependencies

Short Description	Configuration Engine	Variant Configuration (LO-VC)
Assigning object dependencies to characteristics and characteristic values	All procedures (and actions) must be assigned to a configuration profile or a BOM item.	Procedures (and actions) can be assigned to characteristics and characteristic values, as well as configuration profiles and BOM items.
Assigning preconditions to intervals	Preconditions that are assigned to an interval of the value area are ignored.	No restrictions
Actions	Actions must be converted to procedures. If the appropriate option is chosen – when the runtime version is created – this takes place automatically. In this case, the procedures generated in this way are set to position 0 in the Configuration Engine processing sequence. Actions are processed once every time data is released.	Processing of actions does not depend on a sequence. Actions – in contrast to procedures – are processed after the data has been released until no more values can be derived from the existing information.
Loading constraint nets	All constraint nets are loaded at the start of the configuration process.	Constraint nets that are assigned to a configuration profile are loaded only if the material was selected during the configuration.
Programming variant functions and user exits	In Java or C. Called up by a Java application. You can use the Java Native Interface (JNI) for this purpose. The functions of the Java Library cover those of the ERP function group CUPR. For more information, see Variant Functions.	In ABAP (standard) or C.
Name conventions for variant tables	Only alphanumeric characters and underscores can be used. The name must not begin with the character string “SCE”; it must also be different from general SAP standard tables (such as MARA or T100).	No restrictions
Standardized variant tables	The tables must not contain any intervals or empty fields.	The rows of a variant table can contain multiple values, no values, or interval values for a characteristic, unless the variant table is linked to a database table.
Reference characteristic SCREEN_DEP-INVISIBLE	Unknown – not assigned – characteristics must not be made invisible with SCREEN_DEP-INVISIBLE.	No restrictions Using procedures for the reference characteristic SCREEN_DEP-INVISIBLE, you can set up models in such a way that characteristics change dynamically during the configuration process.
Reference characteristic SCREEN_DEP-NO_INPUT	Can be used in procedures only.	No restrictions Using procedures for the object characteristic SCREEN_DEP- NO_INPUT, models can be set up in such a way that certain valuations are locked depending on the course of the configuration.
Preconditions for values that are identified as Restrictable or Additional Values Allowed.	Cannot be used	Can be used
Degree to which the permitted values of a class can be restricted.	You cannot restrict the permitted values for a specific class if the characteristic is marked as Additional Values Allowed.	Even if a characteristic is identified as Additional Values Allowed, the value range can be restricted for a specific class.

Engineering Change Management

Note the differences listed below if you are using Engineering Change Management in mySAP ERP to monitor changes made to the objects in your model.

Short Description	Configuration Engine	Variant Configuration (LO-VC)
Change numbers	Only change numbers with a valid-from date can be used.	You can use change numbers with a valid-from date or parameter effectivity.
Date of the validity of an object version	You determine the validity of an object version with the date that you specify for the relevant runtime version, together with the plant and the BOM application.	You determine the validity of an object version with the date that you specify when the material is configured.
Object versions	A runtime version contains one version of each object.	The database contains various versions of each object that was changed with Engineering Change Management.