C_TS422_2022 Exam Dumps - SAP Certified Application Associate - SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing

 Planned independent requirements (PIRs) are demand elements that represent the sales or production program for a material. They are used to plan the production or procurement of finished products or assemblies in advance, based on the expected demand from customers or internal sources. Some benefits of planning with PIRs are:

• Reduced delivery times: By planning with PIRs, you can ensure that the required materials and capacities are available when the actual sales orders arrive. This reduces the lead time for fulfilling the customer orders and improves the delivery performance.
• Option to forecast planning for production resources: By planning with PIRs, you can use forecasting methods to estimate the future demand for a material based on historical data and trends. This allows you to adjust the production or procurement plan accordingly and optimize the utilization of production resources, such as machines, labor, and materials. References: [Production Planning with SAP S/4HANA], page 144; [SAP Help Portal: Planned Independent Requirements].

• Increase the capacity supply in a time-phased interval: You can use the capacity planning table or the capacity planning board to increase the available capacity of a resource by changing the shift sequence, the shift duration, or the number of individual capacities. You can also use the capacity leveling function to distribute the capacity requirements over a longer time horizon. This way, you can avoid capacity overloads and create a balanced capacity load.
• Determine a time period with available capacity on the planning board: You can use the planning board to visualize the capacity load and the capacity availability of a resource in a graphical Gantt chart. You can use the filter and zoom functions to focus on a specific time period and resource. You can also use the capacity evaluation function to display the capacity situation in a tabular or graphical form. This way, you can identify the time periods with available capacity and plan the operations accordingly.
• Form optimum sequence to reduce setup times: You can use the setup matrix or the setup group key to define the setup times and the setup categories for a resource. You can also use the setup optimization function to determine the optimum sequence of operations that minimizes the total setup time. This way, you can reduce the capacity consumption and increase the throughput of the resource. References: Identifying the Basic Principles and Tools of Capacity Planning; SAP Help Portal; [SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide], page 82.

The planning strategy settings in the Capacity Scheduling Table determine how the system schedules the operations or orders on the resources. You can select the following settings:

• Finiteness level: This setting defines how strictly the system considers the capacity availability of the resources when scheduling. You can choose between infinite, finite, and optimized scheduling. Infinite scheduling ignores the capacity availability and schedules the operations or orders as early as possible. Finite scheduling respects the capacity availability and schedules the operations or orders only in the free slots of the resources. Optimized scheduling tries to find the best compromise between infinite and finite scheduling by minimizing the delays and overloads12
• Scheduling control: This setting defines how the system handles the scheduling conflicts that may arise when scheduling the operations or orders. You can choose betweenrescheduling, shifting, and splitting. Rescheduling means that the system moves the conflicting operations or orders to a later date. Shifting means that the system moves the conflicting operations or orders to another resource within the same resource network. Splitting means that the system splits the conflicting operations or orders into smaller parts and schedules them on different resources or dates13
• Direction: This setting defines the direction of the scheduling. You can choose between forward and backward scheduling. Forward scheduling means that the system schedules the operations or orders from the start date to the end date. Backward scheduling means that the system schedules the operations or orders from the end date to the start date14

References:

• Planning Strategy Settings - SAP Help Portal
• Finiteness Level - SAP Help Portal
• Scheduling Control - SAP Help Portal
• Direction - SAP Help Portal

A production planning run in Advanced Planning (PP/DS) is a process that optimizes the supply and demand situation for a set of materials and locations within a given planning horizon. The possible results of a production planning run are:

• Planned Order: A planned order is a proposal for internal production or external procurement of a material. A planned order can be converted into a production order or a purchase order, depending on the source of supply. A planned order can also be firmed, which means that it is not changed or deleted by subsequent planning runs.
• Production Order: A production order is a document that defines the operations, materials, resources, and costs required to produce a material. A production order is created from a planned order or directly by the user. A production order can be released, confirmed, and settled as part of the production process. References: [SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide], page 181; [SAP Help Portal: Production Planning Run].

Lead time scheduling is a method of scheduling production orders that calculates the start and finish dates of each operation based on the operation duration, interoperation time, and other time elements. The time elements that are relevant for lead time scheduling of a production order are:

• Setup time: The time required to prepare the work center for the operation, such as changing tools, adjusting machines, or cleaning the work area.
• Processing time: The time required to perform the operation, such as machining, assembling, or testing the product.
• Teardown time: The time required to restore the work center to its original state after the operation, such as removing tools, resetting machines, or disposing of waste.
• Interoperation time: The time between two consecutive operations, such as transportation, waiting, or inspection time.
• Float before production: The time buffer before the scheduled start date of the production order, which can be used to compensate for delays or changes in the production plan.
• Float after production: The time buffer after the scheduled finish date of the production order, which can be used to compensate for delays or changes in the production plan.

The opening period and the total replenishment lead time are not relevant for lead time scheduling of a production order. The opening period is a parameter that defines the earliest possible start date of a production order, based on the material availability date and the planning time fence. The total replenishment lead time is a parameter that defines the total time required to procure or produce a material, from the time the requirement is identified until the time the material is available for use.

References: [Production Planning with SAP S/4HANA], pages 177-179; [SAP Help Portal: Lead Time Scheduling].

The control cycle is the master data object that governs the relationship between supply source and demand source in the Kanban process. The control cycle defines the following data for Kanban production:

• The number of Kanban containers and the quantity per container or per call item
• The basic data required for automatic Kanban calculation, if necessary
• The replenishment strategy, which determines how the supply source replenishes the demand source, such as in-house production, external procurement, stock transfer, or assembly
• The print control, which determines how the Kanban cards are printed, if necessary
• The delivery address, which determines where the Kanban containers are delivered, if necessary
• The process control, which determines the status sequence, the goods movement, the packing instruction, and the production call profile, if necessary1

The control cycle is created and maintained using the app Manage Kanban Control Cycles or the transaction PKMC. The control cycle is assigned to a material and a plant, and can be split into different segments for different supply sources or demand sources2.

The other options are not correct for the following reasons:

• Replenishment strategy (A): This is not a master data object, but a field in the control cycle that specifies the type of replenishment for the Kanban process. The replenishment strategy can be in-house production, external procurement, stock transfer, or assembly1.
• Production supply area (B): This is a master data object that represents a physical or logical area where materials are supplied for production. A production supply area can be assigned to a material, a work center, or a production line. A production supply area is not directly related to the Kanban process, but it can be used to group materials or work centers for planning or reporting purposes3.
• Rate routing (D): This is a master data object that defines the sequence of operations and the work centers for producing a material in repetitive manufacturing. A rate routing canbe assigned to a material and a production version. A rate routing is not directly related to the Kanban process, but it can be used to calculate the production rate and the lead time for in-house production.

References:

https://blogs.sap.com/2016/06/20/kanban-process/

https://blogs.sap.com/2018/04/11/kanban-process-in-s4-hana-1709/

Consumption-based planning is a planning procedure that uses past consumption data to calculate the future requirements of materials. It does not consider the dependent requirements of higher-level materials, but only the independent requirements from sales orders, forecasts, or stock transfers. Consumption-based planning is suitable for B and C materials, which have low value, low demand variability, and high availability. Consumption-based planning reduces the planning efforts for these materials, as it does not require the maintenance of BOMs, routings, or production versions. Consumption-based planning can be further divided into reorder point planning, forecast-based planning, and time-phased planning, depending on the method of determining the reorder point and the lot size12 References:

• Consumption-Based Planning - SAP Help Portal
• SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide, Chapter 3: Material Requirements Planning, Section 3.1: Planning Procedures, Page 67

 A work center hierarchy is a business object in PP/DS that defines the structure and sequence of resources that are used for a production process. You use this object to represent the logical and physical dependencies of the resources and to control the scheduling and sequencing of the operations or orders. A work center hierarchy allows you to modelthe production flow and capacity more realistically and ensure the technical feasibility of the production plan1

A work center hierarchy can also be used to cumulate the available capacity and capacity requirements of the resources in capacity planning. You can cumulate the available capacities from subordinate work centers to a superior work center level in order to determine the total available capacity for the superior work center. This way, you can use a work center hierarchy as a group of alternative work centers that provide a cumulative available capacity for production23

References:

• Work center hierarchy | SAP Help Portal
• Work Center Hierarchy - SAP Help Portal
• Highlights for Manufacturing in SAP S/4HANA 2021 – Part 2: Production Planning, Engineering, Operations | SAP Blogs

The material type is a key attribute that classifies materials according to their characteristics and determines how they are processed in the system. The material type influences the following aspects of material management:

• Which material master screens appear and in which sequence: The material type controls which fields are required, optional, or hidden in the material master record. It also determines the order in which the screens are displayed when creating or changing a material master record. Different material types may have different views and fields depending on the business requirements. For example, a raw material may have a purchasing view, while a finished product may have a sales view.
• Whether the material is produced in-house, procured externally, or both: The material type defines the procurement type of the material, which indicates how the material is procured. The procurement type can be in-house production, external procurement, or both. The procurement type affects the planning and execution of the material requirements. For example, a material with in-house production procurement type will generate planned orders, while a material with external procurement type will generate purchase requisitions or schedule lines.

The material type does not influence the following aspects of material management:

• Which document types and class categories are allowed: The document type is a key attribute that classifies documents according to their business purpose and determines how they are processed in the system. The document type controls the number range, field selection, and status profile of the document. The document type is independent of the material type and can be used for any material type. For example, a purchase order document type can be used for any material type that is procured externally. The class category is a key attribute that classifies classes according to their application area and determines how they are processed in the system. The class category controls the characteristics, object types, and inheritance rules of the class. The class category is independent of the material type and can be used for any material type. For example, a material class category can be used for any material type that has characteristics.
• Which plant-specific and plant-independent statuses are allowed: The status is an attribute that indicates the current condition of an object in the system. The status can be plant-specific or plant-independent, depending on whether it applies to a specific plant or to all plants. The status is independent of the material type and can be used for any material type. For example, a material can have a plant-specific status of blocked for quality reasons, or a plant-independent status of discontinued. References: Material Type | SAP Help Portal, Material Master (LO-MD-MM) | SAP Help Portal, Document Types | SAP Help Portal, [Class Category | SAP Help Portal], [Status Management | SAP Help Portal]

A routing operation is a step in the production process that defines the work center, the duration, and the sequence of the operation. A routing operation consists of several time elements that are used to calculate the operation start and finish dates, as well as the capacity requirements. The time elements that are part of a routing operation are:

• Move time: The time required to move the material from one work center to another, or from the storage location to the work center.
• Setup time: The time required to prepare the work center for the operation, such as changing tools, adjusting machines, or cleaning the work area.
• Processing time: The time required to perform the operation, such as machining, assembling, or testing the product.
• Teardown time: The time required to restore the work center to its original state after the operation, such as removing tools, resetting machines, or disposing of waste.
• Queue time: The time that the material waits at the work center before the operation starts, due to the work center being occupied by another operation or having a fixed start date.

The pick/pack time and the float before production are not part of a routing operation. The pick/pack time is the time required to pick the material from the storage location and pack it for delivery, which is usually part of the outbound logistics process. The float before production is the time buffer before the scheduled start date of the production order, which can be used to compensate for delays or changes in the production plan.

References: [Production Planning with SAP S/4HANA], pages 177-179; [SAP Help Portal: Routing Operation].

The consumption of planned independent requirements by other requirements, such as sales orders or stock transport orders, depends on the planning strategy and the requirements type of the materials involved. The planning strategy defines the basic procedure for planning a material and determines whether the consumption is relevant for planning. The requirements type controls the consumption parameters, such as the consumption mode (forward, backward, or bidirectional), the consumption interval (period of time in which the consumption can take place), and the consumption indicator (whetherthe consumption reduces the planned independent requirements or not). References: Consumption of Planned Independent Requirements | SAP Help Portal, Planning Strategy | SAP Help Portal, Requirements Type | SAP Help Portal.

You can set up the supply source for the Kanban process in SAP S/4HANA by using different replenishment strategies, depending on whether the material is procured internally or externally. For internal procurement, you can use run schedule quantities, which are calculated based on the Kanban quantity and the number of Kanbans. For external procurement, you can use purchase orders, which are created automatically when a Kanban status changes to EMPTY. For stock transfer, you can use stock transfer reservations, which are also created automatically when a Kanban status changes to EMPTY and trigger a goods movement from the supplying plant to the receiving plant. References: Replenishment Strategies, Stock Transfer with Kanban, External Procurement with Kanban

 To set up a make-to-order planning scenario for a finished material, you need to choose planning strategy 20 (Make-to-Order) and select the corresponding Individual/Collective indicator for the components in the bill of material. This way, you can control whether the components are procured individually or collectively for the sales orders. The following steps explain how to achieve this:

• In the material master record of the finished material, you need to select the MRP type PD (MRP) and the strategy group 20 (Make-to-Order) in the MRP 1 view. This means that the finished material is planned based on the sales order requirements and not on the forecast12.
• In the bill of material of the finished material, you need to select the Individual/Collective indicator for each component. This indicator determines whether the component is procured individually for each sales order or collectively for all independent requirements. For the component that should be procured for each sales order individually, you need to select the indicator 2 (Individual requirements only). For the component that should be procured jointly for all independent requirements, you need to select the indicator 1 (Collective requirements only)3 .
• When you create a sales order for the finished material, the system generates a sales order item and a planned independent requirement for the finished material. The planned independent requirement is used as a planning element in MRP and triggers the procurement of the components according to the Individual/Collective indicator. For the component with indicator 2, the system creates a dependent requirement that is linked to the sales order item. For the component with indicator 1, the system creates an independent requirement that is not linked to the sales order item .

References:

• 1: SAP Help Portal: Make-to-Order Production
• 2: SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide, Chapter 2: Demand Management
• 3: SAP Help Portal: Individual/Collective Requirements
• : SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide, Chapter 3: Material Requirements Planning
• : SAP Help Portal: Requirements Planning
• : SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide, Chapter 4: Advanced Planning

You can limit the validity of a BOM by plant and by period. The plant determines the organizational area of validity for the BOM, and you can assign the same BOM to different or further plants if the prerequisites are met. The period of validity for a BOM is restricted by the valid-from date and the valid-to date in the BOM header and item, which determine when the BOM becomes effective and when it ends. References: Validity of Bills of Material, BOM Item Validity

 In reorder point planning, the system compares the available stock with the reorder point to determine the net requirements. If the available stock falls below the reorder point, the system triggers a procurement proposal for the material. The quantity of the procurement proposal depends on the lot size procedure that is defined in the material master. The lot size procedure determines how the system calculates the order quantity based on factors such as demand, costs, and storage space. There are different types of lot size procedures, such as static, periodic, or optimum lot size. References: [Production Planning with SAP S/4HANA], page 156; [SAP Help Portal: Lot Size Calculation].

Phantom assemblies are assemblies that have their own product structure, but whose assembly does not actually physically exist. The components of the phantom assembly are incorporated directly in the superordinate product. The product structure of the superordinate product contains a reference to the phantom assembly. You can use phantom assemblies for the following purposes:

• To simplify the structure of bills of material: Phantom assemblies allow you to group components that belong together logically or functionally, without creating an additional level in the product structure. This can make the product structure easier to maintain and understand.
• To reduce the number of material masters: Phantom assemblies do not require a material master record in SAP S/4HANA, as they are not physically produced or stored. This can save storage space and reduce the effort of creating and updating material masters.
• To reduce the number of changes required in bills of material: Phantom assemblies can be used to represent common subassemblies that are used in multiple products. This way, you only need to maintain the product structure of the phantom assembly once, and any changes will be reflected in all the products that reference it.

Phantom assemblies do not increase the number of planning levels, as they are not considered as separate planning objects. They also do not make the assignment of components easier, as the components are assigned to the superordinate product, not to the phantom assembly. References: Phantom Assembly | SAP Help Portal, Phantom Assembly | SAP Help Portal, Planning Phantom Assemblies | SAP Help Portal.

MRP (Material Requirements Planning) is a process that calculates the quantity and timing of material requirements based on the demand and supply situation. MRP performs a net requirement calculation for each material, which compares the available stock and the planned receipts with the requirements and the planned issues. MRP takes into account the following elements during net requirement calculation:

• Safety stock: The minimum quantity of material that should be maintained at all times to avoid stockout situations due to unforeseen fluctuations in demand or supply. MRP considers the safety stock as a requirement and tries to replenish it whenever it falls below the defined level.
• Purchase orders: The confirmed orders from external vendors that are expected to be delivered within a certain time frame. MRP considers the purchase orders as planned receipts and reduces the net requirement by the quantity and date of the purchase orders.

MRP does not take into account the following elements during net requirement calculation:

• Forecast key figures: The projected demand for a material based on historical data, trends, and other factors. MRP does not consider the forecast key figures as requirements, but as a basis for creating planned independent requirements, which are then considered as requirements.
• Maximum stock level: The maximum quantity of material that should be maintained at any time to avoid overstocking and excess inventory costs. MRP does not consider the maximum stock level as a constraint, but as a target value for the lot-sizing procedure, which determines the optimal quantity and frequency of replenishment orders.

References: [SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide], page 86; [SAP Help Portal: Net Requirements Calculation].

 If the operation of a production order is dispatched, the DSPT Dispatched status is set for the operation. This means that the operation has been assigned to a resource and scheduled with a start and end date and time. The options to reschedule the operation are as follows:

• You can reschedule the operation using finite scheduling in a planning table. Finite scheduling considers the capacity availability of the resources and the dependencies between the operations. You can use the planning table to manually drag and drop the operation to a different time slot or resource, or use the automatic dispatching function to optimize the scheduling of the operation. Finite scheduling updates the DSPT status and the dates and times of the operation.
• You can reschedule the operation in the Manage Production Operations app. This app allows you to view and edit the production orders and operations in SAP S/4HANA. You can change the start and end date and time of the operation, as well as the resource, in the app. However, the app does not check the capacity availability of the resources or the dependencies between the operations. Therefore, you need to ensure that the changes are feasible and consistent. The app updates the DSPT status and the dates and times of the operation. References: Identifying the Basic Principles and Tools of Capacity Planning; SAP Help Portal

A reduction strategy is a method of shortening the lead time of an order by reducingcertain time elements in the order scheduling1. The time elements that can be reduced by a reduction strategy are move time, wait time, and queue time2. Move time is the time required to move a material from one operation to another. Wait time is the time between the end of an operation and the start of the next operation. Queue time is the time before an operation can start at a work center due to the work center’s capacity utilization3. These time elements can be reduced by a percentage or a fixed value in the reduction strategy. References: 1: Reduction Strategy | SAP Help Portal(https://blog.sap-press.com/4-strategies-for-make-to-stock-production-with-sap-s4hana) 2: 4 Strategies for Make-to-Stock Production with SAP S/4HANA(https://blogs.sap.com/2022/03/22/highlights-for-manufacturing-in-sap-s-4hana-2021-part-2-production-planning-engineering-operations/) 3: Scheduling | SAP Help Portal(https://blogs.sap.com/2022/04/26/manufacturing-in-sap-s-4hana-cloud-planning-strategies/).

A resource network is a business object in PP/DS that defines the allowed directed connections between two or more resources. A directed connection means that the connection from Resource 1 to Resource 2 is not the same as the inverse connection from Resource 2 to Resource 1. You use this object to model existing production constraints more precisely, with the objective of creating a finite and technically feasible production schedule. Resource networks simplify the modeling of resource restrictions for consecutive operations or orders1

A resource selection is a business object in PP/DS that defines the criteria for selecting a suitable resource for an operation or an order. You use this object to specify the characteristics, attributes, and capacities of the resources that can be used for a particular production process. Resource selection allows you to optimize the resource utilization and reduce the setup times and costs2

A resource matrix is a business object in PP/DS that defines the relationships between different resources based on their characteristics and attributes. You use this object to determine the setup times and costs for changing from one resource to another. Resource matrix allows you to model the setup effort and expense more accurately and improve the production efficiency3

A resource hierarchy is a business object in PP/DS that defines the structure and sequence of resources that are used for a production process. You use this object to represent the logical and physical dependencies of the resources and to control the scheduling and sequencing of the operations or orders. Resource hierarchy allows you to model the production flow and capacity more realistically and ensure the technical feasibility of the production plan.

References:

• Resource Network | SAP Help Portal
• Resource Selection | SAP Help Portal
• Resource Matrix | SAP Help Portal
• [Resource Hierarchy | SAP Help Portal]

• Run PP/DS heuristic for repetitive manufacturing: PP/DS (Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling) is a component of SAP S/4HANA that provides advanced planning and scheduling functions for complex production scenarios. You can run the PP/DS heuristic for repetitive manufacturing to automatically assign planned orders to production lines based on the available capacity, material, and sequence constraints. The PP/DS heuristic also optimizes the line utilization and minimizes the setup times and costs.
• Assign planned orders manually in the planning table: The planning table is a graphical tool that allows you to view and manipulate the production plan for repetitive manufacturing. You can assign planned orders manually to production lines by dragging and dropping them in the planning table. You can also adjust the start and finish dates, quantities, and sequences of the planned orders. The planning table shows the capacity situation and the material availability for each production line.

You cannot plan both quantities and capacities during line loading in repetitive manufacturing by using the following options:

• Run MRP with quota arrangement: MRP (Material Requirements Planning) is a process that calculates the quantity and timing of material requirements based on the demand and supply situation. You can run MRP with quota arrangement to distribute the total requirements for a material among multiple sources of supply, such as vendors, plants, or production lines. However, MRP does not consider the capacity constraints or the sequence dependencies of the production lines, and therefore cannot plan the capacities during line loading.
• Assign planned orders manually in the planning table: This option is identical to option C and therefore cannot be a correct answer.

References: [SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide], pages 105-106; [SAP Help Portal: Line Loading in Repetitive Manufacturing].