The Possibilities of Product Segmentation in S/4 ATP
Author: aRmando Chavez
Did you ever wish Global ATP (GATP in SCM-APO) could schedule orders at a lower level than just product/location, maybe down to a characteristic level? Has the promise of Characteristics Based Planning been elusive to everyone outside of the fashion industry? Well… SAP S/4’s new Product Segmentation capability might finally have bridged that gap.
The simplest definition of Segmentation: an attribute level extension to the material master. The concept comes from the fashion industry, where you can plan your supply/demand at the higher product level without explicit consideration of characteristics explosion such as size, color, and so on. But when the finished good is to be produced and sold, it is necessary to distinguish by the characteristics of the product. In SAP’s new solution, the segment is simply a 40 character field that can be partitioned and configured to store the applicable characteristics of your material. In the segment you can define an intelligent concatenation of the characteristic values or a numeric pointer enabling identification of differentiated elements of material stock. But, probably the most exciting thing about segmentation is that it is supported across the entire logistics process from planning and procurement to production and sales. Basic transactions like the Stock & Requirements list (MD04), Sales order creation (VA01), Stock Overview (MMBE), Purchase Order creation (ME21N) and other transactions are extended to break out supply and demands by Segment.