SAP Supply Chain Management & Implementation Guide
A practical reference covering SAP Materials Management (MM), Production Planning (PP), MRP, procurement, inventory management, demand management, BOM, production versions and related supply-chain implementation processes.
SAP is widely used to integrate business processes across procurement, materials management, inventory, production planning and other enterprise functions. This SAP Supply Chain Management Guide brings together the SAP-related resources published on Supply Chain Line into one structured knowledge hub.
The purpose of this page is to make SAP supply-chain topics easier to discover, understand and navigate. Each major topic links to its corresponding detailed article so readers can move from a high-level explanation to the original implementation material.
What Is SAP in Supply Chain Management?
SAP is an enterprise resource planning platform used to integrate business information and processes. In supply-chain environments, SAP can connect activities such as demand planning, procurement, material management, inventory, production planning and production execution.
The SAP resources on Supply Chain Line particularly focus on implementation-oriented processes involving Materials Management, Procurement, Inventory Management, Production Planning and Material Requirements Planning.
SAP MM
Materials Management covering material master data, procurement, inventory management and invoice-related processes.
Read SAP MM GuideSAP PP
Production Planning and Control covering production planning, MRP, capacity planning and shop-floor control.
Read SAP PP GuideInventory Management
Material stocks, goods movements, physical inventory and related inventory processes.
Read Inventory GuideMRP
Material Requirements Planning connects demand with material, production and procurement requirements.
Read MRP GuideSAP Materials Management (MM)
SAP Materials Management, commonly known as SAP MM, supports processes involving material master data, procurement, inventory management and invoice verification.
The site's SAP MM implementation material describes an integrated approach covering master data, procurement procedures, inventory management and invoice verification.
SAP MM Implementation — Detailed ArticleKey SAP MM Areas
- Material Master
- Vendor / Supplier Master
- Procurement
- Purchasing
- Goods Receipt
- Inventory Management
- Invoice Verification
SAP Material Master
Material master data provides the foundation for many SAP logistics processes. Material information can be used across procurement, inventory and production-related activities.
The original SAP material-master resource discusses material numbering, material types and related master-data considerations.
Read SAP Material Master ArticleSAP Procurement & Purchasing
SAP procurement connects material and service requirements with purchasing processes and supplier-related activities.
The Supply Chain Line SAP collection contains procurement material covering purchase requisitions, purchasing procedures, vendor master data and external-service procurement.
Purchase Requisition
A purchase requisition represents an internal requirement for procuring materials or services. In the site's SAP implementation case study, MRP-generated requirements can result in purchase requisitions.
Read Purchase Requisition Case StudyProcurement Procedures
Explore the broader SAP procurement process collection covering purchasing and related supply-chain activities.
Explore SAP ProcurementVendor Master
Vendor master data supports supplier-related purchasing and procurement processes.
Read Vendor Master ArticleExternal Service Procurement
SAP procurement also includes processes for purchasing external services.
Explore External Service ProcurementSAP Inventory Management
SAP Inventory Management deals with managing material stocks, recording goods movements and supporting physical inventory activities.
The site's SAP inventory implementation article covers processes including goods receipts, goods issues, production-related movements, transfers, returns, scrapping, physical inventory and subcontracting.
Read SAP Inventory ManagementSAP Goods Receipt
Goods receipt records the receipt of materials into the appropriate stock category. The site's SAP documentation discusses receipts against purchase orders and related inventory processes.
Read SAP Goods Receipt ProcessSAP Transfer Posting
Transfer posting is used to record appropriate movements or changes between stock locations or categories. The original article discusses one-step and two-step transfer processes.
Read SAP Transfer PostingInventory Management Topics
- Goods Receipt
- Goods Issue
- Transfer Posting
- Physical Inventory
- Cycle Counting
- Material Returns
- Rejection and Return Delivery
- Scrapping / Destruction
- Production Material Issues
- Subcontracting
SAP Production Planning (PP)
SAP Production Planning and Control (PP) supports production planning, material requirements planning, capacity planning and production control.
The site's SAP PP implementation resource describes production planning as a medium- to long-term planning activity and production control as the detailed short-term planning and execution side of manufacturing.
Read SAP PP Implementation GuideSAP Production Planning
Production Planning connects demand information with the planning of materials and production requirements. The site's SAP PP article explains the relationship between Demand Management, Planned Independent Requirements and MRP.
Read SAP Production PlanningSAP Demand Management
SAP Demand Management determines requirement quantities and delivery dates for finished products and assemblies.
The site's implementation material discusses Planned Independent Requirements (PIRs), customer requirements and planning strategies such as make-to-stock and make-to-order.
Read SAP Demand ManagementSAP Sales & Operations Planning
Sales and Operations Planning connects demand and supply planning. Forecast information can be used to support production planning and subsequent material requirements planning.
The site's SAP material explains how demand planning can feed the production-planning process and ultimately support MRP.
Read SAP Sales & Operations PlanningSAP Bill of Materials (BOM)
A Bill of Materials (BOM) is a structured representation of the components required to manufacture a product.
Within SAP PP, BOM information is relevant to production planning and MRP because component requirements can be derived from the structure of the material being produced.
Read SAP Bill of Materials ArticleSAP Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
Material Requirements Planning calculates material requirements and planning dates based on demand, existing supply and relevant planning data.
According to the site's SAP PP implementation material, demand plans represented by Planned Independent Requirements become inputs to MRP. MRP then calculates material quantities and dates and can generate procurement or production proposals depending on planning settings.
Read SAP MRP Process FlowTypical Conceptual MRP Flow
SAP Production Versions
A production version determines the relevant combination of an alternative BOM and task list or master recipe used to produce a material.
The site's SAP PP article explains that production versions can include validity periods and lot-size ranges and can be used in areas such as SOP, MRP, process-order creation and product costing.
Read SAP Production VersionsSAP Master Recipe
A master recipe describes production operations and phases and can define the resources and components associated with a production process.
Read SAP Master RecipeSAP Supply Chain Process Flow
The following diagram represents a conceptual relationship between the major SAP supply-chain topics covered by the articles on this site. Actual SAP implementations vary according to business processes, configuration and planning strategy.
SAP Supply Chain Implementation Perspective
SAP supply-chain implementation should be viewed as an integrated process rather than as isolated modules.
Master Data
Material and supplier-related master data establishes the information foundation for downstream processes.
Procurement
Requirements can be translated into purchasing activities, requisitions, purchase orders and supplier transactions.
Inventory
Goods movements update stock information and provide material movement records.
Production
Demand and MRP planning support production requirements and production execution.
SAP Supply Chain Management — Frequently Asked Questions
What is SAP in supply chain management?
SAP is an enterprise resource planning platform used to integrate business processes and information. In supply-chain environments, SAP can connect demand planning, procurement, inventory, production planning and related business processes.
What is SAP MM?
SAP MM stands for Materials Management. It covers processes such as material master data, procurement, purchasing, inventory management and invoice verification.
What is SAP PP?
SAP PP stands for Production Planning. It supports production planning and control, including material requirements planning, capacity planning and production-related activities.
What is SAP Inventory Management?
SAP Inventory Management manages material stocks and records goods movements such as goods receipts, goods issues, transfers and inventory adjustments.
What is MRP in SAP?
MRP, or Material Requirements Planning, determines material requirements and planning dates based on demand, inventory, scheduled receipts and other relevant planning information.
What is a purchase requisition in SAP?
A purchase requisition is an internal procurement requirement for a material or service. Depending on the configured planning and procurement process, an MRP run may generate purchase requisitions for externally procured materials.
What is goods receipt in SAP?
Goods receipt records the receipt of materials into an appropriate stock category. It commonly occurs when purchased or produced materials are received into inventory.
What is a BOM in SAP PP?
A Bill of Materials (BOM) is a structured list of components required to manufacture a material or product. BOM information can be used in production planning and MRP.
What is a master recipe in SAP?
A master recipe defines production operations and phases and can contain information about resources and components required for a production process.
What is a production version in SAP?
A production version defines the relevant BOM and task-list or master-recipe combination for producing a material, together with applicable validity and lot-size information.
How does MRP connect procurement and production?
MRP evaluates material requirements and available supply and can create planning proposals. Depending on configuration and material planning settings, these proposals can support external procurement or in-house production.
Is this SAP guide suitable for SAP S/4HANA?
The page is useful for understanding SAP supply-chain concepts and historical implementation processes. However, many source articles were written around SAP ERP / SAP R/3-era implementations, so current S/4HANA transactions, configuration and best practices should be verified against current SAP documentation.
SAP Topics Covered by Supply Chain Line
This SAP knowledge hub connects the following related topics and entities:
Explore the SAP Resource Collection
For readers who want to continue beyond this pillar page, the site's SAP-related taxonomy provides additional implementation articles covering SAP, SAP Implementation, SAP PP Implementation, Inventory Management in SAP, Materials Management Implementation, MRP, Procurement and Production Planning.
SAP Articles
Explore SAPSAP Implementation
Explore SAP ImplementationSAP PP Implementation
Explore SAP PPMRP
Explore MRPAbout This SAP Resource
This page is an editorial knowledge hub created from SAP-related supply-chain content published on Supply Chain Line. It is intended for educational, research and process-reference purposes.
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