moncombu.raju

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    Business Background

    The parts department serves the walk-in customer and service operations for internal & external processes.  Can it generate profits even in this tough economic times?  Yes...I believe it can offer predictable margins with streamlined process paired with high service level.  To maintain service level commitments the inventory needs to be available in the right place and right time to serve the request.  This translates into the dealer "brand" loyalty, and that means more business in return.

    Parts department is one of the key revenue generating areas in any dealer operation. Lets take a quick view on some of the feature & functions. 

    • Parts Sales order process
    • Parts Backorder processing
    • Parts return process

     

    Parts Sales Order process

    To create a parts sales order, you can use the Order Processing cockpit, Cash Desk or directly using the Create Order transaction.

    DBM Parts Order Header tab

     The order screen is arranged easily in tabs: Header, Item, Parts and Fast Item entry. The DBM order engine(the brain) guides the user to perform next set of actions depending on the status of the order.

     

    DBM Parts Order Item tab

    You can use the Item tab, Parts tab or Item Fast Entry tab to enter the items in an order. Ofcourse all  have specific features to support processes.

    Item tab: The search help(F4) on the parts is pretty neat, as it gives a quick view on the parts availability with simple green & red traffic lights. 

    During the parts entry step, the part is checked whether it belongs to a supersession chain(as defined in the ERP system).  If the part belongs to a supersession chain, the available-to-promise (ATP) check proposes the valid parts based on the date and ordered quantities (can be configured as a pop-up with selection).

    The parts availability can be seen at the plant level, and now at storage location(new in DBM7.0) level too. Here you see (and also change), is the price, discounts and surcharges. For detailed pricing view, the pricing condition pop-up is always available at a click of the pricing icon Pricing btn .

     

    DBM Parts order Procurement

    Parts tab: Typically there are parts(e.g. large or high-valued) which the dealer would either source it from the Vendor or may stock in another location within the dealer network. Well you can trigger the request for procuring such parts seamlessly from the DBM order (Parts tab Procurement section).

     

    DBM Parts order Fast entry

    Item Fast Entry tab: This is a lean view to maintain the items on the order and lets the user quickly process the order.

     

    Parts Backorder  Processing

    A new UI now enables the parts clerk to reprioritize and redistribute parts quantities in an easy to use environment that includes mass processing options and other features. This new feature allows clear visibility on the DBM orders items (with parts) which were not fulfilled.  An un-fulfilled order implies that one or more parts item has either a partial stock availability or no stock availability.  

    The web-UI for the Backorder list is based on the POWL(Power Worklist) concept and requires a new user role Parts Backorder Processor.

    DBM Backorder Processing POWL

    • Backorder: Perform availability check(ATP) on the selected line items directly from the list.
    • Redistribute: Distribute the confirmed quantities from one order line item to another order line item(s)
    • Goods Movement: Perform Goods Issue for the selected line items directly from the list.
    • Lock status: Check if the selected order(s) line items are locked.
    • Sort: Allows the list to be sorted(priortized) by certain criteria/weightage.
    • Refresh: Re-execute the query to update the list.

    Apart from the above functions, the POWL list can be personlized. You can create a new query or change an existing query.

    • Personalization: Lets the user define a new layout for the list. A default layout is delivered with the application.
    • Show Quick Criteria Maintenance: Use the available filters to limit the list entries e.g. by customer, advisor, date range, etc. Further you can specify the "Fully confirmed" (order line items for parts with confirmed qty) and a "Sort Id" - criteria which displays the list priortized by certain criteria/weightage.

    Parts Return Process

    In DBM the return parts process is based on the original parts order. Simply use the copy order functionality to use the original parts order which can be used to generate a parts return order. The system can be configured to perform the necessary checks (surely you remember the SD copy control concept, if not time to brush up on those skills).

    In summary, the Parts Backorder processing was a significant enhancement to the Parts process. Checkout Martin's blog What’s new with SAP DBM 7.0 to read the highlights of SAP DBM7.0

    Efficient Spare Parts Processing with collaborative Dealer Portal

    This blog belongs to the overall introduction blog about the Enabling Close collaboration with Automotive Dealers for Vehicle Sales Management. Here is a short overview on the features and function for spare parts processing, as available per the Business Package "Automotive Dealer Portal for SPP".

    Business Background

    In the aftermarket business there is pressure on overall parts margin from independent aftermarket chains.  Thus to maintain a profitable and efficient supply chain, importer, distributors or wholesalers need a tool for their respective dealers to manage and procure parts inventory.  To achieve this, a collaborative platform is required which lets the respective dealer's to access and enter the parts order, perform real-time availability check on parts and save/confirm the orders.          

    Here are some benefits which can be realized with the new Automotive Dealer Portal for Spare parts.

    • Create Parts order easily and process them efficiently
    • Monitor the orders - Search for orders by status, part number, etc.
    • Parts return process using
    •  Internal organization can see which deliveries still have open invoices
    • Use of web-browser access to perform all the process functions

    This Automotive dealer portal is operated by the OEM, importer or wholesale organization as a web-frontend of their SAP ERP solution for their retail network. The automotive dealer portal offers role-based and web-enabled user interfaces and a lean functionality of the Sales & Distribution, tailored for the role of automotive dealers.

     

    And now, let's a take look...

    The functionality shown here is the business package through the SAP Enterprise Portal.

    On the left hand side, you see the navigation panel.  There are primarily two sections under Overview, i.e. "Services" and "Portal Favorites".   On the right hand side you see the active queries which are pre-defined (see below).

    Spare Parts Landing page

    The user is able to see a default list of queries based on the organizational assignment such as sold-to-party and sales organization.

    Default Queries

    The user can easily adapt the queries to the business needs of the organization using the pre-defined selection criteria's.

    Sales Order process

    From the Orders query (as shown above), you can simply select one order from the list and start working with it by using the buttons as shown below:

    Order action buttons

    To create a parts sales order, you can use the [Create] button or click on the link [Create New Order] on the left hand navigation panel under "Services".

    Create Order

    Select the order type, change the delivery date, and enter materials and quantity.  You can click on the [Simulate] button to get availability information under the "Schedule Lines" tab.  Just press [Save] and your order is created in the ERP system.  An easy to read layout, a header area that displays the ship-to & bill-to info with the delivery date and the total value for the order.

    During the order processing, the part is checked whether it belongs to a supersession chain (as defined in the ERP system).  If the part belongs to a supersession chain, the ATP check proposes the valid parts based on the date and ordered quantities.

    It is possible to integrate external catalogs via OCI in the new Dealer Portal. You can attach documents to the order as well.

    Obviously, there are some more options to create the spare parts order such as XML upload, use of Template and Basket feature.   Using the template feature, a list of parts & quantities can be saved (under a template name).  This greatly reduces the effort to order recurring spare parts for the dealers.

     

    Return Parts Process

    This query lets you see the orders that have parts relevant for returns process and any existing Returns order.

    Return Parts query

    Similarly, the query for Deliveries can be used to create a Return parts order as well.

    The queries for Deliveries and Invoices provide the visibility and monitor for the organization as well as the dealers/users.  This information is also visible in the sales orders detail.  Further these queries can be cross-searched using various selection criteria's such as Sales order number, PO number, etc.

     

    Query "Materials"

    Material Query

    This is a new/enhanced functionality in the automotive dealer portal, which not only lets you see the material details, but you can create an order and/or add parts to the basket (for later use to create new order). Also you can perform the ATP check while you are in the [Detail] screen.

    In the navigation panel "Services", there are three entries which allow you to directly jump to the transactions:

    • - Create New Order: As mentioned above, you can start the business process of sales order for Spare parts also right from this link.
    • - Basket: Lets you take the parts which were temporarily saved earlier from your "Materials" query; and start either the Sales Order process, or even perform a quick ATP(availability) check.
    • - Personalization: Lets the user set his preferred customer and organization defaults.

    Well this was a short overview on the new Business Package Automotive Dealer Portal for Spare Parts Processing.   Let me know if you would like to read further details.

    Raju