Differences in Varaint articles

[Former Member]

Hi SAP Guru's

Need your help in the below scenario.

I have one generic article which has got 6 varaint articles. When i assigned any specific charactertistics at the generic articles, it is not getting copied to all the variants. When I checked the "Different area of validity" in the basic data, i could see some varainces in assignments at the varaint article level.

Attached the screenshot for reference.

Could you please help in finding the rootcause.

Thanks

Kevin Easaw

[former_member335292 · Accepted solution]

Hi Kevin,

       Please do the following

1.Go to CLWG and check if the status is set to "Released" in Basic data tab.

2.Also check if Characteristics assignment is correct

3.Then go to CT04 and check the characteristics is set to "Released" in Basic data tab and also check the values are correct.

4.Go to WRFCHAR and check the Characteristic values assigned to characteristics.

5.If required go to WRFMATCHARVAL and change the characteristics value for GenericArticleVariant.

Hope it helps

Best Regards,

Aram.

[Former Member]

Hi Aram,

Thanks for the reply,

I have checked the steps given by you and i could see that everything is maintained.

But why some of the varaints are having the issue. if there is an issue with the characteristics, then it should impact on all the varaints.

Do you have an idea on this.

Thanks

Kevin Easaw

[former_member335292]

Hi Kevin,

        In this case, i would suggest you to go to MM44 and go to change history of each of these individual variants(problematic ones) and check if there are any changes that happened which may give you some clue.

Or there may some chances you had made some changes in characteritics before or after creating some of the variants which may give you some inputs.

Hope it helps

Thanks,

Aram.

[amit_tunara]

Hi Kevin,

Can you please give some more details?

What is the relevancy indicator for the characteristics you have added?

The relevancy indicator will be a main attribute driving the characteristics.

Regards,

Amit

[Former Member]

Hi Amit,

Relevancy indicator is marked as 2 (Relevant to Varaints). Though the characteristics is assigned many generic article, the differences in variants are seen only for few articles.

Do you have any idea on why there is a difference.?

Thanks

Kevin Easaw

[Former Member]

Hi Guru's

Any solution on the below query.

Assume a generic article has got 10 variants and one of the variant having the issue on characteristics alignment. As a result the characteristics wouldn't get updated to that variant article. When the artmas Idoc goes out of SAP to other application, say reporting application, this particular variant article will be missing with the characteristics update. As a result there is lot of discrepancies happened.

 

Difference in variant.

Please can anyone help to understand why the difference is occurring. I have checked all the basic setting of the characteristics and everything is well maintained.

Appreciate your help,

Regards,

Kevin Easaw

[Tobias_König]

Hi,

the concept is as follows:

- Generic Article can be used to support the maintenance of all variants: meaning, if you change the value of a field on Generic Article Level from A to B, then it will be copied to all the variants - so only one step to maintain instead of 10 (in your example with 10 variants).

- First of all: this copy rule is depending on your customizing. Second, if you use it and you maintain at one variant a DIFFERENT value, let's say C, for your field than on the Generic Article (which is A), the concept assumes, that you have done that on purpose. And when you have done that on purpose, you don't want this value (C on variant level) on that specific variant to be changed, when you change your value on Generic Article from A to B. So, this value C on that variant will remain.

- That the system can handle this concept, it writes done the abbreviations to the database. That are the values in "Different Areas in validity". So, if you do the change on Generic article level, the system must NOT compare EVERY value of every variant with the value of the Generic article, it just changes for all variants from A to B where there is no abbreviation. --> This leaves the variant with value C out.

- Now, with your ARTMAS, you will most probably use change pointers and as there is no change on this variant with value C, it will be left out. There is - as far as I know in SAP Standard - no way around it as this is standard behaviour. So, if you want that variant distributed nevertheless, you would have to make a custom development in IDOC outbound that the variant with value C is written into the IDOC too.

Hope that clarifies.

Regards
Tobias

[Former Member]

Hi Tobias,

Thanks for the input,

Here the characteristics is getting updated through an inbound idoc (ARTMAS). Idoc is carrying the characteristics value at the generic level (No information at the variant level). After processing the Idoc, we found the discrepancies between the characteristics values across the variant articles.

Do you have any idea on this kind of discrepancies?

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Kevin Easaw

[Tobias_König]

Hi Kevin,

from a technical point of view, it should be like this.

Before your IDOC is coming in:

Generic Article has Value A for characteristic A

Variant 1 has Valus A for characteristic A

Variant 2 has Value B for characteristic A

Therefore, there should be an abbreviation beforehand.

Now, your IDCO is coming in changing Value A to C on Generic Article for characteristic A:

Generic Article has now Value C for characteristic A

Variant 1 has now Valus C for characteristic A (copied from Generic article)

Variant 2 has still Value B for characteristic A (not copied from Generic article, as there is an abbreviation)

If there is NO abbreviation, please check beforehand if there maybe is a different value for characteristic A on Variant 2 (or has been - you can check the changes).

Another option could be that the ARTMAS is not 100% correct... depending on if it is somehow build up by custom development (e.g. from a legacy system).

If the above does not occur, it is hard to say without investigatin in detail... could be a wrong deployed user-exit or enhancement or whatever...

Regards
Tobias

[Former Member]

Hi Tobias,

Thanks for your hint,

This is a strange scenario where the issue is happening for a few set of  articles.

We are checking with our technical team on the solutions

Thanks

Regards,

Kevin Easaw