SAP S/4HANa for Product Compliance Data Migration approach: Raw Materials - Bulk vs Packaged

[Paulo_Pinto]

Hello dear community, I need your insights and advice regarding this subject.

My customer is a group of Chemical Companies with several roles along the supply chain. The current scenario regarding purchased materials products is as follows:

1. Some materials/products are purchased in "true" bulk/unpackaged form. 

1.1. Of these, some of these are sold in the exact same "category" in which they were purchased, that is bulk/unpackaged. 

1.2. Of these, some are also sold and/or in different packages (of course these are different SAP materials/products, which are "produced").

1.3. Of these, some are exclusively sold in different smaller packages (again, of course these are different SAP materials/products, which are "produced"). 

1.4. Of these, some are used in the production of other materials (chiefly mixtures, some "articles (plastics) but there is also some production of new substances)

2. Some materials/products are purchased in packaged form, IBC's and other - without a clear "true" bulk/unpackaged material to refer to. This is my main worry.

2.1. Of these, some are also sold and/or in different packages (of course these are different SAP materials/products, which are "produced").

2.2. Of these, some are exclusively sold in different smaller packages (again, of course these are different SAP materials/products, which are "produced"). 

2.3. Of these, some are used in the production of other materials (chiefly mixtures, some "articles (plastics) but there is also some production of new substances)

Now my doubts are related to which is the best - or most advisable - way to migrate the raw material data in order to assure the most seamless go live as possible, especially regarding the materials/products purchased in "packages" without a clear or "true" bulk/unpackaged material.

(I'm trying to be clear about the scenarios, please ask for clarifications if needed).

Thank you in advance!

Paulo Sérgio Pinto

[christoph_bergemann]

Hello

based on this:

"Thank You Christoph for taking your time to answer my question.

The fact, though, is that I am talking about (SAP S/4HANA for) Product Compliance "new", and not (SAP S/4HANA for) EHS, or any of the classic solutions, as the customer is already on S/4HANA (2023), and not ECC.

As such I guess the scenarios I've posted, may be a bit less confusing when it comes to PC, but I admit they need some clarification; I'll address that as soon as I'm able.

Nevertheless, some your insights are already helpful in clearing some my doubts."

So if you would like to use "Product Compliance New": the challenge is different .

The topic is "much more complex" to explain. I try my very best to do it step by step (but i can only list the most important topics to consider):

1. First you must understand the "CCI" ! (e.g. check: https://community.sap.com/t5/product-lifecycle-management-blogs-by-members/new-sap-ehs-management-fo... or https://community.sap.com/t5/enterprise-resource-planning-blogs-by-members/sap-quot-ehs-quot-product...)
2. You must understand: what is a "packed material" and "unpacked material" (according SAP definition (PLEASE CHECK ONLINE HELP !)
3. You must understand: at which point in time you need a "CCI"? => if you do a set up of the new Product Compliance you can do it like: if the material is of type "RAW" you assume: it is chemistry and therefore you need a "CCI" (so any RAW material would need a CCI ! (Mandatory !); but you can do it "optional" as well; so that this is a case by case decision)
4. At the end: as part of "purchasing", "Sales / delivery process", "Production process": if somebody would use a material which is "CCI" relevant.. process will stop (if set up is done correct) and somebody need to check some "Fiori App"... (check online help for more detail); based on "request": now somebody need to set up a CCI and maintain/add data (e.g. composition etc.) to get the process "released" (called sometimes: an "assessment" is done).
5. Now: on CCI level: you need to "assign" the material; in doing so: you define the material as "packed" or "bulk" (e.g. needed for Dangerous good perspective); on top: you start with data collection (e.g. composition, density etc. etc. etc.)
6. NOW we have a big "BUT"... you MUST understand the new role concept !!! e.g. a material can be "purchased", "produced", sold/delivered/transported etc. Based on ths "role" concept (and many other information): the maintenance process will start. THIS IS NEW !! (in comparison to the old world).

But at the end: you have the "same" challenge in S/4 HANA as in R/3. Without a "clear" understanding regarding the "material" and the "CCI" you will not have a success (including topics as "Packaging" etc. etc. etc.).

In "Product Compliance" the process (e.g. a material is sold via SAP SD) and the data (on CCI level) are much closer and much more integrated. You maintain only (in principal) the data which is relevant for the specific business case.

But to use Product Compliance (S/4 HANA new version) to steer any process (in SAP) you might have to wait (for details: please check the SAP Roadmap Explorer for the roadmap of this solution) for a future SAP release.

Hope this helps.

C.B.