SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

1. Explain what is SAP PP?

SAP PP process is related to production planning of a company and it encompasses all activities
like MRP (Material Requirement Planning), BOM (Bills of Material), Routing, Capacity planning,
etc. but mainly it contains two segments.

• Material Planning: Material requirements planning, long term planning.

• Execution Planning: Creation of production order, workflow, conformations, technical
completion and good movement.

2. Mention what are the production process in SAP?

There are three types of production process in SAP

• Discrete Manufacturing
• Repetitive Manufacturing
• Production- Process Industries

3. List out the activities carried out in Production Planning?

Activities involved in Production Planning includes

• Processing material master

• Creation of Bill of Material
• Displaying work centre and routing
• Maintaining planning calendar
• Maintaining production lot
• Maintaining quota file
• Defining range of coverage profile and profile for safety time
• Defining MRP views

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

4. Explain what is Routing in SAP PP?

Routing in SAP PP is referred to a list of activities which are required to produce any material. For
example, when you do cost estimation for the material, the system triggers the relevant routing
and activity rates for all those described in routing. Which will helpful to calculate the processing
cost in product costing.

5. What are the steps of Production Execution Process?

Production Execution steps include

• Converting planned order to production order

• Releasing the production order
• Goods issue for production order
• Confirmation of production order
• Goods receipt against production order

6. What are the reports generated in product cost controlling information system?

Product Cost Controlling information system generates information for following areas

• Product cost planning

• Cost object controlling with the subcomponents
• Product cost by period
• Product cost by order
• Product cost by sales order
• Costs for intangible goods and services
• Actual costing / Material Ledger

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

7. Explain what is “work centre” in SAP PP and what is the use of Data in Work Centres?

“Work Centers” are business objects in SAP-PP that is used in task list operations (routings,
maintenance task lists, inspection plans) and work orders. Data in work center is used for

• Scheduling: Formulas and operating time are entered, so that the duration of an operation
can be calculated.
• Costing: Formulas are entered so that the costs of an operation can be calculated.
• Capacity Planning: The available capacity and formulas for capacity requirements is entered.
• Simplifying operation maintenance: Various default values can be included in the work
center.

8. What is the use of MRP PP evaluations?

This role contains a function for evaluating the MRP result. This function can be used to find
information about the availability of material and to identify any material shortage situation.

9. Mention what is the purpose of using Capacity Planning?

Capacity Planning supports planning in all phases

• Long term rough cut planning

• Medium term planning
• Short term planning

It can be integrated with various SAP applications like SAP-SD, PP, PP-SOP, PP-LTP, PP-SFC, etc.

10. Explain how can you create production order without routing and BOM?

Without BOM and routing you can create a production order by changing the confit in OPL8
(order type dependent parameters) as routing optional. When we try to create an order using
C001 it may ask for a sales order.

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

11. Explain what happens to planned after it has been converted into production order?

When planned order is converted to the production order, the planned order are offset by
production order. The planned order reference can be seen in the production order.

12. Mention what is the difference between stock transport order and stock transfer order?
• Stock transfer order: It is referred to the transfer of stock for the usage in the same
company.
• Stock transport order: It is referred to the change of title of stock in the name of the buyer.

13. Explain how to create PRT master records?

To create PRT master records you have to follow the following steps

• Choose logistics/Accounting -> Project System -> Basic data -> Master data -> Production
resources and tools -> Create
• The initial screen for creating a PRT appears
• Enter a number for the PRT and choose continue
• The basic data screen appears
• Maintain the basic data
• Choose Goto -> Defaults and enter the default values
• Save the PRT

14. Mention what is the t-code for changing production order and to display production
order?
• T-code to change the production order = C002
• T-code to display the production order = C003

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

15. Explain what is PRT (Production Resource Tools) in SAP PP?

PRT (Production Resource Tools) are moveable operating objects used to perform repeated
activities in plant or production maintenance, for example, documents such as drawings or
programs for which document management functions are used. Various other PRT components
include:

• Engineering drawings
• Jigs
• Fixtures
• Measurement Instruments

16. Explain what is PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) in SAP PP and what is the use?

It is a collection of solutions with which you digitally create, maintain and make product
information, available in the whole company and for the entire life cycle of the product.

PLM provides you the function with which you do following things

• The workplace is an open portal in the world wide web and allows you to access all
application and information that you need to work with all external and internal business
partners
• It can link with other internet applications like program management, change and
configuration management and engineering collaboration.

17. In SAP-PP what are the costing parameters?

In SAP-PP, the costing parameters are as below:

• Work Center: Activity types and the formulas, cost center

• Routing: The time, activity types

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

18. In cost controlling information system mention the fields that are listed in the list screen
of the report?

Following fields are listed in the list screen of the report

• Key Figures
• Costing/MM
• %Costing/MM
• Revaluation
• VarCstRuns
• %VarCstRuns
• Basic data
• Valuation
• Cost component group 1/ Cost component group 2
• CostCompGr(fix)1 / CostCompGr(fix)2

19. Explain what is the use of SAP Material View and list out other parameters where SAP
Material View is applicable?

SAP Material View is an SAP object that not only hold name of the material, but various other
information related to material like.

• Material production related information

• Material planning related information
• Material sales related information
• Material purchase related information
• Material storage and warehousing related information
• Material costing and Accounting related information
• Material batch specification information

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

20. Mention what are the types of Master Views for Production and Planning?

For production and planning types of Master Views are:

• SAP MRP1 View

• SAP MRP2 View
• SAP MRP3 View
• SAP MRP4 View
• SAP Work Scheduling View

21. Mention how MRP (Material Requirement Planning) types are classified?

MRP types are classified in two leagues

• Materials for consumption based planning

• Planning based on demand

22. Mention what are the key fields found in MRP View 1?

MRP views 1 are mostly maintained for production purposes.

• General Data
• MRP Procedure
• Lot size data

23. Explain what is the need of MRP list if the stock requirement list is already given?

MRP list displays the result of the last planning run, changes that occurred between planning runs
are ignored in the MRP list. While contrary to this, in the stock or requirement list all changes
that occurred in the stock, issues and receipts are displayed by the system.

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

24. Mention what are the t-codes for creating, changing and summarizing BOM?

BOM transaction codes for

• Creating BOM= CS01

• Changing BOM= CS02
• Summarized BOM=CS13

25. List out the basic procedure for dispatching operations in capacity leveling?

For dispatch operations basic procedure includes

• Either the user determines the date of dispatch or else it is specified by scheduling
• A dispatching sequence needs to be determined if several operations need to be dispatched
• The systems check for
• The dates to which operations are to be dispatched
• The work center to which operations are to be dispatched
• Finite scheduling is performed
• Operation check is performed
• Status for the operation is set as “dispatched.”
• System carries out midpoint scheduling

26. Mention what is the use of t-code CS20 in BOM?

With t-code CS20 you can do Mass changes to BOM like

• Change the item data

• Creating new material
• Replacing it with another material

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

27. Compare SAP PP with Oracle?

S.No SAP PP Oracle

1 It has the latest features on guiding the Not all but a few features are outdated.
planning processes for the production.
2 Routing is possible in all the modules in SAP Routing is not possible in all the
PP. modules.
3 The latest version has been released. No update on the release of next
version.

28. What do you mean by the term production?

It is basically the manufacturing of goods and services or shaping them in a form that is required
by the users. There are certain things that the product or the services has to go through and each
step aims to make the product or services better than the previous. Production can be in-house
or outhouse.

29. What do you mean by the term Batch production? Do you think the SAP PP is good
enough to be trusted for the same?

For organizations, it is not always easy to build a project easily. They, therefore, build it up in
small slots which are also known as a batch. Each section of the product is built by a specific team
with a similar objective. Batch production simply makes sure of error elimination at the right
time. It is one of the best production methods that are widely adopted. SAP PP has dedicated
features for this and it is possible for the users to keep an eye on all the batches with the help of
this tool.

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

30. Can you name a few steps in the production execution process which are of prime
importance?

The very first thing is converting the planned order into a production one. The next thing about
which users should pay attention to is releasing the production order post which the goods are
issued. The receiver then acknowledges the same and finally, the receipts are matched.

31. How the SAP PP tool is good enough to be considered for production planning in an
effective manner?

This tool assures a diverse array of benefits to those who go for it. It brings a very large number
of benefits and can simply enable the users to keep up the pace with all the right strategies in a
delightful manner. Some of the best things about this tool are spotlighted below.

• It makes sure of effective utilization of resources

• It enables a business to capture the market in a very delightful manner
• Organizations can make sure of a steady flow of production
• Resources can easily be estimated with it
• The overall productivity of the labour can easily be enhanced
• It always makes sure of optimum inventory
• It simply facilitates the quality improvement
• A lot of production cost can be saved easily

32. What are the factors that can help you in preparing the Production Budget?

This can be done by paying attention to various factors which are as below:

• The very first thing to consider is the quality of the product

• The overall number of units to be manufactured in a specific time period
• The demand for the product
• The overall number of resources to be deployed in the production team
• Time period of the project
• Any special requirements

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

33. Do you think SAP PP is useful when it comes to getting the authorization of the product?

Yes, it is very beneficial in this matter. It simply makes sure of all the standards are followed
during the pre and post-production. This is exactly when that enables businesses in assuring the
authorization of the product in a very reliable manner.

34. Is it possible to get a product ready for inspection through the SAP PP?

The SAP Production Planning tool is a powerful one. It simply guides the users on adopting various
strategies and methods that are useful in proper production without compromising with the
quality. SAP PP tool help eliminating various errors and bugs that affect the quality. Therefore, it
contributes a lot to proper production planning and getting a product ready and friendly with the
inspection process in a reliable manner.

35. What do you mean by the term planning horizon?

It is basically a defined time period of a production plan. Depending on the type and nature of
the product, its overall duration can vary largely.

36. Does Resource allocation have a role in the proper implementation of the Product
planning approach?

Resource allocation is one of the prime necessities for the same. It simply makes sure the right
employees and human resources are assigned for tasks that are complex and need additional
attention. With proper resource allocation, it is possible for the organizations to avoid several
hassles that declare their presence in the production.

37. What is Productive capacity in SAP PP and how it is useful for the organization?

It is basically a feature in the SAP Production Planning tool which guides the users about the
upper limit of production they can handle with the overall number of resources they have. It
simply helps to determine the organizations about the exact time, resources, planning,
investment, and other needs they have to accomplish a production process easily.

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

38. Compare in-house and out-house production processes?

In-house production is when an organization or a business develops its products or services in its
own arena through its own tools, skills, and technology. In-house production needs huge costs in
the initial stage but it offers large-scale benefits for the long run. Out-house production means
getting a product or a service ready by an organization from a third-party source. This is also
known as outsourcing. This is done when an organization lacks the basic or the advanced
requirement for production such as required skills, experience, technology, investment, and so
on. Both in-house and out-house have their own pros and cons associated with them both
together.

39. Can you name a few strategies that can help to make product planning more superior
without investing additional money?
• Assuring the level of production required with resources already existing
• Determining the future needs of the buyers/users
• Factory load determination
• Setting and maintaining delivery orders
• Scheduling the entire plan

40. How a mass production is a good approach according to you?

It is basically the manufacturing or production of a very large amount of units. Not all the products
are required to be produced in bulk actually except the ones which are higher in demand. The
users are free to simply make sure or favourable outcomes through this method of production
because bulk production always helps in cost-cutting.

41. Name the important activities that are a part of any production process?

These are processing the material master and creating the bill, displaying the work center,
defining MRP, range of coverage as well as marinating the quota file.

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

42. While manufacturing a product, what exactly are the factors that are to be of significant
importance? Can SAP PP is useful in helping users following the same?

There are certain things actually which need the close attention of the core management during
production processes. A few of them are:

• Paying attention to the quality of the product

• The overall demand
• Manufacturing policies and standards to be followed
• Environmental cause
• Overall usefulness of the product
• Production authorization

43. How Production planning is related to the material requirement?

The material requirement is actually one of the important principles of production planning. The
planners have to make sure that the entire raw material remains available all the time. Generally,
they have to make sure of the availability of at least 10 days of stock depending on the type of
production. All the orders about the raw material should be placed on time.

44. What are the various factors to pay attention to in order to avoid errors from the
production?

The problems are necessary to be formulated whenever they are traced. The first thing that can
help to avoid them is the verification of the inventory with respect to time. All the suppliers
should be qualified and organizations must understand the true benefits of investing in quality.
With these corrective actions, it is possible to deal with the issues that often declare their
presence in the production.

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

45. What is the role of data which is present in the work centers in SAP PP?

They are loaded with some important data which simply make sure of costing and similar factors.
In addition to this, they make sure of proper scheduling of everything. This is useful for calculating
the overall duration of an object. Also, it makes sure of capacity planning and performing the
operation maintenance manually and easily.

46. What do you know about Product analysis?

It is basically an approach to testing a product after its development and before its delivery to
the customers. Product analysis makes sure of the quality and better customer relations. In
addition to this, it enables organizations to save the cost which they have to bear for faulty or
wrong product delivery.

47. Can you name the different production processes available in SAP PP?

These are Repetitive manufacturing, Discrete manufacturing, as well as production

manufacturing.

48. How the production cost can be eliminated? Can SAP PP help in this matter?

There are several methods of cutting the overall cost from a development or a production
process. The first thing could be outsourcing the specific or an entire project to another company
or an organization that has specialization for the same. Another method is to buying the raw
material in bulk and assuring the things are going smooth. One more method that can help in this
matter is investing in technology that promises favourable results. The production cost can also
be eliminated by adopting various standards of production. SAP PP is a powerful tool that has
some basic features to get the right information and reporting on how the overall production
cost can be eliminated.

49. What do you know about Routing in Sap PP?

It is basically nothing but a full-fledged list that provides information on producing any material.
It is very beneficial in predicting the overall cost of a project depending on the information stored
in it.

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50. What is the role of cost controlling information system in SAP PP according to you?

It is responsible for providing information on various aspects that largely matters about product
planning. A few objectives of the same are spotlighted below.

• Controlling the cost of objects through the subcomponents

• Maintaining the ledger
• Cost-cutting
• Providing information on delivered products

51. What is the significance of work centers in SAP PP?

They are useful in some important operations such as maintenance of the task list, performing
inspection, scheduling the tasks and monitoring the overall production.

52. What is the significance of MRP PP evaluation?

It is basically a function in the SAP PP that is beneficial in providing information regarding the
overall availability of the material and if there is a quick need of the same in a short span of time.

53. What are the different phases of planning in the SAP PP the users can make use of?

These are Long term. Medium-term and short-term planning. The users are free to simply take
decisions regarding the module and the phase they are interested to consider. However, in SAP
PP this largely depends on the data and the information availability.

54. Without BOM and Routing, is it possible in the SAP PP to create a production order?

Yes, it is possible and for this, the users need to change the configuration in OPL8.

55. What is PRT in SAP PP?

It stands for Production Resource Tools. These are actually the movable operating objects that
are of significant importance. They are considered when there is a need to repeat activities in the
production.

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

56. What is SAP Production Planning? Why it is used?

SAP Production Planning is one of key module in ERP and deals with planning processes like
capacity planning and material planning and execution of production order, bill of material and
goods movement. SAP PP module handles master data that is required for BOMs activity, work
center and routing and keep it in a separate component.

57. What is difference between Discrete and Repetitive Production?

Discrete production is known as industry where produce materials changed with each lot and
costs are calculated as per orders and lots. In Repetitive production, product is not changed for
longer time period and production is done as total quantity and not in the form of individual lots.

58. Explain Production Planning life cycle?

• Converting planned order to Production Order: First step is to convert a planned order to
production order. When you create a Production Order, type is defined in SAP PP system.
• Issue the production order: To start the production process, it is necessary to issue
Production order. Till a production order is not released, execution of production process is
not started.
• Issuing goods for production order: Issuing goods is required for providing the goods to
execute the Production order. Once goods are issues, document number can be updated in
the system.
• Production order confirmation: All the sub processes are executed in accordance with
required operations to confirm the production as per Production order.
• Good receipts w.r.t Production Order: Once production order execution is completed,
goods produced w.r.t Production Order are received and placed in storage area.

59. What are the different elements in Org structure under SAP Production Planning?

In SAP PP module, organization structure defined the location of manufacturing plants and
storage locations within the plant. At the top you have company and company code and then
each company code contains different plant and storage locations.

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QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

60. Which all modules SAP PP is integrated with? Explain the integrated activities that are
performed with each module under PP?

To perform Production Planning and Control activities, SAP PP is closely integrated with other
SAP ERP modules: SAP Sales and Distribution SD, SAP Material Management MM, Quality
Management, Finance Accounting and Project System. You can find list of below activities from
Production Planning that are related to other SAP modules and integration with other modules.

SAP PP and SAP Material Management MM

• This involved movement of goods, auto goods receipt.

• It includes creating reservation for Production Order/Planning.
• Raising Purchase orders with MRP Run.
• Quotations and Vendor selection.

SAP PP and SAP SD

• This is used to check the availability of material for production order.

• To perform MRP Run, Requirement Types.
• Bill of Material components and operation.

SAP PP and SAP FICO

• Updating price in material master data

• Defining activity Type in the Cost center
• Assigning activity type to Work Center
• Cost Estimation
• Production cost controlling
• Posting accounting activities related to goods movement, material request, etc.

SAP PP and Project System

• Assigning planning activities to WBS in the Project.

• Running Material requirement planning at Project level (MD51). The procured material
attached to WBS are reserved as project stock against the particular project.

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• The component attached to network are planned at plant level and are reserved as plant
stock.

SAP PP and Quality Management

• Inspection Type 03 for discrete and repetitive manufacturing.

• Inspection Type 04 for both Discrete and Repetitive Manufacturing.

61. What are the different master data existing under Production Planning?
• Bills of Material BOM
• Material Master
• Work Center
• Routing

62. What is BOM?

Bill of material master data is related to material requirement planning and provides the list of
components to produce the product. To produce a product with different variants, you can create
super Bills of Material that has list of components to manufacture different variants of a product
and selection of component depends on details mentioned in planning order.

63. What is the difference between Material and Sales order BOM?
• Material BOM: When a Bill of Material is created for a material is known as a material BOM
in the SAP. Material BOMs are mainly used to represent the structure of products
manufactured within your company.
• Sales order BOM: Sales Order BOM is used when you specially tailor the make-to-order
production of products as per requirements of the customers. To meet the customer
requirements, you make sales order specific modifications to various assemblies.

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64. What are the key character tics of BOM?

• You can create Bill of Material as single level or multiple level.
• BOM type depends on the size, validity dates and production method.
• You can create up to 99 Bills of Material as per material type.
• You can use material Bill of material for the material available in PP module and equipment
Bill of Material are used in Plant Maintenance module.
• As mentioned you can create super BOM for different variants of a product.

65. What is Work Center under Production Planning? Why do we use Work Center?

Work center consists of master data related routing of products. It contains data related to
scheduling, capacity planning and production costing. All the manufacturing activities are
performed in Work Center. Work center can be used to monitor these activities −

• Scheduling: You can schedule the operations in Production order as per operating times in
Routing and formulas mentioned in work center.
• Production Costing: You can also check production costing as per formulas mentioned in
work center. A Work center is also linked to cost center and it defines the cost of operation
in Production Order.
• Capacity Planning: You can find current capacity and future capacity requirements stored in
work center.

66. What is Routing process under Production Planning?

Routine defines the list of activities to be performed for production process. Routing defines
sequence of activities performed at work center. Routing plays in important role in calculating
production cost, machine time and labour time.

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67. What is the use of routing in PP or explain ley character tics of Routing under Production
Planning?
• To create routing it is mandate that you first define work center.
• Multiple material can follow single routing group.
• Routing is used for scheduling and costing of operation for raw and finished products.
• Routing is used for calculation operation cost for finished product.

68. What is Material Requirement Planning under Production Planning?

MRP run or planning run is an engine which is used to fill demand and supply gap. Issues &
Receipts are called MRP Elements. Issues include PIRs, Dependent Requirements, Order
Reservations, Sales Orders, Issuing Stock Transfer Orders, etc. and receipts include Production
Orders, Purchase Requisitions, Purchase Orders, Open Production Orders, Receiving Stock
Transfer Order, Schedule lines, etc.

69. What are the key steps under Production Order confirmation?
• First step is to convert a planned order to production order. When you create a Production
Order, type is defined in SAP PP system.
• To start the production process, it is necessary to issue Production order. Till a production
order is not released, execution of production process is not started.
• Issuing goods is required for providing the goods to execute the Production order. Once
goods are issues, document number can be updated in the system.
• All the sub processes are executed in accordance with required operations to confirm the
production as per Production order.

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70. What do you understand by Long Term Planning? Can we perform Long term planning for
shorter time period?

A Production order is used to define the material to be produced, plant location where
production has to be done, date and time of production, quantity of goods required. A Production
Order also defines which components and sequence of operations are to be used and how the
order costs are to be settled. BOM and routing data of the materials are copied into the
production order which determines the list of components and operational data in the order.

71. What is capacity planning and capacity levelling?

• Capacity Planning is done to balance the load at work center and you can calculate
production capacity based on requirement of product as per available capacity.
• Capacity levelling is performed for performing detailed production planning purpose. This is
done through planning table which is used to carry detailed planning of capacity
requirements over time in future.

72. What is SAP Production Planning for Process Industries PP-PI?

SAP PP-PI provides an integrated planning tool for batch-oriented process manufacturing and is
used in pharmaceutical, food and chemical industry to support planning of production, waste
disposal in the plant.

73. What is the difference between by-product and co-product and how do you differentiate
them in a BOM?

In case, of Co-product costs are settled with an apportionment structure. In case, of By-product
the price of this by-product is credited to the order or the material stock account of the lead
material being manufactured. Co-Product as well as by-product are defined as BOM
Components/Items. Both of them have negative quantities. ( Not all negative quantity items fall
under these categories!). When BOM is created for FERT, you can see one indicator in
COMPONENT DETAILS screen for co-product. You need to define the co-products with this special
indicator.

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74. Can we have more than 6 standard values in standard value key?

One way to achieve this is to create another operation step using the same work center.
However, this shall be with a control key that is not a milestone. When the milestone operation
is confirmed, the previous operations up to the next milestone are automatically confirmed. To
get the desired number of standard values, all the 'non milestone' steps can be built depending
on the need.

75. Can we use same routing for materials undergoing the same process/operations? Can we
avoid separate routing for each and every material produced?
• Presume that there are 50 products and the fabrication shop uses a set of 10 machines. If
all these products use the same settings of the machines, Reference Operation Sets (task
list type S) can be setup for common processes that use the same work centers. However,
costing, scheduling and capacity will be affected if each product has different setup time
and Reference Operation sets cannot be used.
• A routing for each material number (type N or R) has to be set up and within that routing,
the Reference Operation Set can be used. However, you can by try utilizing the KMAT
material and product variants invariant configuration to avoid separate routing for each
material.
• You may create a routing group. Go into routing creation and enter the plant and the group
name. If you want you may name the group, else name is assigned by internal counter).
Create the routing with the work centers, operation times, etc. Go to the "Header
overview" screen and click on the "Mat Alloc" screen. Fill in the blanks with all the material
masters that use this routing.

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

76. Can anybody explain to me why work scheduling view is required for semi-finished and
finished products? (Because we'll mention all details in MRP views)

We need to maintain working scheduling view in order to make that finished or semi-finished
goods available for production as we assign production scheduler and production scheduler
profile in this view, if not maintained conversion of planned order to production will not be
possible.

77. What is SAP PP and what is its primary utility?

This is often the first question an interviewer may ask when assessing your subject knowledge.
The purpose of this question is to adapt you for more in-depth questions while also assessing
your fundamental understanding of SAP PP. Not only does the interviewer anticipate the
explanation, but they also want to ensure that you grasp it well.

Example: "The SAP PP is a SAP module which contains all the tools of the SAP enterprise resource
planning (ERP) system that help businesses in planning production-related activities. It facilitates
the production planning of a manufacturing facility. It helps with all activities like material
requirement planning (MRP), routing, bills of material (BOM), capacity planning but primarily it
contains two segments, material planning and execution planning."

78. What is product lifecycle management (PLM) in the context of SAP PP?

The hiring manager may ask this question to determine your understanding of PLM and its
relation to SAP PP. To answer this question, define PLM and provide insights into its significance
within SAP PP.

Example: "PLM is a suite of tools that enables you to digitally develop, maintain and share product
information across your entire organisation and throughout the product's life cycle. It helps to
keep the workplace on a public portal on the internet that enables businesses to access all
applications and information necessary to collaborate with external and internal business
partners. It is also capable of integrating with other internet-based services such as programme
management and engineering collaboration."

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

79. How can SAP PP help reduce the overall production cost?

The hiring manager often asks such questions to check how much you know about SAP PP's
practical utility. You may answer this question by explaining the major features of SAP PP that
helps reduce the production cost.

Example: "There are multiple ways to reduce the overall cost of a development or manufacturing
process. The initial step could be to outsource a portion of or the entirety of the job to another
company or organisation that specialises in the same. Another way is to purchase raw materials
in bulk and ensure that everything runs well. Additionally, investing in technology that
guarantees favourable results can assist in this endeavour. Production costs can be reduced by
implementing certain manufacturing standards."

80. What are the common activities carried out in production planning??

The interviewer may ask this question to test out your practical knowledge of production
planning. To answer this question well, briefly list out the common activities involved. You may
also get some follow-up questions about each activity and its important and so it would be a good
idea to read up on them also.

Example: "Activities involved in production planning includes, material master processing, bill of
materials creation, routing, displaying work centre, planning calendar, production lot
management, quota file management and creating material requirement planning (MRP) views."

81. How does stock transfer order differ from stock transport order?

The hiring manager may ask this question to test your attention to detail of these two concepts,
stock transfer order and stock transport order. To answer this question, compare the two briefly.

Example: "Stock transfer order refers to stock transfer within the same company whereas stock
transport order refers to the change in stock title to the buyer's name."

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

82. What are some common production resource tools (PRTs) used in SAP PP?

The interviewers ask this question to determine if you are familiar with production resource tools.
Your answer may go beyond the basic definition of PRTs and explain how it functions in a
manufacturing facility. To answer this question, briefly explain what PRT is and how it is used.
You can also mention the components of PRT to highlight the depth of your knowledge.

Example: "Production resource tools are movable operating objects that are used to facilitate
repetitive tasks in a manufacturing plant or production maintenance, such as creating documents
for drawings or programmes that utilise document management functions. Various other PRT
components include fixtures, jigs, engineering drawings and measurement instruments."

83. What are the t-codes for creating, changing and summarising BOMs?

The interviewer asks this question to check your memory skill of the basic concepts. You can
answer this question by briefly mentioning the transaction code for all three tasks.

Example: "Bill of material (BOM) transaction codes for creating BOM is CS01, for changing BOM
is CS02 and to summarise BOM is CS13."

84. Tell about different types of scrap used in SAP PP and their importance.

Scrap, in the simplest sense, is discarded material from a production process. The interviewer
asks this question to test your in-depth understanding of scraps. To answer this question, you
can mention the three major types of scraps and their role.

Example: "There are three types of scraps used in SAP PP, assembly scrap, component scrap and
operation scrap. During the assembly process, a certain quantity of scrap is inevitable for a variety
of reasons. To produce the specified lot size, the system's quantities and activities are increased.
Often, a particular component consumes more energy than anticipated during a manufacturing
process. In that situation, we use the quantity of component scrap to arrive at the production
quantity. We may experience some loss throughout the manufacturing process after a particular
operation. In such case, we may require to alter the quantity, standard values and other
parameters of later processes and here we use operation scrap."

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

85. In SAP PP, what is the work centre and how does the work centre's data is used?

This is a very common question on the work centre. Briefly define the work centre and list the
major use of the work centre data to give the interviewer an idea about the extent of your
knowledge.

Example: "In SAP-PP, work centres are business objects that are used to manage task lists, such
as routings, maintenance job lists, inspection plans and work orders. The work centre's data is
used for various purposes. Scheduling for calculating the duration of an operation. Costing for
finding the cost of an operation. Capacity planning for finding the available capacity based on
capacity requirements. And simplifying operation maintenance for efficiently managing the
overall operations."

86. How is the SAP PP tool effective enough to be used for production planning?

Through this question, the interviewer often wants you to consider and elaborate on the
effectiveness of SAP PP and precisely how it is helpful to businesses. While answering this
question, you may include some common business activities where SAP PP is helpful.

Example: "SAP PP offers a multitude of benefits to those who fully utilise it. It can easily assist its
users in staying updated with all the necessary tactics in an easy manner. It ensures effective
resources utilisation, allows a business to efficiently capture the market, ensure consistent
production flow, enhance overall labour productivity, help ensure optimum inventory, facilitates
the quality improvement and saves production costs."

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

87. Why material requirement planning list is important if the stock requirement list is
already given?

This can be a confusing question. The interviewer often asks such questions to assess your
attention to detail about the SAP PP. To answer this question, briefly explain the key difference
in their role and utility.

Example: "The material requirement planning (MRP) list reflects the outcome of the most recent
planning run. It ignores any changes made between planning runs. Whereas, the system displays
all changes to the stock, issues and receipts in the stock or requirement list."

88. What is the difference between stock transport and stock transfer?

Hiring managers may ask terminology questions in an SAP PP interview that relate to the specific
processes and tools you may use in this position. To show you have a general understanding of
common terms and phrases professionals use in this position, it's helpful to practice answering
questions about common SAP PP terms. You may also add an example of how you used certain
terms you define, if applicable.

Example answer: "The term 'stock transport' refers to when a company changes the title of a
stock to a buyer's name. In comparison, the term 'stock transfer' is when there's a transfer of
stock that stays within the company, but the way the company uses it changes. In my previous
position, I helped develop routing procedures to communicate with other employees about
when stock transfers and transports took place to help with tracking the company's products."

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

89. Tell us a few strategies that can help improve the production planning without investing
considerable money

This question requires you to go beyond the explanation of production planning and
contextualise a few strategies for production planning. To answer this question, mention the
strategies where SAP PP can be helpful in improving production planning.

Example: "Some of the things we can do to improve the production planning includes ensuring
the required level of output with available resources, forecasting the future needs, factory load
determination, establishing and maintaining delivery schedules and scheduling the complete
plan."

90. What are some factors to consider when developing a production budget?

Some responsibilities of a production planning team include estimating the costs of producing
materials and creating budgets for the production of materials for a business. A hiring manager
may ask you questions related to your experience with developing budgets to learn about how
you handle these responsibilities and your process. If you have experience, consider sharing a
story about an example of how you developed budgets in your answer.

Example answer: "When developing a production budget, a business typically considers anything
that it can include in the costs of creating materials and products. For example, some factors to
consider are the labour involved, the number of products the company can create with the given
material, the amount of time it can take to complete the production and the estimated profits
for the production. In my current position, the team uses the data from estimated budgets and
finalized costs with a goal to spend company funds more efficiently, which can also improve
production speed and enhance profit margins."

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

91. What are in-house and out-house production processes?

A hiring manager may ask this question to test your knowledge of different types of production
planning and to learn if you have experience with either type. When answering this question,
remember to mention what each planning process is and highlight the key differences between
the two. Then mention your experience with at least one of them, if applicable.

Example: "In-house production processes occur when businesses produce their own materials,
products and services from within the business. In comparison, out-house production processes
occur when a company outsources any part of the production process to an external supplier.
Keeping production processes in-house can have greater benefits for the business, but this type
of production typically costs more than out-house processes in the initial production stages. In
my previous position, I compared the data from our costs of out-house production processes to
estimated costs of switching to in-house production processes with the goal of learning which
option is more cost-efficient and provides faster production to drive profits."

92. How are MRP groups used effectively for product planning?

Hiring managers may ask about material requirement planning (MRP) to determine whether you
know what the acronym means. Knowing what MRP means can help you adequately explain how
a company uses it in a production planning workspace. If applicable, you may include how you
effectively used MRP groups in your experience.

Example: "A materials requirement planning group can help a company manage its materials,
organize them using specific parameters and plan for how they can be used for business
products. When the parameters are successful, they help increase the production speed and
productivity of products. For example, in my current position, I assessed our business' current
MRP groups to help estimate quantities of our current raw material stock and recommended
how they could be adjusted for more efficient productivity."

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

93. What is routing as it relates to SAP PP?

Like questions relating to terminology, this type of question can be asked to test your knowledge
of terminology as it relates to the responsibilities of a production planning team. When
answering this question, make sure you specifically talk about what routing is in SAP PP instead
of other areas of a business. If applicable, you can mention how you use routing.

Example: "In SAP PP, routing is a type of list that provides any information related to the
production of materials and products, including steps for producing materials. For example, the
information provided in the routing can help predict timelines for material production or costs
of producing materials and products. While working for my last employer, the production team
shared information in the routing to share estimated production costs with management and
financial offices, with a goal of discovering more efficient ways of using materials."

94. Explain the difference between stock transport and stock transfer?
• Stock transfer This is known as the transfer of stock for the usage in the same company.
• Stock transport This is known as change of title of stock in the name of the buyer.

95. What is back flushing in Repetitive manufacturing REM?

This is used to record work process in the system and to get the requirements of repetitive, mass
or flow manufacturing.

96. What are different inspection under QM for Production Planning?

• Inspection Type 03 for discrete and repetitive manufacturing.
• Inspection Type 04 for both Discrete and Repetitive Manufacturing.

97. Name few of the tables under Production Planning that contains detail about BOM?
• MAST Material BOM
• STKO BOM Header
• STOP BOM Positions

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 INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS SAP PRODUCTION PLANNING (SAP PP)

98. What is Plan cost, Actual cost and Target cost?

• Plan Cost = Planned Quantity X Planned Price
• Actual Cost = Actual Quantity X Actual Price
• Target Cost = Actual Quantity X Planned Price

99. Why do we use Stock Overview?

You can use Stock overview to check the available stock at any point of time. Stock overview can
be checked using T-Code: MMBE.

100. Can you reverse Goods issue? What is the movement type for Goods issue reversal?

Goods issue reversal is used when you cancel the goods issue for an order. Goods issue can be
cancelled till order status is confirmed CNF in system. Movement type is 262 in Goods issue
reversal.

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