My definition to "Process manufacturing" is that, it is a form of an industry type, where the products once manufactured, cannot be easily dis-assembled. It is also really not possible to rework the ill-manufactured end products, back in to raw materials. For example, products such as food products, chemicals, medicine, Towels, Paper, Steel etc. 

With the above definition of a process industry in perspective, SAP offers SAP PPPI or SAP PI which can be used to implement business processes in a process industry.  

There are a many key differences between Process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing with respect to manufacturing processes and SAP offerings.

Speaking of the key differences, the following points are slated here and explained in the next section below:

• • A Master Recipe is one of the key differences and all the individual differences revolve around the master recipe. SAP PP-PI has a task list called as a Master Recipe vis-a-vis the routings in the SAP PP. SAP uses the master recipe when creating the process order. The purpose Routings and the Master Recipe is equal to a large extent, like scheduling, capacity generations, generating planned costs and component scheduling. Though the major difference between the master recipe and the routing is - a) embedding of the BOM in the task list through the use of production versions, b) material quantity calculations, c) process management which defines a standard interface between SAP and the shop floor to communicate production and execution data.

  • Process Management allowing an interface betwen SAP and the shop floor destinations.

  • Process order related documentation. 

Key Differences between SAP PPPI - Process Manufacturing & SAP PP - Discrete Manufacturing:

 A detailed analysis of these difference is made all over the SAP PP PI Documentation. Though a start is made here in this section to bring about the differences clearly before deep diving in to the article in subsequent pages. The difference betwen SAP PP and PP PI is made only as an overview: 

Production Versions and their use in Master Recipe 

Vis-à-vis the routing or rate routing, the master recipe collects the operations and the BOM together in one master data through the use of production version. The production version is exploded in the recipe to pull in the material BOM. 

Bringing the BOM inside the task list helps in generating one more unique feature of a recipe called the “Material Quantity Calculations”. The material quantity calculations helps to change the component quantities and the header material quantity vis-à-vis each other and with respect to the values of the active ingredients (batch classification specifications) of the components and the header material. 

Before creating the recipe, one should have a Production version created with at least the BOM embedded in it, which will help adding the BOM to the recipe.  

Very Important Note – It seems to be a normal practice that the recipe group number is added to the production version after it is created. So you may have to maintain the production version information, firstly after the BOM creation and before the recipe creation and once after the recipe creation so as to assign the Recipe group number to it.  

The concept of phases and operations in a task list

• • A master recipe carries a concept of operations assigned with phase’s vis-à-vis discrete manufacturing which has only operation level details. The operations are thus mere place holders of phases and carry no major importance in SAP PP PI.  

  • The introduction of phases helps the organization to break down the activities on an operation (as phases) and detail them out.

  • The standard values/activities like the set-up time or duration or machine time etc; are assigned to the phases in process manufacturing unlike discrete manufacturing where they are assigned to the operation itself. This takes you to an obvious conclusion that the confirmation in process manufacturing are carried out at the phase level rather than at operation level.

  • The concept of Relationships between phases of different operations or with the same operation or even between two different material recipes helps in scheduling the process orders (as per the relations set-up). The relationship between phases in SAP PP PI can be correlated with parallel and alternate operation sequence set up in discrete manufacturing.

  • The External operation processing is also carried out at the phase level and not at the operation level.  

  • Though one can assign inspection characteristics to both operations and phases.  

  • Even the components of the BOM in SAP PPPI, are assigned to the phases and not the operations, thus strengthening the fact that the phases govern over the operations.

  • The work center or resource are assigned to the operation level and all the phases assigned to the operation uses the same resource. A resource carries a QDR system, which is the address of an external control system to which data has to be sent, in cases when the control recipe destination is an external process control system. The QDR field can be configured in SAP.

  • The set up of the "process management functionality in SAP PP PI" through control recipe destination, process instruction categories and process message categories is done at the phase level. You can assign a unique control recipe destination to a phase and a set of process instruction categories which are eventually downloaded to the respective destinations as control recipe. This is explained in detail further down.

The concept of Material list and Material Quantity Calculations in the Master Recipe 

As discussed in the above paragraph the master recipe has an added capability to bring in the material list or the BOM through the use of production versions. The presence of BOM in the recipe allows SAP PP PI to add a functionality called as "material quantity calculations" for the header material as well as the components, where in you can change the component quantities and the header material quantities based on the characteristics values of their respective batch classes and through formulas written as macros.

Process Management 

The master recipe also comes with a feature called as the process management, which is primary differentiator between the Routing and the Recipe.  

• • This features allows a clear communication or interface between SAP and the shop floor destination to communicate production or execution related data between them. This interface is a standard SAP defined interface and works with SAP sending process instruction categories to the destination and the destination sending back execution data to SAP for updation in SAP database.  

  • Every phase in a master recipe has a shop floor destination or control recipe destination. The process instructions are assigned to the phases; these process instructions carry process notes, order details, phase details, component details, quality inspection details, goods receipt details. The process instructions are bundled up into a control recipe and are sent to the control recipe destination, which once sent to the shop floor operator or the process control system, helps them to with the detailed information and instructions about the order and initiates a trigger to start manufacturing activities.  

  • The process instructions also contains information on the Process messages which are supposed to be sent back to SAP (data requests), like the confirmation records for the order; goods issue records for the order and goods receipts data for the order, inspection results for the received goods etc. Eventually the processes messages post the data in SAP tables using various BAPI’s and functional modules.  

  • An “individual process instruction” for example – a process instruction for order information, contains characteristics like the order number, plant code, order type, order start date, order finish date, order reservation number, header batch number (if any) etc. These characteristics carry the respective values. You can manually change/add the values or have them populated by the system (for example for characteristics like order number, order start date, order type etc ;) as per the process design. The characteristics used in process instructions to carry values of various parameters are always assigned with a characteristics group called as PPPI_INST. 

  • The process instructions can be assigned to the master recipe with product or process specific values assigned in them or they can be assigned to the control recipe destination itself. Assigning the process instructions at the control recipe destination would automatically explode them in the process order and this avoids the effort of individually assigning them at the material/plant level master recipes. For process instruction attached to the destination, you could still assign values to them but they would not be material specific and would be very generic in nature which is applicable to the processes carried out at the destination.  

  • The Process instructions are bundled up in a control recipe which is downloaded from SAP and sent the control system or the shop floor operator. The Recipient processes the process order and sends activity completion process messages to the SAP system in the form of process messages.  

  • Correlation – One can correlate the process instructions as an examination Question Paper’ set for a particular grade with instructions and questions in it. This question paper (as process instructions) is given to each and every student belonging to a particular grade (a grade can be a control Recipe destination) along with the process message request to answer the questions in a particular set time (consider the filled up answer sheet along with the Roll number and grade as process messages which are requested back by the system). The students are expected to carry out the activities of answering and appearing for the test and in return submit the answer sheet as process message back to the examiner (the examiner can be the SAP system which updates the completion information and marks in SAP system). 

  • Standard SAP in SAP PPPI is designed to have the recipient as a shop floor operator in SAP itself, who completes the order detailing and manufacturing in PI SHEETS and sends back the process messages to the SAP cockpits to process standard designed BAPI’s. On the other hand if the recipient is a process control system outside of SAP, he can also receive or request the instructions in a control recipe to aid in production and send back the messages to SAP system through standard interfaces designed for such integrations between SAP and the external shop floor control system.  

Use of Intra Materials in SAP PP PI 

 Use of Intra Materials in a key feature available both in process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing; though it is predominantly talked about in process manufacturing since SAP PPPI offers storage resources in between operations to store these intra materials. Intra Materials are materials which are added to stock in between production and removed from stock when they are issued to the next resource.  

Electronic Batch Record:

 SAP PP PI provides a Facility for documentation & Optical Archiving of the Batch Related data of a process order or order related data for future references. You can document or record all the process order related activities of the process order.  

Standard SAP has control recipe destinations which receive the process instructions and using which the destination carries out the manufacturing and at the end of which they send back the process messages to confirm their production activities or production status on a real time basis.

 The control recipe destinations are assigned to the individual phases of an operation; which means that every phase in a master recipe can carry different control recipe destinations. One control recipe is created for a given destination and order combination.

 The destinations or recipients of the process instructions can be SAP destinations or external process control system destinations. If the destination is in SAP itself, then it can be a shop floor operator/operator group at a plant or a production line or shop floor operator/operator group for a specific activity, executing the phase; where as if the destination is an external process control system outside of SAP, then the process instructions & process messages are interfaced with that external system.

 The definition of the control recipe destination needs configuring the destination type, address of the destination (in external system, the address is the RFC destination of the process control systems). 

For shop floor destinations which are in SAP itself, there are 2 different types of destinations called “1” and “4”, to represent them. The destination operator group of type 1 receives all the process instructions & requested process messages well arranged on an ABAP based sheet or screen called as a PI-Sheet (one for an order, for a destination). Whereas for a destination of type 4, a sheet containing all the process instructions and requesting process messages, well arranged on a web based sheet browser based PI-Sheet is sent to the internal operator/operator group. 

Note: An ABAP based PISHEET is shown below, if the same is set for a destination type 4 – browser based PI-Sheet, then the sheet with the information would appear in a browser in HTML format. With Destination type there are standard BAPI’s and connections working, which would process the messages once sent back to SAP by the respective destinations. 

Note: In configuration for the destinations of type 2 and 3, you can assign process instructions which would be automatically become a part of control recipe and would be downloaded to the external control system. Whereas for destinations of type 1 and 4, there is a provision to assign the process instructions in a sequence (making a list of suitable instructions) which are generated in the process order control recipe and subsequently downloaded to the SAP operator/operator group.  

Note: Transaction to create the Control Recipe destination is O10C. 

 For control recipe destinations lying outside of the SAP system, i.e., external process control systems or manufacturing execution systems lying outside of SAP, the process instructions are sent their through a standard designed interface. There are majorly two control recipe destinations interacting with external process control systems, namely “2” and “3”.

 Destination type “2” is used when the SAP initiates the transfer or download of control recipe to the external process control system (Push case); whereas “3” is used when the transfer or download of control recipe is triggered by the external control system (Pull case).

 Note - When the process control system is an external system, you can assign the process instruction categories and have the system generate control recipes automatically.  

 Note: In configuration for the destinations of type 2 and 3, you can assign process instructions which would be automatically become a part of control recipe and would be downloaded to the external control system. Whereas for destinations of type 1 and 4, there is a provision to assign the process instructions in a sequence (making a list of suitable instructions) which are generated in the process order control recipe and subsequently downloaded to the SAP operator/operator group. 

 Note – For external control systems, it is required to define a RFC destination, so as to define the connections to the control system and enable SAP to communicate with the system. The transaction code to create is SM59. 

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