SD Item Categories Part 4: Complex Scenarios — Sales BOMs, Sub-Items and Free Goods

📌 KEY POINTS
✅ Sales BOM with item category group ERLA: header TAQ is priced and billed, components TAE are delivered but not priced.
✅ Sales BOM with LUMF: header TAP is only a grouping (not priced, not delivered), components TAN are priced, delivered and billed.
✅ Sub-item categories are determined in VOV4 using the higher-level item category (TAQ → TAE, TAP → TAN).
✅ Free goods create a sub-item with item usage FREE → TANN (priced 100% discount, not billed) under the paid item.
⚠️ Header pricing with component delivery means cost and revenue sit on different items — check profitability reporting and partial delivery rules.

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▶ WHERE WE ARE
Part 3 covered the special processes. Now items that have structure below them.

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▶ 1. SALES BOM BASICS

• BOM usage 5 (sales and distribution) created with CS01.
• Item category's structure scope explodes the BOM in the order.
• Item category group on the header material decides the model (ERLA or LUMF).

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▶ 2. PRICING AT HEADER (ERLA)

• Header TAQ: pricing, billing, credit.
• Components TAE: delivery-relevant, no pricing — availability checked per component.
• Use when the kit has one price and components are logistics detail.

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▶ 3. PRICING AT COMPONENT (LUMF)

• Header TAP: text-like grouping; no pricing, no delivery.
• Components TAN: normal items with pricing, delivery, billing.
• Use when each component has its own price and revenue account.

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▶ 4. DELIVERY GROUPS AND COMPLETENESS

• Components can form a delivery group (deliver together).
• Partial delivery settings per item and customer.
• ATP on components; header shows the combined confirmation.

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▶ 5. FREE GOODS

• Free goods condition records (VBN1) with determination procedure.
• Inclusive (part of ordered quantity free) or exclusive (extra quantity free) free goods.
• Sub-item with item usage FREE → VOV4 entry OR + NORM + FREE + TAN → TANN.

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▶ STEP BY STEP

1. Create a sales BOM (CS01, usage 5) for a kit material.
2. Set item category group ERLA or LUMF on the header material.
3. Check VOV4 entries for header and higher-level item categories.
4. Create an order, check pricing, schedule lines and delivery.
5. Add a free goods record and check the TANN sub-item.

✅ CHECKPOINT: you can explain where revenue and cost are posted for an ERLA kit versus a LUMF kit.

A healthcare supplier sold surgical kits priced as one unit (ERLA). Management accounting reported the kits as loss-making because costs of goods sold posted on component items (TAE, delivery-relevant with cost) while revenue posted on the header item. The team kept header pricing for the customer but enabled cost determination at header level with a statistical cost roll-up, and adjusted the profitability report to aggregate by higher-level item. A second fix: partial deliveries of kits were prevented with a delivery group, as hospitals rejected incomplete kits.

• Choosing ERLA vs LUMF without deciding where revenue and cost should sit.
• Missing VOV4 entries for higher-level item categories, so components get wrong categories.
• Allowing partial delivery of kits that must ship complete.
• Confusing inclusive and exclusive free goods.
• Forgetting that TANN items still need availability and delivery.

• Decide pricing level (header or component) with finance and controlling.
• Maintain complete VOV4 entries including higher-level categories.
• Use delivery groups for kits that ship complete.
• Test free goods with pricing, delivery and billing.
• Keep BOM usage 5 BOMs under master data governance.

Questions: "Difference between ERLA and LUMF?", "How are sub-item categories determined?", "How are free goods processed?"
Strong answer: ERLA → TAQ header priced/billed with TAE components delivered; LUMF → TAP header grouping with TAN components priced/delivered/billed; sub-items via VOV4 with higher-level item category; free goods via condition technique (VBN1) creating TANN sub-items with item usage FREE, inclusive vs exclusive. Mentions revenue/cost placement and delivery groups.