PLKO table — Task List Header Table PLKO

PLKO stores one row per task list header, meaning one combination of task list type, group and group counter. A task list type (PLNTY) distinguishes routings, rate routings, reference operation sets, standard routings, equipment task lists and inspection plans, all of which share the same underlying data model and the same table. The group (PLNNR) identifies the task list itself, and the group counter (PLNAL) identifies a specific alternative or lot-size-dependent version of that group. PLKO carries the administrative and control data for that header: plant, usage, status, deletion indicator, planner group, and the lot size range for which the counter is valid. It does not contain the operations themselves, their times, or the assigned work centers. Those details sit in child tables joined through the same three-part key.

Always restrict by MANDT and PLNTY first. PLNNR is not globally unique across task list types, the same number range is reused for routings, reference operation sets and inspection plans, so a lookup by group number alone across types returns unrelated rows. Restrict by WERKS as well when the task list type is plant-specific, since group numbers can repeat across plants. The table itself is not large by transactional standards, but joins through PLPO or MAPL can fan out quickly if the type and plant filters are missing. LOEKZ does not remove the row; deleted headers stay in the table and must be filtered explicitly in any query used to prove current state.

Symptom: a production order picked a routing counter that looks wrong for the order quantity. Look up MAPL by material and plant to get the assigned PLNTY, PLNNR and PLNAL, then select PLKO on that exact key. Check LOSVN and LOSBS against the order quantity; if the quantity falls outside that range, the counter would not have been eligible, which explains why a different counter or an error was returned during order creation. Check STATU alongside the status control configuration before concluding the header was blocked.

PLKO remains a transparent table in S/4HANA and is still written by the same routing and task list maintenance transactions used in ECC. The task list data model was not restructured the way the BOM and costing areas were, so the header, operation, sequence and material assignment tables keep their classic shapes. Consultants should still check the specific release for any compatibility view exposed for reporting purposes, since read access patterns for routing data have shifted toward CDS-based extraction in some newer tools even though the underlying table is unchanged.

Routing and task list master data is owned by the production planning master data team for manufacturing routings, and by the plant maintenance or quality team when the task list type is an equipment task list or inspection plan. Any question about why a specific counter was selected or why a header shows a given status belongs with whoever maintains task lists through the standard routing transactions, not with the order processing team.

PLPO holds the operations belonging to a PLKO header, including times and work center assignment. PLAS and PLFL carry the sequence and operation selection structure for reference operation sets and standard routings. MAPL links a material and plant to a task list group counter and is the usual entry point when starting from a material rather than from the routing itself. AFKO records the group and counter that a production order actually used. The maintenance transactions for creating, changing and displaying routings and other task list types write to all of these tables together.