Consignment
Consignment in SD covers the four-step process (fill-up, issue, pick-up, returns) used when a vendor's stock is stored at a customer site but remains vendor-owned until consumed. This topic explains the business rationale, special stock valuation, master data setup, document types, item categories, schedule lines, and the integration touchpoints with MM inventory management and FI billing that make consignment distinct from standard order-to-cash.
Overview
Consignment in SD covers the four-step process (fill-up, issue, pick-up, returns) used when a vendor's stock is stored at a customer site but remains vendor-owned until consumed. This topic explains the business rationale, special stock valuation, master data setup, document types, item categories, schedule lines, and the integration touchpoints with MM inventory management and FI billing that make consignment distinct from standard order-to-cash.
Lessons in this topic
- SD Consignment Part 1: How Customer Consignment WorksCustomer consignment keeps your stock at the customer's site until they use it. Learn the four sub-processes — fill-up, issue, pick-up and returns — which ones move stock, which ones bill, and how special stock W tracks goods you still own at the customer.
- SD Consignment Part 2: Configuring Consignment Document Types, Item Categories and Schedule LinesConfigure consignment: order types KB, KE, KA, KR, item categories KBN, KEN, KAN, KRN (billing relevance and special stock), schedule line categories with movement types 631–634, delivery types, item category determination and copy control.
- SD Consignment Part 3: Consignment Stock Valuation, MM Integration and ReconciliationKeep consignment stock under control: valuation of special stock W, stock overviews per customer, physical inventory at customer sites, consumption reporting and automatic issue orders, reconciliation of stock and billing, and period-end checks.
Interview questions covered
- From an architecture standpoint, how does the availability check and requirements transfer differ for consignment fill-up versus consignment issue processes, and why must this distinction be preserved in configuration?
- A customer receives consignment fill-up stock, later some is issued and some returned unused. How does copy control across the consignment process (fill-up, issue, pick-up, returns) ensure correct stock and billing treatment?
- For consignment fill-up processing, how do incompletion procedures help ensure special stock and pricing fields are properly captured before the document can proceed to delivery?
- A client reports that consignment fill-up orders are creating billing documents, which should not happen, while consignment issue orders are not reducing customer special stock correctly. How would you diagnose and resolve this?
- Suppose you inherit an existing Consignment solution. How would you review it before making a change?
- A new consignment channel was configured by copying standard objects, but issues post from own stock and fill-ups create invoices. What do you check?
- Consignment stock value keeps growing and a count shows goods consumed but never billed. How do you fix the process?
- A spare-parts manufacturer keeps stock at dealer sites and invoices monthly based on usage. How do you implement it in SAP?