11 Enterprise Asset Management

Functional location represents the highest level of technical objects in Enterprise Asset Management. Functional location refers to a specific area or position where equipment is installed or used. It provides a hierarchical structure to organize and manage assets within an enterprise. By categorizing assets based on their functional location, organizations can effectively track and maintain their equipment, plan maintenance activities, and analyze asset performance at a higher level.

Bill of materials and functional locations are considered technical objects in SAP ERP. A bill of materials is a comprehensive list of components, subassemblies, and raw materials needed to produce a finished product. It is used in various manufacturing processes. Functional locations, on the other hand, represent physical locations within an organization where technical objects are installed or maintained. They are used to manage and track maintenance activities and resources. Both of these objects have specific technical functionalities and play a crucial role in the overall functioning of SAP ERP.

Business completion marks the last step in the processing of service orders. This step signifies that all the necessary tasks and activities related to the service order have been completed, including any technical work required. It indicates that the business objectives of the service order have been achieved and that the order can now be considered finished. Settlement and billing request may occur after business completion, but they are not the final step in the processing of service orders. Technical completion may happen before business completion, but it is not the last step.

A corrective maintenance notification is a communication that is sent out to inform relevant parties about a maintenance issue that needs to be addressed. The notification typically includes information about the activity that needs to be performed to address the issue and the specific item that requires maintenance. Therefore, both the activity and the notification item can be part of a corrective maintenance notification. Settlement rule and maintenance costs, on the other hand, are not typically included in the notification as they pertain more to financial and administrative aspects of the maintenance process.

In billing, when the system creates dynamic items from the expense information, it also generates a billing request. A billing request is a document that contains all the relevant information about the expenses incurred, such as material and personnel costs. This request serves as a formal notification to initiate the billing process and is used to create a billing document, which is the final invoice sent to the customer. The settlement document, on the other hand, is created at a later stage to record the financial settlement of the billing request.

Asset Management is a module in SAP that deals with managing and tracking an organization's assets. A maintenance plant is a physical location where maintenance activities are carried out, such as repairs and inspections. It is defined in Asset Management to assign assets to specific maintenance plants for better management and tracking. A functional location, on the other hand, represents a specific area or object within a maintenance plant where assets are located. It helps in organizing and categorizing assets based on their physical location. Therefore, both maintenance plant and functional location are organizational units defined in Asset Management.

The maintenance bill of materials (BOM) in Enterprise Asset Management is different from a common BOM because it only includes maintenance-relevant items. The most important functions of a maintenance BOM are spare parts planning in the task list, structuring of the object, and spare parts planning in the order.

Spare parts planning in the task list ensures that the necessary spare parts are identified and included in the maintenance tasks. This helps in efficient maintenance planning and execution.

Structuring of the object involves organizing the maintenance BOM in a logical manner, making it easier to navigate and understand the relationship between different components.

Spare parts planning in the order ensures that the required spare parts are available when maintenance work is scheduled, preventing delays and downtime.

When a customer service order is saved or released in SAP ERP Customer Service, a purchase requisition is created. This document is generated to initiate the procurement process for the required services.

The combination of material number and serial number is always unique because it helps to uniquely identify a specific item or product. A serial number can be identical to the equipment number because sometimes the equipment number is used as the serial number to identify a specific piece of equipment.

In a maintenance order, activities and operations are listed, which are necessary for accomplishing the maintenance process. A maintenance order can contain estimate, planned, and actual costs. The object list enables the maintenance of multiple equipments with the same maintenance order. A maintenance order does not necessarily need to be created with a reference to a maintenance notification.

In Enterprise Asset Management, a maintenance order is used for detailed planning assistance for maintenance tasks to be performed. The elements of a maintenance order include the object list, which specifies the assets or equipment that require maintenance; the operation, which outlines the specific tasks or activities to be carried out; and the material list, which lists the necessary materials or resources needed for the maintenance tasks. These elements help ensure that the maintenance tasks are properly planned and executed, leading to efficient and effective asset management.

The answer options provide an explanation of the differences between planning materials that are in stock and those that are not available. If the planned materials are in stock, a reservation is made in the warehouse, and goods issue and goods receipt from a purchase order are recorded in the document flow of the maintenance order. On the other hand, if the materials are not available on stock, the maintenance order can automatically generate purchase requisitions in SAP MM, and a purchase order is created with reference to the maintenance order. The costs of the materials ordered are debited to the maintenance order upon goods receipt.

In order to settle a service order, it is necessary for the order to have costs or revenues that have not been settled yet. The order type determines which settlement receiver types are possible and which are proposed by default. Additionally, a profitability segment can also be a settlement receiver. Settlement can be carried out once in a period is not a true statement.

The correct answer explains the differences in acquiring external services with a goods receipt and without a goods receipt in Service Order Processing. It states that when an external service is procured with a goods receipt, it must have a material master in SAP ERP. Purchase requisitions and purchase orders for external operations debit the service order with the costs of the procurement process. The invoice receipt posting debits or credits the service order with possible invoice variances. On the other hand, to use an external service without a material master, the service must be included in a service specification, and the services performed are entered using service entry sheets.