The SAP Materials Management Handbook

Although tens of thousands of global users have implemented Systems, Applications, and Products (SAP) for enterprise data processing for decades, there has been a need for a dependable reference on the subject, particularly for SAP materials management (SAP MM).

Filling this need, The SAP Materials Management Handbook provides a complete understanding of how to best configure and implement the SAP MM module across various types of projects. It uses system screenshots of real-time SAP environments to illustrate the complete flow of business transactions involved with SAP MM. Supplying detailed explanations of the steps involved, it presents case studies from actual projects that demonstrate how to convert theory into powerful SAP MM solutions.

• Includes tips on the customization required for procurement of materials and inventory management
• Covers the range of business scenarios related to SAP MM, including the subcontracting cycle and consignment cycle
• Provides step-by-step guidance to help you implement your own SAP MM module
• Illustrates the procure to pay lifecycle
• Depicts critical business flows with screenshots of real-time SAP environments

This much-needed reference explains how to use the SAP MM module to take care of the range of business functions related to purchasing, including purchase orders, purchase requisitions, outline contracts, and request for quotation. It also examines all SAP MM inventory management functions such as physical inventory, stock overview, stock valuation, movement types, and reservations—explaining how SAP MM can be used to define and maintain materials in your systems.

About the Author

Ashfaque Ahmed obtained his bachelor of engineering degree from the National Institute of Technology, Raipur, India, in 1988 and his MBA in marketing management from Indira Gandhi National Open University in 1997. He has more than 25 years of experience in the field, including in the steel industry and software application development. He started his career as a management trainee in Steel Authority of India Limited, the largest company in the steel industry in India. He learned production management, inventory management, and marketing management in the Indian steel industry. Later he moved to software industry as a programmer analyst and worked for a Canadian software company based in Montreal. In the software industry, he learned about software programming and how software helps run a brick-and-mortar business. Then he moved to software testing and worked as software testing manager and software project manager.

In 2005, he learned SAP materials management (SAP MM) module and became a SAP MM consultant. Since then, he has been working with Global Steel Holdings Limited and SAP Nigeria for implementing SAP solutions for their customers. In his career as SAP MM consultant, he has worked on some challenging assignments that involve the implementation of variants of standard business scenarios in the context of local country-specific customizations of SAP MM features.