Lesson 4 of 5
Customer-material info
9 min
Fleet customers rarely use Contoso's product numbers. Great Lakes Fleet Services orders "GLF-ALT-12V-HD" because that is what its own parts system calls the alternator. A customer-material information record maps the customer's number and description to Contoso's product, and can carry customer-specific delivery settings too.
What the record holds
| Field | Great Lakes Fleet Services example | Effect at order entry |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and sales area | Great Lakes Fleet Services, 1710 / 10 | The record applies only to this customer in this sales organization and channel |
| Product | CMC-ALT-100 | Contoso's own product |
| Customer material number | GLF-ALT-12V-HD | Maria can enter this instead of CMC-ALT-100 |
| Customer description | Alternator 12V heavy duty | Printed on documents if the output is designed to use it |
| Delivering plant | 1720 Chicago | Proposed plant for this customer and product, taking priority over the customer and product masters |
| Delivery settings | Minimum delivery quantity, partial delivery rules | Customer-specific shipping behavior for this product |
A customer-material info record for Contoso.
In SAP GUI the records are maintained with VD51 (create), VD52 (change) and VD53 (display). Depending on your release and launchpad, a Fiori app may also be available; check the SAP Fiori apps reference library for your release before writing training material.
How it defaults into the order
When Maria enters an order for Great Lakes Fleet Services, she can type the customer's number in the customer material field of the item. SAP finds the record, puts CMC-ALT-100 in the product field and copies the customer's number to the item, so it can be printed on the delivery note and invoice. If she enters CMC-ALT-100 directly, SAP still finds the record and fills in the customer's number.
- Customer number enteredMaria types GLF-ALT-12V-HD in the customer material field
- Record foundSAP reads the record for Great Lakes Fleet Services in 1710 / 10
- Product filledCMC-ALT-100 is placed in the product field
- Settings appliedDelivering plant 1720 and the record's delivery settings are proposed
- DocumentsThe customer's number travels to the delivery and billing document for output
Delivering plant: who wins?
The delivering plant is proposed from three possible sources. This priority is a frequent source of confusion and of test defects, so learn it by heart.
- Is there a customer-material info record with a delivering plant?Yes → use it · No → next question
- Does the ship-to customer's sales area data have a delivering plant?Yes → use it · No → next question
- Does the product's sales organization data have a delivering plant?Yes → use it · No → no plant proposed; the item is incomplete until one is entered
So if Great Lakes Fleet Services' record says 1720 Chicago, the customer master says 1710 Detroit and the product says 1710 Detroit, the order proposes Chicago. A tester who expects Detroit because "the customer is set up for Detroit" will log a false defect; a tester who forgets the record exists may miss a real one. The user can still change the plant on the item if allowed.
| Approach | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Customer-material info record | Order entry by customer number; customer-specific delivery settings | One record per customer and product; needs maintenance |
| Customer's number typed into an item text | No setup | No search, no defaulting, easy to forget |
| Product substitution | Swaps one product for another under rules | Solves a different problem; not a mapping of customer numbers |
What would you do?
A test order for Great Lakes Fleet Services proposes plant 1720 Chicago. The customer master and product master both say 1710 Detroit. The tester logs a defect. What should Maria check before the defect is assigned?
- Customer-material info records map a customer's product number and description to your product.
- They are maintained per customer and sales organization and channel (VD51, VD52, VD53).
- At order entry, either number finds the record and both are carried to documents.
- Delivering plant priority: customer-material info, then customer, then product.
- Give records an owner and validate them during data migration.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which transaction creates a customer-material info record in SAP GUI?
2. Which source has the highest priority for the delivering plant proposal?
3. Maria enters CMC-ALT-100 directly for a customer with a record. What happens?
4. Why should customer-material info records have an owner?