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To create a Condition Record with a Release Status, the Condition Table needs to be configured accordingly. Let's review again the creation of a Condition Table from Chapter 1.1.

Figure 2.9.1 displays a Condition Table for which the field "With Release Status" is checked. Several standard SAP Condition Tables were copied for release 4.6A going forward to include this Release Status. For example, the previous Condition Table we looked at, "A005" for Sales Area/Customer/ Material, is now Condition Table "A305", which has the same key fields, as well as the Release Status, in its key.

Create Condition Records with Release Status

The Release Procedure, as SAP calls it, uses a Processing Status and the Release Status. The Release Statuses in the standard SAP system are pre-defined and unchangeable, since downstream processes work based on them. These Release Statuses are:

•A - Blocked
•B - Released for Price Simulation
•C - Released for Planning and Price Simulation
•Blank - Released

The Release Status regarding Price Simulation allows the applicable Condition Records to affect the values in the Net Price List report. This report is "SDNETPR0" and will be explained shortly.

The Release Status regarding Planning allows the Condition Records with that status to be included in CO-PA planning scenarios.
The Processing Status can be freely defined and is linked to a Release Status. This is done in configuration via IMG path SPRO-> Sales and Distribution-> Basic Functions-> Pricing-> Define Processing Status. Figure 2.9.2 displays the assignment of four freely defined Processing Statuses.

More than one Processing Status can be assigned to the same Release Status. This might make sense if an approval process should route a Condition Record through several Processing Statuses in a "Blocked" Release Status.

For the example in this book, Condition Table "690" (from Figure 2.9) was added to a custom Access Sequence attached to a discount Condition Type "ZDRE".

Creating Condition Records for this Condition Type with this key combination displays the Release Status fields in Figure 2.9.3.
Create Condition Records with Release Status

Maintain the self-defined Processing Status from Figure 2.9.2 in column "Proc.Stat." Based on the configuration assignment of the Processing Status to the Release Status, the display-only field "Status" is populated accordingly. Initially, maintain the Condition Record with Processing Status "01" for the "Initial Load" and save the Condition Records.

To see the effects of this Release Status, let's review a Sales Order and the Net Price List report.

Create a Sales Order for the customer and materials of the Condition Records that were just created with a "Blocked" status.

The Pricing Analysis of that line item (which is explained in detail in Chapter 3.2) and Condition Type "ZDRE" indicates in Figure 2.9.4 that the Condition Record did not apply due to the "Blocked" status in the Condition Record.

Running the Net Price List by either SAP menu Logistics-> Sales and Distribution-> Master Data-> Conditions-> List-> Net Price List or transaction "V_NL" offers the selection screen in Figure 2.9.5.

The Net Price List simulates the Net Price for a customer and material for the quantity of one sales unit on a given Pricing Date. Enter the necessary selection criteria and the Pricing Date for which pricing should be simulated. For the Condition Records with a Release Status to have any effect on this report, make sure that selection field "Price Simulation" is checked. Execute the report.

The resulting Net Price List in Figure 2.9.6 displays the simulated Net Price per material. Since the "ZDRE" Condition Records are still in "Blocked" status, they have no effect on the prices here. The Net Price List can provide even more details, but for the purpose of this book, the screen variant displayed here was created with pricing-related fields. The subtotal "1" and subtotal "2" fields show the gross and the Net Price of the material according to the configuration of the Pricing Procedure linked to the selected customer and Sales Order Type.

Go back to the previous Condition Records in "Change" mode and change the Processing Status to "02", which will change the Release Status to "A" for Price Simulation.

After that, execute the Net Price List again with the same selection criteria as before.

Figure 2.9.7 now clearly shows that the Net Prices for the materials for which a "ZDRE" discount Condition Record was created are now reduced by the rates in the "ZDRE" record. "Subtotal 1" for these items remained the same, but "Subtotal 2," which includes discounts, was reduced by the discount amount.

Creating another Sales Order will still show the "ZDRE" condition as blocked in the Pricing Analysis but also indicates the Condition Record was released for Planning. Once the Processing Status in the "ZDRE" Condition Records is set to "04" and therefore the Release Status set to "Released," the Condition Records will apply just like regular Condition Records on a Sales Document.

Since the Release Status is part of the key in the Condition Table, it is possible that multiple Condition Records for the same material exist with different Release Statuses. The following priorities are established in a scenario like this:

•For Pricing, only "Released" Release Statuses are active.
•For Price Simulation, first the "Release for Simulation" status ("B") applies, then the "Released for Planning and Price Simulation" status ("C"), and lastly the "Re-leased" status ("Blank").

Sales Deals (see Chapter 4.2) also have a Release Status but no accompanying Processing Status. The Release Status from the Sales Deal will be copied into the Condition Records created within that Sales Deal. The Processing Status linked to that Release Status in configuration applies on these Condition Records. If more than one Processing Status exists for a Release Status, the first one in alphabetical order will be used.

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This chapter is a sample excerpt from The Ultimate SAP Pricing Guide by 20-year SAP Pricing expert Matthias Liebich, which is now available on Amazon.com. For more info, check out SAP Pricing Guide reviews on Amazon. You can also check out Jon Reed's video interviews with Matthias on SAP Pricing careers and his podcast on how to use the Ultimate SAP Pricing Guide to become a successful SAP Pricing consultant.