What Are Sales and Distribution (SD)

Sales and distribution refer to the supply chain processes involved in selling and distributing products to customers. Those processes include order processing, warehousing, shipping, invoicing, customer service, handling of returns, and the like.

SAP Core Functional Module

SAP offers its SAP Sales and Distribution (SAP SD) core functional module as part of SAP ERP Central Component (ECC). The module is part of SAP ECC’s logistics function and integrates with other modules, including materials management (MM), plant maintenance (PM), production planning (PP), quality management (QM), financial accounting (FI), controlling (CO), and human resources (HR).

Key components of the SAP SD module:

What Are Sales and Distribution (SD)

Sales and distribution refer to the supply chain processes involved in selling and distributing products to customers. Those processes include order processing, warehousing, shipping, invoicing, customer service, handling of returns, and the like.

SAP Core Functional Module

SAP offers its SAP Sales and Distribution (SAP SD) core functional module as part of SAP ERP Central Component (ECC). The module is part of SAP ECC’s logistics function and integrates with other modules, including materials management (MM), plant maintenance (PM), production planning (PP), quality management (QM), financial accounting (FI), controlling (CO), and human resources (HR).

Key components of the SAP SD module:

• Master data
• Sales
• Shipping of material
• Billing
• Sales support
• Transportation of products
• Foreign trade

Key Considerations for SAPinsiders

• Improve Your Company’s Revenues with ATP in Sales Using SAP SD. Are you familiar with how to calculate available-to-promise (ATP) quantity? ATP is calculated from the warehouse stock, the planned inward movements of stock, and the planned outward movements of stock. This article explores the processes involved in sales using ATP functionality. “An Available-to-Promise (ATP) check is performed dynamically for each transaction (i.e., warehouse stock, inward and outward movement of stocks), taking into account the relevant stock and planned goods movements with or without replenishment lead time,” writes author Dr. Gaetano Altavilla, Senior SAP Practice Manager.
• Streamline Invoice Processes and Improve Customer Relationships by Implementing SAP SD Retroactive Billing. This article explores the implementation of retroactive billing using SAP SD and SAP logistics execution shipping within SAP ECC 6.0. If your customer pricing needs updating at the end of the fiscal year, configure retro-billing across modules in your ERP using the steps highlighted within this piece. Adjust posted invoices to reflect new prices while also monitoring the process. “The retro-billing process also produces a history of sales orders and the effects that the changes have on your customer accounts. This information can be invaluable to your organization,” writes Altavilla.

Vendors in the sales and distribution space include: Kern AG, Liquid Analytics, and Long Business Systems, Inc. (LBSI).