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Demo 5.2: Review customer master

CUSTOMER-MATERIAL INFORMATION (INFO) RECORD

A customer-material information record is comprised of master data spe-
cifi c to one customer and one material. In contrast to data in a material master,
which apply to all customers, and data in a customer master, which apply to
all purchases made by a particular customer, data in a customer-material info
record relate to purchases of a specifi c material by a specifi c customer.
Some data in a customer-material info record are not found elsewhere.
One example is the customer material number, which cross-references the
company’s material number with the customer’s material numbers. Figure 5-18
provides some examples of material numbers used by GBI and its customer
RMB. RMB’s material numbers are noted as the customer material number
in the info record. This cross-referencing of material numbers enables the cus-
tomer to place an order based on its internal material numbers, which the info
record then translates into the company’s material numbers. Remember that
most customers also have enterprise systems that manage their procurement
process. Consequently, the customer material number is the link between the
seller’s master data and the buyer’s master data.

Figure 5-18: RMB and GBI material numbers

In certain cases the data in a customer-material info record supersede
data found in other master data, such as the material master and customer
master. For example, preferences related to shipping, such as delivering plant,
tolerances, and partial deliveries that are included in the customer master apply
to all materials purchased by the customer. However, if these preferences vary
for different materials, then they are included in the customer-material info
record. For example, if deliveries are normally sent to one specifi ed plant but
deliveries for a particular material must be sent to a different plant, then this
preference is noted in the customer-material info record for that material, not
in the customer master.
The customer-material info records for RMB also note that RMB prefers
the bikes to be shipped via special ground freight (truck) due to the weight
and size of the shipping boxes. In contrast, the company requests that GBI
ship the shirts via standard air freight (FedEx or UPS 2-day). Finally, the info
records indicate that RMB will accept partial deliveries for shirts but not for
bikes, because shirts have a very short lead time and can be reordered quickly
if needed.

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