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601SDVA01MD04intermediate

Make-to-Order Sale: Sales Order Stock (E), Delivery (601 E) and Billing

A product built for one customer: the sales order item passes its requirement to production, the finished goods are received into stock that belongs to that sales order (special stock E), and only that order can deliver them.

Educational content. SAP behaviour varies by configuration and release. Spotted something off? Report it.

Digital twin

Docs
SAP DOCUMENTSVisualization of Make-to-Order Sale: Sales Order Stock (E), Delivery (601 E) and Billing. All information shown in the scene is also available in the caption and the panels next to it.
Demo data

01Customer orders custom frames

Order 10000180: 10 × FG-2600 at ₹18,000. The item category says: make to order.

Business scenario

Demo Retail Pvt. Ltd. orders 10 custom conveyor frames (FG-2600) built to its store layout. Nothing is held in stock; production builds them for this order, then they are delivered and billed.

All companies, numbers and documents are fictional demo data.

Step-by-step flow

  1. 01

    Customer orders custom frames open in twin

    Order 10000180: 10 × FG-2600 at ₹18,000. The item category says: make to order.

    Instead of checking available stock, the order passes a requirement to planning that is tied to this order item.

  2. 02

    Production builds for this order open in twin

    MRP plans for order 10000180/10; production builds 10 frames and receives them into sales order stock (101 E).

    The goods are reserved by design: they were built for this customer.

  3. 03

    Another customer needs frames urgently open in twin

    A different customer asks for 10 frames today. The 10 in the warehouse are finished. Can you ship them?

    This protects custom goods from being sold to someone else.

  4. 04

    Not available to other orders open in twin

    Another order's availability check does not see special stock E. Using it would need a deliberate transfer to own stock (411 E), which the business must approve.

    Moving it to free stock with 411 E is possible but is a conscious decision, not something delivery can do.

  5. 05

    Deliver from sales order stock (601 E) open in twin

    Delivery 80000700 issues the 10 frames from sales order stock: cost of goods sold ₹1,20,000.

    Only the delivery for this sales order item can consume it.

  6. 06

    Bill the customer open in twin

    Invoice for ₹1,80,000: margin ₹60,000 on this order.

    In make-to-order, controlling often reports results per sales order item.

  7. 07

    Make-to-order complete open in twin

    Order → production for the order → sales order stock → delivery → invoice.

    That is the defining trait of make-to-order.

SAP documents

Drag to pan · Ctrl + scroll to zoom

Stock impact

StepPlant / SLocStock typeMvTChange
Production builds for this order1000 / 0001Sales order stock (E) · 10000180/10101+10 EA
Deliver from sales order stock (601 E)1000 / 0001Sales order stock (E) · 10000180/10601−10 EA

Accounting impact

Receipt of finished goods into valuated sales order stock

Configuration dependent

Production builds for this order

  • Dr Inventory — sales order stock (BSX)₹1,20,000
  • Cr Factory output (production order) (GBB/AUF)₹1,20,000

With valuated sales order stock the receipt posts inventory against the production order. Whether sales order stock is valuated, and at what price, is configuration dependent (valuated is typical in S/4HANA).

Goods issue from valuated sales order stock

Typical

Deliver from sales order stock (601 E)

  • Dr Cost of goods sold (GBB/VAY)₹1,20,000
  • Cr Inventory — sales order stock (BSX)₹1,20,000

As a normal goods issue: inventory value to cost of goods sold. The sales order item can be the CO object, so the margin is visible per order.

Customer invoice for the make-to-order item

Typical

Bill the customer

  • Dr Customer receivable (trade debtor)₹1,80,000
  • Cr Revenue — domestic sales (ERL)₹1,80,000

Standard billing. Revenue and cost both reference the same order item, so profitability is visible per order.

Typical conceptual flow. Actual G/L accounts and posting behaviour depend on material valuation, automatic account determination and system configuration.

Movement type

  • 601GI for delivery from sales order stock (E)Reversal: 602
  • 411Transfer sales order stock to own stock (with special stock E)Reversal: 412

Sells products built specifically for a customer order, keeping the produced stock reserved for that order and making cost and revenue visible per order item.

Transactions & Fiori apps

  • VA01 — Create Sales Order
  • MD04 — Stock/Requirements List (per sales order segment)
  • MMBE — Stock Overview (special stock E)
  • VL01N — Create Delivery
  • VF01 — Billing
  • Create Sales Orders
  • Stock — Single Material

Differences by SAP version

Valuated and non-valuated sales order stock both possible; strategy groups 20/25 common.

Configuration

  • Strategy group and requirement class

    Configuration dependent

    Decide make-to-order planning, whether stock is valuated, and settlement of order costs.

  • Valuated vs non-valuated sales order stock

    Configuration dependent

    Valuated is typical in S/4HANA; non-valuated stock leaves cost on the sales order item until settlement. Requires configuration validation.

Prerequisites

  • Material with a make-to-order strategy group (e.g. 20)
  • Item category determination giving a make-to-order item (e.g. TAK)
  • Requirement type / class transferring requirements per order

Master data

Material master (MRP 3)
Strategy group for make-to-order.

Organizational structure

  • Plant 1000
  • Sales area 1000/10/00

Tables

TableDescription
MSKASales order stock (special stock E)
VBAPSales order item (item category, requirement type)

Integration

  • PPProduction is planned and executed for the sales order item.
  • COCosts and revenues per sales order item.

Common errors

  • “Delivery finds no stock although frames are in the warehouse”

    Likely causes: Stock is sales order stock for another order; Goods received as free stock instead of E

    Where to look: MMBE special stock E · Production order account assignment

Troubleshooting

Something went wrong? Work through these checks in order. They are diagnostic questions, not configuration instructions — confirm changes with your system owner.

  1. CHECK 1

    Stock not found

    • Is the stock special stock E for this order item?
    • Was the production order assigned to the sales order?

Interview questions

  • What is sales order stock?

    Special stock E: stock that belongs to one sales order item. It is produced or procured for that item and can only be delivered for it, unless deliberately transferred to own stock (411 E).

  • How does make-to-order differ from make-to-stock in SD?

    Make-to-stock sells from anonymous stock checked by ATP. Make-to-order passes an order-specific requirement to planning, production receives into sales order stock, and delivery consumes only that stock — cost and margin can be tracked per order item.

Quiz

Q1 · Multiple choice

Which special stock indicator marks sales order stock?

Q2 · Diagnose the scenario

Finished frames are in the warehouse but another order cannot deliver them. Why?

References

  • SAP SE — SAP Help Portal: Make-to-Order Production in SD (source)
  • SAP SE — SAP Help Portal: Sales Order Stock (source)

Explanations are original. They summarize standard behaviour; always validate against your system's release and configuration.

Version history

VersionChange
1.0.0Initial version.