SAP Interview Questions and Answers for MM Consultants
An SAP MM interview preparation can appear overwhelming, like trying to organize a giant warehouse—but when it all fits together, it will be just as rewarding! Your nerves may completely disappear after you finish your SAP Training or are a seasoned consultant looking for a new career. Well hopefully we can take you from feeling hopeful to feeling unstoppable by going through all the must-know SAP Interview Questions and Answers for MM Consultants in conjunction with the types of scenarios you will encounter while on the job and a comprehensive review of the procurement process and inventory management. We will dissect the different ways these processes can occur within businesses and help you approach your interview feeling like an expert!
The Core of SAP MM: Master Data and Procurement
The main purpose of SAP’s Material Management (MM) module is to manage the flow of materials. To be successful at an interview, you must demonstrate an understanding of how the digital world mirrors the physical world.
1. What is the difference between a Purchase Requisition (PR) and a Purchase Order (PO)?
A PR is an inventory/request document in a company that says, “Hi, we need this.” PRs do not constitute a legal relationship with the vendor. A PO, on the other hand, is a formal, binding agreement to buy a specified item from a designated vendor and will legally bind the vendor to fulfill the order. When you took your SAP Course, you probably learned that the PO exists to show a commitment by the buyer, and that the PR simply reflects an intention of the buyer.
2. Can you explain the “Procure-to-Pay” (P2P) Cycle?
This is the heart of the MM Consultant’s role, and you need to be able to describe this cycle easily in the following steps:
- Requirement Determinations (create PR)
- Source Determination (find a vendor)
- Vendor Selection (compare prices from potential vendors)
- Order Processing (issues a formal PO)
- Order Follow-up (verify delivery)
- Goods Receipts (enter items into a system as received)
- Invoice Verification (matching invoice to PO)
- Payment Processing (clear a liability from the system).
Deep Dive: Inventory and Valuation
Exam Board Applicants generally expect candidates to demonstrate a knowledge of both money and stock within the system. This is an area where you can really display your knowledge from the SAP Certification.
3. What is “Valuation Class” and why is it important?
The Valuation Class is the link between the Material Master & the Financials (FI) Module. The Valuation Class is responsible for defining which General Ledger Account will be updated when a goods movement occurs. If there were no Valuation Class, then the system would have no way of knowing the link from ‘bag of cement’ to the resulting ‘dollar value’ on the Balance Sheet and hence would not be able to generate the correct GL entries.
4. Explain the concept of Consignment Stock.
Consignment Stock is stock that is physically on your premises but belongs to your supplier (vendor) until you use some of the stock. You do not pay for Consignment stock until you have actually used the stock. This is common in high volume businesses, and one of the most frequently asked technical questions to configure is related to how to set up the Consignment Info Record.
Technical Troubleshooting and Configuration
5. What is a “Movement Type” in SAP?
Movement Types (for example 101 for Goods Receipt or 201 for Goods Issue) are like your “transaction’s DNA” because they inform the system whether stock is going up or down (or will have). Movement types also identify which GL accounts will be impacted as well as how the data will be displayed on the screen.
6. What is the “Three-Way Match”?
The three-way match is a very important control point. Before payment can occur, SAP conducts an analysis of three documents against one another to ensure that they match – Purchase Order (what did we order), Goods Receipt (what did we actually receive) & Invoice (what is the vendor billing for).
Mastering the Consultant Mindset
A consultant must do more than know their way around a computer; a consultant must also understand how to help a client solve its business problem. When answering the questions that follow, think “User’s Perspective.” Instead of simply stating “I enter a transaction code MIRO,” say “I perform an Invoice Verification process to ensure my company does not overpay for damaged items.”
Common Technical Terms to Know
| Term | Functional Use |
| Material Master | The central source of information on all materials. |
| Vendor Master | Contains all details about external suppliers. |
| Quota Arrangement | Distributing requirements among different sources of supply. |
| Source List | A list of approved vendors for a specific material over a time period. |
Conclusion: Your Path to Success
When you are attempting to navigate the SAP MM (Materials Management) world successfully, using both technical skills and business skills is necessary. While completing an SAP Course will prepare you for success, developing your curiosity and practicing what you learn at the SAP Course through scenarios will greatly increase your chances of being in high demand by recruiters. An SAP Certification will show a potential employer you possess a variety of technical skills, and being able to articulate why a business process exists in addition to answering how to execute it is the key to becoming a credible professional.
Whether you are trying to strengthen your current skills or if you are starting from zero, having a mentor will greatly improve your chances of completing your goal. For individuals interested in obtaining their dream job in either the Canadian or worldwide job market, Nextnow offers specific training plans to prepare students for working in the SAP field. If you have prepared properly, you are only one successful interview away from obtaining your “Dream Job!”
FAQs
I know the P2P cycle, but how do I explain it without sounding like a textbook?
Your SAP course focused on the “Three-Way Match” (PO, Goods Receipt and Invoice) and provided you with an understanding of the real controls in business versus just how to create a transaction code. For instance, the product journey begins with a customer recognizing they’re out of inventory and ends with the proper billing of an invoice to a vendor. By relating these two events together through a product’s journey you are demonstrating how two events are related in real-life.
How specific should I get when talking about the Material Master?
Trying to list every single field in the Material Master would be impossible to do because of how extensive the Material Master is; therefore, focus on the Views instead. For example, you could say something like “The Material Master is extremely important to MM because it contains many Views of the same material to meet different departmental needs; for example, Purchasing needs to know delivery times, Accounting needs to know asset valuation method, and Warehouse Management needs to know where to store an item.” By saying this you demonstrate that you have an understanding of how the data in the company works throughout the enterprise.
What if they ask me about a scenario I haven’t faced in a real project yet?
The preparation for SAP certification will serve a very important purpose here. For example, if you have no experience in a particular area (such as the complex “subcontracting” process), you should explain to them honestly that you may have not configured a subcontracting cycle in a production environment; however, you have enough knowledge about what the core logic involves. For example, “I have not configured a subcontracting cycle in a live environment; however, my understanding of the core logic is that there needs to be an outbound delivery of the raw material(s) to the vendor and an inbound of the completed good(s) back to your location using a 541 movement type.” This shows that you already have the basis needed for learning quickly!
Do I need to memorize all the transaction codes (T-Codes)?
You don’t have to know everything about SAP (like every single item) but you should learn some of the “Big Ones.” If you can mention the transaction codes MM01 (Create Material), ME21N (Create PO), or MIGO (Goods Movement) in your conversation, you’ll have added a level of professional credibility to your conversations and you will show that you spent a considerable amount of time in the system as part of your SAP training.
