Product Cost Collectors in the SAP System
The product cost collector is a cost object in periodic product cost accounting in SAP. The purpose of the product cost collector is to collect the actual costs incurred during the production process of a material for a given settlement period.
When using the product cost collector, the product itself acts as the primary cost object. In addition to actual costs, target costs are also recorded, allowing you to calculate production costs, overhead costs, work-in-progress (WIP) inventory, and variances on a period-by-period basis for each product cost collector.
In SAP, the product cost collector can be created for a material, plant, and production process. The key control parameter is the controlling level, which defines the quantity structure (e.g., production version or bill of materials/work plan) and is specified during creation.
Relevant SAP transactions for product cost collectors
| Transaction Code | Purpose |
| KKF6N | Create/Edit/Display Product Cost Collectors |
| KKF6M | Batch entry for serial production |
| MF30 | Product Cost Collector Cost Estimate |
| KK87 | Actual Settlement of Product Cost Collectors |
| CO88 | Actual Settlement of Production/Process Orders |
Challenges
- Once costs have been posted, the assignment of production orders can no longer be changed.
- Its use is restricted in certain sales order and project manufacturing scenarios.
- Changes to control fields do not apply retroactively to existing production orders.
Relevant tables for product cost collectors
| Table | Description |
| AUFK | Order Master Data |
| AFKO | Header data for the product cost collector |
| AFPO | Order lines |
Best Practices for Using Product Cost Collectors
In SAP, the product cost collector can be used regardless of the production type and is always appropriate when a periodic cost analysis is desired instead of a job-based analysis. It can be used in make-to-order production (production orders), process manufacturing (process orders), and in repetitive manufacturing. In repetitive manufacturing, the product cost collector must always be used as a cost object.
In the case of order splits, the parent and child orders must be assigned to the same product cost collector. Its use is also permitted in sales order-based mass production (with a valuated sales order stock and the repetitive manufacturing indicator in the material master).
A key benefit lies in the reduced number of cost objects compared to order-based product controlling, which enables advantages in transparency, control, and execution during period-end closing and reporting.
Production orders can be configured so that costs are collected directly on the product cost collector (status PKSA). In this case, central control fields (e.g., actual costing variant, variance key, overhead key, profit center) are leading in the product cost collector. A change in assignment is only possible as long as no cost-incurring postings have yet been made.
The product cost collector is not suitable for, among other things, project manufacturing, order networks, and certain types of sales order manufacturing.
