Setup Step 6 — Activate Valuation Grouping Code (VGC)
OPTIONAL
Layer 3 · MM↔FI bridge
⏱️ ~10 min
OMWM
OMWD
🎯 Why this setting exists
Common misconception: "VGC separates the books for different plants/CCs." FALSE. Book separation comes from the company code + the plant→CC assignment (Step 4) — not from VGC.
What VGC actually does: it groups plants that share the same G/L accounts so you can use different G/L numbers for different plant groups in OBYC. Without VGC, every plant on the same chart of accounts posts to the same G/L for a given valuation class. With VGC you can route, say, Pakistan plants to G/L 300000 (raw material) and the UAE plant to G/L 300500 for separate audit visibility. The practical payoff: maintain account determination once per group instead of per valuation area.
What VGC actually does: it groups plants that share the same G/L accounts so you can use different G/L numbers for different plant groups in OBYC. Without VGC, every plant on the same chart of accounts posts to the same G/L for a given valuation class. With VGC you can route, say, Pakistan plants to G/L 300000 (raw material) and the UAE plant to G/L 300500 for separate audit visibility. The practical payoff: maintain account determination once per group instead of per valuation area.
💡 Easy example
This step is putting all the Pakistani plants in one "accounting group" so you set their inventory G/L once — instead of re-typing it for Karachi, Lahore and the DC separately.
Group PK01, PK02 and PK03 into one code (VPK1); the Dubai DC (AE01) can sit in its own group (VAE1) if you want a different G/L for it. Set the raw-material G/L once for VPK1, and all three Pakistani plants inherit it — no repetition.
Group PK01, PK02 and PK03 into one code (VPK1); the Dubai DC (AE01) can sit in its own group (VAE1) if you want a different G/L for it. Set the raw-material G/L once for VPK1, and all three Pakistani plants inherit it — no repetition.
🔗 How this connects to everything else
VGC is an optional convenience layer that sits between the org structure and account determination. Here's where it plugs in.
⬆️ Depends on (must exist first)
- Step 5 — Valuation Level: the valuation areas must be defined before they can be grouped.
- Step 4 — Assign Plants → Company Codes: plants must already belong to a company code.
⬇️ Enables (what this unlocks)
- A simpler Step 15 — OBYC: maintain account determination once per VGC instead of per valuation area.
- Different G/L numbers per plant group when the business needs them (audit / country split).
🧩 Who owns it & why MM cares
MM Valuation & Account Assignment config. MM cares because VGC groups plants that share the same G/L accounts so OBYC isn't repeated for every plant — it directly reduces the account-determination work MM maintains.
🔮 Links to other modules (now & later)
- FI VGC decides which inventory / offset G/L accounts a plant group posts to via OBYC. It is purely an account-determination grouping for FI postings.
🔧 Configuration — fields & steps
Two separate IMG nodes — one per T-code:
📍 Two separate SPRO IMG paths (one per T-code)
For OMWM (Activate Valuation Grouping Code):
SPRO → MM → Valuation and Account Assignment → Account Determination → Account Determination Without Wizard → Define Valuation Control
For OMWD (Group Together Valuation Areas / Assign VGC to plants):
SPRO → MM → Valuation and Account Assignment → Account Determination → Account Determination Without Wizard → Group Together Valuation Areas
Action (only if needed)
- Run OMWM → tick "Valuation Grouping Code Active" → Save
- Run OMWD → assign each plant to a group (below)
| Plant | Val Grouping Code | Why |
|---|---|---|
| PK01 | VPK1 | Group Pakistan plants together |
| PK02 | VPK1 | Same group |
| PK03 | VPK1 | Same group |
| AE01 | VAE1 | UAE — separate group (if you want different G/Ls; otherwise also VPK1) |
⚖️ When to use VGC (decision matrix)
| Your scenario | VGC needed? |
|---|---|
| Single CC, single country, plants use same G/Ls | ❌ No |
| Multiple CCs, same chart, same G/L numbers (your case) | ❌ No — books separate via CC anyway |
| Multiple CCs, different G/L numbers per country (e.g., Pakistan raw mat → 300000; UAE raw mat → 300500) | ✅ Yes |
| Single CC, different G/L needs per plant (e.g., domestic vs export plant) | ✅ Yes |
| Real client project (any scale) | ✅ Yes — always activate for future flexibility |
| Learning setup (you, right now) | ❌ Skip — adds complexity without benefit |
🚨 Issues & fixes
⚠️ Skipping VGC means OBYC is maintained per valuation area
Nothing breaks if you skip this. Without VGC, OBYC has one row per (chart + transaction key + valuation class), and all plants on that chart post to the same G/L. Each company code's books stay separate anyway, because the plant→CC linkage routes the posting to the correct CC's instance of that G/L (via SKB1).
The only thing you "lose" is the ability to differentiate G/L numbers per plant group — and you take on maintaining account determination per valuation area rather than once per group. For most learning setups that trade-off is fine, so skip it. For your case (2 CCs, same INT chart, same G/L numbers desired) VGC adds nothing.
✅ Verification
- Run OMWM → confirm "Valuation Grouping Code Active" is ticked
- Run OMWD → each plant shows its assigned grouping code (VPK1 / VAE1)