Quality certificates are created to certify the quality specifications of a specific material or batch being shipped to a customer. In the context of an SAP outbound delivery, this process is handled at the item level. Each line item in a delivery represents a distinct material and quantity. The system checks the certificate profile assigned to the material-customer combination for each delivery item to determine if a certificate is required and how it should be generated. This item-level control allows for different certificate requirements for various materials within the same shipment.

A. Material level: Certificate profiles are assigned in the material master data, but the actual certificate generation for a specific shipment is a transactional process triggered by the delivery, not a master data-level action.

B. Shipping point level: The shipping point is an organizational unit for processing deliveries. Certificates are tied to the quality of the product (material), not the physical location from which it is shipped.

D. Delivery header level: The delivery header contains general information for the entire shipment. Managing certificates at this level would not allow for the necessary specificity, as different items in the delivery may have different certification needs.

1. SAP S/4HANA Help Portal

Quality Certificates (QM-CA)

"Automatic Certificate Creation for a Delivery Item": This official documentation explicitly describes the process. It states

"When you create an outbound delivery

the system can automatically create a quality certificate for each applicable delivery item... The system determines whether a certificate is required for the delivery item." This confirms the process is executed at the item level.

Source: SAP Help Portal for SAP S/4HANA 2023

Quality Management (QM) -> Quality Certificates (QM-CA) -> Certificate Creation.

2. SAP S/4HANA Help Portal

Quality Certificates (QM-CA)

"Certificate Profile Assignment": This section details how certificate profiles are assigned to a combination of material and customer

or to a material group. This assignment is then checked at the delivery item level during the creation of the outbound delivery to trigger certificate generation.

Source: SAP Help Portal for SAP S/4HANA 2023

Quality Management (QM) -> Quality Certificates (QM-CA) -> Master Data for Quality Certificates.