Refurbishment of spare parts in SAP S/4HANA

Refurbishment is the SAP process for repairing a used or damaged spare part and returning it to stock as serviceable — tracking the same material in different conditions, each with its own stock and value. It is how asset-intensive operations manage repairable spares (rotables) economically: repair and reuse instead of scrapping and re-buying, with the cost and the value change handled properly in SAP.

Split valuation is the foundation

The enabler is split valuation: one material number is valuated under several valuation types that represent its condition — for example damaged / repairable versus new / refurbished. Each valuation type has its own stock and its own price, so the system always knows how many damaged units and how many serviceable units you hold, and what each is worth. Without split valuation there is no way to distinguish a broken part from a repaired one under the same material number.

The refurbishment order

The repair itself runs on a refurbishment order — a special maintenance order for refurbishment, created with transaction IW81. The order:

1. takes in the part in its damaged valuation type (a goods issue of the damaged unit to the order),
2. collects the cost of the repair (internal labour and components, or external service), and
3. yields the part back in its refurbished/serviceable valuation type (a goods receipt of the repaired unit from the order).

The quantity in equals the quantity out — the condition and the value change, not the count. The refurbishment cost lands on the order and feeds the revaluation of the serviceable stock.

Internal vs external refurbishment

• Internal — done in your own workshop. The work is executed and confirmed on the order operations (with a completion confirmation), components are issued, and the refurbished part is received back into serviceable stock.
• External — done by a supplier, via a subcontracting purchase order: the damaged part is sent out, the supplier repairs it, and the refurbished part (plus the repair service) is received back. This connects the refurbishment to procurement and, where parts physically move between plants, to stock transport orders.

Why it matters

For operations that run on expensive, repairable components — pumps, motors, tools, assemblies — refurbishment is a major cost lever. SAP makes the repairable cycle visible and controllable: you can see damaged vs serviceable stock at a glance, capture the true cost of each repair, and value refurbished parts correctly instead of treating them as new. It turns "fix and reuse" from a spreadsheet exercise into a governed, costed process.

Common questions

What makes refurbishment possible in SAP? Split valuation — the same material held under different valuation types (conditions), each with its own stock and price.

What is a refurbishment order? A special maintenance order (IW81) that takes in a damaged part, collects the repair cost, and returns a serviceable part — same quantity, changed condition and value.

Can refurbishment be outsourced? Yes — externally via a subcontracting purchase order, where the damaged part is sent to a supplier and the repaired part is received back.

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Related: planned and preventive maintenance · completion confirmations · equipment master · stock transport orders. Setting up a repairable-spares process in S/4HANA? Explore our SAP PM training.