EAN Management

EAN Management

Use

An EAN (International Article Number) is an internationally standardized number uniquely identifying a material. It always refers to a specific unit of measure or type of packaging such as a pack of ten pieces or a box. For each unit of measure defined in a material master record, you can assign one or more EANs and specify packaging data (such as dimensions, volume, and gross weight).

In the United States of America, the equivalent of the EAN is the Universal Product Code (UPC).

The EAN is normally assigned by the manufacturer of the material. It can also be assigned by a company using different instore numbering techniques. Instore EANs are known to the company only.

Features

EAN Structure

Normally, an EAN has 13 digits and the following structure:

EAN prefix

This may be a country indicator, identifying the country from which the material comes, or, in the case of instore EANs, it may be company-specific.

Article number

Check digit

Its purpose is to ensure that no incorrect EANs are entered manually or scanned.

Position	Meaning
1–3	EAN prefix
1–12	Article number (the EAN prefix is a part of this)
13	Check digit

Number Assignment

EANs can be assigned in one of the following ways:

Internally (by the system)

Externally (by the user)

Internal number assignment is preferable because there are a number of criteria that an EAN must fulfill. For example, it must belong to a valid number range interval, contain a valid EAN prefix (this is usually, if not always, a requirement), and satisfy a predefined check-digit algorithm.

Only assign an EAN externally if the number is predefined by your vendor or if you are familiar with configuring EANs in Customizing for the Material Master.

The type of number assignment is defined by the EAN category to which each EAN is assigned. The EAN category also determines the check-digit algorithm for the EAN.