BOM Redlining on the Web UI

In engineering there is a high demand to maintain product structures from the earliest stages of the development process up to the creation of a product prototype. Such product structures can contain detailed specifications, CAD data, product variants, and materials, all of which may need to be modified and tracked during the transition from an engineering bill of material (EBOM) to a manufacturing BOM (MBOM).

You can use redlining to simplify the changing and displaying of material bills of material (MatBOM), as well as to track proposed and accepted changes to BOM items.

Users propose changes to a MatBOM by redlining (deleting or adding items, changing quantities or other attributes). To facilitate collaboration, external users such as suppliers, partners, and manufacturing experts can also be authorized to create BOM redlinings.

Implementation Considerations

Redlining is delivered as a standard Business Add-In (BAdI) implementation in Customizing for Logistics General under Start of the navigation path Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Next navigation step PLM Web User Interface PLM Web Applications Redlining in PLM Web UI BAdI: Redlining Enhancements End of the navigation path .

Integration

Redlining is valid for MatBOMs with the standard shipment.
MatBOM headers with redlining can be added to engineering records.
The change number derived from the Change Record function can be used to apply proposed redlining changes to the original MatBOM.
Redlining can be performed in Display and Change modes for MatBOMs, provided the user has special redlining authorization.

Authorization Roles

For internal users, SAP recommends the authorization role SAP_PLMWUI_MFG_ENGINEER3 (see Manufacturing Engineer 3).
For suppliers and other external users, SAP recommends the authorization role SAP_PLMWUI_SUPPLIER3 (see Supplier 3).

Features

Material BOMs on the PLM Web UI have been enhanced to include a redlining button in the global tool bar when in change and display modes. Choosing the Redlining button launches a redlining session in a dialog box. The system proposes a default name, Redlining1, and prefills certain redlining fields with data from the selected BOM. All redlinings are saved when you choose Save in the global tool bar.

For each redlining, the system captures the following header data:

Name
Description
Status of redlining
Responsible user

You can create an unlimited number of redlinings for a MatBOM by using unique names. You can navigate to any redlining attached to a MatBOM header by selecting it from the dropdown box in the header data.

SAP delivers a predefined status scheme containing a profile of the BOM item fields that can be redlined, including the following statuses:

In Work
Completed
Rejected
Approved

The system defines redlining validity through the following fields:

Change Number
Valid From
Engineering Record ID
Engineering Record Status

Note Note

An engineering record is defined as an object that controls the planning and execution of changes. Once a redlining has the status Approved, you can choose Apply to accept the proposed changes on to the MatBOM. You can also use a change number or an engineering record to track the changes to each BOM item (created, modified, or deleted) in the MatBOM.

End of the note.

You can add current redlining name and MatBOM header data to an existing or new change record by choosing Add to Engineering Record. Change Number and Validity fields become read-only, with the values updated from the added change record.

After you add a redlining to an engineering record, the Add button is replaced by a Remove from Engineering Record button. If you choose this button to remove the redlining, you can again edit the Change Number and Validity fields.

Change Tracking

Each redlining contains one or more proposed changes to an existing MatBOM. Proposed changes are tracked under a redlining name, and administrative data is captured. The system provides a standard status scheme for each redlining created.
You can add new BOM items at any position. The system tracks each item by using an icon and by coloring the item row green. Depending on the status of the redlining, you can add nonexistent materials as items. You can add notes to each redlined item.
You can modify an existing BOM item as follows:
- Item ID
- Quantity
- Item text
- Sort string
- Subitems
The system tracks changes to a modified item by using an icon and by coloring the item row yellow.
The system tracks deleted items by using an icon and by coloring the item row red.
Redlining includes an Undo function to restore the original values to a redlined BOM item.

Consistency Check

The system checks for consistency each time a redlining is saved. If a nonexistent material is added as a new MatBOM item or if a unit of measure does not match, the system raises either a warning message or an error message, depending on the status of the redlining.

Note Note

In the default status scheme, a warning message is raised if the redlining status is one of the following:

In Work
Completed
Rejected

An error message is raised if the redlining status is Approved.

You can use the Business Add-In BAdI: Redlining Enhancements to modify warning and error messages.

End of the note.

A consistency check for quantity is also available for redlined subitems.

Collaboration

External users assigned a supplier authorization role are allowed to open a MatBOM in display (read-only) mode and to propose changes by creating redlinings.
The Send Email function facilitates collaboration among internal and external users by providing direct URL links to relevant redlinings.
The changes to a redlining with the status Applied can be displayed to facilitate change tracking.
The Apply button can be used when the status of a redlining is Approved, which means that the system has checked and confirmed MatBOM item consistency and data accuracy.
Redlinings with status Applied are still accessible via the Name dropdown list.
The Details button displays changes between original values and redlined values in read-only fields.
If the Change Number field is populated, the validity of changes (date or parameter effectivity) will be derived from the change number. Users cannot change this value to a different validity date.

Constraints

You can remove a redlining from an engineering record by choosing Remove from Engineering Record. However, the system does not remove or delete the row on the Change Items of Material BOM tab for the relevant engineering record. Instead, you must remove the redlining from the list by navigating to Change Record and manually deleting the redlining row from the MatBOM.
Once a redlining has the status Approved, all fields in the redlining items tab become read-only. You can choose only to apply or not to apply approved changes.

Note

You can define in Customizing how approved redlinings can be applied by using the Business Add-In BAdI: Applying Redlining to Objects to create additional checks.

End of the note.
If you have delete authorization, you can delete an applied redlining from the tabled list of redlinings for a selected material BOM.
You cannot apply redlining to dependent objects such as long texts (descriptions), classifications, object dependencies, and process routes.
- The Process Route tab is hidden while in redlining mode.
- You can read long texts only while in redlining mode.
Redlining for MatBOM headers is not part of the standard shipment. You can add this function in Customizing for Logistics – General under Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) PLM Web User Interface PLM Web Applications Redlining in PLM Web UI BAdI: Applying Redlining to Objects .
The Additional Functions button is not displayed in the redlining global tool bar, as redlining is not maintained as separate object.

More Information

Working with BOM Redlining

Engineering Record on the Web UI

Working with Statuses and Status Schemes in SAM