For production in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), process orders must be approved before production. You can do this in the following ways:

• Create with approved master data (see below)
• Individual approval

Master data is approved in engineering change management. You therefore require the Engineering Change Management (LO-ECH) component to do this.

You make the following settings for order types to specify that an order must be created with approved master data (see Customizing for the Process Order, Order-Dependent Parameters, Mast. data tab page):

• For master recipe selection:

• Must be used with master recipe, automatic selection
• Must be used with master recipe, manual selection

• The Approval required indicator is set.

For collective orders, you must also make these settings for the order types of subordinate orders.

When you create a process order requiring approval, the master data selection procedure is the same as for orders that do not require approval.

The system then checks whether the master data has been approved. Before the process order can accept the master data on which it is based (recipe, BOM, production version) as approved, the following prerequisites must be met:

• The master recipe used must have the change rule with an engineering change order without change type or an engineering change order with change type.
• The recipe or one of its subordinate objects (for example, phase, secondary resource) and the corresponding production version have been changed with at least one engineering change request. The BOM can, but does not have to be processed with an engineering change request.
• For each of the objects mentioned above, the engineering change request whose due date is the closest before the process order creation date must be released.
• Neither locked material components nor parts to be discontinued may be used.
• For planned orders, no changed to the material list may be made.

If the prerequisites are not met,

• The system statuses APNG (Approval not granted) and APRS (Approval withdrawn) are set. They do not allow the release of the order. The reasons for not approving or withdrawing the approval are documented in the log.
• An individual approval is required for the order.

If the prerequisites are met,

• The system statuses APG (Approval granted) and APRC (Based on approved recipe) are set.
• For the most part, only changes to MRP data in the order are allowed. Individually, the following data can still be changed:

• Order dates
• Settlement rules
• Order quantity: The quantity can only vary within the charge quantity range defined for the recipe.
• Resources: You can use the Resource selection function to assign resources that meet the resource selection requirements for an operation.
• Batches: Batches can be assigned for material components that are subject to batch management.

• A withdrawal of the approval is possible, if required (for example, for major changes). After making the changes, an individual approval must be given for the order.

Each order in a collective order is checked individually and approved independently of the other orders. If, for example, approval is denied for a subordinate order, approval is not withdrawn automatically for the higher-level order or the collection as a whole.

For each non-approved order in the collective order, an individual approval is required to meet the prerequisites.

The collective order cannot be released until all orders have been approved.

Display log on withdrawal of approval: Goto ® Logs ® For reading master data.