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  Single-Unit Batches

Definition

Batches whose stock in piece units of measure can only ever be zero or one .

Use

In certain industry sectors it is necessary to identify materials or means of transportation using a unique number per piece. You can supply piece numbers for roll cores in the foil industry, paper rolls in the paper industry, and individual cable lengths in the cable industry.You can map these item numbers as single-unit batches. There is then only one roll or piece per batch.

During the various business processes (for example, during the cutting operation), there may be changes to the quantity of the single-unit batch for these materials. These changes in quantity, however, only affect uncountable units of measure (such as meter, square meter, kilogram); the quantity in "piece" is always either zero or one. If you use single-unit batches, you can ensure that a roll, which always represents one piece, is not inadvertently split into a number of batches; e.g. during stock transfer or partial withdrawals from the paper roll. This enables you to ensure that a roll is always a unique batch.

Prerequisites

The question of which prerequisites must be fulfilled in order to work with single-unit batches is addressed in Prerequisites for Single-Unit Batches .

Structure

A single-unit batch differs from other batches in as far as the Single-Unit Batch indicator is set in the relevant batch master.

Integration

In the master data for a material, you can specify whether it is possible to create single-unit batches for this material.The following settings are possible:

  • The system does not permit any single-unit batches for the material.

  • The system only permits single-unit batches for the material.

  • When you create a new batch for the material, the system creates a factor batch by default. You can decide whether to set the Single-Unit Batch indicator for each individual batch that you create.

  • When you create a new batch for the material, the system creates a factor batch by default. You can specify that the particular batch that you are creating is a factor batch by removing the Single-Unit Batch indicator.

    Note Note

    You make this setting in the additional data of the material master using the SU Btch Default Val. indicator on the Proportion/Prod. Unit tab page.

    End of the note.

If you have already created batches for the material, you can only make limited changes to the settings in the material master. You can only make the setting that no single-unit batches are permitted for the material if no single-unit batches have been created for the material. You can only make the setting that only single-unit batches are permitted for the material if only single-unit batches have been created for the material up to now.

You can create single-unit batches during goods movements or immediately by using the function Create Batch (transaction MSC1N). If you create a batch immediately, you must decide whether it is a single-unit of a factor batch. If you create a new batch during a goods movement, the system proposes either a single-unit batch or a factor batch, depending on the settings you made in the material master. You can change this proposal in the following functions:

  • In the Goods Movements function (transaction MIGO), for goods receipts or postings

  • In the Enter Time Ticket for Production Order function (transaction CO11N), for goods receipts

  • In the Cutting Stock Transfer function (transaction MILL_CUT)

  • In the Delivery-Related Trading Unit Change function (transaction MILL_CUT_LBA)

    Note Note

    If there is no stock for a batch, you can change the Single-Unit Batch indicator in the batch master.

    End of the note.
Constraints

  • Negative stocks are not allowed for materials with single-unit batch indicators.

  • The valuation of product units of measure is not supported for materials with single-unit batches.

  • It is impossible to make postings to a single-unit batch with stock, except with inventory adjustment postings or with a document reversal of the goods issue.

  • Object dependencies cannot be used to determine the conversion factor between the base unit of measure and the unit of measure for the unit itself.

Example

Example 1

You are processing paper rolls that are managed as individual batches. Each of these rolls can have a different length. You want to ensure that the roll number (= batch) is unique.

Example 2

You are using rolls of film in production; the rolls are managed as batches. You want to cut off a part of the total length from a roll and continue managing the remaining part using the same batch number.