Interchangeability Group Types 

Definition

All master data required to create a product or location substitution is maintained in an interchangeability group. The following interchangeability group types are available to create various interchangeability scenarios:

·        Supersession chain

·        Form-Fit-Function (FFF) class

·        Restricted interchangeability between FFF classes

·        Product substitution procedure (PSP)

·        Location substitution chain

·        Location list

·        Location product substitution chain

·        Location determination procedure (LDP)

·        Location product substitution procedure (LPSP)

Structure

Header

The header data of every interchangeability group comprises the following data:

·        Group type

·        Group number

·        Group description

·        Group relevance

·        Status

Some group types contain additional fields (see Supersession Chain, FFF Class, PSP, Location Substitution Chain, and Location Determination Procedure (LDP)).

Group Relevance

Consistency checks required for planning-relevant groups can differ from consistency checks for ATP-relevant groups. Therefore in the interchangeability master data you must identify whether an interchangeability group is relevant for planning purposes, for ATP or for both.

The search functionality allows you to search for interchangeability groups with a specified relevance.

You cannot create FFF subsets for FFF classes with group relevance ATP.

Status

The status of an interchangeability group controls its usage by various applications. Interchangeability groups can have one of the following three statuses:

·        In Process

Every newly created interchangeability group has the status In Process. Once the interchangeability group is consistent, you can change the status to Released by choosing  Release in the application toolbar.

An interchangeability group with status In Process cannot be assigned to a model (see Assigning an Interchangeability Group to a Model).

·        Released

The interchangeability group is consistent and released for usage.

·        Blocked

The interchangeability group is consistent but not released for usage. Only a released group can be blocked. You can block an interchangeability group by choosing  Block in the application toolbar. You can unblock an interchangeability group by choosing  Unblock. After you have unblocked an interchangeability group, the status is changed to Released.

The search functionality allows you to search for interchangeability groups with a specified status.

The status cannot be maintained separately for FFF subsets. The status of an FFF subset is derived by the status of its parent FFF class.

Item

The item data of every interchangeability group comprise the replacement type, preceding member type, succeeding member type, and master data attributes, such as predecessor product, successor product, predecessor location, successor location and validity dates. For more information about the specific master data attributes, see the documentation of the corresponding interchangeability group type.

Integration

After you have created an interchangeability group, you must assign it to a model (see Assigning an Interchangeability Group to a Model).

You can also maintain the Demand Planning settings for a supersession chain (see Product Interchangeability in Demand Planning).