Managing Next Numbers

During the manufacturing process of the Model A bicycle, the shop floor personnel require assistance in identifying the materials and activities. Cryptic codes and IDs pose a challenge when attempting to quickly determine which materials to select or activities to perform. For instance, the production supervisor requires a simple method to identify the individual bicycles that will be produced for Model A for a specific production order. Therefore, when they initiate an order for the Model A material, all the generated shop floor controls (SFCs) begin with the BC-MA-prefix.

The next numbers can be defined in the Manage Next Numbers application. The application allows you to define numbering patterns of the following types:

• SFC Release: Determines the pattern for SFC numbers created during order release process as well as for the numbers that uniquely identify a material received into floor stock inventory. When you define a numbering pattern for SFC Release, you need to specify the respective order type.
• SFC Serialize: Determines the pattern for numbers that uniquely identify serialized, relabeled, or split SFCs.
• Incident Number: Determines the pattern for numbers that uniquely identify a nonconformance issue. The system generates this number for each nonconformed SFC.
• Batch Number: Determines the pattern for numbers that uniquely identify a batch created in SAP Digital Manufacturing Cloud.
• Inventory Receipt: Determines the pattern for numbers that uniquely identify a material received into inventory.
• Packing Unit/Handling Unit: Determines the pattern for numbers that uniquely identify a packing / handling unit.
• Tool Number: Determines the pattern for numbers that uniquely identify a device or piece of equipment that can be used to support the manufacturing process.

To define a numbering pattern, go to the respective tab in the Manage Next Numbers application for example, for SFC Release, SFC Serialize, Incident Number, and so on.

Also, you can use replaceable parameters as a prefix or suffix for the number, for example, {WEEKOFYEAR}, {MATERIAL_NAME}, {ORDER_NAME}, and so on. Replaceable parameters are variables that you can use in the system. You create a replaceable parameter by surrounding the uppercase name of an element with curly brackets ({ }).