Performing object changes

Up to now, you have changed your master data in the SAP system without engineering change management.

Now you want to use engineering change management to plan product changes in the SAP system. You have to consider which master data in the SAP system is affected by this.

Check out the following video and understand possible product changes and their effects.

You can make the changes either with a Change Number or with a Change Record.

When you want to change a material with a change number, you have two options:

• Changes Immediately
• Changes Scheduled

• If you want to change materials with the transaction Change → Immediately you can only change them with a change number if the valid-from date is the current date or if it is in the past.

• No new data records are created for material changes with a change number. The system saves the changes in change documents. The changes that you last saved (regardless of the valid-from date of the change master record) are always taken as the current status.

• It is not necessary to make changes with history. It is possible to make later changes without a change number after processing with a change number. You still get complete documentation, because change documents are created for all material changes.

• Object management records are required by material master records for changes with change numbers. The relevant indicator in the object type overview is set automatically in the change number. However, you have to ensure that a relevant object management record exists or is automatically created.

• If you want to change materials with the transaction Change → Schedule, you can only change them with reference to a change number if the valid-from date is in the future.

• The planned changes must be activated on a specific date if they are to become effective. The system only takes into account those changes that are to become effective on the given date.

  Note

  The activation can be done automatically in a batch job. This job checks for example every day, whether an activation is necessary or not.

• A change that is planned for a specific date in the future is stored in the form of a change document. The key date is stored in the document header of the change document.

After you have changed your material and material BOM for the forklifter, you also want to change the routing using a change number.

If you change routings with a change number, then the system saves both the old and the new statuses of the following routing objects:

• Header, operation, sequence, operation – MRP assignment

• Inspection characteristics

• Operation – material component assignment

The key date determines the start of the validity period for a routing object. The system determines the valid-from date from the change master record.

The validity periods end with the valid-to date. This date is dynamically determined by the system.

If you process the routing object more than once with reference to different change numbers, then the valid-from date of the following change number is the valid-to date of the previous data record. If you edit the routing on a specific key date, the system determines all objects that are valid on that date.

If you are working with a document info record, you can only use one change number per version. The change numbers are first reserved and then assigned.

Watch the following video for a better understanding of document maintenance.

When you release a document, the valid-from date comes from the change number. The valid-to date is derived automatically from the next valid-from date of a subsequently released version.

Whenever a document version was released with a change number, all other versions must be released with a change number also.

Objects from the classification system are partly changed historically using a change number: characteristics are changed historically and also the characteristic assignment to classes.

If you want to use change numbers for classification changes also, you have to activate this inside customizing depending on class type.

Object management records are not supported for objects in the classification system. Only an "Active" setting is possible.

Engineering change management can also be used for variant configuration. Note that not all objects are connected.

Watch the following video for an overview.

There is a history requirement for all variant configuration objects that you have processed with reference to a change number.

You have determined that you have made incorrect or superfluous changes to the master data. You want to undo these changes.

You can use the transaction CCUNDO – Undo changes to reverse changes.

If you create an object with reference to a change number and execute the Undo transaction, the system removes the object from the database. In contrast to deleting with reference to a change number, the object is not only marked as having been deleted, you can also create an object with the same name after the change has been reversed.

If you delete an object with reference to a change number and execute the Undo transaction, the system only removes the deletion indicator.

If you change an object with reference to a change number and execute the Undo transaction, all the changes that were made for that object with the selected change number are reversed. This also applies if the changes were made at different points in time or with different transactions. If, for example, you have created an object with the same change number, changed it several times and then deleted, it will be removed completely when you execute the Undo transaction.