Interchangeability of effectivity units

Interchangeability means that the demand for a specific material's and/or end item's effectivity unit can be fulfilled by inventory of another effectivity unit of the same item.

Interchangeability can be used in the following processes:

  • During order planning in Enterprise Planning.
  • In an outbound advice in Warehousing. If effectivity units are interchangeable, one unit can use another unit’s inventory to meet a requirement.

The basic question is: can an effectivity unit A be replaced with an effectivity unit B for an item XYZ? To answer this, interchangeability of effectivity units (indicated by the setting of Interchangeable check boxes) is checked on three levels:

  • Company level
  • Item level
  • Item – effectivity series level

How to set interchangeability in LN on different levels is described below.

Company level

Interchangeability on the company level is leading. If the All Effectivity Units are Interchangeable check box in de Unit Effectivity Parameters (tcuef0500m000) session is selected, all effectivity units are interchangeable for all orders.

Example

The order-planning engine in Enterprise Planning has a demand for item Q-DEVICE with effectivity unit 75. No inventory exists for this item/unit. However, inventory is available for item Q-DEVICE with effectivity unit 79. If the All Effectivity Units are Interchangeable check box is selected, interchangeability is defined on the company level so the inventory for Q-DEVICE/79 can be used to replace the demand for Q-DEVICE/75.

If the All Effectivity Units are Interchangeable check box is selected, the pegging function of the Unit Effectivity module is not fully exploited but unit effectivity is used for configuration issues and non-material matters, for example, to test alternative routings and sourcing strategies, or to examine learning curves.

Item level

If the All Effectivity Units are Interchangeable check box in the Unit Effectivity Parameters (tcuef0500m000) session is cleared, you can set interchangeability at the item level in the Items (tcibd0501m000) details session. If you select the Effectivity Units are Interchangeable check box in the Items (tcibd0501m000) details session, all effectivity units for a specific item are interchangeable.

Example

The order-planning engine in Enterprise Planning has a demand for item Q-DEVICE with effectivity unit 75. No inventory exists for this item/unit. However, inventory is available for item Q-DEVICE with effectivity unit 55. The effectivity units are not interchangeable at the company level. However, the Effectivity Units are Interchangeable check box in the Items (tcibd0501m000) details session is selected, so the item Q-DEVICE is defined as interchangeable. Warehousing can therefore issue material of Q-DEVICE/55 to the shop floor.

Selecting the Effectivity Units are Interchangeable check box in the Items (tcibd0501m000) details session is mainly useful to be able to interchange effectivity units of common material in the lower levels of the BOM.

Item – effectivity series level

You can define interchangeability on the item – effectivity series level in three ways in the Items - Effectivity Series (tcuef0101m000) session:

  • If you select the Interchangeable in Series check box, a material demand for an item/effectivity unit can be replaced with other inventory of effectivity units of the same series.
  • If you select the Interchangeable with other Interchangeable Series check box, a material demand for an item/effectivity unit can be replaced with inventory for effectivity units of other series (defined for the same end item), if the Interchangeable with other Interchangeable Series check box for those series is also selected.
  • If you select the Interchangeable with Standard Configuration and vice versa check box, a material demand for an item/effectivity unit can be replaced with inventory for effectivity unit 0 (standard inventory). Also demand for effectivity unit 0 can be replaced with effectivity units of this series.
Example

The order-planning engine in Enterprise Planning has created a production order which requires material CRT-DEVICE with effectivity unit 75. No inventory exists for effectivity unit 75 but a large inventory is available for effectivity unit 80. Can CRT-DEVICE/80 replace the requirement for CRT-DEVICE/75? Note that CRT-DEVICE is not interchangeable on the company level or the item level.

Effectivity unit 75 is defined for series NM of end item RADAR, with sequence numbers 1-100. For this series, the Interchangeable with other Interchangeable Series check box is selected. Effectivity unit 80 is defined for series AD of end item RADAR, with sequence numbers 1-50. For this series, the Interchangeable with other Interchangeable Series check box is cleared.

As only one of the item – effectivity series is interchangeable with other series, the effectivity units 75 and 80 are not interchangeable for item CRT-DEVICE. If, on the other hand, effectivity unit 80 defined for series AD of end item RADAR is also defined as interchangeable with other series, effectivity units 75 and 80 are interchangeable for item CRT-DEVICE.

Note

You can use an effectivity unit for any item, not only for the end item it is defined for.

Example

Effectivity units X and Y are defined for end item P1. Component item C2 can be stored for units X and Y. This is allowed, even if item C2 is not part of the BOM structure of end item P1.

Consequently, if a production order requests material C2 and unit X, outbound advice can be created for C2 and unit Y if no inventory is present for unit X, but only if these are interchangeable. If not interchangeable at company or item level, and units X and Y are defined for different series (of end item P1), for both series the Interchangeable with other Interchangeable Series check box must be selected.

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