Purchase Order Error Message

[Former Member]

How can I create or enable an error message when a PO is created using articles, that checks to see if there are upc's that might be missing from the articles.  We can right now create a PO with articles that do not have any UPC/EAN attached to the article.  This creates havok downstream.  I would like to have the PO checked to see if all the articles on the PO have a UPC with them.  Is there any error checking for this?  If so, then where can I enable it?

[agentry_src]

Hi Al,

What application or technology are you using?

Regards, Mike

SAP Customer Experience Group - CEG

[Former Member]

I am using SAP Retail, transaction ME21N & ME22N.

[joao_sousa2]

From my experience using retail, the downstream processes shouldn't depend on the UPC/EAN attached to the Purchase Order.

Technically, they should, but in reality vendor make mistakes, switch UPC/EAN between articles, and it's a pain if you depend on the PO UPC/EAN. Better to make the downstream processes depend on the master data which can be easily switched mid process.

Yes I know, not a best pratice. But reality beats the fiction of a perfect process.

Edit: And by the way, even the POS interface uses the master data to determine the UoM when you are making an GR against PO.

[Former Member]

The issue is that the "Article" isn't recorded in our SAP AFS module, only the UPC is the common denominator here.  It isn't an option to switch to article in the SAP AFS system.

[joao_sousa2]

Tough luck

EDIT: To block the field go to Material Managment -> Purchasing -> Purchase Order - > Define Screen layout at item level. Choose ME21N and then "Reference data, item". Check UPC as mandatory.