CIF - Mismatch between max material code length in R/3 and APO

Hi All,

The max material code length in R/3 is 18 while in APO it is 40. My material code is numeric and has leading zeroes. While running a BAPI, I am getting an error because the length of material code is different in R/3 and APO. I need to CIF the material code from R/3 to APO. The table MATMAP is not getting the proper material code from R/3 after CIFing. How can we overcome the problem?

Thanks in advance

Ehsan Ahmed