Chapter 7

Batch Management
Many companies are faced with more stringent environmental and consumer protection laws as well as with increasing requirements in the area of
product liability. R/3 batch management contains cross-application functionality enabling you to fulfill the complex requirements of the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, among others.

Introduction

By systematically managing batches, or production lots (as they are frequently called), you can greatly improve customer satisfaction, as you can then
precisely plan and control product quality. A usability check enables you to
locate the optimum batches meeting customer specifications. You can use
this function to find batches you want to use in a production process.

Batch
management

Procurement

Production
Warehouse
Management

Warehouse
Management

A
A A

AA

Purchase
order

Sales and
Distribution

Warehouse

Process/
Production
order

Warehouse

Salesorder

Fig. 7-1: Integration of batch management with the supply chain

Using the batch management functionality, you can improve the quality of
your warehousing since you can locate the optimum batch to be used or
sold. Using the batch where-used list, you can track batches over the complete supply chain; that is from receipt of a batch of raw material, through
production, right up to final delivery to your customer. Should it be necessary to recall a product, you can initiate the required measures immediately.

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Batch Management

Batch management contains cross-application functionality available as of

Release 3.0 and is integrated with all logistics-related applications:
Purchasing
Inventory Management
Production
Sales & Distribution
Warehouse Management
Quality Management

Definition of the
Term Batch

SAPs usage of the term batch (lot) concurs with the following definition
published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in their Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP):
Batch: a batch is a quantity of any drug produced during a given cycle of
manufacture. The essence of a batch is its homogeneity.
For SAP a batch is thus a quantity of any given material, produced during
one production process. It is characterized by clearly defined specifications.
Using Batch Management, you can manage partial quantities of a material
seperately in stock.
The figure below shows how batches are created during a production process. Depending on the requirements of your industry, you can also combine
batches of materials that have identical specifications during quality inspections.
Process order 1

Process order 2

Quantity 1

Quantity 2

Material Epoxy resin

Batch 2

Batch 1
Viscosity
pH value

1930 cst
7.5

Viscosity
pH value

Fig. 7-2: Batch creation during a production process

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1950 cst
8.5

Batch Management

Batch Management is a general-purpose function but is used mainly by the

following industries:
Chemicals
Pharmaceuticals
Cosmetics
Food
Health and Hygiene

Batch Specifications and Levels

Every batch features certain specific physical, technical or chemical properties that enable you to describe it (for example, pH value, viscosity, color
purity). These values are determined, for example, in a quality inspection
carried out by R/3 Quality Management, which is directly linked to batch
management.

Management of
Batch Specifications

These batch specifications are the cornerstone of batch management. They

are stored as characteristics in the R/3 Classification System. You can
maintain characteristics either when you maintain batch master records
during goods receipt or during usage decisions in Quality Management. The
specifications you use depend solely on your requirements. Apart from the
above types of properties, you can also use characteristics such as the shelf
life expiration date or usability.
A batch is always posted to a certain material. The system checks the batch
specifications (actual values) against the material specifications (target
values). This process is illustrated below.
Product
Epoxy resin

Characteristics





Viscosity at 25
Color
Epoxy count
Volatile portion

Material
Epoxy resin X

Viscosity
Color
Epoxy count
Volatile portion

5000-12000
0-5
23-25
0.00-0.50

Batch 1
Epoxy resin





Viscosity
Color
Epoxy count
Volatile portion

7250
1-3
23-25
0.30

Fig. 7-3: Material and batch specifications

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Batch Management

Batch Levels

You can define at which level you want batches, or more precisely batch
numbers, to be unique.
at plant level
at material level
at client level for a material
Plant Level
Choose this option if you want a batch number to be known only in the plant
in which it was created, and not in plants that might also stock the same
material. In this case, the batch number is unique in combination with a
plant and a material. In another plant, the same batch number identifies a
different batch of the same material.
Material Level
Choose this option if you want the batch number to be unique in combination with a material. When you create a batch, it is automatically known in
all plants that use this material. If you use this option, a batch number cannot refer to different batches in two plants. If you transfer the batch from
one plant to another, the batch specifications will also be known in the new
location, even if the batch is stored there for the first time.
Client Level
Choose this option if you want your batch numbers to be unique at client
level. In this case, the batch number is a unique reference to the material for
which you created the batch. The specifications of the batch are identical in
all plants in which you use the batch. You cannot assign the same batch
number to different materials.
Should you decide to change the batch level after you have already created
batches, you can use a conversion tool to change the batch level.

Batch Management Functions

Batch Management provides the following functions:
Batch number assignment
Batch status management
Batch tracking
Batch determination

Batch Number
Assignment

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In order to be able to identify batches, you need to assign a batch number to

each batch. In the R/3 System, you can choose between automatic and
manual batch number assignment. You can assign batch numbers whenever
you create a batch (for example, during master data maintenance, goods
receipts, in process orders, during usage decisions, recurring inspections,
and transfer postings).

Batch Management

You can also influence the structure or layout of batch numbers. This, for
instance, enables you to link other information with the batch number: information on the plant in which the batch was manufactured, or on the
material type as well as on other application data for a particular business
transaction.
A batch can be either usable or not usable. In the R/3 System, you can portray batch usability using status types unrestricted and restricted. The
appropriate stock type is directly connected to the batch status. If the batch
status changes, a stock transfer posting is automatically triggered from restricted to unrestricted stock or vice versa.

Batch Status
Management

All other stock types (for example, stock in quality inspection, blocked stock,
open purchase order quantities, GR blocked stock) are not affected by this
type of transfer posting. You can post new stocks to them, independent of
their respective status.
Like all other batch specifications, the batch status is stored as a characteristic in the Classification System. You can either set the status manually or
automatically during the usage decision in Quality Management. You can
store all authorized usages of unrestricted stocks and the reasons for
restricted usage using additional characteristics.
You activate batch status management in Customizing. If batches are unique
at client or material level, batch status management is active for all batches in
the client. If the batches are unique at plant level, you can activate batch
status management separately for each plant.
You can use the batch where-used list and the batch record to track batches.

Batch Tracking

Batch Where-used List

The batch-where-used list records the complete life cycle of a batch from
procurement to delivery. This record contains all material documents as
well as all production and process orders in which you used a specific batch.

Fig. 7-4: Top-down analysis of a batch where-used list

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Batch Management

In this way, it is possible to display all materials and respective batches used
during the manufacture of a product that has been supplied to one of your
customers (top-down analysis, see figure 7-4). You can also display all steps
in production during which a specific batch of a material was used (bottomup analysis).
You can use this function not only for raw materials, intermediate and
finished products, but also for trading goods.
Batch Record
The batch record contains all data on the manufacturing process of a batch
that is required to ensure compliance. In PP-PI, the requirements of an
electronic batch record are met using process data documentation. Process
data documentation is a tool that enables you to collect target and actual
data and to store this data in an optical archive. For detailed information,
refer to chapter Process Data Documentation and Evaluation.

Batch Determination

Batch determination is a usability check. You can use this function for all
outward movements to find batches that meet certain specifications. The
functionality is identical in all applications.
You can run batch determination in the following areas:
Inventory Management
Production
Distribution
Warehouse Management
Search strategies are the cornerstones of batch determination. Search strategies are master data and contain information on the selection criteria you
want to use to find batches and on the further handling of the batches found
(for example, wether batch splits are authorized). Search strategies are
defined for individual business transactions.
In process manufacturing, you can use batch determination to find batches
of material components to be handled in batches. There are several methods
you can use to store the selection criteria required for batch determination.
The system automatically checks batch availability during batch determination.
The figure 7-5 shows the screen generated after you trigger batch determination in a process order.

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Batch Management

Fig. 7-5: Batch determination in process orders

Batch determination in process orders makes it possible to reserve batches

for specific orders at an early point in time. In this way, these batches are not
available for other orders. If you do not need to reserve specific batches in
the process order, that is, if a reservation at material level suffices, you can
trigger batch determination, for instance, in Inventory Management during
consumption posting for the order.

Batch Management is an integral logistics component that enables you to

describe partial quantities of materials using specifications and to manage
them separately in stock.
What is Batch Management based on?
on the management of batch specifications
on the batch level at which batch numbers are valid
What are the core functions of Batch Management?

Batch number assignment

Batch status management
Batch tracking using the batch where-used list and batch record
Batch determination

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