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Executing Discrete Production Orders in Order POD within SAP Digital Manufacturing
In SAP Digital Manufacturing (SAP DM), Discrete / Production Orders are normally executed in Work Center or Operation Activity PODs.
However, it is a little-known fact that executing Production Orders is also possible in Order POD with minor setup needed.
Order POD
Order POD is a very powerful POD, normally used in SAP Digital Manufacturing (SAP DM) for Process Industry to manage and track Process Orders through the production process.
Out of the box, it provides an easy-to-use interface for viewing a list of orders for selected work centers, resources, materials, and planned date ranges. The list of orders displayed is based on the orders already released and planned for that time frame, work center and resource.
Once an order is selected from the list, Order POD provides access to a wide range of functionality. Users can view the order header information, work instructions, and a list of phases/operations.
Order POD enables users to confirm Operations and report Yield and Scrap quantities at phase/operation level, report Goods Issue and Goods Receipt, and provide other capabilities like creating Batches, posting Activity Confirmation, capturing Data Collections, creating Downtimes and Nonconformances.
In addition to these features, Order POD also allows users to print order details or an order label, view OEE KPIs, and much more.
Setup of Discrete Production Orders in Order POD
Minor setup is needed at SAP Digital Manufacturing level in order to enable Order POD for Discrete Production Orders. See details below:
- In Manage Materials app, Autocomplete and Confirm flag for the required material is set to “NO”
- In Manage Routings/Recipes app, Relaxed Flow flag is set to “YES” for the Master Routing
- In POD Designer app, create or copy an existing Order POD and set the Order Selection Type in the Order Selection List plugin to “Production”
- In Manage Collaboration Links app, all required Collaboration Links are mapped to the respective Collaboration Directives. See some examples below:
- COLLABORATION_ACTIVITY_CONFIRMATION_DI to ACTIVITY_CONFIRMATION
- COLLABORATION_GOODS_ISSUE_CONF_DI to GOODS_ISSUE_CONFIRMATION_DI
- COLLABORATION_QUANTITY_CONFIRMATION_DI to PRODORD_QUANTITY_CONFIRMATION
- COLLABORATION_GOODS_RECEIPT_CONF_DI to MATERIAL_DOCUMENT
- COLLABORATION_COPROD_RECEIPT_CONF_DI to MATERIAL_DOCUMENT
- COLLABORATION_BYPROD_RECEIPT_CONF_DI to MATERIAL_DOCUMENT
See more details at: Manage Collaboration Links.
Other pre-requisites are:
- User have Production_Operator Role.
- User is assigned to the relevant Work Centers in Manage User Assignments app.
Once this minor setup is done, Order POD should start showing Production Orders integrated from ERP and is ready to go!
Pros, benefits and extra features available for Discrete Production Orders in Order POD
- Material Consumption look and feel instead of Assembly look and feel
- Material Consumption using Formulas
- Consumption of Materials which are not planned in the Bill of Material
- Batch Creation for Goods Receipt
- Batch Characteristics Update
- Goods Receipt posting for specific selected Batches
- Goods Receipt using Formulas
And much more!
Cons, disadvantages and missing featues in Order POD
While Order POD can be a very powerful tool for executing Discrete Production Orders, it does have some limitations and drawbacks that users should be aware of.
The first one is that only ERP Integrated Orders are supported in Order POD. Standalone orders directly created in SAP Digital Manufacturing level are not supported in Order POD.
Another disadvantage is that it currently lacks support for tool management plugins. This can make it challenging for manufacturers to manage tools during the production process.
Another missing feature is the lack of sign off functionality, which can make it difficult to pause and restart orders when needed. This can be particularly problematic in complex production environments where unexpected interruptions are common.
Additionally, the split/merge functionality is very limited, as it is only possible at the beginning of the process before any confirmations are posted. This can create challenges for managing Discrete Production Orders that require flexibility and adaptability during the manufacturing process.
Another drawback is the limited precision in which the system can track and capture traceability and genealogy data, particularly in Lot Size 1 / SFC-based production scenarios. However, in batch or mill production, this level of precision may be sufficient, and higher precision requirements could result in additional efforts for Workers.
Overall, while the Order POD has many strengths, it is important to be aware of its limitations and to evaluate whether it meets the specific needs of a particular manufacturing environment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, running Discrete Production Orders in Order POD brings many enhancements, benefits and extra features to the manufacturing process.
One key advantage is the ability to manage material consumption in a way that provides a clearer look and feel, rather than the more complex assembly-oriented approach. This is further enhanced through the use of formulas, which enable accurate tracking and reporting of material usage.
Another benefit is the ability to consume materials that are not included in the BOM, providing greater flexibility and adaptability in production processes. The Order POD also enables the creation of batch numbers for goods receipt, along with the updating of batch characteristics and specific posting for goods receipt.
Overall, Order POD is a very versatile POD that can provide significant benefits to Discrete Production Orders execution. By leveraging its features and capabilities, companies can gain greater visibility and control over material consumption, batch information, and goods receipt, ultimately leading to more accurate reports, improved efficiency, productivity.
Experiencing SAP Digital Manufacturing
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Do you like this post? Please let me know in the comments section what you think. Any feedback is highly appreciated.
Or, if you have any questions, please check SAP Community Q&A Area, or comment down below.
Thanks,
Manoel Costa
Hello, Manoel Costa.
I tried it in my system and did the settings you suggested, but it is still not pulling any of the Orders. Could you please assist me with this?
And one more thing I need to clarify, Only the ERP Orders will be retrieved in this POD?
Hello Sathya! Exactly, only ERP integrated orders are shown in OrderPOD and therefore your locally created standalone orders will not show.
Br,
Manoel
Hello Manoel,
Thank you very much for the interesting article.
Can you comment on this KBA? It says that it is not recommended to use Order POD for discrete production, which contradicts your article.
https://me.sap.com/notes/0003341834
BR,
Ruslan
Hi Ruslan,
KBA mentions that some discrete specific scenarios, like Tools for example, are not supported by OrderPOD and therefore you can use WC or OP PODs for those specific use cases.
BR,
Manoel
Hi Manoel,
Very good information for us. Thanks!
We wanted to use Order POD in production order.
I wanted to use the quantity check and warehousing functions in production order.
I have a question about Order POD.
Is it possible to use SFC or INF_SFC for Material consumption in Order POD?
I am only able to enter batch numbers on the material consumption screen.
I want to use SFC or INV_SFC for the material to be consumed.
I could not find anything to change on the POD designer.
Hi Kimihiko,
Order POD works slightly different from Work Center and Operation PODs and you don't need SFC or INV_SFC Data Types to consume inventories, they are not supported.
Material Consumption plugin in Order POD allows you to browse and consume ERP Integrated Inventories out of the box for both Batch and Non-Batch Managed materials as follows:
I’m afraid that consuming serialized materials might not be currently possible though.
See more details at https://help.sap.com/docs/sap-digital-manufacturing/pod-designer/material-consumption
Hope it helps,
Manoel
Dear Manoel,
Thanks for the detail explaination. Just one question.
Use Case
Question:
How the packing is done before the Goods Receipt. The Handling Unit and the label created during production will be used during the putaway in the warehouse to store pallet in the storage area / bin.
When the Goods Receipt has been posted from the Workcenter POD, How is the integration with EWM look like ? Do it create the Inbound Delivery in EWM system with all Packing / HU details ?
Looking forward to hear form you with useful insight. Even some link to read will also be helpful.
Br,
Anil
Hello Anil,
You can find EWM GR info in the following sections of SAP Help:
Hope it helps,
Manoel