| # Overview of unit effectivity Unit effectivity is a method to control the validity of variations on an end item. You can use unit effectivity for pegging purposes, or to model exceptions from a standard end item so that you can make variations without having to define separate item codes. As a result, you do not need to maintain separate BOMs for every combination of variations. End items can be, for example, airplanes or touring cars. The deviations consist of relatively small variations of the end item. For example, fitting red seats instead of blue ones, or a special type of radar or air-conditioning, in an otherwise standard type of airplane. You can use unit effectivity to apply changes if: Few changes are made. The changes apply to relatively small subsets of the end item. The changes result from customer requests, engineering, or production. Main concepts in unit effectivity In unit effectivity, a number of concepts can be distinguished: Effectivity unit Requirement Exception Effectivity unit An effectivity unit is a code that is linked to an end item for identification, and which can represent the deviation(s) from the standard end item. You can link an effectivity unit to manufactured items and purchased items. For more information, refer to Effectivity units. Requirement A requirement in unit effectivity is a business reason that you define to describe the modifications and the variations for an item (the exceptions). The requirement is expressed by exceptions, as follows. Requirements can indicate, for example, regulations: USA: USA regulations EUR: European regulations ASIA: Asian regulations Requirements can also, for example, concern an item’s model: LIGHT: Model with limited features NORMAL: Model with the normal features ADVANCED: Model with advanced features Exception An exception in unit effectivity is the definition of a deviation that applies to a unit effective item. An exception indicates, for example, whether a specific BOM line or a specific routing operation is used for an effectivity unit. Exceptions are often created as a result of customer requirements, or technology upgrades. For more information, refer to Exceptions in unit effectivity. How to use unit effectivity You can use unit effectivity in the following three ways: To configure effectivity units As a lean configurator in Sales For pegging Configuring effectivity units Use effectivity units to define exceptions for an item’s series, or series’ subset. You can use this approach in low-volume production of complex products, for example, in aerospace and defence industries. Series are defined for a specific end item, for example, for an airplane. Exceptions are then defined, for example, for numbers 50-100 of an item’s series. This method is the way in which unit effectivity was used in former releases. For an example of this approach, refer to To configure effectivity units. Lean configurator Use effectivity units to configure items on individual sales order lines. You can use this approach in high-volume industries, such as electronics industries. Unit effectivity is then used as ‘lean configurator’. For an example of this approach, refer to Unit effectivity as a lean configurator in Sales. Pegging Except for deviation modelling, you can use unit effectivity for pegging purposes. If an effectivity unit is specified for the item on a sales quotation line, a sales order line, or a sales contract line, Enterprise Planning provides Manufacturing, Procurement, and Warehousing with that effectivity unit. In this way, you can trace the specific unit effective item through the production process. The pegging process is multilevel. The effectivity unit linked to the item on the sales order line is also linked to all (manufactured and purchased) components of the item’s product structure. Therefore, material purchased by purchase orders and used in production orders, on all levels of the production structure, can be traced to the sales order line, the sales quotation line, or the sales contract line. Related topics To set up unit effectivity Effectivity units Exceptions in unit effectivity To configure effectivity units Unit effectivity as a lean configurator in Sales Example of unit effectivity Unit effectivity and production order completion Interchangeability of effectivity units Identical configurations of effectivity units To define user-specific constraints in unit effectivity Rework order procedure for effectivity units Unit effectivity in PCS Unit effectivity in EDM Unit effectivity in Enterprise Planning Overview of serialized items |