Interchangeability

There are two different cases for interchangeability: One is the discontinuation of a product or component and thus related to the product life cycle. Two options exist for the discontinuation, the simple forward interchangeability (i.e. product A is substituted by product B) and the full interchangeability (i.e. for a transition period A is substituted by B, but A may also substitute B). The other case is the form-fit-function class, where planning is performed only for one product, but any product within the form-fit-function class is technically identical. These form-fit-function classes are used to group inventory managed manufacturer parts. Though interchangeability is supported by all modules except TP/VS, there are restriction regarding the extent. Table 23.1 gives a rough classification about the interchangeability functionality per module. Additional limitations apply as described in the following paragraphs – e.g. that interchangeability is not compatible with the use of product configuration and characteristic based planning. Another important restriction is that the interchangeability supports only a one-to-one relationship – i.e. no parallel or dependent discontinuation is possible (in contrast to SAP ERP™). In the following we concentrate on the discontinuation since this is the far more frequent case.