B2B Integration

Hi Trevor. 

We are exactly in the same boat as yours.  How about the Material length extending from 18 Characters to 40 Characters ? Did you incorporate this change in your S/4 HANA Migration. Did that impat your IBM Sterling Integrator ? Do we need to completly remap in IBM Sterling Integrator because of this change ? 

Appreciate your insights. 

Thanks,
Hari 

Hello,

Expanding the Material Number (MATNR) length from 18 to 40 characters during the S/4HANA migration can affect IBM Sterling B2B Integrator (SI) in several ways.

First, you need to check how this change impacts EDI mappings. If Material Numbers are used in transactions like 850, 810, or 856, confirm whether the target format supports 40 characters. Standards like ANSI X12 and EDIFACT may have field length limits, so you might need to truncate or split the values.

Next, review Business Processes (BPML) to ensure scripts and rules handling Material Numbers can process 40-character values correctly. If you have JavaScript or BP rules checking the MATNR length, update them accordingly.

Also, verify that your database, logs, and mailbox files in Sterling can store the expanded values without issues. Another key factor is trading partner compatibility. Contact your partners to confirm they can process 40-character Material Numbers in inbound and outbound transactions. If they still expect 18 characters, you may need to apply truncation or transformation rules. To address this issue, update your EDI maps to support the new field length, adjusting rules as needed. Modify BPML scripts or any custom logic that processes Material Numbers. Conduct end-to-end testing in a lower environment to ensure partners can handle the change. A complete remap is usually not required updating existing maps should be enough unless there are dependencies on string manipulation or validation logic, in which case partial remapping may be needed.

Hope this helps!

Hi Trevor. 

We are exactly in the same boat as yours.  How about the Material length extending from 18 Characters to 40 Characters ? Did you incorporate this change in your S/4 HANA Migration. Did that impat your IBM Sterling Integrator ? Do we need to completly remap in IBM Sterling Integrator because of this change ? 

Appreciate your insights. 

Thanks,
Hari 

Hello,

Expanding the Material Number (MATNR) length from 18 to 40 characters during the S/4HANA migration can affect IBM Sterling B2B Integrator (SI) in several ways.

First, you need to check how this change impacts EDI mappings. If Material Numbers are used in transactions like 850, 810, or 856, confirm whether the target format supports 40 characters. Standards like ANSI X12 and EDIFACT may have field length limits, so you might need to truncate or split the values.

Next, review Business Processes (BPML) to ensure scripts and rules handling Material Numbers can process 40-character values correctly. If you have JavaScript or BP rules checking the MATNR length, update them accordingly.

Also, verify that your database, logs, and mailbox files in Sterling can store the expanded values without issues. Another key factor is trading partner compatibility. Contact your partners to confirm they can process 40-character Material Numbers in inbound and outbound transactions. If they still expect 18 characters, you may need to apply truncation or transformation rules. To address this issue, update your EDI maps to support the new field length, adjusting rules as needed. Modify BPML scripts or any custom logic that processes Material Numbers. Conduct end-to-end testing in a lower environment to ensure partners can handle the change. A complete remap is usually not required updating existing maps should be enough unless there are dependencies on string manipulation or validation logic, in which case partial remapping may be needed.

Hope this helps!

Hi Trevor. 

We are exactly in the same boat as yours.  How about the Material length extending from 18 Characters to 40 Characters ? Did you incorporate this change in your S/4 HANA Migration. Did that impat your IBM Sterling Integrator ? Do we need to completly remap in IBM Sterling Integrator because of this change ? 

Appreciate your insights. 

Thanks,
Hari