SAP Knowledge Base Article - Public

2696446 - Error "Material number must not be longer than 18" appears in S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition

Symptom

When you change or save a material number in a target system, one of the following errors appears: 

  • "Material number must not be longer than 18" 
  • "The length of the old material number must not exceed 18 characters" 

The error can occur in the following apps and API: 

  • Create Material app
  • Change Material app
  • Migration Cockpit app
  • API_PRODUCT_SRV API

This affects 3-system landscapes (DEV → QAS → PRD) and 2-system landscapes (QAS → PRD). 

Environment

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition

Reproducing the Issue

To reproduce the issue, proceed as follows: 

  1. In the Manage Your Solution app, choose configuration activity 107338 "Material Field Length Extension."
  2. Choose Configure.
  3. Select the checkbox.
  4. Save the change in a transport.
  5. Choose configuration activity 102320 "Define Output Format of Material Numbers."
  6. Choose Configure.
  7. Enter a material number length greater than 18 and save.

Cause

You have activated Material Field Length Extension (MFLE) in the customizing tenant but have not released and imported the transport into the target systems. Cross-client validation prevents configuration changes from taking effect in the target systems until the relevant transport is both released and imported. The errors originate from the target systems.

Resolution

Complete the following steps to resolve the issue.

Step 1: Activating MFLE in the Customizing Tenant 

  1. In the Manage Your Solution app, choose configuration activity 107338 "Material Field Length Extension." 
  2. Choose Configure. 
  3. Select the checkbox and choose Save. 
  4. In the confirmation dialog, confirm that you have read SAP Note 3502347. 

Message SV018 confirms that the change was written to the database.

Note MFLE activation is irreversible. After you release the transport, you cannot deactivate MFLE at the system level. Message SV018 may appear if you deselect the checkbox before the transport is released. After the transport is released, deactivation is permanently blocked. 

Step 2: Releasing and Importing the Transport 

  1. Create and release a transport in the customizing tenant for the MFLE change.
  2. Import the transport into each target tenant where the extension applies, for example, TEST, PROD, or PARALLEL LINE.
  3. Confirm that the import was successful in each target tenant.

Note Releasing the transport alone is not sufficient. You must also import the transport into each target system. 

Step 3: Configuring the Material Number Length 

  1. In the Manage Your Solution app, choose configuration activity 102320 "Define Output Format of Material Numbers." 
  2. Choose Configure. 
  3. Enter the desired material number length (up to 40 characters). 
  4. Choose Save. 

Error BMG223 no longer appears after you complete these steps. 

Common Mistake to Check For 

If error BMG223 persists after you activate MFLE in configuration activity 107338 "Material Field Length Extension," verify that the transport was imported into each affected target tenant. Releasing the transport alone does not resolve the issue. 

See Also

Keywords

Product, Configure Product number format, Material number must not be longer than, CE_PRODUCT_0002, MFLE, Material Field Length Extension, CL_PRODNUMFORMAT_DPC_EXT, Compatibility Mode, OMSL, MMNR, MARA-BISMT, MATNR, A2X, MM/092, MM01, MM02, The length of the old material number must not exceed 18 characters, Material number must not be longer than 18, 102320, Define Output Format of Material Numbers, BMG 140 "The material number is longer than the length set", 107338, Migration Cockpit object Product, transport, customizing, 2602, "The length of the old material number must not exceed 18". , KBA , LO-MD-MM-2CL , Product Master for Public Cloud , CA-GTF-TS-LO , Basic Functionalities Material Master , LO-MD-MM , Material Master , Problem

Product

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition all versions