3562025 - Error WE 216 "EAN may not be assigned externally" occurs when entering an alphanumeric EAN into the EAN/UPC field

In Create Material, Change Material or Manage Product Master Data apps, the error message WE 216 "EAN may not be assigned externally" occurs when entering a purely numeric or alphanumeric EAN into the EAN/UPC field, even if it appears to be within the EAN number range.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition

1. Go to the Create Material app
2. Input Material Number and select Material Type
3. Select 'Basic Data View 1'
4. Input an EAN alphanumeric number EAN/UPC field (Example 'RELHTF23WFTARN')
5. Check for errors by clicking on save button or pressing the enter key
6. Error 'The EAN & may not be assigned externally' (Message no. WE 216) appears 

The error message WE 216 "EAN may not be assigned externally" for alphanumeric EANs may be caused by the following situations:

• The provided EAN falls outside of any number range interval
• The provided alphanumeric EAN belongs to a number range interval of a EAN Category which the alphanumeric EANs are not permitted

Note: Keep awareness around the check digit value and EAN length settings for EAN Categories, as they may interact with the provided EAN number before the checks regarding number ranges are done.

Example of an alphanumeric EAN falling outside of the number range interval:
EAN number RELHTF23WFTARN is out of number range interval AAA000000000000001 - ZZZ999999999999999 because the EAN has higher value than the upper bound limit of the alphanumeric number range.

Make sure the EAN number does not fit into any of the conditions declared in the cause section.

For the condition "The provided alphanumeric EAN belongs to a number range interval of a EAN Category which the alphanumeric EANs are not permitted" do the following:

1. Open SSCUI/Configuration Activity 102782 "Define Attributes of EANs/UPCs"
2. Navigate to the EAN Category where the used number range interval is maintained as Ext. number range
3. Click on Edit
4. Check the flag "Alphanumeric EANs"
5. Click on Save

For the condition "The provided EAN falls outside of any number range interval" do the following:

1. Open SSCUI/Configuration Activity 102782 "Define Attributes of EANs/UPCs"
2. Select and open one EAN Category
3. Assign an Ext. Number Range interval that contains the EAN number provided 

Note: For alphanumeric EANs the externally assigned number ranges must have leading zeros.

To check the number range interval for EAN Categories do the following:

1. Check configuration activity "Define Attributes of EANs/UPC's".
2. Select an EAN Category (Example "HE").
3. Find the number range object used (For example: "EUROPARTNR").
4. Use one of the following SSCUIs/Configuration Activities, based on the EAN Number range object involved. 
   - 103680 "Define Number Ranges for EANs/UPCs" for Number Range Object EUROPARTNR
   - 103681 "Define Number Ranges for Perishables EANs (4-Figure)" for Number Range Object "EANGEWICHT"
   - 103682 "Define Number Ranges for Perishables EANs (5-Figure)" for Number Range Object "EANGEWICH5"
5. Compare the values and check if the EAN number involved falls within the alphanumeric range interval specified.

In order to judge if the EAN number belongs to a EAN number range interval, if the EAN number range interval is assigned to an EAN Category that has the check digit maintained, first remove the check digit value from EAN number.

Note: EAN number ordering can be done using sorting tools that uses lexicographical ordering, such the sorting tool in MS Excel.

• KBA 3440798 - EAN / GTIN number changed to include leading zeros - SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition | SAP For Me
• How does number ranges works in Product Master SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud? | SAP Community

MM01, MM02, W4EN, EAN, External Numbering, EAN Type, EAN/UPC Field, GTIN, UPC. , KBA , LO-MD-MM-2CL , Product Master for Public Cloud , LO-MD-MM , Material Master , Problem