Batch management is the specific SAP S/4HANA application used to manage subsets of a material, known as batches, which are produced or procured in a single run. When material characteristics differ per manufacturing process, each process run can be assigned a unique batch number. This batch can then have its specific characteristics (e.g., potency, color, concentration) recorded and tracked. This functionality ensures full traceability of these unique material subsets throughout all logistical processes, including inventory management, production, and sales and distribution.

A. Process order management is a production execution tool used for process-oriented manufacturing. It does not provide the cross-logistics tracking of material characteristics required.

B. Engineering change management is used to manage and document changes to master data like Bills of Material (BOMs) or routings, not to track variations in production output.

C. Quality management is used to plan inspections and record quality results. While it is often integrated with batch management to record a batch's specific characteristics, it is not the core application for tracking the batch itself through logistics.

1. SAP S/4HANA Cloud

private edition - Official Documentation:

Source: SAP Help Portal

Batch Management (LO-BM).

Reference: In the "Purpose" section

it states

"In some industry sectors... you have to be able to uniquely identify a material and trace it back to its point of origin... Batch management in the SAP System supports you in this." It also explicitly mentions the "management of different material specifications." This directly aligns with the question's scenario of differing characteristics per manufacturing process.

Document ID/Link: https://help.sap.com/docs/SAPS4HANACLOUDPRIVATEEDITION/ba62b13991b84339b285c2e6f594b53a/5445c453f57eb44ce10000000a174cb4.html

2. SAP S/4HANA On-Premise - Official Documentation (Conceptually identical for Private Cloud):

Source: SAP Help Portal

Batch Management.

Reference: The section "Why Batch Management?" explains that a key reason is due to "different quality requirements" and the need to "trace defects back to their origin." This confirms that batch management is the tool for handling materials with varying properties and ensuring traceability.

Document ID/Link: https://help.sap.com/docs/SAPS4HANAON-PREMISE/e296651f454c4284ade361292c633d69/5445c453f57eb44ce10000000a174cb4.html