Some ERP systems require line numbers. The ERP Connector fails the flow if some lines have numbers and others don't. The ERP connector can be configured to require line numbers. In these cases the system makes an assignment to an admin to fix the problem.
If Windchill could be configured so that line numbers were required, it would prevent the errors from happening and prevent the non-value added assignments to the admin.
I suggest a preference that could be set an multiple levels ( site, org, container ) that would force the structures to have line numbers. When the preference is enabled, the system should populate the line numbers following the configured increment.
The users should be able to change the numbers after, but never leave a field empty. Maybe they are presented with a drop down list to pick from. Maybe they could move the component up and down in the list to change the numbers.
If ERP requires line numbers, Windchill should also require line numbers. It was accounted for in the ERP connector, but not in Windchill.
In Windchill 11, we can add a constraint to the Part Usage relation and "require" the Line Number attribute, but the user can still check in without satisfying the constraint. Maybe the solution is to prevent check-in if the relationship constraints are not satisfied.
