New POD 2.0 Framework: Implementing Data Scan For ...

This blog post is part of a series on SAP Digital Manufacturing new POD 2.0 framework, the new generation of SAP Digital Manufacturing worker UIs.

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Introduction

The POD 2.0 Data Scan capability enables barcode-driven execution of production activities directly within the POD by configuring barcode parsing and mapping rules. Scanned barcodes can be interpreted using predefined structures and automatically trigger actions such as assembly, data collection, or SFC start, without additional manual steps. This addresses the inefficiency and error risk of manual data entry and navigation during execution.

From a business standpoint, Data Scan reduces operator interaction time, accelerates production steps, and improves data accuracy on the shop floor. It also provides a scalable foundation for automation by reusing configurations across multiple execution scenarios.

In this blog post, I will show you in detail how to implement Data Scan capability to enable Barcode-based Component Consumption.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure that the following prerequisites are met:

You have access to SAP Digital Manufacturing and the required authorizations to use the Design Production Processes, Configure Data Scanning, Manage PODs 2.0 apps as well as the Data Scan action. For more information, see Role Templates (Persona-Based).
You have a manufacturing scenario master data, from a plant to a production order released with SFCs available to be produced.

Data Fields

First, we need to maintain some Data Fields that will receive traceability information parsed from the Barcode scan during assembly. For this example, in Manage Data Fields app, I have SUPPLIER and SERIAL_NO fields of type Text as follows:

Data Type

Next, we must maintain the Data Fields assignment to a Data Type of type Assembly, which can be done in Manage Data Types app as follows:

Assign Data Type to Component Materials

Finally, the Data Type created must be then assigned as ‘Data to Collect at Assembly/Consumption‘ for the Component Material(s) in Manage Materials app at ‘Build‘ tab as follows:

The values can be collected during the component assembly, for detailed traceability.

Production Process

Next, we need to create the production process that will be triggered by the data scan.
For this example, a very simple production process is required, with the input fields below:

Which should trigger ‘Assemble Components‘ service, using the input fields mapping below:

Save and deploy it.

Data Scan

Creating a data scanning configuration requires a production process that you define as the consumer. You can use the production process assigned to the data scanning configuration for data enrichment, where additional values are fetched using APIs. For example, you can retrieve an SFC based on a scanned serial number. You can also use the production process to trigger POD actions like:

Start assembly
Collect data
Start SFC
Refresh POD worklist

To create a data scanning configuration, open ‘Configure Data Scanning‘ app and click ‘Create:

Enter a ‘Name‘, ‘Description‘, browse and select the production process you created in the previous at ‘Consumer‘ and keep ‘Call Type‘ as ‘Synchronous‘ as follows:

Then, in ‘Consumer Mapping‘ tab, all the production process input variables will be loaded. For the ones that are coming from the barcode itself, set ‘Data Qualifier‘ as input. For the other ones, which are master or transactional data, you can directly map to the available Data Source inputs available, like Resource, Plant, Operation, SFC etc,…

Finally, in ‘Data Qualifier Configuration‘ tab, click ‘Create‘ to create a new data qualifier.

Once a new data qualifier is created, click to open it, and create the following data qualifiers:

You can learn more about Data Qualifiers at: Data Qualifiers and Encoding Types.

Click ‘Apply‘ and ‘Save‘.

POD 2.0

Next, we need to link the newly created Data Scan to one of our PODs 2.0. To do that, open Manage PODs 2.0 app and create / load a POD 2.0. In this example, I´m using a Work Center POD Template, so navigate to SFCDetails page, click ‘Component Consumption‘ plugin and add a custom Button element there.

Once the Button is added, click ‘Edit Actions‘ under Events right-hand side Properties panel, to configure the Data Scan call.

Click ‘+‘ to add a new Action, select ‘Scan Data‘:

And configure it accordingly by selecting the ‘Data Scanning Configurations‘ previously created:

In my example, I also added the custom Action ‘RefreshComponentList' that I created myself, to trigger a Component List refresh automatically right after the Data Scan is completed and the component is assembled, so the assembled component result can be shown right away.

* RefreshComponentList is a custom development, not available in standard POD 2.0, you will not find it there.

Save and Run the POD 2.0 for testing.

Run

With all this setup in place, run the POD, enter Work Center and Resource values, and select an existing SFC for processing.

Then, move to ‘Component Consumption‘ plugin, where the custom button we added should show up, and then click it to start the data scan process.

Once you click the custom button, Data Scan plugin will be triggered, which initially allows you to use the device camera to scan the barcode:

Alternatively, you can also click the image icon on the bottom center of this screen, to load the barcode image via file:

Or, you can click the ‘X‘ in the top-left corner to close the device camera preview, which will show you a manual input barcode field, where you can use a barcode scanner to read, or even copy and paste the barcode string value:

Click ‘OK‘ to proceed.

In all three options above, the barcode must follow the data qualifier setup we did, and should look like this:

{CS}MZ_BR_R002{CE}{CVS}ERP001{CVE}{DFNS}SUPPLIER{DFNE}{DFVS}Acme{DFVE}

{CS}MZ_BR_R003{CE}{CVS}ERP001{CVE}{DFNS}SERIAL_NO{DFNE}{DFVS}12345{DFVE}

Where the following parsing and mapping will take place:

{CS}	{CE}	inComponent
{CVS}	{CVE}	inComponentVersion
{DFNS}	{DFNE}	inDataFieldName
{DFVS}	{DFVE}	inDataFieldValue

Where you have not only the component material and version, but also the data field information configured in Manage Materials app at ‘Data to Collect at Assembly/Consumption‘ field, for detailed traceability.

Finally, as soon as the barcode is scanned, the data scan will run, parse the barcode using the data qualifiers, and map the parsed values to the production process, which will run and perform the assembly. In the POD 2.0, you should see a successfull message like:

And you can manually refresh the POD to see the components assembled.

In SFC Report app, you can open the SFC and check ‘Components‘ tab to see the assembled components, including the assembly traceability data provided for SUPPLIER and SERIAL_NO:

Learn more

You can learn more about POD 2.0 Data Scan at:

Conclusion

The POD 2.0 Data Scan capability provides a powerful and flexible way to streamline shop floor execution by transforming barcode scans into immediate production actions. By combining Data Qualifiers, Production Processes, and POD 2.0 actions, manufacturers can eliminate manual data entry, reduce operator effort, improve traceability, and accelerate component consumption activities.

In this example, we demonstrated how barcode data can be parsed and mapped to production process inputs, enabling automatic component assembly while simultaneously capturing traceability information such as supplier and serial number details. The same approach can be extended to many other execution scenarios, including data collection, SFC processing, inventory transactions, and custom shop floor automation use cases.

As organizations continue their journey toward more connected and automated manufacturing operations, Data Scan serves as a scalable foundation for increasing efficiency, improving data quality, and enhancing the overall operator experience within SAP Digital Manufacturing.

Do you like this post? Please let me know in the comments section what you think. Any feedback is highly appreciated.
Or, if you have any questions, please check SAP Community Q&A Area, or comment down below.

Thanks,
Manoel Costa

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