How to Customize Order Number Format in SAP Commerce (Digits, Prefix, Alphanumeric)

1. Why Customize Order Numbers?

Default order codes in SAP Commerce look like:

00000001
00000002

But real-world businesses often need:

• Country-based prefixes (e.g., U12345, I67890)
• Longer order numbers
• Alphanumeric formats
• Readable and meaningful identifiers

2. Key Configuration Properties

All customization starts with configuration properties.

Update these in:

hybris/config/local.properties

Important Properties

keygen.order.code.digits=8
keygen.order.code.start=00000000
keygen.order.code.type=numeric

3. Customize Order Code Length (Digits)

To increase the length of order numbers:

keygen.order.code.digits=12

Result:

000000000001
000000000002

👉 Useful when:

• High order volume expected
• Need globally unique longer IDs

4. Change Starting Value

You can define where the sequence starts:

keygen.order.code.start=10000000

Result:

10000000
10000001

👉 Useful for:

• Migration scenarios
• Aligning with legacy systems

5. Use Alphanumeric Order Codes

To enable alphanumeric format:

keygen.order.code.type=alphanumeric

Result:

A0000001
A0000002

👉 Useful for:

• More readable order IDs
• Business-specific formats

6. Adding Prefix to Order Numbers (Important)

SAP Commerce does not directly support prefixes via properties, but you can implement it using customization.

Example Requirement:

• US site → U00000123
• IN site → I00000456

Approach:

• Extend PersistentKeyGenerator
• Override generate()
• Append prefix based on site

Example output:

U000000123
I000000456

7. Multi-Site Order Number Format (Real Use Case)

For multi-site setups:

SiteFormatUSU + 14 digitsINI + 16 digits

Implementation Idea:

• Define multiple key generators
• Use site-based logic in custom class
• Return correct format dynamically

We’ll cover this in detail in the next article.

8. Spring Bean Configuration

Order code customization is wired via Spring.

Example:

<bean id="orderCodeGenerator" class="de.hybris.platform.servicelayer.keygenerator.impl.PersistentKeyGenerator">
    <property name="key" value="order_code"/>
    <property name="digits" value="${keygen.order.code.digits}"/>
    <property name="start" value="${keygen.order.code.start}"/>
    <property name="type" value="${keygen.order.code.type}"/>
</bean>

9. Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Changing project.properties
→ Will be lost during upgrade

❌ Not restarting server after config change
→ Changes won’t apply

❌ Expecting prefix via config only
→ Requires customization

10. Best Practices

• Always use local.properties for overrides
• Keep order codes consistent across environments
• Avoid over-complicating format
• Use prefixes only when business requires

Conclusion

Customizing order number format in SAP Commerce Cloud is straightforward when you understand:

• Configuration properties
• Key generator behavior
• Where customization is required

This flexibility allows you to align technical implementation with real business needs.

What’s Next?

👉 Next: Multi-Site Order Code Generation in SAP Commerce (US vs IN Real Example)