I wonder what is the business case here - changing the sales order item number in a standrad ERP system can be performed before entering a material number. This is an additional step and from my experience business users would not do anything of that sort unless there is a good reason for that. Have you discussed with the LoB why they do that?
In case the cause is lack of training/knowledge of end users (or usage of spreadsheets for order creation), this is easily solved by proper communication, distribution of training materials, regular training sesions for the new employees with the help of the key users.
In case the current default item numbering should be adjusted for some reason, you need to get it communicated via the regular procedure for requesting changes to the current configuration.
If changes to the default numbering causes problems with other applications or reports, it would be better to investigate the root cause and resolve the issue in the respective functionality. The reason for that is that if different numbering results in problems with reporting, preventing the user from entering item numbers may be not sufficient - for example an item could be deleted or rejected either manually or via custom coding.
There are certain ways to hide fields or to disable user input (screen exits, transaction variants), but in your specific case the money might be better spent elsewhere, especially considering the loss of functionality and the need of extensive testing to eliminate potential problems that could arise as a result of such development.
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