Function documentationAccount Identification (CRM/IS-U Criteria)

 

This enhanced function is available as of SAP CRM 5.2.

Interaction center agents can use this function to search for accounts and technical objects.

For the search, the agent can enter various CRM criteria as well as IS-U-specific criteria relevant for call centers in utility companies.

The search always takes place in SAP CRM regardless of which object the agent is searching for.

Integration

If the telephony system uses automatic number identification (ANI), the system can already identify a customer before the agent accepts the contact.

If the agent confirms a customer or business agreement, the system saves the information in the Business Object Context and copies it to the criteria for the additional search options by business agreement or premise. The system also writes the account in the contact overview, where it is available for further processing steps.

Prerequisites

The system replicates the following objects:

  • Business partner and business agreement

  • All technical objects

  • Contracts

You can find more information about the general prerequisites for the IC WebClient in the Interaction Center WebClient, under Implementation Considerations.

Features

A number of function profiles are available to help you determine which actions a call center agent can execute. You can also use function profiles, for example, to define that an object is confirmed automatically if it is the unique result of a search.

You define the function profile for the identification in Customizing for the Utilities Industry under Start of the navigation path Settings for User Interfaces Next navigation step Identification Next navigation step Define Identification Profile End of the navigation path.

  • Search for Business Partner

    Here, the agent can enter different criteria for the identification of an account. For example, the name of a business partner or organization, the address, the contract number, or the number of the business agreement.

    Initially, the Search, Create Person and More pushbuttons are available to the agent in this screen area. After choosing the More pushbutton, the agent has the options Create Organization and Reset.

    Once the agent has created a new person, after choosing the More pushbutton, the options Create Contact Person and Reset are available.

    If the agent has selected a business partner from a results list of multiple search hits, the pushbuttons Confirm Account and Confirm Contact Person become available. After confirming the account, the agent can choose More to create a business agreement, display a list of existing contact persons, or create a new contact person.

  • Search Criteria

    Here, the agent can use different criteria search for connection objects, premises, and points of delivery.

    When searching for a technical object, agents have a number of search functions at their disposal such as searching for a premise in dependency on a business partner or searching for a connection object in dependency on an address. The setup of the input template varies depending on which search function the agent selects.

    The agent can choose from various templates for creating technical objects.

  • Results List

    The results list contains all items that match the specified search criteria. The list is only displayed if the system finds multiple items that match the specified search criteria.

    While during the search for a business partner or organization the items are displayed in a flat list, the results list for technical objects is a tree hierarchy. You can adjust this tree hierarchy to suit your requirements in Customizing for SAP Utilities under Start of the navigation path Settings for User Interfaces Next navigation step Settings for Object Workbench Next navigation step Define Object Hierarchy and Object Attributes End of the navigation path.

    The agent can select and confirm items in the list to call up the detailed view for the object.

Enhanced Identification

With the enhanced identification and reusing the object workbench profiles, the agent has the following options:

  • The business and technical master data is displayed separately on the user interface.

  • The business master data (such as business partner and business agreement) are displayed in the form of business object trees, which customers can configure to meet their own requirements. Agents can display detailed information for any object.

  • Detailed information for confirmed business partners are displayed in the form of business object trees.

  • Agents can use various search functions when searching for business master data. They can, for example, search for a business partner using a business agreement, an IS-U contract number, or an order ID.

Note Note

When using the enhanced identification, the results lists are replaced by business object trees, which the customer can define themselves.

Multiple search criteria do not appear automatically on a screen, rather customers can make special settings for the search functions they want to use.

End of the note.

To use this function, you must activate the business function Utility Energy Retailer 2 (CRM_UT_ER_2).

Activities for Enhanced Identification

In addition to actually activating the enhanced identification using the identification profile, you also have to define workbench profiles - one for the business master data and one for the technical master data.

  1. Identification profile

    1. The identification profile is found indirectly via the role. In Customizing for Customer Relationship Management, choose Start of the navigation path UI Framework Next navigation step Business Roles Next navigation step Define Business Role End of the navigation path. Choose the function profile Utilities: Identification (IUICMD).

    2. You define the identification profile in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management under Start of the navigation path Industry-Specific Solutions Next navigation step Utilities Industry Next navigation step Settings for User Interfaces Next navigation step Identification Next navigation step Define Identification Profiles End of the navigation path.

    3. To activate the enhanced identification function, select the Activate Enhanced Identification checkbox and assign the two profiles for business and technical master data.

  2. Workbench profile

    The workbench profile for the technical master data was previously linked to the overview profile. (Customizing for Start of the navigation path Customer Relationship Management Next navigation step Industry-Specific Solutions Next navigation step Utilities Industry Next navigation step Settings for User Interfaces Next navigation step Settings for Object Workbench Next navigation step Assign Profiles to Overview End of the navigation path). This link will remain but will be bundled into the identification profile by the new Customizing settings.

    For more information, see the documentation for the Customizing activity under Start of the navigation path Customer Relationship Management Next navigation step Industry-Specific Solutions Next navigation step Utilities Industry Next navigation step Settings for User Interfaces Next navigation step Settings for Object Workbench Next navigation step Define Workbench Profiles End of the navigation path.

Activities

Agents can use the Identification function to search for, create, and change the following objects:

  • Person

  • Organization

  • Contact relationship between two business partners

  • Business agreement

  • Technical objects (connection object, premise, point of delivery)

    Call center agents can use templates to create the technical objects.

    Note Note

    The results list is displayed differently depending on which technical object the agent is searching for.

    End of the note.