Third-Party Travel Planning

This function enables you to use third-party online booking systems for booking travel services instead of using SAP Travel Planning.

This function is available only with the Web Dynpro ABAP-based user interface of SAP Travel Management.

Integration

You can execute the Web Dynpro ABAP-based user interface in the following environments:

SAP NetWeaver Portal
SAP NetWeaver Business Client
Web browsers

You can send the general data from an SAP travel request to a third-party online booking system and transfer booking data from a third-party online booking system to an SAP expense report. You also can make calling a third-party online booking system dependent on the status of the travel request.

Integration with GetThere

You can use the following functions for integrating the GetThere online booking system by Sabre.

Example implementations of the Business Add-In BAdI: Define Exit for Third-Party Travel Planning
Program for synchronizing booking data with the GetThere database
Integration in the approval workflow
Example implementation of the Business Add-In BAdI: Mapping for TravelPlanningArrangementEmployeeNotification (for replicating master data)

To integrate the system, you require the connection and logon data for the GetThere online booking system. For more information, see Configuring a Connection to the GetThere Online Booking System.

Integration with Amadeus e-Travel Management

You can use the following functions for integrating the Amadeus e-Travel Management online booking system:

Example implementations of the Business Add-In BAdI: Define Exit for Third-Party Travel Planning
Program for synchronizing booking data with the Amadeus e-Travel Management database
Integration in the approval workflow
Travel assistants can create third-party travel plans for employees

To integrate the system, you require the connection and logon data for the Amadeus e-Travel Management online booking system. For more information, see Configuring a Connection to the e-Travel Online Booking System.

Prerequisites

You have configured the Travel Management (FI-TV) application component and are using the Web Dynpro ABAP-based user interface of Travel Management.

If you use SAP NetWeaver Portal, you need to have installed the Business Package for Employee Self-Service 1.41 SP 04.

Integration into SAP NetWeaver Portal requires the user names in the third-party online booking system to be the same as those in SAP NetWeaver Portal.

Features

Redirection of Navigation in the Web Dynpro ABAP-Based User Interface

Before you can integrate a third-party online booking system with SAP Travel Management, you need to implement the Business Add-In BAdI: Define Exit for Third-Party Travel Planning (PTRM_EXTERNAL_TP_BADI_DEF).The main purpose of this BAdI is to redirect all navigation links that point to SAP Travel Planning to a third-party online booking system. The BAdI constructs the URL for accessing the third-party online booking system. The BAdI uses URL parameters to send the data for identifying the user and the SAP system. When applicable, the BAdI also uses URL parameters to send the trip number and the data of a travel request.

The example implementations of the enhancement spot PTRM_EXTERNAL_TP_ENHSPOT illustrate how you can integrate the GetThere online booking system. You can copy the example implementations and adapt them to meet your requirements.

You can use the following functions to integrate the GetThere online booking system:

PTRM_EXT_TP_GETTHERE uses Web services from Sabre to import the list of new and changed PNR data records from the Sabre database, and to read individual PNR data records from the Sabre database.
PTRM_EXT_TP_GETTHERE_V2 uses Web services from GetThere to import the list of new and changed PNR data records from the GetThere database, and to read individual PNR data records from the GetThere database.

You can use the PTRM_EXT_TP_E_TRAVEL example implementation to integrate the Amadeus e-Travel Management online booking system.

For more information, see Customizing for Travel Planning under Start of the navigation path Master Data Next navigation step Technical Control Parameters for Travel Planning Access to External Reservation Systems Access Parameters for External Reservation Systems BAdI: Define Exit for Third-Party Travel Planning End of the navigation path ..

Synchronizing the Booking Data

You can use the following programs to import new and changed data from third-party online booking systems GetThere and Amadeus e-Travel Management into SAP Travel Planning:

Program GET_GETTHERE_PNR for synchronizing booking data with the GetThere database
Booking data must be synchronized because the GetThere Web service (that you use to import new and changed PNR data records) only returns those PNR data records that have been changed within the last hour.

If you use the Web services from Sabre, you can use program GET_SABRE_PNR to synchronize the booking data with the Sabre database. For more information, see Synchronization with Sabre.
Program GET_ETRAVEL_PNR for synchronizing booking data with the Amadeus e-Travel Management database

Recommendation

We recommend that you execute the program for synchronizing booking data once an hour.

End of the recommendation.

Integration in Approval Workflow

You can use SAP Business Workflow WS77900173 to set up an approval workflow for third-party travel plans. This workflow is not activated in the standard system.

The third-party online booking system must meet the following prerequisites:

For new or changed bookings, the third-party booking system first sets the status to Waiting for Approval and then awaits approval or rejection from the SAP system before proceeding with the actual booking.
In Amadeus e-Travel Management, the users to which the status Waiting for Approval is to apply must be assigned to a relevant Amadeus e-Travel Management Community.
In GetThere, the users to which the status Waiting for Approval is to apply must be assigned to a relevant GetThere Site.

For the approval process, you can use the Business Workplace or, in SAP NetWeaver Portal, the universal worklist (UWL) of Manager Self-Service (MSS) with SAP Business Workflow.

When a user has created or changed a third-party booking, the system does not trigger a workflow until the booking data between the third-party online booking system and the SAP system has been synchronized. The booking data can be synchronized as follows:

The user refreshes his or her personal object worklist (POWL) or the travel plan query in the POWL.
The SAP system executes a program for synchronizing the booking data with the database of the third-party online booking system (see the "Synchronizing the Booking Data" section).

If, upon synchronizing the booking data, the system finds a third-party booking with the status Waiting for Approval, it triggers the workflow for this booking. The workflow first sends a message to the approving manager.

Once the approving manager has rejected or approved the third-party booking, the SAP system notifies the third-party online booking system (the SAP system calls the relevant Web service of the third-party online booking system).

If the booking is rejected, the third-party online booking system sets the booking status to Rejected, cancels the booking, and notifies the user.
If the booking is approved, the third-party online booking system sets the booking status to Purchase (Amadeus e-Travel Management) or Purchase PNR (GetThere), makes the actual booking, and notifies the user.

Travel Assistants Can Create Third-Party Travel Plans for Employees

Users with the Travel Assistant role can create third-party travel plans for employees in their employee list. The prerequisite for this is that you have set up the third-party online booking system for the travel assistants in the Office Find (TRVOF) characteristic.

When a travel assistant calls the third-party online booking system for an employee, the system logs the relevant employee on to the third-party online booking system. The travel assistant works in the third-party online booking system using the identity of the employee.

If the travel assistant makes changes for an employee in the third-party online booking system, the SAP Travel Planning form displays the name of this travel assistant as the person who last changed the data.

This function is currently available for Amadeus e-Travel Management only.

Replication of SAP Travel Management Master Data in a Third-Party Online Booking System

You can use the enterprise service Travel Planning Arrangement Out with service operation TravelPlanningArrangementEmployeeNotification_Out to provide master data from SAP Travel Management to third-party online booking systems. You can use the Business Add-In BAdI: Mapping for TravelPlanningArrangementEmployeeNotification (PTRM_SE_TPAEE_CONV) to control the mapping of the outbound interface.

This business function includes the example implementation PTRM_SE_TPAEE_GETTHERE, which adapts the mapping of master data to meet the requirements of GetThere. You can copy the example implementation and adapt it to meet your requirements.

For more information about this enterprise service, see SAP Library on SAP Help Portal at help.sap.com Start of the navigation path SOA Next navigation step Enterprise Services for SAP ERP Enhancement Package 2 for SAP ERP 6.0 Travel Management Travel Planning Arrangement Out End of the navigation path .

iView in SAP NetWeaver Portal

SAP NetWeaver Portal contains a page and the iView Create Third-Party Travel Plan, which enables the system to launch an online booking system.

Note Note

For technical reasons, the portal content for third-party travel planning resides in the content administration of SAP NetWeaver Portal under Start of the navigation path Portal Content Next navigation step Content Provided by SAP End User Content Employee Self-Service ERP 2005 EhP2 End of the navigation path .

End of the note.

Support for Single Sign-On in SAP NetWeaver Portal

Single Sign-On (SSO) is a mechanism that spares a user the trouble of entering a password for every system he or she logs on to. With SSO, a user identifies him- or herself only once and afterwards can log on to all systems that are part of the SSO environment.

In SAP NetWeaver Portal, the system can use SSO to log on the users of SAP Travel Management automatically to a third-party online booking system.

Before you can use Single Sign-On, you need to provide the public certificate (SAPLogonTicketKeypair-cert.pse) of your SAP NetWeaver Portal for the third-party online booking system.

For more information, see Single Sign-On to Non-SAP Systems and Applications.

Role for SAP NetWeaver Business Client

The new role Traveler (SAP_FI_TV_WEB_TRAVELER_EXT_TP) enables users to use third-party travel planning in SAP NetWeaver Business Client. The role has all authorizations of the role Traveler (SAP_FI_TV_WEB_TRAVELER), with the following exception: When a user with this role starts Travel Planning in SAP NetWeaver Business Client (NWBC), NWBC executes a third-party travel planning solution, such as GetThere or Amadeus e-Travel Management, instead of executing SAP Travel Planning.