Complaint Processing

Purpose

This process describes the way in which complaints are dealt with in the system.

Prerequisites

Complaints are to be processed. A credit memo is to be issued because a complaint has been made about a late publication date or missing discount.

You have defined complaint reasons and status and copying variants for credit memo items and document flows in Customizing.

Process Flow

  1. Identify the order for which the complaint has been made.

  2. Standard and central access can be used to do so. Central access is generally used to determine the order.

    See also: Central Access

    See also: Standard Access

  3. Create a complaint for the order identified.

  4. Complaints can be created at header, item, schedule line or billing dataset level in the order.

    The document level selected is dependent on the type of complaint involved. If a complaint is made for one of several schedule lines, the complaint is created at schedule line level.

    See also: Creation of Complaints

  5. Create a credit memo item for the order for which the complaint has been made.

  6. Workflow is used to forward orders for which complaints have been made to the inbox of the complaints processor. Alternately, these can be identified using complaints lists.

    See also: Evaluation of Complaints

    Several functions can be used to create a credit memo item. The function that you use is dependent on whether the complaint has been made for an item, schedule line or billing dataset.

    Function

    Use

    Create document items with reference

    A complaint has been made for an order item. The order item is to be copied into a credit memo item.

    See also: Copying of Document Items

    Create document items with reference to schedule lines

    A complaint has been made for one or more schedule lines (production data) in an order item. One or more schedule lines in the order item are to be copied into a credit memo item.

    See also: Creation of Document Items With Reference to Schedule Lines

    Create document items with reference to billing datasets

    A complaint has been made for one or more billing datasets (billing data) in an order item. One or more billing datasets in the order item are to be copied into a credit memo item.

    See also: Creation of Document Items With Reference to Billing Datasets

    Use a copying variant that defines whether the item category in the new document item is a credit memo or partial credit memo when creating a credit memo item.

    A document flow is created by the Create with reference function. This document flow establishes the relationship between the order and credit memo items and can be displayed for document items.

    See also: Display Document Flows

    The Create sales documents with reference, Create document items with a template or Create document item with item category functions can also be used to create credit memo items. These functions are distinguished as follows:

    1. The Create sales documents with reference function copies the credit memo item into a new sales document. The business transaction cannot be documented in a sales document.

    2. See also: Copying of Sales Documents

    3. The Create document items with a template function is used to copy data in the order item. It does create a document flow. There is no relationship between the order and credit memo item.

    4. See also: Copying of Document Items

    5. When using the Create document items with item category function, you must enter the credit memo item data manually. No document flow is created. There is no relationship between the order and credit memo item.

See also: Creation of Document Items with Item Category

Result

The order and credit memo item have been created. The customer receives a credit memo once the credit memo item has been billed:

  • If the complaint refers to production data, such as an incorrect ad spec in an ad item, you require the credit memo item to repeat production and billing for this item.

  • If the complaint refers to billing data, such as missing discount for a publication date, you require the credit memo item to repeat billing for this item.

If complaints have been made for the billing data, the associated billing datasets must be cancelled so that the original billing items can be cancelled and new billing items created.

See also: Creation of Cancellations

Note Note

To ensure that customers are not credited amounts that exceed the value of the associated orders in error, you can instruct the system to check the amounts in the associated credit and debit memo.

See also: Check Credit and Debit Memos

End of the note.