Data Exchange

Use

An important step towards automating the change of supplier process is automating intercompany data exchange.

You use the infrastructure of the data exchange processes as a tool for processing intercompany data exchange. This documentation does not go into any more detail regarding the infrastructure of the data exchange processes.

For more information about data exchange using IDocs and enterprise services (ES), see the documentation under the following links:

  • Import (IDoc)

  • Export (IDoc)

  • Using Enterprise Services for the Change of Supplier

    As a prerequisite, you have to activate the Infrastructure for Service Enablement of IDE Data Exchange business function (ISU_MC_DEX_1).

Process Flow

Intercompany data exchange as part of the change of supplier process is also discussed more generally as regards communication between the process views.

The change of supplier process (as an intercompany process) can be viewed from three different switch views. These are the New Supplier , the Former Supplier or the Distributor views.

Communication steps exist between the individual switch views (for example, the new supplier sends the distributor a registration notification regarding supplying energy to a point of delivery).

  • Separate systems

    If the supplier and the distributor work in different systems, communication between switch views means that data is also exchanged between systems.

  • One system

    If the former supplier and the distributor work in the same system, communication between them takes place within the system. No data is communicated using data exchange processes.

    If the new supplier, who does not work in the same system, registers the point of delivery with the distributor and sends a supply cancellation notification to the former supplier, this takes place using data exchange processes. Both messages are addressed to the same system where they each trigger a switch process for the distributor or the supplier accordingly (there are two switch documents with different switch views).

The following types of communication exist within the change of supplier process:

  • Communication using Data Exchange Processes

    In this case, the communication partner (service provider) receiving a message, or to whom a message is sent, is not an Own Service Provider (in other words, he does not use the same system). Communication takes place by means of intercompany data exchange. A data exchange task logs the exchanged data as a switch document message.

  • Internal communication

    In this case, the communication partner (service provider) receiving a message, or to whom a message is sent, is an Own Service Provider (in other words, he uses the same system). Switch document messages are exchanged directly. The exchanged data is logged as a switch document message.

  • Manual data entry

    In certain cases, communication cannot take place automatically. For example, the new supplier can send the distributor the registration notification for supply to a point of delivery in paper format, or the distributor can be notified by telephone. In such cases, the message data can be entered manually. This is also logged as a switch document message.

Result

Consequently, there is a separation between the delivery of the message and the processing of the message. One of the main attributes of the change of supplier solution is that the way the message is processed is not based on the way it is delivered. Whether the message was communicated using data exchange processes, by internal communication, or whether the data is entered manually, it is always a switch document message in the change of supplier process. This results in a process model for the change of supplier that is independent of the communication type.