Function documentationAutomatic Creation of Follow-Up Documents

 

This function creates all the documents necessary for the logistical and financial processing of advanced returns automatically in the background. The automatic creation of follow-up documents is triggered when a user creates or changes a returns document (returns order, returns purchase order, returns stock transport order, or inspection document).

Follow-up documents that system can create automatically include:

  • Returns stock transport orders (rSTOs)

  • Returns purchase orders (rPOs)

  • Inbound and outbound deliveries

  • Goods issues and receipts

  • Transfer postings

  • Credit memos

Which follow-up documents the system creates automatically depends on the follow-up activity you select and where you select it. Other logical conditions also apply. For example, in the case of a customer return, if the returned goods have been physically received and the Material Received checkbox has been selected in the returns order, the system creates an inbound delivery and posts a goods receipt.

Integration

The system creates follow-up documents automatically in the background as part of the central function that tracks all the documents of an advanced returns process in a returns overview. All follow-up documents, including processing status and splits, are displayed in the returns overview and can also be accessed there.

For more information about process tracking, see Returns Overview.

Prerequisites

You have made all the necessary settings in Customizing for Advanced Returns Management. For more information, see Customizing for Advanced Returns Management.

Features

Sequence of Follow-Up Documents

  • The system can create the follow-up documents required for specific follow-up activities automatically in the background. Several documents are created sequentially in some cases, depending on the returns scenario, for example, cross-company and intracompany returns.

  • In Advanced Returns Management, the way in which cross-company and intracompany store returns are processed has been enhanced. It is now possible to configure the system so that an outbound delivery and a goods issue are created in the supplying plant and an inbound delivery and a goods receipt are created in the receiving plant. This is contrast to standard processing, which uses a single outbound delivery as the basis for posting a negative goods receipt in the supplying plant and a goods receipt in the receiving plant.

  • If an error occurs during document creation, the sequence is interrupted and the system does not create any more documents. The document that contains the error is flagged in the returns overview. Once the error has been resolved, you can trigger the system to create any remaining documents.

Documents Not Created Automatically

The system does not create the outbound deliveries for returns stock transport orders (follow-up activities Ship to Other Plant and Ship to Vendor via Other Plant) and returns purchase orders (follow-up activities Ship to Vendor and Direct Shipment to Vendor). This makes it possible to group several rSTOs and rPOs into one outbound delivery. For more information about creating outbound deliveries, see Creating Outbound Deliveries.

For direct returns to external vendors (follow-up activity Direct Shipment to Vendor) that are processed entirely outside of the company, you must create the statistical goods issue manually from the outbound delivery. This allows you to document deliveries between customer and external vendor in the system.

Example

A customer returns goods to a branch. The sales person creates a returns order and indicates that the goods have been received by selecting the Material Received indicator. He or she then inspects the goods, selecting Immediately Move to Free Available Stock for items 1 and 2, and Immediately Move to Scrap for items 3 and 4. The sales person saves the returns order. The system responds by creating the following documents:

  • Items 1 and 2: An inbound delivery and a goods receipt into the storage location defined for immediate move to free-available stock

  • Items 3 and 4: An inbound delivery and a goods receipt into the storage location defined for receipt into plant, and a goods movement into scrap

More Information

For more information about the individual follow-up activities and where they can be selected, see Follow-Up Activities.