Processing Data Cleansing Cases

Use

When you process data cleansing cases in the SAP GUI you can

Reconcile business partners i.e. you can transfer the individual data from one business partner to another so that both business partner master records have the same data.

Determine whether a business partner is the source or target object of the data reconciliation. There can be just one target for a data cleansing case but several sources.

Decide if the business partners selected as source are flagged for archiving, so that they are deleted from the system later in an archiving session.

Decide whether the relationship ‘is replaced by …’ should be created by the system for the business partner selected as source.

You can only carry out reconciliation in pairs; reconciliation of all business partners included in a data cleansing case is not possible.

Selecting a Data Cleansing Case for Processing

In the SAP Easy Access Menu select Master Data→ Business Partner (BP) → Data Cleansing to start the data cleansing.

In the locator, select a data cleansing case for processing.

Result

If only two business partners are included in the data cleansing case, then in the screen Data Cleansing Case <Number>: Duplicate Reconciliation the navigation window that lists all business partners included in the data cleansing case, is hidden by default when you call up the cleansing case. The system compares both business partners in the form of two graphs (tree structures with nodes) in two work areas.

If more than two business partners are included in the data cleansing case, then in the screen Data Cleansing Case <Number>: Duplicate Reconciliation the navigation window that lists all business partners included in the data cleansing case, is displayed by default when you call up the cleansing case. The system compares the business partners that appear as the first two nodes in the node Target Object of the data cleansing case, in the form of two graphs (tree structures with nodes) in two work areas.

In both cases you can either hide or display the navigation window after you have called up a particular data cleansing case, by pressing Show /Hide Areas .

Selecting a Business Partner from the Navigation Window for Reconciliation

Select one of the nodes from the folder Target Object in the navigation window.

Switch to the desired work area and select Display Selected Graphs .

Result

The selected business partner is transferred from the navigation window to the chosen work area. You can now carry out data reconciliation with this business partner.

Reconciling Business Partner Data

You have two options for reconciling business partner data:

You can compare data belonging to the same sub-object of the business partners and determine for data areas that are not identical, which data you want to keep in the system.

You can transfer the business partner sub-object data, which the other business partner has not maintained, to the other business partner. This procedure is particularly suitable, when the source has sub-objects that were not created for the target.

Comparing Sub-Objects

Select the business partner sub-objects in both work areas, which you want to compare and possibly reconcile.

The system can only compare sub-objects, which demonstrate the same dependency within the business partner. For example you can only compare header data with header data.

Select the sub-objects by clicking the relevant icon. Selecting the description is not sufficient.

Choose Compare. The dialog box Node Comparison offers you a comparison of all data entered for both business partners for the selected sub-object.

Select a line if necessary and transfer the data from one business partner to the other, by choosing the relevant transfer direction.

If you have already defined a business partner as the target during a previous temporary save, then data can only be transferred to that target. The system hides the transfer direction that you don’t require.

Choose Back; Copy Changes to accept the changes.

Transferring Sub-Objects

You can transfer sub-objects from one business partner to another either with Copy & Paste or with Drag & Drop .

With Copy & Paste the sub-object remains in the source and is copied to the target.

Select the required sub-object.

Choose Copy .

Switch to the other work area and choose Insert .

With Drag & Drop the sub-object it deleted from the source and transferred to the target.

Click on the required sub-object and drag it to the other work area by keeping the mouse button depressed.

Position the pointer on the required sub-object to which you wish to transfer the data and then let the mouse button go.

The sub-object is transferred to the selected business partner.

If the sub-object cannot be transferred to the selected position, the system returns an error message ‘Assign the object to a suitable folder’. You can read the correct procedure from the long text of the message.

Result

The data of the business partners is reconciled.

Saving the Data Cleansing Case

You can interrupt or terminate the processing of a data cleansing case at any time. In both cases the system requires that you decide on a source or target assignment for the business partners. Afterwards you can then save the data cleansing case either as a temporary or a final version. If you do a final save, then the data cleansing case has the status D (Done) and no longer appears in the current data cleansing cases list. If you do a temporary save, then the data cleansing case has the status I (In Processing) and continues to appear in the current data cleansing cases list.

Choose Save .

In the dialog box Source / Target Decision define which business partner is the target and which business partners are the source in this data cleansing case.

Choose Save Temporary Version to interrupt the data cleansing case and continue with it later. Choose Final Save to close the data cleansing case. The system opens the dialog box Selection of Business Partners to be Archived .

In the Selection of Business Partners to be Archived dialog box you can decide:

Whether the business partners you defined as source should be flagged for archiving by the system.

The system has already selected all business partners which you defined as source. If you choose With Archiving , the system sets the archiving indicator for all selected entries.

Whether the system should create a relationship category ‘is replaced by <Target> ' for the business partners you defined as source.

The system automatically sets the indicator for creating the relationship category ‘ is replaced by ... ’

Result

The data cleansing case is saved and has the status I or D. The archiving indicator has been set for the selected business partners. They are created from the next archiving session and deleted from the current system. You can reset the archiving indicator in the business partner maintenance as long as the archiving session has not been started.