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Object documentationPartner Determination Procedures

 

Partner determination procedures are sets of rules for how the system works with business partners during transaction processing. They bring together partner functions and access sequences, and include additional information.

 

You define a procedure and assign it to a transaction type or item category. Then, when you create transactions of that type or containing items of that category, the system works with the partners involved according to the rules you specified in the procedure. Therefore, the system can automatically handle partners for an Internet sales transaction differently than it does for a business activity, for example, without end users concerning themselves with these differences. The settings in the procedure apply to both partners determined automatically and to those entered manually.

Structure

You define partner determination procedures in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management, by choosing Start of the navigation path Basic Functions Next navigation step Partner Processing Next navigation step Define Partner Determination Procedure End of the navigation path.

The settings include:

  • Which partner functions are mandatory and which suggested, which are entered automatically and which manually, and how many partners can be entered for each function.

  • Which access sequence applies to each partner function that is determined automatically by the system.

  • At what point the system starts partner determination for each function. This could be as soon as you enter data, when you enter a product, or when you save the transaction.

  • Whether the system enters an activity in the calendars of the partners involved (relevant to activities only). For more information, see Working with Activities.

  • Whether you can change a partner's address in transactions, and, when a partner has more than one address, which address is used.

  • Which partner functions are available in a business transaction and which are not.

The procedure consists of three levels:

  • Procedure User identifies the transaction categories and item object types to which the procedure applies.

  • Partner Functions in Procedure lists the partner functions involved and specific settings for each function.

  • User Interface Settings allows you to influence which partner function appears in individual partner fields (such as contact).

Integration

For a procedure to be available for a particular transaction type, both it and the transaction type must be assigned to the same transaction category.

For a procedure to be available for a particular item category, both it and the item category must be assigned to the same item object type.

You define transaction types and item categories in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management, by choosing Start of the navigation path Transactions Next navigation step Basic Settings Next navigation step Define Transaction Types/Define Item Categories End of the navigation path.

Example

Your company sells televisions to the store Hifidelity, and your sales people often visit the store and talk to the store manager on the telephone. To enter these visits and calls in the system, they create business activities.

You have defined the partner functions Electronics Retailer and Retail Site Manager for transactions with companies like Hifidelity, and have certain requirements for activities with them. Therefore, you define a partner determination procedure for these business activities.

System Settings

You define a new partner determination procedure and:

  1. Assign it to the transaction category Business Activity.

  2. Enter the two new partner functions you have just defined, Electronics Retailer and Retail Manager, plus the existing partner function Employee Responsible. You specify that they are mandatory, and that the transaction should only include one partner as the Retail Manager.

  3. Assign access sequences, specify that partner determination should start as soon as data is entered, and that activities should be entered in the partners' calendars.

    This table shows possible Customizing settings:

    Partner Function

    Minimum

    Maximum

    Calendar Maintenance

    Access Sequence

    Determination Time

    Electronics Retailer

    1

    1

    Retail Manager

    1

    1

    BP Relationships By Sales Organization —> BP Relationships

    Recurring

    Employee Responsible

    1

    5

    X

    Organizational Model —> Business Partner Assigned to the User

    Recurring

  4. Assign this procedure to a transaction type with the transaction category Business Activity.

  5. In the field Permitted Functions on the Partner Determination Procedures screen, select either Only Functions Assigned in Procedure or All Defined Partner Functions to determine which partner functions should be displayed and available for use in a business transaction.

Result

  1. A business user creates a business activity in the form of a planned visit to this customer.

  2. He enters Hifidelity as the Electronics Retailer.

  3. The system looks in Hifidelity's master data and enters the name of the store manager as the Retail Manager.

  4. He tries to enter the assistant manager as a second Retail Manager, but the system displays a message saying only one partner is possible for this function.

  5. Through organizational determination, the system automatically finds the sales group responsible for Hifidelity's region. It enters this group in the organizational data.

  6. Based on the organizational model to which this group belongs, the system determines the employee responsible and enters his name.

  7. The system enters this visit in the employee's calendar.

    This figure shows how the settings in a partner determination procedure affect partner processing in transactions.