Function documentationBatches and Configuration in Purchase Order Collaboration

 

In the purchase order (PO), the customer can transmit the following data to SAP Supply Network Collaboration (SAP SNC):

  • The customer batch number for the product at item level or for a product at component level, including characteristic values for a classified batch-managed product

  • The product configuration at item level and component level

Prerequisites

Classes and Characteristics

For SAP SNC to be able to process the characteristics of a classified batch-managed product or of a configurable product (for example, display the characteristics description dependent of language), the characteristics and classes to which the characteristics belong must exist in SAP SNC (class type 300 for a configurable product, class type 232 for a batch-classified product). In addition, you, as a customer, must assign the class to the product. You can create classes and characteristics manually in SAP SNC in the classification system. For more information, see Classification (CA-CL).

If you are using an SAP ERP system as a back-end system, you can also transfer the SAP ERP master data – in particular, classified materials, classes, and characteristics – to SAP SNC using Core Interface (CIF). For more information, see Transfer of Configurable Materials or Batch-Managed Materials via CIF.

Customer Batch Validation

If you want the supplier to use only certain customer batches and to accordingly enter only numbers of allowed customer batches in a purchase order confirmation, you can use batch validation. For batch validation, you must make the following settings in Customizing for Supply Network Collaboration:

  • You have specified which sources of customer batch numbers are allowed for the supplier, such as batches from batch inventory or batches from subcontract orders. You make the setting under Start of the navigation path Purchase Order Next navigation step Make General Settings for Purchase Orders End of the navigation path

  • You have activated the validation check PO_BATCH_ID_INVALID in the validation profiles that you use for the following processes:

    • Saving a purchase order confirmation (ORDERCONF_SAVE)

    • Publishing a purchase order confirmation (ORDERCONF_PUBLISH)

If you want to specify the source of available customer batch numbers, you must have activated the Supply Network Collaboration 1 (SCM_SNC_GEN_1) business function.

Features

Customer Batches in Confirmations

When the supplier creates a purchase order confirmation in SAP SNC, he or she can specify a different customer batch number for a subcontracting component (provided it is an allowed batch number). However, the batch number of a subcontracting component is not subject to an approval by the customer. In purchase order collaboration with approval process, if the system copies the confirmation data of the supplier to the request schedule lines, it also copies the customer batch number.

Supplier Batches

In the purchase order, the supplier batch number exists as well. The customer can transmit the supplier batch number in the purchase order to SAP SNC. (In SAP ERP, the corresponding batch number at PO item level is called "vendor batch number".)

Note Note

When the customer and supplier have agreed on the contents of the work order, SAP SNC updates the purchase order based on this work order. However, the purchase order does not adopt the supplier batch number.

End of the note.
SAP-SNC-Internal Management of Batches and Characteristics

The purchase order XML messages send the data at item level, and SAP SNC displays the data at item level. Internally, however, SAP SNC manages the data at schedule line level.

Activities

You can display batches and characteristic values on the Purchase Order Details Web screen on the Batches and Characteristics tab page.