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Function documentation Processing Contracts

Use

As a strategic purchaser, you can create purchasing contracts in SAP Enterprise Buyer. You can simplify the process of creating contracts by creating and using template contracts. SAP Enterprise Buyer, as the central purchasing system, saves the contract data and uses it for local purchase orders and purchase orders of the extended classic scenario. In the applications Shop, Process Purchase Order, and Carry out Sourcing, the system uses the purchasing contract for sourcing and pricing. You can use contracts for:

·         Indirect materials (consumables)

·         Direct materials (production-related inventory materials)

·         Services

Integration

You can integrate contracts using the following SRM functions and components.

Sourcing

You can use SAP Enterprise Buyer as a Sourcing Hub (for example, within the business scenario Strategic Sourcing) and create contracts locally or in the backend system. If the contract is to be created in the backend system, you control this using a Business Add-In. See the path in the Supplier Relationship Management IMG: SRM Server  ® Business Add-Ins (BAdIs)  ®  Shopping Carts and Requirement Items  ®  Determine Backend System/Company Code

With the Business Add-In Find and Check Sources of Supply, you can define your own rules for sourcing. See the path in the IMG: SRM Server ® Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) ®  Sourcing ® Find and Check Sources of Supply.

SAP Bidding Engine

Using SAP Bidding Engine, you can create a new contract (with status Held) or update an existing contract.

You can also createa bid invitation from a contract (with status Held). Enterprise Buyer transfers the contract data (without conditions) to SAP Bidding Engine. The system copies the contract’s vendor as the bidder. For more information, see SAP Bidding Engine

SAP Business Information Warehouse (SAP BW)

If you integrate SAP BW, then you can use the following evaluations for purchasing contracts from Enterprise Buyer and the SAP backend:

·        Vendor evaluation for contracts

See the path in the SAP IMG: Integration with Other mySAP Components ®  Settings for Application-Specific DataSources (SRM)  ®  Define Events for Vendor Evaluation in SRM

·        Maverick evaluation

See the path in the Supplier Relationship Management IMG: SRM Server  ®  Cross-Application Basic Settings ® Define Logical Systems and Template Names for BW Reports

The system transfers only the responsible purchasing organization to SAP BW, not the release-authorized purchasing organization. You can start workflows via BW alerts that are triggered as soon as a particular situation is reached regarding the contract release. For example, as soon as 90% of the target value or quantity is reached.

Third-Party Order Processing

Sourcing can determine the customer via the goods recipient in the contract.

Pricing

For more information, see Pricing.

Catalog Linking

You can use local SRM purchasing contracts in SAP Catalog Content Management. For more information, see Catalog Content Management.

Archiving

For more information, see Document Archiving.

Full Text Search for Documents

The application supports usage of the TREX search machine in order to search for contracts containing specific content in attachments, vendor texts, and notes.

Prerequisites

You have made the configuration settings required for contracts according to the configuration guide for the business scenario Strategic Sourcing and you have fulfilled the following prerequisites:

·        If you wish to carry out evaluations with SAP BW you have a BW System connected.

·        In order to use the contract preview, you must have installed an application on your PC that can display pdf files.

·        If you wish to use default values for the upper and lower tolerance limits, you have created a tolerance group with the tolerance key CF (document tolerances goods receipt).

See the path in the IMG: SRM Server  ® Cross-Application Basic Settings ® Set Tolerance Checks.

Features

The functions described here concern specifically the processing of contracts. You can find a list of the general functions (for example, account assignment) and basic functions (for example, creating, changing, etc.) of mySAP SRM in the documentation Introduction to the SRM Server.

Release

You can release complete (error-free) contracts. It can then be used for releases.

Lock

You can lock an active document for releases. This way no purchase orders can be made with reference to this document. For more information, see Status Management in Purchasing Contracts.

Download, Upload

For more information, see Upload and Download of Purchasing Documents.

Negotiate

You can use this function to create a bid invitation for an expiring contract in order to determine new vendors and to possibly negotiate improved conditions. Using SAP Bidding Engine, you can then either create a new contract or update an existing one.

Header Data

·        Basic Data

Note the following functions:

Distribute Contract to Catalog

If you set this flag, once a local contract has been released the system transfers the data via XML to SAP Catalog Content Management.

Currency;

Display Currency / Exchange rate date

When a vendor is entered in the partner overview, the system proposes the order currency of the vendor that can be changed, and copies it into the item and the associated conditions.

You can display a contract in a different currency from that with which it was created. The default setting shows the contract currency at the current rate of exchange.

Valid from [...] to

Legally valid timeframe in which releases are possible.

Target Value, Release Value

You can enter a target value and display the total of all release values for all items.

Over or underdelivery tolerance

You can set a percentage by which the delivered items can exceed or fall short of the purchase order quantity. Entries in the item override entries at header level.

If you set the flag Unlimited, the system allows unrestricted overdelivery with respect to the contract.

Delivery Time

You can enter a delivery time in days. Entries in the item override entries at header level.

Note

If you do not specify a delivery date in the purchase order, the system takes the delivery time from the contract and calculates a delivery date.

·        Partner overview

Note the following functions:

Function

·        Release-authorized purchasing organization (number)

The system proposes the responsible purchasing organization (changeable) of the purchaser. You can specify additional purchasing organizations to have release authorization for each contract.

For the contract to be available as source of supply for a shopping cart item, the purchasing group that is responsible for the item must be assigned to a purchasing organization with contract release order authorization.

See also Maintaining User Attributes

Note

If you do not specify a particular purchasing organization as having authorization, the contract is available for all purchasing organizations.

·        Location

You can enter locations that are authorized to receive product deliveries or locations that do not have this authorization. To do this, use the flag Exclude Partner.

If you exclude single locations, then all others are authorized. If you do not set the exclusion flag and you enter single locations, only these are authorized; if no flag is set and no locations are specified, then all locations are authorized.

You can make the exclusion decision differently for each partner function.

·        Goods Recipient

You can enter goods recipients that are authorized to receive product deliveries or goods recipients that do not have this authorization. To do this, use the flag Exclude Partner.

Note

If you enter locations or goods recipients at header level, these are valid for all items. Entries in the item override entries at header level.

·        Conditions

You can enter master conditions, for example, prices or discounts. At item level, you can choose from further conditions.

For more information, see Conditions in the Purchasing Contract.

·        Status

For more information, see Status Management in the Purchasing Contract.

·        Versions

For more information, see Versions of Purchasing Documents

Item Data

Note the following functions:

Item Overview

¡        Display Status

Depending on whether the item is available for sourcing or not, the field contains the value active, inactive or Undergoing Check.

Note

In the standard all items have the status active. In the item details you can set an item as inactive or undergoing check for sourcing. These statuses are not available for header data.

Item Category

Possible item categories:

·         Normal

A normal item must contain a product category. It can also contain a product or catalog item or a description.

·         Product Category

A product category item refers to a complete product category. For these items, you must define a target value and you can define discounts.

Note

You cannot restrict a product category item to a single catalog. The item always refers to all connected catalogs.

Product Category

Cannot be changed in the following situation:

·        for product items

·        if a contract release order exists

Target Quantity; Target Value

You can enter a target quantity and/or a target value. As soon as a contract release order takes place, the system updates the contract release order value and the contract release order quantity.

Price

You can also specify a price. The system displays the price in the item overview only when a unique price exists.

A unique price can be changed here as well as in the item detail (under Basic data and Conditions). If the price is not unique, you can go to the Conditions via a link and change these.

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text(Delete)

You can delete an item, as long as it has not been involved in a release order.

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text (Conditions)

You can branch to conditions processing.

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text (Duplicate Selected Items)

You can select items and copy them. You have two options here:

·        Select the item that you want to copy and then select This graphic is explained in the accompanying text (Copy).

·        Select the item that you want to copy and then choose the Duplicate Selected Items pushbutton.

The copy of the item appears at the end of the item list. If you copy an outline item, the copy appears at the end of the outline list and not at the end of the whole list.

Item Details

Note the following functions:

·        Basic Data

Status (for Sourcing)

You can deactivate the item by manually selecting the status Inactive. Inactive items are no longer available for sourcing. You can manually set the status Undergoing Check.

Example Example usage of the status Undergoing Check

You can check if a purchase order with reference to a specific contract item has been handled correctly by assigning the status undergoing check to the item. This way the item is no longer ready for sourcing. As purchaser, however, you can create a manual purchase order (test release) for it and assign the contract item manually. Following successful execution of the purchase order, you can set the status from undergoing check to active.

Product Category

If the system cannot determine a proposal from the product or from the product master, it proposes the product type Material as default.

Over or underdelivery tolerance

You can set a percentage by which the delivered items can exceed or fall short of the purchase order quantity. Entries in the item override entries at header level.

If you set the flag Unlimited, the system allows unrestricted overdelivery with respect to the contract.

Delivery Time

You can enter a delivery time in days. Entries in the item override entries at header level.

Note

If you do not specify a delivery date in the purchase order, the system takes the delivery time from the contract and calculates a delivery date.

Minimum purchase order quantity

The smallest quantity that can be released. In the purchase order, the system checks that the ordered quantity is equal to or greater than the minimum order quantity in the contract.

Minimum purchase order value

The smallest value that can be released. In the purchase order, the system checks that the ordered value is equal to or greater than the minimum order value in the contract.

·        Conditions

For more information, see Conditions in the Purchasing Contract.

·        Partner

You can enter locations (for example, plants) and goods recipients. Entries in the item are valid only for the selected item. For more information, see Header Data.

Note

If you do not assign a location or goods recipient at header or item level, the item is available for release for all locations and goods recipients.

·        Releases

A list shows the release orders for the item within a certain timeframe. The list can contain release orders from purchase orders, confirmations, or invoices.

Activities

To create a purchasing contract, proceed as follows:

       1.      In the side menu choose Sourcing ® Process Contract.

       2.      Choose Create.

       3.      On the Header Data tab, enter the following basic data (the system proposes changeable data):

¡        Currency

(Once you enter a vendor, the system takes the currency from the vendor master)

¡        Validity period of the contract

¡        Responsible Purchasing Organization

¡        Responsible purchasing group

       4.      Enter a vendor in the Partner Overview.

       5.      On the Item Data tab, enter at least one item with target value or target quantity and also a price. Alternatively you can also select items from a catalog.

If the item is to be valid for a complete product category, choose the appropriate item category.

       6.      To make the contract available for releases, choose Release.

The contract attains – possibly only subsequent to an approval – the status Released.

 

See also:

·        Contract Determination in Sourcing

·        Purchaser

·        Sourcing of Requirements

 

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