Interface WVINVE03 (SAP Library - PDC Interface Using RFC/IDoc)

Interface WVINVE03

Use

The IDoc interface WVINVE03 can be used both as an outbound or an inbound interface. In an inventory, it

sends physical inventory documents from SAP R/3 to the store (in outbound IDocs)
transfers the inventory count data from the store to SAP R/3 (in inbound IDocs)

Integration

The IDoc interface WVINVE03 features the following functions:

SAP Retail Store

With the inventory in SAP Retail Store, physical inventory documents can be sent from SAP R/3 to PDC units in the store using the IDoc interface. In addition, SAP Retail Store provides a variety of possibilities for tracking both the status of the PDC count in the store using existing outbound and inbound IDocs, and any error messages that might appear.

SAP Retail Store package in the SAP Business Connector

When you use SAP Business Connector to transfer files, you can use the services at your disposal to convert an outbound IDoc into an XML file or an XML file into an inbound IDoc.

Application Link Enabling (ALE) layer in SAP R/3

The IDoc interface WVINVE03 is part of the ALE layer in SAP R/3. The IDoc interface also allows you to use other programs in the ALE layer (for example, the IDoc monitor, transaction WE05).

Point of Sale (POS) interface in SAP R/3

The IDoc interface WVINVE03 is a component of the POS interface in SAP R/3. You can also use the monitoring functions that are available there (for example, the POS monitor, transaction WPER).

Article-based inventory management (MM-IM) in SAP R/3

The IDoc interface WVINVE03 is an interface for executing physical inventories in inventory management. The functions found there can also be used to process physical inventory documents. (Examples: Transaction MI01 – Create physical inventory document, MI04 – Enter inventory count, WVFD – Send physical inventory document)

Prerequisites

The partner profiles for outbound and inbound processing must be maintained in ALE Customizing in SAP R/3 for every store. In SAP R/3, you also have to define an RFC destination that is assigned to the target system. The target system may be a SAP Business Connector or a non-SAP system (for example, a PDC server).

Features

Sending physical inventory documents

You can send physical inventory documents in outbound WVINVE03-type IDocs in different ways:

You can select Send to PDC unit in the dialog Document creation in SAP Retail Store. (Prerequisite: the PDC procedure Mass processing has to be activated in Customizing in SAP Retail Store.) In this case the physical inventory documents are sent automatically as soon as they have been created.

In SAP Retail Store, you can use the PDC monitor for the physical inventory to send previously unsent individual physical inventory documents manually. (Prerequisite: the PDC procedure Mass processing has to be activated in Customizing in SAP Retail Store.)

You can send the physical inventory documents in the SAP GUI using transaction WVFD. (Caution: Sort by layout is not permitted with the RFC/IDoc-based PDC procedure and leads to an error message.)

If you are using the SAP Business Connector for data transfer, there are specially developed help programs that use field IBLNR – physical inventory document in IDoc to generate the file name for the XML file. This ensures that only one XML file exists for every physical inventory document. An existing XML file for this document might be overwritten if the same physical inventory document were to be sent again.

You can use the PDC monitor inventory in SAP Retail Store to check which physical inventory documents have been sent with the IDoc interface. Any error messages that have appeared are also displayed.

When you create the outbound IDocs, the system first reads the physical inventory documents that are to be sent and then the master data that is necessary to execute the PDC inventory. This master data includes:

The international article numbers of the articles in the physical inventory document
The units of measure of the articles
Descriptions (for example, descriptions of articles/stores).

When the data has been imported, the outbound IDocs are created and sent.

You can find a precise description of the interface in SAP’s Interface Repository.

Receipt of inventory count data

The PDC unit creates an XML file for each physical inventory document to enable the transfer of the inventory count results from the PDC unit to SAP R/3 The XML file must have the same structure as the IDoc-type WVINVE03.

If you are using the SAP Business Connector to transfer data, there are special help programs available that transfer these XML files to SAP R/3. The XML files are stored in IDoc format in SAP R/3, where they can be posted automatically.

When inbound IDocs are posted with inventory count data, the quantities are transferred from the inbound IDocs to the physical inventory documents. Multiple counts of the same article are accumulated in the process. Any error messages that appear during posting are logged on an item segment level. It is possible to post an inbound IDoc containing errors several times over. If you do so, only the item segments that previously contained errors will be posted again.

You can find a precise description of the interface in SAP’s Interface Repository.

Activities

When you use the SAP Business Connector to transfer files, the interface between SAP R/3 and the PDC units is made up of XML files in IDoc-type WVINVE03 format. These XML files are created for outbound IDocs by the Business Connector in the file system of the store PC, for example. Conversely, XML files containing inventory count data created by the PDC unit are read by the SAP Business Connector and converted into inbound IDocs, which are then sent to SAP R/3 and posted.

In order to operate the IDoc interface, the software in the PDC unit has to complete 2 tasks:

Import the XML files that contain outbound IDocs
Create XML files that contain the inventory count data.