This business process allows you to export a logical message type PRICAT from R/3 to an external system, via ALE and IDocs, or to import it from an external system. (R/3 supports both EANCOM standard message type PRICAT and ANSI X12 transaction set 832.)

This is useful, for example, if you want to:

• Send a complete or partial list of your product offering (including prices) to your customers

• Send your data to a central database in PRICAT message format so that it is available so that authorized customers and suppliers can access it.

• Receive automatic notification of new or updated product and pricing information from your suppliers or from a central database.

Price catalog information for export includes the description, information about prices and pricing conditions (including taxes), and logistics information for each product. It can contain either general product information valid for all customers, or customer-specific information, such as special conditions. You can also specify a timeframe for which the price catalog is valid.

When an export is prepared, the R/3 system creates IDocs (SAP intermediate document format) for all materials to be included in the price catalog. These IDocs are sent to an external converter, which converts the IDocs into EANCOM standard message PRICAT or ANSI X12 format.

The reverse process is true for data import.

Recipients of your price catalog must be able to either accept PRICAT format documents directly or convert them to their own system-readable format.