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Function documentationSpecifying Validity Periods

 

In territory management, you specify validity periods for territories, rules, and employees.

Features

Validity Periods for Territories

Every territory you create has a validity period. You specify the validity period of a territory by doing the following:

  • Creating a validity period for a new or existing territory

  • Changing the validity period of a territory

  • Deleting validity periods of a territory

Example Example

When specifying validity periods, you can create a territory today that is not valid until the beginning of next month, or, enter a specific end date of the validity period, if you know that the territory will no longer be valid beyond this date.

Within a territory hierarchy, territories can have multiple validity periods. Only one can apply to the territory at a given point in time. This is the selected validity period.

End of the example.

When you create a new validity period, the following restrictions apply:

  • When you have a territory hierarchy, the validity period of lower-level territories should be within the validity of its parent territory.

  • If the territory you are creating has a higher-level territory, the system automatically uses the validity period that the parent territory is currently using. If this lies in the past the system enters the current date as Valid From date, and you enter a Valid To date that is equal to, or greater than the Valid From date.

  • You can define more than one validity period for a territory, but you cannot have validity periods that overlap.

  • There cannot be any time period gaps between the end of a validity period and the beginning of the next one (see D in the example below).

  • When you change the validity period of a territory, by extending it or by shortening it, the system automatically moves the adjacent validity periods so there are no gaps.

Example Example

The currently selected validity period is Jan. 2 to Mar. 31

The following new validity periods are allowed:

  • Validity period A is allowed

    The current validity period remains unchanged.

  • Validity period B is allowed

    The current validity period is shortened. The system changes the Valid To date of the currently selected validity period to Feb. 15.

  • Validity period C is allowed

    The current validity period is shortened. The system changes the Valid To date of the currently selected validity period to Feb. 28.

  • Validity period D is not allowed

    There is a gap between Mar. 31 and May 1, where there is no validity period. This is not allowed.

End of the example.
Validity Periods for Rules and Employees

  • The validity dates of rules are aligned with the validity dates of territories. When you create or change a rule, the following restrictions apply:

    • The validity period of a rule cannot be longer than the selected territory validity.

    • Validity dates of a rule cannot span across territory validity periods.

    • When you assign territories from the Accounts Overview Page, ensure that the validity period of the assignment is within one of the territory validity periods.

    • When you download sales areas using sales area reports (In Customizing, under Start of the navigation path Customer Relationship Management Next navigation step Master Data Next navigation step Territory Management Next navigation step Data Transfer Next navigation step Maintain Sales Areas as Attributes from Organizational Data End of the navigation path based on the Valid On date, the system automatically selects the appropriate territory validity period. It creates a rule, where Valid From = Valid On date, and Valid To = selected territory’s validity end date.

    Note Note

    Creating, changing, or deleting rules does not affect territory validity.

    End of the note.

  • An employee’s association with a territory is aligned with the validity of the territory.

    When you assign a position, the system checks the validity period of the position, and also if the date of the position’s assignment to a territory is within the currently selected validity period of the territory.

Example Example

This example uses rules, but the same applies to employees assigned to a territory.

The currently selected territory validity period is Jan. 1 to Mar. 31 and the available rule validity period is Jan. 1 to Jan. 21.

  • Validity period A is allowed

    The current rule validity period remains unchanged.

  • Validity period B is allowed

    The current rule validity period remains unchanged. The system allows you to create a rule that lies in the future.

  • Validity period C is not allowed

    You cannot create a rule that lies in the past. The earliest Valid From date you can use is the current date, which is the Valid On date.

  • Validity period D is not allowed

    The currently selected validity period is TV 1. Here the validity lies in territory validity period TV 2.

  • Validity period E is not allowed

    You cannot create rules that span across more than one validity period. Here the rule covers TV 1 and TV 2.

End of the example.

Activities

Specifying Validity Periods for Territories

You can select a territory and click Show Validity Period. This displays all the existing validities periods of that territory that you can select from. Once you have selected and saved, the Territory Overview Page is refreshed based on the selected validity period. (The territory hierarchy is refreshed based on the Valid From date of the current validity period).

Create Validity Period

You can select a territory and click New Validity to define a new validity period. You create a new validity period in the following cases:

  • When you create a territory. Here you create a new validity period by choosing New Validity and entering the dates in the dialog box.

  • When you change a territory. Here you enter the dates in the Valid From and Valid To fields.

Example Example

In the following example, you create a new territory for New Orleans on February 1.

The system displays the territories that are valid on the date in the Valid On field. In the example above, if you enter Jan. 25 in the Valid On field, the system does not display the territory for New Orleans.

End of the example.

Note Note

You cannot create validity periods that start in the past.

End of the note.
Change Validity Period

  • You can extend or shorten the validity period of a territory.

    • You can edit the Valid To date field so long as it is the last validity period of the territory and that date lies in the future. You can set an editable Valid To field to a date in the future or the present (that is, after or on the Valid On date).

    • You can edit the Valid From date field so long as the date does not lie in the past. A past date is rendered as a display only field.

  • You cannot enter a date that lies in the past.

  • The new dates you enter should be aligned with the selected validity of the higher-level territory - if there is one.

  • Adjusting territory validity automatically aligns the validity of its rules and employees.

In the following example, you set the Valid To date for territory New York on Mar. 31. This date is after the Valid On date of Feb. 1.

Example Example

End of the example.
Delete or Terminate Territory

You can select a territory and click Delete Last Validity to delete the validity period you created last. The system automatically sets the Valid To date to one day before the Valid On date and terminates the territory.

In the following example, you terminate the territory New York on Feb. 1.

The system automatically sets the Valid To date to Jan. 31, which is one day before the Valid On date of Feb. 1.

Example Example

If you change the date in the Valid On field to, for example, Jan. 25, then the system will display the territory for New York.

End of the example.

More Information

Territory

Rules in Territory Management

Assign Employees

Specifics for Mobile Sales (Laptop): Territory Management