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Function documentationService Contract Determination

 

You can use this function to define whether the system should search for and display existing service contracts when business transactions are created.

Prerequisites

Transaction Type

You have made settings in Customizing that define how contract determination should occur for the following transaction types: service order, service confirmation, and complaint. You make these settings in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management by choosing Start of the navigation path Transactions Next navigation step Basic Settings Next navigation step Define Transaction Types End of the navigation path and using the Contract Determ indicator. You can make the following settings:

  • No contract determination

  • Manual contract determination

  • Only at item level (setting in standard SAP Customizing)

  • Contract determination at header and item level

The Contract Determ. field only appears in the detailed display for definition of the transaction type, if you have chosen Complaint, Service Process, Service Confirmation or Sales as the leading transaction category.

For more information about these settings, see Customizing for transaction types in the field help (F1) for field Contract Determ.

You have set the copying control for both the transaction types and for the item categories in Customizing.

Item Category

In Customizing for the contract item category, you have defined whether the system should also find contract items whose object list or product list is empty when an item is created in one of the business transactions listed above. You make this setting in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management by choosing Start of the navigation path Transactions Next navigation step Basic Settings Next navigation step Define Item Categories End of the navigation path and using indicators Filter Contract Item by Object List and Filter Contract Item by Product List. You can see these indicators by choosing an item category with business transaction category Service Contract and then choosing Customizing Item.

For more information about these settings, see Customizing for item categories in the field help (F1) for both of these fields.

SAP standard Customizing includes contracts with empty product lists and object lists in the search results.

Features

When you create a business transaction in service with a transaction type for which contract determination is activated in Customizing, the system determines service contracts based on the following selection criteria:

  • Sold-to party

    The sold-to party in the service contract and in the business transaction must be identical.

  • Sales organization and distribution channel

    The sales organization and the distribution channel in the service contract and in the business transaction must be identical.

  • Service organization

    If a service organization is entered in the service contract, it must be identical to the one in the business transaction.

  • Status

    The status of the service contract item must be Released.

  • Validity

    The date in the Requested Start field in the business transaction must lie within the validity period of the service contract item.

  • Object list

    In standard Customizing, contract determination runs in the following sequence:

    1. Contracts are found that have reference objects entered for the business transaction item in the object list of the service contract item, or that have an empty object list for the service contract item.

    2. If no reference objects were entered for the business transaction item, contracts are found that have the reference object for the business transaction header entered in the object list of the service contract item, or that have an empty object list for the service contract item.

    3. If the reference object was not entered in either the business transaction item or in the business transaction header, service contract items with empty object lists are found.

  • Product list

    The product in the business transaction item must be entered in the product list of the service contract item, or the product list of the service contract item can be empty.

    For more information, see Service and Product List.

You can use the Business Add-In definition CRM_SERVICE_CONTRACT (Business Add-In for Service Contract Determination) to include Business Add-Ins, which you can use to provide your own selection criteria or to limit the selection criteria (see above) delivered by SAP.

After the system has determined valid service contracts, it automatically copies the contract data to the business transaction in service, or you are prompted to select a contract for copying from a list.

Activities

Automatic Determination of Service Contracts at Item Level
  1. Create an item in a business transaction in service for which automatic contract determination is activated in Customizing.

  2. The system selects appropriate service contracts according to the above-mentioned criteria and displays all permitted service contract items.

    Note Note

    • The system only selects and offers for selection those service contract items whose product lists contain the product entered in the business transaction item.

    • In addition, depending on Customizing settings, service contract items that have no product list are also selected.

    • The system only selects and offers for selection those service contract items whose object lists contain the reference object entered in the business transaction item.

    • In addition, depending on Customizing settings, service contract items that have no object list are also selected.

    End of the note.
  3. During selection of a service contract item, data from the service contract item is copied into the business transaction in service, and the price agreements and SLA parameters from the service contract are also activated in the service transaction.

  4. In the detailed view of the business transaction item, the contract ID appears in the Service Contract and Warranty section. You can click on the ID to go to the corresponding contract.

Automatic Determination of Service Contracts at Header and Item Level
  1. Create a business transaction in service for which automatic contract determination is activated in Customizing. Maintain the header data and specify the reference object.

  2. The system automatically selects appropriate service contracts according to the above-mentioned criteria and displays all permitted service contract items.

  3. After selecting a valid service contract item, the products entered in the product list belonging to the contract item are displayed as default values for copying to the business transaction.

    If the product list does not contain any entries, the service product that was agreed on in the contract item is proposed for copying to the service transaction.

    All products that are selected and copied from the display are then automatically copied as items in the service transaction.

    Note Note

    Dates from the date profile of the transaction type are displayed in the Dates assignment block. When you save the business transaction, the current dates are redetermined.

    End of the note.
Manual Determination of Service Contracts

Providing that you have set up manual contract determination in Customizing, you can use a button to manually start the determination of service contracts when a new business transaction is created.