Create Returns Order - Advanced Returns Management 

Purpose

You create a returns order to trigger the customer returns process in SAP ERP.

The returns order you create in Advanced Returns Management is identical to the returns order you create in the Basic Processing business process variant except that you can enter additional returns-specific data for the new features of the Advanced Returns Management solution.

Prerequisites

The Customer Returns business process is related to sales business processes. This means that you usually create returns orders with reference to a preceding sales order or the corresponding billing document (invoice).

Process Flow

To create a returns order in Advanced Returns Management, you perform the same steps as described in Create Returns Order – Basic Processing. In addition, you consider the aspects described below.

You can make the required Customizing settings for the Advanced Returns Management business process in Customizing for Sales by choosing Advanced Returns Management.

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       1.      Create returns order

To create a returns order in Advanced Returns Management, you choose an order type for which you have activated Advanced Returns Management.

You activate Advanced Returns Management for returns order types in Customizing activity Activate Advanced Returns Management for Returns Order Types.

       2.      Enter specific data for Advanced Returns Management

You choose Returns tab page to enter advanced returns-specific data either in the header area of the tab page or in the item area.

You can enter the following information on the Returns tab page:

¡        Return reason

¡        Material Received indicator

¡        Inspection code, inspection comment, and Inspection at Customer Site indicator

¡        Follow-up activity and associated details such as the next plant or the vendor

¡        Refund control

¡        Refund code

¡        Approval Block indicator

You can also enter this data on the Returns tab page of the Item Details screen.

You define the return reasons that can be specified when you create a returns order in Customizing activity Define Return Reasons for Customer Returns.

You can select required follow-up activity codes and define appropriate descriptions in Customizing activity Activate and Rename Follow-Up Activities. In Customizing activity Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) ®  BAdI: Configuration of Settings and Checks for Returns Data, you can enter an implementation for BAdI method Determine Valid Follow-Up Activity Codes of BAdI MSR_TRC to take special situations into account in order to specify required follow-up activity codes.

You define the refund codes that can be specified when you create a returns order in Customizing activity Define Returns Refund Codes.

You make the required settings for material inspection in the Customizing activities under Material Inspection ® Basic Settings. In particular, you define inspection codes in Customizing activity Define and Configure Catalog for Inspection Codes.

To facilitate data entry, you can configure default values in Customizing for the logistical follow-up activity, the material-received status and the refund control that the system enters when you create a returns order. You do this in Customizing activity Configure Default Values for Returns Orders.

You can define defaults for the refund code based on return reason and inspection code in Customizing activity Configure Default Settings for Returns Refund Codes.

In Customizing activity Business Add-Ins (BadIs) ®  BAdI: Configuration of Settings and Checks for Returns Data, you can enter an implementation for BAdI method Get Default Values for Returns Data of BAdI MSR_TRC that allows you to determine – in addition to your Customizing settings – default values for returns-specific data, in particular for the follow-up activity or the inspection code. In Customizing activity Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) ® BAdI: Change Returns Data and Billing Block in Returns Order, you can enter an implementation for BAdI method Change Returns Data of BAdI MSR_SD_Sales in order to automatically enter returns-specific data during user interaction.

In Customizing activity Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) ®  BAdI: Configuration of Settings and Checks for Returns Data, you can enter an implementation for BAdI method Check Returns Data in Returns Order of BAdI MSR_TRC to perform additional checks on returns-specific data.

In Customizing activity Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) ® BAdI: Change Returns Data and Billing Block in Returns Order, you can enter an implementation for BAdI method Change Header Billing Block or BAdI method Change Item Billing Block of BAdI MSR_SD_Sales in order to set a billing block at header or item level taking into account returns-specific data and other data of the returns order.

       3.      Fast change of advanced-returns-specific data

To enter advanced returns-specific data for several items simultaneously, choose Edit  ® Fast Change Of … ® Returns Control.

       4.      Set default values for new returns order items

To facilitate data entry, you can set default values for new returns order items.

Choose Default Values in the header area of the Returns tab page and enter values for the return reason, the Material Received checkbox, the follow-up activity, and refund control.

       5.      Determine refund amount with the refund code and return reason

Refund code and return reason are new pricing parameters. You define the usage of these parameters in the usual Customizing activities for pricing. For example, you can create a condition type for the refund code and insert it in the relevant pricing procedure to configure a percentage deduction from the paid sales net price. However, this flexibility means that you are responsible for ensuring that the way in which the refund code is used in pricing matches the description you have set for the refund code.

       6.      Get customer RMA number

During data entry, you can determine the document number for the returns order from the usual number range. This number also serves as a customer RMA number. Choose function Get Number in the header area of the Returns tab page. You can also configure that the number be determined automatically when you create a new returns order.

The determination of the document number is controlled by the Order Number Determination field, which you can set for activated return order types in Customizing activity Activate Advanced Returns Management for Returns Order Types.

       7.      Save returns order

When you save the returns order, the system creates follow-up documents automatically based on the settings for follow-up activities and refund control.

In Customizing activity Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) ® BAdI: Change Data for Automatically-Created Follow-Up Docs of BAdI MSR_LFE, you can enter implementations for specific BAdI methods to change the data of the different follow-up documents. In particular, you can create an implementation of BAdI method Allow Additional Processing of Error Messages to trigger the execution of all the necessary actions if errors occur during the creation of follow-up documents in the background.

Incompleteness Checks

In addition to the rules for incomplete returns orders, the system automatically check that you have entered the following information and creates an entry in the incompletion log:

·        You must enter a follow-up activity and make a selection for refund control.

·        If you specify Immediately Move to Free Available Stock, Immediately Move to Scrap, or Immediately Move to Specified Stock as the follow-up activity, or Ship to Vendor, Ship to Other Plant or Ship to Vendor via Other Plant as the follow-up activity in connection with the Material Received indicator, you must enter an inspection code.

·        If you specify Ship to Other Plant or Ship to Vendor via Other Plant as the follow-up activity, you must enter a next plant.

·        If you specify Ship to Vendor or Ship to Vendor via Other Plant as the follow-up activity, you must enter a vendor.

·        If a vendor RMA is required for a returns purchase order (the RMA Required indicator is flagged), you must enter an RMA number. 

The system also checks the consistency of specific data for Advanced Returns Management, for example, the refund control After Receipt of Credit Memo is only allowed for cross-company-code store returns or shipments to an external vendor.

In Customizing activity Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) ®  BAdI: Configuration of Settings and Checks for Returns Data, you can enter an implementation for BAdI method Check Completeness of Returns Data in Returns Orders of BAdI MSR_TRC to perform additional incompleteness check. In particular, you can define whether the returns refund code, which is an optional parameter for pricing by default, is a mandatory field.

Approval Block

An approval block is set for customer returns orders that require approval by the plant to which returned goods are being shipped.

The system sets the block if an approval check has been activated in Customizing for the plant to which the returned goods are being sent, and the user who creates the returns order is not authorized for this plant.

The user who creates the returns order can set the block manually if he or she wants the plant to which the returned goods are being sent to approve the returns order before initiating the actual return.

An authorized user in the plant can subsequently generate a worklist of blocked returns order items by choosing Logistics  ® Sales and Distribution ® Sales  ® Information System  ® Worklists ® Sales Documents Blocked for Delivery (VA14L) and then selecting the Blocked for Release approvlal block s the selection criterion.

Result

You have created a returns order for Advanced Returns Managementto start a customer returns process. The returns order is the basis for both processing the physical return of materials and determining the customer refund.