Show TOC

 Number Assignment in ALE Locate this document in the navigation structure

Use

The following types of number assignment are supported when transferring and distributing material master data by Application Link Enabling (ALE):

  • Internal

This type of number assignment is relevant only for initial data transfer. It is never used in the distribution of data by ALE since a material is always distributed with the number that it has in the source system.

With integrated data transfer, it is not possible to assign material numbers internally in the target system when posting the relevant IDocs, since this would require a dummy material number to be replaced in all IDocs belonging to this material. As a result, the internal numbers for materials must always be obtained from the target system before the IDocs are created. This requires you to call the b usiness a pplication p rogramming i nterface BAPI_STDMATERIAL_GETINTNUMBER. The BAPI obtains the internal numbers from the target system by remote function call (RFC). You must then transfer the internal numbers to the relevant IDocs.

  • External

This type of number assignment can be used for initial data transfer and also for distribution if the material numbers are copied from the legacy system unchanged.