Business Address Services (BC-SRV-ADR)
Purpose
Business Address Services (BAS) offer functions for managing addresses in applications. You can store and further process addresses, using different address types. An address is subordinate to an associated application object (such as a customer, a purchase order, or a plant).
Implementation Considerations
The BAS provide flexible dialog integration for standard functions such as creating, changing, displaying and finding addresses. In this way, the BAS guide users through different applications when they maintain addresses.
BAS function modules enable the application to store addresses for the associated application object in BAS tables. These tables contain the addresses of all applications that use the BAS in a system. Functions and data storage in address management are central with regard to a client in a system.
Integration
The BAS are already used by a broad range of applications, including, for example:
- Customer and vendor master
- Site master (Retail)
- Bank addresses
- Sales and Distribution documents: Document addresses and one-time customer addresses
- User addresses
- SAPoffice addresses (external communication)
- Customizing addresses (sm30)
- MM Purchasing: Permanent delivery addresses, manual delivery addresses in purchase orders, purchase requisitions, one-time vendors
- PM/SM (functional locations, equipment, notification, order)
- IS-U (connection objects, contracts)
- IS-Oil (service stations)
- SAP Business Partners
- New Dimension products such as SFA, BW, APO, CRM
In addition, the BAS provide functions to support other tools and interfaces:
- Integration into SAPconnect
- Provision of archiving classes for the Archive Development Kit (ADK)
- Support of addresses as objects in the BOR
- Provision of interfaces for application-specific enhancements
- Automatic writing of change documents for address data changes
Features
General Characteristics
Together with the address, you can enter data for all common communication methods (for example, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, and so on).
International address requirements (print output according to international mail standards, multiple address formats, for example for Asian countries) are considered.
By means of a where-used list, you can determine which application objects reference an address as an attribute.
Checks against city and street directories are performed using interfaces (for example, for partner solutions) or as a function in the standard system (city and street files are delivered without content and can be filled by means of transfer programs).
A duplicate check and an error-tolerant search are performed using interfaces, which can be validated, for third-party vendors.
Functions are provided for using addresses in combination with other tools (see Integration).
Integration into the Application
Three address types are available to map addresses from the application onto BAS data structures: Company addresses, personal addresses, and workplace addresses
It is also possible to maintain address-independent communication data. For more information, see
Address-Independent Communication Data.
- Dialogs for maintaining addresses can be integrated flexibly into the application (as a dialog box, subscreen, or full screen). You can parameterize the screens to hide fields or to define required fields, for example.
- Address data is updated together with the application data.
- Addresses are grouped by their assignment to an application, which can be used as a filter for searches and authorization checks.
Address Distribution and Transport
|
Address used for |
Example |
Transport or distribution methods or tools used by BAS |
|
Master data |
Customer, vendor |
Distribution using ALE (Application Link Enabling) |
|
Customizing objects |
Plant, sales organization |
Methods for transporting addresses within the normal Customizing object transport process |
|
System user |
System user |
Methods for client copy and BAPIs for central user management (cross-system in this case) |
Constraints
The functions of Business Address Services are system-dependent. However, you can use the tools and methods mentioned above to transport and distribute addresses.
Time-dependent addresses (which are valid for a limited period only, such as the vacation address of a newspaper subscriber) are currently not supported.