XML Message in Purchase Order Collaboration

SAP SNC uses XML messages to send or receive purchase orders. For more information, see XML Messages for Purchase Order Collaboration

Integration with a Customer Back-End System

We support the integration of purchase order collaboration with certain SAP customer back-end systems and deliver scenario-dependent mappings for mapping purchase order IDocs to XML messages (and vice versa). For more information, see Integration of Purchase Order Collaboration with SAP ERP.

Validation

SAP SNC validates purchase orders to ensure that SAP SNC only receives and sends purchase orders with valid data. The validation also includes validation checks to determine missing data that is important for purchase order processing. The source can be master data in SAP SNC, for example. For more information, see Validation in Purchase Order Collaboration.

Confirmation Control

In confirmation control, you can set whether confirmations or ASNs are mandatory, forbidden, or optional (default setting) for a purchase order in purchase order collaboration. The supplier can only create confirmations and ASNs for a purchase order if they are mandatory or optional. You can make these settings dependent on customer, supplier, customer location, supplier location, and product.

ASN Processing

In purchase order collaboration, the supplier can create ASNs for a purchase order item (if confirmation control and the item status allow this). In ASN processing, there is a packing function that the supplier can use to manually pack the ASN items in handling units (HUs). For more information, see ASN Processing.

Supersession

In SAP SNC purchase order collaboration, you cannot perform supersession in a purchase order. However, for service parts management scenarios, purchase order collaboration supports purchase orders for which the customer has performed supersession in his or her back-end system (SAP ERP with active service parts management). In this case, a purchase order can contain a non-supplier-relevant main item with the product originally ordered and a supplier-relevant subitem with the replacement product. SAP SNC displays both the main item and subitem, and only permits confirmations and ASNs for the subitem.

Work Orders

SAP SNC can generate work orders on the basis of purchase orders. For more information, see Work Order Collaboration.

Notes

Both customer and supplier can create notes for a purchase order at header, item, schedule line, and (for subcontracting) component requirement level. The system automatically generates an alert when you create a note. In the purchase order, notes enable communication between customer and supplier, for example about why the supplier delivers at a different date/time or why the customer rejects a confirmation schedule line. You can create or process notes at item, schedule line, and component requirement level as long as the item is changeable. Note processing is possible at header level provided that the purchase order contains a changeable item.

Attachments

Both customer and supplier can add attachments to a purchase order at header or at item level.

You can use Collaboration Folders (cFolders) for attachment handling, or, for purchase order collaboration, you can store and handle attachments in SAP SNC.

You can add attachments to a purchase order as long as the purchase order is changeable. In case you use the attachment functionality of SAP SNC, the system automatically generates an alert when you add a new attachment to a purchase order. Provided you have set up a virus scan profile for attachments (/SCA/DM_ATTACHMENTS/UPLOAD_FILE), the system performs a virus scan on the files you upload. The recipient of the attachment (for example, if the customer uploads the attachment, the supplier is the recipient) can mark the attachment as read or unread.