Electronic Data Interchange - EDI

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Attachments:10 Added by Carla Bussolo, last edited by Carla Bussolo on Sep 30, 2012 ( ie! chan"e# sho! comment

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Purpose
%he purpose of this pa"e is to "i e an o er ie! of &'( functionality, main confi"urations, SA) *otes and SA) 'ocuments related+

Overview
%he follo!in" sections !ill e,plain some points of &'( functionality, sho!in" confi"urations and some tips that may help durin" in oices creation and issue resolution+

Electronic Data Interchange - EDI

Defining ALE, EDI and IDOC
A-& means Application -ink &nablin" and is used bet!een SA) systems+ A-& is "enerally used to transmit .aster 'ata information as material, endor, customer, conditions, etc+ &'( means &lectronic 'ata (nterchan"e and is used bet!een SA) systems and e,ternal systems+ /hen thinkin" about ..0(1 processes, &'( enables a endor to transfer in oice information electronically instead of in the form of a printed paper in oice+ ('2C means (ntermediate 'ocument, and is used durin" A-& and &'( processes+ An ('oc is "enerated for each in oice and the system posts an in oice usin" the data in this ('oc+ %o obtain more information re"ardin" in oices ia &'(, document (n oices 3ecei ed ia &'( (..0 (1# can help+

Most Used ransactions

%o !ork !ith &'( there are some main transactions, that !ill be sho!ed belo!+ %o check the customi4in", S)32 )ath is:

(f there is a doubt re"ardin" the structure of the ('2C, a "ood !ay to find information is ia transaction /&'(+ %his transaction is for ('oc and &'( Basis, !ith a ery "ood documentation in the hi"hli"hted section sho!ed belo!:

%o check an ('2C, "o to /&02, !hich is the ('oc -ist:

%o check and process an ('2C, it is possible to use B'56 transaction:

%o create and process a ne! ('oc use /&17 transaction, !hich is the %est tool for ('oc processin"+ 8ust keep in mind that, to process an ('oc, a ne! ('2C !ill be created and only then is possible to process it+ %his is the transaction:

)artner profiles are obli"atory !hen !orkin" !ith ('2Cs, and, to create or to edit one, use transaction /&20:

O!ligator" Configuration
(t is important to ha e a partner confi"ured, and to create one, use transaction /&20+ 9or (1, is necessary to create a 1endor )artner -(+ 9or this partner is necessary to fill :.essa"e %ype: !ith :(*12(C: and the field :)rocess Code: !ith :(*1.: or :(*1-:, as sho!ed belo!:

%a, Code must ha e a relation bet!een the systems, ha in" a correspondin" on the SA) system for the %a, Code from the 1endor+ %o create this relation use 2BC' transaction+ %he :%a, %ype: field comes from the 1endor and the :%,: field is the correspondin" on the SA) side:

Also, Company Code must ha e relation bet!een systems, and this is done ia 2BCA transaction+

(n this case, :)artn+%ype: and :)artner*o: fields must present :CoCd: (Company Code# filled, !hich is the correspondin" on SA) side+ :Comp+code name in the in oice: field comes from 1endor:

%here are some details to confi"ure, about ho! the in oice !ill be further processed+ 9or e,ample, in case there is an error, the in oice can be parked; or, system can check tolerances confi"ured before postin" the in oice+ %o confi"ure these details, "o to 2.3< transaction:

ips
1# /hen found a synta, error on /&17 transaction, the issue is on the ('oc from 1endor+ So, customer should contact the 1endor informin" him about the issue+ 2# (f there is a business need to park an in oice created ia &'( all the times, or, for specific endors, keep in mind that ia standard system this is not possible+ But, to attend this need can be used user e,it &=(%>SA)-.3.?>01@+ 9or more details, check SA) *ote A01A2@ 0 &'(: )arkin" incomin" in oices by default+ 3# (f ('2C has multiple references to the same purchase order item, system may raise error .5321 0 :'ocument contains same order item more than once:+ 9or e,ample, there is 1 purchase order item !ith reference to 2 $oods 3eceipt !ith the same 'eli ery *ote number+ (n this case, system !ill raise error .5321+ %his is standard, and for more information check SA) *ote 1030A1 0 &'(: .ultiple reference to same purchase order item+

"Electronic Data Interchange is here to stay. SAP has provided many tools to ease the integration to EDI subsystems and these, together with a methodology of how to implement EDI are described in the following pages."

A definition
"EDI is described as the interchange of structured data according to agreed message standards between computer systems, by electronic means. Structured data equates to a simple and direct method of presenting the data content of a document. The method of ensuring the correct interpretation of the information by the computer system is defined by the EDI standard." "EDI is a technique used to communicate business transactions between computer systems of different companies and organizations. ote that sometimes the EDI mechanism deployed at a company is often used to interface to other systems within the same organization."

Info shuttle - "I was implementing EDI at a customer and I wanted some real data to test with in De!elopment, so I as"ed the #ro$ect %anager to see if he could arrange something. &iterally, '( minutes later he came bac" and said that there were )( new orders in De!elopment, together with the customer master records related to the order, the carrier !endor master record, the material master records, ... were all there. I as"ed him how he had done it so quic"ly which led me to my first e*posure with Infoshuttle, a tool that does this for you using the +&E functionality. +s an +&E consultant I "now how to do this stuff but I also "now how long it would ta"e to set that up. This is truly a product worth e*ploring in more detail." Kevin Wilson, ERPGenie.COM Founder, ALE \ EDI \ Work lo! Consul"#n" $Re%ues" Produ&" De"#il'

#o$e thoughts
(ou s)ould no" "o #""e*+" "o s!i"&) "o # ull ,AP EDI i*+le*en"#"ion overni-)". I" "#kes "i*e or +eo+le, s.s"e*s, #nd +ro&esses "o #d#+" "o #n. ne! *e")odolo-.. I*+le*en"in- ,AP EDI is # +ro/e&" in i"s o!n ri-)" #nd needs "o 0e )#ndled +)#se 0. +)#se #s in #n. o")er in or*#"ion s.s"e* i*+le*en"#"ion. We des&ri0e so*e o ")e issues #nd )o! "o i*+le*en" #n ,AP EDI solu"ion in ")e ollo!in- +#-es. 1)e painful issues o i*+le*en"in- EDI #re &onsidered "o 0e2

Application level configuration - Mess#-e &on"rol, +#r"ner de"er*in#"ion, ou"+u" de"er*in#"ion Technical configuration - 3us" -e""in- ")e s.s"e*s "o "#lk "o e#&) o")er. ,AP, "r#nsl#"or, *ode*... Testing - 4o! do .ou "es" !i") so*eone .ou *#. never *ee"5 4o! do .ou do .our o!n "es"in- !i")ou" sendin- d#"# "o .our +#r"ner5 4o! do .ou di eren"i#"e 0e"!een # "es" *ess#-e #nd # re#l one5 Mapping - 4o! do .ou *#+ #n IDo& "o #n EDI *ess#-e5 W)#" ields -o !)ere5
o

510 0 (n oice, (a second one#, &'( 0 (nbound (*12(C postin" confi"uration

o o o o o

5A0 0 2rder 5AB 0 Ad anced shippin" notification (S?).*%02# Sample 5AB %emplate for =12 @010 ('&-13<02# (nbound 530 3020 template ('&-92301# .aterial .aster (.A%.AS01# (By *adine ?u"hes#

EDI
EDI s"#nds or Ele&"roni& D#"# In"er&)#n-e, is ")e ele&"roni& e6&)#n-e o s"ru&"ured 0usiness d#"# 0e"!een di eren" #++li&#"ions. EDI Ar&)i"e&"ure &onsis"s o EDI en#0led #++li&#"ions- 1)e. su++or" ")e #u"o*#"i& +ro&essin- o 0usiness "r#ns#&"ion. 1)e IDOC in"er #&e- 1)is !#s desi-ned #s #n o+en in"er #&e. 1)e IDOC in"er #&e &onsis"s o IDOC ".+es #nd un&"ion *odules ")#" or* ")e in"er #&e "o ")e #++li&#"ion.

1)e EDI su0s.s"e*- 1)is &onver"s ")e IDOC ".+es in"o EDI *ess#-e ".+es #nd vi&e vers#. 1)is &o*+onen" o ")e EDI #r&)i"e&"ure is no" su++lied 0. ,AP.

EDI )#s "!o +ro&ess1. Ou"0ound Pro&ess A++li&#"ion do&u*en" is &re#"ed. IDOC is -ener#"ed

IDOC is "r#ns erred ro* ,AP "o O+er#"in- s.s"e* l#.er IDOC is &onver"ed in"o EDI s"#nd#rds EDI do&u*en" is "r#ns*i""ed "o ")e 0usiness +#r"ner 1)e EDI ,u0s.s"e* re+or" s"#"us "o ,AP

2. In0ound Pro&ess EDI "r#ns*ission re&eived EDI do&u*en" is &onver"ed in"o #n IDOC

IDOC is "r#ns erred "o ")e ,AP l#.er 1)e #++li&#"ion do&u*en" is &re#"ed 1)e #++li&#"ion do&u*en" &#n 0e vie!ed

Adv#n"#-es o EDI +ro&ess Redu&ed d#"# En"r. Errors Redu&ed Pro&essin- &.&le "i*e

Av#il#0ili". o d#"# ele&"roni& or* Redu&ed P#+er Work Redu&ed Cos" Redu&ed Inven"ories #nd 7e""er Pl#nnin,"#nd#rd Me#ns o Co**uni&#"in7e""er 7usiness Pro&esses Co*+e"i"ive Adv#n"#-e

Difference !etween EDI, ALE and %API

EDI or Electronic data Interchange is a process in which data is transferred !etween an #AP s"ste$ and another s"ste$& he latter one can !e a non-#AP s"ste$ too& ALE 'Application Lin( Ena!le) and %API'%usiness Application Progra$$ing Interface) are also another wa"s of transferring data !etween s"ste$s&

he $ain difference !etween EDI and

ALE, %API is in the transfer of data& *or EDI the transfer of data is fro$ IDoc+s' Inter$ediate docu$ents) to a flat file& ,here as in ALE and %API it is fro$ Me$or" to $e$or" transfer& *ro$ an MM consultant point of view, when there is a conversion of data sa" a Purchase Order fro$ "our s"ste$ to a sales order in the later s"ste$, then we use Idocs 'or EDI)& %ut when we wanted to send a Purchase order which is to !e the sa$e in the later s"ste$ then we use ALE or %API& *or EDI-IDocs to !e i$ple$eted a su!s"ste$ is re.uired to convert the Idocs to a flatfile and vice versa& his is usuall" $aintained !" EAI 'Enterprise Application Integration) tea$& Gentran is a common tool used for EDI mappings.

A *unctional Consultant "ou would !e writing the secifications to $ap the re.uired fields ',hat fields are re.uired and how the" should !e $apped and calculations if an") in our s"ste$& A echnical Consultant would write the approriate code to calcuate the logistics and also the re.uired ssettings if an"& An EAI Consultant would $ap the re.uired fields of #AP& Application Lin( Ena!ling 'ALE)

&0.ail )rint A AA AAA -inked(ninShare 9acebook %!itter Share %his

3SS 3eprints

Application -ink &nablin" (A-&# is a mechanism for the e,chan"e of business data bet!een loosely0coupled 3C3 applications built by customers of SA), the enterprise resource mana"ement pro"ram+ A-& pro ides SA) customers !ith a pro"ram distribution model and technolo"y that enables them to interconnect pro"rams across arious platforms and systems+ %here are three layers in the A-& system: application ser ices, distribution ser ices, and communication ser ices+ %he ehicle for data transfer is called an IDoc (intermediate document#, !hich is a container for the application data to be transmitted+ After a user performs an SA) transaction, one or more ('ocs are "enerated in the sendin" database and passed to the A-& communication layer+ %he communication layer performs a 3emote 9unction Call (39C#, usin" the port definition and 39C destination specified by the customer model+ %he ('oc is transmitted to the recei er, !hich may be an 3C3, 3C2, or some e,ternal system+ (f the data is distributed from a master system, the same transaction performed by the sender !ill be performed by the recei in" system, usin" the information contained in the ('oc+ Chan"es made to fields in master data tables can be set to tri""er distribution of the chan"es to sla e systems, so that multiple database ser ers can update the same information simultaneously+ ('ocs carry information directly bet!een SA) systems+ (n order to communicate !ith a non0 SA) system, an ('oc is first transmitted to an intermediary system that translates the data to a format that !ill be understood by the recei er+ 3eturn data also passes throu"h the translatin" system, !here it is a"ain encapsulated into an ('oc+ &'(, stands for &lectronic 'ata (nterchan"e, is the electronic e,chan"e of structured business data bet!een different applications+ EDI Architecture

&'( Architecture consists of 0 1+ EDI-ena!led applications :%hey support the automatic processin" of business transactions+ 2+ he IDoc interface/ %his !as desi"ned as an open interface+ %he ('oc interface consists of ('oc types and function modules that form the interface to the application+ 3+ he EDI su!s"ste$: %his con erts the ('oc types into &'( messa"e types and ice ersa+ %his component of the &'( architecture is not supplied by SA)+

Advantages of EDI process

3educed data &ntry &rrors 3educed )rocessin" cycle time A ailability of data electronic form 3educed )aper /ork 3educed Cost 3educed (n entories and Better )lannin" Standard .eans of Communicatin" Better Business )rocesses

Competiti e Ad anta"e

,hat is ALE 0
A-& supports the distribution of the business functions and process across loosely coupled SA) 3C3 systems (different ersions of SA) 3C3#+ Connections from 3C2 and non SA) systems is also supported+ A-& supports0

'istribution of applications bet!een different releases of 3C3 Systems Continued data e,chan"e after a release up"rade !ithout reDuirin" special maintenance Customer0specific e,tensions+ Communication interfaces that allo! connections to non0SA) systems+ Couplin" of 3C3 and 3C2 Systems+

Difference !etween ALE and EDI 0

A-& is used to support distributed yet inte"rated processes across se eral SA) systems !hereas &'( is used for the e,chan"e of business documents bet!een the systems of business partners (could be non0SA) systems# ALE is #AP1s technolog" for supporting a distri!uted environ$ent whereas EDI is a process used for e2change of !usiness docu$ents which now have !een given a standard for$at Both A-& and &'( reDuire data e,chan"e+ An Idoc is a data container which is used for data e2change !" !oth EDI and ALE processes&

,hat is IDOC0
('2C is si$pl" a data container used to e,chan"e information bet!een any t!o processes that can understand the synta, and semantics of the data+ (n simple !ords , an idoc is like a data file !ith a specified format !hich is e,chan"ed bet!een 2 systems !hich kno! ho! to interpret that data+ ('2C stands for E Inter$ediate Docu$ent3 /hen !e e,ecute an out!ound A-& or &'( )rocess, an ('2C is created+(n an in!ound A-& or &'( process, an ('2C ser es as input to create an application document+(n the SA) System, ('2Cs are stored in database+& ery ('2C has an uni.ue nu$!er(!ithin a client#+

('2Cs are based on &'( standards, A*S( ASC =12 and EDI*AC + (n case of any conflict in data si4e, it adopts one !ith "reater len"th+ ('2Cs are independent of the direction of data e2change e+"+ 23'&3S01 : )urchasin" module : (nbound and 2utbound+('2Cs can be ie!ed in a te2t editor+ 'ata is stored in character format instead of binary format+('2Cs are independent of the sending and

#tep !" step procedure of creating ALE

By: rekha F $oo"le F 1@ .ar 2005 12:27 pm F @@21 times ie!ed F 4 Co$$ents A-& has become ery famous in business circles+ /hile it sounds mysterious and like a "enial solution, it is simply a mean to automate data e,chan"e bet!een SA) systems+ (t is mainly meant to distribute data from one SA) system to the ne,t+ A-& is a mere enhancement of SA)0&'( and SA)039C technolo"y+ A-& is an SA) desi"ned concept to automatically distribute and replicate data bet!een !ebbed and mutually trustin" systems+ A-& is an application put upon the ('oc and 39C mechanisms of SA)+ %o better understand let us model a small e,ample A-& scenario for distribution of master data bet!een se eral offices+ -et as assume that !e !ant to distribute three types of master data obGects, the material master, the creditor master and the debitor master+ A-& is customi4ed ia three main transaction+ %hese are SA-&, /&'( and BA-&+ SA-& 0 A-& S)&C(9(C CHS%2.(I(*$+

A-& customi4in" is relati ely strai"ht for!ard+ %he only mandatory task is the definition of the

A-& distribution scenario+ #ALE All A-& special customi4in" is done from !ithin the transaction SA-&, !hich links you to a subset of the SA) (.$+ DI# 5I%U IO6 #CE6A5IO %he scenario defines the ('oc types and the pairs of ('oc partners !hich participate in the A-& distribution+ %he distribution scenario is the reference for all ABA)s and functionality to determine, !hich data is to be replicated and !ho could be the recei in" candidates+ %his step is of course mandatory C7A68E POI6 E5# %he chan"e pointers can be used to tri""er the A-& distribution+ %his is only necessary if you really !ant to use that mechanism+ <ou can ho!e er al!ays send out ('ocs e ery time an application chan"es data+ %his does not reDuire the setup of the chan"e pointers+ *IL E5# SA) allo!s the definition of rules, !hich allo! a filterin" of data, before they are stored in the ('oc base+ %his allo!s you to selecti e accept or decline indi idual ('oc se"ments+ CO69E5#IO6 A-& allo!s the definition of con ersion rules+ %hese rules allo! the transition of indi idual field data accordin" mappin" tables+ Hnfortunately the use of a function module to con ert the data is not reali4ed in the current 3C3 release+ %he filter and con ersion functionality is only attracti e on a first "lance+ 9orm practical e,perience !e can state, that they are not really helpful+ (t takes lon" time to set up the rules and rules usually are not po!erful enou"h to a oid modifications in an indi idual scenario+ Con ersion rules tend to remain stable, after they ha e once been defined #ALE - %A#IC #E I68#

Basic settin"s ha e do be adGusted before you can start !orkin" !ith A-&+ ?ere you define most parameters that are needed to establish or erify alidity of the communications+

LO8ICAL #:# EM Before !e start !e need to maintain some lo"ical systems+ %his a names for the 39C destinations !hich are used as communication partners+ An entry for the lo"ical system is created in the table %B'-S !hich is maintained as a ie! !ith S.31 or it is called ia the respecti e SA-& tree element+ A##I86I68 LO8ICAL #:# EM O CLIE6 <ou !ill finally ha e to assi"n a lo"ical system to the clients in ol ed in A-& or ('oc distribution+ %his is done in table %000, !hich can be edited ia S.31 or ia the respecti e SA-& tree element+ %D 4; - 7E DI# 5I%U IO6 MODEL ' 7E #CE6A5IO3) %he distribution model (also referred to as A-&0Scenario# is a more or less "raphical approach to define the relationship bet!een the participatin" senders and recei ers+ MODEL# CA6 O6L: %E MAI6 AI6ED %: LEADI68 #:# EM %he distribution model is shared bet!een all participatin" partners+ (t can therefore only be maintained in one of the systems, !hich !e shall call the leadin" system+ 2nly one system can be the leadin" system, but you can set the leadin" system to any of the partners at any time, e en if the scenario is already acti e+ %D4; - C5EA E 7E MODEL 9IE,

%his !ill be the name under !hich you !ill address the scenario+ (t ser es as a container in !hich you put all the from0to relations+

One scenario per ad$inistration area <ou can ha e many scenarios for e entual different purposes+ <ou may also !ant to put e erythin" in a sin"le scenario+ As a rule of thumb it pro ed as successful, that you create one scenario per administrator+ (f you ha e only one A-& administrator, there is no use of ha in" more than one scenario+ (f you ha e se eral departments !ith different reDuirements, that it mi"ht be helpful to create one scenario per department+ ADD A ME##A8E :PE O 7E #CE6A5IO

<ou no! ha e to "enerate the partner profile !hich are used to identify the physical means of data transportation bet!een the partners+ ,E<= - 8E6E5A E PA5 6E5 P5O*ILE A ery useful utility is the automatic "eneration of partner profiles out of the A-& scenario+ & en if you do not use A-& in your installation, it could be only helpful to define the &'( partners as A-& scenario partners and "enerate the partner profiles+

A partner profile specifies the components used in an inbound process ( partner number,messa"e type,and process code#,the mode in !hich ('2CS are processed, and the person to be notified in case of errors+