Exploring Customizing for Message Determination in Detail

Message determination in Purchasing enables you to control message defaults by making certain assignments and groupings. This allows the system to determine and process valid messages according to predefined criteria.

In message records, you can define the output parameters based on these criteria. The output parameters include the output medium, time of output, and number of copies. Examples of criteria include document type and purchasing organization.

The following terms are used in message determination:

• The permitted message types for each message application are specified in a corresponding message schema. Examples of message types include dunning and new printout.

  The system provides separate message schemas for the individual purchasing document categories: Request for Quotation (RFQ), Purchase Order (PO), Contract and Scheduling Agreement.

• A message type can also be seen as a condition type, and groups together messages of the same kind. It contains parameters that are valid for all the messages that the system assigns to it: for example, the print program, form, and defined partner roles. Each message type represents different messages in the system. Examples of message types include PO printouts and reminders.
• The access sequence is a search strategy that the SAP system uses to search for valid condition records (message records). The access sequence is the sequence in which the message determination accesses the condition tables.
• A condition table contains one or more fields as key fields that you want to use as influential factors (dependencies) for message output. You define the combination of fields for which you want to create message records.

In purchasing, the system performs message determination only at the header level for a purchasing document.

Therefore, message determination only considers header fields directly.

There are separate message schemas with message types for the output of RFQs, POs, outline agreements, and scheduling agreement delivery schedule lines.

Message Determination Process Example

The figure shows an example of the message determination process. In this example, you create a purchase order with document type NB for supplier T-SUP01 and purchasing organization 101C.

The determination steps are:

• SAP S/4HANA determines the message schema for the purchasing document category. For purchase orders, the standard message schema is RMBEF1.
• The system determines from the message schema which message types are applicable for this transaction. To do this, it checks the requirements that are assigned to the different message types included in the schema. In this example, the system has determined the message type NEU. For the other message types, the assigned requirements are not met.
  Note

  A determination schema contains all possible message types for a purchasing document category. A requirement is assigned to each message type. Requirements are ABAP form routines that specify under which circumstances a particular message is to be considered for output: requirement 101, for example, specifies that the assigned message is relevant when a purchasing document is created or changed. 

  The fine tune control checks whether the determined message types are also relevant for the respective printing process: New, Change, Reminder, and Order Confirmation.

• The system determines the access sequence for message type NEU. In this example, it is the access sequence 0001, which contains three condition tables. The first table has the fields purchasing organization and supplier. The second table has the fields document type, purchasing organization, and supplier. The third table only has the field document type.
• The system searches for valid condition records. In the example, no condition record has been defined for the combinations of purchasing organization and supplier or document type, purchasing organization, and supplier. However, there is a condition record for document type NB.
• The system copies the data from this condition record, which include output medium, printer, and time-spot, to the PO (at header level) and displays it under Messages.

As the system performs message determination in Purchasing at header level, you can only output an entire document.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the message determination, you can change or delete the messages in the documents.

You can use determination analysis to check the result of message determination on the output overview screen. To do so, in transaction ME21N or in the Create Purchase Order - Advanced app, for example, choose Messages, then Determin. Analysis.

You get an overview of all possible message types. You get a list that indicates for which condition types and access sequences the system has found condition records. If you select such an access sequence, you can see the field values for which a condition record was found.

Condition tables contain field combinations for which you want to create message records. In other words, condition tables represent the criteria combinations depending on which you want to control your message output.

For example, condition table 025 contains the fields Purchasing Document Type, Purchasing Organization, and Supplier. This means that you can create different message records for each combination of document type/purchasing organization/supplier. Since a message record contains data such as output medium (print, email, fax, etc...) or time of output (immediately, per order, etc...), you can decide per document type/purchasing organization/supplier combination the medium and time for sending messages.

SAP S/4HANA contains some standard condition tables. In addition, you can define further criteria for message determination in Customizing. When creating condition tables, you select influencing criteria (e.g. purchasing group or company code) from a field catalog.

Since message determination takes place at purchasing document header level, you will only be able to include fields from the document header in the condition tables. Output determination using the fields of the document item - for example, the plant - is not possible directly. Not directly means that you can have business partners with certain partner functions at header level that depend on the plant or supplier sub-range included in the item. If you have message records for these partner roles, you can transmit messages to the appropriate partners.

Condition tables contain different key combinations. In the access sequence, you assign condition tables and the sequence in which the system reads the tables to determine a valid message record.

An access sequence itself is assigned to a message type. This means that once the system has determined a message type using the message schema during purchase order creation, the access sequence is then taken from this message type.

In the example on the preceding figure (access sequence Z1), the system first searches for a suitable message condition for the purchasing organization/supplier combination, then for the document type.

In SAP S/4HANA, a message type is a key that describes a specific kind of output (in purchasing, mainly messages to suppliers, such as purchase orders, purchase order confirmations, and reminders). By maintaining message types, you can:

• Assign access sequences

• Set partner roles for different recipients, such as supplier, ordering address, or supplying plant

• Assign processing programs and forms, depending on the output medium

In the fine-tuned control, you define for which print operations the message type is intended: for example, for a new printout or a printout of changes.

The system only processes message types that are assigned to the message schema of a purchasing category.

Standard message types are delivered for each purchasing document, e.g. NEW is the standard message type for the output of a purchase order (new and change print).

You create message records (condition records) for the individual message types in the application menu.

Message records can be created depending on a key combination. The key combination corresponds to the access sequence in Customizing.

The figure from the Purchasing menu shows the initial screen for maintaining message condition records.

In a condition record, you specify the following parameters:

• Partner function
• Output medium
• Output time

The system proposes the values from the default values of the message type in Customizing.

With the output medium Print, you can enter an output device and the desired number of messages.

With the output medium Send Externally you can store a communications strategy.

If you do not want to assign the printers for the individual buyers in the Customizing activity, you can also assign the print parameter S (user default values) for the message type in purchasing (see SAP Note 306385).

Once the output medium and the message type are known, the system can determine the print form. The print form can be decided only when the medium is known because the information for the layout in an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transmission differs significantly from printing, for example, a purchase order. You assign the output program and print forms to the message types for each output medium in Customizing.

In a purchasing document that you have already sent to the supplier, if you change fields that are relevant for a change printout, the system generates a new message to inform the business partner of these changes.

For each purchasing category, you can specify in Customizing for message schemas that a new message determination process is to be triggered when a printout of a change is generated.

Thus, you can specify that new purchase orders, for example, should be printed (because they need to be signed), while changes should be sent by email.

(In Customizing under Materials Management → Purchasing → Messages → Output Control → Message Types and then Maintain Message Types <Document Category>)

• Case 1 – The indicator is not set.

  You CANNOT use different message types for the print operations new and change. You must assign message type NEU for the print operations 1 and 2 (New and Change) under Maintain Message Types → Fine-Tuned Control.

  Once you manually change the output parameters for new printouts that the message determination facility determines, the system will use the changed values for the printouts of changes.

• Case 2 – The indicator is set.

  If the indicator is set, you can use different message types for the print operations New and Change.

  Under Maintain Message Types → Fine-Tuned Control, you can specify that the message type NEU is to be used for the print operation New and the message type ZAEN is to be used for the print operation Change.

For the message types NEU and ZAEN, you can enter different media and times for output in the condition records.