Customizing the 42K Source-To-Pay Processes

During a project implementation, buyers may discover the need to customize processes beyond the native integration of the 42K scope item. This realization can happen at different project stages: prepare, explore, or realize phases. For example, a buyer might recognize the need for process enhancements during System Integration Testing (SIT) or User Acceptance Testing (UAT).

An SAP Buyer Integrator can assist by:

• Providing best practice recommendations.
• Managing required customizations in the managed gateway and SAP Business Network.
• In SAP Business Network, this mainly relates to customizing the user interface.
• The managed gateway focuses on adjusting message content, such as the purchase order cXML output.
• Providing guidance on testing enhancements and transporting them into the production environment.

Through the implementation of SAP Business Network content, customers gain access to standardized processes that address the most important Source-to-Pay requirements. However, there may be situations where the customer needs customization. The user interface of the SAP Business Network portal can be adjusted for the most important indirect spend messages.

The following list, taken from the Deployment Description, specifies available customization options that can be added to the standard user interface inside SAP Business Network. Each message type is treated separately. Custom configurations can affect the UI layout shown to the buyer and the supplier and can restrict the field values inside the cXML file.

These include:

• Hiding a field.
• Changing a field; the label impacts only the user interface, and the field name sent in cXML remains the same in the cXML DTD.
• Changing defaulted user input fields to be read-only.
• Defaulting a field value.
• Changing optional entry fields to be mandatory.
• Setting a required length for a field.
• Restricting the length of a field.

The custom configurations are specific to invoices and purchase orders. Limited adjustments are possible for order confirmation, service entry sheet, or advanced shipment notification. The Implementation Services team checks each requirement for feasibility.

These UI customizations can only be performed using the SAP Business NetworkUI Customization Tool, which is exclusively accessible to the Implementation Services team. For any of these changes, please contact your assigned SAP team member. The SAP team member provides additional context, offers guidance on key considerations, implements the required changes, and gives instructions for transporting them to production.

These user interface changes apply to the buyer and supplier account sides of SAP Business Network.

The key learning points of this lesson are:

• During an implementation project, buyers may need to customize 42K Source-to-Pay processes, often during the prepare, explore, or realize phases, for example, while running integration or user acceptance testing.
• The SAP Buyer Integrator and Implementation Services team provides support by recommending best practices and managing required changes in both the managed gateway, such as adjusting message content like purchase order cXML outputs, and SAP Business Network, such as UI adjustments.
• Available UI Customizations include hiding fields, changing labels, making fields mandatory or read-only, defaulting values, and setting or restricting field lengths. These are subject to a feasibility check and can only be implemented with the SAP Business Network UI Customization Tool, which is managed exclusively by the SAP Implementation Services team. These adjustments affect buyers and suppliers and must be incorporated into production with SAP guidance.
• This ensures that standard processes remain intact while allowing tailored adjustments to meet specific business needs.