Configuring More Basic Settings for Business Transactions

Some of these settings will be explained now in some more detail:

A partner determination procedure contains a list of available partner functions, for example, 00000001 Sold-To Party (CRM) or 00000056 Service Employee Group (CRM). For SAP S/4HANA Service, the required partner determination procedure for a service document at header level is assigned to the transaction type involved. At item level, this is achieved using the item category of the item.

In Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Transaction Types and also to: SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Item Categories.

A partner determination procedure contains partner functions. The partner functions themselves are also defined in Customizing. An example of a partner function used for service processing is 00000052 Exec. Service Employee (CRM). This partner function is assigned to partner function category 0025 Serv. Employee/Serv. Provider. This partner function category is used for organizational data determination when assigned to a transaction type.

In Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Partner Processing → Define Partner Functions.

When all required partner functions have been defined, the partner determination procedures can be defined.

In Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Partner Processing → Define Partner Determination Procedure.

A text determination procedure contains the various text types that can be maintained in the object for which it is defined (using a text object), and to which it is assigned. For example, for service processing, a text determination procedure defined for the text object CRM_ORDERH (Transaction Header) can be assigned to a transaction type to define what header text types are available for that transaction type.

In addition, a text determination procedure defined for the text object CRM_ORDERI (Operation Data) can be assigned to an item category. This procedure then defines what item text types are available for that item category.

In Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Transaction Types and also to: SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Item Categories.

To define text objects (such as CRM_ORDERI (Operation Data)) and the corresponding text types in Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Text Management → Define Text Objects and Text Types.

To group the defined text types into a text determination procedure for a text object, in Customizing navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Text Management → Define Text Determination Procedure.

Date management enables the processing of as many types of dates as are required in a certain document in SAP S/4HANA Service.

Using a date profile, it is possible to control exactly which reference objects, durations, date types, and date rules can be used in a specific transaction type and also in an item in a transaction (using the item category).

A date profile is used, for example, for contracts (cancellation date, run time of a contract), activities (total duration of an activity), and quotations (Valid To date).

To define date types and date rules, in Customizing navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Date Management → Define Date Types, Duration Types and Date Rules.

To define a date profile, in Customizing navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Date Management → Define Date Profile.

Assigning a date profile to a transaction type can be done using SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Date Management → Assign Date Profile to Transaction Type.

Assigning a date profile to an item category can be done using SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Date Management → Assign Date Profile to Item Category.

Actions in SAP S/4HANA Service use the Post Processing Framework (PPF). The PPF is a technical component that generates actions (for example, a call or a workflow item) from the data of an application, according to a certain action definition. This could, for example, be a follow-up activity. The actions are processed at a specific point in time. The PPF provides the tools for planning, starting, and monitoring the actions.

Steps to set up actions:

1. An action profile is created and action types are defined (for example, subsequent documents, messages) for this action profile.

   In Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Actions → Actions in Transaction → Change Actions and Conditions → Define Action Profiles and Actions.

2. If necessary, conditions for the action types used in the action profile are defined. The planning condition and the start condition can, for example, be defined for each action definition, using conditions that can be transported. What needs to be entered is, for example, whether the action is planned automatically, when the planning condition is valid, and so on. Example of a planning condition: all contracts as of 1.6.2021, or all transactions for customers 1000 to 2999. Example of a start condition: 2 weeks before the contract end date.

   To define these conditions, in Customizing navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Basic Functions → Actions → Actions in Transaction → Change Actions and Conditions → Define Conditions.

3. The action profile is assigned to the transaction type and/or the item category for which the actions are required.

   In Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Transaction Types and also to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Item Categories.

The more general status management functionality of SAP S/4HANA is also available for SAP S/4HANA Service. In SAP S/4HANA, a differentiation is made between the system status and the user status. The list of available system statuses is predefined by SAP. One or more system statuses are assigned to each available business transaction for a certain scenario. The system automatically determines whether the respective system status is set or deleted for each business transaction. It is also specified which business transactions are permitted for which objects (for example, order header, order item).

Besides these predefined system statuses, it is possible to configure additional (user) statuses. A status profile needs to be created that contains these additional statuses. The specific functioning of each additional status also needs to be configured within the user profile.

Another configuration setting within the user profile concerns the sequence in which the user statuses are applicable. This sequence is determined by the status number. If a status number is not assigned to a user status, this user status can always be set. However, only one user status with a status number can be active at any one time. When a status number is assigned to a user status, a highest and lowest status number must also be assigned. These numbers restrict the status number range from which this user status can be selected.

By assigning a so-called object type, it is determined if the status profile can be assigned to a transaction type and/or an item category.

In a status profile, an initial status can also be defined, which is automatically activated when the object in question is created.

By selecting Goto → Transaction Control, it is possible to specify which user status is automatically activated when a business transaction is executed, and which business transactions are permitted when a specific user status is active.

Lastly, in a status profile, it is possible to define a transaction that is to be executed when a given user status is reached, with the result that one or more system statuses and/or user statuses can be set or deleted.

To define user status profiles in Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Status Management → Define Status Profile for User Status.

To assign the defined status profile, navigate to either SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Transaction Types or to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide → Service → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Item Categories, depending on the object to which the user status profile needs to be assigned.