Learning the Configuration of In-House Repair

In Customizing, it is possible to access a collection of documentation nodes detailing the required set up for an in-house repair process in SAP S/4HANA. Access the SAP Reference IMG in Customizing (transaction code SPRO) and navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→In-House Repair.

The following documentation nodes are available:

• Configure In-House Repair
• Define Partner Processing
• Define Text Management
• Define Actions
• Define Basic Settings for Transactions
• Define Process Step Overview for In-House Repair
• Integrate In-House Repair with Advanced Returns Management

The setup explained here is (partly) based on the information in these documentation nodes.

As a prerequisite, the integration with Controlling and also with other areas of logistics processing in SAP S/4HANA (such as Procurement) needs to be set up.

Besides the mentioned integration settings, specific transaction types, item categories, item category determination entries, settings for number ranges, and copying control settings for transaction types are used for in-house repair. They will be discussed first.

With SAP S/4HANA 2023 FPS02, a new version of the in-house repair process was introduced. This version is sometimes referred to as "In-House Repair 2.0".

In older releases, transaction type REPA was used for an in-house repair (with item category REPI). Repair orders were created using transaction type REPO, and repair confirmations using transaction type REPC. All these transaction types (and a few more) have been deprecated since SAP S/4HANA 2023 FPS02.

Number ranges need to be defined and assigned to transaction types IHRP, SRVO, and SRVC (or similar).

In Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Transactions→Basic Settings→Define Number Ranges and choose IMG - Activity.

Double-click Number Ranges for In-House Repairs to configure the number range interval(s) for the in-house repairs (that is, the repair requests using transaction type IHRP), double-click Number Ranges for Service Transactions to configure the number range interval(s) for the service/repair orders (transaction type SRVO), and double-click Number Ranges for Service Confirmations to configure the number range interval(s) for the repair confirmations (transaction type SRVC).

To be able to bill items to customers as part of an in-house repair process, the configuration settings for billing as detailed in unit 3 also apply to in-house repair.

For standard transaction type SRVC (that is, the transaction type that is also used for a repair confirmation), entries have been maintained in SAP S/4HANA for the sales document type to be used for the billing document request (BDR) and for the billing type.

Mapping on item category level between the SAP S/4HANA Service item categories (used in an SRVC document) and the SAP S/4HANA Sales item categories for the BDR is also required.

In Customizing, navigate to SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Basic Functions→Billing→Assign Service Transaction Types to Billing Document Request Types.

Various other configuration settings are required for an in-house repair process. What these settings looked like < SAP S/4HANA release 2023 FPS02, and what these settings look like in a system > SAP S/4HANA release 2023 FPS02 is shown in the figure called Dependencies Between Configuration Settings for In-House Repair < SAP S/4HANA 2023 FPS02 (shown above), and in the figure called Dependencies Between Configuration Settings for In-House Repair >= SAP S/4HANA 2023 FPS02 (shown below).

The figures illustrate examples of some of the dependencies between these settings:

• SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Basic Functions→Partner Processing→Define Partner Determination Procedure

  Partner determination procedures are assigned to all transaction types used currently and also previously in an in-house repair process (such as IHRP, REPA, REPO, and SRVO). Examples are REPA2021 Org. Data Profile for In-House Repairs, which is assigned to transaction type IHRP (In-House Repair) and also 00000006 SAP Service Header, which is assigned to transaction type SRVO (Service Order).

  In this configuration activity, these partner determination procedures are configured and all the partner functions they contain.

• SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Basic Functions→Actions→Actions in Transaction→Change Actions and Conditions→Define Action Profiles and Actions

  An example of a standard action profile used for in-house repair is profile REPA2002 Repair Object Actions (Item), which is assigned to item category REPI Repair Object (Item), which was used in in-house repair processing < SAP S/4HANA release 2023 FPS02.

  It contains, for example, action definition RETURN_TO_CUSTOMER2 Return to Customer, which calls a Business Add-In (BAdI) using ABAP method REPA_RETURN_TO_CUST that controls the follow-up logic when this action is selected.

  Item category IHRI IHR Item, which is used in in-house repair processing >= SAP S/4HANA release 2023 FPS02, uses a different action profile called REPA2022 Actions for In-House Repair Items.

  Transaction type IHRP In-House Repair has action profile REPA2021 In-House Repair Actions assigned to it, which contains (amongst others) action definition REPA2021_ORDER_CREATE. Via the ABAP method REPA_CREATE_FWPNS you could change the default transaction type used for a created service/repair order for a repair object from SRVO Service Order to another transaction type, if needed.

• SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Basic Functions→Actions→Actions in Transaction→Change Actions and Conditions→Define Conditions

  In this configuration activity, conditions for actions are defined. For example, the schedule condition and the start condition for each action definition (such as START_REPAIR_TAM2 Start Repair) are defined. The start condition is checked before an action is executed and the action is only executed when the start condition has been fulfilled. In this Customizing activity, it is also defined whether, when the schedule condition is met, the action is scheduled automatically.

• With respect to user status profiles:

  Item category REPI Repair Object (Item) uses a user status profile called REPA2002 Status Repair Object.

  Item category IHRI IHR Item does not use a user status profile anymore. It is still possible to create and use a user status profile for a repair object, but the default way of maintaining and showing repair object status information is now via the system statuses of the involved service/repair order and/or service/repair quotation.

• For in-house repair processing < SAP S/4HANA release 2023 FPS02, and item category REPI Repair Object (Item), the following settings are relevant: SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Transactions→Basic Settings→Status Management→Optimize User Status for Queries

  This is where Life Cycle User Status values (such as R020 Precheck: Decision Pending and R050 Repair) are defined and assigned to actual user statuses of a status profile (such as E0003 Precheck: Decision Pending and E0007 Repair, both part of user status profile REPA2002 Repair Object Status).

  The status profile itself is assigned to the item category used in (for example) the in-house repair document. An example is user status profile REPA2002 Repair Object Status, which is assigned to item category REPI (Repair Object (Item).

• SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Transactions→Settings for In-House Repair→Assign Action to SAP Fiori App

  In this configuration activity, you assign action definitions to SAP Fiori apps to make these actions available on screens/user interfaces in particular SAP Fiori apps. You use actions to do the following in in-house repair processing:

  • Create follow-up transactions for in-house repairs and their related repair objects.
  • Change the status of the repair objects.
  Note

  Read the Customizing help documentation for this particular setting for more details and an example of how this can be used.

• SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Transactions→Settings for In-House Repair→Define Profile for Process Step Overview

  This profile (example: REPA2) is used to configure the overview of all process steps performed for a business transaction item within an in-house repair (transaction type IHRP). Such an overview is shown in various SAP Fiori apps, such as Manage In-House Repairs (see the figure called Example of a Process Step Overview).

  Examples of process steps used in such an overview are Precheck, Repair, and/or Completed.

  Note

  In the past (< SAP S/4HANA release 2023 FPS02, see for example profile REPA), each process step was assigned the respective Life Cycle User Status value(s) (such as R050 Repair) that a business transaction item can have within the business process. Now (> SAP S/4HANA release 2023 FPS02) this is no longer set up in this way (see for example profile REPA2).

  In the process step overview, the process steps are displayed graphically in the sort sequence as defined here in Customizing. The SAPUI5 icon that is displayed with the description of the process step, can also be selected.

  A profile for such a process step overview is assigned to the transaction type used for the in-house repair (such as IHRP).

• Deprecated/deleted objects starting from SAP S/4HANA release 2023 FPS02:

  • Deprecated apps: Perform Prechecks, Process Repair Quotations, Plan Repairs, Perform Repairs, Prepare for Billing. Recommended successor apps: Manage Repair Objects and Release for Billing.
  • ​Deleted business roles: Customer Service Manager - In-House, Customer Service Representative - In-House Repair, and Service Technician - In-House Repair. ​Recommended successor business role: Service Manager.
• You can specify settings for returns orders when created as a follow-up document: SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Transactions→Settings for In-House Repair→Specify Settings for Returns Orders as Follow-Up. Here you can see that (for example) for an IHRP in-house repair, the sales document type used for the returns order is ZCAR (where this was RE2 for a REPA in-house repair).
• You can specify the transaction type that needs to be used when creating an in-house repair out of a service order or a service quotation:SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Service→Transactions→Settings for In-House Repair→Specify Transaction Types for IHR as Service Order/Quotation Follow-Up. Here you can see that an IHRP in-house repair is created when creating the in-house repair out of an SRVO service order or SRVQ service quotation.

You can use Advanced Returns Management (ARM) for customer returns to run the logistics process for repair objects that are sent to your plant by the customers for a repair.

The Advanced Returns Management process can be configured completely under Sales and Distribution. Use the following menu path: SAP Customizing Implementation Guide→Sales and Distribution→Sales→Advanced Returns Management.

You must perform the following configuration activities:

• In the Activate and Rename Follow-Up Activities configuration activity, define in-house repairs as a logistical follow-up activity that is used in Advanced Returns Management for customer returns.
• As mentioned (above) before, in Customizing for Service, under Transactions and then Settings for In-House Repair, using the Specify Settings for Returns Orders as Follow-Up Activity configuration activity, you define the sales document type that needs to be used to create a follow-up sales document for a service transaction.

You use outbound deliveries to send the repair objects back to the customer if a returns order exists, and the repair object has been received by the repair center. The following configuration is related to this outbound delivery:

• Set up the configuration for Logistics Execution under Shipping→Deliveries→Define Delivery Types for returns deliveries.

• In the Define Action Profiles and Actions configuration activity in Customizing for Service, under Basic Functions→Actions→Actions in Transaction→Change Actions and Conditions, define the action definition that you use to create outbound deliveries.

  Check for example action definition REPA2021_OUTBOUND_DEL_CREATE (Create Outbound Delivery), that is part of action profile REPA2021 (In-House Repair Actions) which has been assigned to transaction type IHRP (In-House Repair).

• With SAP S/4HANA 2023 FPS02, a new version of the in-house repair process was introduced. This version is sometimes referred to as "In-House Repair 2.0". In a standard SAP S/4HANA system of release 2023 FPS02 or newer, the in-house repair itself is created using transaction type IHRP (with item category IHRI). This is the document to which one or more repair objects are assigned. An in-house repair order uses transaction type SRVO and an in-house repair confirmation is created using transaction type SRVC.
• For an in-house repair (transaction type IHRP (In-House Repair)), standard item category IHRI (IHR Item) is derived for a repair object (item). A service order that acts as a repair order and a service confirmation that acts as a repair confirmation use standard item categories, such as SRVP Service Item for a service item in a service/repair order and SVCM Service Part for a service part in a service/repair confirmation.
• Some important configuration settings for in-house repair processing: partner determination procedures are assigned to all transaction types used currently and also previously in an in-house repair process. Item category IHRI IHR Item uses an action profile called REPA2022 Actions for In-House Repair Items. Transaction type IHRP In-House Repair has action profile REPA2021 In-House Repair Actions assigned to it. Item category IHRI IHR Item does not use a user status profile anymore. It is still possible to create and use a user status profile for a repair object, but the default way of maintaining and showing repair object status information is now via the system statuses of the involved service/repair order and/or service/repair quotation. A profile (example: REPA2) is used to configure the overview of all process steps performed for a business transaction item within an in-house repair (transaction type IHRP). And as a last example: you can specify the transaction type that needs to be used when creating an in-house repair out of a service order or a service quotation.
• You can use Advanced Returns Management (ARM) for customer returns to run the logistics process for repair objects that are sent to your plant by the customers for a repair.