WORK FLOW SCENARIOS IN MM 9

Preparation and Customizing (MM-PUR-VM)


Use

Several other specific customizing steps are necessary for this workflow template in addition to the general customizing that is necessary to make sure that the workflow system functions properly.

Activities

Defining the Organizational Structure
In Purchasing, settlement accounting with respect to a rebate arrangement is always carried out by the responsible purchasing group. All purchasing groups that have to carry out settlement accounting via workflow must therefore first be identified in Customizing for SAP Business Workflow. A purchasing group is typically assigned to an organizational unit. Organizational units are a means of subdividing an enterprise according to various business criteria (for example, most enterprises are made up of different departments).

Define your organizational structure via the Customizing activity (Basis Components _ Business Management _ SAP Business Workflow) _ Edit organizational plan.
Perform the Customizing activity (Basis Components _ Business Management _ SAP Business Workflow _ Basic Settings) _ Maintain Assignments for SAP Organizational Object Types, and assign the purchasing groups (object type T024) to the organizational units or positions that the purchasing groups represent.

Performing Task-Specific Customizing

Here you list all organizational management objects (e.g. jobs or positions) that are generally allowed to carry out settlement accounting with regard to rebate arrangements in Purchasing and classify the general tasks.

You assign tasks in Materials

1. Perform the customizing activity (Basis Components _ Business Management _ SAP
Business Workflow _) Perform Task-Specific Customizing.

2. Then, under Materials Management _ Purchasing _ Vendor - Material Relationships
and Conditions, choose the activity Assign Tasks to Agent (processor).

3. Classify the standard tasks TS00900055 (Comparison of Business Volumes for Rebate
Arrangement), and TS00900058 (Settlement Accounting for Rebate Arrangement) as
general tasks.

Activating Event-Receiver Linkage
The events ToBeSettledInterim (for partial settlement accounting) and ToBeSettledFinal (for final settlement accounting) for the object type BUS3030 (rebate arrangement - Purchasing) are triggering events of workflow template 00900007 (settlement accounting with regard to rebate arrangements in Purchasing) and are entered as such in the event linkage table in the standard system. For the workflow template to actually be started, the linkage between the triggering events and the workflow template as receiver of the events must be activated in Customizing for
SAP Business Workflow.


Preparation and Customizing (MM-PUR-VM)

Activate the workflow template MMRebAgSettl in your system as follows:

1. Perform the customizing activity (Basis Components _ Business Management _ SAP
Business Workflow _ Basic Settings) _ Perform Task-Specific Customizing.

2. Activate event linkage for the workflow template (Materials Management _ Purchasing _ Vendor - Material Relationships and Conditions _ Activate Event Linkage).

(Alternatively, you can activate event-receiver linkage by processing the workflow template directly.)


Operation and Link to Application (MM-PUR-VM)

Use

Rebate arrangements entered into with vendors by Purchasing can be passed on to Business Workflow for settlement accounting purposes at regular intervals. There are two possible ways of doing this, both of which should be carried out by a person acting as a coordinator. The latter can be a central coordinator or a coordinator for a particular purchasing organization.

Activities

Manuel execution

The coordinator regularly carries out settlement accounting with regard to rebate
arrangements via Settlement acctg. _ Via workflow.

Automatic periodic execution
Since the program for settlement accounting via workflow should be run regularly (e.g. each week), it is advisable to execute this program in the background at the desired intervals. This involves two steps:

a) First define suitable variants of the program (program name: RWMBON11), in which the settlement date field is defined as a selection variable and dynamically filled with the current date. You can also add other selection criteria as required.

b) You then schedule the program to be run in the background with a desired period. See the documentation on background processing: BC Computing Center Management
System _ Background Processing _ Scheduling and Managing Background Jobs.

Release of Invoices Blocked for Price Reasons (MM-IVLIV)

Purpose

In Logistics Invoice Verification, invoice items are blocked due to price variances. Financial Accounting cannot pay these invoices.
If a price block is defined for invoice items, the system can inform the buyer responsible for the purchase order automatically via workflow. This means that he or she sees a work item in his or her inbox, which he or she can use to verify the blocked invoice items and then process them as follows:

Change the purchase orders
Release the invoice items by deleting the blocking reason
Flag the invoice items as cannot be clarified

The workflow ends when the price blocks in the invoice items are no longer valid because the order prices have been changed, or when the invoice item is released because the blocking reasons have been deleted.
If you flag price blocks in the invoice items as cannot be clarified, the system creates a work item for the accounts payable clerk. The accounts payable clerk then explicitly ends the workflow.

Technical Implementation (MM-IV-LIV)

Object Types

Object technology is used to create the interface between the R/3 functions and the Workflow system. The information given below is primarily of a technical nature and is not necessary for an initial overview:

Incoming invoice

Object type Bus2081 (Incoming invoice)
Workflow Template

The actual operational procedure is implemented as a workflow template. You will find this workflow template in your R/3 System.
Workflow template: WS 20000397
Description: Handling invoices blocked due to price

Triggering Event for Workflow Template

The triggering event for the workflow template is IncomingInvoice.blockedPrice (Invoice item blocked due to price variance).
This coupling between the event and the workflow template to be started is deactivated in the standard system. If you want to use the workflow template, you have to activate it in Customizing for Logistics Invoice Verification.

User Roles

You check and release invoice items that are blocked for price reasons at the following organizational levels. The processor is also determined at these levels.
Processor Determination: Buyer

If you have already maintained an organizational plan, you can use it here.
If there is no organizational plan, you need to create a Purchasing department. For each purchasing group, you define a position and link it to the entries in table T024. You define the users for each position.

Processor Determination: Accounts Payable Clerk
If you have already maintained an organizational unit, you can use it here.
If there is no organizational unit, you need to create the organizational unit Invoice Verification.
Link the organizational unit to the single-step task TS20000704:

By simple processor assignment

All users in the organizational unit Invoice Verification receive the work item.


By defining a specific role

Only selected accounts payable clerks receive the work item. For example, you can use
the attribute User name, which contains the accounts payable clerk’s name.
Note that a standard user group for invoices that are posted in the background is stored in the role.

Preparation and Customizing (MM-IV-LIV)

Authorization Objects

You need to maintain the following authorizations for the buyers who release invoice items blocked due to price:

Authorization to display (activity 03) and change (activity 02) purchase orders
M_BEST_BSA, M_BEST_EKG, M_BEST_EKO, M_BEST_WRK

Authorization to display invoices
M_RECH_WRK

Authorization to delete (change the invoice) the blocking reason Price (activity 02)
M_RECH_EKG Several other specific customizing steps are necessary for this workflow template in addition to the general customizing that is necessary to make sure that the workflow system functions properly.

Defining the Organizational Structure

Various buyers can check and release invoice items that are blocked due to price. You need to identify them all in Customizing for SAP Business Workflow. These buyers can be assigned to various organizational units. Organizational units are a means of subdividing an enterprise according to various business criteria, such as purchasing groups.

For each purchasing group, you define a position and link it to the entries in table T024. You define the users for each position.

Performing Task-Specific Customizing

Here you list all organizational management objects that are generally allowed to release invoices blocked for price reasons (such as purchasing groups) and classify the general tasks.

Activating Event-Receiver Linkage

The event IncomingInvoice.blockedPrice (Invoice item blocked due to price variance) for object type BUS2081 (Incoming invoice) is an event that triggers workflow template WS 20000397 and is entered in the event linkage table as such as the standard event.

This coupling between the event and the workflow template to be started is deactivated in the standard system. If you want to use the workflow template, you activate the linkage between the triggering event and the workflow template as receiver of the event in Customizing for Logistics Invoice Verification. (Logistics Invoice Verification _ Invoice Block _ Activate Workflow Template)

Link to the Application (MM-IV-LIV)

Use

The buyer should check whether the price variance in an invoice item is justified. The buyer can make use of the following environment information for the invoice items: invoice, purchase order, and memos.
He or she can process the invoice items and the purchase order items that they are based on as follows:

Change purchase order

Release invoice item

Flag invoice item as cannot be clarified

Prerequisites

The event for the change document PurchaseOrder.changed must be triggered for the purchase order (BUS2012) so that you can change a purchase order.
Features Change Purchase Order The buyer can change the relevant purchase order for selected invoice items blocked for price reasons. If all the purchase orders have been changed, the system checks if the price blocks in the invoice items have become invalid due to the change in the order prices. If this is the case, the system deletes the blocks and releases the invoice for payment.

If there are still price blocks that need to be clarified, the buyer can process the work item again.

Due to technical restrictions, the system does not advance in online mode after
calling the transaction Change Purchase Order. You must call the work item Further
processing Invoice in the integrated inbox. This
additional call of the work item does not apply to later releases.

Release Invoice Item

You can delete the blocking reasons for blocked invoice items. The system checks if the buyer has authorization to delete the blocking reason for the items selected. If this is the case, the system releases the invoice items blocked for price reasons and they can be paid.

If there are still price blocks that need to be clarified, the buyer can process the work item again.

Flag Invoice Item as Cannot Be Clarified

The buyer uses the memo function on the invoice display to document selected invoice items flagged as cannot be clarified. To do this, choose System _ Links, then choose Create note on the invoice display screen.
The system saves the price blocks that are flagged as cannot be clarified. If there are still items that need to be clarified, the buyer can process the work item again.