Architecting EDI with SAP Idocs

Emmanuel Hadzipetros is an ABAP developer and IDoc and EDI specialist who has been fascinated with data flows and systems integration throughout his 15 years of SAP project experience. As a consultant and independent contractor in four countries and three continents he served a large number of small, mid-size, and Fortune 500 clients in a variety of industries.Emmanuel prides himself on a practical approach to building and integrating systems. Throughout his career he's worked with a wide range of tools to integrate SAP with internal and legacy systems and external trading partners including flat file FTP transfers, ALE, XI/PI, and third-party EDI integration systems.Emmanuel has been happily playing with the IDoc interface for more than 10 years and believes that it's one of SAP's hidden jewels.

2nd edition, updated and expanded

Prologue ... 23

ACT I: Hollywood, DVDs, and the After-Life of Movies ... 31

1. Hollywood's B-Movie Queen Does SAP and EDI ... 33


1.1 ... SAP and EDI: Getting to Know Each Other ... 34
1.2 ... A Brief History of Fame: Our Imaginary Dream Factory ... 35
1.3 ... Defining Some Basic Ground Rules ... 42
1.4 ... Summary ... 50

2. The Blueprint: Discovery and Documentation ... 51


2.1 ... A Business Process Overview ... 52
2.2 ... Legacy Systems, Data Flows, and Interfaces ... 63
2.3 ... Legacy EDI Data Flows ... 69
2.4 ... Summary ... 78

3. Designing the New SAP EDI Architecture ... 79


3.1 ... The To-Be Systems and Interfaces Emerge ... 80
3.2 ... Laying the Foundations for EDI: Master Data ... 87
3.3 ... The Typical Lifecycle of an Order from Gordy ... 94
3.4 ... Interfaces in the Order-to-Cash Cycle ... 110
3.5 ... Considering the Project Plan ... 111
3.6 ... Summary ... 112

ACT II: Taming Chaos with Standards--EDI in an SAP Environment ... 113

4. EDI: The Ugly Stepsister of E-Commerce ... 115


4.1 ... A Brief History of e-Commerce ... 116
4.2 ... The Anatomy of an EDIFACT Interchange ... 125
4.3 ... The Anatomy of an X12 Interchange ... 128
4.4 ... Enveloping and De-enveloping: The X12 in Action ... 145
4.5 ... Summary ... 148

5. Real-World Business Process Integration with EDI ... 149


5.1 ... The Basic EDI Interface ... 150
5.2 ... Trading Partner Management ... 151
5.3 ... The Impact of VMI Collaboration through EDI ... 154
5.4 ... The Role of Acme's EDI RIM ... 155
5.5 ... Reporting EDI Status to SAP ... 171
5.6 ... Putting All the Pieces Together ... 190
5.7 ... Archiving and Deleting IDocs in SAP ... 196
5.8 ... Summary ... 207

6. EDI Architecture in SAP: IDoc Basics ... 209


6.1 ... Intelligent Messages: The Anatomy of an IDoc ... 210
6.2 ... IDoc Architecture and the Data Dictionary ... 230
6.3 ... One-Time EDI Configuration for IDocs in SAP ... 235
6.4 ... Summary ... 241

7. Configuring IDocs in SAP for EDI Exchange ... 243


7.1 ... Inbound Configuration is About Posting IDocs ... 243
7.2 ... Outbound Configuration Generates IDocs ... 274
7.3 ... Summary ... 308

8. Custom IDocs and IDoc Extensions ... 309


8.1 ... IDoc Development and Configuration Tools ... 309
8.2 ... Building a Custom IDoc: Inbound Inventory Report ... 324
8.3 ... Extending an IDoc: Outbound PO with BOMs ... 341
8.4 ... Summary ... 363

ACT III: Realizing the Dream--Building Acme's SAP EDI System ... 365

9. Generating the PO for Replication Services ... 367


9.1 ... Technical Overview of the Interface ... 368
9.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 370
9.3 ... Generating the ORDERS PO with Message Control ... 374
9.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 382
9.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 384
9.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 388
9.7 ... Summary ... 392

10. The Inbound Goods Receipt ... 395


10.1 ... Technical Overview of Interface ... 396
10.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 398
10.3 ... End-to-End Process Flow ... 402
10.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 406
10.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 407
10.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 409
10.7 ... Summary ... 411

11. Processing the Incoming Supplier Invoice ... 413


11.1 ... Technical Overview of Interface ... 414
11.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 415
11.3 ... End-to-End Process Flow ... 426
11.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 430
11.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 431
11.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 435
11.7 ... Summary ... 438

12. The Inbound Customer Purchase Order ... 441


12.1 ... Technical Overview of Interface ... 442
12.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 443
12.3 ... End-to-End Process Flow ... 449
12.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 455
12.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 456
12.6 ... SDQ Processing Program Logic ... 465
12.7 ... Duplicate Checking Enhancement ... 471
12.8 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 476
12.9 ... Summary ... 479

13. Building the Outbound Order Confirmation ... 481


13.1 ... Technical Overview ... 482
13.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 483
13.3 ... Generating the ORDRSP with Message Control ... 489
13.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 499
13.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 534
13.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 538
13.7 ... Summary ... 544

14. Sending a Shipping Order to the Supplier ... 547


14.1 ... Technical Overview of Interface ... 548
14.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 549
14.3 ... Generating a SHPORD IDoc with Message Control ... 557
14.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 565
14.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 567
14.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 570
14.7 ... Summary ... 573

15. The Inbound Shipping Confirmation ... 575


15.1 ... Technical Overview of the Interface ... 576
15.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 577
15.3 ... End-to-End Process Flow ... 585
15.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 588
15.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 590
15.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 600
15.7 ... Summary ... 602

16. The Advanced Shipping Notice to the Customer ... 605


16.1 ... Technical Overview of Interface ... 606
16.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 608
16.3 ... Generating an ASN IDoc with Message Control ... 615
16.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 626
16.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 627
16.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 632
16.7 ... Summary ... 636

17. Generating the Outbound Customer Invoice ... 639


17.1 ... Technical Overview of Interface ... 640
17.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 642
17.3 ... Generating an INVOIC IDoc with Message Control ... 651
17.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 663
17.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 694
17.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 697
17.7 ... Summary ... 700

18. Processing the Inbound Payment Advice ... 703


18.1 ... Technical Overview of the Interface ... 704
18.2 ... Functional Specifications ... 706
18.3 ... End-to-End Process Flow ... 713
18.4 ... Technical Specifications ... 717
18.5 ... Mapping Specifications ... 725
18.6 ... EDI Configuration in SAP ... 731
18.7 ... Summary ... 735

ACT IV: Finishing Touches ... 737

19. Extending the Interface: Custom IDoc Tools ... 739


19.1 ... EDI to IDoc Trading Partner Conversion ... 740
19.2 ... Mass Upload of Partner Profiles to SAP ... 749
19.3 ... Mass Transfer of IDocs between Systems ... 764
19.4 ... Sending IDoc Status to an External System ... 772
19.5 ... Adding Qualifiers to IDoc XML Schema ... 778
19.6 ... Summary ... 786

20. Testing the EDI System in SAP ... 787


20.1 ... IDoc Test Tools ... 788
20.2 ... Interface Testing Strategy ... 798
20.3 ... Unit Testing ... 805
20.4 ... String Testing ... 808
20.5 ... Interface Testing ... 815
20.6 ... Integration Testing ... 822
20.7 ... Stress Testing ... 835
20.8 ... Summary ... 839

21. Troubleshooting and Recovery ... 841


21.1 ... Identifying Issues ... 842
21.2 ... Monitoring and Recovery Tools ... 850
21.3 ... Recovering from Key Failure Points ... 873
21.4 ... Summary ... 888

Epilogue ... 889
The Author ... 893
Index ... 895