SAP ABAP ALE/IDOCS for transactional interfaces

8/12/2019 SAP ABAP ALE/IDOCS for transactional interfaces

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Chapter 3: Transactional DataDistribution/Interfaces

Overview

In this chapter, we build transactional data interfaces for a few ALE scenarios. Although some of the concepts we learned in earlier chapters willcontinue to be used for constructing ALE interfaces, we will learn certain newconcepts that are specific to transactional data. One of the main differencesbetween master data and transactional data interfaces is the triggering of theoutput. Whereas master data has mechanisms such as change pointers, andalso the capability of sending data as and when re uired, transactional datain application areas such as !" and ## rely on message control and outputdetermination. In se$eral other applications, the output %creation of I"O&s'is carried out by speciali(ed programs. )his chapter presents the stepsin$ol$ed in configuring both outbound and inbound interfaces. Although theseinterfaces are set up for communications with e*ternal %non+ - /' systems,they can easily be configured for - /+ - / connections as well, based onthe settings that we learned in the pre$ious chapter .

)he two scenarios that we consider are0 %1' An outbound purchase order and%2' an inbound goods mo$ement transaction. In the case of the outboundpurchase order, we use message control and output determination to ualifypurchase order documents on the !A3/ system for the creation of an I"O& .)he message type used is O "E ! for the I"O& type O "E !42. )heoutput type is configured with a $endor as its partner function. As you may beaware, a purchase order is a function of purchasing in the #aterials#anagement %##' module.

)he second scenario prototyped is the inbound goods mo$ement. )hisfunctionality is typically used when interfacing e*ternal warehouse

management systems with the In$entory #anagement module of !A3/- /. In ad$anced scenarios, this interface could also be used for mobile

data entry in warehouses. #essage type W##567 is used in con8unctionwith the I"O& type W##5I"419 this is a $ery powerful application interfacewhere se$eral goods mo$ement types are supported. 7ou can performtransactions such as goods receipt with or without a purchase order, againsta production order, status change of in$entory %any combination ofunrestricted stoc:, uality inspection, or bloc:ed stoc:', in$entory lost orfound transactions, and so forth. )he goods mo$ement transactionssupported are #51A, #515, #51&, #541, and #5 1. 5y enhancing certain

ALE function modules through customer functions %user e*its', this messagetype can also be used for in$entory reconciliation. As we prototype thisapplication scenario, we are also building an I"O& shell program to generate

I"O&s that will be imported into the - / system. )here, we will alsoe*plore the segments a$ailable in that I"O& type.

;ote that in this chapter we only build interfaces in a fashion that is alreadydeli$ered by !A3/. We will not be enhancing the functionality of these twomessage types. % ALE enhancements are dealt with in the ne*t chapter .' It isimportant to analy(e the re uirements of the intended interface, and thenprototype the !A3/+deli$ered functionality to e$aluate the fit. As discussedearlier, in most cases, the !A3/+deli$ered functionality will meet yourre uirements.
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Outbound Interface

As mentioned earlier, we first prototype an outbound 3urchase Order9 thispurchase order is a function of the application area 3urchasing in the#aterials #anagement module. We configure message control and outputdetermination to trigger an output for the creation of a purchase order I"O& of type O "E !42 based on changes %create, change, line item delete' to apurchase order. )he message type used is O "E ! and the correspondingprocess code is #E14.

Maintaining the Logical S ste!

?4441. )his system is the recei$ingsystem on behalf of the e*ternal system, while 5@1&L;)414 is the sendingsystem that we created and allocated in the pre$ious chapter . ;ote that youcould use a logical system pre$iously created to transmit other messagetypes as well. In order to impro$e understandability, and preclude confusion,let us use a new logical system for each application area we prototype.

Configuring the Custo!er Model


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timing, and medium of output documents such as purchase order, in$oice,deli$ery note, shipment notification, and so forth. Output determination is acomple* lin:age of application ob8ects and concepts, namely &ondition)ables, Access !e uences, Output )ypes, Output "etermination3rocedures, and &ondition ecords. We now step through the $ariousactions that need to be ta:en to configure message control for a purchaseorder. !ee Cigure +1.

#igure 3$% I#? for 3urchasing #essage %Output' "etermination

Crom the - / customi(ing guide %I#?' or transaction SPRO MaterialsManagement Purchasing Message Determination MessageDetermination Condition Table for Messages Definecondition table for purchase order Messages: Display

Condition Table0

Purchase order. )his leads us to a screen with a

parameter for name of a condition table. A pull down on the field displays thecondition tables !A3/ has pro$ided for purchase orders0

42F 3urchasing Output "etermination0"oc.)ype-3urch.Org-Dendor

42 3urchasing Output "etermination0 "ocument)ype

42G 3urchasing Output "etermination0 3urch.Org.-Dendor for E"I

Let us choose condition table 42 %see Cigure +2'. )he criterion for selectionof the purchasing output is "ocument )ype. )he condition table consists offields selected from a field catalog that has entries of fields that are rele$antto the communication of that particular message, namely purchasing outputin this case. )he selected fields form the criteria for the ualification of theoutput for further processing. Later, we maintain $alues for the condition tablein condition records. In this case, the selected field is 5!A ) 3urchasing"ocument )ype. If need be, it is possible to create condition tables with fieldsselected based on your re uirements. In certain cases, it is also possible toadd fields to the field catalog, which is based on ob8ects :nown as
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communication structures.

#igure 3$& &ondition )able with Cield &atalog and !elected Cield%s'

)he ne*t step is to define an access se uence for the purchase order. )heaccess se uence dictates the condition tables used to access conditionrecords, the se uence of condition tables, and defining the fieldsH contents forthe criteria for accessing the tables. Crom the I#? or transaction SPRO Materials Management Purchasing Message Determination

Message Determination Access Sequences DefineAccess sequence for purchase order . Let us use an e*isting accessse uence %see Cigure + '. !e uence 4441 uses condition tables 42G, 42F,and 42 , with 42 being the condition table that we decided to use.

#igure 3$3 Access !e uence for 3urchase Order

)he ne*t acti$ity, configuring the output type %message type, as it is :nown in3urchasing' is an important step that brings together se$eral elements ofmessage control and specifies the :ind of output that will be generated by the
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system based on re uirements specified in the access se uence andcondition records %see Cigure +B'. )o do this0

#igure 3$' Output )ype for 3urchase Order

Crom the I#? or transaction SPRO Materials Management Purchasing Message Determination MessageDetermination Message Types Define message types forpurchase order Maintain output types 0 Purchase order

&opy the e*isting output type NE to a new output type !NE

Enter a description and access se uence of """#


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Crom the I#? or transaction SPRO Materials Management Purchasing Message Determination MessageDetermination Message Types Define message types forpurchase order ,ine-Tuned Control: Purchase 'rder

&reate a new entry for operation 1 ;ew, for output type !NE

&reate a new entry for operation 2 &hange, for output type !NE

!a$e

>a$ing configured the output type, it is now essential to lin: it to an outputprocedure, also :nown as a message schema. We will use the !A3/+supplied output determination procedure #5EC1. )o do this0

Crom the I#? or transaction SPRO Materials Management Purchasing Message Determination MessageDetermination Message Schemas Define message schemas

for purchase order Maintain output determinationprocedure: Purchase order

&hoose the procedure $M.E,# and clic: on the button &O;) OL

Add a new entry for output type !NE with !tep being an incrementalnumber of the pre$ious number. 7ou can lea$e the field for e uirementblan:. )his field places a selection criterion on the output document. Ifspecified, the document will be a candidate for output processing only ifthat re uirement is met.

!a$e

?o to the option Assign Schema to Purchase 'rder

&reate an entry with . for output, E, as the application, and $M.E,# asthe procedure

!a$e

)he last step in this process is to create condition records for the tables thatare being accessed in certain se uences that we incorporated in the outputtype. )o do this0

Crom !A3Hs/ main menu, %ogistics Materials Management Purchasing Master Data Messages Purchase 'rder

Create Enter !NE as the output type

Enter

&hoose the :ey combination Purchasing 'utput Determination:Document Type


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!pecify the document type, partner function +N, medium A for ALE ,timing 1 for processing with ne*t run of !;A!)44, and language, fore*ample E for English

!a$e

All the preceding steps need to be completed in order for the output to betriggered for processing by ALE . As you may ha$e reali(ed, there are se$eral$ariations of the configuration that we completed, especially for specifyingdifferent criteria, search strategies, re uirements, and nature of output. In ourconfiguration, we adopted a simple approach, using !A3/+deli$ered ob8ectsin most cases. )his boo: does not purport to be a treatise on theconfiguration of output determination9 hence, you may use the preceding as aguideline to configure output determination for purposes of prototyping the

ALE interface. &ontact your functional consultant for more details.

Maintaining the "artner "rofile

As we learned earlier, we need to configure the partner profile that is the

identifier for the e*ternal system. )he partner profile brings together se$eralelements of the ALE interface and pro$ides a gateway for communications.In the case of transactional data interfaces in the !" and ## modules, weha$e to define additional parameters based on the output determination thatwe configured earlier.

Cirst, create a partner profile based on the logical system =3O&>?4441,with partner type being L!. )o do this0

)ransaction WE20 or WEDI (D'C Partner Profile/ or SA%E Communication Manual maintenance of partner profile Maintain partner profile

Enter !P'C0)"""# for partner number, and %S for partner type &lic: on button & EA)E

Enter A%E as partner class, and A as partner status

!a$e

Outbound "ara!eters )o maintain outbound parameters %see Cigure +F',follow these steps0

Cor partner !P'C0)"""# , clic: on the button O


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#igure 3$( Outbound 3arameters for 3urchase Order

Message Control )o maintain the message control parameters of thepartner profile %see Cigure + ', follow these steps0

Cor partner profile !P'C0)"""# , clic: on button #E!!A?E &O;) OL

&lic: on button ;EW E;) IE!

Enter E, for Application, and !NE for Output type

Enter '$DE$S for message type, and ME#" for 3rocess code

!a$e

&reate another #essage control entry for Application E, , Output type!NE , with the Change message chec:bo* selected.


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#igure 3$) #essage &ontrol for 3urchase Order

*or+ing the Interface

>a$ing completed all the configuration re uired for generating 3urchaseOrder outbound I"O&s, we now proceed with the e*citing tas: of testing theinterface. )here are three steps in$ol$ed in this tas:0

1. &reate or change a purchase order. Ensure that an output %message' hasbeen generated of type !NE .

2. 3rocess the preceding output to create an I"O& .

. "ispatch the I"O& to the e*ternal system.

In order to create purchase orders, use transaction ME21 %Dendor :nown' orfrom !A3/ main menu %ogistics Materials Management Purchasing Purchase 'rder Create +endor 2no3n* 7oucan also use transaction ME25 Dendor un:nown. Enter a document typethat is $alid for message control9 that is, enter a purchase order documenttype that was used for creating condition records during the configuration ofoutput determination. Enter the material number, uantity, plant, storagelocation, unit price, and the li:e, for the purchase order. Ensure that the lineitem has been accepted. )o see if the output record has been created0

Crom the purchase order o$er$iew screen 0eader Messages

)here should be an entry for output type !NE with medium A for ALE ,partner function +N for $endor, language E for English, and status of 4. )hestatus $alue 4 indicates that the output record created has not yet beenprocessed

!a$e the purchase order

As you can see in Cigure +G, if the document has been changed, you willsee the flag set for the last column C0N) . Only if there e*ists an entry inthe partner profileHs message control for change messages will the output
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be processed into an I"O& in such a situation

#igure 3$, Output %message' ecord for 3urchase Order

"rocessing Output When an output record is created based on the outputdetermination that we configured, an entry is created in the ;A!) table. )histable stores output records for all applications using message control. ;otethat this is not a table specific to ALE , but for the application per se. )he;A!) table also stores the status of the output record, namely9 4, for not yetprocessed9 1, for processed successfully9 2, for processed with errors9 and ,for inacti$e. 3rograms that process output based on message control, accessthe ;A!) table with function modules to gather control information such asthe ob8ect :ey %the purchase order number, for e*ample'. !ubse uently,these programs generate the output in a particular medium, as defined in theoutput record. After ha$ing created the output, the ;A!) table is updated

with the correct status of the output record.

In order to process the output record we created earlier, follow these steps0

E*ecute program !;A!)44 or from WEDI Test 'utbound fromNAST or transaction WE15

Enter E, for Output application, !NE for Output type, and A for Outputmedium

E*ecute

7ou will recei$e informational messages regarding the success of the

action, along with an I"O& number


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of purchase order I"O&s that can be sent to the e*ternal system. )o do this0

E*ecute program !EO


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the functionality by adding code in the !A3/+pro$ided customer functions.>owe$er, as you will disco$er, this interface pro$ides se$eral powerfulfunctions.

?enerally spea:ing, the steps described below should be sufficient to set up ALE in order to prototype an inbound interface. An important re uirement tosuccessfully prototype an ALE interface is to understand the business needs,in$estigate the capabilities of the message type and ALE function modules byunderstanding the purpose of the data segments, and testing it with$ariations of data based on different application scenarios.

An important element in inbound interfaces is the process code. )he processcode, which is maintained in the inbound parameters of the partner profile,determines the application function module that is to be in$o:ed for furtherprocessing or for posting the document to the application. )his functionmodule also contains code that triggers error processing throughcomponents such as Wor:flow. Cor e*ample, W##5 is the process codethat is used for this interface, and it in$o:es function moduleLJI"O&JI;3


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this case. It would be needed if communicating with a remote- / system. In such a case, you would distribute the customer

model from the remote system to this - / system. Also, for thepurposes of this configuration and testing wherein we will beimporting a file of I"O&s, it is not re uired to maintain the portdefinition.

Maintaining the "artner "rofile

)he ne*t step in the process is to create a partner profile for the e*ternalsystem, based on the logical system that we configured. )his partner profilewill tie together the $arious ALE ob8ects and settings, and pro$ide a gatewayfor communications. In this e*ample, we configure only the inboundparameters, since message control and outbound parameters do not apply.;ote that you can use a partner profile %and its logical system' for definingmultiple inbound and outbound messages. 3roceed as follows %see Cigure +K'0

#igure 3$. Inbound 3arameters for ?oods #o$ement Interface

E*ecute transaction WE20 or WEDI I"O& Partner profile orSALE Communication Manual maintenance of partnerprofiles Maintain partner profiles

Enter )''DSM+T"# for 3artner number, %S for 3artner type

&lic: on button & EA)E

Enter A%E for 3artner class, and A for 3artner status

!a$e. )he partner has been created

&lic: on button I;5O


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)he chec:bo* for Synta8 Chec2 should be chec:ed. )his implies thatthe synta* of the inbound I"O& imported into the system will be chec:ed9that is, it will $alidate the segments, hierarchy, and other structure+relatedrules that are defined in the I"O& type. As you will see later, it is ourresponsibility to maintain the synta* and integrity of the I"O& type. An

error message will be issued if the I"O& fails the synta* chec:9 thisapplies to both the inbound and outbound I"O& types. Cor yourinformation, synta* data for an I"O& type can be found in table E"I!7;.

for
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header data and %2' E2#567I for item data. 5oth are mandatory segments,and e$ery I"O& should be comprised of one E2#567> E"I"" recordfollowed by one or more E2#567I E"I"" records. Of course, each I"O& will also ha$e as its first record the E"I"& record. )he header segmentconsists of fields such as posting date, document date, document referencenumber and te*t, transaction code, and so forth, while the detail segment hasse$eral fields that re uire information such as material number, mo$ementtype, plant, storage location, purchase order number, uantity, units ofmeasure, and so on. %!ee Appendi* C for details of the W##5I"41 I"O& type.' )here are certain flags on the E2#567I segment that indicate orcontrol the processing of the document in the !A3/ application. Core*ample, field E2#567I+@=5EW should ha$e a $alue of 5 for goodsreceipt against a purchase order, and C for a production order. If theinterface is handling large $olumes of data, or if it is a business re uirement,you could pac:age se$eral detail lines for one single header, gi$en that alldetail items ha$e the same transaction code9 howe$er, from a technicalperspecti$e, this is not essential.

Let us inspect the general structure of this I"O& shell program. )he firstrecord being written in the file is the E"I"& record, which contains controlinformation about the I"O& such as client, direction, sender partner details,recei$er partner details, ports, message type, I"O& type, and so forth. %!ee

Appendi* E for details on I"O& record structures.' %;ote that the port nameby default has to ha$e the $alue !A3/ !I"M, where !I"M is the name ofthe instance. Cor e*ample, if the instance is 5@1, then the port name wouldbe !A35@1.' E"I"" records follow the E"I"& record created. We firstpopulate the :ey information of the E"I"" record structure such as segmentname. 7ou can lea$e fields li:e segment number and hierarchy le$el blan:,as they will be resol$ed by !A3/ when the I"O& is added to the system.)hen, the !"A)A segment is formatted with E2#567> header data andmo$ed into field !"A)A of the E"I"" record. )his record is then written tothe file. )he same operation is repeated for E2#567I detail lines, and theE"I"" records are written to the file. )his completes the creation of one

I"O& in the file. If need be, you can create se$eral such I"O&s in the samefile with different sets of data. !ee the source listing in Cigure +N.

-ote In case of message types corresponding to I"O& types that can beused for both outbound and inbound processing, you can usetransaction WE12 to modify the I"O& file for inbound processing.Cor this, you must first create the outbound file.

#igure 3$ Sa!ple IDOC Shell "rogra!

$EP'$T !5MM.67#*9

999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

999This is an (D'C shell program to create 5MM.(D"# (Docsfor 999999 the )oods Mo4ement interface bet3een an e8ternal3arehouse 999999 management system and SAP $ ;


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E1M.67(* = 5MM.(D"# (Doc type


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(D'C&C'NT$'%-MEST7P 5MM.67


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91M.67(-.EAF! C0A$ C # (ndicator:line already e91M.67(-6ST'. C0A$ C # ,lag:$e4erse postingE1M.67(-MATN$ """"""TESTMATE$(A%


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91M.67(-A ,N$ = #1 'rderNumber91M.67(-AN%N# C0A$ C #1 Asset mainnumber91M.67(-AN%N1 C0A$ C ? Asset sub-number91M.67(-$SN M C0A$ C #" Number ofreser4ation d91M.67(-$SP'S C0A$ C ? (tem numberof reser4ation91M.67(-F!EA$ C0A$ C # (ndicator:final issue for91M.67(- MMAT C0A$ C #I$ecei4ing issuing material91M.67(- M5$F = C0A$ C ? $ecei4ingPlant (ssuing P91M.67(- M%)' * = C ?$ecei4ing (ssuing Storage91M.67(- MC0A C0A$ C #"$ecei4ing (ssuing .atch

91M.67(-F!.E5 = C0A$ C # Mo4ement(ndicator91M.67(-5E N. C0A$ C # (ndicator:goods receipt91M.67(-%)N M C0A$ C ; 5arehousenumber comple891M.67(-%)T7P C0A$ C ; Storagetype91M.67(-%)P%A C0A$ C #" Storage bin91M.67(-)$ ND = ?(ndicator:$eason for )ood91M.67(-E+E$S C0A$ C 1 Shippinginstructions

91M.67(-E+E$E C0A$ C 1 Compliance3ith shipping91M.67(-(MFE7 C0A$ C I (nternal2ey for real est91M.67(-FST$) C0A$ C #1 Cost obBect91M.67(-PA'. N$ C0A$ C #" Number forbusiness segment91M.67(-P$CT$ C0A$ C #" Profitcenter91M.67(-PS&PSP&PN$ C0A$ C I ProBectstructure plan el91M.67(-NP%N$ C0A$ C #1 Net3or2number for account91M.67(-A ,P% C0A$ C #" Planningnumber for trans91M.67(-AP%!% C0A$ C I Counter fordistinguishing91M.67(-A ,PS C0A$ C ? Number oforder item in C91M.67(-+PTN$ C0A$ C #" Partneraccount number91M.67(-,(P'S C0A$ C #? Commitmentitem


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91M.67(-)S.E$ C0A$ C ? .usinessarea91M.67(-.STM) C0A$ C # )oodsreceipt quantity in91M.67(-.STME C0A$ C ; 'rder unit91M.67(-E6.5$ C0A$ C # Postingamount in local c91M.67(-F'NT' C0A$ C #" ) % accountnumber91M.67(-$S0F! C0A$ C #Debit credit indicator91M.67(-.DMN) C0A$ C # $equirementquantity in C91M.67(-ENMN) C0A$ C # (ssuedquantity in char*f91M.67(-KP%'S C0A$ C #1 (nspectionlot number in91M.67(- M!ST C0A$ C # Status ofrecei4ing batch91M.67(- M! S C0A$ C # Status 2ey

of transfer batch91M.67(- M.A$ C0A$ C #" +aluationtype of transfer99M.67(- MS'F C0A$ C # Specialstoc2 indicator f91M.67(-%,. A C0A$ C ? ,iscal yearof a reference91M.67(-%,.N$ C0A$ C #" Documentnumber of a reference91M.67(-%,P'S C0A$ C ? (tem in areference document91M.67(-S A0$ C0A$ C ? Materialdocument year in

91M.67(-SM.%N C0A$ C #" Number of amaterial document91M.67(-SM.%P C0A$ C ? (tem inmaterial document91M.67(-E6+F5 C0A$ C # Sales 4aluespecified e8t91M.67(-KM&! STD C0A$ C # .atchstatus 3ith status91M.67(-P'SN$ C0A$ C J Deli4eryitem for subsystem91M.67(-+.E%N C0A$ C #" Deli4ery91M.67(-KM& M!ST C0A$ C # Status ofrecei4* batch 391M.67(-.5%+S C0A$ C ; Mo4ementtype for 5hse Mg91M.67(- M$E! * = C0A$ C N ME$AT'$,'$ C'N+E$T(N)91M.67(- M$EN * = C0A$ C DEN'M(NAT'$,'$ C'N+E$S('N91M.67(-+,DAT * = I E6P($AT('NDATE '$ .EST-.91M.67(-DA.$! DATS D I $eferencedate for account


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999999999999999999999999999999999 3rite ED(DD record9999999999999(NT&ED(DD-SDATA E1M.67(*T$ANS,E$ (NT&ED(DD T' ' T,(%E*(, S7-S .$C NE "* 5$(TE: E$$'$ ED(DD 1a$ing created the file of I"O& -s using the shellprogram, we are now ready to import the I"O& into the - / system. )his isaccomplished by using an !A3/ standard program !EI;544. )o do this0

E*ecute program !EI;544

Enter the directory path and name of the I"O& file

E*ecute

7ou should recei$e an informational message that the file was transferredto the ALE layer

Documents

SAP ABAP ALE/IDOCS for transactional interfaces