Business partners are important structures in an SAP system. In this blog post, we’ll cover the steps involved in setting up business partners for materials management (MM) purposes.
Defining and Assigning Number Ranges
To define a business partner number range, follow the menu path SAP IMG > Cross-Application Components > SAP Business Partner > Business Partner > Basic Settings > Define Number Ranges. Below shows the definition of business partner number range interval MM.
To assign a business partner number range, follow the menu path SAP IMG > Cross-Application Components > SAP Business Partner > Business Partner > Basic Settings > Define Groupings and Assign Number Ranges.
As shown below, the number range MM has been assigned to the business partner grouping HVPV.
It’s also important to ensure that at least one internal standard grouping (Int.Std.Grping) and one external standard grouping (Ext.Std Grping) is selected to logically group business partners accordingly. The relevant radio button (either external or internal) will only appear for selection based on if the business partner number range is defined as external or internal, respectively.
Note: A business partner is also always assigned to exactly one grouping when it’s created. This determines the number range (external/internal), which is also fixed and can’t be changed afterwards, unlike the account groups for customers/vendors. To display only customer-specific and selected SAP standard business partner groupings when selecting the grouping using Transaction BP, the unused ones can be hidden using the Hide checkbox on the far right. We recommend creating a business partner grouping for each vendor account group. To simplify configuration and business processes, an even better method is to use the same identifiers between the SAP S/4HANA Finance vendor account groups and business partners in MM.
Defining Business Partner Role Categories
In this step, configure or define a new business partner role category for vendors of high-value purchases by copying from the standard available business partner category FLVN01. A business partner role is the highest level of business partner in which various business partner roles are created for an organization, group, or person.
To define business partner role categories, follow menu path SAP IMG > Cross- Application Components > SAP Business Partner > Business Partner > Basic Settings > Business Partner Roles > Define BP Roles.
In the following figure, maintain the Title and Description fields of the new business partner role category ZHVPRC.
The Diff.Type field (differentiation type) is the controlling field, that is, the field that controls the types of data or the screens available while creating a new business partner of this specific business partner role category. Type 0 will enable maintenance of the general data of a business partner. Type 2 will bring up purchasing-related fields, tabs, and screens of a business partner for data maintenance, while type 3 will enable maintenance of the sales area data, wherein a business partner is a customer. It’s also possible to control which (or all) of the three business partner categories (i.e., organization, person, or group) is allowed for a particular business partner role category by selecting the relevant checkboxes.
In other words, a business partner role category determines which data can be used for a particular business transaction; it’s always assigned to exactly one business partner category (person, organization, or group) and can’t be changed in the future. When creating a business partner using Transaction BP, it’s mandatory to first select the business partner category. Only after that will the selection of fields for data entry specified for this type be available for maintaining data.
For this example, choose Diff.Type 2 to create a new business partner role category for the purchasing function. The screen that appears (see Figure 5.10) shows the newly configured business partner role category ZHVPRC. Select it, and then choose BP Roles on the left-hand side of the screen.
As shown above, create a new BP Role ZHVPRC by clicking New Entries and assigning the BP Role Cat. “ZHVPRC” just created in the previous step. Be sure the Std Assignment BP Role -> BP Role Cat. checkbox has been selected so that the system assigns the specific ZHVPRC business partner role to the business partner role category ZHVPRC.
A business partner role can be regarded as a kind of function that a business partner assumes depending on a business action. is a list of business partner roles already delivered by SAP in the standard system.
Several roles can be assigned to a business partner, depending on the business interactions with a company. SAP has delivered the role 000000 (Business Partner (General)) as an undefined or basic role. Among the available roles, 000000 Business Partner (General) contains the higher-level master data (address data) that can be used in any other role. It’s therefore recommended to assign this role as a basic role first.
Several business partner roles can be assigned to a business partner role category (i.e., a business partner role category can have several business partner roles assigned to it); therefore, selecting the Std Assignment BP Role → BP Role Cat. checkbox will ensure one standard business partner role is read while creating business partner master data. Assign the standard BP View FLVN01 in the lower half of the screen to ensure standard screens and layouts are available while creating a new business partner of the newly configured business partner role category.
In the Interface Control section shown earlier, choose one of the predefined CVI views. If no view is assigned, the settings for the business partner view 000000 (General BP) will be used in the dialog box, and it won’t be possible to access the customer-specific/vendor-specific fields from the business partner transaction.
Scroll down so that the Position field appears (not shown). This is a control function to determine the order in which the selected business partner role should appear in the selection mask. For example, the role FLVN00 - Supplier (Financial Accounting) may displayed at position 2, right after the first role 00000 – General.
Finally, select BP Role Category --> Business Transaction on the left-hand side of the screen. Enter the BP Role Cat. “ZHVPRC” in the popup that appears, and click Continue. The figure below shows the control function that either allows or disallows business partner transactions for a business partner role category.
Field Attributes for Business Partner Role Category
You can control fields and their behaviors by choosing which fields are mandatory or optional, display only, or hidden. To control the field attributes of the business partner role category we configured in the previous step, follow the menu path SAP IMG > Cross-Application Components > SAP Business Partner > Field Groupings > Configure Field Attributes per BP Role > Configure Field Attributes for Each Role Category.
As shown below, choose the BP Role ZHVPRC and then click Field Grouping.
In the next figure, you’ll see a large number of Data Sets on the left hand side. Clicking on the relevant set will bring up the field group (Field Grp) where you can control the fields’ attributes. This configuration screen allows you to make certain fields required (Req. Entry), optional (Opt. entry), display only (Display), or suppressed (Hide). This configuration is specific to the business partner role that is entered when a vendor master record is created.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we covered business partner configuration as it pertains to MM. How will you utilize this information when working with materials management with SAP S/4HANA logistics capabilities?
Editor’s note: This post has been adapted from a section of the book Materials Management with SAP S/4HANA: Business Processes and Configuration by Jawad Akhtar and Martin Murray.
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