Click on any node in the graph above to learn more about each configuration step.
The configuration process involves setting up account groups, number ranges, BP roles, and groupings, as well as defining the link between them.
Understanding Business Partner and Vendor Integration
In SAP S/4 HANA, all vendors must be created through the Business Partner functionality. This represents a significant change from SAP ECC, where vendors could be created directly using transaction XK01.
In ECC, vendor creation (XK01) was independent of Business Partner. In S/4 HANA, XK01 transaction redirects to BP transaction, requiring first creating a Business Partner that will be extended to play a vendor role.
The integration between Business Partner and vendor master data is managed through a series of configuration steps that establish:
This approach provides several benefits:
The process of creating a vendor in S/4 HANA follows these general steps:
Once properly configured, this process creates both a Business Partner and a vendor that are linked together, enabling the entity to function within procurement processes.
Account groups control vendor master data properties, field selection, and number assignment. They determine which fields are mandatory, optional, or hidden when creating vendors.
Configuration Purpose: To group vendors with similar attributes and control how they are created and maintained.
Business Impact: Properly designed account groups streamline vendor creation and ensure consistent data quality.
BP groupings control Business Partner number assignment and are the equivalent of account groups at the BP level. They determine what numbers are assigned to Business Partners.
Configuration Purpose: To organize Business Partners and control their number assignment.
Business Impact: Enables consistent numbering across the system and organizes Business Partners by type.
The mapping between BP groupings and vendor account groups establishes how Business Partners are linked to vendors. This mapping determines whether they share the same number.
Configuration Purpose: To create the relationship between BP and vendor master data.
Business Impact: Enables data consistency across the system and simplifies cross-references.
Business Partner roles define what functions a BP can perform in the system. For vendors, the key roles are FLVN00 (company code data) and FLVN01 (purchasing data).
Configuration Purpose: To enable a Business Partner to function in different areas of the system.
Business Impact: Allows a single business entity to play multiple roles (vendor, customer, etc.).
Partner functions allow vendors to have different sub-roles like ordering address, goods supplier, and invoice party. These functions enable representing complex vendor relationships.
Configuration Purpose: To represent different responsibilities within a vendor relationship.
Business Impact: Enables accurate representation of complex supplier relationships and supply chain processes.
Number assignment controls how system numbers are assigned to Business Partners and vendors. It can be internal (system-assigned) or external (user-entered).
Configuration Purpose: To control the numbering strategy for Business Partners and vendors.
Business Impact: Affects data migration, cross-system integration, and reporting capabilities.
Account groups control vendor number assignment, field selection, and partner roles. They determine which fields are mandatory, optional, or hidden when creating vendors.
Account groups are fundamental to vendor data management. They control how vendors are organized, what data is required, and what number ranges are assigned.
T077K (Vendor Account Groups), T077D (Field Selection for Account Groups)
Number ranges determine what vendor numbers will be assigned when creating vendors with a specific account group.
Number ranges define the numbering system for vendors. For integration with Business Partner, it's critical that vendor number ranges are properly aligned with BP number ranges.
Important: For the "Same Number" functionality to work, vendor account groups must use external number assignment.
TNRO (Number Range Objects), NRIV (Number Range Intervals)
BP groupings control Business Partner number assignment and are the equivalent of account groups at the BP level.
BP groupings are the counterpart to vendor account groups at the Business Partner level. They determine how BPs are organized and what numbers they receive.
TB001 (Business Partner Groupings)
Number ranges for Business Partners determine what numbers will be assigned to the BP, which can later be linked to vendor numbers.
These number ranges determine what numbers Business Partners receive. For the "Same Number" functionality to work with vendors, these ranges must align with vendor number ranges.
TB002 (Number Range Assignment for BP Groupings), NRIV (Number Range Intervals)
This critical step creates the link between Business Partner and vendor, determining how numbers are assigned across both objects.
This mapping is the glue that connects Business Partner and vendor master data. It determines whether they share the same number and how they relate to each other.
Key Setting: The "Same Number" flag determines if BP and vendor numbers will be identical.
Key Setting: The "Flexible Grouping" flag determines if account group selection is available during vendor creation.
CVICONFIG (CVI Configuration), CVIACCOUNT (CVI Account Group Assignment)
Partner functions allow vendors to have different roles (e.g., ordering address, goods supplier, invoice party) within a single vendor entity.
Partner functions enable representing complex vendor relationships, such as when a vendor has separate ordering and shipping locations.
This configuration determines what partner functions are available for specific vendor account groups.
T077D (Partner Functions), T077E (Partner Function Assignments)
Create the Business Partner with basic information before extending it to vendor roles.
This creates the foundational Business Partner entity with general information like name, address, and contact details.
At this stage, the Business Partner is just a generic entity without any specific role.
BUT000 (BP General Data), BUT020 (BP Addresses), BUT021 (BP Address Usage)
Extend the BP to the company code role (FLVN00) to create financial/accounting data at the company code level.
This step transforms the generic Business Partner into a vendor at the company code level, enabling financial transactions.
After this step, a vendor number is generated and linked to the BP based on the mapping configured in step 5.
BUT100 (BP Roles), LFA1 (Vendor Master General Section), LFB1 (Vendor Master Company Code Section)
Extend the BP to the purchasing organization role (FLVN01) to create purchasing-related data.
This step completes the vendor setup by adding purchasing-specific information, enabling procurement transactions.
After this step, the vendor can be used in purchasing processes like creating purchase orders.
BUT100 (BP Roles), LFM1 (Vendor Master Purchasing Organization Data)
Understanding the connections between different configuration elements is crucial for successful implementation. The diagram below shows how the various components relate to each other:
Vendor account groups must be assigned to number ranges. These number ranges determine what numbers vendors receive when created.
Impact: For the "Same Number" functionality to work with Business Partners, vendor account groups must use external number assignment.
Business Partner groupings must be assigned to number ranges. These determine what numbers BPs receive when created.
Impact: For the "Same Number" functionality to work, BP number ranges must align with vendor number ranges.
This is the critical mapping that connects Business Partner and vendor. It determines whether they share the same number.
Impact: Affects how vendors are created from Business Partners and whether they have the same identification numbers.
Partner function schemas are assigned to vendor account groups, determining what partner functions are available for vendors.
Impact: Affects the ability to represent complex vendor relationships with different roles and responsibilities.
Understanding the underlying tables helps in troubleshooting and enhances your knowledge of the data model.
Contains the basic information about Business Partners, including names, address numbers, groupings, and other general data.
Key Fields: PARTNER (BP Number), BU_GROUP (BP Grouping), NAME_ORG1 (Company Name)
Contains address information for Business Partners, linked to the BP through the address number.
Key Fields: PARTNER (BP Number), ADDRNUMBER (Address Number)
Contains the roles assigned to Business Partners (e.g., FLVN00, FLVN01).
Key Fields: PARTNER (BP Number), RLTYP (Role Type)
Contains the configuration for Business Partner groupings.
Key Fields: BUSPARTGRP (BP Grouping), BUSPARTGRPTEXT (Description)
Contains the assignment of number ranges to BP groupings.
Key Fields: BUSPARTGRP (BP Grouping), NROBJ (Number Range Object)
Contains the general data for vendors, including name, address, and account group.
Key Fields: LIFNR (Vendor Number), KTOKK (Account Group), NAME1 (Name)
Contains vendor data specific to company codes, including payment terms and reconciliation account.
Key Fields: LIFNR (Vendor Number), BUKRS (Company Code), AKONT (Reconciliation Account)
Contains vendor data specific to purchasing organizations, including currencies and payment terms.
Key Fields: LIFNR (Vendor Number), EKORG (Purchasing Organization)
Contains the configuration for vendor account groups.
Key Fields: KTOKK (Account Group), TXT30 (Description)
Contains field selection settings for account groups, determining which fields are required/optional.
Key Fields: KTOKK (Account Group), FNAM (Field Name), FOPT (Field Option)
Contains the links between vendors and Business Partners, creating the integration between the two objects.
Key Fields: PARTNER_GUID (BP GUID), LIFNR (Vendor Number)
Contains the configuration for Customer Vendor Integration (CVI), including number assignment settings.
Key Fields: BUSPARTGRP (BP Grouping), ACCTGROUP (Account Group)
Contains the number range intervals for all number range objects, including BP and vendor.
Key Fields: NROBJ (Number Range Object), FROMNR (From Number), TONR (To Number)
Interactive visualization of the vendor master data configuration process
Click on any node in the graph above to learn more about each configuration step.
The configuration process involves setting up account groups, number ranges, BP roles, and groupings, as well as defining the link between them.
Account groups categorize vendors (e.g., domestic, import, employee, government). Different account groups determine which fields are mandatory or optional during vendor master data creation.
Configuration Path: SPRO > SAP Reference IMG > Financial Accounting > Account Receivable and Accounts Payable > Supplier Accounts > Master data > Preparation for creating vendor Master data > Define Account Group.
Example: Creating a new account group with code "9010" for "Domestic Vendor".
Number ranges assign unique identification numbers to vendors. You create the number range series itself.
Configuration Path: SPRO > SAP Reference IMG > Financial Accounting > Account Receivable and Accounts Payable > Supplier Accounts > Master data > Preparation for creating vendor Master data > Create number range for vendor accounts.
The system uses NR status, number range status to define number ranges.
Important note is that it is important to "make it as external" when defining the account group for business partner configuration.
Links the defined number ranges to the previously created account groups. This ensures that when a vendor is created under a specific account group, it's assigned a number from the linked number range.
Configuration Path: SPRO > SAP Reference IMG > Financial Accounting > Account Receivable and Accounts Payable > Supplier Accounts > Master data > Preparation for creating vendor Master data > Assign number range to vendor account groups.
BP roles determine the type of data that can be maintained for a business partner. Standard BP roles like FLVN00 (company code data) and FLVN01 (purchasing organization data) are used for vendors. General data is associated with the business partner role 'six zeros'.
"FLVN00 is used to maintain the company code information company code data ... if you are selecting the BP rule as FLVN01 that means you are going to maintain the purchasing information about the supplier and for General data we have the standard one again that will be with six zeros."
Configuration Path: SPRO > SAP Reference IMG > Cross Application Components > SAP Business Partner > Business Partner > Basic Settings > Business Partner Roles > Define BP Roles.
Assigns unique identification numbers to BP groupings. Crucially, the significance of aligning these number ranges with vendor account number ranges if the business wants vendors to have the same ID in both.
Configuration Path: SPRO > SAP Reference IMG > Cross Application Components > SAP Business Partner > Business Partner > Basic Settings > Number Ranges and Groupings > Define Number Ranges.
A grouping is essentially a categorisation for Business Partners, and this step links a number range to the specific grouping.
Configuration Path: SPRO > SAP Reference IMG > Cross Application Components > SAP Business Partner > Business Partner > Basic Settings > Number Ranges and Groupings > Define Grouping and Assign Number Ranges.
This step is critical for ensuring that the business partner number and the vendor number are synchronized (or not, depending on the business requirement). It connects the vendor account group and the BP grouping.
Configuration Path: SPRO > SAP Reference IMG > Cross Application Components > Master Data Synchronization > Synchronization Control > Synchronization Control > Customer Vendor Integration > Business Partner Settings > Settings for Vendor Integration > Field Assignment for Vendor Integration > Assign Keys > Define number assignment for direction BP to enter.
The "Same numbers" checkbox is used to ensure the BP and vendor numbers are identical. "Whatever number range you had created for account group and grouping what's same then keep it as seen".
Explore the relationships between key configuration elements in the SAP S/4 HANA vendor management process
Description of the element goes here.
Purpose information goes here.
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