Lesson 2 of 5
Migration objects and sequence
8 min
Listen to this lesson
Data migration is organized into migration objects. A migration object is one type of business data that is loaded as a unit, with its own template, fields, rules and checks: for example banks, customers, suppliers, products, purchasing info records, open purchase orders, material inventory balances or accounts receivable open items. The SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit provides a library of predefined migration objects; the exact list and names vary by release and deployment, so always check the object list in your own system.
Why sequence matters
Objects depend on each other. An open sales order refers to a customer and a product. A purchasing info record refers to a supplier and a product. An inventory balance refers to a product, a plant and a storage location. If you load the order before the customer exists, the load fails, or worse, someone creates a quick workaround that leaves broken data behind. The load sequence is therefore driven by dependencies: an object can be loaded only after everything it references exists.
A worked sequence for Alternadores del Norte
| Order | Object | Depends on | Alternadores del Norte example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Banks | Configuration only | Mexican banks used by its local suppliers and fleet customers |
| 2 | Business partners: customers and suppliers | Banks, configuration | Flotillas Monterrey S.A. de C.V. as customer; its local rotor supplier |
| 3 | Products | Plants, storage locations, valuation settings | ADN-200 and its rotor in plant 1910 Monterrey |
| 4 | Bills of material and routings | Products, work centers | BOM of ADN-200 containing the rotor |
| 5 | Purchasing info records and pricing conditions | Suppliers, customers, products | Rotor price from the local supplier; fleet price in MXN for Flotillas Monterrey |
| 6 | Open purchase orders and open sales orders | Business partners, products, conditions | Open PO for 500 rotors; open order for 50 alternators |
| 7 | Inventory balances | Products, plants, storage locations | ADN-200 stock in plant 1910 Monterrey |
| 8 | Financial open items and balances | Business partners, G/L accounts, and stock values for reconciliation | Open receivables of Flotillas Monterrey; open payables to suppliers; G/L balances in company code 1910 (MXN) |
An illustrative load sequence. Real projects have many more objects and some parallel streams.
Finance has its own logic
Financial objects are usually loaded last and need special care. Inventory balances post stock values; open receivables and payables post customer and supplier items; G/L balances must then be loaded so that the totals in the new system match the old one, without double counting the values already posted by stock and open items. Migration projects typically use dedicated migration clearing accounts that must net to zero when everything is loaded. Dan's team agrees the approach with the migration specialist early, because getting it wrong produces balance sheets that do not tie out.
- Inventory balancesStock values posted for plant 1910 Monterrey
- Open receivables and payablesAlternadores del Norte's customer and supplier items posted in MXN
- G/L balancesRemaining balances for company code 1910, without double counting
- Clearing checkMigration clearing accounts net to zero; totals match the legacy ERP
What would you do?
During the first Alternadores del Norte mock load, 300 open sales orders fail with errors saying the sold-to party does not exist. The customer object was scheduled to load in parallel with sales orders to save time. What should the migration team change?
Parallel streams and the critical path
Not everything has to wait for everything else. Objects without a dependency between them can be loaded in parallel: banks and products, for example, do not depend on each other. The longest chain of dependent loads is the critical path of the migration, and it largely decides how long the cutover window must be. Luis builds the cutover plan around that chain and uses each mock load to find out how long every step really takes.
- Does object B reference anything in object A?Yes → load B after A; the pair sits on a dependency chain · No → they can load in parallel
- Is this chain the longest one in the plan?Yes → it is the critical path; it sets the cutover window · No → schedule it around the critical path
- Did the last mock show this step taking longer than planned?Yes → update the cutover plan and tune the step · No → keep the timing
- A migration object is one type of business data loaded as a unit, with its own template, fields and checks.
- Dependencies drive the load sequence: referenced objects first.
- Typical layers: core master data, dependent master data, open documents, balances and open items.
- Financial balances need a planned approach and clearing accounts that net to zero.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Why must business partners usually be loaded before open sales orders?
2. What is a migration object?
3. Which objects are usually loaded last?
4. What must migration clearing accounts do once all financial objects are loaded?