Changes, cancellations and the supplier profile

A purchase order rarely stays as it was sent. Planners move dates, buyers change quantities, items are cancelled. Each change must reach the supplier exactly once, as a change, not as a new order. That is the job of message type ORDCHG (X12 860, EDIFACT ORDCHG).

How change output works

With message control, changing a purchase order that already has a processed NEU output creates a new output with the change indicator set. The partner profile then routes it: the outbound parameter for message type ORDCHG with application EF, output type NEU, process code ME11 and the Change message flag set picks up change outputs, while the ORDERS line with ME10 handles originals. Both use basic type ORDERS05. SAP's example partner profile for supplier EDI shows exactly this pair: NEU with ME10 for ORDERS, and NEU with ME11 and the change flag for ORDCHG.

Cancellations and item action codes

When a buyer deletes an item, the change IDoc carries the item with an action code in segment E1EDP01 that tells the receiver the item is deleted rather than changed (check the code values in the IDoc documentation, WE60). Whether Lakeside can process an 860 cancellation automatically is a partner question: many suppliers accept 860 for quantity and date changes only and want cancellations by phone or by a separate process. Write the agreed behavior into the partner's mapping specification and test it.

Which field changes trigger a change output at all is controlled in Customizing for purchasing messages (fields relevant to printouts of changes). Too few relevant fields and the supplier misses real changes; too many and every text edit sends an 860 that the supplier's customer service has to handle by hand.

Approval comes before output

Contoso's approval threshold applies here: purchase orders over $25,000 need approval in flexible workflow. Output is only processed for a released purchase order, so an unapproved PO over the threshold sends nothing. PO 4500002210 (500 rotors at $42.00, $21,000) is below the threshold and goes out on save. A change that pushes a PO over $25,000 sends it back into approval, and the change output waits until it is released. Testers should include that case, because suppliers sometimes receive the change hours after the buyer made it and assume an error.

The inbound side of the same profile

The supplier's partner profile in WE20 holds both directions. Next to the outbound lines for ORDERS and ORDCHG, Lakeside's profile LI 17300001 needs inbound lines for every message it sends back: ORDRSP with process code ORDR, DESADV with process code DELS and, for supplier invoices, INVOIC with process code INVL. Each inbound line also sets the processing mode (immediately or by background program) and the permitted agent who gets the work item when processing fails. Keeping all lines for a supplier in one profile makes the onboarding checklist simple: one partner, one profile, every message listed.