From guideline to runtime: artifacts, flows and TPM agreements

A MAG is useful documentation, but its real payoff is that Integration Advisor generates what a runtime needs. SAP Help lists the contents: schemas for syntax conversion (EDI to XML and back), schemas for precise payload validation against the MIG's rules, pre- and post-processing scripts, the main mapping XSLT, and example payloads for testing. Without the tool, someone writes all of these by hand.

Export, or inject

From a MIG or MAG, choose Export and then SAP Cloud Integration Runtime Artifacts or SAP Process Integration Runtime Artifacts. You get a ZIP with XSD, XSL, HTML and text files. SAP notes that the Process Orchestration format contains fewer artifacts. For Cloud Integration there is a shortcut: Inject > SAP Cloud Integration Flow Resources on a MAG lets you pick the tenant (the one in your Integration Suite subscription is discovered automatically), an integration package and an integration flow, and writes the resources straight into that flow. Configure-only packages are not offered.

Two settings in the MIG's Runtime Context tab change runtime behavior. Use complete Message XSD in EDI Flow Steps defaults to true for MIGs created since May 2025: the XSD contains every segment of the message type, avoiding surprise conversion errors. Set to false, the XSD contains only the selected segments, so an unexpected segment fails EDI Splitter validation and can trigger a negative acknowledgment. MIGs created before May 2025 default to false. For UN/EDIFACT, a second setting controls the message version value in UNH (field 0052), which changes the expected XSD file name.

Path 1: your own integration flow

SAP publishes EDI Integration Templates for SAP Integration Advisor on the SAP Business Accelerator Hub: inbound and outbound template flows such as EDI to IDoc, EDI to SOAP, IDoc to EDI and IDoc to cXML. Copy the package, adapt the flow and add the exported artifacts. Contoso uses this path for Lakeside Components: ORDERS05 for purchase order 4500002210 leaves CMP, the MAG ORDERS05_to_LAKESIDE_850 produces an X12 850 (004010), and an SFTP receiver drops the file on Lakeside's server, which is how Lakeside already receives orders.

The Lakeside MAG shows the outbound direction. E1EDK02 with the purchase order qualifier fills BEG03 with 4500002210; E1EDKA1 for the ship-to becomes N1 [ST], with plant 1710 Detroit translated to Lakeside's own dock code by a code value mapping; E1EDP19 material numbers fill the PO1 product IDs, Contoso's CMC-RTR-200 under BP and Lakeside's part number from the purchasing info record under VP; and unit PCE becomes EA. The flow's XML-to-EDI conversion then writes the X12 file with Contoso (CONTOSOMC) and Lakeside (LAKESIDEC) as interchange sender and receiver.

Path 2: Trading Partner Management

Trading Partner Management (TPM) manages partner profiles, agreement templates and agreements, and runs them through SAP's configure-only generic integration flows (the package Cloud Integration - Trading Partner Management V2): Step 1 sender communication flows, Step 2 Interchange Processing Flow and Step 3 Receiver Communication Flow. Instead of one flow per partner, one set of flows reads each agreement's configuration from the Partner Directory.

In an agreement template, each B2B transaction has a sender and a receiver side. On the Interchange step you choose the MIG; for UN/EDIFACT and ASC X12 you can set Create Acknowledgement; and you can enable payload and syntax validation. On the Mapping step the mapping option is Integration Advisor (pick the MAG), Custom Integration Flow or Sequential Mapping. TPM supports type systems including UN/EDIFACT and its subsets, ASC X12, SAP IDoc, SAP SOAP On-Premise and Cloud, GS1 XML and, in the V2 package only, Tradacoms and VDA messages. Agreements are created from a template by Copy from Template or Bind with Template, and Activate pushes the agreement into the Partner Directory.

When a MAG changes, TPM's Cross Actions > Update MIGs/MAGs updates the MIG or MAG version in many agreements at once, optionally including the agreement templates. The SAP Process Integration export still matters during coexistence: when Great Lakes changes a rule while XP1 still runs its interface, the team can fix the guideline once and export the Process Integration format for XP1, so both platforms are built from the same documented rules.