Lesson 3 of 5
Cleansing data that blocks synchronization
11 min
Listen to this lesson
ECC accepted data that the business partner will not. A blank form of address, a tax number of a type not defined for the country, an e-mail address without an @ sign: each can stop a customer or vendor from becoming a BP. Years of such data make cleansing the longest part of CVI at most companies, and SAP lists data consistency and quality among the main factors that drive CVI duration.
The master data consistency check
The CVI cockpit's Preparation tab starts the master data consistency check (transaction CVI_PRECHK in SAP's training; note 2265093 refers to CVI_MIGRATION_PRECHK). It checks customer and vendor data against BP rules from many angles, including tax codes and tax jurisdiction, postal codes, e-mail addresses, bank data, industry, transportation zones and addresses, and it supports filters and mass correction. Runs are kept by run ID so progress can be compared. Readiness Check's Customer Vendor Integration analysis shows the same kind of data quality issues by check type.
| Typical issue | Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Missing or wrong form of address | Error that a form of address is not designated for organizations | Assign titles that fit the BP category (company vs. person) |
| Missing or invalid tax numbers | Tax number category not defined for the country | Correct or remove tax numbers; maintain BP tax types |
| Transportation zone not defined for country | Address check error | Correct or clear the zone |
| Invalid e-mail or postal code | Format errors | Correct in bulk where patterns allow |
| Number not in interval | BP number outside the grouping's range | Fix number range and grouping mapping |
| Account group without BP role mapping | Customizing error during load | Complete the role mapping |
| Missing value mappings | Errors for legal form, industry, payment card or marital status | Maintain the value mapping |
Common CVI blockers reported in SAP training and practitioner experience.
- Sandbox with production copyFirst full CVI cycle; find error types and volumes
- Correction approachesPer error type: mass fix, manual fix, mapping change, or customizing change
- Correct everywhereFix data in the whole landscape, production included, through governed changes
- Implement CVIDevelopment → quality → production with clean data
- Re-checkConsistency check runs until results are empty
Who fixes what
Data errors need business owners; customizing and mapping errors need the CVI team. At Contoso, Maria's order-to-cash team owns customer corrections, the procurement team owns vendors, and Ana checks vendor bank details with accounts payable controls in mind, because a mass correction of bank data is exactly the kind of change auditors look for. Every mass correction is logged with before and after values.
Do not cleanse by deletion. Customers and vendors flagged for deletion are still synchronized by the load tool, because after conversion BP is the only maintenance transaction and every record needs a BP. Archiving records that are truly no longer needed, with their documents, is the legitimate way to reduce volume, and SAP suggests considering it before CVI.
Walkthrough: one consistency check run
- In
CVI_COCKPIT, open the Preparation tab and start the master data consistency check (or call it directly). - Select the scope: customers, vendors or both, all account groups, and the check types. For full volume, run it in the background.
- Read the result by run ID: error categories with counts per check type. Export the detail and route each category to its owner.
- Use the mass correction function only for low-risk fields such as forms of address and transportation zones, with the before and after values logged.
- Rerun with the same scope and compare run IDs. The trend, not a single run, tells Grace’s PMO whether cleansing will finish in time.
What would you do?
To finish cleansing faster, a consultant proposes bulk-replacing all vendor bank details that fail the check with values from a supplier spreadsheet. What should Priya and Ana insist on?
- Cleansing is usually the longest part of CVI; start early.
- Use the master data consistency check and its mass correction; track runs.
- Learn in a sandbox copy, fix everywhere, then implement CVI through the landscape.
- Sensitive data, such as bank details, keeps its normal controls during cleansing.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Where should the first full CVI cycle run?
2. A customer has a blank form of address. What error is likely?
3. Are customers flagged for deletion synchronized?
4. Which change needs the strictest control during cleansing?
5. Six weeks before CMQ, 60 old one-off customers still fail on missing postal codes, and many have not bought in years. What comes first?