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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 4 of 5

Releasing blocked orders

10 min

A credit block is not a rejection. It is a request for a decision. Someone with authority has to look at the order, the customer's situation and the reason for the block, and then release, recheck or reject. SAP Credit Management records that decision in a documented credit decision (DCD).

Documented credit decisions

When a sales document is blocked, SAP Credit Management creates a DCD: a case linked to the blocked document, the business partner and the credit segment. It shows the checked value, the failed step and the status. Depending on configuration, it is assigned automatically to a credit analyst or a person responsible. In Fiori, credit analysts work in Manage Documented Credit Decisions; in SAP GUI, the equivalent entry point is UKM_MY_DCDS.

  1. Order blockedOrder for Great Lakes Fleet Services exceeds the segment limit by $2,190
  2. DCD createdCase with status blocked, assigned to the credit analyst for US fleet customers
  3. ReviewAnalyst checks payments, overdue items, the order and any agreement with sales
  4. DecisionRelease, recheck, or reject with a reason and note
  5. EffectReleased order gets credit status approved and can be delivered; rejected order stays blocked or is cancelled by sales
The documented credit decision process.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sd-206
ActionWhen to use itEffect
ReleaseThe analyst accepts the risk, for example a payment arrived or a temporary excess is agreedCredit block removed; order can be delivered; decision recorded with user and time
RecheckCircumstances changed: a payment was posted or the limit was raisedThe check runs again; if it passes, the block is removed automatically
RejectThe risk is not acceptableThe decision is recorded with a rejection reason and note; sales must act on the order

The three decisions on a blocked document.

Who should release

Release authority is a control, and auditors test it. A good design follows these principles:

  • Separation of duties: sales users who enter orders cannot release their own credit blocks.
  • Tiered authority: analysts release up to an amount or risk class; larger excesses go to a credit manager.
  • Documented reason: every release and rejection carries a reason that a reviewer can understand later.
  • Timeliness: blocked orders are reviewed within an agreed time so that customers are not left waiting.
Analyst releasesLow risk, small excess: release with a note
Credit manager decidesLow risk, large excess: consider a limit increase through a credit limit request
Analyst reviews payments firstHigh risk, small excess: release only after checking overdue items
Credit manager, likely rejectHigh risk, large excess: reject or require prepayment
An example release authority model. Contoso's actual thresholds are a finance decision.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sd-206

Rechecks and timing

Blocks can also change without a person. Changing the order value or quantity triggers a new check. Periodic background rechecks of blocked or open documents can release or re-block documents when exposure changes; SAP has documented cases where a recheck job running at the same time as manual releases re-blocked documents. Agree when such jobs run, and test what happens to a released order when it is changed afterwards.

Visibility matters as much as authority. Credit analysts need a work list of open decisions sorted by age and value, and sales needs to see that an order is waiting for credit rather than lost. Agree how sales users find out about blocks: a status column in the order list, an alert, or a daily report. A customer who hears "your order is on credit hold" from Maria on the day it happens is far less upset than one who discovers it when the truck does not arrive.

What would you do?

Luis is preparing cutover. Contoso has 35 orders blocked for credit in ECC on the conversion weekend. The finance team asks what will happen to them. What is the right answer?

Key points
  • A blocked document gets a documented credit decision assigned to a credit analyst.
  • Release, recheck or reject in Manage Documented Credit Decisions or UKM_MY_DCDS; rejection needs a reason and note.
  • Release authority should be separated from sales, tiered and documented.
  • Order changes and background rechecks can re-block a released document.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. Which Fiori app do credit analysts use to work on blocked sales orders?

  2. 2. What is required when rejecting a documented credit decision?

  3. 3. A payment has just been posted for the customer. Which action fits best for a blocked order?

  4. 4. Why should sales users not release their own credit blocks?