The following article shows you how to automatically copy texts to the SAP purchase order header. With copying rules, you can automatically copy texts from master data objects such as the vendor master.
Ideally, you’ve built a Vendor master data application architecture that continuously and dynamically updates your Vendor information with publicly available information. This ensures you always have access to the most accurate and up-to-date information. However, there is always information that only your company knows about a vendor. For example, contractual terms or conditions between your company and the vendor that should always be specified on your purchase order documents. But how do you store this information when SAP doesn’t have a specific field to capture your data? You configure a copying rule and store the data in the vendor master.
Alternatives: It is also possible to copy texts to the purchase order header from the following objects when it is more appropriate (e.g. it doesn’t make sense to copy the information 100% of the time):
- Contract
- Purchase Order
- RFQ/Quotation
Constraints: Standard SAP does not let you copy Vendor Master texts to a Purchase Order item text. Only the following objects can act as the source for Purchase Order item texts:
- Contract
- Info Record
- Material Master
- Purchase Order
- Purchase Requisition
- RFQ/Quotation
- Sales Order
To create and copy a custom text from the vendor master to the Purchase Order, carry out the following steps:
1) Define a new text type in the vendor master
You can define your text as a Central Text if it applies to all purchasing organizations. Otherwise, you can define your text as a Purchasing Organization Text and the text will only appear when the specific Purchasing Organization is used.
In both cases, ensure the ID for your new texts are in the SAP Customer Namespace (Start with a Y or a Z) to avoid future issues in service packs or upgrades. It is also important to note that these text objects are cross-client objects. This means you will create/delete them for all clients in the system concurrently. Execute your cross-client steps first in your configuration sequence (or transport import sequence).
- To define a new Central Text, access the following configuration point and create your new text:
SPRO > Materials Management > Purchasing > Vendor Master > Define Text Types for Central Texts
- To define a new Purchasing Organization Text, access the following configuration point and create your new text:
SPRO > Materials Management > Purchasing > Vendor Master > Define Text Types for Purchasing Organization Texts
2) Maintain Purchase Order Copying Rules for your New Text
Access the following configuration point:
SPRO > Materials Management > Purchasing > Purchase Order > Textes for Purchase Orders > Define Copying Rules for Header Texts
- Select the Purchase Order text where you want your New Custom Text copied
- Double-click on Text Linkages
Once in the Text Linkages dialog window, ensure you are in maintenance mode and click the “New Entries” button. Fill the new entry with the vendor master as your Source Object you’re your new text as the Source Text. If the chosen text already has a copying rule for the source object, you will have to change the existing one.
If the text should always be copied, leave the Fixed indicator blank. Use an Asterix ‘*’ if the text needs to be manually adopted by the user. Use the Fixed indicator ‘N’ instead of deleting entries, should this be an applicable use case, as deleted entries remain in the tables in the background if you delete them outright.
After configuration, it’s time to test.
3) Bask in the Glory of Your New Text
- Start by maintaining your new text in a vendor master (XK02). Maintain a Central Text via General Data views or a Purchasing Organization text via Purchasing Organization data views:
- Create a Purchase Order (ME21N) for the vendor in question. The text you maintained should appear automatically in the Header Texts according to your configuration.
If you selected “*” in your configuration for the Fixed Indicator, the following button will appear when the text is selected in the Purchase Order. Click the button to copy the text to the document. Otherwise, the text won’t be included in the purchase order even though you see it in the text box.
There you have it! Enjoy your new text. From here, you can include this new text on the Purchase Order form, in outgoing idocs and/or send it to the Ariba Network to transmit this new text to the vendor via your Purchase Order.
Additional Notes:
- You can also use this process to modify the copying rules for existing texts (system delivered)
- If you have trouble with the copying rules configuration (e.g. the newly configured text is not available in the copying rules), try saving, logging out of the system and logging back in. Alternatively, sign in with another language.
- If you run into issues with deleted entries, you can display deleted entries via the following menu option:
———————————
What sort of information have you needed to maintain and copy from the vendor master? What use case does it satisfy? Have you found other ways of supporting this requirement? Let me know in the comments.
If you liked this post, why not Subscribe
Last Updated on March 17, 2023 by Joël Collin-Demers
