¶ Configuring Organizational Units and Business Partners in SAP SRM
SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM) is a comprehensive solution that helps organizations manage their procurement processes, from strategic sourcing to operational procurement. A foundational aspect of any SAP SRM implementation is the proper configuration of Organizational Units and Business Partners. These entities form the backbone of SRM’s organizational model and are critical to enabling efficient supplier collaboration, purchasing processes, and compliance.
This article explores the steps, considerations, and best practices for configuring Organizational Units and Business Partners in SAP SRM.
¶ Understanding the Core Concepts
Organizational Units in SRM define the structure of the enterprise. They represent different entities within a company such as purchasing organizations, departments, and user groups. These are maintained in a hierarchical structure and help control procurement workflows and responsibilities.
Business Partners in SRM include suppliers, internal employees, and other entities involved in the procurement process. The Business Partner model in SAP SRM is flexible and allows you to assign multiple roles to a single entity (e.g., a supplier can also be a bidder).
Organizational structure setup is performed using the SAP SRM Organizational Model in transaction code PPOMA_BBP.
- Root Organizational Unit: The topmost node under which the entire SRM structure is built.
- Company: Represents the legal company entity.
- Purchasing Organization: A unit responsible for procurement activities.
- Purchasing Group: A group of buyers or an individual buyer.
- Users: Employees who participate in the procurement process.
- Use PPOMA_BBP to create and assign Organizational Units.
- Define relationships such as “manages” or “is responsible for” between units and positions.
- Assign positions to employees (users), and maintain their user IDs.
Business Partners are configured and maintained using the Business Partner Master Data (transaction BP).
- Employee: Represents internal users such as requisitioners or approvers.
- Supplier: External vendors who provide goods and services.
- Bidder: Vendors participating in strategic sourcing or bidding.
- Maintain business partner master data in transaction
BP.
- Assign appropriate roles (e.g.,
BBP000 for Employee, BBP005 for Supplier).
- Link business partners to their corresponding organizational units.
- Synchronize users and organizational structure using report BBP_SYNC or BBP_BP_OM_INTEGRATE.
¶ Integration Between Organizational Units and Business Partners
The SRM system relies on a seamless integration between the organizational model and business partner data. Here’s how they interact:
- Users in Organizational Units must be replicated as Business Partners with the role of Employee.
- Vendors from the backend ERP system (e.g., ECC, S/4HANA) must be replicated as Business Partners with Supplier roles.
- Organizational attributes (like purchasing group, company code) should be assigned at the correct level to guide the procurement logic.
¶ Synchronization and Replication
Proper replication and synchronization are critical:
- Use ALE/IDOC or PI/PO middleware to replicate vendors from ERP to SRM.
- Use HR replication to bring in employee data from SAP HR to SRM.
- Run BBP_VENDOR_SYNC to update vendor master data.
- Ensure consistency using tools like BBP_ATTR_CHECK for attribute verification.
- Plan the Organizational Hierarchy in advance to mirror real business processes.
- Avoid redundant entries in the organizational model to minimize maintenance effort.
- Assign clear roles and responsibilities using business partner roles and position assignments.
- Keep Business Partner data clean and synchronized with backend systems.
- Utilize standard reports for consistency checks and integration monitoring.
Configuring Organizational Units and Business Partners in SAP SRM is a fundamental step toward ensuring efficient procurement operations and supplier management. A well-structured organizational model, combined with accurate business partner data, enhances visibility, control, and collaboration across the procurement lifecycle. Organizations implementing SAP SRM should prioritize this configuration phase to lay a strong foundation for process excellence and system reliability.