Need to understand impact on workflows during upgrade from EBP 3.0 to SRM 5

[Former Member]

Hello experts,

Greetings to all and a Happy New Year!!

I am new to the workflow concept, though i have a fair idea of EBP.

We are using EBP 3.0, classic scenario. Very soon, we would be upgrading from EBP 3.0 to SRM 5.0. I have a few questions which i need to knw before I take up the upgrade part:

1) The impact on the worflows like Shopping cart approval, purchase contract approval etc when we upgrade from EBP 3.5 to SRM 5.0...

2) Does EBP have their own release strategies or are the release strategies defined in R/3 and applied to the shopping cart when it is ordered in EBP? As in classic scenario, POs are created in R/3, then how does the appoval process happen?

3) What are the necessary things, if any, that I should make sure of before upgrading?

4) Does all workflows also get upgraded or is there any tool to upgrade the workflow?

I am not clear with the approval concept in EBP. I know there are workflows that get triggered when a shopping cart is ordered but the approval process in this workflow is something which i want to understand. Please forward me a document, if possible, or a link will also do.

Please let me know the necessary details.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Ayush

[Former Member]

Hi Ayush,

Most workflows will be the same, but if you have modifications on these workflows' then i'd suggest reverting back to the standards for the upgrade.

Im not quite sure what you mean about the release strategy. What can be done though, is creating Purchase Requisitions in the R/3 and pass them to the SRM system. From here PO's can be created and the approval process will take place in accordance with your workflow rules in tcode: swb_cond.

Before upgrading, try to have the system as clean as possible. When i say clean, i mean make sure that users are consistent, SC's, PO's etc arent left hanging. Try to avoid carrying documents over to the new system. I'd suggest archiving anything you can too.

I don't have any documents to give you but the basic process and transactions are as follows:

SWB_COND: Your workflow start conditions. Which WF's are on/off (defined by green/red light)

SWI6: This will let you examine a document and its relevant WF by its object id. (SC No, PO No etc..

SWUD: Allows for Consistency checks on your workflow and will find any inconsistencies which are occuring. (Use Test Environment and WF Tech Name i.e 14500015)

SWDD: The workflow builder, will let you build, activate, create new version and modify the worklows in your system.

Approval itself is simply the chain of approval which a workflow is defined to follow. You need your managers to approve/reject and the conditions for which Managers should be called for approval. Its works from Possible Approvers for workitems and Excluded Approvers for workitems.

Understanding the WF log is the most essential thing of all. The understanding of BADI is quite important too.

Hope this info helps you. Check help.sap.com cause everything is documented there too!

Cheers

Will

[Former Member]

Hi Will,

Sorry for the late reply.

Anyways, thanks a lot for your reply. I have awarded points to u

This info is really useful for a starter to start with.

One more question, as far as I know, shopping cart in EBP is same as Purchase Requisition in R/3.

In classic Scenario, when a shopping cart is ordered, a workflow triggers (i assume the shopping cart approval workflow) and finally PO is created in R/3. But when a shopping cart is created in EBP, does purchase requisition simultaneously get created in R/3?

This workflow is based on some conditions, say shopping cart limit (value). Release strategy comes into picture whenever approval is needed (correct me if am wrong, coz i don't know much of MM functional ).

Do u have any idea about the same?

Thx in advance.

Regards,

Ayush

[Former Member]

Hello Ayush,

Apologies for the delay. The course is as follows....

The Requisition/SC/PO route depends mainly on the scenario. Classic, Ext Classic, Standalone...

A Purchase Requisition is simply a document with a requirement....

A SC is full-filling the requirements...

this can be done from a requisition document (or not)..catalogs...etc...

A PO is a follow-on doc which can stay in SRM or be transferred to R/3 backend.

However the options are process based and dependant on the business requirements really.

The workflows will simply help you move your documents and allow approval steps to take place.

I hope this helps.

Will