Remote Keys - customer extension scenario

[Former Member]

Hi ,

Have a query , while using remote keys in the customer scenario - if we map the customer number field to the remote key then the customer number is considered as the key & in the edit keys option shows for example cust 123 in mdm mapped to cust 123 in R/3.

Now if the R/3 customer 123 has been extended across company codes 100 & 101 in R/3 for example - while importing data we use the (customer number + company code) as a combination to import data , the customer gets created in MDM as cust 123 company code 100 , cust 123 company code 101.

However, the issue is that the remote key is enabled only for one customer (the first record that is loaded) and as the remote key has to be unique it cannot be mapped again for the second line item and therefore that item remains unmapped.

What is the best way to handle this scenario - so that the line items are created for each company code at the same time the remote key should also be maintianed for each of these records .

All suggestions wil be rewarded !!

Regards,

Anita

[michael_theis · Accepted solution]

Hi Anita,

a single record in MDM may have several key mappings, even for the same system. In your case, you shouldn't run into the unique issue, as the combination of customer number and account group you're use as key, should be unique, too?! SO the question is, how do you import your data. It is correct that during the data import only ONE singe record can be written into the key mapping. So in your case, you should check if you can load the customers multiple times? An alternative would be to exclude the account group from the key mapping and to store it within the repository. Possibilities could be in this case a flat look-up (multi-valued) or a qualified lookup if you have account group specific data for your customer.

BR Michael

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Michael ,

Currently during import - the customer number & company code are used as keys - otherwise we do not get the customer data for each company code in to MDM. The company code field data is created as a lookup table in MDM & is maintained as a display field during import.

Of course we can stagger the import company code wise - but after doing that also I am not seeing the key mapping - am still seeing only the customer number being used as the field - probably because in the IM customer is mapped to remote key. Am not clear about how I can transfer a combination of fields and map it to the remote key ? Am I missing something ?

Regards,

Anita

[michael_theis · Accepted solution]

Hi Anita,

during import, how does the incomming XML (respectively IDoc) look like? Do you import one customer per account group or do you import one customer with multiple account groups?

Anyways, the key mapping is written due to the field that is mapped to the remote key. This is correct. So if you map the customer number, MDM will create only one entry for the keymapping as the customer number does not change for your account groups. Maybe you could check if you can concatenate the customer number and the account group first? Of course, if you distribute this data later on, you have to seperate it again, which currently needs to be done on XI.

BR Michael

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Michael,

While importing the KNA1 segment appears once & the KNB1 segment appears multiple times depending on the company codes to which the customer is extended ie. if the cust 123 exists in company codes 100 & 101 then the Idoc contains one KNA1 segement with cust details & 2 KNB1 segments containing the 100 details & 101 details.

I have tried mapping the customer + comp code fields together to the remote key, by adding a new field & trying to concantenate customer number + comp code values to the new field value. However, this option is also not feasible as there is no option to concantenate two different field values.

Regards,

Anita

[michael_theis · Accepted solution]

Hi Anita,

if I understood you right, you're creating 2 records in MDM from one customer IDoc? If yes, why? The easiest way to handle your scenarion, even if you send the data back to R/3 later on, would be one single record in MDM that carries all the information, in this special case one record that carries the company code data within a qualified look up.

Anyways, for the concatenation of fields you can use the "Partition Field/Value" Tab in Import Manager.

BR Michael

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Michael,

Well, creating the company -code & all its related fields (fields present in company code tab in the customer master in R/3) seems like the better solution. Actually the standard business content did not have this field- and as our ALE does not allow data back without these values we had to create these fields, but then we did not created them lookups rather than as multi-valued qualifiers. We are looking at having multiple systems in MDM only now and the remote keys are crucial at this stage.

Conceptually the company code field & its corresponding data are similar to the Sales area field which is a multi-valued qualifier in MDM, but I am not able to understand why the company code multi-valued qualifier field is not present in the standard content -is there any specific reason ?

Meanwhile, will try creating the company code data as a multi-valued qualifier & test the scenarios.

Thanks for all your help !

Regards,

Anita

[michael_theis · Accepted solution]

Hi Anita,

OK, I think I can see the problem. Question: are your company codes through your different SAP Systems in Sync? Meaning that if Customer "C1" has company code "CC1" in System "S1" the same customer would have the same company code(s) in a different system? If yes, you could really use the qualified look ups for modelling. If not, you'll face the issue that you do not exactly know which company code comes from which system. and with the current MDM solution, I cannot see a workarround to solve this. Maybe a value mapping table on XI could be a solution in this case.

The customer/vendor/material/employee repository is quite old. I've just "inherited" those, but cannot really tell why they were designed in the way the are today, I'm sorry. I don't know the pros and cons.

BR Michael

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Michael,

Well I have tried to create the company code & its related data as a multi-valued lookup table and importing data. I was able to import once and a single record was created in MDM with the company code data. However, once I mapped the sales data which is also a multi-valued loopup we are getting an internal error while importing :-(!!

Regarding our scenario we have only one R/3 system- however customers from different geographies are represented are created in different company codes (for accounting purposes)and sales areas (linked to the company code & used for sales). This is a typical R/3 scenario - however, in MDM the Sales data field is created as a multi-valued lookup but not the company code which is also actually an important part of the R/3 customer scenario.

Regards,

Anita

[michael_theis · Accepted solution]

Hi Anita,

yes, according to your scenario the modelling using a multi-valued look up is the best way to do.

Regarding the import error, well, it's hard to say what could be wrong here. Do you have more information about the error? Did you have a look at the Import Logs? Maybe - as you have changed the repository to add the company code data - you should run a verify check/repair with the repository and of course load the repository with the update indices option.

BR Michael