Partner Functions

Partner functi ons are terms that descri be the peopl e and organi zati ons wi th whom you do busi ness, and who are
therefore i nvol ved i n transacti ons. For exampl e, when you create an acti vi ty, based on Customi zi ng setti ngs, i t
automati cal l y i ncl udes the partner functi ons Acti vi ty Partner, Contact Person, and Person Responsi bl e. Partner
functi ons are al ways assi gned to partner functi on categori es, whi ch are hard-coded i n the system.
The system i ncl udes commonl y used partner functi ons, but you can al so defi ne your own.

You use partner functi ons i n transacti ons, i n al l areas of partner processi ng, and i n some areas of busi ness partner
master data. For exampl e:
You have a real estate busi ness and defi ne the functi on Tenant to refer to your customers.
Tenant i s di spl ayed i n the header and Parti es Invol ved assi gnment bl ock i n transacti ons, and i n the Buyi ng
Center assi gnment bl ock, when rel evant.
It appears i n the Customi zi ng setti ngs for access sequences, partner determi nati on procedures, and partner
teams.
It appears i n busi ness partner master data when you assi gn partners to partner functi ons when creati ng
rel ati onshi ps between busi ness partners, and when you enter excl uded partner functi ons.
You defi ne partner functi ons i n Customi zi ng for Customer Rel ati onshi p Management, by choosi ng Basi c
Functi ons Partner Processi ng Defi ne Partner Functi ons .
Structure
When you defi ne a partner functi on, you assi gn i t to a partner functi on category. Therefore, the partner functi on
consi sts of two basi c el ements: the new term i tsel f and the category. The new term i s your name for the functi on,
and the category i s the hard-coded key that al l ows the system to i denti fy what the functi on means, and how to
work wi th i t. In some cases the functi ons have the same name as the categori es to whi ch they are assi gned, but
they need not.
In most cases, you al so speci fy the busi ness partner rel ati onshi p category to whi ch the partner functi on shoul d
correspond. Frequentl y, once you enter a partner functi on category, the system automati cal l y enters the
rel ati onshi p category. It i s abl e to do so because many partner functi on categori es are hard-coded to correspond
to certai n rel ati onshi p categori es. If you use the partner functi on category Undefi ned Partner or rel ati onshi p
categori es you have created yoursel f, you must enter the rel ati onshi p category manual l y.
The fol l owi ng tabl e shows several of the partner functi ons i n the system, wi th the partner functi ons categori es to
whi ch they are assi gned, and the correspondi ng rel ati onshi p categori es:
Partner Function Partner Function Category Relationship Category
Sol d-To Party Sol d-To Party
Shi p-To Party Shi p-To Party/Servi ce Reci pi ent Is the Shi p-To Party/Reci pi ent Of
Sal es Prospect Acti vi ty Partner Is Acti vi ty Partner For
Acti vi ty Partner Acti vi ty Partner Is Acti vi ty Partner For
Sal es Manager Empl oyee Is the Empl oyee Responsi bl e For
For a l i st of al l partner functi ons and partner functi on categori es i n the system, see the Customi zi ng acti vi ty
Defi ne Partner Functi ons.
To create new rel ati onshi p categori es i n Customi zi ng, choose CrossAppl i cati on Components SAP
Busi ness Partner Busi ness Partner Rel ati onshi ps Extensi bi l i ty
There are two ways i n whi ch you can bl ock partner functi ons:
In master data to prevent a partner from ever performi ng that functi on
For more i nformati on, see Excl udi ng Partner Functi ons i n Master Data.
In partner processi ng to prevent the mai n partner i n a transacti on (for exampl e, the sol d-to party i n a
sal es order) from performi ng another functi on i n that transacti on
For more i nformati on, see Bl ocki ng Partner Functi ons i n Partner Processi ng.
Integration
Partner functi ons are used mai nl y i n transacti on processi ng, and rel ati onshi p categori es mai nl y i n master data.
The correspondence between them (and the assi gnment of access sequences) al l ows the system to use busi ness
partner master data as a source for partner determi nati on. Partner functi ons that do not correspond to rel ati onshi p
categori es can be determi ned from other sources, such as the organi zati onal model , or entered manual l y.
Partner functi ons i n SAP CRM often di ffer from those i n SAP ECC, but you can speci fy how functi ons i n SAP CRM
and SAP ECC correspond to each other.
In Customi zi ng for Customer Rel ati onshi p Management, choose Basi c Functi ons Partner Processi ng Data
Transfer
Example
Your company sel l s tel evi si ons to a store cal l ed Hi fi del i ty, and your sal es peopl e often tal k to the store manager,
whom you refer to as a retai l manager. You shi p the tel evi si ons to Hi fi del i ty Storage, an affi l i ate responsi bl e for
Hi fi del i ty's storage needs. You refer to Hi fi del i ty Storage as a del i very l ocati on.
In master data, you enter Hi fi del i ty as a busi ness partner. In the Contacts assi gnment bl ock, you enter the
store manager's name as the contact person, and i n the Rel ati onshi ps assi gnment bl ock, Hi fi del i ty Storage
as Is the Shi p-To Party/Reci pi ent Of.
1.
In Customi zi ng for partner processi ng, you defi ne the partner functi on Del i very Locati on, and assi gn i t to the
partner functi on category Shi p-To Party. The system automati cal l y enters Is the Shi p-To Party/Reci pi ent Of as
the correspondi ng rel ati onshi p category.
2.
You defi ne the partner functi on Retai l Manager, and assi gn i t to the category Contact Person. The system
automati cal l y enters Is Contact Person For as the correspondi ng rel ati onshi p category.
3.
You defi ne a partner determi nati on procedure that i ncl udes these two partner functi ons, and assi gn access
sequences to them. In the access sequences, you have speci fi ed busi ness partner master data as the source
for partner determi nati on.
4.
You create a transacti on, and Del i very Locati on and Retai l Manager are di spl ayed i n the header and Parti es
Invol ved assi gnment bl ock. You enter Hi fi del i ty as the sol d-to party. The system automati cal l y enters the
manager's name as the Retai l Manager, and enters Hi fi del i ty Storage as the Del i very Locati on.
5.
The fol l owi ng fi gure shows the steps descri bed above.