Use
If an end user uses services or purchases products of a service provider, and these services or products use rights, infrastructure, services or products of a partner, then payment is due to this partner. In these cases, a portion of the amount that you invoice to the end customer has to be paid to one or more partners.
The overall solution for such business transactions is called Revenue Sharing and Partner Settlement, or simply Partner Settlement.
Depending on the role and the importance of the partner, either the service provider determines the amount to be paid, or the partner does. In the first instance, the partner receives credit memos; in the second instance, the service provider receives invoices from the partner.
If the service provider creates credit memos, then it is necessary to represent the process chain from the determination of the individual amounts that are to be credited, up to the periodic creation of credit memos. This includes rules that determine if the partner is subject to a partial default risk in case of nonpayment of the end customer.
Features
Convergent Invoicing provides functions for the scenario in which the service provider undertakes the calculations and creates credit memos for the partner. Partner settlement uses processes analogous to those in the billing and invoicing of end customers, and thereby offers comparable flexibility.
You make the necessary system settings in Customizing for Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable under Convergent Invoicing Partner Settlement.
For more information, see the documentation for the individual Customizing activities under this node in the system.
Process
Based on the billable items that are created when an end customer uses services, Convergent Invoicing creates items immediately for each partner involved. These items are referred to as consumption items for partner settlement.
From the consumption items for partner settlement, Convergent Invoicing generates unrated consumption items and transfers them to the rating and charging system (SAP Convergent Charging).
Rating and charging determines the responsible item of the partner agreement. By means of this item, it determines which partner product was used, and which charge plan is to be applied for the partner.
The result is that billable items are created for the partner. These billable items go through the processes of billing and invoicing, and ultimately result in the creation of credit memos.
Objects of Partner Settlement
In the overall process, the following objects of the partner and end customer are comparable:
Partner End Customer
Partner products [End customer] products
Partner agreements Provider Contracts
Charge plans [for partners] Charge plans [for end customers] SAP Convergent Charging does not distinguish between charge plans for partners and for end customers.
The contracts you have with end customers are provider contracts and those with partners are partner agreements. The system distinguishes between provider contracts and partner agreements based on the Contract Category field. From a technical perspective, they are both provider contracts, and the system stores their data in the same tables. The divisibility in the Business Data Toolset makes it possible for different transactions to be offered on the basis of different values in the Contract Category field. The result is that the system provides a tailored context for partner agreements (for example with specific field names). (The same technology is used as for role-specific transactions for the business partner, such as transaction FPP3 for the contract partner.) The Contract Category field is not visible on the interface. However, it is available in the contract header during replication and can be set as needed. The contract category also controls which fields are available.
Partner agreements contain the Partner Settlement Rule field in the contract item. You use the partner settlement rule to configure partner settlement (for example, the timing of partner settlement and the assignment of the default risk). You edit and display partner agreements from the SAP Easy Access screen under Master Data For Integration with Rating and Charging Partner Agreement. Also see the documentation for the transactions in the system.
Process with an Example
If an end user uses services or purchases products from a service provider, and these services or products use rights, infrastructure, services or products of a partner, then payment is due to this partner. In these cases, a portion of the amount that you invoice to the end customer has to be paid to one or more partners.
Revenue Sharing and Partner Settlement or simply Partner Settlement in Offer to Cash support the whole revenue and cost chain for such business transactions in a seamless manner and from a unique incoming event flow.
1. A new corporate account "Music Publisher" and a partner agreement (AAA) are created.
2. A new end consumer "XYZ" and a provider contract (888) are created.
3. XYZ downloads a song via his/her User ID "xyz@tec.com". The song is managed by the
company "Music Publisher" who has the music rights. The technical resource "xyz@tec.com" is the identifier to determine the partner contract in SAP CC.
4. The information of the song download via the web shop is sent to SAP CC.
5. SAP CC determines the business partner (BP), the provider contract (PC), and the price and sends this customer consumption information to SAP CI.
6. Via the user exit, SAP CI creates the partner consumption information and sends it back to SAP CC
7. SAP CC determines the business partner (BP), the partner agreement, the price and creates this partner billable information and sends it back to Cl.
Revenue with the end customer "XYZ" and royalties for the partner "Music Publisher" are related and handled via partner settlement rules in the CRM/SOM system. Royalties for the partner can only be paid when the end customer has paid their invoice. Another example is the case where the end customer does not pay. Royalties for the partner can then be taken back or not paid at all.
The process to create a new partner agreement is the same as for the provider contract creation. Technically both transactions have the same leading transaction category "BUS2000265". For a better understanding, keep in mind the following:
. Partner Agreement Order = Provider Order
. Partner Agreement = Provider Contract.
The difference between the partner agreement and provider order process is only the product.
The product for the partner agreement must be defined as a partner product.
If it is a partner product, the ODI determines the partner settlement rule because it is a
mandatory field in CI and creates a partner agreement in Cl.
For this purpose, the ODI step, PCEA, reads the value of the characteristic "SAP_PARTNER_RULE" (PME).
If you have no configurable products or it is a complex rule behind the "Partner Settlement Rule" determination, you can also use the BAdl: Replication of Provider Contract to ERP.
Important:
. Name of characteristic: "SAP_PARTNER_RULE"
. Values = Rule Keys in SAP CI.
. SAP CI is the master of the "Partner Settlement Rule".
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