Topic overview

A contract is a contractual framework agreement for the delivery of goods or services in which a customer agrees to purchase certain quantities or values of goods from a supplier over a certain period of time. In return, the supplier undertakes to deliver the items in the contract in the agreed contract quantity or contract value within a certain period of time. If necessary, prices and conditions are also agreed in the contract. The actual benefit of a contract, apart from a price specification for an article, lies in the monitoring of the following contract values that can be specified:

• Quantity
• Value
• Date

Contracts are used via assignments in a purchase order. These assignments are also referred to as contract release orders. Releases from a contract are entered as order line items with a voucher reference to a contract line item. Any existing valid contract line item can be assigned automatically if the Automatic contract selection function is activated. A contract is fulfilled if sufficient call-ofs have been assigned in purchase orders. “Sufficient” refers to quantity, value or date, depending on the selected contract category. The contract category is determined by the assigned contract type.

This article describes how supplier contracts are mapped in the system and how the application of the same name is structured. Find out what relationship a supplier contract can have to other applications and business entities and how it is integrated into the business processes.

The actions you can use to process a supplier contract are described in the Supplier contracts: Actions article.

Instructions for handling supplier contracts, e.g. how to enter or edit supplier contracts, can be found in the article Procedures: Supplier contracts.

You can read about the role of supplier contract types and how they are recorded in the Supplier contract types article. It also describes the contract types.

An overview of the various business processes in purchasing can be found in the article Introduction: Procurement.

Definitions of terms

Supplier contracts

A supplier contract is a general contractual agreement on supplies of goods or services between a customer and a supplier. A supplier contract is always identified by a contract category, such as Fixed quantity or Fixed date. It therefore specifies when or with which event a contract is completed. A contract release can only take place by using a purchase order.

Contract

A contract is a special order or agreement whereby a customer agrees with a supplier to receive goods of a certain quantity or value in a certain period of time for a specific price. The supplier is in return obliged to deliver the items in the contracted quantities or value in the agreed time period.

Contract release (order)

The assignment of contract line items to order line items in the sales or purchase order is also known as contract release. This contract release status of the contract line items results from this assignment, according to the contract category concerned.

Contract types

Contract types are used to identify customer or supplier contracts and to define the contract category, such as Fixed quantity, Fixed value, or Fixed date. Contract types also contain default values for contracts based on them.

Contract category

A contract is always characterized by a contract category, such as Fixed quantity or Fixed date, for example. The contract category establishes which data are displayed and entered in a customer or supplier contract and at what point in time or with what result a contract is completed. The contract release status as well as the general status Completed of a contract line item depend on the contract category. The contract category of a contract is set by assigning the contract type.

Application description

The Supplier contracts application is used to enter and process supplier contracts. It consists of an identification pane and a work pane.

Identification pane

The identification pane of the supplier contract contains the relevant fields to uniquely identify the supplier contract, as well as the supplier contract header. This contains the generally valid data for the supplier contract under various tabs, which are described in the following chapters:

• General tab
• Consignment tab
• Call-off organizations
• Delivery recipient tab
• Delivery partner tab
• Delivery terms tab
• Purchasing organization tab
• Invoicing party tab
• Invoicing terms tab
• Classifications tab
• Order values tab
• Voucher output tab
• File attachments/texts tab

Default values

Default values from other areas are not used in most fields of the contract header and the individual contract line items so that no warnings arise in the order applications regarding possible deviating values when queries are made. In the contract header, only the currency of the contract partner is taken from the partner master data.

The information from the contract header is not transferred to a purchase order, but the partner and currency in the contract must match the information in the order. The following applies to the contract line items: The item identification must match in the order and contract. Depending on the contract category, the quantities and values of all assigned order line items must not exceed the quantity or value of the contract line item. The following applies to prices: The default values from the contracts change the settings of the order when a contract line item is automatically linked to the order line item. In the Price origin field, the system also automatically switches to the Contract entry.

You receive a warning in the purchase order if the conditions of the contract differ from those of the purchase order.

Identification fields

The supplier contract type and the supplier contract number are used for identification. In addition, the summarized status of the supplier contract and the supplier are displayed.

• Number – the unique identification of the supplier contract is displayed in the Number field. It consists of two entries: the supplier contract type in the first input field and the supplier contract number in the second input field. The supplier contract type, together with the supplier contract number, is used to identify the supplier contract.
  • Contract type – select an existing supplier contract type for the contract you want to create or edit. Once the new action has been executed, the supplier contract type can no longer be changed. The supplier contract type is primarily used to define the category of supplier contract, e.g. the Fixed quantity category. The contract category determines when a contract is considered completed.
  • Contract number – the supplier contract number is generated automatically by the system on the basis of the number range defined in the contract type. It cannot be assigned manually. If required, enter the contract number of the supplier contract you wish to process as a selection characteristic.

• Status – the status information for this supplier contract is displayed. A new supplier contract is assigned the status that is stored as Creation status in the contract type used. It can be changed manually if necessary. See also the chapter Status and status changes.
• Contract partner – a supplier is uniquely identified and assigned as a contract partner in this field via their partner identification. Only a partner with the partner function Supplier in relation to the purchasing organization can be selected. Data and default values for the supplier contract are transferred from the partner master data of the selected contract partner. Once contract line items have been entered, the assigned supplier can no longer be changed.

General tab

Information on the persons and organizations involved as well as dates and deadlines are summarized under the General tab.

• Name and Address – the Name and Address fields are automatically filled by the system with the data from the partner master data of the contract partner

• Care of – a contact person at the contract partner’s side can be selected, changed or freely entered in the Care of field. A supplier contact person from the partner master data of the contract partner is used as a default value if necessary.

• Creation date – the creation date is the date when the supplier contract was entered. The system automatically enters the current date. It can be changed if this is useful for evaluations and statistics, for example.
• Employee responsible – an internal employee can be selected in this field as the contact person within the company. They must be entered as a partner with the role Employee and assigned to their own company.
  Determining the default value:
  The system checks whether the current user who is currently processing the supplier contract is assigned to an internal employee. The database currently used by the system is relevant here. The system stores all master data and purchasing data for the business applications for each company in an online transaction processing (OLTP) database. The company’s employees are also recorded as master data in this OLTP database. If the system finds an internal employee in the currently used OLTP database to whom the current user is assigned, this employee is suggested in this field.
• External voucher number and date – these are two freely usable fields for external voucher information. They can be used, for example, if you want to refer to a previous contract or enter the contract identification of your supplier. The data entered in these fields is for information and search purposes only. They have no further effect in the system.

• Order confirmation required (parameter) – the supplier optionally confirms the scope of the order and the specified terms with a confirmation. The setting of this function affects the call-offs: if the function is activated for the contract and deactivated in the call-off purchase order, this is indicated by a warning in the order. The function can be set in the following ways:
  • If the function is activated or deactivated, the corresponding setting is checked in the contract and order. If they do not match, this is indicated by a message.
  • If the function is neither activated nor deactivated, its status is “undefined”. This status is indicated by a dash in the checkbox. In this case, the setting is not checked in the order.
• Valid from and Valid to – enter the start and end date of the period in which the contract is valid. The dates are used as default values for the contract line items.
  Consignment contracts are valid including the entered start and end dates. Since a consignment contract is always required for consignment purchase orders, consignment contracts are also valid until the start of the next contract. Therefore, if there is no valid contract at the time an item is withdrawn, the last valid contract will be used.

Consignment tab

Under this tab you will find settings for contracts of the Consignment category. This tab is only displayed for consignment contracts.

• Consignment usage – select whether the contract should apply to one site or to the selected firm and therefore to all subordinate sites of this firm. Choose between the following entries:
  • Firm
  • Site

If the firm is also a site and Site is selected as the usage, the contract only applies to the firm as a site and not to the other sites of this firm. This also makes it possible, for example, to define a contract for all sites of the firm (Firm setting and assignment of the firm), but to use a different contract for the site of the firm itself (Site setting and assignment of the firm).

• Consignment withdrawal declaration type – enter the consignment withdrawal declaration type that is used to generate withdrawal declarations for consignment withdrawals in the Cockpit: Consignment withdrawals application
• Summarize individual withdrawals – in this field, you define whether and how consignment withdrawals are summarized in the withdrawal declarations. The following options are available:
  • Don’t summarize
  • Summarize
  • Summarize by day
  • Summarize by period

  If the consignment withdrawals are summarized, they are grouped according to the following criteria:

  • Item
  • Identifier (optional)
  • Unit of measure
  • Cost center
  • Cost unit

  In the Summarize by day and Summarize by period settings, grouping is also based on the day or period.

Call-off organizations tab

The Call-off organizations tab is only available if the Multi-site function is activated in the Customizing application. Under this tab you will find information about the organizations that are allowed to enter purchase orders with reference to the open contract. A table is available under the tab in which the organizations for which a call-off from this contract should be possible are entered.

• Supplier contract call-off organization – the supplier contract call-off organization is an organization within the Purchasing organizational structure. It must therefore be integrated into the organizational structure for the OLTP client in the Organizations application. It is uniquely identified and assigned via the partner identification.
  Enter all organizations that are allowed to call-off the recorded items from this contract. The organization for which processing is currently taking place is automatically suggested when a new contract is entered.
  Normally, the organizations stored are of the Purchasing organization category. Firms or sites can only be entered for the contract category Consignment and depending on the settings of the Consignment usage field.

Delivery recipient tab

The Delivery recipient tab contains information about the site (inventory management organization) of the warehouse that receives the items in this supplier contract.

The following fields are not used for contracts of the Consignment category and are therefore hidden for these.

The fields in detail:

• Delivery recipient – the delivery recipient accepts the delivery of the ordered items. The delivery recipient is the site of the warehouse to which the delivery is to be made. The recipient is clearly identified and displayed in this field via partner identification. It is necessary that a warehouse be selected in the Warehouse field.

• Name and Address – the Name and Address fields are automatically filled in and displayed by the system. The data originates from the partner master data of the delivery recipient

• Care of – a contact person at the delivery recipient’s side can be selected, changed, or freely entered in the Care of field. If a purchasing contact person is stored in the partner master data of the delivery recipient, this person is suggested. For further information on the functionality of this field and the possible procedures, refer to the article Care of field.

• Carrier – the carrier is responsible for the shipment of goods. They commission a company with the transportation (special transaction) or carry out the transportation themselves. Any partner who is identified as a carrier in their partner master data is permitted in this field.

• Warehouse – in supplier contracts, the warehouse designates the receiving storage location to which the ordered items are to be delivered. If required, select a warehouse that exists in the system and is permitted for the purchasing organization. According to the warehouse specification, the site is the delivery recipient.

Delivery partner tab

The data of the partner involved in the delivery is displayed under the Delivery partner tab.

• Delivery partner – the delivery partner is responsible for the delivery or shipment of the ordered items. The delivery partner is a partner with the Supplier role. The partner is uniquely identified and assigned in this field via their partner identification. All partners who are assigned to the contract partner as delivery partners in their partner master data are permitted as delivery partners. The delivery partner can be the same as the contract partner. You can find further information on the partner function Supplier in the article Partners, Supplier view.
• Name and Address – the name and address of the delivery partner are transferred to these fields as default values as they were entered in the partner master data. The data can be changed for this contract.

• Care of – a contact person at the delivery partner can be selected, changed, or freely entered in the Care of field. If a purchasing contact person is stored in the partner master data of the delivery partner, this will be suggested.
  For further information on the functionality of this field and the possible procedures, refer to the article Care of field.

Delivery terms tab

The Delivery terms tab is used to enter the conditions for the delivery.

• Delivery term – delivery terms describe agreements between the buyer and seller. They are used to specify the type of delivery and the place of delivery, for example, free domicile or pickup.
  If an INCO term is included as a delivery term, you must specify a location reference.
  For more information on INCO terms, see the article Delivery terms.
• Shipping terms – shipping terms describe the manner in which the items are transported, for example, via freight forwarder, courier, or mail. For more information about shipping terms, see the article Shipping terms.
• Delivery restriction – here you enter the delivery restrictions on the part of your company: Is the supplier permitted to make partial deliveries? You can choose among the following:
  • No restriction
  • Deliver order in full
  • Deliver line items in full

The delivery restriction is only for information purposes and currently causes no effects on the system.

Purchasing organization tab

The Purchasing organization tab contains, among other things, the data of the purchasing organization responsible for the supplier contract.

• Purchasing organization – the purchasing organization is the organization responsible for processing the supplier contract. It is also the organization that receives the invoice from the invoicing party. It is uniquely identified in this field via its partner identification. The purchasing organization must be selected before the new action is executed and cannot be changed afterwards. In a single-site environment without content-based authorizations, this is always the active OLTP client. The purchasing organization is also the relevant organization for the authorization. For more details, see the article Introduction: Multi-site and Content-based authorizations.
• Name and Address – the Name and Address fields are automatically filled in and displayed by the system. The data originates from the partner master data of the purchasing organization. The name and address data is copied into the contract at the time the contract is created.
• Care of – a contact person for the purchasing organization can be selected, changed, or entered as desired in Care of. In this case, a default from the partner master data of the purchasing organization is provided, if applicable.
  For more details on the functionality of this field and possible procedures, see the article Care of field.
• Payment method – the payment method describes the way in which the invoice is to be paid, e.g. by direct debit or cash on delivery. Further information can be found in the Payment methods article.

Invoicing party tab

The invoicing party data is available under the Invoicing party tab.

• Invoicing party – the invoicing party is responsible for ensuring that an invoice is issued for the delivered items and, if necessary, tracked. They are clearly identified and assigned in this field via their partner identification. All partners who are assigned to the contract partner as invoicing party in their partner master data are permitted as invoicing party. The invoicing party can be the same as the contract partner. Further information on this can be found in the article Partners, Supplier view. The invoicing party can be changed until line items have been entered and transferred to the line item table.
• Name and Address – the Name and Address fields are automatically filled in by the system from the invoicing party’s partner master data. The name and address data is copied into the contract at the time the contract is created. It can be changed as long as no purchase order references the contract.

• Care of – a contact person for the invoicing party can be selected, changed, or entered as desired in Care of. If a purchasing contact partner is stored in the invoicing party’s partner master data, this will be suggested.
  For more details on the functionality of this field and possible procedures, see the article Care of field.

Invoicing terms tab

Under the Invoicing terms tab, you will find the conditions for invoicing the ordered items.

• Currency – a currency is a monetary unit. The contract currency is defined in this field. As the currency used depends on the supplier and is used for external vouchers such as invoices, it is also referred to as a foreign currency. All prices and values are determined or calculated in this currency.
  The contract currency is taken as a default value from the supplier master data of the invoicing party in relation to the company of the procurement organization. It can no longer be changed in this field once items have been entered and transferred to the line item table.
  The system checks whether the currency selected in this field can be converted into all local currencies of the purchasing organization. The relevant exchange rate usage and the exchange rate type are defined in the Customizing application, Purchasing function, depending on the purchasing organization.
  Further information can be found in the Exchange rates article.
• Payment terms – the payment terms describe the conditions that apply to the payment of the invoice: Deadlines and percentage rates for the granting of discounts can be stored in the payment terms. If the invoice recipient (in this case the purchasing organization or its firm) adheres to one of the specified deadlines when paying, it can deduct the discount percentage stored for this interval from the invoice amount.
  The payment terms can no longer be changed in this field once line items have been entered and transferred to the line item table. It may affect the calculation of the cash purchase value in the purchase order.
  Further information can be found in the Payment terms article.

Classifications tab

The supplier contract can be assigned to supplier contract classifications, which are provided under this tab.

• Classification 1-5 – the supplier contract can be assigned to existing supplier contract classifications 1-5.
  Based on the assignments to classifications, data can be organized and structured for any evaluations and queries.

Order values tab

Amounts and various values of the contract are summarized and displayed under this tab to provide an overview. They are calculated automatically by the system for the individual contract line items. The total amounts displayed in the header are the sum of the line item values. The line item values result from the contract status of the contract line items, which in turn is influenced by the assignment of contract line items to purchase order line items. Information on the contract status is contained in the chapter Status and status changes.

Which data is determined and displayed in detail depends on the selected contract category. The contract category is defined via the contract type. The order values are not used for contracts of the Consignment category and therefore this tab is not displayed for this category.

The values are displayed in the currency specified under the Invoicing terms tab. It cannot be changed. If the currency used in the contract differs from the primary currency, the values are displayed in both currencies. The tooltip for the field also shows the values in the other local currencies.

The values displayed for each contract category are determined as follows:

Voucher output tab

Some of the valid settings for the output of the Contract confirmation voucher document are displayed in a one-line table under the Voucher output tab.

The output settings displayed under this tab originate from a voucher document template. The valid voucher document templates are stored in the partner master data of the contract partner. If several settings are stored for a voucher category, the one marked as Preferred is used by default. Further information on the output settings can be found in the operating guidelines under Output voucher documents. It also describes which other applications, system and user settings play a role in the document output and when which settings come into effect.

You can view and, if necessary, change the following settings under the specified column headings.

• Voucher category – the voucher category for which the output settings are shown in this line is displayed.
• Medium – the output medium is displayed on which the voucher document is output according to the template. These output media are generally possible:
  • Printer (output to file also possible)
  • E-mail
  • Fax

  If several voucher document templates exist for a voucher category and are stored in the partner master data of the contract partner or the Customizing application for several output media, you can select an output medium.

• Communication connection – you can enter a fax number or e-mail address if you have the corresponding authorizations. You can enter several e-mail recipients by entering the e-mail addresses one after the other, separated by commas and spaces. This manually entered recipient data replaces any automatically determined recipient data for the E-mail and Fax output media.

File attachments/texts tab

Texts, text modules and file attachments can be stored under the File attachments/texts tab. Saved texts and file attachments are indicated by a note icon, which can be found on the File attachments/texts tab.

Further information on texts and file attachments and their use can be found in the Texts article.

Work pane

The work pane contains the supplier contract line items. These include the services to be provided, depending on the contract type:

• Which items are to be delivered?
  • In what quantity?
  • At what price?
  • On what date?
• How are the items to be delivered?
  • Under what conditions?
  • From which address?
  • To which receipts warehouse?

The work pane consists of the contract line item list and the contract line item editor. In the contract line item table, a section of the contract line item data is displayed in views. Which data is displayed depends on the selected view and the contract category.

The contract line items are entered individually in the line item editor. Further contract line item data is displayed there if necessary. The fields in the line item table are filled with the same data as the fields with the same name in the line item editor.

Some of the fields of the contract line items are filled with default values, which are taken from the contract header and can be changed. The fields of the items can contain different data for each contract line item. No default values are transferred from other areas.

Line item table

Various views are available in the line item table. These provide an overview of all contract line items.

The line item table contains an extract of line item data. Further details on a line item can be found in the line item editor. The data displayed in the line item table depends on the contract category, which is defined by selecting the contract type. This dependency is pointed out in the following explanations of the columns.

The columns in detail:

Line item editor

In the line item editor, the data of the supplier contract line items is displayed under tabs, which are described in the following chapters:

• General tab
• Delivery recipient tab
• Line item values tab
• File attachments/texts tab

Toolbar

In the line item editor toolbar, you will find the action buttons with which you can enter or edit a line item. These actions are described in the operating guidelines. The actions under the [Actions] button can be found in the article Supplier contracts: Actions.

If the [Validate when accepting] button is activated, the system checks whether all mandatory fields have been entered and whether all entered data is permitted when the contract line item is transferred to the contract line item table. Otherwise, this is only checked when the contract is saved.

The number of the contract line item that is currently being displayed, entered, or edited in the line item editor is displayed in the line item editor toolbar.

• Line item – the line item number is used to precisely identify the individual supplier contract line items and is generated automatically. You can assign the line item number manually in this field. However, once a line item has been transferred to the line item table, the line item number can no longer be changed. The line items are automatically sorted by the system based on the line item number. You cannot change this sorting directly. The sorting can only be changed by manually assigning item numbers.

General tab

The General tab is used to record the basic data of the contract line item: the item, quantities, dates and, if applicable, the receipts warehouse. Underdelivery and overdelivery percentages can be entered. The status of the contract line item is also displayed.

The fields in detail:

• Item – one item is entered per contract line item. With the exception of reference items, you can use all items that have the status Released and for which the purchasing-relevant data has been entered in the item master data in the Purchasing view in relation to the purchasing organization. The system checks the usability of the item and displays a corresponding message.
  Further information can be found in the article Items, Purchasing view.
  The system offers you a selection dialog for reference items.
  Note

  If the Purchasing exclusions function is activated in the item purchasing data, these items can only be selected in this field if they are permitted for the contract partner. Permitted means: The contract partner is assigned to the desired item as a supplier in the purchasing data.
• Total quantity – the total quantity refers to the total quantity of this item that can be called off, i.e. ordered in purchase orders. Select a suitable physical or commercial unit of measure (e.g. kilogram or piece) and enter the desired quantity. The system checks the permissibility of the unit of measure. The following units of measure are permitted:
  • The purchasing units stored for this item in the master data under Purchasing or Suppliers
  • All units of measure of the same physical type as the purchasing units that can be converted into these

  Determining the default value:

  • The first purchasing unit assigned to this supplier in the item master data is adopted as the default value for the unit
  • Otherwise, the first purchasing unit is taken as the default value

  The total quantity is included in the calculation of the line item or base values. Only positive quantities are permitted in a supplier contract. The quantity and unit of measure can be changed until a line item in the contract has been linked to a purchase order via a contract release order.

  This field is available for these contract categories:

  • Fixed quantity
  • Quantity/date
• Origin of binding unit – this field determines where the setting for the binding unit is taken from. Choose between the following entries:
  • Item – use this entry to transfer the setting for the binding unit from the item master data.
  • Manual – use this entry to define an individual setting for the binding unit.

  This field is displayed if the Manage inventory in logistic units function is activated for the active OLTP client in the Customizing application. This function can be found in the Inventory Management function, Warehouse inventory sub-function.

  This field is available for these contract categories:

  • Fixed quantity
  • Quantity/date
• Binding unit – in the Binding unit field, you specify how the entered unit of measure of the item is to be taken into account. Choose between the following entries:
  • Nonbinding – the unit of measure is not relevant, so an item can be delivered in any packaging size
  • Included in packaging structure – the unit of measure must be taken into account. The item must be delivered in the specified unit of measure, but this may be contained in a larger packaging unit.
  • Binding – the unit of measure must be taken into account. The item must be delivered in exactly the specified unit of measure. Delivery in a larger packaging unit is excluded.
  Example

  You order 2 boxes. One box contains 5 pieces each.

  • If the binding unit is set to “Non-binding”, then 2 cartons as well as 10 individual pieces or another packaging unit, e.g. 5 small cartons of 2 pieces each, may be delivered.
  • If “Included in packaging structure” is specified, then the unit “carton” must be included in the delivery. However, this can also occur in a larger packaging unit, e.g. 2 small cartons contained in a large carton.
  • If “Binding” is specified, then exactly 2 cartons with 5 pieces each must be delivered.

This field depends on the setting in the Origin of binding unit field. If the Manual entry is specified in this field, the Binding unit field can usually be set. In all other cases, a binding unit from other sources is used and displayed, e.g. from the item master data.

This field is displayed if the Manage inventory in logistic units function is activated for the active OLTP client in the Customizing application. This function can be found in the Inventory Management function, Warehouse inventory sub-function.

This field is available for these contract categories:

• Fixed quantity
• Quantity/date

• Total gross amount – the total gross amount is the limit up to which the total amount of the article can be called off, i.e. ordered in purchase orders. The currency assigned to the invoicing party, which is displayed in the contract header under Invoicing terms is adopted as the currency. This field is available for these contract categories:
  • Fixed value
  • Value/date
• Valid from – enter a date as the start date of the contract. In the case of date-dependent contracts, this date determines the date from which the contract line items can be called off, i.e. when they can be ordered in a purchase order line item with reference to the contract. The default value comes from the contract header. This field is available for schedule contracts and consignment contracts.
• Valid until – enter a date as the end date of the contract. In the case of date-dependent contracts, this date determines the maximum date until which the contract line items can be called off, i.e. ordered in a purchase order line item with reference to the contract. The default value comes from the contract header. This field is available for schedule and consignment contracts.
• Status – the status information for a contract line item is displayed. See also the chapter Status and status changes.
• Gross price – enter a price for the item. The price is the equivalent value in money to be paid for one unit of the ordered item. The associated currency is taken from the contract header and cannot be changed. The price entered can be changed until at least one line item of the contract has been linked to a purchase order via a contract release order. The price entered in this field is the basis for determining the values for this contract line item.
• Price dimension – you use a price dimension to define the number of units for which a price is valid. The definition is made in powers of ten, for example per 1, per 10, per 100 etc. The system displays the price dimension stored in the item’s purchasing data as the default value. You can select another price dimension that is permitted. You can change the price dimension and price unit if the contract line item is not assigned in any order line item. Together with the price, the price dimension is included in the calculation of the line item or order values.
• Underdelivery – enter a percentage rate for the permitted underdelivery in this field. This determines the percentage value by which the quantity or value of this contract line item can be underdelivered. If the value is reached, the system considers the contract line item to be completed.
  Example

  An underdelivery percentage of 10% is stored for an item. The contract line item quantity is 100 pieces. In an order line item, 96 pieces are called off. The contract line item receives the status Called-off in full.
  This field is available for these contract categories:
  • Fixed quantity
  • Fixed value
  • Quantity/date
  • Value/date
• Overdelivery – if required, enter a percentage rate for the permitted overdelivery in this field. This determines the percentage value by which the quantity or value of this contract line item can be overdelivered. If the value is reached, the system considers the contract line item to be completed.
  Example

  An overdelivery percentage of 10% has been defined for an item. The contract line item quantity is 100 pieces. In an order line item, 105 pieces can be called off. The contract line item is assigned the status Called-off in full.
  This field is available for these contract categories:
  • Fixed quantity
  • Fixed value
  • Quantity/date
  • Value/date
• Reference – the reference is a freely usable field for short texts. Use it, for example, to reference a price list or to refer to previous contacts with this supplier, such as telephone calls or previous quotations. The data entered in this field is for information purposes only. It has no further effect in the system.
• Credit note method – for the supplier credit note method, the supplier is relevant in the role of Invoicing party. A distinction is made between the following:
  • If the supplier does not participate in the credit note method, the field is not available for input and therefore cannot be changed.
  • If the supplier participates in the credit note method, the following entries can be selected:
    • Allowed
    • Not allowed

  The default value results from the item master data.

  Note

  This field is only used for the Consignment order category and is taken into account when generating new consignment withdrawal declarations.

Delivery recipient tab

The Delivery recipient tab contains information about the location (logistics organization) that receives the items.

The settings under this tab are not used for contracts of the Consignment category.

• Delivery recipient – the delivery recipient accepts the delivery of the ordered items. The delivery recipient is the location of the warehouse to which the delivery is to be made. It is clearly identified and displayed in this field via its partner identification.
  Note

  This field is not used for contracts of the Consignment category.
• Name and Address – the Name and Address fields are filled in automatically by the system. The data originates from the partner master data of the delivery recipient and cannot be changed in this field.

• Care of – a contact person at the delivery recipient’s side can be selected, changed, or freely entered in the Care of field. If a purchasing contact person is stored in the partner master data of the delivery recipient, this person is suggested. For further information on the functionality of this field and the possible procedures, refer to the article Care of field.

• Warehouse – in this field, select a warehouse in the system to which the ordered item is to be delivered. The warehouse may be taken from the contract header as a default value and can be changed individually for each contract line item. See also the description of the field of the same name in the voucher header in the Delivery recipient tab.

Line item values tab

For an overview, amounts and various values of the contract line item are summarized and displayed under this tab. This data cannot be changed here.

Which values are determined and displayed in detail depends on the selected contract category. The values result from the contract status of the contract line items, which in turn is influenced by the contract category and the assignment of contract line items to purchase order line items.

The contract category is determined by the contract type. Further information on contract categories can be found in the Supplier contract types article.

The fields in detail:

• Total value (primary currency) and Total value – the total value of the contract line item is displayed as it was entered for the contract line item under the General tab. These fields are displayed for value contracts.
• Called-off value (primary currency) and Called-off value – the sum of the gross amounts for the quantities called off from this contract line item is displayed. The released quantities for this contract line item are the “total quantities” of the order line items that were assigned to this contract line item during a contract release order. The system takes the gross amounts of the order line items stored in the purchase order and calculates the total.
• Called-off quantity – the total of the called quantities for this contract line item is displayed. The called-off quantity for this contract line item is the sum of the “total quantities” of the order line items that were assigned to this contract line item during a contract release order. The called-off quantity is shown in the unit in which the contract line item was recorded. Except for quantity contracts, the 1st article unit of the item is used.
• Value delivered (primary currency) and Value delivered – the sum of the gross amounts for the quantities delivered for this contract line item is displayed. The delivered quantities are taken from the order line items that were assigned to this contract line item during a contract release order. The quantities actually delivered per order line item are derived from the posted receipt of goods line items, which in turn are assigned to the order line items. The system uses the values calculated in the purchase order for each order line item from price * delivered quantity and calculates the total.
• Quantity delivered – the sum of the delivered quantities for this contract line item is displayed. The delivered quantity per contract line item is the sum of the delivered quantity of all order line items that were assigned to this contract line item during a contract release order. The quantities actually delivered per order line item result from the posted receipt of goods line items, which in turn are assigned to the order line items. The quantity delivered is shown in the unit in which the contract line item was recorded. Except for quantity contracts, the 1st item unit of the item is used.
• Open value (primary currency) and Open value – the open value per contract line item is the difference between the total value minus the discounted value. These fields are displayed for value contracts.

• Open quantity – the open quantity per contract line item is the difference between the total quantity minus the quantity sold. The open quantity is displayed in the unit in which the contract line item was entered. This field is displayed for quantity contracts.

File attachments/texts tab

Texts, text modules, and file attachments can be stored under the File attachments/texts tab. Saved texts and file attachments are indicated by a note icon, which can be found on the File attachments/texts tab.

Further information on texts and file attachments and their use can be found in the Texts article.

Status and status changes

The status information of the supplier contract forms an additional information element. You can use it to get a quick overview of the current processing and contract status of the contract.

Statuses are managed both at the level of the entire supplier contract and the individual contract line items. The status of the contract header summarizes the status of the individual line items, if applicable. The contract line items have their own general statuses and contract statuses, which may differ from the contract header.

The following statuses can be displayed:

• General status:
  • In process
  • Released
  • Blocked
  • Invalid (contract header only)
  • Completed
  • Reorganization started (contract header only)
• Contract status:
  • Not called-off
  • Called-off in part
  • Called-off in full

General status

The general status describes the usability of supplier contracts in the system.

The statuses in detail:

• In process and Released – in the supplier contract type used, you can select whether the status In process or Released should be used for new contracts. In contracts with the status In process, actions such as voucher issue cannot be carried out. However, the contract data can still be edited and saved.You can release a contract as a whole or individual contract line items. Once a contract has been released, it can no longer be given the status In process. Such a contract can only be blocked if necessary. This also applies to the line items. Newly added line items receive the status according to the opening status stored in the contract type, unless the contract is blocked. In this case, new line items are also blocked.If the status of the voucher is In process and you release a line item, the voucher is also released.Further information can be found in the article Actions: Release, block, and complete voucher or line items.
• Blocked – you can block a supplier contract as a whole or individual contract line items. If a contract is blocked, all line items are also blocked. Blocked contract line items cannot be assigned in purchase orders. If a contract is blocked in its entirety, this applies accordingly to all the contract line items it contains. Although new line items can be added, they are blocked at the same time.No actions are possible for blocked supplier contracts, such as the issue of voucher documents. However, the contract data can still be processed and saved.Further information can be found in the article Actions: Release, block, and complete voucher or line items.
• Invalid – if a contract could not be released or blocked, the status changes to Invalid
• Completed – the general status Completed is assigned to the contract as a whole as soon as all line items have the status Completed. In the case of quantity or value-dependent contracts, the general status is assigned via the contract status: The system automatically assigns the Completed general status to a contract line item as soon as it is called off in full. The condition for the contract status Called-off in full results from the contract category. See the chapter Contract status for information about the contract status.For schedule contracts, the Completed status is set via the [Complete schedule contracts] action in the Supplier contracts application if the schedule has been exceeded. The action can also take place in the background. A description of this action can be found in the article Supplier contracts: Actions.A contract line item can be completed manually. A completed line item that has not yet been called off in full can be released again manually.
• Reorganization started – this status is assigned during a reorganization process.

Contract status

The contract status indicates whether the contract line items have already been assigned in purchase orders and is assigned depending on the contract category. It is automatically assigned by the system when a contract line item is linked to a purchase order line item via a voucher reference. The voucher reference of a contract line item to a purchase order line item is generated automatically by the system when contract line items are called off in a purchase order. The status information as well as the quantities and values are then continuously updated by the system during the processing of the downstream vouchers.

The statuses in detail:

Customizing

Unless otherwise specified, the data in the Customizing application refers to the purchasing organization of the supplier contract.

Base function

The following settings in the Base function in the Customizing application are relevant for the Supplier contracts application.

• 1st-3rd internal currency – of the up to three internal currencies, one is designated as the primary currency. In the supplier contract, several fields for prices and amounts can contain a currency, which is usually taken from the master data of the contract partner. It must be convertible into each of the internal currencies.
  The corresponding conversion factors are entered in the Exchange rates application. See also the Exchange rates article.

Purchasing function

The following settings in the Purchasing function in the Customizing application are relevant for the Supplier contracts application.

• Exchange rate usage and Exchange rate category – these settings control the conversion of other currencies into your company’s primary currency for purchasing vouchers.
• Function: Documents – the settings in the Documents sub-function influence the output of voucher documents in the Purchasing framework. For example, a voucher document template is selected in this function, which controls the structure of the Contract confirmation voucher document.The voucher document template stored in this function is used if a corresponding template is missing in the master data of the relevant partner. If several templates are stored for a voucher document, the ones marked as Preferred are used.
  Further information can be found in the chapter Voucher output tab.
  In addition, you can specify from which employee master data the system uses the sender address for emails. With the selection Fixed address, a standard email sender address can be defined for all voucher documents of one category, e.g., order confirmations.
• Function: Prices – the settings in this sub-function influence the calculation of prices and amounts in the Purchasing framework. For supplier contracts, these settings are only relevant in connection with the [Determine prices] action. Further information on this action can be found in the article Supplier contracts: Actions.

Inventory Management function

The following settings in the Inventory Management function in the Customizing application are relevant for the Supplier contracts application.

• Multiple inventory owners – the Consignment category is only available if the Multiple inventory owners function is activated for the active OLTP client under the Inventory Management function. This also means that the Consignment tab is available.
  You can use the Multiple inventory owners function to specify whether inventory from different inventory owners may be withdrawn.
• Warehouse inventory – the line item fields Origin of binding unit and Binding unit are only displayed if the Manage inventory in logistic units function is activated

Business entities

The following business entity is relevant for the Supplier contracts application, which you use, for example, to

• Assign authorizations
• Set up activity definitions
• Import or export data

Supplier contract: com.cisag.app.purchasing.obj.PurchaseContract

The business entity belongs to the following business entity group:

Purchasing voucher data: com.cisag.app.purchasing.OrderData

Authorizations

Authorizations can be assigned both using the authorization roles and by assigning an organization. The authorization concept can be found in the technical article Authorizations.

Special capabilities

The following special capabilities exist for the Supplier contracts application, which relate to actions. You can assign authorizations for these capabilities in the Authorization roles application.

• Override voucher document templates
  com.cisag.app.general.OverrideDocumentOutputOptions
  You can use this capability to override the output settings defined in the voucher document template in the output dialog for voucher document output.
• Use different e-mail sender
  com.cisag.sys.services.output.UseDifferentMailFrom
  You can use this capability to change the sender’s e-mail address in the output dialog for voucher document output.
• Use different fax sender
  com.cisag.sys.services.output.UseDifferentFaxSender
  You can use this capability to change the sender’s fax number iin the output dialog for voucher document output.

Organization assignments

Organizational structures are used to control which data is visible, usable or editable. To do this, the Content-based authorizations function must be activated in the Customizing application.

If the Content-based authorizations function is activated in the Customizing application, the Supplier contracts application is only displayed to a person if they have been assigned an organization in the partner master data that is integrated into at least one of the following organizational structures:

• Purchasing

For a person to be able to query supplier contracts, one of the organizations assigned to them must be entered in the Authorizations table in the Supplier contract types application.

Further information on the Authorizations table and a comprehensive overview of content-based authorizations can be found in the Content-based authorizations article.

Special features

There are no special features for the Supplier contracts application.

Authorizations for business partners

The Supplier contracts application is not released for business partners.