Duplicate Check in S/4HANA Master Data Management

The 1805 release of S/4HANA marks yet another milestone for S/4HANA Master Data Management as we release the Duplicate Check feature. A duplicate check at the point of creation of master data allows a user to discover any ‘potential duplicates’ already existing in the system. In the current release, this feature has been delivered along with the Manage Product Master app, wherein, the duplicate check feature allows the user to see whether potential duplicates exist for any product master data records.

If potential duplicates are suggested by the system, the user has the option to either abort the creation of the new instance or simply proceed with it if he decides that the new record is not actually duplicate data. Let’s take a closer look at how the duplicate check feature works in the product master area.

On navigating to the detailed page of a draft record in the Manage Product Master app, you will see the Check button. On the click of this button, first, the app performs functional checks on the records and displays errors, if any. For example, in case, you have not maintained the Description field for the draft record, the application will return an error message and will stop further processing until the errors are resolved.

If the functional checks are completed without errors, the application will show the list of potential duplicates that exist for the current draft record. In the dialog box that opens after the checks are executed successfully, the basic details of the current draft record are shown first, followed by the list of potential duplicate records that match the current draft record. For the potential duplicates, the application also displays a match score which indicates the degree of similarity to the current record.

You also have the option to navigate to the potential duplicate records using the hyperlinks provided for the Product ID. When you click on the product ID of a potential duplicate, the application lists further details of the record in a pop-over window. If you wish to proceed further, you have the option to use the Open-In button to view the detailed page of the record.

During this time, you have the option to use the Check button to view the list of duplicate records or you can proceed with the current draft by choosing the Save button again to save your changes. If the draft includes Classification data, the system will perform the checks for records that have classification and characteristics that match the values of the draft record. Note that the match score will not be affected based on the values in the draft record for the classes and characteristics fields.

Checks Performed during Duplicate Check

On clicking the Check button on the UI, the application performs the check for potential duplicates based on the values of the following fields. However, in case classification and its related characteristics are specified in the draft record, the system will perform the checks for records that have classification and characteristics that match the values of the draft record. Note that the match score will not be affected based on the values in the draft record for the classes and characteristics fields.

The draft product’s class and characteristic values should match the existing products class and char value. Even if the existing record has many classes assigned, it should match the class type assigned for the draft record.

Though the class of a product and it’s characteristics do not affect the match score during duplicate check, you must note that, if a product has a class and associated characteristics, the search for the duplicate records will be restricted to those records having similar classes and characteristics. Also, if you have assigned a range to the characteristic of a class, the application will search and match potential records which suit the criteria of the range defined.

The list of match-relevant attributes for the duplicate check for Product are as follows:

• Material Type
• Industry sector
• Material Group
• Old material number
• Base Unit of Measure
• Manufacturer number
• Product hierarchy
• Authorization Group
• External Material Group
• International Article Number (EAN/UPC)
• Manufacturer Part Number

Here’s a short video on the duplicate check feature in Manage Product Master app.

For more information on the duplicate check feature, contact:

• Vishnu (shri.vishnu.duraisamy@sap.com)
• Sankeerth (sankeerth.k.s@sap.com)
• Vivek (vivek.kumar.gupta01@sap.com)