FAQ on Flexible Workflow for Purchase Requisition and Purchase Order

Q : Two different apps are available for Flexible Workflow for Purchase Requisition currently – namely Manage Workflow for Purchase Requisitions – Obsolete as of 2005 and Manage Workflow for Purchase Requisitions – New. Why? Which one should be used?

A : New class based PR workflow scenarios are available from 1905CE and are part of app Manage Workflow for Purchase Requisitions – New. Scenarios existing before 1905CE(namely old scenarios) are part of app Manage Workflow for Purchase Requisitions – Obsolete as of 2005. App Manage Workflow for Purchase Requisitions – Obsolete as of 2005 along with associated old scenarios are planned to be deprecated by 2005CE. New class based PR workflow scenarios are recommended to be used as advanced features like Purchase Requisition Workflow simulation, deadline monitoring can be made available only for New class based PR workflow scenarios.

Q : Can the approver receive any kind of notification once a work item gets created for the approver to take a decision. Similarly, can the creator of Purchase Requisition receive any kind of notification when the Purchase Requisition is approved.

A : Different type of notifications are available in relation to Flexible Workflow. Details can be found at https://blogs.sap.com?p=11

Q : Is there any option for approvers to edit/complete the Purchase Requisition information during approval

A : Approvers can edit/complete the Purchase Requisition information during approval using the option “Edit and Approve Purchase Requisition” available in My Inbox

Details can be found at https://blogs.sap.com?p=340

Q : Can custom pre-conditions be added for determining workflow in apps Manage Workflow for Purchase Requisitions and Manage Workflow for Purchase Orders.

A : Custom pre-conditions can be added at step level or header and step level by implementing BADIs using app Custom Fields and Logic.

Refer to below links for more information

https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2767845

https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2841783

Q : You are trying to create a Purchase Order and receive the error – A proper workflow definition could not be found and cannot save the Purchase Order. Approval details displays error – The steps cannot be loaded. Please try again later. What could be the possible solution?

A : This error commonly occurs when Flexible Workflow is switched on for the document type and no workflows are active for Purchase Order in app – Manage Workflow for Purchase Orders. Business Configuration Expert can ensure that at least one of the workflows(default workflow – Automatic Approval for Purchase Order) is active in app – Manage Workflow for Purchase Orders

Q : Suppose that you have defined a responsibility management team of several purchasers and also configure the associated function for approver agent determination in flexible workflow for Purchase Requisition. How can you avoid the purchaser(part of the same the approver team mentioned above) who creates the Purchase Requisition to approve the Purchase Requisition he/she created?

A : Currently there is no option available in flexible workflow to avoid the requestor of Purchase Requisition to be not the approver of the Purchase Requisition.

Q : Is there any way to manage re-start of flexible workflow on change of Purchase Requisition

A : Re-start of flexible workflow on critical changes to Purchase Requisition can be managed by implementing BADI using app Custom Fields and Logic.

KBA note https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2846174 can be referred for further details.

Q : A Purchase Requisition created with three items with a total value of 73K goes for approval. Approver accesses the My Inbox and finds that the total value of PR displayed is less than 73K. What could be the reason?

A : One of the most probable reasons of the reduction in total net value in My Inbox is the deletion of few items in the Purchase Requisition. The net value of deleted items will not be included in calculating the total value of the Purchase Requisition.

Q : How can I see comments that the approver added while approving or rejecting a purchase order?

A : Follow the below steps to view approver comments

1. Go to the app Manage Purchase Orders.

2. Open the purchase order.

3. Click on the facet Approval Details.

4. You can see a With Comments link for the approval steps where the approver has added comments while approving or rejected the Purchase Order. Click on this link to view the comments.

Q : In app, Manage Purchase Requisitions, a particular Purchase Requisition doesn’t appear and therefore follow on document creation is not possible. What could be the reason?

A : A Purchase Requisition in approval will not appear in app Manage Purchase Requisitions as follow on documents cannot be created for such PRs in S/4HANA. Once approved, the Purchase Requisition will appear in app Manage Purchase Requisitions and follow on documents can be created.

Q : Does Purchase Requisition created out of MRP Live go through approval based on Flexible Workflow in S/4HANA?

A : As of now, approval based on Flexible Workflow is not relevant for Purchase Requisition created out of MRP Live. Such Purchase Requisitions have release status as ‘Active'(02). But when a subsequent re-start relevant change is applied on the Purchase Requisition, Purchase Requisition may go for approval if relevant.

Q : What does field “Requested By” signify in My Inbox for approval of Purchase Requisitions?

A : For item level approval, field “Requested By” is filled with Requestor of Purchase Requisition (for SSP shop on behalf scenarios) and for non-shop on behalf scenarios, we fill the Requisitioner (free text field) from Purchase Requisition. For header level approval, field “Requested By” is filled with Requestor of Purchase Requisition(for SSP shop on behalf scenarios) and for non-shop on behalf scenarios, its blank.