Have you considered creating a technical strategy for how to incorporate payment layouts in SAP? Or do you manage this one payment type at a time for each bank and country around the world? A lack of a strategy can lead to a complex spider web of payment methods and layouts that is difficult and unwieldy to manage.
In our first post of this series, we outlined creating payment layouts in 28 steps or more using classic payment programs in SAP. Let’s be honest- the process can be very difficult for all involved! Using the payment medium workbench (PMW) as part of your technical strategy when designing layouts can simplify your processes. Here is an example of a typical process using the PMW:
What are the key reasons to consider adopting the payment medium workbench as your technical strategy for designing payment layouts?
- PMW is the mechanism through which SAP delivers new layouts
- Changes typically configuration driven instead of development objects
- Typically configured by analysts
- Compatible with Bank Communication Manager
- XML payment layouts are key trend (pain.002.001.03 and pain.008.001.03)
- SAP even allows for generation of IDOCS from PMW!
The key differentiation in using the PMW over classic layouts and custom program is process simplification. Using the PMW allows analysts to manage the majority of the payment layout implementation in your SAP system. This eliminates much of the back and forth between analysts and developers on your project, saving time and money.
More importantly, this supports a strategy of adopting XML payment layouts. These are a key trend for corporate adoption as they allow corporates to take steps toward becoming bank agnostic.
So, do you have a technical strategy for payment layouts in SAP? Is it using PMW?
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