Business Partner in SAP S/4HANA: The foundation for nearly all your business processes

Imagine this: you are managing your organization’s customer and supplier data. How do you ensure everything stays up-to-date without constantly switching between different systems? With the transition from SAP R/3 to SAP S/4HANA, the Business Partner in SAP is becoming increasingly relevant. It’s the key to simplifying the management of your customer and supplier information.

Where you previously needed to maintain separate master data for customers, suppliers, and contacts, SAP S/4HANA now offers one central object. This not only provides clarity but also significantly streamlines your data management. But what does this change mean for your organization? In this blog, you’ll discover how the Business Partner in SAP S/4HANA is crucial for your work in S/4HANA.

What is the SAP S/4HANA Business Partner?

The Business Partner in SAP S/4HANA is the central object for managing both customers and suppliers. Where you previously had to manage separate master data for customers, suppliers, and contacts, the Business Partner consolidates this information into a single object. By working with roles, you can easily indicate whether it’s a customer, supplier, or another entity. This provides clarity and simplifies the maintenance of master data.

What does the SAP Business Partner offer you?

There are several features within the SAP Business Partner that will undoubtedly simplify your data management:

1.     Multiple Address Handling

The Multiple Address Handling feature became available in the SAP S/4HANA 2021 release. With this, you can manage multiple addresses for a single customer, such as delivery and billing addresses. You no longer need multiple customer numbers for the same customer (e.g., a separate customer number for a different billing address). This reduces the amount of master data and simplifies management.

2.     Create with Reference

Need to create a new customer, but much of the information is already known from another customer? With 'create with reference,' you can copy existing customer data, saving time and preventing errors. Note: this is a standard option but will only become visible once, for example, you select the customer-specific role.

3.     Business Partner Role Groups

Business Partner roles allow you to assign different roles, such as 'customer' or 'supplier,' to a single entity. With Role Groups, you can group these roles, making management easier and faster. Note: this option is not yet available in the Fiori App for Business Partner management, but it is available in the tile version of transaction BP.

4.     Default Values

Set default values for fields, such as language or country code. This saves time and reduces errors when creating master data.

5.     Duplicate Checks

Duplicate master data can cause problems. With SAP’s duplicate check, you automatically verify existing data when creating a new Business Partner. This prevents duplicate customer numbers and the complications that come with them.

Do you want to take advantage of the SAP Business Partner in SAP S/4HANA? Discover everything SAP S/4HANA has to offer for your company.