Background

By default, business users have unrestricted authorizations for maintaining standard prices. Flexible Workflow is part of SAP Business Workflow and will allow you to set up and manage simple workflow scenarios in different lines of business, such as SAP S/4HANA Finance, Procurement, Human Resources, Manufacturing, and now SAP S/4HANA Sales.

In this blog, we will learn how workflow works in “Manage Prices – Sales” APP.

Use

In certain situations, it can make sense to ensure that a designated approver approves a sales price before it can be used in pricing. You could, for example, define that prices for specific sales areas must always go through an approver.

Pre-configurations

Before we start using workflow functionalities, we have to complete below pre-configurations:

Configuration for workflow in Prices

General Overview

An approval workflow for sales prices always involves the following two parties:

1. The approval requester (for example, a pricing specialist) who creates, edits, or deletes a sales price that requires approval. (We call it user A in this blog)
2. The approver user who will receive the request from requester and be able to check details and then take actions: Approve or Reject. (We call it user B in this blog)

Create

Step1: (User A) Click “Create” button, set condition type and other mandatory fields, then click “Save”:

Step2 – Option A: Input description and click “Submit” button, system generates the “Approval request ID” for this condition record and its release status changes to “In Review”.

Step2 – Option B: Click “Skip for Now” button in above dialog, the status of this condition record will be “Blocked (A)”.

You could select the “Blocked(A)” data later and click “Request Approval” button to submit the approve request.

The release status will change to “In Review”.

Step3: (User B) Login the same system and open “My Inbox” APP.

Above creation request displays there, click “Open Task” will open new page to display the details of this approval request, user can ONLY export the details of this request and other UI functionalities are disabled.

Step4 – Option A: (User B) Click “Approve” in “My Inbox” for this condition record. Back to “Manage Prices – Sales” APP, the release status of the data will be changed to “Released”

Step4 – Option B: (User B) Clicks “Reject” in “My Inbox”:

Back to “Manage Prices – Sales” APP, the release status of the data will be changed to “Reject”

Edit

You can edit approved sales prices. For example, you can change the condition amount or change the valid date, etc. Editing already approved prices require approval.

Step1: Based on above approved condition record, click “Edit” button, the system generates the draft, change the condition amount and ratio from 111% to 66%:

Step2: Then click “Save” button, system creates another condition record (with a new ID) to store your changes and sends the new condition record for approval.

Step3: Input description and click “Submit”.

The system saves the edit request to a new condition record. That means, when you request change(s) of a condition record, the system creates another condition record (with a new ID) and sends it for approval.

Meanwhile, the original condition record you attempted to edit remains released and can still be used in pricing.

Step4 – Option A: (User B) Approve this edit change request in “My Inbox”.

The system updates the original condition record (for which the approval request ID is also updated) and deletes the new condition record.

Step4 – Option B: (User B) Reject this edit change request in “My Inbox”.

The system deletes the new condition record and leaves the original condition record keeps unchanged (released):

Note:

1. If you try to edit the data which is in “In Review”/”Request Deletion”, the APP will pop up error message and block further actions.
   
2. If you try to edit multiple condition records which have different release status, draft(s) will be generated only for editable data, others will be kept as display mode.
   

Delete

If you want to delete sales prices that were already approved, you must submit a deletion request and have it approved.

Step1: Select the data which requires workflow process, click “Delete” button.

Step2: Input description and click “Submit”.

The system saves the deletion request to a new condition record. That means, when you request deletion of a condition record, the system creates another condition record (with a new ID) and sends it for approval.

Meanwhile, the original condition record you attempted to delete remains released and can still be used in pricing.

Relative deletion request will be displayed in “My Inbox” for user B.

Step3: (User B) Approved this deletion request, the system deletes both condition records together.

Alternatively, (User B) reject the deletion request, the system cancels the deletion and deletes the new condition record which generated in step2 above.

Maintain data by using excel import function

If you maintain the workflow price by using the data import function in the Manage Prices – Sales app, the system directly sends the price for approval and sets the release status to in review once the price is imported.

Approval Process for Upload Prices in Sales from template-based spreadsheet

Reference links of user guide

Official documentation of “Approval Workflows for Sales Prices”

Official documentation of “Manage Prices – Sales”