SAP CRM Action Profile: Complete Tutorial

SAP CRM Action Profile Introduction

• Within SAP CRM, Actions refer to the Post Processing Framework (PPF) Basic Components.
• Actions can automatically trigger output, follow-up activities, or workflows.
• Action processing can be used by different applications such as transaction processing (CRMD_ORDER), billing (BILLING), case management (CRM_CASE), and others in SAP CRM.
• Actions replace Output Determination of the SAP ERP System.
• Actions can be determined for the whole transaction (Transaction Type) at header level and also for an individual item (Item Category).

This figure shows the roadmap for Action configuration in SAP CRM.

• With actions, predefined processes can be implemented in SAP CRM transaction processing.

SPRO path to define the Action, Action Profile, and Conditions.

Action Profile definition in SPRO.

• For a particular Action, a Schedule Condition can be defined.
• This schedule condition is checked before making this action available for execution.
• At execution time, processes get scheduled based on user-defined conditions that define a particular situation in the transaction processing.
• An Action is a planned activity or task, and the schedule condition is the situation under which this action is to be executed.
• For a scheduled action, different processing types are possible:
• Processing type defines how an action executes.
• SAP Workflow, BAdI Method Call, Smart Form, or Alert can be triggered.
• Processing Time within an Action Definition (t-code SPPFC or SPPFCADM) specifies where in the transaction processing this action is executed.
• An Action can be partner-function dependent.
• The partner function can be assigned in the Action Definition.
• Actions are linked to an SAP CRM transaction with an Action Profile.
• An Action Profile can have multiple Action Definitions assigned to it.
• Based on the Action Definitions and respective conditions (Schedule and Start), these actions execute for the corresponding SAP CRM transaction.
• For a transaction that supports actions, the action log can be analyzed in the SAP GUI using transaction CRMD_ORDER, or within the Web UI if access is provided to the corresponding assignment block.

Actions detail for a transaction in CRMD_ORDER.

Actions detail for a transaction in CRMD_ORDER.

• You can display a list of actions scheduled and executed with the following information, as shown in Fig. 3 and 4:
• Status (action scheduled, action processed).
• Description (purpose of the action).
• Processing Type.
• Creator and creation date.
• Example: A month before a contract expires, the responsible sales employee receives an activity with the category “e-mail” in his inbox to remind him to contact the customer about renewal.

Conditions

• Two conditions are checked before an action executes:
• Schedule Condition: An action is scheduled only if the schedule condition is satisfied. It can also be evaluated within the SAP standard BAdI EVAL_SCHEDCOND_PPF.
• Start Condition: For scheduled actions, the start condition is checked before execution. The action is executed once the start condition is satisfied.
• These conditions are defined while configuring the action in t-code SPPFCADM.
• Conditions can be time-dependent using dates and date rules.
• Conditions can use expressions on container attributes from a business object or a class and constants.
• Conditions can be checked for proper syntax and tested.
• There are two modes for defining conditions:
• Mouse-oriented PC mode.
• Direct text entry mode (traditional).

Create Parameter Condition:

Set Parameter Condition:

Changing Parameter Condition values:

Personal Settings for Condition Editor:

Processing Time

Processing Time defines when an action whose start condition is satisfied will be executed during transaction processing. The following options are available:

• Processing Using Selection Report:
• The action executes after the selection report runs. Useful for deadline monitoring such as SLA tracking.
• Immediate Processing:
• The action is started as soon as the start condition is fulfilled.
• Processing When Saving Document:
• The action is started when the transaction is saved, so execution triggers during save only.

Setting Processing Time in Action Definition:

Processing Types

In the Action Definition, processing type specifies how the action runs at the Processing Time. Available types include:

• Smart Forms
• Workflow
• Methods

Methods are BAdI implementations of the SAP standard BAdI EXEC_METHODCALL_PPF. SAP provides many standard implementations, for example:

• COPY_DOCUMENT (to create a follow-up document)
• COMPLETE-DOCUMENT (set status completed within document)
• CREDIT_MEMO (create credit memo item)
• 1O_EVENT_CREATE (create a workflow event)

Transaction SPPFCADM

This transaction is used for PPF customizing:

It is used to define the Action Profile and Action Definitions and to configure the Actions in the Action Profile. Conditions can be maintained using the SAP-provided wizards and screens.

Other useful transaction codes:

• CRMC_ACTION_CONF – Action Configuration.
• CRMC_ACTION_DEF – Action Definition.
• CRMC_ACTION_WIZARD – Action Definition via Wizard.

Action Monitor

The program RSPPFPROCESS, responsible for the action monitor, originates from the Post Processing Framework (PPF) and is used to check the processing of actions. It can monitor and trigger the processing of actions for several transactions.

The transaction code for the Action Monitor is CRMC_ACTION_JOB.

With the action monitor, you can list actions with processing time Selection Report and initiate their processing. This is useful for deadline monitoring such as SLA.

It can also process actions with When Saving Document time. If time-dependent conditions were fulfilled without any transaction changes, the program can run so actions are also started. The report can also select and process Immediate or When Document is Saved actions for test or repeating purposes.

Action Monitor execution.

Action Profiles

Actions are configured for a CRM transaction using an Action Profile. Actions are created in an action profile, which can be assigned to different CRM transactions. Within an action profile, multiple actions can be defined with sort order and status (Active or Inactive). Active actions can be scheduled and executed in the sort order maintained. For each action, the Action Definition and Action Configuration can be maintained.

During transaction processing, all allowed actions are identified using the Action Profile. Actions not marked inactive are considered for execution. Sort order in the Action Profile defines the sequence. Further processing is based on the Action Definition and Action Configuration.

An action profile can be assigned directly to a transaction type or item category. The condition technique (Action Profile Determination) can also be defined like pricing.

In SPRO, go to “Define Action Profiles and Actions”:

1. Select an action profile.
2. Click View.

You will see the properties of an action profile.

1. Select Action Definition.
2. Click View.

FAQs