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Sales
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SAP S/4HANA | 2023 FPS03 (Feb 2025)

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Organizational Structures in SD

Use
In the SAP System you can use several structures to represent the legal and organizational structure of your company.The
organizational structures form a framework in which all business transactions can be processed.

Integration
You link the organizational structures in SD with those in Financial Accounting and Materials Management.

Activities

You maintain and assign the organizational units in Customizing for the enterprise structure.

Sales Area

Use

A specific combination of three organizational units forms the sales area (that is, sales organization, distribution channel, and
division).

 Example
In sales organization 1000, sales and distribution transactions can be carried out through all distribution channels and for all
divisions. In the sales organization 2000, products of both division 01 and division 02 are sold only through distribution channel
10. In sales organization 3000, only products of division 01 are sold and only through distribution channel 10.

Features

Creating a sales area allows you to exclude unwanted or unfeasible combinations of different organizational units.

Sales Organization

Definition
The sales organization is an organizational unit within logistics, that structures the company according to its sales requirements.

Use
A sales organization is responsible for the sale and distribution of goods and services.

It represents the selling unit as a legal entity. It is responsible for product guarantees and other rights to recourse, for example.
Regional subdividing of the market can also be carried out with the help of sales organizations. Each business transaction is
processed within a sales organization.

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The sales organization must be specified in all sales documents. It is therefore available for all basic functions of SD (such as
pricing, availability, and so on).

Structure

A sales organization can be subdivided into several distribution chains which determine the responsibility for a distribution
channel.

Several divisions can be assigned to a sales organization which is responsible for the materials or services provided.

A sales area determines which distribution channel can be used to sell the products from one division in a sales organization.

Integration
Each sales organization is assigned exactly one company code for which you enter all accounting details of the sales organization.

A distribution chain can be active for several plants and the plants can be assigned to different company codes. If the sales
organization and plant are assigned to different company codes, an internal billing document is sent between the company codes
before the sales transactions are entered for accounting purposes.

Distribution Channel

Definition

The distribution channel represents the channel through which saleable materials or services reach customers. Typical distribution
channels include wholesale, retail, and direct sales.

Use

Within a sales organization a customer can be supplied through several distribution channels. In addition, the material master data
relevant for sales, such as prices, minimum order quantity, minimum quantity to be delivered and delivering plant, can differ for
each sales organization and distribution channel.

Structure

A single distribution channel can be assigned to one or more sales organizations.

Division
Definition

In the SAP System you can define a division-specific sales organization. Product groups, i.e. divisions, can be defined for a wide-
ranging spectrum of products.

For every division you can make customer-specific agreements on, for example, partial deliveries, pricing and terms of payment.
Within a division you can carry out statistical analyses or set up separate marketing procedures.

Internal Organization in Business Development and Sales

The organization in Sales is represented by the elements sales office, sales group and salespersons. The following figure displays a
sample organization in business development and sales.

Sales office

Geographical aspects of the organization in business development and sales are defined using the term sales office. A sales office
can be considered as a subsidiary. A sales office establishes contact between the firm and the regional market.

 Example

The branch of a firm in Hamburg, main street 1 can represent a sales office

Sales group

The staff of a sales office may be subdivided into sales groups. For example, sales groups can be defined for individual divisions.

Salespersons

You can maintain personnel master records for sales representatives in your company. In the personnel master record, you assign
the salesperson to the sales office and the sales group.

You can also enter the system user name of the sales person. This allows mails to be sent to the salesperson (define the partner
function for salespersonnel in the sales document).

Integration

Sales offices are assigned to sales areas. If you enter a sales order for a sales office within a certain sales area, the sales office must
be assigned to that area.

The sales groups are assigned to the sales offices.

The salespersons are assigned to the sales group and the sales office via the personnel master record.

Organization in Shipping and Transportation

Use

Independent organizational entities, such as shipping points, are responsible for scheduling and processing deliveries to
customers, as well as replenishment deliveries to your own warehouses.

A delivery is always carried out by one shipping point only. The shipping point depends on the following criteria:

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Delivering plant

Type of shipping (for example, train, truck)

Loading equipment necessary

Loading Point

Shipping points can be subdivided into loading points. For example, ramp 1, ramp 2 and ramp 3 belong to the shipping point
Forwarding depot .

The following figure displays a possible organization in shipping.

Transportation Planning Point

The transportation planning point is an organizational unit in Logistics, responsible for planning and processing transportation
activities.

It organizes the responsibilities in a company, e.g. according to shipment type, mode of transport or regional departments.

Integration

The shipping point is assigned to a plant.

Loading points are assigned to shipping points.

Department and Receiving Point

Definition

Departments are subdivisions of a ship-to party. These might be, for example, different departments in a store, bays in a
distribution center, or areas in a manufacturing plant.

Departments are assigned to receiving points, which in turn are assigned to unloading points. One receiving point may have several
departments assigned to it, but each department is assigned to only one receiving point. By knowing a department, you can
therefore also determine the receiving point and the unloading point.

Using departments and receiving points enables you to more finely specify the final destination for a shipment or portions of a
shipment, thus reducing the time it takes for the goods to become available for the receiver’s use or sale.

 Example

A pallet load of merchandise is delivered to Bay 1 at a department store (unloading point). The shipment is broken down and
delivered to one or more floors (internal receiving points). From there the packages are delivered to one or more departments,
such as Housewares, Consumer Electronics, Health & Beauty Aids, or Women’s Dresses.

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Use
Sales orders

The receiving point and department are located on the Business Data Detail Shipment screen, either at the header or item level. If
the header contains this information, this becomes the default for all items, but you can override it for individual items if you wish.
Items in a sales order may have different receiving points and/or departments.

Picking lists and delivery notes

You can print the receiving point and department on picking lists and delivery notes. If this information was included in the sales
order, then it will automatically be inserted in these other documents; otherwise, you can enter it manually. (However, picking lists
and delivery notes are not split by receiving point or department.)

Billing documents

You can specify that the department and receiving point are to be printed on billing documents. You can also specify that invoices
are to be split by receiving point and department.

You can define promotion determination for sales order processing in Customizing under Logistics – General Retail
Promotion Promotion Determination in Sales Order Processing .

You can assign and prioritize goods receiving points to the plant/storage location in Customizing under Logistics Execution
Shipping Basic Shipping Functions Shipping Point and Goods Receiving Point Determination Assign Goods Receiving
Points for Inbound Deliveries .

Structure

The department and receiving points are fields in sales orders and delivery notes.

Integration
The system can automatically determine the appropriate department and receiving point for an article. To enable this you must
first of all carry out the following:

For external customers: Assign merchandise categories in the customer master

For internal sites (for example, member stores or distribution centers): Assign merchandise categories in the company
master

In either case, you then assign valid departments and receiving points to the customer or site, and a department to each
merchandise category. A merchandise category can only have one department.

When you enter an article on a sales order, for example, the system checks the merchandise category to which the article belongs,
then checks the merchandise category information for that site or customer. The system then locates the corresponding
department and receiving point for this article.

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