What Is IDoc (Intermediate Document)?
Also known as: SAP IDoc, intermediate document, IDoc message type, ALE IDoc
Definition
An IDoc (Intermediate Document) is SAP's standard data container for exchanging business documents such as orders, deliveries and invoices with other systems. Each IDoc has a control record, data segments and status records, and is sent through ALE or EDI.
IDoc (Intermediate Document) Explained
An IDoc has three parts. The control record names the message type (for example ORDERS, DESADV, INVOIC), the IDoc basic type, the sender, the receiver and the direction. The data records hold the content as a hierarchy of segments such as E1EDK01 for header data and E1EDP01 for items. The status records track processing, from created to passed to port, to posted or failed.
IDocs are the usual way SAP exchanges data without a custom API. Outbound, the application creates the IDoc through output determination or a function module, the ALE layer assigns a partner profile (WE20) and a port (WE21), and it is sent as a file, RFC, HTTP or to an EDI subsystem. Inbound, a process code decides which function module posts the document into SAP.
Monitoring is done in a small set of transactions. WE02 and WE05 list IDocs and their status, WE19 is the test tool for editing and reprocessing, BD87 lets users reprocess failed IDocs in bulk, and WE60 documents a basic type. A status 51 means an inbound IDoc failed in the application, typically on missing master data or a locked record.
Non-SAP ERPs have equivalents, such as Infor Business Object Documents (BODs) in ION for SyteLine and LN, and Oracle's OAGIS-based messages. For manufacturers integrating a plant ERP with SAP at headquarters, the IDoc is often the format the other system has to produce or consume, which makes mapping the key work item.
Why It Matters
- Large manufacturers on SAP receive supplier and subsidiary data as IDocs, so integrations to them must produce or consume them.
- Failed IDocs are a common source of silent order, delivery and invoice gaps, and need active monitoring.
- Understanding message types and segments avoids guessing when mapping from or to a plant ERP.
- IDocs are asynchronous, so integration design must handle delay, retries and reprocessing.
In Practice
A subsidiary on SyteLine sends production confirmations to a parent on SAP. The integration layer converts a SyteLine job completion into an IDoc of message type WORKORDER_CONFIRM, filled with plant, order and quantity. One IDoc arrives with status 51 because the material master for a new part is missing at the parent. An analyst fixes the master, then reprocesses the IDoc in BD87 rather than resending it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an IDoc and a BAPI?
An IDoc is an asynchronous document sent between systems. A BAPI is a callable function that runs synchronously. IDocs suit batch and messaging, BAPIs suit direct calls.
What does IDoc status 51 mean?
An inbound IDoc reached SAP but the application could not post it, usually because of missing master data, authorization or validation errors.
Which transaction shows IDocs?
WE02 and WE05 list IDocs by status. WE19 tests them and BD87 reprocesses failed ones.
Do non-SAP systems use IDocs?
Not natively. They exchange them through middleware that converts IDocs to XML, JSON or their own formats.
Related Terms
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the computer-to-computer exchange of business documents such as purchase orders, invoices, and shipping notices between trading partners in a standardized structured format, without human intervention.
EDIFACT
EDIFACT (UN/EDIFACT) is the international EDI standard maintained by the United Nations. It is widely used in Europe and by global supply chains, with messages such as ORDERS for purchase orders, DESADV for despatch advice and INVOIC for invoices.
BOD (Business Object Document)
A BOD (Business Object Document) is the standardized XML message format Infor applications use to exchange data through ION. Each BOD pairs a verb such as Sync or Process with a noun such as ItemMaster, based on the open OAGIS integration standard.
Middleware
Middleware is software that sits between applications and handles the communication, transformation, routing, and reliability concerns of moving data between them, so that the applications themselves do not need to know about each other directly.
Data Mapping
Data mapping is the process of defining how each field in a source system corresponds to a field in a target system, including the transformation rules, value translations, default values, and conditional logic needed to move data correctly between them.
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