SAP SD Partner Determination Design Template
Partner determination decides who the sold-to, ship-to, bill-to and payer are on every document. This template captures the design in one page so master data, SD and finance agree before anyone touches VOPA.
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SAP SD Partner Determination Design Template
Partner Determination Design - S/4HANA Wave 2 Rollout
Sales organisation: 1000 Procedure level: Customer master Procedure: ZAG
Standard Partner Functions
| Code | Name | Typical use | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AG | Sold-to party | Places the order | Yes |
| WE | Ship-to party | Receives the goods | Yes |
| RE | Bill-to party | Receives the invoice | Yes |
| RG | Payer | Pays the invoice | Yes |
Mandatory partners in this procedure
AG, WE, RE, RG
Additional partner functions
Sales employee (VE), carrier (SP), forwarding agent (SH), end customer for projects (ZE, custom)
Source and defaulting rules
Sold-to from the customer master (KNVP). Ship-to defaults from the customer master and may be overridden in the order. Bill-to and payer default from sold-to.
Open design points
Decide whether the carrier is fixed per ship-to or chosen per order. Confirm whether hierarchy relationships are needed for key accounts.
Configuration Checklist
| Step | Where | Done |
|---|---|---|
| Define partner function | VOPA, partner functions | |
| Define partner determination procedure | VOPA, procedures | |
| Assign procedure to account group or document type | VOPA, assignments | |
| Set source and mandatory flags | VOPA | |
| Test in XD01 and VA01 | Master data and order |
Approvals
Standard partner function codes AG, WE, RE and RG are delivered by SAP. Custom codes should start with Z. Confirm names and customising paths in your release.
Check your customer master for partner gaps
Optional: ask for a read-only review of partner data quality in your ERP.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use it
Choose the document level the procedure applies to, name the procedure, then list extra partner functions beyond AG, WE, RE and RG. Describe where each partner comes from: the customer master, the order, or a higher-level hierarchy. Export the page, circulate it to the master data owner and attach it to the blueprint. The configuration checklist at the bottom turns the design into a short build task list.
How partner determination works
A partner determination procedure is a set of partner functions with flags such as mandatory, not changeable and source. Procedures are assigned by customer account group for the customer master, and by sales document type, item category or billing type for documents. Partners proposed on the customer master (table KNVP) are copied into the order, and then flow to delivery and billing based on copy control.
Reading the output
Check that every mandatory function has a clear source. If a partner function is mandatory on the sales document but missing from the customer master, order entry will stop with an error. For key accounts with several ship-to addresses, decide whether the default ship-to is stored on the sold-to or picked on each order.
- One owner for each partner function
- Custom functions use the Z namespace
- Record what happens to the partner in billing
Common mistakes
Teams often create a new partner function when an existing one would do, or forget to assign the procedure to the account group, so the customer cannot be created. Another error is making the partner not changeable at document level and then discovering that sales support needs to override the ship-to. Test with a real customer in XD01 and VA01 before transport.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the standard SAP partner functions?
The four most used are AG sold-to party, WE ship-to party, RE bill-to party and RG payer. SAP also delivers functions such as VE sales employee and SP forwarding agent depending on your release and configuration.
Where do I configure partner determination?
In customising under Sales and Distribution, Basic Functions, Partner Determination, and via transaction VOPA. You define partner functions, procedures and then assign procedures to account groups and document types.
Can partners be changed after the order is saved?
Only if the partner function is not flagged as not changeable in the procedure, and only while later documents have not already used the value. Changes can also trigger repricing or new output.
Do I need a different procedure per document type?
Often one procedure is shared across similar order types. Create a separate procedure only when the mandatory partners or sources really differ, for example for consignment or project orders.
Need help auditing partner setups across a large customer master? Netray can run read-only checks against your ERP data and show you the exceptions.
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