BPS – SAP integration methods

Applies to version: 2021.1.x and above; author: Adrian Baszak

WEBCON BPS applications frequently require integration with external systems. SAP is one of the popular systems that requires integration with WEBCON BPS workflows.

Business scenarios

Below you can find some examples of areas shared by Microsoft Dynamics system and WEBCON BPS.

Cost invoice 

Frequently SAP and WEBCON BPS share the cost invoice workflow. Data necessary for the workflows to function is collected from SAP into dictionaries, for example:

• Customers dictionary
• Bank accounts dictionary
• Currency dictionary
• Cost categories dictionary
• Cost Centre dictionary
• Projects dictionary

The invoice data such as header data, i.e.,  invoice number, invoice issuance data, and cost assignment is immediately sent to SAP.

Leave requests

Another example of sharing data by SAP and WEBCON BPS is holidays. In the workflow one can create and approve a leave request and later send its data to SAP. SAP can also deliver data sources such as employee’s leave limits, types of leaves, holidays and days-off as well as bank holidays.

Procurement 

Purchase order requests for material or services sent to SAP can be considered another area for integration. Returned data on the procurement status can be used for verifying settlements and associating purchase orders with invoices. WEBCON BPS-SAP integration may also refer to the process of collecting and transferring information about stocks or goods receipts or service performance. 

Obviously, it is not the end of the list of SAP-WEBCON BPS integration possibilities. The list can be expanded by such processes as, e.g., business trip workflow, consumer data synchronisation (suppliers and customers), project and investment management, sales orders generation.

Integration solution methods 

SAP-WEBCON BPS integration can be handled with several methods. The method applied depends usually on the data collection and transfer between the systems.

Downloading data from SAP 

Dictionary data from SAP, e.g., dictionary of Customers can be introduced into the workflow as SQL views. Such solution allows for constant updating, regular refreshing the workflow dictionary data after changes in the source system.

Data can be also transferred with the use of other methods, e.g., in the form of Web service. The dictionary data is delivered from the SAP system via a web service or SQL tables according to some predefined cycle (e.g. once per 24h, at night). This solution has some weaknesses, but sometimes the priority is to ease the load on system resources. In the case of a query for one value from the source data, periodic synchronisation may not be required. For example, checking the employee’s leave limits (each and every time only leave limits of the same person are checked).

Here is an example of data that can be returned within the REST service

Input data

Output data

Leave limits

Example of the action configuration in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio

Input data

Output data

Example of the data in SQL view with procurement status 

Data transfer to SAP 

Data entry into SAP can be made with the use of several options. Data can be entered into SAP via Web service: REST or SOAP. This is a synchronous solution and when you decide to select this option, a response on data transfer is sent immediately. REST Web services is the recommended SAP integration method.

Another integration solution method of the discussed systems is data entry via buffer tables which are filled out with SQL views with the workflow data from WEBCON BPS. When SAP processes the line with the respective element, the status of the element entry is returned in one of the columns, and alternatively some sort of a return message (e.g. in case of an error). Such integration solution method requires some form of control on the side of the workflow - to check whether the respective element has been transferred to SAP correctly.

The data entry may differ depending on the given SAP configuration and WEBCON BPS application in the respective organisation. For example, invoice data transfer to SAP can be carried out by invoking a Web service twice: first for opening a file; and second for filling in the given data. Another option is to enter the header data and update the analytical breakdown entry. Obviously, the simplest option is to make the entire entry during one invocation but sometimes employing two invocations is required. Such procedure does not affect operation of a WEBCON BPS application.

Below you can find an example of the data used for a simple invoice entry.

Header

Cost assignment

Returned parameters

Configuration of the WS REST entry in WEBCON BPS