GDS for Retail

Solutions Management,
IBU Retail

SAP AG 2005
 Agenda

Glossary / Explanation
Architecture

Catalogue Item Subscription

Catalogue Item Notification

Maintenance of Data

Confirmation Message

Functionality of the Rule Engine

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 Glossary 1

GS1
GS1 is a leading global organisation dedicated to the design and implementation of global
standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains
globally and across sectors. The GS1 system of standards is the most widely used supply chain
standards system in the world. GS1 defines all presented standards.

Advantages GDSN
The advantage of GDSN for a Retailer is that the effort to receive master data in standardized way can be reduced
tremendously. For example a Retail who receives information from 30.000 vendors would need to synchronize their
data in hundreds of different formats. If all these vendors would ship their data over the data pool the format and
the connections needs to be set up only one time.

Global Registry (Function)

The global registry works like a search engine to find the data pools where the needed information of the vendor is
stored, so that each data pool knows where to get the data from.

Communication between data pools

The communication between the data pools is standardized so that from all data pools in the network the same
information can be received.

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 Glossary 2

CatalogueItem Messages
The CatalogueItem messages are used to exchange the data between the data pools in the
network and are offered from some data pools as well to their clients (Retailers) to receive
the information in a standardized format.

Parts of GDSN (GDD, XML Business Messages (BMS),

GPC)
The messages are using different standardized techniques for the messages.
1. GDD (Global Data Dictionary)
The GDD is a repository for core components which are reused in several GS1 Standards like the GS1
XML Standard Schemas or the GS1 Business Message Standards.

2. XML Business Message Standards (BMS)

The BMS defines messages which are used for B2B message data exchange. The messages are
devided into sections which are reused in the different messages.

3. GPC (Global Product Classification)

The GPC is a classification schema for Products which is in the GDSN.

Used Object in GDSN

Trade Item (including price information), Party

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 Global Data Synchronisation - Inbound Processes

GDS inbound offers mass adoption of product master data from either external data
pools, or from supplier (peer-to-peer scenario). Efficient maintenance is of major
importance for retailers because of high data volumes.
Features of GDS maintenance:
- Support of three GDSN message types: Subscription, Notification, Confirmation, based on
standard GS1 XML
- Maintenance UI for administration of Subscription messages
- Rule Engine offering enough flexibility to enable customers to define rules according to their
needs (to check message inbound and enhance messages)
- Functionality for Confirmation messages
- Message mapping for XI
- User friendly maintenance UI for convenient display and/or enhancement of relevant data
- Mass maintenance functionality
- Functionality to enhance relevant data not originating from the data pool
- Scheduled data inbound
- Fully automated data inbound
- Support for EANCOM Pricat messages
Creation of single, generic, and structured articles is supported (article categories in SAP ECC).
Its possible to create all the relevant views of the article master data, i.e. basic data, purchasing
information record, purchase conditions, sales conditions etc. Both, creation of new articles as
well as maintenance of already existing articles are possible.

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 Process of Global Data Synchronisation - Inbound Process
The following business process is executed in XI/SAP ECC (here, the straight forward process is
presented) (An external service is needed to support the relevant AS2 protocol.)
1. Maintenance/sending of the message Catalogue Item Subscription with relevant GTINs/GLNs
(products/suppliers). Maintaining these subscriptions allows to activate/deactivate of the subscription
service for receiving master data
2. Receiving message Acceptance/Acknowledgement for Catalogue Item Subscription (data pool
acknowledges the receiving and correctness of the subscription)
3. Receiving message Catalogue Item Notification (data pool sends newly requested and changed master
data, respectively)
4. Sending message Acceptance/Acknowledge
Message is sent after maintenance and adoption into own master data (acknowledges receipt of
message Catalogue Item Notification)
5. Data formatting (mapping of the XML into the SAP ECC
format)
6. Maintenance of cross references VendorID Purchasing Group
Maintenance of these cross references is a prerequisite for successfully posting GDS-XML messages.
These settings need to be maintained at least once, and typically will be changed rarely.
7. Maintenance of cross references SAP Merchandise Category external merchandise category
These settings are optional, and require infrequent updating. In case no mapping is found, the external
value will be adopted.
8. Importing GDS messages into GDS Staging Area
9. Dialog processing
- enter layout profile Subsequent selection and display is controlled via layout profile, e.g. how many
rows will be displayed per item
- selection of catalogue/catalogue entries.

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 The Retail GDSN Business Steps

The business steps are done from a vendor and a retailer to exchange
master data information. The Retailer himself only exchange messages
with his home data pool which forwards messages from the vendor data
pool and sends messages to the vendor over his data pool.

The Retailer creates a permanent subscription on the required master

data

The Retailer Data Pool forwards the item information in the Catalogue
Item Notification message

The Retailer sends a confirmation for accepted items

SAP AG 2006
 Agenda

Glossary / Explanation

Architecture
Catalogue Item Subscription

Catalogue Item Notification

Maintenance of Data

Confirmation Message

Functionality of the Rule Engine

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 Overview GDSN Inbound Functionality

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 Architecture

Functionality
Pricecatalogue ALE Customizing

Existing
IDOC
Convert
er Pricat W_PRICAT_MAI
Tables NTAIN

Rule Engine
Rule
Proxy
Engine
(Notific

DEVELOPMENT
ation)

Rule Work
Object

NEW
PPO API = existing solution
Storage
PPO
Data XI Context UI Desktop = Rule Engine
Pool
= GDS Process (incl.
UI and functions)
Proxy Subscription
UI
= XI Part

Confirmation
Proxy
Report

SAP AG 2006
 Architecture

Functionality
Pricecatalogue ALE Customizing

Existing
IDOC
Convert
er Pricat W_PRICAT_MAI
Tables NTAIN

Maintain 3

Rule Engine
Proxy
Rule Rule Engine
Engine
(Notific

DEVELOPMENT
ation)
2a
Notification 2 Rule Work
Object

NEW
PPO API = existing solution
Storage
PPO
Data XI Context UI Desktop = Rule Engine
Pool
= GDS Process (incl.
UI and functions)
Proxy Subscription
UI
1 Subscription
= XI Part

Confirmation
Proxy
Report

Confirmation
4
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 Agenda

Glossary / Explanation

Architecture

Catalogue Item Subscription

Catalogue Item Notification

Maintenance of Data

Confirmation Message

Functionality of the Rule Engine

SAP AG 2006
 Catalogue Item Subscription

Data Pool
ERP
Subscribed
GLN 4025783000005
GTIN
GPC 10000111

Subscription values
On following values a subscription can be made GPC, Target market, GLN, GTIN

Subscription or Request
A subscription is a request to receive information ongoing on a trade item or trade items. The request is
proceed on creation of new trade items or on changes of trade items.
A Request is message to receive just one time the information on a trade item or on several trade items.

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 Catalogue Item Subscription

1) Transaction TWGDS_SUBSCRIPTION
2) Report WGDS_XI_PROXY

CatalogueItemSubscription
SAP
Recipient ERP
Data Pool 1
EAN UCC Response SAP
GDSN Exception XI Data
(AS2- 2 Recipient
Adapter)
3
RequestForCatalog
ueItemNotification

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 Subscription User Interface

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 Agenda

Glossary / Explanation

Architecture

Catalogue Item Subscription

Catalogue Item Notification

Maintenance of Data

Confirmation Message

Functionality of the Rule Engine

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 Catalogue Item Notification

Data Pool
ERP

Monitor Notification
received
GLN 4025783000005

GTINs New Data

Data structure Notification

The notification message contains the information about the trade item or items which have been
previously subscribed or requested.

Follow up processes
After the trade item information have been received, the original message is stored and forwarded to a
rule engine event. In the rule engine event several rules are executed to check and enrich the received
trade item information to transform it to an internal article. This internal representation is stored in PRICAT
tables and can be processed with the transaction W_PRICAT_MAINTAIN.
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 Catalogue Item Notification

1) Transaction WGDS_STORAGE_MONI
2) Transaction WER_RULE_CONFIG
3) Transaction W_Pricat_Maintain

CatalogueItemNotification

Recipient
Data Pool
Data
Recipient PPO (Storage)
GDSN Exception
Rule Engine
EAN UCC Response
Pricat tables

W_PRICAT_MAINTAIN

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 PPO Monitoring of Notification Messages

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 Details on Single Message

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 Agenda

Glossary / Explanation

Architecture

Catalogue Item Subscription

Catalogue Item Notification

Maintenance of data
Confirmation message

Functionality of the Rule Engine

SAP AG 2006
 Maintenance of the Data

Through W_PRICAT_MAINTAIN the usual maintenance capabilities

can be accessed.

Via the default settings you define per field:

Storage options (data that is displayed in the dialog comes from

the catalog, from the reference article or is a default value)

Display options (is the field in the dialog displayed, not displayed
or ready for input)

The configuration at client-level is done in customizing; differences

at vendor or vendor/merchandise category level are maintained in
the application.

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 User Interface for the Maintenance of the Data

The user interface offers :

New user interface to mass maintain the data
Time-depended transfer of data to ERP article master
Transfer of prices and generic articles

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 W_PRICAT_MAINTAIN (Further Example)

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 W_PRICAT_MAINTAIN (Further Example)

SAP AG 2006
 Agenda

Glossary / Explanation

Architecture

Catalogue Item Subscription

Catalogue Item Notification

Maintenance of Data

Confirmation Message
Functionality of the Rule Engine

SAP AG 2006
 Confirmation Message

Data Pool
ERP

Data Maintenance

State GTIN Description

Data
confirmed

Data structure Confirmation:

The Confirmation message contains the information about the trade item or items which have been
previously accepted by the retailer.

This message is been sent after the data has been stored in the retailers system.

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 Send Catalogue Item Confirmation

1) Transaction RWGDS_CONFIRMATION

Recipient
Data Pool
Data
Recipient

CatalogueItemConfirmation

SAP AG 2006
 Agenda

Glossary / Explanation

Architecture

Catalogue Item Subscription

Catalogue Item Notification

Maintenance of Data

Confirmation Message

Functionality of the Rule Engine

SAP AG 2006
 Functionality of the Rule Engine

The rule engine is a generic tool that allows to check and enrich
data. The rule engine can be called by an event which one or several
rules. Rules can be changed and created on the rule engine
configuration UI. Each rule has an entry condition and action. Rules
can be grouped in rules sets.

Examples:

Check rule:
Entry condition is GLN/ ILN field is empty action is raise error log.

Enrichment rule:
Entry condition none, action get Material number for GTIN number.

Enrichment rule:
Entry condition specific GLN/ILN, action create purchasing info record for
this vendor

SAP AG 2006
 Further Examples for the use of the Rule Engine

Incoming data is validated catalogue item validation

Find corresponding product data and user correlation (catalogue item-

GTIN/ product data-GTIN)

Transformation of catalogue- and product data to work item

Work item enrichment

Product data validation

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 Example for Rule Selection Screen

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