When copying a customer to create a new you have the following possibilities:
- Copy without entering the Template for default on the Work with business partners, Copy panel. The active template (i.e. Template selected) on the Work with business partners panel determines the panels that are valid for this new customer. All information for the existing customer is copied, with the exception of any statistical-related information and/or event-related information.
- Enter the Template for default which holds the defaults to use during the copy on the Work with business partner, Copy panel. You will access the Copy, template usage panel where you can decide what values you want to copy (if at all) for each panel in the entered template.
- Manually enter the new customer number, or automatically generate the customer number. The latter possibility is available via the Retrieve next function key. This function key is available if the AUTOBPN (Auto gen business partner no) function is activated in the Function control file, an extended number series for the business partner number generation has been set up in the Extended number series table, and the extended number series code has been entered in the Character value field in the Defaults and replacements table for the following group/level/key: AUTOGEN/NUMBER/BP_NUMBER.
Note: If you chose to copy several business partners at one time, the system will process the copy one at a time. The first business partner in the sequence is copied, then the new business partner is maintained (the panels defined by the maintenance template will be displayed according to the template sequence for each of the new business partner). After that the process repeats for the next business partner in the sequence that you chose to copy.
Copy without template usage:
- Select the Work with business partners menu item. Note: The active template determines the panels that will be prompted for the new customer once the copying is complete.
- Highlight the customer and click Copy.
- You access Work with business partners, Copy. Enter the name for the new customer in the Business partner field under the Copy to section, or click the Retrieve next function key if it is visible to automatically generate the next customer number. Click OK. Note: As previously mentioned, the Template selected on the Work with business partners panel determines the panels that are valid for this new customer. After clicking OK these panels will prompt, one after the other, where you can change the information you want.
Copy with template usage
- Select the Work with business partners menu item.
- Highlight the customer and click Copy.
- You access Work with business partners, Copy. Enter the Template for default which holds the defaults to use during the copy. Enter the name for the new customer in the Business partner field under the Copy to section, or click the Retrieve next function key if it is visible to automatically generate the next customer number. Click OK.
- You access Copy, template usage. All business partner related panels for the selected template are displayed in the Description column in the same sequence as that set up on the template.
For each panel you can decide in the Usage column if:
- Original values from the “From” business partner shall be copied.
- Template values shall be copied (i.e. field values from any default setting in the template).
- No values shall be copied.
An equivalent decision regarding what data you want to copy (i.e. Original values or No values) can be made for the following:
- Struct (Structure) for the customer structure information.
- Cont for the contacts.
- Buy grp (Buying groups) for the customer file.
- Dest (Destinations) for the address file.
- Days (i.e. Reception days defining the days when the customer can receive the goods) for the address file.
- CMI (Inventory contracts) for the A/R basic data.
After clicking OK these panels will prompt, one after the other, where you can change the information you want.