IDoc, ALE and EDI

A company exchanges thousands of documents every day: orders, shipping notifications, invoices, master data. SAP uses a standard format, the IDoc (Intermediate Document), to receive and send them automatically, with partners (EDI) or between systems (ALE).

Audience: MM, SD, WM functional consultants; technical consultants; support teams (AMS); EDI integrators.
Prerequisites: Level 1: none. Levels 2 and 3: basics of a logistics module (MM or SD).
Duration: 3 days (0.5 + 1.5 + 1)
21 h · day-by-day schedule

Day-by-day schedule

3 days, 21 h of training. Beginner 0,5 d, intermediate 1,5 d, advanced 1 d. Durations are calculated from the content of each chapter. Click a line to open the chapter.

BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedAssessment

Day 1Beginner · Intermediate

Morning · 9:00 – 12:30

Afternoon · 13:30 – 17:00

Day 2Intermediate

Morning · 9:00 – 12:30

Afternoon · 13:30 – 17:00

Day 3Advanced

Morning · 9:00 – 12:30

Afternoon · 13:30 – 17:00

IDoc curriculum

3 parts, 19 topics. Open a part, then follow the link to the chapter, the guide or the mini-process.

Level 1 · Beginner : Understanding electronic exchanges

Why IDocs?
Entering 2,000 orders a day by hand: slow, costly, full of errors.
Chapter →
ALE and EDI
Two uses of the same container.
Chapter →
The anatomy of an IDoc
Three parts, three tables.
Chapter →
Reading a status
The two-digit code that says it all.
Chapter →
An IDoc on its journey
Outbound and inbound, in pictures.
Chapter →
First steps: displaying an IDoc
WE02, the screen you will open most often.
Chapter →

Level 2 · Intermediate : Configuring, monitoring and reprocessing

Basic types, messages, segments and qualifiers
The precise vocabulary an EDI integrator expects.
Chapter →
Configuring a flow
Five building blocks, always the same.
Chapter →
Simulation: purchase order sent by EDI
From the Save button to the partner, status by status.
Chapter →
Simulation: sales order in error 51
The most frequent case in support.
Chapter →
ALE: distributing master data
Automatically sending changed materials to the subsidiary.
Chapter →
Logistics EDI messages
The table to know by heart.
Chapter →
Monitoring, testing and reprocessing
The method for analyzing an IDoc in error.
Chapter →

Level 3 · Advanced : Advanced configuration, development and integration

Configuring ALE between two clients
Based on “IDoc / ALE Configuration Process” (S/4HANA 2023, client 400 sender → client 100 receiver).
Chapter →
Extending a standard IDoc
Adding “engraving” and “dial colour” to ORDERS05.
Chapter →
Creating a custom IDoc
For an object without a standard IDoc.
Chapter →
Jobs, performance and security
What keeps high-volume interfaces running.
Chapter →
IDocs, APIs and SAP Integration Suite
When to keep the IDoc, when to move on.
Chapter →
Advanced troubleshooting
Beyond status 51.
Chapter →

Configuration guides

IDoc · EDISending a purchase order by IDoc