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LSMW with direct input

Former Member
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Hi, I have a general question that goes like this. How do you determine source fields in advance when you use direct input (or BAPI, or IDOC for that matter). If you use recordings it is easy, because files could be copied from your recording. But if you use direct input, how does one generally goes about finding out what field should be filled? Let's say if you would like to use direct input program in order to upload purchasing requisitions how would you determine fields on step 3? Thank you.

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Accepted Solutions (1)

JL23
Active Contributor
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It is an easy project if you can control the source fields from your target fields and the users have just to deliver their input in Excel.

But usually migration projects are much more complicated, and field mapping takes probably 100 times more time in meetings than finally in step 5 of LSMW.

You can start from the source and try to rescue all fields into SAP, this is very often not possible as different system have different process and data designs.

Usually we start from the target process, it is explained in workshops, followed by a fit-gap analysis, then we do major mapping like org structure, material types, vendor and customer accounts, units of measures, and finally we get to the field mapping workshops. We know what we need for the target process and have to find out from where we can get the fields and how.

Don't bother endusers and SAP strangers with technical structures for data loading.

The person in charge for migration has probably the best skills to prepare the delivered data into a form which is convenient for him to load.

If you use batch input or IDOC or BAPI method in LSMW is often just a personal preference.

Batch input is the oldest method, BAPI the youngest. If somebody started his career with batch input and had never a need to change to BAPI then his choice and most convenient and quickest way to achieve the target is the batch input. And that is okay from my point of view, as only the reached target counts at the end of the day, nobody is asking about the way you used.

Of course there are other influencing things on the decision of the method, like performance. But what does a 50% quicker load really gain if the developer needs 4 times longer to create a LSMW for BAPI method instead of using his beloved batch input?

Recording is an exception and in general scorned as it is not flexible enough for our work. It might be fine in trainings for freshers to get familiar to the general usage of LSMW, but if you have to load millions of materials, customers and vendors for big companies then it can't be the first choice.

As already said before, the fields which have to be loaded are decided in workshops based on target processes. And these fields are usually there, in batch input, in IDocs and BAPIs. But not each object has all 3 import methods available. So you have to inform yourself (using F4 and reading docu and SCN content) which methods are there for the data object that shall be migrated. 

The main difference between a recording and a ready to use import method from SAP is the following: in SAPs import methods you need to search for the fields in step 5 of LSMW data mapping. For a recording you have to search for the fields in the screens that you have to fill during your recording.

If you missed a field in the recording then you may have to start all over again, if you missed a mapping for a field in SAPs import methods then you just add the mapping and you are done.

SAPs import methods look complicated on first sight because they have all possible fields for any process variation, fields that you never saw in any screen, because it is not needed for your business.  But finally there is no real difference in mapping and execution.

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