how to delete entire enterprise structure

[Former Member]

i just want to know how to delete entire organizational structure including company, company code, division,distribution channel,plant, shipping point, sales organization, storage location,sales office and sales group

[Jelena · Accepted solution]

I would not flat out say "no", but this is definitely unusual process with many risks and concerns. There could be some valid cases when due to a reorganization or sale, for example, an organization is no longer needed in an SAP system.

Purely from the technical standpoint deletion is just the opposite of creation. If there are no documents for the company (could be an abandoned project, or example) then it's just the matter of deleting the configuration in the reverse order of creation. E.g. if we start from Company, then Sales Org, then Order Type assignment, etc. then naturally when deleting we will go in the reverse order - remove assignment, then SOrg, then Company.

If there are documents then it's much more difficult since you'd have to archive all the documents and master data. Archiving, again, happens in "reverse" order, i.e. you can't archive a material if any documents exist for it. There are lots of information on archiving on SCN and in SAP Help (I think there is a special course).

Naturally you'll need to consider the audit and legal requirements (some information may have to be retained for N years). Open documents can't be archived, so those will need to be closed. This is not a piece of cake project but is feasible.

I believe there are also special tools for "carving out" company data (e.g. in case of mergers/separations), but I'm not familiar with those. It might be a good idea to reach to SAP for information / assistance.

Overall, as pointed out by others as well, it is a risky and cumbersome task that can't be taken lightly. I you have documents then I'd say that it only makes sense if it significantly affects the database size (and maintenance cost) or is a legal requirement. It's not unusual to retain obsolete companies in SAP just because deletion is not worth the risk and effort.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Brilliantly and systematically pointed. I admire your response Jelena but I'm almost sure this is rhetorical question, isn't it Anurag?

[former_member182378 · Accepted solution]

Jelena,

very nice! thanks!

i agree with Mario, your post is brilliant!

It's not unusual to retain obsolete companies in SAP just because deletion is not worth the risk and effort.

In many things in life, saying "No" (or "Yes) is be incorrect...there is lot of grey!

In all of my projects, either consultants and / or customers are very hesitant to delete organization elements. I fully understand the reason why...if something is working fine, why go and disturb it?

More information about the business reasons / background, the number of organizational elements (for example - 20 sales orgs, 50 plants etc. etc.), documents already created etc. How many other Org structures are created in the same box, will definitely help to come at a more informative decision.

There is a risk and expense (men, time) component to this requirement...you need a team of experts from various modules (FI, SD, MM....) to guage the risks and if required, do some configuration changes, rigorous testing, also see if hard coded values are used in programs used by other company codes in the same box, that mean rigorous testing again.

But, if you are having an interview or facing a client discussion, and you do not have experts from multi-module...do not say yes.

Safe answer is to say No.

tw

[Jelena · Accepted solution]

Actually safe and accurate answer would be: "This is feasible, but I don't recommend it" and explain the reasons. Then people in charge can decide whether to follow the recommendation or not. This prevents the customers from going to another consultant, who might be a trigger-happy cowboy (or a cowgirl) and will say "sure thing, we can do this!" (just to leave a mess and disappear to another project), but at the same time reserves the right to say "I told you so" afterwards. It's all politics, really.

Thanks for the kind words, TW and Mario!

P.S. Good thing OP didn't post this in ABAP forum - there'd already be 5 replies how to do DELETE * FROM BSEG.

[former_member182378 · Accepted solution]

Jelena,

Thanks for your post!

I have observed that you cover several different angles...this gives a "sense of richness" to the reader / client. It is a good trait to inculcate in self.

This would be beneficial for starters and experienced people alike.

In my article I have touched upon degree of detail...this is not exactly the same as covering different angles and giving richness to replies...but both aim at presenting good knowledge on a topic.

As your earlier reply is comprehensive, would like to take this as a "sample" ("prototype") to present to members of the career forum. It might help many.

typewriter

[moazzam_ali]

Hi

After Jelena Perfiljeva post there is no need to explain it because she already had covered all aspects of this.  I also agree with her remarks.

"This is feasible, but I don't recommend it"

Don't delete it. Just leave it. If they are concerned about what is anyone uses this mistakenly, this could be controlled through authorizations. If they don't want to see existing structure in their F4 list then add active structure in favorites (If possible) but in any case don't delete the organization structure. It'll create mess.

Thank$

[former_member182378]

anurag,

if some one has asked you, then say that we do not delete organizational elements.

this is an interesting question and give you the opportunity to understand in SPRO and study all the org elements - where is sales organization, distribution channel, sales office, sales group, shipping point etc. and the respective "links" assignments between elements.

keep studying org elements,

typewriter

[Former Member]

Correct answer is: You don't want to delete organizational structure of live system.

What you can do - If you have another organizational structure, new one, use new one and in customizations remove references to old one as it appears during operations.

Br,

Mario

[Former Member]

Hoping the system is not live yet. First remove all the assignments and then delete them one by one.

[former_member184555]

Hi Bheem,

Bheem Yadav wrote:

Hoping the system is not live yet. First remove all the assignments and then delete them one by one.

How to proceed if the system is already live?

[Former Member]

I would not touch if system is already live and Org structure is in Use.