Challenge: Our client’s supply chain analysts received requests to modify sales orders, such as reducing the original quantity, canceling orders, or changing the cancel date. These requests were received through various channels, including emails, phone calls, and other unstructured methods. The analysts had to collate the necessary data to identify the exact sales order, product, and grid that required changes. Once the information was gathered, they manually executed the requested changes in SAP. This manual and time-intensive process not only resulted in delays but also increased the risk of errors.
Solution: To address these challenges, we implemented Automation Anywhere 360 to automate the complete process of updating sales orders and line items. Our Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bot was designed to perform the following steps:
- Input File Processing: The RPA bot monitored a shared folder for input files containing sales order revision requests. It processed one file at a time, extracting the order line items and storing them in a SQL database for further processing.
- SAP Login and Navigation: The bot logged into SAP and navigated to the respective transaction code (Tcode) for sales order revisions.
- Order Details Retrieval: Using the order number provided in the input file, the bot searched for the specific sales order in SAP and accessed the order details screen.
- Line Item Modification: The bot identified the requested line item changes, such as quantity reduction, order cancellation, or cancel date modification. It updated the line items in chunks of 100 to optimize efficiency and performance.
- SQL Transactional Table Update: After making the necessary changes in SAP, the bot updated the status of the line items in a SQL transactional table, ensuring accurate tracking of the revised orders.
- Repeat for All Line Items: The bot repeated the steps for all line items within the sales order, ensuring comprehensive updates to each individual line item.
- Processed File Creation: Once all line items were processed, the bot generated a processed file for each input file, indicating the status of the update process.
- Shared Folder Management: The processed files were saved in a shared folder, providing easy access to the updated sales order data.