SAP EDI 850 Mapping with SDQ: Splitting Orders vs. Item-Level Ship-To Locations

Introduction

The EDI 850 (Purchase Order) often looks straightforward - until you encounter the SDQ segment. This segment allows a buyer to specify multiple ship-to locations within a single order. The way you map and process this information can significantly impact both your ERP setup and downstream business processes. In SAP, you generally have two main choices:

• Split the inbound 850 into multiple sales orders (one per ship-to).
• Create a single sales order with item-level ship-to’s.

Each approach has its advantages and trade-offs, both technically and operationally.

What the SDQ Segment Means

The SDQ (Destination Quantity) segment provides a way for the buyer to order one item but distribute its quantities across multiple ship-to locations. For example:

• 1 material number, total of 1,000 units.
• 500 units to Location A, 300 units to Location B, 200 units to Location C.

Without SDQ, this would require separate line items or separate POs. With SDQ, it’s consolidated into a single EDI 850 transaction.

Option 1: Splitting into Multiple Orders

In this approach, the mapping logic parses the SDQ and creates a separate sales order for each ship-to.

Technical considerations:

• Requires custom mapping logic to “explode” the 850 into multiple orders, grouping them by the ship-to location found in each ID code element of the SDQ segment.
• Will generate multiple IDocs in SAP (e.g., one ORDERS05 per ship-to).
• Easier alignment with SAP business processes which are typically optimized for one ship-to per order.

Business implications:

• Each ship-to has its own order number, simplifying logistics and shipping.
• Cleaner downstream processes (invoicing, delivery, ASN).
• However, buyers may see more order numbers than they expected, which can create issues when you send back the invoice and ASN.
• Duplicate document checking may prevent this in SAP if you can’t have the same PO number on multiple orders. You may need to concatenate something to the end of the order such as -A, -B etc.

Option 2: Single Order with Item-Level Ship-To’s

Here, you map the SDQ so that one sales order is created, with each item (or schedule line) tied to its respective ship-to.

Technical considerations:

• Requires SAP configuration that allows multiple ship-to’s within the same order (not always standard).
• Mapping logic has to assign the ship-to at the item/schedule-line level, which could result in multiple lines of the same material.
• Can be harder to troubleshoot errors when multiple ship-to’s are buried in one order.

Business implications:

• Matches the buyer’s intent of “one PO, multiple destinations.”
• Simplifies buyer-side reconciliation, since order numbers match.
• More complex for your logistics team, since deliveries have to be split per ship-to at a later stage. Invoicing may then be at the delivery level, resulting in multiple invoices.

Comparing the Two Approaches

Final Thoughts

The “right” approach depends on your business priorities and system capabilities. If operational efficiency in logistics and ERP standardization are critical, splitting into multiple orders is usually the safer path. If buyer alignment and order consolidation are more important, and your ERP supports it, item-level ship-to’s may be preferable.

With both options, be sure to keep in mind labels, packing slips and other related documentation. For many companies, the decision comes down to the trade-off between internal efficiency and customer alignment - and sometimes, the best solution is to offer both options depending on the trading partner.