How does the commodity code map lookup work when a catalog item's commodity code domain differs from the domain used in SAP Ariba Procurement?

When a catalog item is added to your requisition or shopping cart, the system checks whether the supplier's commodity code is defined in your configuration. If you're mapping between two different commodity code domains (for example, from the supplier's UNSPSC to your custom commodity code domain), the system looks for mappings from most specific to least specific.

For example, if the supplier is sending UNSPSC 12345678, the system runs the following lookups:

• Is there a mapping from UNSPSC 12345678 to a custom code? If so, populate the custom code in the line item. If not, keep going.
• Is there a mapping from UNSPSC 123456 to a custom code? If so, populate the custom code in the line item. If not, keep going.
• Is there a mapping from UNSPSC 1234 to a custom code? If so, populate the custom code in the line item. If not, keep going.
• Is there a mapping from UNSPSC 12 to a custom code? If so, populate the custom code in the line item. If not, keep going.
• If no mappings are found, populate Not Assigned as the commodity code in the line item.

When the commodity code has a value of Not Assigned, users can still check out the shopping cart or submit the requisition.

Therefore, the recommended approach is the following:

• Make sure that all commodity codes are mapped, even if it's at the 2-digit UNSPSC level (for example, mapping UNSPSC "44" to a custom code prevents errors for any UNSPSC that falls in that branch of the hierarchy). This avoids errors or mismatches in your SAP ERP system. If the issue is that you're getting incorrect custom codes based on the lookup moving up the hierarchy, you'll want to refine the mappings for some of the 6-digit and 8-digit UNSPSC.
• For UNSPSC that don't find a matching custom code during the lookup, if you want to throw errors to prevent users from submitting the shopping cart or requisition, have a Designated Support Contact ask SAP product support procurement to implement a custom validation that throws an error when the Commodity Code field is listed as Not Assigned.

Catalog Management
Purchasing