SAP ABAP NetWeaver Tutorial

Intercompany business processing describes business transactions which take place between two companies (company codes) belonging to one organization. The ordering company orders goods from a plant which is assigned to another company code.

The following intercompany business transactions are possible:

Intercompany sales processing

A sales organization which is assigned to the ordering company code creates a sales order ordering goods from a plant assigned to another company code.

The plant in the delivering company code delivers the goods to the customer for whom the sales organization placed the order.

Intercompany stock transfer

A purchasing organization which is assigned to the ordering company code creates a purchase order ordering goods from a plant assigned to another company code.

The plant in the delivering company code delivers the goods to the plant for which the purchasing organization ordered the goods.

Because the two companies balance their accounts independently, the delivering company must bill the ordering company for the goods. This internal billing transaction is carried out by means of an intercompany billing document. The delivering company bills the ordering company at a price that allows the delivering company to cover its costs.

Example

Let us take an example to understand intercompany sales better. Suppose there are two company codes namely 1000 and 2000. A customer may place an order for goods in sales organization belonging to company code 3000. However, the goods may be manufactured by a delivering plant belonging the company code 1000. A sales order is created indicating delivering plant of company code 1000. The sales organization then invoices the customer for the materials purchased. SAP R/3 automatically creates an intercompany billing document at the same time as the customer’s billing document is created. This intercompany invoice is sent from the delivering plant to the selling sales organization.

As a rule of thumb, when dealing with different company codes, one may find a need to transfer stock between two different company codes. However, if the stock be transferred within the same company code, there is no need for an intercompany transaction. But in case the stock is transferred between different company codes, a transfer of value occurs and is an intercompany sale.

Reference

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_470/helpdata/en/dd/5614e7545a11d1a7020000e829fd11/frameset.htm