Complaint Processing (投诉处理)
This note covers complaint processing in SD: credit memos, returns, and invoice corrections.
Complaint Types (投诉类型)
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| Complaint = Customer complaint about product, service, or billing
|
| Type |
Document Type |
Goods Movement |
Purpose |
| Credit Memo |
CR |
No goods movement |
Financial credit without return |
| Returns |
RE |
Goods returned |
Customer returns products |
| Invoice Correction |
RK |
No goods movement |
Correct billing errors |
Credit Memo Request (贷项凭证请求)
What is Credit Memo?
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| Credit Memo = Financial credit to customer without goods return
|
Usage Scenarios
| Scenario |
Description |
| Price too high |
Customer was overcharged |
| Damaged goods |
Customer keeps damaged goods, receives credit |
| Discount missed |
Customer entitled to discount not given |
| Goodwill |
Credit to maintain customer relationship |
Process Flow
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| ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CREDIT MEMO PROCESS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. Create Credit Memo Request (CR) │
│ ├─ T-Code: - │
│ ├─ Reference: Original sales order/delivery │
│ └─ Enter: Reason, amount, items │
│ ↓ │
│ 2. System performs checks │
│ ├─ Price determination │
│ ├─ Credit management check │
│ └─ Billing block (if applicable) │
│ ↓ │
│ 3. Approve credit memo request │
│ └─ Remove billing block │
│ ↓ │
│ 4. Create Credit Memo (billing document) │
│ ├─ T-Code: VF01 │
│ ├─ Type: G2 (Credit Memo) │
│ └─ Posts to FI │
│ ↓ │
│ 5. FI Posting │
│ ├─ Debit: Revenue account (reduction) │
│ ├─ Credit: Customer account (reduction) │
│ └─ Customer receives credit │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
|
Credit Memo Request Fields
| Field |
Description |
| Order Reason |
Reason for credit (e.g., price correction) |
| Reference |
Original billing document (if applicable) |
| Pricing Date |
Date for price determination |
| Billing Block |
Blocks automatic billing until approved |
Returns Processing (退货处理)
What is Returns?
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| Returns = Customer returns products, receives credit
|
Usage Scenarios
| Scenario |
Description |
| Defective product |
Product doesn’t work as expected |
| Wrong product |
Customer received wrong items |
| No longer needed |
Customer wants to return unused items |
| Warranty claims |
Product failed under warranty |
Process Flow
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| ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RETURNS PROCESS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. Create Returns Order (RE) │
│ ├─ T-Code: - │
│ ├─ Reference: Original sales order │
│ ├─ Enter: Return reason, items, quantities │
│ └─ Item category: REN (Returns) │
│ ↓ │
│ 2. Create Return Delivery │
│ ├─ T-Code: VL01N │
│ ├─ Shipping point determined │
│ └─ Picking not required (goods coming back) │
│ ↓ │
│ 3. Goods Receipt (Physical Returns) │
│ ├─ T-Code: VL02N │
│ ├─ Post goods receipt │
│ ├─ Increases inventory (returns stock) │
│ └─ Inspection may be required │
│ ↓ │
│ 4. Create Credit Memo (Billing) │
│ ├─ T-Code: VF01 │
│ ├─ Type: G2 (Credit Memo) or RE (Returns) │
│ └─ Posts to FI │
│ ↓ │
│ 5. FI Posting │
│ ├─ Customer account credited │
│ ├─ Revenue reversed │
│ └─ Returns stock accounted for │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
|
Returns-Specific Fields
| Field |
Description |
| Return Reason |
Why customer is returning (e.g., defective) |
| Return Item Category |
REN (standard returns item) |
| Movement Type |
651 (Returns receipt) |
| Stock Type |
Returns stock (needs inspection) |
Returns Stock Processing
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| Physical Return → Returns Stock → Inspection → Usable Stock
|
| Stock Type |
Description |
| Returns Stock |
Initial receipt, blocked for use |
| Quality Inspection |
Under quality inspection |
| Unrestricted |
After inspection, can be used/sold |
| Scrapped |
Damaged beyond repair |
Invoice Correction Request (发票校正请求)
What is Invoice Correction?
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| Invoice Correction = Correct billing errors with debit and credit items
|
Usage Scenarios
| Scenario |
Description |
| Wrong quantity |
Billed 10, should be 8 |
| Wrong price |
Price per unit incorrect |
| Wrong material |
Wrong item on invoice |
| Combination errors |
Multiple billing errors |
Process Flow
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| ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ INVOICE CORRECTION REQUEST PROCESS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. Create Invoice Correction Request (RK) │
│ ├─ T-Code: - │
│ ├─ Reference: Original billing document │
│ └─ System creates debit and credit items │
│ ↓ │
│ 2. Enter Correction Data │
│ ├─ Original item (to be corrected) │
│ ├─ Correct quantity/price │
│ └─ System calculates difference │
│ ↓ │
│ 3. System Line Items │
│ ├─ Credit item: Original wrong quantity/price │
│ ├─ Debit item: Correct quantity/price │
│ └─ Net effect: Customer charged difference │
│ ↓ │
│ 4. Approve and Create Invoice │
│ ├─ Remove billing block │
│ ├─ T-Code: VF01 │
│ └─ Creates invoice with both debit and credit │
│ ↓ │
│ 5. FI Posting │
│ ├─ Debit: Additional amount (if price increased) │
│ ├─ Credit: Reduced amount (if price decreased) │
│ └─ Net effect corrects original error │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
|
Invoice Correction Example
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| Original Invoice:
Item 10: Material A, Quantity 10, Price $100 = $1000
Correction Needed:
Customer only received 8 units
Invoice Correction Request:
Credit Item: 10 units × $100 = $1000 (reverse original)
Debit Item: 8 units × $100 = $800 (correct amount)
Net Effect: Customer receives $200 credit
Result:
Final billed amount: $800 (correct)
|
Invoice Correction vs Credit Memo
| Aspect |
Invoice Correction |
Credit Memo |
| Reference |
Original invoice required |
No reference required |
| Line Items |
Both debit and credit |
Only credit |
| Usage |
Correct billing errors |
General credits |
| Transparency |
Shows original + correction |
Single credit amount |
Document Types Comparison (单据类型比较)
| Document Type |
Code |
Has Goods Movement |
Has Billing |
Typical Usage |
| Credit Memo Request |
CR |
No |
Yes |
Financial credit only |
| Returns Order |
RE |
Yes (receipt) |
Yes |
Physical returns |
| Invoice Correction |
RK |
No |
Yes |
Correct billing errors |
Complaint Processing in Document Flow (文档流中的投诉处理)
Flow Examples
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| Original Sale:
Sales Order (OR) → Delivery → Billing (F2)
Complaint Scenarios:
1. Credit Memo: Sales Order (CR) → Billing (G2)
2. Returns: Sales Order (RE) → Return Delivery → Billing (G2)
3. Invoice Correction: Sales Order (RK) → Billing (Corrected)
|
Document Flow for Returns
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| ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DOCUMENT FLOW - RETURNS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Original Sale: Complaint: │
│ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │
│ │Sales Order│───────────────│Returns │ │
│ │ (OR) │ Reference │ Order (RE)│ │
│ └───────────┘ └─────┬─────┘ │
│ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ │
│ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │
│ │Delivery │ │Return │ │
│ │ │───────────────│Delivery │ │
│ └─────┬─────┘ Document │ │ │
│ │ Flow └─────┬─────┘ │
│ ▼ │ │
│ ┌───────────┐ │ │
│ │Billing │ ▼ │
│ │ (F2) │ ┌───────────┐ │
│ └───────────┘ │Credit │ │
│ │Memo (G2) │ │
│ └───────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
|
Complaint Processing Integration (投诉处理集成)
SD → MM Integration
| Process |
MM Impact |
| Credit Memo |
No MM impact |
| Returns |
Goods receipt increases stock |
| Invoice Correction |
No MM impact |
SD → FI Integration
| Process |
FI Impact |
| Credit Memo |
Reverse revenue, credit customer |
| Returns |
Reverse revenue, credit customer |
| Invoice Correction |
Adjust revenue, adjust customer balance |
Best Practices (最佳实践)
- Use Credit Memo when no goods are involved (price corrections, goodwill)
- Use Returns when physical goods are returned
- Use Invoice Correction when original invoice has errors
- ❌ Using credit memo when goods should be returned
- ❌ Using returns for financial-only corrections
- ✅ Match complaint type to business scenario
- Most complaints require approval before billing
- Billing block prevents automatic posting
- Credit management checks apply to complaints
| - Returns may require quality inspection
Summary Diagram
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| ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ COMPLAINT PROCESSING │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Customer Complaint │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ What type of complaint? │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │ │
│ ┌────┴────┐ ┌──────┴──────┐ │
│ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ │
│ Financial Physical Billing Other │
│ Credit Return Error Issues │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ │
│ Credit Returns Invoice Contact │
│ Memo Order Correction Creditor │
│ (CR) (RE) (RK) Dept │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ▼ ▼ │ │
│ │ Return Corrected │ │
│ │ Delivery Invoice │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ▼ ▼ │ │
│ └────► Credit ◄──────── Credit ◄───────┘ │
│ Memo Memo │
│ (G2) (G2) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
|
- [[07-Complaints/Returns]] → Returns processing
- [[07-Complaints/Invoice-Correction]] → Invoice correction details
- [[02-Process-Overview/SD-Process-Chain]] → Standard sales process
- [[07-Complaints/Practice-12-Complaints]] → Practice exercises
- [[07-Complaints/Practice-12-Complaints]]