Application Link Enabling - Intermediate Documents (ALE/IDoc)
This interface is typically used with the adapter for asynchronous transfer of business data to and from the SAP system, for example, a batch transfer of sales orders from the SAP system to a data warehouse.
The adapter extracts and stores IDoc metadata for individual IDoc types into the adapter project at design-time. Both Standard IDocs and Custom IDocs are supported.
Each IDoc type definition in the SAP system is encapsulated as an IDoc service in the adapter. An IDoc service can be used to:
| • | Send business transaction data from the SAP system in both real-time and batch mode. |
Example: Send out shipping notification to a warehouse management system from the SAP system for materials to be picked and packed for shipping.
| • | Receive business transaction data in the SAP system as IDocs. |
Example: A warehouse management system posts a shipping confirmation IDoc into the SAP system after the shipping operation is complete. This confirms the completion of the operation in the SAP system.