SAP IDocs are a tried and true interface methodology.  But as with any interfacing technology the most brittle component is the connection between the two systems (in the case, SAP and the subsystem).  In scenarios where SAP is sending IDocs to a subsystem via the transactional RFC, one question is paramount:

How do you know when an Outbound IDoc has physically left SAP?

It’s a simple fact that if your subsystem never receives an IDoc from SAP, the subsystem will not be able to route or process the IDoc.   I have always gone by the notion that once the subsystem has successfully received the IDoc, the subsystem now has all the responsibility to process and route the IDoc, but before that time, SAP has the responsibility to ensure that the IDoc is fully dispatched.  The subsystem should have processes in place to determine if the IDoc has been received at the target system successfully or not.  In this blog I will focus on the handshake between SAP and the subsystem.  This will entail Outbound IDoc status and a couple of batch jobs that should be setup to ensure a better chance of a successful handoff between SAP and the subsystem.

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