While there has always a gap in that CRM could not create interaction records automatically through standard, SAP has now swung to the other extreme by having the system create interaction records automatically all the time. While this can be de-activated, it needs to be handled with care. Let’s hope that with the next version of CRM, SAP gets the balance right.
What is an Interaction Record?
The transaction type Interaction Record is central to the CRM solution. It is used to capture and categorise all inbound and outbound interactions with external parties. Especially in the scenario of the interaction centre, SAP has extended the use of the interaction record with version 7.0. Once a customer record has been confirmed in the interaction centre, an interaction record is automatically created in the background once the user clicks the ‚End’ button in the Webclient. The confirmed account, contact person and registered product, all business transactions created and accessed (in edit mode), selected solutions from the knowledge search, and all processed inbound and outbound emails are linked to the interaction record via the activity clipboard.
From a technical perspective, the interaction record basically functions as an anchor object. During the creation of an interaction record, a document flow link of relationship type „INTO“ with object type „CRMCICANCH“ is created which is heavily used during navigation. Every time the user navigates from the interaction history or inbox to an interaction record, the system will use this anchor to determine whether an activity is of type interaction record or not. The BW extractor makes also use of this anchor object to differentiate interaction record-related statistics from regular business activities.
Click here to read the full article in the May 2010 edition of Inside SAP.
