SAP ECC and TrueCommerce integration

What moves between them

Purchase orders and invoices flow bidirectionally between SAP ECC and TrueCommerce. ml-connector polls SAP ECC via RFC_READ_TABLE or OData for new purchase orders (BAPI_PO_GETDETAIL1 and related BAPIs) and invoices (BAPI_ACC_DOCUMENT_POST) and writes them to TrueCommerce as X12 850 (Purchase Order) and X12 810 (Invoice) EDI documents via SFTP or managed Exchange API. Incoming Advance Ship Notices (X12 856) and Invoices from suppliers via TrueCommerce are polled from SFTP and mapped into SAP ECC goods receipt documents and invoice postings. The schedule and mapping rules are defined per customer.

How ml-connector handles it

ml-connector stores SAP RFC credentials (username, password, and gateway host) encrypted and establishes the RFC connection via an agent running on the customer network with SAP .NET Connector or Java Connector. It polls SAP ECC using RFC_READ_TABLE for wide tables like EKKO (purchase order headers) and EKPO (purchase order lines), and BAPI_ACC_DOCUMENT_POST for GL documents. For TrueCommerce, ml-connector stores SFTP username and password encrypted, connects to integrationftp.truecommerce.com on port 22, and polls for new EDI files on your configured schedule (typically hourly). Outbound documents from SAP are transformed to X12 850 or X12 810 format and written to TrueCommerce SFTP with the correct file naming convention confirmed during onboarding. Inbound EDI documents are downloaded from SFTP, transformed to SAP-compatible JSON, and posted to SAP via BAPI calls. EDI deduplication is handled by tracking ISA control numbers. RFC_READ_TABLE has a 512-character row width limit for classic version, so wide tables use BBP_RFC_READ_TABLE instead. Character encoding is handled by the RFC agent but RFC_READ_TABLE may return garbled non-ASCII text without proper ABAP_AS_CODEPAGE setup - this is validated and logged. Write BAPIs require an explicit BAPI_TRANSACTION_COMMIT call; ml-connector ensures commits are sent to avoid locked documents. Every record carries a full audit trail and can be replayed if a downstream call fails.

A real-world example

A mid-sized manufacturing company runs SAP ECC on-premises for ERP and procurement and uses TrueCommerce to manage EDI communication with 30 key suppliers. Before the integration, the procurement team exported purchase orders from SAP, manually converted them to X12 850 format, and uploaded them to TrueCommerce FTP each day. When supplier shipments and invoices arrived via TrueCommerce, the team downloaded the X12 documents, manually parsed them, and re-entered the line items into SAP for goods receipt and invoice matching. This process was error-prone and took 2 to 3 hours daily. With SAP ECC and TrueCommerce connected via ml-connector, purchase orders automatically flow to TrueCommerce as X12 850 files, incoming advance ship notices and invoices are automatically posted into SAP as goods receipts and vendor invoices, and the team can focus on exception handling instead of manual data entry.

What you can do

• •Poll SAP ECC for purchase orders via RFC_READ_TABLE and BAPI_PO_GETDETAIL1, and write them to TrueCommerce as X12 850 EDI documents on a schedule you set.
• •Download X12 856 Advance Ship Notices and X12 810 Invoices from TrueCommerce SFTP and post them into SAP ECC as goods receipt and invoice documents via BAPI_ACC_DOCUMENT_POST.
• •Authenticate SAP ECC via RFC Basic Auth over an on-premises agent running SAP .NET Connector or Java Connector, and TrueCommerce via SFTP with encrypted credentials.
• •Transform documents between SAP internal format and X12 EDI format, handle RFC_READ_TABLE row width limits, and commit SAP documents atomically with BAPI_TRANSACTION_COMMIT.
• •Deduplicate inbound EDI documents by ISA control number, track all records in an audit trail, and replay failed document posts if a downstream call fails.

Questions

Does ml-connector require an SAP on-premises agent to connect to SAP ECC?

Yes. SAP ECC is on-premises, and RFC/BAPI calls cannot originate directly from the cloud. An agent running on the customer network with SAP .NET Connector or Java Connector installed must be configured. ml-connector stores the RFC gateway host, username, and password encrypted and initiates RFC calls via that agent.

How does the integration handle EDI format conversion between SAP and TrueCommerce?

ml-connector transforms purchase orders from SAP internal format (EKKO/EKPO tables) into X12 850 format for TrueCommerce SFTP, and transforms inbound X12 856 (Advance Ship Notice) and X12 810 (Invoice) documents into SAP-compatible format for posting via BAPI. The mapping is configured per customer during onboarding, and all transformations are logged in the audit trail.

What happens if the SAP RFC_READ_TABLE row width limit is exceeded?

SAP ECC's classic RFC_READ_TABLE has a 512-character row width limit. ml-connector detects wide tables like EKKO and EKPO and uses BBP_RFC_READ_TABLE instead. Character encoding is validated and logged - if non-ASCII text becomes garbled, the SAP Basis team must set ABAP_AS_CODEPAGE correctly to prevent this.