<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ManualTopic ID="/baanerp/ec/onlinemanual/000008" xml:lang="en">
	<Header>
		<Title xmlns:ssa="http://www.ssaglobal.com" xmlns:HTML="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">Using business partners</Title>
		<Keyword><Level1>Business partners</Level1>
		</Keyword>
		<Keyword><Level1>Business partners</Level1>
			<Level2>using</Level2>
		</Keyword>
	</Header>
	<GeneralSection><Paragraph>Because you will communicate with your business partner over specified networks, you must define the network address of the business partner for the specified networks. This address is the technical address that is used in the envelope information (message overhead) of any <Link href="/baanerp/ec/glossary/glossary#000007" role="glossary">EDI message</Link> sent to that business partner.</Paragraph>
		<Paragraph>For messages exported from the ERP application for external EDI, the translation communication software uses this <Link href="/baanerp/ec/glossary/glossary#000013" role="glossary">network</Link> address to determine where to route the message.</Paragraph>
		<Paragraph>For messages imported into the ERP application, use the network address to identify the sender of the received message.</Paragraph>
		<Paragraph>For example, in the default data provided for the conversion setups (the default message <Link href="/baanerp/ec/glossary/glossary#000006" role="glossary">file layouts</Link>/mapping), use the network address with the network code to determine the business partner on incoming messages.</Paragraph>
		<Paragraph>In any case, use this network address to identify a business partner by network. You can choose to have the network address be the same as the business partner code, or you can use this field to specify the actual technical address of your business partner. Your choice depends on the functionality of your translation/communication software.</Paragraph>
		<List><ListIntro>Business partners are used to:</ListIntro>
			<ListItem>Indicate which messages are supported by specific business partners.</ListItem>
			<ListItem>Maintain and print business partner identifications by network.</ListItem>
			<ListItem>Define conversions that are specific to a business partner (such as forwarding agent codes, warehouses, and sales contract codes).</ListItem>
		</List>
	</GeneralSection>
</ManualTopic>
