In SAP S/4HANA, a cross-company-code purchasing organization is defined by not being assigned to any specific company code. This configuration allows it to procure for multiple company codes. For this to be operational, the purchasing organization must be assigned to the plants for which it is responsible. These plants can belong to different company codes. During a transaction, such as creating a purchase order, the system determines the correct company code for financial postings from the plant specified in the document. Therefore, the direct and mandatory assignment that enables cross-company-code functionality is the link to the plants.

B. To a standard purchasing organization: A standard purchasing organization is a functional role used for specific processes like pipeline or consignment procurement, not a structural assignment for cross-company operations.

C. To the company codes for which it is responsible: This is incorrect. Assigning a purchasing organization to a company code makes it company-code-specific. A cross-company-code purchasing organization is explicitly not assigned to any company code.

D. To a reference purchasing organization: A reference purchasing organization is a separate concept that allows other purchasing organizations to use its contracts and conditions, focusing on centralized negotiation, not operational scope.

1. SAP S/4HANA Help Portal - Organizational Levels in Procurement: "A purchasing organization that is not assigned to a company code can procure for all plants assigned to it

regardless of the company code they belong to. In this case

the purchasing organization must be assigned to the plants it is responsible for." This source directly validates that the assignment to plants is the required step.

Source: SAP Help Portal

S/4HANA 2023

Organizational Levels in Procurement.

2. SAP S/4HANA Help Portal - Assign Purchasing Organization to Company Code: "If you do not assign a company code to a purchasing organization

this purchasing organization can engage in procurement operations for every company code... When you create a purchasing document

the system determines the company code from the plant." This confirms that the absence of a company code assignment is key

and the link is via the plant.

Source: SAP Help Portal

S/4HANA 2023

IMG Activity: Assign Purchasing Organization to Company Code.

3. SAP S/4HANA Press - Sourcing and Procurement with SAP S/4HANA: In the chapter on Organizational Structures

it is detailed that a purchasing organization's scope (plant-specific

cross-plant

or cross-company-code) is determined by its assignments. For cross-company-code purchasing

the configuration involves assigning the purchasing organization to plants of different company codes while leaving the direct assignment to a company code blank.

Source: Rheinwerk Publishing (SAP Press)

Sourcing and Procurement with SAP S/4HANA (ISBN: 978-1-4932-1939-7)

Chapter 3: Organizational Structures.