What is retention period in SAP AP-MD-BP - SAP Business Partner?

SAP Term: retention period

• Component: AP-MD-BP

• Component Name: SAP Business Partner

• Description: The period of time between the end of the last business activity involving a specific object for example, a business partner and the deletion of the corresponding data, subject to applicable laws. The retention period is a combination of the residence period and the blocking period.

Smart SAP Assistant

• Key Concepts: 
  Retention period is a setting in SAP Business Partner that determines how long a business partner record is kept in the system. It is used to control the amount of data stored in the system and to ensure that only relevant data is kept. The retention period can be set to any number of days, weeks, months, or years. 
  
  How to use it: 
  To set the retention period for a business partner record, go to the SAP Business Partner transaction code (BP) and select the “Retention Period” tab. Here you can set the number of days, weeks, months, or years that the record should be kept in the system. Once the retention period has been set, any records older than this will be automatically deleted from the system. 
  
  Tips & Tricks: 
  It is important to remember that setting a retention period does not delete existing records from the system. It only affects new records created after the retention period has been set. Additionally, it is important to note that setting a retention period does not guarantee that all records will be deleted after this time. Some records may remain in the system due to other settings or processes. 
  
  Related Information: 
  For more information on setting a retention period for SAP Business Partner, please refer to SAP Help documentation or contact your local SAP support team.