Contract

A Contract is the central trade document formalizing an agreement between two parties for the purchase or sale of specific goods. It defines the commercial terms — which articles in what quantities at what prices — as well as the logistical terms: where goods are to be delivered, under which transport responsibility, which delivery conditions (Incoterms) apply, and what the target completion date is. Tax and invoicing configuration (tax group, tax method, invoicing behavior) is also captured at the contract level, ensuring that every position and resulting invoice is generated with the correct fiscal treatment.

Contracts act as the link between the planning world and the physical world: contract positions (CoPos) express what has been agreed, while transaction positions (TransPos) record what has actually been weighed and moved. The system tracks the difference between contracted and fulfilled quantities, giving trading teams a real-time view of open obligations. Contracts can reference other contracts (source and destination) to model multi-leg trades, and carry external document IDs and dates to maintain traceability back to the original paper or digital documents exchanged with the counterpart.