SAP CIF (Core Interface): Integration Models, Queues and T-Codes

Avadhut Adake · 31 January 2025 · 3 min read

What the SAP Core Interface does, how to create and activate an integration model with CFM1 and CFM2, where to watch the CIF queues, and how CIF fits S/4HANA PP/DS.

The Core Interface (CIF) is the link between SAP ERP and SAP APO or PP/DS. When a planned order does not reach ERP, or a new material is missing in planning, the cause is usually in CIF: an integration model that was never activated, or a queue that is stuck.

What CIF does

• Sends master data from ERP to the planning system, starting with an initial transfer: plants, materials, work centers, BOMs and routings, purchasing info records.

• Keeps transactional data in step in both directions, such as stocks, sales orders, planned orders and purchase requisitions: new, changed and deleted.

• Publishes planning results from APO back to ERP for execution.

• Connects the systems through RFC and moves data in queues, so updates arrive in the order they were made.

Create an integration model ( CFM1 )

The integration model is created in ERP and decides which objects go to which planning system. It is identified by its name together with its application.

• Run CFM1 . Enter the model name, the logical system of the target and the APO application.

• Tick the object types to send, for example Material Masters .

• Fill the general selection: material numbers, plants and, typically, MRP type X0 , used for materials planned in APO.

• Execute, select the line on the next screen and choose Generate IM .

Activate it ( CFM2 )

Nothing moves until the model is active. Run CFM2 , execute, select the newest version of your model and start the activation.

• Activation starts the initial transfer.

• The system compares the new version with the models already active and sends only the difference: filter objects not yet in an active model.

• A model can have several versions, but only one is active at a time. You can activate or deactivate several models in one go.

• Keep the model active: online transfer of transactional data runs only for objects in an active model.

Watch the queues

CIF data travels in qRFC queues. SMQ1 shows the outbound queues and SMQ2 the inbound queues. An entry in error blocks every later entry in the same queue, so these are the first screens to check when data stops flowing. For orders that differ between ERP and APO, the CIF comparison/reconciliation report /SAPAPO/CCR finds the differences and can send the objects again.

CIF with SAP S/4HANA PP/DS

PP/DS embedded in S/4HANA still uses CIF to move data from the ERP side to the PP/DS side, even though both run in one system, so CIF queues stay part of daily support. Fewer objects need an integration model of your own: a material marked for advanced planning in its material master, for example, is transferred automatically. If PP/DS runs on a separate SAP SCM system connected to S/4HANA, CIF works between the two systems as described above.

Key takeaways

• CIF moves master data from ERP and keeps transactional data in step both ways, through queued RFCs.

• Create integration models in ERP with CFM1 and activate them with CFM2 .

• Activation sends only the difference, and the model must stay active for online transfer.

• Data not arriving? Check SMQ1 and SMQ2 first, then /SAPAPO/CCR .

• CIF is still at work in S/4HANA PP/DS, with fewer integration models to maintain.

Want to practise CIF and PP/DS integration with a trainer? See our SAP S/4HANA PP/DS course .