As of the latest releases (May/June 2016) for S/4HANA packages both On Premise (Edition 1511 FPS02) & On Cloud (Edition 1603), there have been certain significant enhancements & extensions on the functionalities under logistics. In this piece, I will focus on the business value & benefits of different offerings under Sourcing, Procurement, Supply Chain & Manufacturing along with key functionalities provided in S4/Hana under each of them. I am not at all going to touch on the technical differences between OP & Cloud editions but at a broader level will highlight the functional aspects which are quite similar for both sort of deployments.

SAP has tried to make it clear that SAP S/4HANA is a new product line & not the successor of any pre-existing business suite but the sort of functionalities covered under S/4HANA Enterprise Management edition directs one to think that if at all they will be migrating to S/4HANA which is inevitable, they have to leave the existing business suite behind to fully harness the capabilities S4/HANA has to offer. I also totally understand that the offerings under On Premise & Cloud edition may differ a bit but not to such an extent that we have to have separate write-ups from point of view of covering logistics functions.

I will be discussing the Key Innovations under each area in S4/HANA as per the mapping into product map & I will also try to go deeper wherever needed into exactly how these innovations will work for any business based on the best practices adopted into S/4HANA.

PROCUREMENT

Simplicity– Procurement is an area is well known for the complexity, manual work, time-consuming processes with high volume of purchasing documents and line items. S/4HANA lowers the procurement operation cost by providing a simple yet efficient procure to pay process facilitated by Fiori apps i.e. for Analytics, Spend KPI’s. User experience is simplified & enhanced by role based apps. Business value is added by real time analytics.

Visibility– S4/HANA gives ultimate visibility at fingertips by using Fiori apps, providing Ad-hoc supplier transparency & performance evaluation based on detailed data points & most importantly integrating with SAP Ariba network for transactional data.

Adoption– Procurement process is supposed to be manual or semi-automatic leading to slow cycle time & error prone. S/4HANA has Self-Service Requisitioning leading to higher business user adoption through a consumer-grade user experience. It also offers five times less interaction steps to get the procurement information leading to faster & accurate data.

INVENTORY MANAGEMNET

Accuracy– Due to missing real time analytics, process & data redundancies one can’t be sure of the accuracy of valuation or Inventory figures. S/4 HANA is capable of more timely & detailed real-time processing of Inventory postings leading to higher accuracy of Inventory. Parallel inventory posting for standard price-driven materials is also possible. This also helps in Improved On time delivery. Valuation is more accurate since it’s based on one valuation method (Material Ledger) instead of 2 (MM-IM and ML). All of this is simplified by use of Fiori apps for Mangers as well as warehouse resources.

High Inventory Turnover– S4/HANA gives more visibility & accuracy of Inventory across the board & hence lesser Safety stock can be an option which will help to have better Inventory turnover ultimately leading to reduced Working capital cost to company.

Segment of One– S4/HANA offers real-time processing instead of batch processing & support to manage dynamic demand fulfillment for even lot size of one & facilitate this throughout the logistics operations. 

MATERIAL REQUIREMENT PLANNING / CAPACITY PLANNING

Flexibility– It’s is common to have revenue loss due to stock-outs & poor on time delivery performance. S4/HANA offer prioritized view on material flow issues with clear visibility. It also gives system-generated solution proposals & automated creation of procurement proposals. It’s flexible in tailoring of available capacities and receipts to meet required quantities.

Quick– Accelerated MRP run on S4/HANA can be 10+ times faster along with faster demand propagation along the supply chain giving more chances for simulation & better planning quality.

Real Time– S4/HANA offers Real-time alerting based on current stock requirements situation as well as Real time Inventory picture.

MRP Fiori apps offers managing and monitoring external and internal requirements, material coverage, monitoring production or process orders. It’s planned to have one MRP system for planning including the APO PP/DS into S/4 Hana & Live cache-based, finite-capacity planning as an integral part of the SAP HANA platform, requiring just one database to manage along with simplified data integration, advanced analytics. It will also offer Intuitive maintenance of master data and integration models. This will be a great innovation & edge for planning aspect on S4/HANA since this will lead to fulfillment of an order on time with accurate quantity using various checks for different business scenarios along with performing automatic back-order processing.

AVAILABLE TO PROMISE

On Time– S/4HANA enabled mass product availability check for sales, planned and production orders i.e. ATP check for all items of an order at once which leads to fulfill an order on time and in the desired quantity using different kind of checks for different business scenarios. It helps to promise accurate and reliable order dates & to fulfill orders from the entire network or to substitute products automatically.

Efficient– S/4HANA has significant performance improvements for releasing large production orders. There are plans for data and process innovations in Backorder processing and Sales Product Allocation.

PS: All the above are personal perspective on the basis of exposure to information provided by SAP on S/4HANA.

SAP S/4 HANA is the new offering from SAP built on the high performance In-memory platform HANA with an enriching user experience using FIORI apps.This new system includes major changes and massive simplifications ranging form changes in underlying data models to new user interface through FIORI apps.

Objective:

The objective of this blog is to understand the data model simplifications in SD area through a comparative study with a non S/4 system.

Below are the major simplification points:

• Status tables VBUK and VBUP have been eliminated and the new status fields have been added to:

• VBAK and VBAP for sales order header and item
• LIKP and LIPS for delivery document header and item
• VBRK for billing document header
• No status fields are present for billing items.

• Simplification of document flow table VBFA

• Document index tables like VAKPA , VAPMA etc. have been done away with.

Comparison:

Let us understand the differences by looking at the table structures:

• VBUK and VBUP are still present in S/4 HANA but they are not filled when an order is created.
• The status fields have been added through append structure.

• If any custom fields have been added to VBUP or VBUP tables in source system, they will have to be added to respective document tables in S/4 HANA system.
• An append field to the document header status table VBUK must be added to one or several of the document header tables VBAK, LIKP, or VBRK. This decision depends on which of the document types the respective field is relevant for.
• An append field to document item status table VBUP must be added to one or more of the document item tables VBAP or LIPS.

VBAK:

VBAP:

When a sales order is created in  a non S/4 HANA system:

Sales Order: 7137:

VBAK table holds the order header details

Order status information is present in VBUK table

Sales Order in S/4 HANA system:

VBAK table contains both the header details as well as the header status

Header status fields are now added to VBAK table

Table VBUK is present but is not filled.

Reason VBUK / VBUP are still present in S/4 HANA:

Since the status tables are not being filled it can be questioned why the tables are still present and not removed from system altogether. The reason for this is to enable smooth transition for those opting for migration to S/4 HANA system.

New function modules have been written which read the document status fields from VBAK , LIKP aur VBRK tables and populate in output whose structure is similar to that of VBUK.

For example FM SD_VBUK_READ_FROM_DOC is a new FM that fills VBUK structure for one SD document out of document header tables. The data is fetched depending upon the document type.

• The output structure ES_VBUK still refers to VBUK table.
• Any custom fields added to appends like VBAK_STATUS will be read by this FM.

Advantages:

• Reduced memory footprint : Since fewer tables are involved this means reduction of redundant data and simplified document flow.
• Now if we need to query the order table on the basis of document status we can simply do so by 1 single query on VBAK table instead of join on VBAK and VBUK.

NOTES:

• OSS Note 2198647 can be referred for further information.

Acknowledgment:

• Reference taken from Simplification List for S/4 HANA 1511 0302.

Suggestions and Comments Welcomed !!

~Tanmay

This post aim to give to the members of this community that are not fully familiar with what S/4HANA is and it is looking for more information before going deep into this journey and going for more technical details.

This is one of many posts that I am planning to share with this community.

SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA, S/4 HANA or S/4HANA (all together) is a new Business Suite officially announced by SAP in 2015.

Time to re-build the Business Suite for the digital world

(image source: SAP)

SAP has been enhancing their business applications according to the technology and 2015 was the year that a revolutionary business suite was officially announced. Thanks to the new technologies in Hardware that brought massive processing power and speed with costs decreasing, huge memory and multicore processors, SAP was able to redesign their existing products and that originated the SAP S/4HANA.

The S/4HANA is a core component of a whole new “next generation” of SAP products.

SAP S/4HANA – A reimagined suite to reimagine business

Business Scope of release 1511:

• Finance: Accounting Operations
• Finance: Unified Ledger & Fast Close
• Manufacturing: Production Processing & Subcontracting
• Manufacturing: Quality Management
• Supply Chain: Production Planning
• Supply Chain: Inventory
• Sourcing & Procurement: Operational Procurement
• Sourcing & Procurement: Contracts and requisitioning
• Sales: Sales Order Fulfillment & Returns
• Service: Project and Service Management
• Human Resources: Time Management

(image source: SAP)

Companies can start their journey with basic components and grow later adding new products for a more robust enterprise management.The S/4HANA, like the SAP ERP ECC is the main product that will support all core business process in the company, like P2P, OTC and etc.In combination with applications such as SAP Hybris, SAP Success Factors,  SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass, Concur and the Internet of Things projects, SAP offers a digital value network, which interconnects all aspects of the value network in real-time to drive business outcomes. Those are some of the other business Solutions that can be added at any time to provide the best experience and technology to manage the many different business in a company.The S/4HANA is built on SAP’s advanced in-memory platform, SAP HANA, and runs ONLY in a HANA DB, as no other DB can provide the speed and technology required to achieve the level of experience that this new Suite expects to deliver.SAP HANA DBBefore we go in more details on S/4, let’s talk briefly about the HANA DB.

(image source: SAP)

Years ago SAP started researching on how to develop their products and applications to run over an in-memory database, but then they realized that the Database expert companies couldn’t deliver what SAP wants, then SAP began their on in-memory database development.They had to work very closer to the market leading chip manufactures in order to find the optimal design to the database that could explore the full power of the next generation of processors.In 2011 the SAP HANA was finally announced and it was available as a standalone data mart solution to allow customers capture data from any source in real-time, load that data to in-memory database and build the BI reports and applications on top of it.Then SAP did offer the SAP HANA as an Accelerator to be deployed as side-car engines to run parallel to the SAP ERP in critical business functions, yet performing slowly. Meanwhile SAP did start developing new applications completely powered by SAP HANA (for example Smart Meter Analytics).Then in 2012, SAP migrated the an already existing application to the SAP HANA, the SAP BW, and this was followed with the SAP Business Suite, names Suite on HANA (SoH), not S/4HANA.As mentioned already, 2015 was the year that SAP announced the S/4HANA, after completely rewriting the ECC. Different from SoH, the S/4 is a brand new code-line that works only on SAP HANA and can’t work with any other vendor’s database, like the SoH, mitigating the limitation of those DBs and exploring 100% of the SAP HANA capabilities.

Key Aspects of SAP S/4HANA

(image source: SAP)

So, what changed then?It is hard to explain it in detail when I am proposing to just introduce the S/4HANA to you. But I can explore in future posts going in a deeper detail.

• The S/4HANA is natively built on SAP HANA, and because of that, it adheres to the capabilities of this powerful application platform and database management technology, which includes predictive analytics, advanced text mining, real time decision support and etc..
• A new UI that offers personalized user experience with SAP Fiori and can deliver the same level of experience targeting in productivity in different devices, such as computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones and etc.
• The data model was simplified reducing and vanishing unnecessary tables and the data stored and subsequently the data footprint was significantly reduced, simplifying the application design and extensibility.
• It can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise.
• S/4HANA Cloud Edition* is delivered in different flavors:
• Enterprise Edition-based ERP with Cloud extensions (SuccessFactors, Employee Central, Fieldglass, hubris, Concur and Ariba)
• Project Services Edition, focused on professional services with Cloud extensions (SuccessFactors, Employee Central, Fieldglass, Concuren Ariba)
• Marketing Edition Customer Engagement & Commerce
• Real-time OLAP capabilities inside the ERP system allows you to run all your operational reports directly in the source data using SAP HANA Live.
• Fiori Smart Business Cockpits using SAP HANA Live providing real-time insights in real-time Business Processes.
• Free Text searches – google-like experience in ERP improving for example customer service by reducing customer response times with regards to sales orders.
• Eliminate batch processes and enable real-time operations like in Plant Maintenance

*S / 4HANA Cloud Enterprise Edition, provides a state-of-the-art base to completely innovate the business and digitize. Processes and information flows are greatly simplified and employees can work proactively and accurate contextual and personalized real-time information. By HANA Cloud Integration platform to be easily interfaces with other SAP cloud solutions enabling the digitization of all processes in the chain is quickly realized.

(image source: SAP)

Due to the new data model, SAP S/4HANA replaces successively the old code line with a new code line, which is free from limitations of traditional databases and allows SAP, partners and customer developers to explore and maximize the benefits of the in-memory database technology.

SAP HANA in-memory technology can be defined as in-memory first processing instead of replicating a subset of data from disc to memory.

S/4HANA comes by the built in capabilities of SAP HANA. You can notice that in the new S/4HANA applications:

Application Services: As well as a database, SAP HANA can also provide many application services. This means many applications can be built in a 2-tier model, rather than a 3-tier model.

Processing Services: SAP HANA can handle many new types of data. This includes text, spatial, graph and more. But is not enough to simple store these new data types we need to be able to build applications that can process and integrate this data with traditional data types, such as business transactions. SAP HANA provides native in-memory engines that process any types of data in real time.

Integration Services: SAP HANA has multiple data consumption options built in. We can analyze continual streaming data, read data remotely in any data source, read Big Data stores such as Hadoop, synchronize in both directions with remote databases and devices that collect data (IoT). SAP HANA has built in Extraction, Transformation and Loading (ETL) capabilities so that separate software is no longer needed to clean, enrich and profile data from any sources.

Database Services: SAP HANA is a full in-memory column and row store database that can support both OLTP and OLAP requirements and is built to run on high-end hardware. It stores data optimally using automatic compression and is able to manage data on different storage tiers to support data ageing strategies. It has built in high availability functions that keep the database running and ensure mission critical applications are never down.

I hope you find this information useful... See you on my next post.

Leandro da Pia Nascimento

Digitalization started in the late nineties when the first physical products such as music and photos were converted to a digital format. The evolution of these industries depended heavily on developments such as the high-speed internet and mobile technologies. Today, digitalization affects every person and every business – the “hockey stick” of digitalization is here. Enterprises that previously took a more traditional approach to their strategy are now employing chief digital officers to redefine their business models for the digital world. “Analogue” business models find themselves under massive pressure to change.

Our answer for our customers to the digital change is SAP S/4HANA. As the digital core, it enables the modular integration of digital practices that are evolving around the core, while rethinking back- and mid-office processes to cope with the new reality. As with all digitalization approaches, the quality of the proven business semantic is retained, maximum automation and scalability is achieved, the consumption model is massively simplified, and completely new areas and sources of value are generated.

At SAPPHIRE NOW this year it was all about SAP S/4HANA - whether on the show floor, in keynotes or 1:1 meetings with customers and analysts. In my strategic talk, I highlighted that with digitalization the number of transactions will rise enormously and at the same time the value of these transactions is decreasing. As one of the consequences of digital transformation this challenges existing IT landscapes. In my session I summarized how companies or organizations can master these challenges. Enjoy watching.

Overview     

To support data extraction while using SAP S/4HANA system as source, with current version (SAP S/4HANA on-premise 1511 FPS02), both options are available as listed below:

1) SAP BW (Business Warehouse) DataSources

2) ABAP CDS (Core Data Service)-based VDMs (Virtual Data Models)

This blog aims to explain these 2 options including how-to-find guidance, but will not go into details of SAP BW DataSources, ABAP CDS, or S/4 HANA Embedded Analytics, etc.

SAP S/4HANA data extraction with SAP BW DataSources

Customers are able to extract data from SAP S/4HANA 1511 to their own BW-Hub using the BW extractors delivered by SAP. In some areas, extractors have been deprecated or can no longer be used with SAP S/4HANA 1511. The extractors related to deprecated functionality, or Add-ons etc. that due to S/4HANA simplification will not be available after conversion, and accordingly the downstream ETL, modeling, queries will be also affected. Meanwhile, customers are able to simplify traditional BI, and utilize S/4HANA embedded analytics for instant insight-to-action operational reporting. Please refer to the general restriction Note 2214213 for SAP S/4HANA 1511. There, in Section 12, restriction Notes of multiple areas are listed which contain the list of no longer available BW extractors.

DataSource adjustments might be required to comply with changed Scope and data structures within SAP S/4HANA 1511. This needs to be verified on customer-specific basis. For example, in SAP S/4HANA the material number was extended from 18 to 40 characters for moving SAP DIMP to core. After the upgrade to SAP S/4HANA all DataSources in the source system are deactivated. Thus the metadata of the DataSources must be replicated to the central SAP BW system again (TA RSA1). Consequentially the persistency tables in the SAP BW staging area are extended to 40 characters.

For very basic scenarios, the S/4HANA database interface layer of NetWeaver redirects all extractor related SELECTs to compatibility views (proxy objects are in place for objects like MKPF, etc.), which retrieves the same data based on the new data model (ACDOCA, MATDOC, and also backup tables like xxxx_BCK, etc.) e.g.:

SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 FPS02 Simplification List:

http://help.sap.com/s4hana -> SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 FPS02 -> Simplification List

SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511: Restriction Note:

http://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/2214213

How to check available DataSources in the system:

SAP S/4HANA CDS based data extraction

The analytics programming model of SAP S/4HANA is based on Core Data Services (CDS) views and the accordingly provided semantic layer Virtual Data Model (VDM). The virtual data model is also used for transactional or search uses cases and aims to fulfill on-premise and on-demand qualities. A complete Analytics solution also requires data extraction capabilities to support scenarios such as central EDW, Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), Mobile Offline apps, and offline Analytics like with Lumira Desktop. The CDS views provided with the virtual data model can also be used as basis for data extraction.

CDS views for data extraction shall be annotated with “@Analytics.dataExtraction.enabled: true”.

dataExtraction.enabled– Full data extraction is enabled.

Via this indicator the application marks those Entities that are suitable for data extraction. This ability is typically lost on the level of consumption views where joins, procedures and aggregations “blur” the relation to the primary data (especially data replication including calculated elements leads to wrong query results in the target system). To avoid additional data modeling outside VDM for the data provisioning scenarios, a logical sub-layer in the CDS reuse layer should be redundancy-free, but still complete from the business perspective. For each reuse view which is part of this core layer, it is decided from a technical (performance, ...) and semantic perspective, whether it can be also released for extraction use cases mentioned above. All views with an analytical data category of #FACT, #DIMENSION, #TEXT, #HIERARCHY are also suitable for data extraction.

ABAP CDS in ABAP Dictionary - HELP SAP Documentation:

http://help.sap.com/abapdocu_750/en/index.htm-> ABAP - Keyword Documentation→  ABAP - Dictionary→  ABAP CDS in ABAP Dictionary

How to check if a CDS based VDM is enabled for extraction?

With the name of an existing CDS View or S/4HANA ‘eliminated’ table, several approaches could be used to check the detailed DDL definition of the (underlying) CDS View. From there the dataExtraction.enabled property can be checked further.

An overview of useable approaches according to the type of object could be found in the below table. Detailed explanation follows afterwards.

1. General CDS views

Option 1: Via Report RUTDDLSSHOW2

Run the report RUTDDLSSHOW2 via transaction SE38, entering the CDS View name, e.g. BSAD.

The DDL definition of this CDS object is returned directly in the SAPGUI.

Option 2: Via ADT Search function

Launch ADT (ABAP Development Tools) and search with this CDS View name directly in it. (Window > show view > Search). Then you can double click on the object showed in the search result area to open the definition, and the search normally takes longer time compared to other approaches.

Option 3: Via Transaction SE11 redirecting to ADT

For general CDS view objects including analytical data category of #FACT, etc., the fastest way is to just open the CDS view in Transaction SE11 with object name (e.g. BSAD -> name of the DDL source is e.g. BSAD_DDL as in the field below).

Double click on the name of the DDL source in SE11 -> double click on the ADT Link -> CDS Editor will be opened in ADT directly, showing the DDL definition of this DDL Source.

Some additional information here:

The CDS View can also be displayed in a graphical way by using content menu “Open With Graphical Editor”:

The object package hierarchy can be found under Attribute tab in the view definition (SE11).

2. S/4 HANA ‘ELIMINATED TABLES WITH PROXY OBJECT’ (e.g. MKPF)

The 'eliminated' tables of the SAP ERP 6.0 world do still exist in S/4HANA as DDIC definition as well as database object. For compatibility reasons there are CDS views assigned as proxy objects to all those tables ensuring each read access. Each read access to one of the tables will get redirected in the database interface layer of NetWeaver to the assigned CDS view. The details should be checked in the 'SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 FPS02 Simplification List', as well.

To find the DDL definition of these objects, first of all, you need to get the names of the Proxy Object.

Open Transaction SE11 and display the table via object name e.g. MKPF.

If the table has been ‘eliminated’ in S/4HANA like MKPF, we can get the name of the assigned proxy object via Menu Extras -> “Proxy Object…”. (Refer to below for simplification list: http://help.sap.com/s4hana -> SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 FPS02 -> Simplification List)

You can check the detailed DDL definition by using report RUTDDLSSHOW2 or ADT search function as described in previous section “1. General CDS Views” Option 1 and 2, using the proxy object name as the input.

How to perform BW extraction from S/4HANA CDS based VDMs?

SAP BW is able to consolidate data from different source systems and provide a harmonized view for reporting. For this SAP BW supports various tools and concepts, e.g. different staging areas and data sources for each system that needs to be integrated into the central reporting.

Option 1: BW extraction from S/4HANA basing on CDS views

With this option, the ETL procedure is to extract data from SAP S/4HANA to SAP BW via a dedicated ODP (Operational Data Provider) source system type as below:

For each CDS View in the source system, there is a corresponding Open ODS View in BW. After data source creation, with this Open ODS View, you can directly consume the definition of the CDS in the source system. The ODP name of the source object is exactly the name of the CDS view you were looking at in the source system. This gives you the possibility to have one interface on the source system side for direct access in the source system, and for data provisioning from the source into BW as well.

Option 2: BW extraction from S/4HANA basing on CDS underlying technical database views:

The other way around, is to integrate the underlying database views of the CDS views. Below typical scenarios can be referenced:

    a) Via SDA, virtual access

          Load data from S/4HANA into BW via SDA

    2) Via ODP and SLT, real time replication

          Please refer to the following Wiki page on SCN:

          SLT | ODP based Real-time Replication

          SAP Note 2037476 - Operational Data Provisioning with SAP LT Replication Server:

          http://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/2037476

          For this scenario, view must contain key fields of original table, per SAP Note "1958809 - Installation/Upgrade SLT - DMIS 2011 SP6 / DMIS 2010 SP10":

          http://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1958809

Thank you for reading!

Gavin Huang

SAP S/4 HANA have Choice of deployment as below:

• On-premise - On Premise We can configure using SPRO( as earlier) , and in future SAP will provide  S/4 HANA Guided Configuration.
• On Cloud ( Cloud Provide S/4 HANA Guided Configuration to implement S/4 HANA )-

1.                   An assisted way to adapt best practices to customer needs .
2.                   Facilitates the life-cycle management of business process content.

• Hybrid - This type of implementation contain  both on-premise and on-cloud.

3 Situation which describe in more detail for choice of deployment as below -

S/4 HANA can be implementation project are two types-

1. Greenfield Implementation ( New Implementation) - Starting Point A in above picture , best suited for this type of implementation.

2. Brownfield Implementation (Migration)- Starting Point B and C in above picture, is more suitable for this type of implementation.

Starting Point B :

Starting Point C :

Thanks.

I recently wrote how I go about Appending MARA (adding custom fields) (in S/4HANA and elsewhere)- as this is kind of the prequel to this blog, you probably want to read it.

Now lets do something a little more complicated: Appending MBEW!

SE11, MBEW, Navigate to EMBEW, Append Structure….

Create an append, in it create an include with a dummy field.

Activate the include;

Activate the append.

But what is this? We get an error when activating the append!

Here’s the error:

In SE11 everything looks just fine: the table is active, our field is there:

But we had the error on activation, and we also can see that there’s a problem in the application e.g. when trying to call MEBW in SE16n, we get a dump:

So, what is to do now?

Note 2242679 kind of helps us on that topic, it tells us to create an EXTEND VIEW

But actually, I had to create as many as 4 extend views, just to get that 1 dummy field working (display it in SE16n) in MBEW:

extend view mbv_mbew_ext

extend view Mbv_Mbew_Basis

extend view mbv_mbew_case

extend view mbv_mbew

(I also noticed, that in the first two I had to give the tablename MBEW.[Fieldname], while in the last two just [Fieldname] worked ).

I did NOT have to use report NSDM_PROXY_SUBSTITUTION – after I created the 4 append-views, SE16n is working, and when checking MBEW in SE11 I get “No inconsistencies found” -> just like it should be.

Conclusion:

This really was a lot of work to do, just to add one filed – on the positive side, I think it hepled my understaning of the CDS-paradigm and how it is used in the S/4HANA data model a little.

Smal sidenote:

For appending MARC you just need 1 extend view, but there you do utilize report NSDM_PROXY_SUBSTITUTION. Maybe I write more about that some other day.

Have you already appended some tables or structures, and found strange behavior? Let us know about it!

Best

Joachim

Hi All,

S/4HANA is steadily gaining shape in the market and so is the S/4HANA Embedded Analytics.

Part1 of the Blog can be found here -->  SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics – A detailed Walkthrough (Part 1)

Part2 of the Blog can be found here -->  SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics – A detailed Walkthrough (Part 2)

Part3 of the Blog can be found here -->   SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics – A detailed Walkthrough (Part 3)

Introduction:

What is S/4HANA Embedded Analytics?

          It is the collection of all Analytical Features integrated in the SAP S/4HANA Suite that enables, Business users or end users to perform real time analytics or operational reporting on the live transactional data. It comes with a set of predefined and prepackaged representations of operational data. These representations called VDM (Virtual Data Models) allows business users to derive good insights into the data.

Through this blog, we will try to see how CDS views are consumed in Fiori Smart Business Framework.

To begin with, we need to have a CDS view (Creation of CDS View in ABAP perspective is out of scope of this blog) with the Annotation @odata.publish=true.

When a CDS view is activated with the above-mentioned annotation, an service is automatically created in the gateway system with naming convention <CDS_VIEW_NAME>_CDS.

Let us have a simple CDS View with the following annotations:

Also, note that we have an annotation @OData.publish:true

After activation of the CDS, you can see the following message in the line in which the above annotation is added.

Note that my CDS view name is ZF_HADOOPCDS and hence the automatically created service name would be ZF_HADOOPCDS_CDS. Now let us go into the Gateway system and add the automatically created service.Enter the transaction /n/IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE and add the service. (Using Get Services option against your backend system).Once the service is added successfully, you will see the service in the service catalog.

Now we need to log into the Fiori Launchpad to configure the Smart Business Tiles.

The above-mentioned tiles (under KPI Design group) are called the Smart Business Tiles and the entire framework is called Smart Business Frame work.

Click on "Create KPI" tile to add the KPI name and CDS related details.

Note that, as soon as you give your CDS View name, the related ODATA service, Entity Set and Value Measure  (I have a measure in CDS named 'claim amount' with local annotation @DefaultAggregation: #SUM) will automatically be available in the F4 List.

Now we need to proceed by creating an Evaluation. For that, click on the following option.

In the next screen, you need to provide Evaluation name.

And if interested, show some thresholds (to show some exceptions).

Here I am providing values as below. This will later help in showing different colours in the Numeric tile according to Thresholds.

Now we need to add a Tile. For that, we need to use the following button.

That will take you to the following screen.

In this scenario, we are using a Numeric Tile.Note that you can change the Tile Format, Tile name and Tile Sub Title name according to your requirement. You have different tile formats available.(like Shown Below)

Please look into Help.Sap.com for details related to each tile type.

In the Add Tile screen, we need to add our tile to a specific Catalog which will later be added to a role and the role will later be added to the Fiori Launchpad user.

I have added the tile to a Catalog named ZCatalog_Hadoop.

If you would like add some Drill Downs, click on the following:

You will reach the following screen, from where you can configure the drill downs.

Click on 'CONFIGURE' button for the same.

Select the Dimensions and Measures that you would need in the Drill down.

Here I would be adding 2 drill downs and 2 view names would be provided accordingly.

Drill Down 1:

Drill Down 2:

  Click save configuration button after completion.

If you want to navigate through all the configurations that we have created till now, you can proceed with the following tile.

Now we need to add the catalog (created earlier) to a role.

For that access PFCG Tcode in the front end server.

• Please note that you need to click on Menu tab and Fiori Launchpad Catalog option

Now we need to add the above role to a Fiori launchpad user who would access this newly created Smart Business tile.

In my case, the user name is S4DEMO

Now log off from the Fiori Launchpad page, do a cache delete and login with the S4DEMO credentials

You have to search for your catalog using the “Open App Finder” option.

Search for your tile and add it to the Home page/or a group name of the user.

NOTE: Green Colour has come up due to the Thresholds that was given earlier.

Click on the Tile and you can see the drill downs.

Thanks for going through the Document. Do let me know your Reviews and Suggestions.

BR

Prabhith

In 2010 it was the first time I heard of HANA, I was at Sapphire in Orlando and for me HANA Data Base was unveiled. Since then I was very skeptic but at the same time really curious about the innovation announced. It has been almost six years since that first time, then in 2014 I also heard about Simple Finance which it turned afterwards into S/4HANA, the new technology from SAP to enter into the digital age, I was not that skeptic but I was eager to know more about it.

Then last year I went through a Project for implementing Simple Finance, which uses HANA DB, and I can say that it was really a challenge. A lot of companies will face that same challenge if they want to go with SAP’s new technology, a brand new product with table simplification, increased user experience and real-time information within the Enterprise Management solution. Well I have to say that SAP is going on the right direction, but it will be a real challenge to adopt this innovation.

Before explaining why is that challenging I have to clarify that S/4HANA product is still improving and evolving, for sure when publishing this note a lot of changes are still happening on SAP Labs and/or ramp-up projects. While several companies are wondering if it is time to move on into S/4HANA or wait, there are some important points to consider before making that decision. I have learned that there are many variables that play into the big step to move towards S/4HANA, but let’s make a brief description of the most relevant for me.

Strategy to move into S/4HANA

A clear strategy on moving to S/4HANA must be defined prior to start any project or activities to move into the newest SAP innovation. This strategy must be aligned with business strategy, I liked a phrase I read a couple of days ago: “We don’t need a digital strategy - - we need a business strategy for a digital world“.

There are three scenarios on moving to S/4HANA:

1. New implementation, also known as “green field” implementation, for companies that does not have SAP ERP core or companies willing to re-implement SAP core solution.
2. System conversion, which means there is not an upgrade for going to S/4HANA. As a new product system migration is possible, but consider that a lot of data transformation needs to be done.
3. Landscape transformation, that could include migration of selected applications or system consolidation into one S/4HANA system. This is when having several instances or different functionality in several SAP systems to consolidate them on S/4HANA.

In the last two scenarios system upgrade is not an option, one example of migration would be converting vendors & customers into business partners, in order to do it data transformation should take place. SAP is providing some tools for data migration and transformation, even though process validation, data analysis and data cleansing times must be considered during the project’s timeline.

Tip: Main challenge and pain point is to establish a business-aligned road-map to move into S/4HANA, planning times for transition schema should be considered for all activities within to avoid operation risks and business downtimes. For any selected scenario clear strategy should be addressed from the very beginning, actually to make the strategy will take time and resources so you must budget for that as well.

Functionality

For this part make sure all your current business processes are already covered by new product functionality on the new suite, there is a road-map for S/4HANA to include all ECC functions or even other solutions like APO, CRM, SRM, EWM, TM are already or will be included on core suite. That is part of SAP’s simplification, also if you are planning to expand your business or enter to new markets where you will need new business processes or new ways of doing things, you should consider a full functionality review beforehand. The good thing is that also S/4HANA can help you on entering to new markets or going to new business processes providing speed and some flexibility with HANA Cloud Platform (to make extensions).

Tip: you definitely have to take a deep review of S/4HANA simplification list and SAP Help (http://help.sap.com/s4hana) to check for functionality on each version. Be aware that each quarter new releases are coming for cloud edition and every year for on-premise edition. S/4HANA most recent release on premise is 1511 (FPS02) and cloud 1605.

Architecture

This is one of the big changes in S/4HANA, with this new product a lot of components must be installed or activated (Application engines, Fiori, CDS, Gateway, HANA Studio, KPI modeler, OData, BW-Embedded, Analytics, etc.). These component versions are updated and enhancement packages are constantly released to make improvements on the new product, so take into consideration periodic checks on system and component versions, support packages and/or enhancement packages. SAP mentions that releases will not be disruptive as in predecessor technologies (R/3, ECC), but a clear strategy into that statement should be adopted by companies on sticking to standard S/4HANA processes.

Also when integrating to other SAP systems you could find new standard API’s (Application Programming Interface) like SuccessFactors - Employee Central integration to S/4HANA Human Resources, new integration tools like HANA Cloud Integration (HCI) and more. Some considerations when integrating with Non-SAP systems could affect definitions for SOA and S/4HANA integration processes.

Tip: make sure global Architecture definitions are made before to start S/4HANA implementation or conversion, check for periodic updates on components and make sure releases on cloud edition are planned in advance to avoid system failures generated by updates.

Customization

Avoid system customization by developing code out of standard functionality always is a huge challenge, in Mexico because of law regulations and localization is almost impossible. But for sure making customization reduction is a good recommendation so far, keep core development at minimum and non-core customizations on external applications, so when going into new versions non-disruptive adoption really happens.

Tip: HANA Cloud Platform has tools for code development and extensions on standard functionality, an architecture validation for customization should be driven to choose the right component for developing new code. Beforehand should not consider S/4HANA cloud edition if core development is taken as a business strategy, so S/4HANA on-premise will be the best option. So far I still recommend to stay on standard processes all the way through the transition (it does not matter if there is cloud or on-premise edition).

Change adoption

Embrace change and innovation as one of the most important things on moving into S/4HANA, easy to say and very hard to apply. A lot of transformation processes fail because of people’s change resistance, with this new product not only users or business analysts must be willing to adopt change, but also consultants, IT specialists, even directors and sponsors must understand innovation and their participation as part of the business transformation. An active roll is clearly needed from company’s leadership to help get things done while change is the biggest challenge of all.

Tip: Change Management is a must on any transformation process, this is not an exception, make sure all the project’s team, company’s leaders, sponsors and change agents are aligned to embrace change and innovation. Clarify objectives and participation for all business roles during the transitions, while more communication provided the more understanding on each person’s contribution to achieve the final goals.

S/4HANA is here now, and is really changing the way of doing business, these challenges could be surpassed by taking into consideration these main points. Do not be afraid to affront these obstacles, look forward for a good strategy and expert support to move into S/4HANA, if you think about it maybe your Organization needs this transformation now, and getting into it soon will give your company an advantage that other would not have.

Hi All,

S/4HANA is steadily gaining shape in the market and so is the S/4HANA Embedded Analytics.

Part1 of the Blog can be found here --> http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2016/03/10/sap-s4hana-embedded-analytics-a-detailed-walkthrough-part-13

Part2 of the Blog can be found here --> http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2016/03/11/sap-s4hana-embedded-analytics-a-detailed-walkthrough-part-2

Part3 of the Blog can be found here --> http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2016/03/20/sap-s4hana-embedded-analytics-a-detailed-walkthrough-part-3

Part4 of the Blog can be found here --> http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2016/07/15/sap-s4hana-embedded-analytics-a-detailed-walkthrough-part-4

Introduction:

What is S/4HANA Embedded Analytics?

          It is the collection of all Analytical Features integrated in the SAP S/4HANA Suite that enables, Business users or end users to perform real time analytics or operational reporting on the live transactional data. It comes with a set of predefined and prepackaged representations of operational data. These representations called VDM (Virtual Data Models) allows business users to derive good insights into the data.

Through this blog, we will try to see how an Analysis Path Framework (APF) is created on top of CDS Views.

For those who are new to APF and related configurations, I would request you to go through the following SAP Help Documents.

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_uiaddon10/helpdata/en/1c/457c53595a6655e10000000a423f68/content.htm

https://help.sap.com/saphelp_uiaddon10/helpdata/en/3a/a60841f1d542088ae85fda131ff094/content.htm

https://help.sap.com/saphelp_uiaddon10/helpdata/en/3a/a60841f1d542088ae85fda131ff094/content.htm

Earlier also, we had this APF concept available with HANA view/SOH data source. These days, we see this option been reflected quite extensively in most of the S/4HANA Embedded Analytics SAP official Slides.

The configuration steps until “Fiori Smart Business Add Tile” option remains the same as what we discussed in the Part 4 of this series.

http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2016/07/15/sap-s4hana-embedded-analytics-a-detailed-walkthrough-part-4

To avoid the repetition of steps, I am ignoring the following steps in this current blog.

a)   Creation of CDS in ABAP Perspective of HANA studio with some important annotation like @Odata.publish : True

b)   Manual addition of the Service which was created automatically during the CDS View activation process

c)   “Create KPI Tile” step in Fiori Launchpad under “KPI Design” Group.

d)   Providing the important information like CDS View, Odata service and so on.

e)   “Activate and Add Evaluation” step

We will see in depth explanation from “Activate and Configure Tile” Step:

Before proceeding with the “Add Tile Screen configuration”, you need to do some steps in APF Configuration Modeler tile.

Note: You will see this above tile, only if you have done the Proper APF configuration in your side (as mentioned in the links mentioned in the beginning of this blog).

With this Tile, you can create an Application, Configuration, Category, Filter and Navigational Target (Optional)

When you click on the tile “APF Configuration Modeler”, it will ask you to create a new Application.

Here I have created an application named “APF CDS SLcM”

Inside the Application, we need to create a Configuration.

Note: Configuration ID would be proposed by the system.

Go to the corresponding URL and please note the Application and Configuration name that you get in this screen.

Note that here Application number is 14637198956061520825489804911392 and Configuration number is 14637207315233629446844676851368.We would be using it during the “ADD Tile” configuration step later.

You can add different configuration objects(shown below) with Add option.

Now we can add New Category.

Now we can add one or many Steps within a category.

Here, I would be adding 2 steps:

1)   Academic Year Name

Please note that ZCombined_reg_Module_Data is my CDS View name and  ZCombined_reg_Module_Data_CDS is the autogenrated service.

In addition, I would like to highlight here that the underlying CDS View has been created after copying the standard CDS views, which SAP has delivered along with SAP Student Life Cycle Management module.

Now, we need to add a representation within the Step. Here I have used “Column Chart”.

Please note that SAP has provided around 14 Types of charts, for you to play around in case of APF requirements. Please find the list below:

2)   Academic Session

Now, we need to add a representation within the Step. Here I have used “ Line Chart”.

For demonstration purpose, I have added 2 filters as well:

Filter 1: Academic Session

Filter 2: Academic Year

Now we will go back to the Fiori Lauchpad Smart Business Framework to continue with “ADD TILE” step.

The Title, Subtitle details can be provided according to your customer requirement.

We need to provide a catalog name here (In my case, I have kept ZAPF)

We have 2 options available under Select Drill-Down. Here we have to select “Others”

Keep Semantic Object as “FioriApplication”

Action as “executeAPFConfigurationS4HANA”

Application parameter Name as “sap-apf-configuration-id”

Application value as 14637198956061520825489804911392.14637207315233629446844676851368

We got the above 2 values (APPLICATION.CONFIGURTAION) from Configuration Step.

Now we can save the tile configuration.

I will not be doing any Drill Down Configuration in this case.

The Following 3 steps have been shown in detail in the Part 4 of this blog series and hence the same will not be covered here.

http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2016/07/15/sap-s4hana-embedded-analytics-a-detailed-walkthrough-part-4

1) Add the Catalog to a role.

2) Add the role to a user.

3) In Fiori Launchpad, find the tile from the catalog and add it under a group name (in this case, I have added it under the group “Analysis Path Framework”)

After doing the above 3 steps, you will see the following:

Click on the tile “HANA Embedded Analytics”. You will get the following screen

Click on the “ADD Analysis Step”

You will see the Defined Category. Click on the category.

It will take you to the Defined Steps.

Click on step 1: Academic Year Name to show the representation within that step.

Click on the Column chart to see the actual chart.

In case if you want to add some filters, select the filter values and the chart will change accordingly.

Thanks for going through the Document. Do let me know your Reviews and Suggestions.

BR

Prabhith

This is a step by step procedure for Best Practices Content Activation on S4HANA 1511 FPS2 with only two base languages EN & DE and Country= US. The BP Activation process runtime is 2Hrs 50 min (excluding keyboard input wait time) as per Admin Guide. Additional documents with detailes screenshots and transport data/cofiles can be found in this attachment. There is another blog for activation ofBest Practices Activation for FPS1.

A new Solution Builder profile has been created with ALL scope items but in case you have finalised scope items you can select only the needed scope items. Depending on how many selected scope items, activation procedure will need less time. It is assumed tax system VERTEX connection is not available and shows how to fix those activation errors. The status of system before starting this procedure is clearly defined before starting.

You need a stable network connection to SAPGUI frontend. For Activation, it is advisable to use Windows Terminal Server with latest SAPGUI installed.

This document will be useful to quickly setup system on some projects where, even though scope includes more languages, validation of functionality can be done with just the English/German language.

STEP 1:S4HANA 1511 FPS2 is installed and SPAM checked as per list below.          

STEP 2:All Notes are applied after FPS2 is installed as per Note 2189824 - SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511: Release Information Note

STEP 3:Languages installed are EN and DE as per this screenshot. Enter tCode SMLT

STEP 4:Using SFW5, Enterprise Business Functions are activated as per list

FIN_FSCM_CLM

FIN_FSCM_BNK

FIN_REP_SIMPL_2

FIN_REP_SIMPL_3

FIN_REP_SIMPL_4

STEP 5:Client Copy has been completed with tables defines in whitelist table /FTI/TWHITEL01 by registerring client in table /FTI/T_NOCLN000 and using copy profile SAP_UCUS, SAP_CUST, SAP_CUSV or SAP_UCSV as per the Admin Guide. Copied client to have no currency.

STEP 6:Review Note2303306 - SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 - SAP S/4HANA ON-PREMISE 1511 FP stack 02 (05/2016) content activation note.Download zip file from link below and import transport QE4K911265 server.https://service.sap.com/~sapdownload/012002523100008125252016E/S41511oPSPS02CntCorr160513.zip

Also the following note is to be applied:

Manually apply Note 2257369 - Missing entries in table T160M leads to activation errors during solution builder content activation(In SE38 create program & cut and paste Z160MINS to execute)

            After executing above program /FTI/COPY to copy this new table into client 100

After execution, please delete report Z160MINS to prevent misapplications

STEP 7:Configure Vertex connection as per IMG below, if its not available the workaround steps are included.

The IMG path is SPRO -> SAP Reference IMG -> Financial Accounting (New) -> Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) -> Tax on Sales/Purchases -> Basic Settings -> External Tax Calculation -> Define Physical Destination

RFC Connection = VERTEX, Program ID = vertex, define gateway host and service

STEP 8:Create users for content activation as per admin guide with details:

STEP 9:In SAPGUI Options Allow GUI Scripting and change default security settings

STEP 10:  Change SAP Profile parameters as below and restart SAP:

abap/heap_area_dia = 6442450944

             sapgui/user_scripting = TRUE

STEP 11:Import solutions from SAP Best Practices content. Enter tCode /N/SMB/BBI.Choose menu Solution -> Import -> Solution (XML) -> From reference content

Select Solution Builder Content ID BP_OP_ENTPR_S4HANAX_USV2.XML from below dated 11 May 2016 or later

After import is complete log will be displayed

Click on icon Back

STEP 12:Import Installation Data. Choose Menu Solution -> Import -> Installation Data -> From reference content and Select solution BP_OP_ENTPR_S4HANAX_USV2

Click on column “Changed On” 2 times to change sort order and select second line as below

You should get message that below at the end of import that "Installation data import was successful". It takes about 3 minutes to import Installation Data.

STEP 13:Please also go through note 2309549 - Identify completely installed languages for the report /SMB/REMOVE_NOTINST_LANG_IMG for Implications as below:
“The report deletes SAP Best Practice Content for all released languages that are not successfully installed in the system. After having deleted SAP Best Practice content for such languages with this report, you won't be able to add languages-dependent SAP Best Practice content again. Therefore make a conscious decision to run the report, understanding the implication that for languages not installed in the system, but released for the solution, all language dependent content of IMG activities would be deleted. Adding further languages later is currently not supported”

As mentioned in Note 2292425 - Remove Not-Installed Language Content from IMG Activity Files

Find the following variant files and adjust the variants for two files as shown below:

FIRST FILE: Select profile and go to Building Block Builder search (3), locate variant file SMBA0_V_TAUUM_CLI_J01_OP.TXT activity below and adjust language keys.

As shown below change IT > I and LT > X

SECOND  FILE: Similarly in the variant file V_TVAS_V_TVAS_BJF.TXT adjust the language keys as below  DE > D, EN > E, FR > F

Enter tCode SE38, run Simulation and execute report /SMB/REMOVE_NOTINST_LANG_IMG.Please make a conscious decision which languages you need since adding further languages later is currently not supported as highlited above.

It takes few minutes to simulate and then you can run update.

STEP 14: Find the following variant files and adjust the variants for five files as shown below. The procedure is similar to what we did for two files in Note 2292425 - Remove Not-Installed Language Content from IMG Activity Files

THIRD FILE:Similarly in the variant file SMB99_SM30_VV_T16FW_2_O001.TXT adjust the language keys as below. Select all variants and deselect variant VAR001 and then press delete button to delete the rest.

FOURTH  FILE:Similarly in the variant file SMB99_PP02_O1001_02_BR1.TXT adjust the language keys as below. Select all variants and deselect variant VAR001 and then press delete button to delete the rest

Follow the the same steps for this variant as in third file above leaving only first variant

FITH FILE:(this is not language change). Similarly in the variant file SMBA0_V_TVAK_KRE_B0SN_J01_108.TXT, delete the CBMO variant

SIXTH FILE:(this is not language change). Similarly in the variant file SMBA0_V_T024F_B0MK_J01_148.TXT, Change plant to 1710

SEVENTH FILE:(this is not language change). Similarly in the variant file SMBA0_V_T184_B0WI_J01_120.TXT, make changes as below

STEP 15:Defining the scope of your solution. Copy Solution BP_OP_ENTPR_S4HANAX_USV2to ZEXP_BP_OP_ENTPR_S4H

Please copy with installation data                                 

In case  you need to deselect some scope items, select the custom solution ZEXP_BP_OP_ENTPR_S4H and change. Otherwise, go to next step.

Click OK

Click on Favourite to make this solution as your favourite

STEP 16:Activate your solution. Select the Solution and click on Implementation Assistant in above screen

Then click on button Activate.

After 2 minutes you will be prompted with screen below. You can select Skip this screen if you don’t want this screen from popping up everytime.

LIST OF ACTIVATION ERRORS

Here is the list of Activation Errors. Depending on scope items you have selected, you may get less errors. This is the summary of errors described later The list is provided as a quick search.

STEP 17:VERTEX Error 1If vertex is not configured, you will get Activation Error as shown below after10 minutes

You will get alert information “Activation stopped with an error”.

Click on Continue

Open a second session tCode SPRO -> SAP Reference IMG -> Financial Accounting (new) as below

The IMG path is SPRO -> SAP Reference IMG -> Financial Accounting (New) -> Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) -> Tax on Sales/Purchases -> Basic Settings -> External Tax Calculation -> Activate External Updating

Remove checkmark and click onSave, Accept transport.

IMPORTANT:Please exit above screen to SPRO Menu to prevent table from being locked as this will give more activation errors.

Get back to other session with Implementation Assistant and click on button Change

Enter Reason as "Confirmed. Deactivated External Tax"

You can choose to  click on Skip the screen from below to avoid from popping up every time.

STEP 18:Vertex Error 2   You will get Activation error shown below after 1hr 2 minutes

The IMG path is SPRO -> SAP Reference IMG -> Financial Accounting (New) -> Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) -> Tax on Sales/Purchases -> Basic Settings -> External Tax Calculation -> Define Connection with External Tax System

Delete the record with External Tax System ID = Vertex after clicking on delete icon to remove the line, confirm deletion, Click on and add to transport.

Save with transport and go back to Display IMG screen.

The IMG path is SPRO -> SAP Reference IMG -> Financial Accounting (New) -> Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) -> Tax on Sales/Purchases -> Basic Settings -> External Tax Calculation -> Activate External Tax Calculation

delete record as shown below. You cannot remove the data in first column, remove from rest of the columns including checkmark.

Save with transport and go back to Display IMG screen. IMPORTANT:Please exit above screen to SPRO Menu to prevent table from being locked as this will give more activation errors.

Click the Change Button and enter Reason as "Confirmed. Deleted connection with external tax system"

STEP 19:Simply Click on ok. You will get this popup after 22 minutes. This is not an error, please Click as shown.

STEP 20:Vertex Error 4 You will get activation error shown below after 50 minutes due to missing VERTEX Jurisdiction Codes

Do the steps as per US Tax Correction Document from link  S4HANA 1511 OP FPS1 BP USV2 _ Manual tax configuraiton amendments ( without Vertex Integration).docx If you do these steps, you will not get next error in next step.

STEP21:  Vertex Error 5 You will get this error after 2 minutes  only if you skip resolution to previous error.

Click on Change button and enter Reason as "Skipped. This is due to previous step failed - missing Vertex Jurisdiction Code."

STEP 22:COMPLETION OF ACTIVATION In about 12 minutes at the end of activation you should get message below. CONGRATULATIONS !!!!

Please revert the parameter for abap/heap_area_dia and adjust SAPGUI scripting as well as remove SAP_ALL authorization from functional users if granted separately.

Mahesh Sardesai

Product Expert

  S4HANA Regional Implementation Group

The first of the three SAP TechEd events– SAP TechEd Las Vegas – is now just a matter of weeks away. As always, I’m very much looking forward to being there in person to talk about SAP’s next-generation business suite SAP S/4HANA, and in particular, how to define your road map to the Digital Core.

It’s an exciting year for SAP TechEd

This year’s event, however, will be particularly special for several reasons: First, 2016 marks the 20^th anniversary of this premier technology event. Since 1996, the SAP TechEd events around the world have been the place to go to network and learn about SAP platforms and technologies.

Second, SAP S/4HANA, as one of this year’s Hot Topics, will take center stage. There will be plenty of opportunities– from lectures to demo pods – for you to discover how the software can deliver value to your organization. Learn how the SAP HANA platform can dramatically increase the speed of your business and reduce your data footprint. Find out how SAP S/4HANA allows you to simplify your applications and the underlying data model for greater flexibility and throughput. And see how SAP S/4HANA is natively designed with the SAP Fiori user experience (UX), offering an integrated user experience with modern usability and instant insight on any device.

From here to digital – but how?

One particularly important point we’ll be addressing at this years’ events is that of the transition to SAP S/4HANA. How easy is it to move to the next-generation of ERP? Whether you’re starting as a net new implementation or digitizing an existing SAP landscape, we have a robust portfolio of services to help you define your journey to SAP S/4HANA. Join us in Las Vegas, Bangalore, or Barcelona to find out more about the many options available. At the Pre-Conference in Barcelona, you can also attend the “Your Journey to SAP S/4HANA – The Ultimate Transformation Guide” seminar.

Looking forward to seeing your there!

Las Vegas: September 19-23, 2016 (https://teched2016.sapevents.com/email?l=BB6F667676&EID=38EF65777103&CID=0)

Bangalore: October 5-7, 2016 (https://teched2016.sapevents.com/email?l=BB6F667676&EID=09666577720B&CID=0)

Barcelona: November 8-10, 2016 (https://teched2016.sapevents.com/email?l=BB6F667676&EID=7E9B65777102&CID=0)

SAP S/4HANA Highlights at SAP TechEd 2016

Transition Paths to SAP S/4HANA (Session ID TEC118, Lecture in Las Vegas,Bangalore, and Barcelona)

This session helps you decide on the right technical transition scenarios to SAP S/4HANA for your company by providing insights into the available migration paths. Learn about the planning aspects, the technical transition procedure, and the initial data load. The session will cover both the cloud and on-premise deployment options for SAP S/4HANA.

Transition to SAP S/4HANA On-Premise and Cloud using Migration Tools (Session ID DMM116, Lecture in Las Vegas,Bangalore, and Barcelona)

In this session you will learn all about the design rationale behind SAP Fiori 2.0 and how it will become available in SAP S/4HANA. What are the new features and how can they be used? What is the direction SAP Fiori is taking forward and what enhancements can we expect in the near future. If you are working with SAP Fiori or if you plan to start working with SAP Fiori, this session will give you all information you need to plan your design and front-end development. (See also the related Hands-On WorkshopTransition to SAP S/4HANA on Deep Dive for New Implementations in Barcelona and in Las Vegas)

SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Process Management Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA (Session ID ITM101, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

In this session you will learn how to apply SAP Solution Manager 7.2 process-management best practices to achieve a transparent and efficient solution documentation structure and avoid redundancies. You will see how you should set up your solution and how you can get jump-started by generating libraries and best practice content. (See also the related Hands-On WorkshopApplying SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Best Practices to Implement SAP S/4HANA in Las Vegas, Bangalore, and Barcelona)

Holistic View on System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA (Session ID ITM201, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

In this session you will see the end-to-end process of transitioning your SAP ERP application into an SAP S/4HANA system. We will cover all required processes, like maintenance planning, custom code adoption, and preparations as well as system conversion and post-conversion activities. (See also the related Hands-On WorkshopSAP S/4HANA System Conversion in Action in Las Vegas, Bangalore, and Barcelona)

SAP S/4HANA: Custom Code Adaption (Session ID TEC300, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

Detailed session about custom code adaption in the context of SAP S/4HANA: We show how to analyze existing custom code with check tools to identify relevant areas in your code base. We will show you best practices on whether and how the identified custom code can get adjusted.

Custom Code Management: What’s New in SAP Solution Manager 7.2? (Session ID ITM210, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

SAP Solution Manager provides new custom-code management capabilities for managing your custom code. It enables new SAP innovations such as the SAP HANA platform, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP cloud-based hybrid IT landscapes, to build and run end-to-end solutions for the future. This session provides an opportunity to get a comprehensive overview on the new features of custom-code management and how they can support your IT plans. Learn about the new innovations, and ask your questions. (See also the related Hands-On WorkshopMake Your Custom Code SAP S/4HANA Ready: The New Quality Cockpit in CCLM in Las Vegas, Bangalore, and Barcelona)

Holistic View on Transforming a Landscape to SAP S/4HANA (Session ID DMM214, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

This session covers some of the recent enhancements introduced in SAP ASE for improving the performance of business suite applications – including compiled queries, lockless data cache, and latch-free B-tree and nonvolatile cache management – and how customers can leverage these enhancements. It also previews some of the in-memory technologies that are in the works for upcoming releases and how those technologies can potentially be used by customers running business suite on SAP ASE.

SAP S/4HANA: The Digital Core (What Are the Technical Capabilities?) (Session ID TEC115, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

In this session you will get an insight into what makes SAP S/4HANA the digital core. Business process innovation like segment of one, preventive scenarios and the likes require new capabilities from software solutions. Focus will be laid on describing these requirements and explain how SAP S/4HANA does address these.

Real-Time Analytics - What is new with SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics (Session ID TEC215, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

This session covers the concept, strategy, architecture, and use cases for SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics in SAP S/4HANA. You will also learn positioning with the existing SAP HANA Live offerings, SAP BW powered by SAP HANA and SAP Business Intelligence, integration concepts, as well as the SAP Smart Business cockpit (SAP Fiori)

Deliver on the Promise: SAP Best Practices for Analytics with SAP S/4HANA (Session ID ANP109, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

SAP S/4HANA brings the promise of transforming and simplifying our customer's business operations. SAP Best Practices for analytics with SAP S/4HANA provides a comprehensive solution with guidance and pre-built content on how customers can jump start with embedded analytics within SAP S/4HANA, and how customers can build their analytical use cases by integrating with SAP BusinessObjects BI, SAP BW, and more.

E2E Platform Architecture – Transition Paths for Digital Transformation (Session ID TEC204, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

Technology today is developing fast, so your current landscape may be out-of-date and getting in the way of innovation. Companies need to meet the challenge of moving towards digitalization. We will explain approaches to defining the right road map towards digitalization and strategic solution patterns. We will explain the implications to your application landscape and your infrastructure. In addition, we will give guidance on technology choices when designing and composing custom solutions.

Fundamentals and Road Map for SAP S/4HANA Suite Cloud Solutions (Session ID TEC113, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

SAP offers multiple SAP S/4HANA suite cloud solutions to choose from, for example SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management Cloud, SAP S/4HANA Professional Services Cloud, and SAP S/4HANA Marketing Cloud. These solutions deliver massive simplification and innovation along the digital road map of our customers and are delivered as cloud SaaS. The solutions are designed to cover business processes in a focused and standardized fashion. Get into the technical and business fundamentals and road maps.

Lessons from the First Customers of SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management (Session ID TEC114, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

The digital transformation is an influential topic for businesses, as it changes business models as well as processes. SAP helps organizations with the SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management solution to seize the opportunity to address these challenges head on. In order to help customers in making their go-live projects a success, SAP helps with direct support from consulting and development. This session is designed to give you insights into the lessons from the first customer implementations.

Implementation of SAP Fiori on SAP HANA Cloud Platform and SAP S/4HANA (Session ID UX205, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

Learn about options from SAP to implement SAP Fiori on SAP HANA Cloud Platform, SAP S/4HANA and SAP ERP 6. Understand the key criteria to choose the best deployment option for you, the system architecture, and how to implement SAP Fiori easily. Learn about essential tools such as the maintenance planner, worklists, and authorization synchronization. Get insights through consolidated project feedback.

Business Process Improvement to Prepare Your Transition to SAP S/4HANA (Session ID ITM104, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

You will learn how to “use” a readiness check to identify the amount of old and open business documents that cannot be technically archived yet and hence will lead to unnecessary memory costs if nothing is done to close and archive them. You will also learn how to use the tools, out-of-the-box KPI content, and the methodology of business process improvement to fully exploit SAP S/4HANA business benefit cases like “Fast Close,” “Faster and Better MRP Planning,” or “Inventory Optimization.”

A Perfect Match: Embedded Analytics in SAP S/4HANA and SAP BW on SAP HANA (Session ID DMM221, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

Find out how SAP S/4HANA integrates with SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) on SAP HANA. This session covers the concepts, strategies, architectures, and use cases for embedded analytics in SAP S/4HANA – using virtual data models with core data services – as well as SAP BW powered by SAP HANA. Learn how the integration of the two solutions takes place and how both solutions work together very well.

Extensibility Framework for SAP S/4HANA: End-to-End Scenario (Session ID DEV108, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore,Barcelona)

Customers expect SAP S/4HANA to offer simple, modification-free extensibility. Explore the end-to-end process and the technology as we show the features of the extensibility framework for SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud. See how to add new fields; make them available in the UI, gateway, and core data services; add custom business objects including the UI; add business logic with the Web-based ABAP editor based on the SAP Fiori user experience; and perform sandbox testing and deployment.

SAP Fiori 2.0 for SAP S/4HANA (Session ID UX100, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

In this session you will learn all about the design rationale behind SAP Fiori 2.0 and how it will become available in SAP S/4HANA. What are the new features and how can they be used? What is the direction SAP Fiori is taking forward and what enhancements can we expect in the near future. If you are working with SAP Fiori or if you plan to start working with SAP Fiori, this session will give you all information you need to plan your design and front-end development.

Integration Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA (Session ID: INT108, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore andBarcelona)

SAP S/4HANA natively integrates with all product editions of cloud solutions from SAP, including SAP Success Factors, SAP Ariba, and SAP Hybris solutions, such as the SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer solution. In this session, you get insight into SAP preconfigured integration packages and the integration content and APIs needed to exchange compatible data within the SAP S/4HANA suite. Consistent master data mapping throughout the process helps ensure integration.

SAP S/4HANA: Overview and Road Map to Transformation to the Digital World (Session ID: TEC100, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore andBarcelona)

In this session we will give you an overview of the road map for SAP S/4HANA and explain how you can reimagine your business and run simple in the digital economy with SAP S/4HANA. This new suite is built on our advanced in-memory platform, SAP HANA, and offers a personalized user experience with SAP Fiori. Deployable in the cloud or on premise, SAP S/4HANA is designed to drive instant value across all lines of business and industries.

Extensibility Concepts for SAP S/4HANA (Session ID: TEC206, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore andBarcelona)

This sessions explains how the SAP S/4HANA suite can be extended by customers and partners. You will be invited to a journey that starts at your current extensibility investment, gives answers about the transition to SAP S/4HANA, and shows what your future cloud and on-premise extensibility strategy could look like. You will learn how to use in-application extensibility to add fields, business logic, or UI changes, and side-by-side extensions running on SAP HANA Cloud Platform.

How to Plan and Execute a Migration to SAP HANA (Session ID: ITM200, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

Considering a migration of SAP software systems to the SAP HANA platform? Get a comprehensive overview of project planning, available migration paths, involved tools, and best practices, including guidance on how to choose the right option for your technical boundary conditions. Focus will be on on-premise SAP software systems while also touching cloud options.

Accelerate SAP S/4HANA implementations with SAP Activate (Session ID: TEC117, Lecture inLas Vegas,Bangalore, andBarcelona)

Find out how to simplify and accelerate your SAP S/4HANA project with fully configured software and ready-to-run business processes based on SAP Best Practices, available for cloud and on premise deployments. Get an overview of the configuration tools for each deployment phase, integration options, and extensibility opportunities - all available as part of SAP Activate for SAP S/4HANA.

This article contains more information about the S4in2 video “Business Benefits” I posted earlier. Just in case 2 minutes was not enough. You can see all the videos and articles in this series here.

When I need to explain the value of S/4HANA to someone in a concise way, I like to use this formula:

The formula gets the point across quickly, but you can spend as much time as you need on each of these 3 elements. The formula demonstrates how improved productivity and new capability is actually achieved by S/4HANA. This is important because every piece of software ever invented claims to improve productivity in some way. And competitors to S/4HANA will undoubtedly say they can improve productivity with their latest product.

But how do they achieve this? What specifically are they doing differently? And can you connect those improvements to a meaningful increase in productivity? With S/4HANA, we aren’t merely saying the technology is better and thus productivity increases. In the same way we couldn’t say a faster car means a quicker commute for you—there is more to a commute than how fast your vehicle can travel.

Productivity increases don’t happen by magic. It must be the result of design. And this 3-part formula, while simple, explains what makes S/4HANA different.

The simpler data model refers to the dramatic changes in data architecture HANA brings to ERP. If you’d like to know more about this, please see the S4in2 video “Why HANA?” as well as the follow-up article.

The improved user experience is all about Fiori. Fiori is simple, role-based, and runs on any device. When Fiori is placed on the simpler data model, the result is that users can go from the high-level view of a dashboard all the way down to base-level detail without having to leave the system or export to a spreadsheet.

And Fiori massively improves productivity in its own right. To see how, I recommend the side-by-side videos comparing Fiori to the classic SAP interface here and here. You can find everything else related to Fiori here.

Productivity really accelerates when the simpler data model is paired with the improved user experience. In the video, the example I give is closing the books. Data reconciliation has always been the big problem with financial close. Every other ERP has to implement workarounds to make reconciliation easier, but here is where our simpler data model really shines.

We no longer need reconciliation “hubs” or other redundant data models because financial data is already in a unified data store. Now add our Fiori interface on top of this, such as Financial Close Cockpit, and our early adopter customers have dramatically shortened financial close. One customer even cut 400 hours per period from their close process.

Is this the kind of productivity your organization wants? I bet the answer is yes. For more information on S/4HANA improvements to finance, see this article.

Another example I like is Inventory Management. The simpler data model on HANA (columnar vs row store) no longer needs row or table locks. This may seem like a small change, but when scaled-out across an entire system, it makes a big improvement in productivity.

A classic problem with inventory management in ERP is Post Goods Issue (PGI), the accounting process that has to happen when goods are moved. PGI often fails in busy environments because batch stock tables are locked. This can result in trucks waiting at the loading dock, racking-up carrier fees.

The past response to PGI locking issues was to have DBAs try to trick the system. Or users simply went around the PGI process or created their own workarounds. None of these options are good. S/4HANA, though, has a simpler data model. We don’t have batch stock tables anymore as inventory went from 26 tables down to 1. So there is nothing to lock, even if HANA did table locks—which it doesn’t!

Now combine this simpler data model with the improved experience of Fiori, and you get truly real-time inventory information with no redundant data needed. You are live on the base transactional detail! My colleague Amr has written an excellent article on how these same concepts revolutionize sourcing and procurement. Again, you can see how simpler design is what drives real productivity.

This is a key point our competitors seem to overlook constantly: we didn’t merely take ERP, wrap it in another data model, and drop it onto an in-memory database. We didn’t merely beautify the UI or port it over to a tablet. We did more. We took that speed and used it to re-architect ERP. Then we paired it with the UI to improve productivity in ways no other system can match.

Hi Community,

We were curious about how we could setup a multidimensional custom report, so I figured this out and thought I would share this information with the o-so-giving SCN Community, you guys.

Please note that the explenation and insights below are based on an S/4 HANA NetWeaver 7.50 SP 03 system.

Multidimensional reports are used to do data discovery of analytical CDS views and there is one out of the box example called 'Incoming sales orders' that is used througout this post to explain the concept.

In a later phase I will post a second blog, containing a front to back excercise of how you can define one yourself.

The report is displayed in a Fiori tile, in the S/4 HANA launchpad like below.

When we open the Fiori tile, the multidimensional reports for incomming sales orders looks like below.

If we check the definition of the Fiori tile via the standard Fiori Launchpad configuration url, we see that it points to a webdynpro.

     [Host:port]/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/sap/arsrvc_upb_admn/main.html?sap-language=EN#/Catalog/X-SAP-UI2-CATALOGPAGE:SAP_SD_BC_SALES_ANALYTICS

Here we see the details of the tile configuration, and the fact that the Fiori app is actually a link to a webdynpro application.

Since one WebDynpro component can have multiple WebDynpro applications, we need to figure out to which component this application belongs, which you can find in the DB table below using SE16N in the SAP backend system via SAP GUI.

Some of you might have already figured out by now that we will find a generic Floorplan Manager Webdynpro component, which is indeed the case.

          [The WebDynpro Floorplan Manager is a highly configurable user interface (UI) framework for easy and efficient application development and adaptation based on Web Dynpro ABAP.

          With the help of predefined elements such as floorplans, toolbars and generic user interface building blocks, FPM provides you with consistency across applications and compliance with           SAP UI design guidelines, as well as greatly reducing the time required to create such applications.

          Central functions such as navigation, messaging, and personalization are embedded in the framework and can be easily defined by application programming interfaces (APIs).

          FPM allows you to easily adapt delivered Web Dynpro ABAP UIs to your specific needs modification-free by simple UI configuration, and to combine application-specific views of one or           more business applications into new Floorplan Manager applications.]

          Source: Floorplan Manager for Web Dynpro ABAP - SAP Library

In this case we found the configuration to be based on the SAP OVP (Overview Page).

          [SAP Fiori Overview Page (OVP) provides a new interaction within SAP Fiori UX. The OVP can be seen as a step between the basic information on the           SAP Fiori launchpad and the full           blown information within the SAP Fiori applications.]

         Source: https://eaexplorer.hana.ondemand.com/_item.html?id=11065#!/overview

Knowing this we can now find the component configuration like mentioned in the Fiori tile definition and display it, to find out more.

Here is where you will see the Fiori application start taking shape.

The total configuration  is made up out of configurations of smaller, generic FPM WebDynpro components, that are placed together in one page.

The most important part is the SEARCH_SECTION, where we will define our data source.

If you double click one of the components you'll get a detailed table like below, with a clear overview of the FPM Webdynpro component and it's configuration.

Let's have a look at the search component via transaction SE80, like you did for the global FPM component.

(Next I mention to open the configuration of a FPM WebDynpro component i'll assume you remember how to do this based on the image above.)

If we take a closer look at the configuration, we will see that there is a feeder class linked together with a parameter, which defines the ABAP BICS query name.

          The screenshot below is from a debugging session of the feeder class "CL_FPM_BICS_SEARCH_FEEDER" in method "GET_DATA_4_BASIC_SEARCH".

          This is also where you can debug the execution of the query.

Detailed information about the ABAP BICS query can be found in transaction RSRT via SAP GUI, in the S/4 HANA backend system.

Here you can find the DDL source name.

In the next blog post a piece will be included on how you can create an ABAP BICS from an ABAP CDS view (DDL Source) yourself.

You'll find the definitions of this DDL source by connecting to the system via Eclipse and opening an ABAP project, after which you can use th 'ctrl+shift+a' key combination to look for objects in an ABAP project. Make sure you are in the ABAP perspective before you do so.

You have now found the DDL Source Definition that is linked with the ABAP CDS view.

Pay good attention to the header semantics as these are very important in order to define your view as an ABAP BICS & analytical view.

     More on this in the next part.

Now if we go back to the other FPM configurations that are used to make up the multidimensional report we will see that they are configured in the same way as the search component. A feeder class, combined with some extra parameters.

The buttonrow in the tab page 'Data Analysis': FPM_BICS_GRID_RUIBB || SD_FPM_GRID_INCOMINGSLSORDERS

This one is also defined in the same fashion.

Please note that the query ID is also passed here.

The data itself will be shown in the format of the view V_INFORMATION, included in the window BICS_GRID_INFO of the component FPM_BICS_GRID_RUIBB.

I hope this was a good, clear start.

If you are looking forward to learning more about this topic, monitor this post as an update with the link to part two will be included later.

Greetings

Jonathan Belliot

SAP S/4 HANA helps customers run simple in a digital and complex world. Many global companies have adopted SAP S/4HANA to become a Live business and a model digital enterprises. In this series we will show the value S/4HANA can bring with the help of examples businesses who already took to road to SAP S/4HANA.

One case in many

This time we will focus on a manufacturing company which has chosen SAP S/4 HANA for its digital transformation. This customer designs, manufactures and deploys advanced robotics systems for automation at distribution and fulfillment centers. With a strong presence in India, Singapore, and Hong Kong, this manufacturing customer completed their SAP S/4HANA implementation project within a period of just 5 months starting in Nov 2015 and going live in April ‘16. The customer went live with the below listed business scenarios:

• Finance (FIN): Core Finance, Asset Accounting, Controlling, Credit Management, India Localization, Accounts payable and Accounts receivable.
• Sales & Distribution (SD):  Pricing, Sale from Stock, Make to Order (MTO) and Make to Stock (MTS), Buy and Sale process for stock transfer, India Localization, Customer Return, Service Sales, Consignment and Third party sales.
• Material Management (MM): Procurement process for Direct materials, subcontracting, Domestic & Import Procurement, Service Procurement, Consumables, Inventory Management, India Localization
• Production Planning (PP): Production Orders (Discrete), MRP, Variant Configuration, Product Costing
• Quality Management (QM): Basic QM processes with Inspection lots (Incoming Inspection)

Significant added business value

With the implementation of SAP S/4 HANA this company was able to realize tremendous additional business value. For one were the fulfillment of customer orders (sales orders) and delivery processing considerably improved. The Material Ledger led to a new operational efficiency in product costing and inventory valuation, which was just not possible before.

The SAP Fiori apps did not only improve efficiency, but also enabled a real-time insight into business, e.g. performance KPI’s. This supports the decision making process and also facilitates it. Another critical added value is simplicity, for example did the usage of BRF+ reduce the coding effort around certain scenarios of Output Management, which made it easier to maintain. And last but not least did the implementation of the India localization in SAP S/4HANA 1511 lead to drastic improvement in managing legal requirements.

This is only one of many examples that prove SAP S/4HANA delivers the value needed to lead your business through the Digital Transformation. Find more Success Stories here.

Stay tuned for further customer examples in this series. Follow us via #S4HANA and myself via @SDenecken

Hi everyone, in this post I'm going to talk about setting up CVI in SAP ERP system, as it's mandatory for S/4HANA system conversion.

Before we start I want to make it clear that I'm not an expert in the topic of CVI configuration but when I encountered this problem, I can't find a detailed configuration guide for the necessary steps I should take, and my goal was pass the per-check and perform a system conversion successfully, so let's begin the topic.

So the basic configuration of CVI consists of three major steps:

1. Basic Configuration of CVI

2. Customer Integration Configuration

3. Vendor Integration Configuration

4. Dealing with Errors

1. Basic Configuration of CVI

Use SE38 to run report CVI_FS_CHECK_CUSTOMIZING, this will give us a glance of the current system configuration about CVI.

Activate Postprocessing Office

Use transaction SPRO to activate the Postprocessing Office, its under the following path:

Cross-Application Components/General Application Functions/Postprocessing Office/Business Processes/Activate Creation of Postprocessing Orders

Synchronization Control

Cross-Application Components/Master Data Synchronization/Synchronization Control

Use transaction SM30 to check view MDSV_CTRL_OPT for queue names for the following objects:

Now back to synchronization control preparation, click on queue processing to register the RFC queues with a * mark at the end of every queue name.

The final results should looks like this

Synchronization Objects

Cross-Application Components/Master Data Synchronization/Synchronization Control/Synchronization Control

Activate PPO Requests for Platform Objects in the Dialog

Activate Synchronization Options

Check / Activate Function Modules

Cross-Application Components/SAP Business Partner/Data Distribution/Activate Function Modules

2. Customer Integration Configuration

Check/Define Number Range for Customer Accounts

Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable/Customer Accounts/Master Data/Preparations for Creating Customer Master Data

Check/Define Assign Number Ranges to Customer Account Groups

This’s very important, based on the information in this view, we can generally decide which customer account group should be included during the configuration of CI later on. If the “Number Range” column is empty, we can assume that customer account group is not activated in the system.

Define BP Roles

SAP Business Partner/Business Partner/Basic Settings/Business Partner Roles

For each entry of the following BP Roles in BP Role Categories, add “BPUS” and “CHAN” with “Transaction Allowed” Modification Indicator.

FLCU00

FLCU01

FLVN00

FLVN01

Define BP Role for Direction Customer to BP

Cross-Application Components/Master Data Synchronization/Customer/Vendor Integration/Business Partner Settings/Settings for Customer Integration

The group information was mentioned earlier in section “Check/Define Assign Number Ranges to Customer Account Groups”

Define Number Assignment for Direction Customer to BP

You may choose the group accordingly.

Define Groupings and Assign Number Ranges

Cross-Application Components/Master Data Synchronization/Customer/Vendor Integration/Business Partner Settings/Settings for Customer Integration/Field Assignment for Customer Integration/Assign Keys

Finishing up configurations

Cross-Application Components/Master Data Synchronization/Customer/Vendor Integration/Business Partner Settings/Settings for Customer Integration/Field Assignment for Customer Integration/Assign Attributes

Perform all the necessary configuration in this section. Nothing too much to talk about this step cause it only involves select component from CVI then mapping it to BP.

As an example of one of the configuration

Run the Synchronize by using Synchronization Cockpit

Transaction MDS_LOAD_COCKPIT

Check the status, if everything was ok, you should be able to see a green icon in the status field. Otherwise it'll tell you what was wrong with the configuration, we'll deal some of the error later on.

3. Vendor Integration Configuration

So basically it was the same procedure as Customer Integration, I'll list the configuration steps here and skip the picture

Check/Define Number Ranges for Vendor Accounts

Check/Assign Number Ranges to Vendor Account Groups

Define BP Role for Direction Vendor to BP

Define Number Assignment for Direction Vendor to BP

Run the Synchronize by using Synchronization Cockpit

Transaction MDS_LOAD_COCKPIT

If you're not sure which vendor group was activated in the system, you can ask your functional specialist or you can check the group one by one by using transaction MKVZ, if that group is empty, then you can excluded it.

4. Dealing with Errors

Error "Tax Number categories xxx does not exist"

First, let’s maintain the Tax Number categories CN1 and CN5, to do so, use transaction SM30 to maintain view V_TFKTAXNUMTYPE, copy an existing entry.

Now go to SPRO to Maintain Tax Number Categories, choose create new entries

Cross-Application Components/SAP Business Partner/Business Partner/Tax Numbers

Error "address xxx not designated for organizations"

Cross-Application Components/SAP Business Partner/Business Partner/Forms of Address

Finally, we can run the pre-check R_S4_PRE_TRANSITION_CHECKS in client 000 to check if CVI problem was resolved.

One last thing to mention, it was just a one-way synchronization, meaning only Customer/Vendor to BP user, if you wish to configure two-way synchronization, please check the relevant configuration instructions, but basically it's the same procedure.

That's all for this topic, let me know if there's anything else I can help or correct me if I made any mistake here.

Regards,

Michael

SAP and T.A.Cook are delighted to invite you to the SAP S/4HANA for the Oil and Gas Industry Seminar (27-28 October, 2016 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

Download Brochure >

This two day course is a brilliant opportunity for you and your team to gain a comprehensive overview how the SAP S/4HANA suite will positively impact oil and gas companies. Hosted by SAP experts, this two day seminar will offer you insight into key concepts, deliveries, and road map items, and will give you the opportunity to discuss what needs to be considered when moving your IT landscape to SAP S/4HANA.

To register or find out more, please visit the official event web site >

Hi everyone, in this blog I'm going to talk about some of the basic configurations of Customer Code Check (or Customer Code Migration) when doing a S/4HANA System Conversion.

Foreword

The following picture shows the procedure and landscape involved in the task.

Basically, you'll need an AS ABAP NetWeaver 7.5 system as shown in the above picture (the evaluation system doesn't have to be a S/4HANA system, any AS ABAP NW 7.5 system will be ok), at first we thought the new Solution Manager 7.2 will do so, but unfortunately Solution Manager 7.2 was build on NetWeaver 7.4.

References

Custom Code Migration Worklist -  Application Development on AS ABAP - SAP Library

Using the Custom Code Migration Worklist -  Application Development on AS ABAP - SAP Library

2241080 - Custom code check content for SAP S/4HANA on-premise edition

https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2241080

How we did it

1. On ERP Source System

1.1 Implement SAP Note 2185390, follow the the Note to perform manual-activities.

1.2 Run report SYCM_DOWNLOAD_REPOSITORY_INFO

Run report SYCM_DOWNLOAD_REPOSITORY_INFO with SE38 (we'll talk about the error "the where-used index is not up-to-date" later on), you may want to run it as a background job if you have a lot of customer developed programs.

Customer Namesapce = /0CUST/

1.3 Download the Customer Repository ZIP file

Wait until the job gets finished, then you should be able to download the ZIP file to your local computer.

2. On the Evaluation System (NW 7.5 System)

2.1 Upload the Customer Repository ZIP file

Upload the Customer Repository zip file into the evaluate system by execute program SYCM_UPLOAD_REPOSITORY_INFO with SE38, give it a extraction name.

2.2 Import the SMB

Download the latest patch of Simplification Database Content from SAP launchpad support one app by doing a quick search CCMSIDB.

Import the downloaded simplification database zip file into evaluate system through report SYCM_UPLOAD_SIMPLIFIC_INFO with SE38.

2.3 Analyze the Impact of the Simplification

Launch the Custom Code Migration Worklist by using transaction SYCM, fill the SAP System ID and Extraction Name and click on execute.

The results will give you a glance of the customer objects affected by the simplifications

You can find more information like SAP Object Name, Application Component, most importantly the Simplification Category and relevant SAP Note

As mentioned in the SAP document, the follow paragraph gives an overview of the Simplification Category

Simplification Category: Represents the category of the simplification item

The following categories are provided:

• Usage of functionality not supported anymore: Usages of this SAP object must be removed from the custom code.
• Usage of functionality not recommended anymore: SAP recommends to remove usages of this SAP object from the custom code.
• Syntactically incompatible change: Custom code needs to be adapted as described in the related SAP Note.
• Semantically incompatible change : Custom code needs to be adapted to the new semantics as described in the related SAP Note.
• Change with performance impact: Usages of this SAP object might have impact on your custom code.

3. Error "the where-used index is not up-to-date" in the ERP Source System

To solve this problem, we can perform the following activities in the ERP system:

1. Run report SAPRSEUJ with SE38

2. Wait until the job EU_INIT gets finished, then run the following reports with SE38 as background job:

     SAPRSEUB

     SAPRSEUC

For more information about how to solve this problem, please check the following SAP Notes:

     2234970 - Job EU_INIT

     18023 - Jobs EU_INIT, EU_REORG, EU_PUT

That's all, I hope this will help you and I'm willing to receive your feedback!

Regards,

Michael

Hi everyone, in this blog I'm going to talk about the basic configurations for activate Embedded Analytics in S/4HANA On-Premise 1511 version. This blog is mainly focused on the separated installation of the Fiori Frontend System and S/4HANA Backend system. Let's dive in to it.

Landscape

Frontend system         SAP Fiori for S/4HANA OP 1511

Bakend system           SAP S/4HANA Backend

An additional SAP Web Dispatcher

Prerequisites

You've completed the following configurations as mentioned in the Administration Guide for the Implementation of SAP S/4HANA:

Administration Guide for the Implementation of SAP S/4HANA, on premise edition (1511 FPS 2)

SAP S/4HANA Fiori Foundation Configuration

SAP S/4HANA Fiori Basic Network and Security ConfigurationSAP

Related SAP Notes

2289865 Configuration steps for S/4 HANA Analytics

2106016 Configuration steps for Design Studio in Distributed sFin or S/4 HANA Environments with a Remote Gateway Server

A Step-by-Step Configuration

1. On Backend System

1.1 Activate BW Client

Use transaction SE37 to run function module RS_MANDT_UNIQUE_SET, as SAP documents mentioned, it’s not necessary to setup a separate BW client, so we’ll using the production client 800.

After donw that, check BW client settings by using function module RS_MANDT_UNIQUE_GET, you should be able to see the client information as an value of the export parameter E_UNIQUE_MANDT.

1.2 Setup User Parameters for DDIC user

Use transaction SU01 to set the following parameters for user DDIC in the working client (if in some case the DDIC doesn't exist, create it manually)

RSWAD_DEV_MDVERSION = ‘072’

RSWAD_SKIP_JAVA = ‘X’

1.3 Modification of the Admin Cockpit Installation Objects

Use transaction SE38 run report SAP_RSADMIN_MAINTAIN and insert the following object and value

Object                                                                      Value

SKIP_ADMINCOCKPIT_INSTALLATION                    X

RSDDSTAT_GLOBAL_OFF                                        X

1.4 Activate Technical Content

Use transaction RSTCO_ADMIN to activate install the Analytic Engine in the working client (if the job failed, try to use DDIC user to perform the activity and check the activate log for more detailed information)

1.5 Generate Packages for OData Services

Use transaction SE38 to run report EQ_RS_AUTOSETUP without check mode.

Use transaction SE37 to run function module RSEC_GENERATE_BI_ALL

1.6 Validate InfoObjects

Use transaction RSD5 to validate the InfoObjects, at the bottom of the screen, choose All InfoObjects and click on Display. Everything should have an green icon in the validation field.

1.7 Create a ICF Handler Service

Use transaction SICF to create a Sub-Element entry under /sap/bw/ina with the following information:

     Name: GetServerInfo

     Type: Reference to Existing Service

     In the "Target" tab, select /sap/es/ina/GetServerInfo as the target

You may also need to configure the ICF service to using anonymous access if you haven't setup SSO between Frontend system and Backend system.

1.8 Activate ICF Services

Use transaction SICF to activate the following ICF services (with all sub-trees):

/sap/bw/ina

/sap/bw/Mime

/default_host/sap/public/icf_info

2 Frontend System Configuration

2.1 Configuration of OData Service

Use transaction /n/IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE to add Local System Alias to OData Service RSAO_ODATA_SRV, and activate ICF Node, then test the configuration by click on “Call Browser”. You should be able to see the XML format odata service output without any error.

2.2 Activate Query Browser

Use transaction SICF to activate the following ICF service (with sub-trees):

/default_host/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/sap

use transaction /n/IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE to add OData Service VDM_CDSVIEW_BROWSER from the Backend system.

2.3 Role Assignment

Assign role SAP_BR_EMPLOYEE to the a user through SU01.

3 Activate 0ANALYSIS

Use transaction RSOR to install 0ANALYSIS in the both the Frontend system and Backend system.

4 Configure SAP Web Dispatcher

Modify the SAP Web Dispatcher instance profile, the following paths should be routed to the S/4HANA backend server:

/sap/bw/ina

/sap/bw/Mime/DS/Content

Example of the Web Dispatcher instance profile parameters:

wdisp/system_0 = SID=<Frontend_SID>, MSHOST=<FQDN_of_Frontend>, MSPORT=<Frontend_Message_Service_Port>, SRCSRV=*:*, SRCURL=/sap/bc/ui2/flp;/sap/opu/;/sap/bc/;/sap/public/;/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/;/sap/saml2/;/ui2/nwbc/;/resources/sap/dfa/help/, CLIENT=430

wdisp/system_1 = SID=<Backend_SID>, MSHOST=<FQDN_of_Backend>, MSPORT=<Backend_Message_Service_Port>, SRCSRV=*:*, SRCURL=/sap/es/;/sap/bw/ina/;/sap/bw/Mime/DS/Content/, CLIENT=800

wdisp/system_conflict_resolution = 2

icm/HTTPS/verify_client = 0

icm/server_port_0 = PROT=HTTPS, PORT=443, TIMEOUT=300, EXTBIND=1

icm/server_port_1 = PROT=HTTP, PORT=80, TIMEOUT=300, EXTBIND=1

Notice, if the BW version on the Front server is lower than in the S/4HANA backend server, you also need to add the following path to the Web Dispatcher configuration profile parameter:

/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/ui2/ushell/resources/sap/zen

5 Access the Query Browser

https://<web_dispatcher_fqdnport>/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/ui2/ushell/shells/abap/FioriLaunchpad.html#Shell-home

Now you can add more Fiori Analytic Apps or even create your own CDS view and create KPI Tile.

Hope this will be useful to you and I'm willing to receive your feedback!

Regards,

Michael