DOC-64323

Generated by Jive on 2016-01-02+01:001

SAP Integrated Business Planning FAQs

This document covers frequently asked questions from Consultants, Partners and Customers about SAP

Integrated Business Planning Solution. The purpose of this document is to cover important questions that

come up during IBP Implementations in application areas like Excel Add-In , Model Configuration, Analytics ,

Process Management, System Setup and Transports, Releases and Data Integration. This page will be

updated frequently. If you have additional questions that need to be added, please contact Raghav Jandhyala

([email protected]) and Alecsandra Ghita ([email protected])

• Planning with IBP Excel Add-In on page 6

• Q: How to do I get started with creating a simple template? on page 6

• Q: How to install add in and create a logon? on page 6

• Q: IBP add on disappeared from the Menu Bar. How can I bring it back? on page 6

• Q: Can a Planning View display different time granularity throughout the displayed time horizon?

on page 7

• Q: Is S&OP Excel Add-In multilingual? on page 7

• Q: Are the planning views graphics IBP or Excel functionality? What is the recommended number

of rows to be taken into account for the total calculations in the planning view charts? on page

7

• Q: Are the planning views transferable? on page 8

• Q: Is it possible to use Excel macros and save them at template level? on page 8

• Q: Could it be possible to track master data changes independent of impact on Key Figures? on

page 8

• Q: Is it possible to view history changes in IBP Excel UI? on page 8

• Q: Do we have the ability to automatically run an MS Excel macro when opening a favorite? on

page 8

• Q: Can you also use Excel calculations in cells? If yes, are these saved in HANA DB? on page

9

• Q: I entered a calculation directly in the planning view, why is it not automatically converted into

local member? on page 9

• Q: If multiple users are using the same data, how do table locks works? on page 9

• Q: When you press Simulate in the MS Excel UI, do all key figures in the model get calculated or

just the ones you have chosen in that specific planning view? on page 9

• Model Configuration on page 10

• Q: How do I copy and activate a SAP delivered planning area? on page 10

• Q: How do I model material dependent Unit of Measure conversions? on page 10

• Q: What are some guidelines when to use a compound master data type? on page 10

• Q: How do we use compound master data in planning levels build? on page 11

• Q: What is a virtual master data type and how is it used? on page 11

• Q: When should I use a reference master data type? on page 11

• Q: Key Figure creation, explain the concept of base planning level and request level. At what level

calculation should happen etc. on page 12

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



• Q: How do I perform addition and subtraction calculations where the Key Figures are at different

base planning levels? on page 12

• Q: For cross period calculations, what guidelines can I use to determine whether L-Code, attribute

transformations, or some other solution should be used? on page 12

• Q: Where can I find documentation for L-Code? on page 13

• Q: Are there plans to add additional statistical forecast models to the solution? on page 13

• Q: Is custom code like function modules and BADIs possible in IBP? on page 13

• Q: Can you partially copy configuration from one planning area to another? on page 13

• Q: Can certain calculations be batch scheduled as in other applications? on page 13

• Q: Are the delivered modes just examples or can I use those as starting point for my customer

configuration? on page 14

• Q: Where can I find documentation on what each model does? on page 14

• Q: Do different application modules like Demand, Inventory etc. need to be in separate planning

areas or can the functionality of both be configured in one planning area? on page 14

• Q: Can customer buy just Demand and then add Inventory? And incorporate it into the same

planning area? on page 14

• Q: Possibility to copy KF across different planning level on page 15

• Q: Product Interchangeability - Transfer of forecast from one product (obsolete /discontinue) to

another product (new product). Possibility for product attribute status as discontinue not be to be

considered for demand disaggregation. on page 15

• Q: If building from scratch, what master data should follow a naming convention referring to the

standard model SAP4 so that supply planning operators can be used at a later stage? on page

15

• Q: Should we copy SAP standard delivered model and modify it or should we be starting building it

from scratch? Pro and cons of it. on page 16

• Q: Data does not show up in Versions, though the same appears in baseline. What could be the

issue? on page 16

• Q: Marking attributes as root/key and what that means on to the planning levels and roots and

how they work. on page 16

• Q: What does the start and end data in the time profile mean and how they are used, how the

different past and future periods for the periodicities in the time profile mean and how they relate

to the ones in the planning area? on page 16

• Q: What are my options to disaggregate based on a calculated Key Figure at a different planning

level during simulation? on page 17

• Q: What is the difference between a KF, Helper KF and Attribute transformation? on page 17

• System Setup and Transports on page 17

• Q: Do customers have to buy JAM separately? on page 17

• Q: How do you transport planning model and roles from one environment to another? on page

17

• Q: How would I get a brand new system set up for a customer, and how many environments is

standard (dev, test, prod)? on page 18

• Q: How to work in Cloud environment in terms of system architecture? Create a Test planning

area and development planning area etc. on page 18



• Q: Is IBP a cloud only solution or is there an On-Premise option? on page 18

• Q: Where can I find more information on Features and Functions in each IBP Release / Patch on

page 18

• Q: Are updates added for free or is there a charge for them? on page 19

• Q: What is the logical sequence of steps in an implementation? Do we need to have an active

model before we can load the data? on page 19

• Analytics, Dashboards and Process Management on page 20

• Q: What is the source of web UI analytics –are they using HANA? on page 20

• Q: Can I export graphs from Web UI to PPT or other formats? on page 20

• Q: How do I see Process Dashboard in IBP 4.0? on page 20

• Q: Can we share Dashboards? on page 20

• Q: Are additional tasks created for a Process Step taken into consideration for Process Progress.

on page 20

• Q: What functionalities in IBP dependent on use of JAM on page 21

• Q: Are there API available to integrate Third Party Collaboration Tools on page 21

• Q: How do the Custom Alerts differ than the key figure alerts defined during configuration? on

page 21

• Q: What are the dependencies to use the geographic chart types? on page 21

• Q: What are the dependencies to use the network chart types? on page 22

• Data Integration-HCI on page 22

• • Q: What are the Data Integration options to IBP. Do customers have to use HCI? on page

22

• Q: Can IBP connect to other SAP and non-SAP applications such as Teradata for inputs and

outputs? on page 22

• Q: What are the options to download KF data from IBP on page 22

• Q: How to Upload/download files so that some can quickly create data and build a prototype.

on page 23

• HCI Agent (Data Services) on page 23

• Q: Agent - How many Agents are needed per customer? on page 23

• Q: What are the Agent Groups? on page 23

• Q: Which folders can be accessed by HCI DS Agent? on page 23

• Q: Agent Upgrades: When is it necessary? on page 23

• Q: Where do I find agent configuration guide? on page 24

• Datastores on page 24

• Q: Can we have multiple configurations for one datastore? (e.g ECC DEV / ECC TEST) on

page 24

• Q: Data Viewing - How do I view my data after I've run a task? on page 24

• Q: Viewing Data in IBP: Can a user see the data in the Production staging table of HCI-DS? on

page 24

• Q: REP Tables: When browsing the IBP metadata you will see for each table a version with the

same table name but with _REP added. Can you load data into these _REP tables? If not, why

does the system show these in the metadata view? on page 25

• Administration on page 25



• Q: SSO support: Is SSO supported with HCI-DS? on page 25

• Q: Security - How are usernames and passwords used in HCI-DS and in the Agent? Are these

usernames and passwords downloaded in the HCI Agent configuration file? on page 25

• Q: Authorizations/Access Privilege - Why can't I do certain tasks? on page 26

• Q: Authentication - does HCI-DS support ID Provider federation? on page 26

• System Development cycle on page 26

• Q: It is an open SAP system required with “Generate and Execute” mode? on page 26

• Q: How can we run the task vs SAP Test environment? on page 26

• Q: Tablename Error - My task fails to run. I get a message that says "<tablename> is an invalid

ABAP program name. Program names must be less than 40 characters and start with 'Z' or

'Y'". What do I do? on page 26

• Templates and global variables on page 27

• Q: Templates – What are they and is there a catalog listing of templates that can be used with

HCI-DS tasks. on page 27

• Q: Template - For a template that was used in a task and that task was loaded and placed into

production, can that task and template be modified? on page 27

• Q: Mapping Target - In a task that I created from a template there are columns in the Output

pane of the Target Query which are not mapped. Is this a problem? on page 28

• Q: What are the Global Variables? on page 28

• Q: Time Zone - What time zone is set for the times that display in the projects page, task

schedule, and so on? on page 28

• Q: If I check HCI job log in IBP Data Integration tab, I see that Start At and End At are reported

in different time zones. How can I correct this? on page 28

• Q: Global Variables: Can I change/edit the name of an existing Global Variable? on page 29

• Tasks and data flows on page 29

• Q: Copy a Task - Can I copy a data flow to a different task? on page 29

• Q: Multiple Data Flows – How are they executed - When I run a task containing multiple data

flows, in what order are the data flows executed? on page 29

• Q: Task Execution - On the Projects tab, why doesn't the task execution status update? on

page 29

• Q: Locked by User - A task that I want to edit is locked by another user. How do I unlock it? on

page 30

• Data flows syntax on page 30

• Q: It is possible to have translation (mapping) tables maintained in HCI? on page 30

• Q: Is there any standard function to convert weeks to months? on page 30

• Q: What are the mandatory fields to be mapped in an inbound data flow? (on-premise to IBP)

on page 30

• Q: What are the existing options for removing duplicate entries? on page 31

• Q: Is HCI able to extract data from different sources in one task (e.g: SAP table, file). on page

31

• Q: Join - When performing a Join in a dataflow – what is the number of joins that I can

perform? on page 31



• Q: Multiple Tables: How efficient is HCI at performing runtime logic involving multiple tables?

on page 31

• Q: Source Systems: Can you load the same master data table from 2 different systems? on

page 31

• Q: Time Dependent Data: When selecting time dependent data, can the selection range be

relative (e.g., last 12 months to the next 12 months)? on page 32

• Q: Transform, Adding - Why can't I add a new transform after the Target Query transform? on

page 32

• Q: Save Actions - When are my actions saved? on page 32

• Run / Schedule tasks on page 32

• Q: Automating data-loads to run: How to automate data-loads into IBP from on-premise data

services? on page 32

• Q: Controlled Release for running a dataflow: How would a user do this? on page 32

• Q: Trigger an event: Can a user trigger the job with an event? on page 33

• Q: Run Time Parameters: Can a user define the variables to pass the run time parameters for

the fields? on page 33

• Q: Can a job be scheduled on a specific day e.g: every last Sunday of the month? on page

33

• Logs on page 33

• Q: Monitoring Log, how to interpret the Row Count – How do you interpret the split between

two different queries - a Target_Query1 and a Target_Query_Mapping2? For a successful

load, the sum adds up to the full count of records. In a failed job, what might you see and what

would it mean? on page 33

• Q: Monitoring Log – how to interpret the State column - At different times you have observed

different values for the “State” field. How do you use these in troubleshooting? on page 34

• Q: History, View Page - While a task is running, why aren't the logs in the History page

updated? on page 34

• Cross Topics on page 34

• Q: Bex Queries in SAP BW - If the transaction data is in form of Bex in SAP BW, can this data

be accessed by HCI? on page 34

• Q: DSO BW data - If the transaction data is in multi-provider (DSOs, InfoCubes) in SAP BW,

can HCI read this data? on page 34

• Q: Z tables - If the master data (Product & Customer) is stored in custom database tables in

ECC, can HCI read these data? on page 34

• Q: Delta Extractors: Can HCI access the delta extractors included in SAP On-premise

products? on page 35

• Q: ECC - Sending data back: Can a user be sending back data to ECC such as forecast? on

page 35

• Q: Webservices Calls: Must all web service calls go through the Agent? on page 35

• Q: Data Exports: Are data exports supported by HCI-DS or are exports only requested using a

Web Service (bypassing HCI-DS)? on page 35

• Q: IBP Tables - Can you write directly to an IBP core table with HCI-DS? on page 35

• Q: HCI-PI for IBP, can it be used in place of HCI-DS? on page 36



• Q: Adapters Creation: Can a user develop their own adapter on HCI agent to support other

sources system – bottom-line, can user plugin additional adaptors into HCI other than what is

currently available. on page 36

• Q: Third party ETL: Can 3rd party ETL loads data directly into IBP Staging tables? on page

36

• Q: IBP on-premise use of HCI-DS, can HCI-DS be used? on page 36

• Q: Does on-premise data services have to export a flat file and that flat file is imported in IBP.

On-premise data services and IBP cannot be connected without a flat file in between? on page

36

• Q: Timeout Period - Is it possible to configure the setting for the timeout period? on page 37

• Q: SAP Support - How do I contact SAP Support to report a problem in HCI? on page 37

Planning with IBP Excel Add-In

Q: How to do I get started with creating a simple

template?A: Refer SAP Note: 1790530 S&OP / IBP Planning View Templates for the Excel Add-In

Q: How to install add in and create a logon?A: Refer Application help SAP Integrated Business Planning 4.0 – SAP Help Portal Page Chapter: Installing the

Add-in for Microsoft Excel. Also refer to note: Install the S&OP / IBP Excel Add-In: Supported Configurations /

Prerequisites 2135948

Q: IBP add on disappeared from the Menu Bar. How can I

bring it back?A: This happens usually after excel session has closed unexpectedly. Check if IBP add on is disabled and

enable it back: Excel Options -> Add-Ins -> Manage Disabled Items -> Select IBP add on -> Enable

Then go to COM Add -> Ensure that IBP add on is checked.

https://websmp104.sap-ag.de/~form/handler?_APP=01100107900000000342&_EVENT=REDIR&_NNUM=1790530&_NLANG=E

http://help.sap.com/ibp40

http://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/2135948




Q: Can a Planning View display different time granularity

throughout the displayed time horizon?A: Planning View can display only one time profile level (one type of time granularity) at a time. To view

multiple time buckets you can use an EPM Local Member to aggregate to other time periods. Another option

would be to create one template with 2 different planning views on two different tabs: one to display data on

monthly basis and the other one in quarterly buckets.

Q: Is S&OP Excel Add-In multilingual?A: Yes, upon installation of the Add-in you can choose from multiple languages to install. Only one language

can be installed. The list of supported languages is available here: <do we have a documentation or a note?>

Q: Are the planning views graphics IBP or Excel

functionality? What is the recommended number of rows

to be taken into account for the total calculations in the

planning view charts?A: In the SAP example templates of note 1790530 are implemented with Microsoft Excel functionality. For

performance reasons, it is recommended to limit the chart data range up to 300 rows.

There are other ways to implement charts in Microsoft Excel, of course, and for specific layouts of planning

views something simpler could be implemented. I

In general template development beyond the SAP samples is done by implementation projects.

Q What are the performance recommendations for Excel Planning Views:

Refer to the following SAP Notes on Performance and Sizing recommendations of Planning Views

S&OP / IBP Excel Add-In: Planning View

Performance Recommendations

2153455

S&OP / IBP Add-In for Microsoft Excel:

Recommended Sizes for Planning Views

2108186







Q: Are the planning views transferable?A: Planning views are not transferable unless the planning areas are identical in key figures and attributes. If

the planning areas are identical, you log on to the one you want to copy from, load the planning view, log off,

log on to the one you want to copy to and refresh. Then you just add it as a favorite or template.

If you need transfer between different planning areas, you need to have an empty template (i.e. the chart, the

hidden sheets, the header information etc., but no planning view in it). SAP delivers some example empty

templates with note 1790530.

Q: Is it possible to use Excel macros and save them at

template level?A: Yes macros can be used and saved in templates or favorites.

Q: Could it be possible to track master data changes

independent of impact on Key Figures?A: We currently track changes to Master Data as they are related to key figure values. Trackingchanges of master data by itself is not a requirement that customers have asked about but we’reinterested in such use cases.

Q: Is it possible to view history changes in IBP Excel UI?A: This is part of Change History enhancements planned for 2015 or 2016.

Q: Do we have the ability to automatically run an MS

Excel macro when opening a favorite?A: This topic may need further research. There is a hook provided by EPM to run code on refresh.



Q: Can you also use Excel calculations in cells? If yes,

are these saved in HANA DB?A: You can use formulas to compute editable key figures. The resulting numbers will be stored in HANA DB,

but not the formulas.

Q: I entered a calculation directly in the planning view,

why is it not automatically converted into local member?A: The formula is automatically converted into local members only if the Local Member Recognition feature is

activated. Advanced -> Sheet Options -> General tab -> Activate Local Member Recognition

Q: If multiple users are using the same data, how do

table locks works?A: To avoid blocking users unnecessarily there is no locking on application level. The assumption is that users

rarely work on the same data at the same point in time in an actual S&OP or demand planning process.If two

users save data the system takes the last change saved. Whenever you query in Excel (that is after refresh

or simulate or changing filter) you see the newest saved data, except for changes to data you did yourself in

simulation mode.

Q: When you press Simulate in the MS Excel UI, do all

key figures in the model get calculated or just the ones

you have chosen in that specific planning view?A: When pressing simulate, the system disaggregates and updates the changed values and from there

computes all relevant calculated key figure values to show the correct result for everything that is shown in the

planning view. This involves typically many more steps and calculations than just updating the changed values.

When you change your filter or planning level or list of key figures, the system dynamicallycomputes what’s necessary for the new visible set of key figure values without having to leavethe simulation.



Model Configuration

Q: How do I copy and activate a SAP delivered planning

area?A: For guidance on how to copy and then activate a SAP sample planning area, please refer to the following

blog post:

SAP4 Planning Area Copy / Activate / Load

Going futher, part 2 of this blog will guide you on how to load data into IBP via flat file.

SAP4 Planning Area Copy / Activate / Load - part 2

Q: How do I model material dependent Unit of Measure

conversions?A: The base UOM can be modeled as an attribute of the Product Master. This will allow loading transactional

key figure data in the base unit of measure. Refer to section 17.3 in the model configuration guide.

Another option that would allow specifying the unit of measure at the time of data load would be modeling UOM

conversion similar to currency conversion (maintaining the base UOM as a planning level root attribute).

Q: What are some guidelines when to use a compound

master data type?A: A Compound Master Data Type is used to store attributes that belong to multiple Master DataType Keys. For example in the SAP2 planning area, Market Family and Market Segment areattributes of the combination of Customer and Product and are maintained via the master datatype “Customer Product”. There is a foreign key relationship between the keys of the compoundand the referenced master data types with individual keys.Based on the Planning Area Settings if an attribute of a compound master data is chosen as mandatory then

data will not be loaded for a key figure unless a corresponding master data entry exists in the compound

master data type.

http://scn.sap.com/community/scm/ibp/blog/2015/03/20/sap4-planning-area-copy-activate-load

http://scn.sap.com/community/scm/ibp/blog/2015/03/20/sap4-planning-area-copy-activate-load--part-2



Q: How do we use compound master data in planning

levels build?A: For planning levels which include primary master data types like Product and Customer, theCompound Master Data Type “Customer Product” should also be included so that the Market Sizeand Market Revenue attributes are available. Also, a Planning Level can include a root attributecoming from a Compound Master Data Type where this attribute is not a key. Example: ForecastLocation is an attribute of a compound master data type “Customer Sales Org”. This attribute canbe root of a planning level such as Product - Forecast Location.

Q: What is a virtual master data type and how is it used?A: Virtual Master Data Type doesn’t store data but models a relationship between other masterdata types. It is used to join two or more MDTs with a join condition. This is usually used whenan attribute of one Master Data Type should be available for another. Example: The master datatype “Product Customer Group” has an attribute Active. This attribute should be available for allCustomers belonging to the Customer Group. To achive this we need to join the Product CustomerGroup and Customer Master Data Types. The join is on Customer Group.

Q: When should I use a reference master data type?A: A reference master data object is a view on an existing master data object. ReferenceMaster Data Type is master data type that refers to another master data type. It does notcontain actual master data but simply refers to the data contained in its underlying MasterData Type. It is required when the underlying data is the same but can play different semanticroles and you want to avoid loading the same data twice. For example, consider “Product” and“Component”. Data-wise a component is also a product. So one could model “Product” as anindependent Master Data Type whereas “Component” could become a Reference Master DataType, which refers to master data type “Product”. Of course, this is optional as the master datatype “Component” could also be defined separately from “Product” and a separate set of datacould be loaded for components.



Q: Key Figure creation, explain the concept of base

planning level and request level. At what level calculation

should happen etc.A: Base planning level defines the planning level at which a Key Figure is Stored. On top of this one can build

a graph of calculations that iteratively define how other key figures are calculated based on the stored key

figure. The graph ends with request level nodes, which are the ones that a user queries form the IBP Excel

UI or IBP Analytics. At query time the graph is evaluated from request level to stored key figures to determine

what needs to be read and then in the reverse order to do the actual calculations.

Usually the base planning level is the most detailed planning level for a key figure. That means you can usually

display results for a key figure at base planning level (if this is your request level) or any aggregated (request)

level according to the defined configuration. However there are instances where you want to configure a KF

stored at an aggregated level (for example a financial qunatity at Product Family and Customer Group level)

but want to display same at product/customer detailed level. Then you can use for example a split factor

calculation to calculated more detailed plannibg levels than the base planning level so that at request level you

can show the key figure for customers and products.

Q: How do I perform addition and subtraction

calculations where the Key Figures are at different base

planning levels?A: You can perform additions or subtractions on KFs at different plan levels. Eg KF1@PERPRODCUST +

KF2@PROD. In this case an inner join is performed and KF2@PERPROD value will be available at plan level

PRODCUST. You need to check for Null conditions eg ISNULL(KF2@PROD)

Q: For cross period calculations, what guidelines

can I use to determine whether L-Code, attribute

transformations, or some other solution should be used?A: For cross period calculation, there are several configuration options available: Period transformations, Time

Aggregation Calculation, Period to Data calculations etc.



Q: Where can I find documentation for L-Code?A: L-Code is internal to SAP and there is no documentation available. LCODE is not recommended to be

used. There are many cases where LCODE can be avoided. Only use case for LCODE is for calculations like

Cumulative Sum where KF at prior period is used to calculate KF at current period.

Q: Are there plans to add additional statistical forecast

models to the solution?A: More statistical forecasting methods than the ones available with IBP for sales and operations come with

IBP for demand. In release 5.0, IBP for demand already supports additional Statistical Models like MLR,

Croston, Auto-Fit, and Weighted Moving Average.

Q: Is custom code like function modules and BADIs

possible in IBP?A: There is no concept of Custom Code / Custom Development, However, the entire modelof planning area and master dara types is highly configurable to adapt to a Customer’s usecase. There are no code exits but in practice most calculations can be performed throughconfiguration. If more complex Custom Code needs to be done, then you can contact SAP IBPProduct Management.

Q: Can you partially copy configuration from one

planning area to another?A: Not yet. In product roadmap.

Q: Can certain calculations be batch scheduled as in

other applications?A: Yes, you can use Copy Operator to perform calculations and store in a target key figure. The Copy Operator

can be scheduled or run on request from the IBP Excel UI.



Q: Are the delivered modes just examples or can I use

those as starting point for my customer configuration?A: Delivered Models are example content. If Customer’s requirement fits closely to the deliveredmodel, then they can use the Delivered Model and adapt further to their requirements. In mostcases we see that Customer starts with their own planning Model. If Supply Planning or InventoryOptimization are needed, then SAP4 and SAP3 planning areas are copied as starting points forthe Customer Planning Area.

Q: Where can I find documentation on what each model

does?A: The Model Configuration Guide contains details on SAP delivered models. Also refer to EKT materials

where some of teh model details are covered. More comprehensive details of each model will be available in

Future release.

Q: Do different application modules like Demand,

Inventory etc. need to be in separate planning areas

or can the functionality of both be configured in one

planning area?A: They can be all configured in one planning area

Q: Can customer buy just Demand and then add

Inventory? And incorporate it into the same planning

area?A: Yes.



Q: Possibility to copy KF across different planning levelA: Calculations can be defined to copy KF values across planning levels. Refer ModelConfiguration Guide – Split Factor Calculation.

Q: Product Interchangeability - Transfer of forecast from

one product (obsolete /discontinue) to another product

(new product). Possibility for product attribute status

as discontinue not be to be considered for demand

disaggregation.A: Interchangeability and new product introduction are on the IBP roadmap. Already today, with configuration

you can Transfer Forecast / History from one product to another. You need to define the relationship of Product

and Reference Product in Product MDT and define calculation to carry forecast/history. You can refer to

example in SAP1 for Dependent Component Demand Qty.

Q: If building from scratch, what master data should

follow a naming convention referring to the standard

model SAP4 so that supply planning operators can be

used at a later stage?A: Refer to application help on Supply Planning . There are fixed semantics of Attributes Master Data Types

and Key Figures. eg Attributes: PRDID, LOCID, CUSTID, RESID,SOURCEID, etc ; Master Data Types :

<Prefix>PRODUCT, <Prefix>CUSTOMER,etc , KFs: CONSENSUSDEMAND, PROJECTEDINVENTORY,etc.

Refer to SAP4 Delivered Model.



Q: Should we copy SAP standard delivered model

and modify it or should we be starting building it from

scratch? Pro and cons of it.A: This decisions completely depends on the business blueprint identified during the blueprint phase. Every

Customer is different in how the Master data and Key Figures are used in S&OP process. When using Supply

Planning or Inventory Optimization the Standard Delivered Models SAP4 and SAP3 should be used as a

starting point and additional KFs can be added to this. Whether you can also use SAP1, SAP2 or SAP5

depends on the details of the customer use case.

Q: Data does not show up in Versions, though the same

appears in baseline. What could be the issue?A: Check if UOM and Currency have also been initialized in Versions.

Q: Marking attributes as root/key and what that means

on to the planning levels and roots and how they work.A: Root attributes are necessary as keys to identify individual key figure values. They define the independent

dimensions in which the key figure values exist. The root attributes are often also the keys of master data

object types but this is not a necessary condition. See chapter 7 from model configuration guide.

Q: What does the start and end data in the time profile

mean and how they are used, how the different past and

future periods for the periodicities in the time profile

mean and how they relate to the ones in the planning

area?A: A time profile is made up of time profile levels, each of them being made up of periods. These periods are

time intervals defined by an individual start and an end date for each period. The transactional data from a

planning area is stored or calculated across these time profile periods. One defines start and end date of the

time profile overall, so that the IBP process can be run for multiple years without changes to the time profile.

Moreover, each planning area has a planning horizon where user defines the past and future periods to be

considered in the planning algorithms. The periods that are part of this horizon are available for selection in the

planning view - time settings. For more details check chapter 5 from the Model Configuration Guide.



Q: What are my options to disaggregate based on a

calculated Key Figure at a different planning level during

simulation?A: Before calculated key figures can be used for disaggregation, they must be copied into another stored key

figure at the same base planning level as the key figure to be disaggregated. This means that disaggregation

works only if the disaggregation key figure can be calculated at the base planning level of the to-be

disaggregated key figure. For more details, check 10.2 and 10.3 from the Model Configuration Guide. In

special cases also the ADVSIM operator might be used.

Q: What is the difference between a KF, Helper KF and

Attribute transformation?A: A key figure is a quantitative measure of numbers that very by a configurable set of keys and time periods,

which is either an input for planning or is an output of planning). A helper key figure is a key figure that is used

to hold intermediate calculation result in case of a complex multi-step calculation. Such key figures are not

available for display in the Planning View.

A calculation in which the value of an attribute gets calculated is referred to as attribute transformation.

System Setup and Transports

Q: Do customers have to buy JAM separately?A: Yes, JAM is a separate license from IBP.

Q: How do you transport planning model and roles from

one environment to another?A: Using the self-service Model Transport Functionality. Refer to the Model Configuration Guide: 14 Transport

Planning Models. It also includes best practices for setting up models for different phases of the project.



Q: How would I get a brand new system set up for a

customer, and how many environments is standard (dev,

test, prod)?A: After Subscription Contract is signed, the Customer gets an On-Boarding Checklist and a System is

provided based on the Contract terms. Usually the contract covers a Test and a Production Tenant.

Q: How to work in Cloud environment in terms of

system architecture? Create a Test planning area and

development planning area etc.A: Usually Cloud environments have a Test Tenant and Production tenant. Please refer Model Configuration

Guide on how to setup Models and best practices for transports:1. Best Practices for Transporting Planning Models2. Model Transport in a 2-Phase Configuration Project.

Q: Is IBP a cloud only solution or is there an On-Premise

option?A: Currently IBP 4.0 and 5.0 are only available on Cloud version. S&OP 3.0 is available as an on-premise

solution.

Q: Where can I find more information on Features and

Functions in each IBP Release / PatchA: The help page SAP Integrated Business Planning 4.0 – SAP Help Portal Page is the landing

page for all information relevant to IBP. The Whats New section highlights the features in each Release or

Patch. SAP Note 2036622 is the central Note for IBP from which you can access notes

2089926 - SAP IBP 4.0 SP01: Patch Release Information Notice

2037139 - SAP IBP 4.0: Release Restrictions Note

Further you can refer the recordings of Customer Update Group Webinars : Events and Webinars for SAP

Integrated Business Planning

http://help.sap.com/ibp40




http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-63056




Q: Are updates added for free or is there a charge for

them?A: Being on-demand (subscription based), updates are included for paid customer/partner systems.

More information on upgrades can be found here- IBP Upgrade Planning Information and Integrated Business

Planning Upgrade Process

Q: What is the logical sequence of steps in an

implementation? Do we need to have an active model

before we can load the data?A: The high level steps are as follows:

1. Create Role

2. Create User

3. Configure the Model (Attributes, Master Data Types, Time Profiles, Planning Area, Planning Levels, Key

Figures, and Scenarios)

4. Activate the Model (Time Profile, Master Data Objects, Planning Area)

5. Load Master Data, Time Periods, and Key Figures

6. Use Excel Add-In to view/change data

7. Create Visualizations/Charts/Dashboards in the UI for analysis

In practice these steps are iterative, of course.

Yes, you must activate the model before you can load data.

http://scn.sap.com/community/scm/ibp/blog/2015/03/10/ibp-upgrade-planning





Analytics, Dashboards and ProcessManagement

Q: What is the source of web UI analytics –arethey using HANA?A: IBP Analytics uses HANA Calculation Engine and HANA Analytical Views. All numbers in planning and

Analytics are computed inside the HANA DB.

Q: Can I export graphs from Web UI to PPT or other

formats?A: Analytics in Web UI of IBP provide an option to export static chart content it in PDF/JPG/PNG format

Q: How do I see Process Dashboard in IBP 4.0?A: Process Dashboard needs to be added to Dashboard under Dashboard Actions ->Edit ->Add Process. You

can choose two different visualizations for Process: Donut Process or Chevron Process

Q: Can we share Dashboards?A: Yes, In IBP 4.0, you have an option to share dashboard by user or by role. This is performed from

Dashboard Action menu.

Q: Are additional tasks created for a Process Step taken

into consideration for Process Progress.A: Process Progress % advances only based on the Task Completion of the task associated with the Process

Step definition and for the Users participating in the Process Step.



Q: What functionalities in IBP dependent on use of JAMA: Entire Process Management in S&OP , Collaboration , Feed and Tasks, Excel UI - Comments and Reason

Codes,

Q: Are there API available to integrate Third Party

Collaboration ToolsA: No.

Q: How do the Custom Alerts differ than the key figure

alerts defined during configuration?A: There are two separate alert concepts in IBP.

• Key figure alerts are configured key figures that include a formula evaluation to determine if an alertexists. Key figure alerts are visible in the webUI via the sidepanel and in the Excel UI. These alertsare configured during the implementation. The end user applies the alert in the Excel UI for thecurrent planning view / filter.

• Custom alerts are end-user configured alerts in the webUI. The user can create an alert definitionfor a combination of rules that determine if an alert should exist, the time period for determination,and the level of aggregation for determination. The definition also descriptions which data should beshown with the alert, such as other key figures (metrics) and charts. The custom alert subscriptionallows the user to filter which attributes should be used for the alerts. The custom alerts are visiblein the webUI on the Custom Alert application screen.Note that the Custom Alert is functionality thatrequires licensing Supply Chain Control Tower module in IBP. Custom Alerts are not (yet) available inthe Excel UI.

Q: What are the dependencies to use the geographic

chart types?A: The geographic chart types in IBP require a group by definition that includes the geo coordinates for the

attribute. For example, to create a chart that shows the key figure by location, the location attribute must

include the attributes GEOLONGITUDE and GEOLATITUDE.



Q: What are the dependencies to use the network chart

types?The network chart types are a special type that create a network view based on the master data types. To

display a network, the group-by in the chart must include one or more of the following:• Product (PRDID)• Location (LOCID)• Ship-from Location (LOCFR)• Customer (CUSTID)• Component (PRDFR)• Source (SOURCEID)

Data Integration-HCI

Q: What are the Data Integration options to IBP. Do customers

have to use HCI?A: HCI is the recommended Data Integration tool to load Data to IBP On-Demand and to extract data. Another

option for upload is to use the Data Integration Web UI available in IBP. Then this is more manual and not

automated like in HCI. It is also not suited for large uploads

Q: Can IBP connect to other SAP and non-SAP applications

such as Teradata for inputs and outputs?A: IBP can take inputs from any Source and Output to any Target System. HCI is the ETL tool which enables

connectivity to SAP or Non-SAP Systems.

Q: What are the options to download KF data from IBPA: Key figure data can be exported from IBP using http-based export APIs or HCI. For mass data export SAP

highly recommends the latter. HCI also allows master data export. For details you can refer to the Data Export

Guide: http://help.sap.com/download/ibp/ibp40_data_export_guide.pdf

http://help.sap.com/download/ibp/ibp40_data_export_guide.pdf



Q: How to Upload/download files so that some can quickly

create data and build a prototype.A: For a prototype to quickly show the value of IBP, you can load data through the Self Service Data Import

Web UI. It provides options to download csv templates of Time Profile, Master Data and Key Figures, which

you can then fill with data and upload. This method is not recommended for production systems or mass data.

HCI Agent (Data Services)

Q: Agent - How many Agents are needed per customer?A: HCI-DS needs only one agent per customer. One agent can be connected to many different systems.

Optionally you can have more agents for failover.

Q: What are the Agent Groups?A: Agent groups are collections of agents that are logically grouped to enable high-availability solutions for your

production tasks. It is also a method for load balancing tasks onto multiple agents.

Q: Which folders can be accessed by HCI DS Agent?A: You can only access folders within the network for which you have direct access from theAgent. The Windows user that is used to run the HCI agent service must be a domain user thathas access to the network locations you want to read from. Additionally, all folders you want toread from need to be “white-listed” in the agent configuration tool (only root folder needs to bewhite-listed, sub folders will be accessible automatically).

Q: Agent Upgrades: When is it necessary?A: For tasks running in production, SAP does not require customers to upgrade their agent. They can keep

the old version of the Agent. Only when there is need to do new development and promote new tasks to

production, an upgrade of the agent is required. For updates of Agents, there is no auto-update. The upgrade

install is very simple: it will detect the previous version, keep all configurations and just replace the binaries.



Q: Where do I find agent configuration guide?A: http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/hci1/en/hci10_agent_en.pdf

Datastores

Q: Can we have multiple configurations for one datastore? (e.g

ECC DEV / ECC TEST)A: Yes, you can maintain multiple sets of datastore parameters. In the datastore`s configurationmenu click on “Create New Datastore Configuration”. One Datastore will be maintained asDefault Configuration. Unless user picks a different configuration from the dropdown list atrun/schedule time, the default configuration is used. In order to be able to select a differentconfiguration at run-time, you also need to create system configuration. System configurationsgroup data store configurations from different data stores together as one logical entity.

Q: Data Viewing - How do I view my data after I've run a task?A: From the Datastores tab, select your IBP datastore and then the target object. Click the View Data icon ().

Note: If View Data is not available in you sandbox target datastores, contact SAP Support and request that

they activate View Data functionality on your target application.

Once the IBP stored procedure has finished the data that had been loaded into the staging tableby an HCI task will be deleted. This means that data for a particular run of an HCI task may onlybe in the staging table for a matter of minutes – until the stored procedure is completed.You can use batch reports in HCI to determine if a particular run of an HCI task was successful after the stage

table data is deleted. The corresponding *REP tables are also available as data sources in HCI.

Q: Viewing Data in IBP: Can a user see the data in the

Production staging table of HCI-DS?A: HCI-DS provides "view data" in the sandbox IBP (not in production for security reasons). This will be helpful

during development.

http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/hci1/en/hci10_agent_en.pdf



Q: REP Tables: When browsing the IBP metadata you will see

for each table a version with the same table name but with _REP

added. Can you load data into these _REP tables? If not, why

does the system show these in the metadata view?A: No, data cannot be loaded into IBP REP tables. These tables are for reporting purposes only. You can

see from HCI-DS what data was loaded via these REP tables. This allows you to review error & success for

individual rows. The IBP REP tables are purged periodically as well (default: after 7 days).

Administration

Q: SSO support: Is SSO supported with HCI-DS?A: We do have SSO with SAP ID Service. So if a user logs-in via the browser, and has certificate login

enabled, the user will login automatically without needing to type username and password.

Q: Security - How are usernames and passwords used in HCI-

DS and in the Agent? Are these usernames and passwords

downloaded in the HCI Agent configuration file?A: The username/password entered in the Agent Configuration tool is only used for the initialconnection from the agent to the server, once the initial connection is made, the agent is“trusted” by the server and the username/password is no longer needed. So the username/password is not stored in a configuration file. The certificates that are exchanged betweenagent and server are used for the trusted connection between agent and server for futurecommunication. Other passwords to connect to source or target datastores, are entered in theHCI web UI. Whenever HCI stores a password, it’s always encrypted (e.g. HCI need to storethe credentials to connect to source systems). Via our web UI, it’s even possible to generate anew encryption key and re-encrypt all passwords in case there would be a suspicion that theencryption key is compromised (or if the company has a policy to update encryption keys every xmonths.)



Q: Authorizations/Access Privilege - Why can't I do certain

tasks?A: You may not have the necessary privileges. SAP HANA Cloud Integration has a role-based architecture.

Developers have privileges only in the sandbox environment; Production Operators have privileges only in the

production environment. Your Security Administrator can tell you what roles you've been assigned. You can

also click on Help in the Administration Page for a description of each role and which privileges it has.

Q: Authentication - does HCI-DS support ID Provider federation?A: No, we do not support ID Provider federation yet. HCI-DS only supports SAP ID Service.

System Development cycle

Q: It is an open SAP system required with “Generateand Execute” mode?A: Yes. The ABAP execution mode, Generate and Execute, will cause an ABAP program file to be generated

on the Agent machine. Next the file is automatically sent to the NetWeaver server, executed and the results

(data) are sent back over RFC to the agent. The ABAP program itself is not stored on the system.

Q: How can we run the task vs SAP Test environment?A: Your Test and Production systems will not be open for modifications, so you cannot use the“Generate and Execute” mode. Instead you need to set the datastore (configuration) to “Executepre-loaded” for which you need to transport to the TEST system the ABAP program that waspreviously generated into DEV. The generated ABAP program can be found on the agent machinein the ABAP folder (in %DS_COMMON-DIR%).

Q: Tablename Error - My task fails to run. I get a message that

says "<tablename> is an invalid ABAP program name. Program



names must be less than 40 characters and start with 'Z' or 'Y'".

What do I do?A: In the SAP application datastore, check if the ABAP execution option is set to Execute preloaded. If it is,

make sure that the ABAP program has been installed on the SAP application server. Moreover, when you

upload the program in SAP Transaction SE38 you must use the name specified in the ABAP Query. Edit any

ABAP Query in the Dataflow, and Go to the ABAP Options tab. Use the ABAP Program Name shown.

Templates and global variables

Q: Templates – What are they and is there a cataloglisting of templates that can be used with HCI-DStasks.A: A template is includes pre-set Global Variables, pre-load/post-load scripts and may or may-not have a

dataflow. There is a catalog listing under chapter 2, see this link:

http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/hci1/en/hci10_integration_ibp_en.pdf

Q: Template - For a template that was used in a task and that

task was loaded and placed into production, can that task and

template be modified?A: 1) Tasks are developed in the sandbox environment, never in production. Tasks can be created from

scratch, or they can be based on a template. For a task based on a template, once imported in the sandbox

repository, developers can completely customize the template; HCI does not have any restrictions here. 2)

But, once tasks are tested and an Administrator moves them to production, no changes [at all] are allowed in

the production repository. The only changes in production would be configuration changes like the connection

parameters (connect to prod ERP and prod IBP instead of test systems) or variables (e.g. a variable filter to set

a start date of which data to extract).




Q: Mapping Target - In a task that I created from a template there

are columns in the Output pane of the Target Query which are

not mapped. Is this a problem?A: The templates were created to cover a broad range of requirements. Unmapped columns in the Target

Query may or may not be relevant. You may need to verify your specific requirements. Unmapped columns in

the Output pane of the Target Query may give a warning when validating a task. The task can still be executed

if validation has only warnings. However, if a column is required in the target stage table, you will get an error

at task run time.

Q: What are the Global Variables?A: Global variables are symbolic placeholders that are populated with values during task runs. Some

of them are required by SAP IBP during data post processing (e.g: $G_PLAN_AREA, $G_SCENARIO,

$G_TIME_PERIOD, $G_BATCH_COMMAND, $G_LOAD_DATE). For a complete list and descriptions see the

IBP integration guide:


Q: Time Zone - What time zone is set for the times that display in

the projects page, task schedule, and so on?A: UTC time zone (Coordinated Universal Time) is displayed in all locations except the Schedule dialog. For

scheduling a task, in the UI, you can set the timezone you want to use to schedule your task (behind the

scenes HCI will convert to UTC and store this in the repository).

Q: If I check HCI job log in IBP Data Integration tab, I see that

Start At and End At are reported in different time zones. How

can I correct this?A: This gap will appear if the global variable $G_LOAD_DATE is set to SYSDATE(). Sysdate() returns the date

and time in the local time zone of the HCI agent machine while IBP tracks time as UTC (Universal Coordinated

Time). Set the global variable to SYSUTDDATE().




Q: Global Variables: Can I change/edit the name of an existing

Global Variable?A: If you enter an incorrect name for a Global Variable and you save this, you cannot edit this name for the

Global Variable. You must enter a new [correct name].

Tasks and data flows

Q: Copy a Task - Can I copy a data flow to a different task?A: Yes – Highlight your dataflow, and from the actions menu, choose REPLICATE. A list of othertasks will be presented. Choose the task you like to copy the dataflow to.

Q: Multiple Data Flows – How are they executed -When I run a task containing multiple data flows, inwhat order are the data flows executed?A: The data flows will be executed sequentially following the order in which the target tables are listed in the

task. You can modify the order of target table execution order by choosing Manage target order from the

Actions menu in the task editor. You can only change the order of target table execution. You cannot change

the execution order of dataflows for a given target table.

Q: Task Execution - On the Projects tab, why doesn't the task

execution status update?A: Click the Refresh button in the upper-right corner of the page to see an updated status. The refresh button is

the two swirling arrows rotating in a circle.



Q: Locked by User - A task that I want to edit is locked by

another user. How do I unlock it?A: Only one user at a time may edit a task. If necessary, you can ask you administrator to unlock a task that

someone has inadvertently left locked. Tip: After the task has been unlocked, if needed, refresh the Projects

tab.

Data flows syntax

Q: It is possible to have translation (mapping) tables maintained

in HCI?A: No, as HCI is not designed to store data. Instead, you can use lookup into file functionality.

Q: Is there any standard function to convert weeks to months?A: There is no function for week to month transformation as we cannot tell start date and end date of a week

from the WW_YYYY syntax. Usually, the customer has a table in their system that gives the start dates and

end dates of a week. You would need to join this table into the queries of your HCI task to get the dates you

need. Or you could lookup into a table where this information is maintained. Transforming the data directly is

HCI is also possible, being just a matter of math and date time function. For more details check the following

thread: http://scn.sap.com/thread/3621086

Q: What are the mandatory fields to be mapped in an inbound

data flow? (on-premise to IBP)A: Key Figures must be loaded and the granularity given by the base planning levels (attributes marked as

Root in the planning level). If data is not available at this level, then it should be transformed before sending it

to IBP.

Example: Shipments are available on weekly basis. Before sending them into IBP it is required to aggregate

the values for the weeks that fall within same month. First you would need to convert weeks to month, then

group by month and aggregate shipments qty.

For Master Data load you will have to map all attributes marked as Key or Required.

Each IBP table has a column named “FILENAME”. This column needs to be mapped to a constantthat contains the target table name. This name needs to be enclosed within single quotes as it isa constant (e.g. ‘SOPMD_STAG_SM1CUSTOMER’)

http://scn.sap.com/thread/3621086



Q: What are the existing options for removing duplicate entries?A: Based on the business need, there are several ways:

By using “ABAP Aggregation” or “Aggregation” transform with a group by on key columns anduse aggregation function in others (e.g. max(date), sum(quantity), …) By selecting the checkbox“Select Distinct Rows” on the filter tab of your Query transform (in case the records are identicalin all fields you select)

Q: Is HCI able to extract data from different sources in one task

(e.g: SAP table, file).A: HCI cannot use different system sources in one task, but allows lookup in a datastore that is not the source

datastore.

Q: Join - When performing a Join in a dataflow – whatis the number of joins that I can perform?A: Number of tables in the “Input Data” minus 1 is the number of joins you can do in the dataflow.

Q: Multiple Tables: How efficient is HCI at performing runtime

logic involving multiple tables?A: When joining multiple tables, HCI will generate an ABAP program (for ERP) or a SQL statement (for

databases) so that the processing of the joins is pushed to the source. So performance depends on your

source system, not on HCI. If you would join files it's a bit more tricky because HCI-DS can't push down this

and needs to do the join in memory on the Agent machine. So for files, HCI-DS recommends NOT to join large

files.

Q: Source Systems: Can you load the same master data table

from 2 different systems?Example is…You want to load ID + attribute 1, 2 & 3 with one batch, next you want to load thesame IDs with attribute 4, 5 &6. Will the end result in IBP be that they see all attributed for theloaded IDs?



A: Yes, this is supported.

Q: Time Dependent Data: When selecting time dependent data,

can the selection range be relative (e.g., last 12 months to the

next 12 months)?A: Yes, that is possible. In the filter condition, you would use the sysdate() function to get the current date, and

subtract x months to get the start date.

Q: Transform, Adding - Why can't I add a new transform after the

Target Query transform?A: The Target Query transform must be the final transform in the data flow. The columns in the Output pane

reflect the schema for the target object.

Q: Save Actions - When are my actions saved?A: In the Data Flow view, actions are periodically auto-saved so your interim changes are retained. However,

Join condition information must be specifically saved by clicking the Save button. Note No rollback or history

available. Before you make significant changes, you want to use Replicate to save a copy of your data flow.

Run / Schedule tasks

Q: Automating data-loads to run: How to automate data-loads

into IBP from on-premise data services?A: Automating data loads is done by scheduling the tasks with the built-in scheduler in HCI. E.g. you can

schedule daily or weekly uploads.

Q: Controlled Release for running a dataflow: How would a user

do this?A: This can be done via HCI-DS UI via the "Run now" button (instead of using the scheduler).



Q: Trigger an event: Can a user trigger the job with an event?A: Yes, HCI tasks can be started via a webservices call. So if you have an external tool you can trigger a

webservice - it can start an HCI task.

Q: Run Time Parameters: Can a user define the variables to

pass the run time parameters for the fields?A: Yes, variables are supported and can be set at execution time.

Q: Can a job be scheduled on a specific day e.g: every last

Sunday of the month?A: Yes, what can be done is to schedule the task every Sunday, but in the pre-load script do some checks and

if not the last Sunday of the month terminate execution. The code should be something like below:

IF (( last_date(sysdate()) - sysdate() ) < 7)

Print('This is the last sunday of the month');

ELSE

Raise_Exception('TASK WILL NOT EXECUTE - not last Sunday of the month');

Logs

Q: Monitoring Log, how to interpret the RowCount – How do you interpret the split betweentwo different queries - a Target_Query1 and aTarget_Query_Mapping2? For a successful load, thesum adds up to the full count of records. In a failedjob, what might you see and what would it mean?A: You only care about the final number into the Target Table. In the Monitor Log, it is the very lastline where you see where the file was written to (your Target Table.) The rest of the informationlisted is internal to the DS engine used by the HCI-DS agent. If a job fails, what you care aboutis the error log and the trace log. Use those two logs to know if it failed on load (typically thiswill log JDBC error), or on post processing – IBP may return an error from the data upload storedprocedure.



Q: Monitoring Log – how to interpret the State column- At different times you have observed differentvalues for the “State” field. How do you use these introubleshooting?A: In the Monitor Log you don’t care. For example the value of STOP, means it loaded the data.Look at your trace and error logs to determine your next steps, not the Monitor Log.

Q: History, View Page - While a task is running, why aren't the

logs in the History page updated?A: The monitor log is refreshed every 10 seconds while the task is running. Click the Refresh button in the

upper-right corner of the page to update the Trace Log and Error Log. Again show what the refresh icon looks

like.

Cross Topics

Q: Bex Queries in SAP BW - If the transaction data is in form of

Bex in SAP BW, can this data be accessed by HCI?A: No, HCI cannot access Bex queries, so if the data is only available in Bex (e.g. as calculated key figures),

you would need to export the data in some way and store in a table or file and let HCI access the table/file.

Q: DSO BW data - If the transaction data is in multi-provider

(DSOs, InfoCubes) in SAP BW, can HCI read this data?A: HCI can read the data from the DSO tables (via the ABAP layer, no database access needed.)

Q: Z tables - If the master data (Product & Customer) is stored in

custom database tables in ECC, can HCI read these data?A: Yes, HCI can read the from custom Z tables (via the ABAP layer, no database access needed).



Q: Delta Extractors: Can HCI access the delta extractors

included in SAP On-premise products?A: Yes, HCI supports the delta extractors from SAP Business Suite applications.

Q: ECC - Sending data back: Can a user be sending back data to

ECC such as forecast?A: Write back is also possible with HCI-DS. HCI-DS can write back to a file or database table. Or call a BAPI in

ERP/APO (enabled as a webservice) to load data back to ERPAPO.

Q: Webservices Calls: Must all web service calls go through the

Agent?A: There are 2 types of webservice calls: 1) An external app calling an HCI webservice to start a task -> the

agent is not involved here, WS call is directly to the HCI server. 2) HCI doing a webservice call to load (or

extract) data -> in this case it is the agent that does the call.

Q: Data Exports: Are data exports supported by HCI-DS or are

exports only requested using a Web Service (bypassing HCI-

DS)?A: Data exports are supported by HCI-DS. HCI-DS can read from the IBP calculation views for key figures or

attribute views for master data, and can write the on-premise system (via file or Webservices).

Q: IBP Tables - Can you write directly to an IBP core table with

HCI-DS?A: No, your task writes to IBP staging tables only. After the stage tables are loaded, HCI taskcalls the IBP stored procedure. This procedure reads the data loaded into the IBP staging tables,validates the data, and if data passes the validations, it writes them to the IBP core tables, whichhave a structure that’s different from th core tables.



Q: HCI-PI for IBP, can it be used in place of HCI-DS?A: For IBP, the use case is batch/scheduled uploads of data, so only the HCI-DS component is enabled to load

data into IBP.

Q: Adapters Creation: Can a user develop theirown adapter on HCI agent to support other sourcessystem – bottom-line, can user plugin additionaladaptors into HCI other than what is currentlyavailable.A: No. HCI-DS has 2 adapters, created by the HCI dev team: one for SuccessFactors, one for OData. There is

currently no framework to plugin additional adapters.

Q: Third party ETL: Can 3rd party ETL loads data directly into

IBP Staging tables?A: HCI-DS is the only system-to-system integration tool that can load directly into the IBP staging tables

(because HCI-DS is physically installed in the same datacenter as IBP).

Q: IBP on-premise use of HCI-DS, can HCI-DS be used?A: For on-premise IBP, on-premise ETL tools like SAP Data Services can be used.

Q: Does on-premise data services have to export a flat file and

that flat file is imported in IBP. On-premise data services and

IBP cannot be connected without a flat file in between?A: Yes, on-premise Data Services or any other ETL tool need to go via files or another means to stage data

(e.g. a database table). Next HCI-DS is used to read the file/stage table and map to IBP. All complex data

processing in this case can be done in the on-premise ETL tool, HCI-DS is only used for the final mapping to

the IBP tables



Q: Timeout Period - Is it possible to configure the setting for the

timeout period?A: No. Your session will automatically time out. This feature is to protect the security of your data.

Q: SAP Support - How do I contact SAP Support to report a

problem in HCI?A: Go to http://service.sap.com/support/ Component LOD-HCI-DS.

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

DOC-64323

Documents

page7 q

page9 q

planning area

planning view charts

specific planning view

excel calculations

ibp excel addin

planning views transferable