Category Archives: Cross-Module

Using The Folders for Transaction Favorites in SAP

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Background

Its pretty common to see people use the favorites functionality within SAP. However, its much less common to see people use folders. I find folders to be very beneficial because first it takes time to scan a large number of favorites, and secondly, I end up creating so many favorites that I need some way to organize them. You can see below I have a number of folders created that hold my favorites.

Favorites are probably more important in APO and SAP ERP because APO transactions are always a longer and a pain to type (unlike SAP ERP’s 4 space code) and more difficult to remember. For this reason favorites allow one to cut down on the horizontal and vertical scrolling as well as folder opening and closing.

Importing and Exporting

One of the limiting factors is favorites is that they do not automatically show up in the other instances that companies I work at bring up. However, because I invest time in organizing my favorites and folders, I like to port them between instances. This is easy to do, and can be actioned by simply selecting the menu path below:

SAP does not define a file type, but I have found a .txt extension works. I typically use one system to make all my changes, and then port the favorites and folders to the three of four other boxes that I work in. I find it quite helpful.


Simulation View and Transaction in SCM

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Background

Like most planning systems, SAP SCM provides the ability to perform simulation. This can be found at the transaction /SAPAPO/MVM.

This is the initial screen that allows you do things like make copies of the Model and Planning Version. As you can see there are a number of models listed in the screen shot below.


When you select any of the models, you can see the options that are listed to the right of the model (see the screen shot below).


You can see the options broken down into areas of SCM (SNP, PP/DS, ATP, SPP, Reservation Planning)


Of course in addition to this, after the model is copied, any changes to the master data make the model a different model. Fertile areas to change would be in the Product Location Master. However, there is a slight problem with simulation in SAP SCM. That is it takes a long time and is expensive to perform because of the inherent complexity of the system. For this reason, its rare to see companies perform simulation in SCM. The Model and Planning Version management screen is important to have in order to make copies of models and to backup the system. However, for simulation, it is in my opinion far better to get a 3rd party application that can be used to quickly and cost efficiently perform simulation. The article below describes and excellent supply and demand simulation environment called Demand Works Smoothie.

http://www.scmfocus.com/demandplanning/2010/07/using-demandworks-smoothie-for-forecast-prototyping/

Also, ToolsGroup makes a very impressive applications that can be used for simulation. In the video below, this is discussed by Joseph Shamir, CEO of ToolsGroup.

Title: Joseph Shamir of ToolsGroup on Using SO99 as a Pure Simulation Environment

Summation: ToolsGroup is an excellent simulation environment. This motivated ToolsGroup to offer a dedicated simulation version of their software. This is lower priced than the enterprise version and can be used to model in a targeted way at a level of detail that the company had probably not modeled at before. After they get comfortable using the application strategically, they can choose to stay there, or move to the enterprise edition.

See more the full Joseph Shamir video series here..

http://www.scmfocus.com/inventoryoptimizationmultiechelon/2010/09/interviews-with-joseph-shamir-of-toolsgroup/

Finally, results from a simulation in SCM, or from another application, can then be ported to SAP SCM. These results are ported using the transaction MASSD, which you can read about in this post.

http://www.scmfocus.com/sapplanning/2009/07/10/is-mass-maintence-dangerous/


Interchangeability Group Configuration

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Background

“Interchangeability” in SAP SCM is the term SAP uses for all substitution functionality within the suite. This extends from normal product substitution in SNP and GATP, to supersession in SPP. There is one configuration screen where the basic interchangeability combinations are setup and its path is:

SAP Easy Access: APO –> Master Data –> Product and Location interchangeability –> Interchangeability Group

The configuration starts off by requesting the Group Type. The following options are given.


This screen is used for things other than supersession, which are basically different types of substitution. However, since we are focused on supersession for this post, we would select Supersession Chain. You also need to select what the supersession chain is to be used for. (for Planning, for Planning and ATP or just ATP). I have to say, using the supersession chain for just ATP would not make a lot of sense to me.

This screen is used for things other than supersession, which are basically different types of substitution. However, since we are focused on supersession for this post, we would select Supersession Chain.

You also need to select what the supersession chain is to be used for. (for Planning, for Planning and ATP or just ATP). I have to say, using the supersession chain for just ATP would not make a lot of sense to me.


Now we need to select the options that come up below for the Supersession Chain.


However, that is just for supersession. Different Group Types result in different options in the lower details box. Here are a few examples.

Form Fit Function Class


Location Product Chain


Location Substitution Procedure


Its important to recognize that this is just one part of the setup of the interchangeability. Probably the easiest part. For instance the setup for the rest of supersession, as just one example, goes on for pages and pages.


TeamViewer for Using SAP on a Mac

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Background

I don’t talk about it much on this site because its not focused on Mac, however, I have been using Macs for a number of years now and only have one PC vs. three Macs. I only use the PC because its legacy and I have never been able to get virtualization software to work properly on my machines that have 4 GB of RAM (I am going to test this again on a 8 GB MacBook Pro that I will purchase after the PC laptop dies). Secondly, I have both had problems getting the SAP GUI for Java to work with different SAP systems, and secondly, I now cannot find the SAP GUI for Java anywhere online, and am blocked out from downloading the SAP GUI for Java even though I have a SAP service ID. This is a real disappointment because the SAP GUI for Java when run on Mac is better than the SAP GUI for Windows. It is strange that as Mac has never before been more popular, SAP seems to be reducing their support for the interface.

Best Screen Controlling Software

However, I have been using Team Viewer, which is the best remote control service that I have ever used. It offers higher visual recreation of the remote screen that other software, which allows me to take good quality screenshots on my Mac, which I think has much better screen capture and screen recording options than are available on the PC. Team Viewer offers all types of sexy options such as logging into multiple systems, but I just use it for connecting my laptop, which is usually right next to my Mac.

Windows Remote Desktop

Windows Remote Desktop also renders a good picture. However, I have a version of Windows that will not accept Remote Desktop (although I use Remote Desktop to gain access to the server of another vendor). That pretty much rules out using Remote Desktop, however, even if I could, I think I would stay with Team Viewer because it seems to run more smoothly than Remote Desktop

Conclusion

So if you are like me and like to work on Mac and are just about read to pitch the PC platform entirely, I highly recommend Team Viewer. I will write a future post on how the SAP GUI runs on Parallels 6 for Mac on an 8 GB computer with an SSD drive. If that works properly (although I am not optimistic given my previous experience with virtualization) I will no longer need any PCs at all.

Resource Variability Capabilities in SCM

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Managing Resource Variability

When the topic of resources comes up on projects invariably the question arises how the resource can be made flexible to account for the constantly changing factors in the supply chain.

One way of dealing with constraints that are constantly changing is with the use of capacity variants. Variants allow SCM to modify resource capacity by time of day, by week, or by month. This can help in making the resources “flex” through time to match the reality of the supply chain. Different capacity variants can be used for different planning runs. A second method is using alternate production process models (PPMs) which means using different capacity constraints. Jorg Dickensbach has the following to say on this topic.

In addition to alternative PPMs and PDSs, SCM has the ability to use alternative resources. This allows the system to select from say one machine that is more expensive, but faster vs. a machine which is less expensive but slower. Depending upon the circumstance, either machine can be selected depending upon how it fits the need. - Jorg Dickensbach

Willingness to Maintain the System Master Data?

A second issue which is not very often discussed is how capable companies are in maintaining these constraints. The answer is not very. Most companies I have consulted with basically want the system to maintain itself, and the trend towards outsourcing system maintenance in faraway locations where the individuals are purely technical, and lack business knowledge is only exacerbating the situation. The best systems are those that are self adaptive. I have a video from the CEO Joseph Shamir on this topic from the SCM Focus Inventory Optimization and Multi Echelon site in which I think he expresses very well that clients want in terms of maintainability.

Title: Joseph Shamir of ToolsGroup on What Clients Are Looking For

So we learned from Joseph that demand shaping is one thing that clients are asking for. Also that there is a recognition that many supply chain planning systems end up being difficult to maintain. As a personal comment I think Joseph is absolutely right, and I hold the consulting firms as accountable as the the vendors as many solutions are designed without consideration to whether they will be truly sustainable. Its good to see a vendor with an eye on this issue.

Unfortunately SAP APO/SCM is not there yet. SCM requires a high degree of maintenance in all of its master data.

MDM to the Rescue? (Not Really)

One might ask the question if whether the expense of implementations is actually sucking money away from the maintenance of systems. This could be the topic of a separate article by itself. So while Master Data Management MDM software is selling very well and MDM consultants are doing great, master data is not improving much if at all, (repeated use of the terms “governance” and “taxonomy” do not seem to be magically improving the master data) and the vast majority of MDM projects are simply consulting boondoggles. MDM is known among partners as an excellent way to extract large amounts of money from clients.

See this article on this topic if you are interested in details as to why.

http://www.scmfocus.com/supplychainmasterdata/2010/06/why-software-based-mdm-is-a-consulting-boondoggle/

Secondly, one topic is not discussed with regards to master data maintenance is in many ways getting worse due to outsourcing. Outsourcing of IT is essentially a way to get short term costs reduced, while reducing IT capabilities even more than the cost go down. This means less support for everything and system maintenance is one of them. Its automatic, as soon as outsourcing occurs, the business starts having to perform their own system maintenance. Master data is of course part of this.

Other Methods

Maintenance in SCM can be managed by maintaining Setup Groups and the Setup Matrix in an Excel file and using it for an upload of the Setup Groups to SAP ERP with a CATT via LSMW. Step two is to transfer the Setup Groups to APO with a report, and the third step is to load the Setup Matrix from Excel to APO using the APO loader.

References

http://www.lib.umd.edu/drum/bitstream/1903/7488/4/25813_cov.pdf

Supply Chain Management with APO, Jorg T Dickensbach

http://planettogether.com/capacity-planning.php


Efficiency Issues With SAP Configuration

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Its time someone brought up the fact that configuration management in SAP SCM is a mess, and is getting worse with each release.

Background

The previous article I wrote highlights an issue I am increasingly noticing in SAP configuration.

http://www.scmfocus.com/sapplanning/2010/09/18/serious-problems-with-inventory-balancing-configuration-in-spp/

I have long felt that the configuration screens in SAP could be greatly simplified and improved. On the IMG side, essentially all that is being done is parameters are being defined. However, there are far too many screens and objects to navigate to configure what are essentially simple items. Most of the screens in the IMG are either a text entry or a drop down, which connects to a different field in the IMG. I have documented roughly 700 configuration areas of SAP EWM, and can say that most of those screens are simple data mappings that would be easily represented by a few columns in a spreadsheet.

http://www.scmfocus.com/sapplanning/2010/04/10/down-the-rabbit-hole-with-ewm/

On the SAP Easy Access side, at least in the SCM space most of the activity is just connecting specific product, location and or product location combinations to different options that have been setup already in the IMG. Overall, as the complexity of the solution increases this issue is getting worse and is making SAP SCM a less and less sustainable solution. Also the focus is changing in terms of skill sets. It is not more important that the person configuring the system understand simply the particularities of the configuration setup rather than understand the business reasons for these configurations. This is a sign of an exceedingly poor interface design. Configuration is not supposed to consume so much effort from the configuration consultant that they do not have the bandwidth to match the requirements to the configuration. I have over 10 years of experience in different supply chain planning software and have configured a number of systems, SAP SCM is at least 5x more involved and time consuming to configure than any other systems I have ever worked with. I have heard about a number of new modules in the past few years, however, I have not seen any effort on the part of SAP to improve the configuration management of their system. SAP development is wasting my time by requiring that myself and other consultants expend enormous effort to setup even things that are elementary to setup in other systems. Clients end up paying for this inefficient design. I would like to see SAP move people from doing things like coming up with glossy PDF documents and terms like “Netweaver” and place those people onto making the infrastructure more usable and maintainable.

Better Modeling

Setting up configuration from a spreadsheet or relational database is something SAP should consider. The company Demand Works sets the standard in this area by allowing entire models to be created in spreadsheets with different tabs representing different tables in the ProgressSQL database. After initial modeling is complete and the company is ready to move to production, an intermediate database can be created to feed the application database. To read about how Demand Works allows its system to be configured see this link.

http://www.scmfocus.com/supplychainmasterdata/2010/09/why-demand-works-is-a-model-for-configutationdata-management/

If SAP were to follow the simple principles outlined by Demand Works, their implementation success would increase dramatically.

Conclusion

These issues with configuration are why I never recommend to clients performing any prototyping or simulation in SAP SCM as the effort is both too large and too error prone. For the money that can be spent in configuration it is far easier to model in a third party application. This also helps validate the results in the SCM system. Many third party vendors offer desktop solutions of their software (ToolsGroup, MCA Solutions, Demand Works among many others). While executives often cannot tolerate using third party systems for production, they are often more amenable to buying these systems as an adjunct the SAP SCM system. Generally this approach needs to begin to be more widely utilized because the current approach of trying to use SCM for either supply chain simulation or modeling is retarding the supply chains of companies. The fact is that the configuration management in SAP SCM is so onerous that neither modeling nor simulating in SAP SCM is cost effective or sustainable.