With 1911 we introduce SAP Analytics Cloud embedded in SAP S/4HANA Cloud. In this blog, I would like to focus on the new capabilities in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
- Business users will benefit from pre-built dashboards (aka stories) embedded to support real-time decision-making within different business processes. The dashboards are fully embedded into SAP S/4HANA Cloud user experience which, for example, allows for intent-based navigation. In addition, they offer the business user flexibility through the adjustment of filters, prompts or drill states, but also by saving navigation states in screen variants. Starting with 1911 in the LoB Finance, we plan to ship more dashboards within the next releases. The following out-of-the-box dashboards come with the current release (see this blog for an overview on all content):
- A new type of report, namely Data Analyzer, will be provided to help answering ad-hoc business relevant questions through a pivot-style form that offers drill-down into specific dimensions.
- We offer key users the possibility to create own dashboards using SAP Analytics Cloud's rich visualization capabilities.
Now, let me take you on a quick tour through the 1911 SAP S/4HANA Cloud embedded SAP Analytics Cloud offering:
Aging Report for Accounts Payable
This app allows the Accounts Payable Manager to get a quick overview of all payables for suppliers with respect to time. The dashboard itself is interactive such that, managers can choose the top N suppliers by overdue amounts or change the time interval of the aging chart according to their needs. By that, users can quickly recognize the payments due in the present month, the following month or any other specific date. KPI charts provide a quick overview on the total outstanding payable amount, the not due amount and the overdue amount for a specific key date. Furthermore, the table on the bottom of the page offers a detailed aging report that lists amount information for open supplier invoices. A filter bar provides flexibility to narrow down the results to the essential. Business users may also use the screen variant saving to personalize the dashboard for their needs. For more information see the documentation.
Fig. 1: Chart-to-chart filtering (aka linked analysis) in the Aging Report for Accounts Payable.
Disputes*
Another dashboard that we deliver out-of-the-box focuses on disputes. The dashboard enables collections and dispute managers to collaborate fast and effectively on past-due accounts and dispute resolution. A dashboard can be structured by pages to provide more granular information for specific business areas. The Disputes dashboard is divided as follows:
- Open Disputes: Focuses on disputed amount and open dispute cases, where users can analyze the KPIs in different contexts like priority, reason, company code or country.
- Processing Days: Shows the processing and resolution days on average for open disputes.
- New and Solved: Ability to compare new and solved disputes along time and amount.
- Solved Disputes: Provides an overview on solved disputes with context from different angles.
This will help business analysts making better decisions based on real-time data without data replication. By default, the role of the Accounts Receivable Manager is enabled to access the dashboard. For more information, please visit the documentation.
*to access the dashboard the activation of scope item Collections and Dispute Management (BFC) is required.
Fig. 2: The Disputes dashboard example with intent-based navigation.
Group Financial Statements*
The Group Financial Statements app provides Balance sheet, P&L and Cash flow statements to business analysts, consolidation specialists or group account managers.
Following information is included in the dashboard:
- Balance Sheet: Shows the balance sheet reflecting a specific consolidation group, year/period or version.
- Profit & Loss (P&L): The financial statement that shows revenues, costs and expenses during a specified period.
- Cash Flow: Providing a view on consolidated cash flow statement.
- P & L by Function: Shows the Profit and Loss statement by function of expenses.
- Changes in Equity: Displays the statement of changes in equity.
- Comprehensive Income: A report on consolidated comprehensive income showing all changes in equity for a specific period.
When users open the dashboard they will be prompted to filter the underlying query for specific criteria (e.g. year, consolidation group, ledger, organizational unit hierarchy). For more information, please visit the documentation.
*to access the dashboard the activation of scope item Group Reporting - Financial Consolidation (1SG) is required.
Fig. 3: Consolidated Balance Sheet Statement example.
Treasury Executive Dashboard*
The Treasury Executive Dashboard provides CFOs, risk committees, senior management or treasury employees real-time insights into treasury operations. Therefore, the dashboard visualizes KPIs such as liquidity, cash position, debt volume and structure, counterparty limits, volume of bank guarantees and market trends. The data is based on different treasury-relevant application areas, such as Cash and Liquidity Management, Treasury and Risk Management and Financial Accounting. This helps executives to identify the biggest risks and opportunities in treasury management and to analyze trends of their KPIs. The dashboard will be available for the Treasury Risk Manager role.
The Treasury Executive Dashboard consists of the following pages:
- Liquidity: Shows the liquidity as KPI and analyzed by different attributes, such as regions, company codes, financial position groups, financial positions, and currency.
- Cash Management: Shows your cash position forecast, mid-term liquidity forecast, as well as actual cash flows.
- Indebtedness: Monitor KPIs related to the debt of your company and analyzed by different attributes.
- Counterparty Risk: Get the overview on the limit utilization and free limits of a specific limit type by counterparty and counterparty ratings.
- Bank Guarantee: Get an overview of the volume and average fee rate of bank guarantees.
- Market Overview: Shows the trend for different market rates as KPIs and analyzed by different attributes.
To successfully run each page of the Treasury Executive Dashboard some upfront configuration is required. Please make sure to follow the guidelines here.
Also check out the Fiori Apps Library for more technical information. For more information on the utilized CDS views see the documentation in the help portal.
*to access the dashboard the activation of scope item SAP Fiori Analytical Apps for Treasury and Risk Management (1MN) is required.
Fig. 4: The Treasury Executive Dashboard with focus on Indebtedness.
Group Report (with or without Reporting Rules)*
The Group Report Data Analyzer enables business users in the role of a Consolidation Specialist to perform ad-hoc analyses utilizing a new form of multidimensional report. Therefore, a pivot-style report is provided that is brings flexibility as measures and dimensions can be added and drilled-in on the fly. Furthermore, the first version of the Data Analyzer offers additional layouting options (e.g. compact display, suppress zeros, arrange totals etc.). The resulting data view can be saved as private or public screen variant or saved as tile to the SAP Fiori launchpad.
Data Analyzer reports are offered with or without reporting rules. For example, a report without reporting rules can offer ad-hoc analyses based on data that is relevant for financial statement items. Consolidation Specialists can analyze consolidated financial statements, such as balance sheets and profit and loss statements by drilling down to specific dimensions. In addition, Group Data Analysis with reporting rules provides the possibility to analyze cash flow statements, statement of changes in equity or comprehensive income statements. Additional prompt variables, like the reporting item hierarchy or the rule variant, need to be specified.
*to access the dashboard the activation of scope item Group Reporting - Financial Consolidation (1SG) is required.
Fig. 5: Example of the multidimensional reporting using the Data Analyzer.
Create your own analytics app
Analytics Specialists will benefit from SAP Analytics Cloud function-rich capabilities to create own dashboards directly within S/4HANA Cloud. Via the 'Manage KPIs and Reports'-app own dashboards can be built and configured to be launched by specific business users directly from SAP Fiori launchpad. Analytics Specialists receive a new tab called 'Stories', next to the already existing 'KPI' and 'Reports' tabs, from where they can start creating a new dashboard app.
Dashboard designers can add a title and assign additional information in form of a business description and application area in the Definition area of the dashboard. The dashboard Configuration is the place to get the hands dirty. Here, designers can choose from different kinds of chart types according to the need of the end user. SAP Analytics Cloud provides a diverse palette, particularly suitable for data comparison (e.g. bar/column, waterfall), trends (e.g. time series, line), distribution (e.g. heat map, radar), correlations (e.g. bubble, scatterplot), indicator charts (e.g. bullet, numeric point) or diverse others (pie, donut chart). In addition, designers can add tables, geo maps, images/shapes, text boxes, R-script generated visualizations and many more to the canvas of the dashboard. Each chart or table is supplied by a CDS view of type analytical query. Designers can add the respective measures and dimensions that shall be provided to end users. It is also possible to add missing calculations directly within the dashboard. Furthermore, different charts/tables based on different queries can be displayed next to each other and even be linked if applicable. This adds value, because relations can be spotted easier as various perspectives are brought together. Designers can also add interactive filters that provide enormous flexibility to dashboard consumers. After activation, the dashboard is saved and, in the Applications area, a respective tile can be created. Analytics Specialists need to publish the tile/app in the required Business Catalog, using the 'Custom Catalog Extensions'-app, to be available for end users.
Fig. 6: A chart is added to an empty dashboard and a measure is selected.
For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud embedded analytics with SAP Analytics Cloud, check out the following links:
- Rolf Sieberg's blog on SAP Analytics Cloud embedded in SAP S/4HANA Cloud
- Deep dive demo video - how to create your own dashboard
- What's new blog in finance for SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1911
- What's new blog on cross-topics in SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1911
- Guided Tour how to design a story
- General blog on embedded analytics in SAP S/4HANA
- Blog create your own dashboard (story)
- Blog on how to create Data Analyzer Report
- Blog on how to transport Embedded Story/Data Analyzer Report
- SAP Managed Tags:
