Financial Management Blogs by SAP
Get financial management insights from blog posts by SAP experts. Find and share tips on how to increase efficiency, reduce risk, and optimize working capital.
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
alex_marasigan
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
3,159
The SAP Profitability and Performance Management 3.0 will release its 1st support Package (SP17) for the year 2022. March 22, 2022, will be the date so mark your calendars.

If you are excited to discover the latest features and enhancements on what SP17 has to offer, I suggest that you continue reading to learn what it has in store for you.

Let us begin with the General Features!



Exporting the full configuration of an environment


 

The application now lets you export the full configuration of an environment version into a zipped JSON file which can then be placed in a local directory, the downloaded file can be used for convenient analyses or for subsequent processing.  Use the transaction code /NXI/P1_FW_EXP_ENV on your SAP GUI to export the environment. Once the environment has been exported, users can now import this on their respective Cloud Tenants via Content Network. Just a little note, please make sure that the authorization to execute the transaction has been configured on the user role via the transaction code /NXI/P1_ADMIN_USER_ALL. It is important that the environment to be exported is in a consistent state, meaning all functions which can be activated have to be successfully activated, and additional consistency requirements must be fulfilled.


Figure 1. Zip File containing the .json files


In case of inconsistencies, the system will cancel the export and provides an error message containing information about the root cause.


Figure 2. Error message being thrown by the system


 

My Activities/Processes



  • On the My Activities application, in the case of Dual Workflow, we now have an email notification that is being sent to a Performer group member after the deployment of Process Instance, this issue is addressed with SP17 release.

  • When you exclude authority for display in the authorization object /NXI/P1F for REVIEWER role, the Fiori tile count for the "Current Activities" of “My Activities” is zero.



Figure 3. My Activities Fiori tiles show the correct figure for the current activities




  • In Process Management (Checks), a new feature allows the user to assign checks from the Environment-Checks section to an activity in the Process Template. Upon creation of Process Instance, the activity data (I/O activities only) is checked according to the check condition as one of the criteria for an activity to be set to “To Complete” or “Submit”.


Modeling History


The Modeling History Application introduced the following enhancements for SP17:

  • Before SP17, deleted environments were not stored in the system. For SP17, a new “Deleted Environments” tab will be introduced which displays all the deleted Modeling environments.



Figure 4. Deleted Environments Tab




  • When retrieving a function from the Modeling History Application,

    • In the Selection pop-up, a new search button is now available for searching the environment and version in which the user may assign new details for the Environment ID, Version ID, Parent, Function ID, and Description. A warning message is displayed when a user chooses to retrieve a function.





Figure 5. New Search button and Warning message






    • Just like in our modeling environment, the user may only assign a parent to the selected environment when it is a Description, Calculation Unit, or Condition Function. A validation message would appear if the user had selected an invalid parent.
      In my example below, I am trying to assign a model table as the parent of a retrieved function, as this is not allowed by the system it will render a validation message.





Figure 6. A model table function is assigned as a parent



Figure 7. Validation message






    • For a successfully retrieved function, the changes are going to be reflected on the retrieved functions when the Environment/Version/Parent ID/Description was changed. When the retrieved function is to be assigned to an environment different from the source modeling history, there will be no record of retrieval from the source modeling history application, instead, the record will be reflected in the target modeling history application.





Figure 8. Source Modeling History application



Figure 9. Target Modeling History application






    • When copying an existing Environment, Function or Field from My Environments, the copied Environments, Function or Field when checked on the Modeling History will be logged as a new entry with History Type 'CREATE'.





Figure 10. Copied Environment


Note:

Performance Improvements


SAP Profitability and Performance Management SP17 offers performance improvements on the following functions:

  • Allocation Function

  • Join Function

  • View Function


Since the field FS_PER_FORMULA contains non-crucial information regarding the formulas, implementing the notes below will reduce the memory consumption of the system during the execution of the function as it will stop the functions from filling this field.

Modeling Environments



  • A column was added to the Environment Checks tab called Category. The categories are as follows:

    • Custom Check – if a dataset entry meets the selection criteria, it triggers a message to be sent to the application log

    • Master Data Check - By adding this check to a function that has one or more fields, the check determines if the values of those fields are within the master data range.

    • Master Data or Initial Value Check - is used to check if the values of the function fields belong to the range of master data values; initial entries are allowed and will not be validated, so no messages will be displayed for them.

    • Excluding Check - checks whether the criteria defined in the Selection field appear at least once in the field values.





Figure 11. Checks tab and the new Category column



Visual Modeler



For SP17 the Visual Modeler introduced the capability to be Editable.  The new features and enhancements were already released through notes. So, if you are in a lower version of SAP Profitability and Performance Management and still wish to use the new features and enhancements you may implement the note below:




I recommend that you read my colleague's blog posts where he explained these Visual Modeler features and enhancements in great detail and with clarity.

SAP Profitability and Performance Management 3.0: What’s inside Visual Modeler SP17 SAP note 3127975

Additionally, when dealing with special currencies maintained in the TCURX table, the values between the Visualize Screen and Analyze screen are now the same.

Next, let's discuss the exciting new features and enhancements for the MODELING specific update!

Model Join


Model Join is a type of data model function, the same as Join, entails possible complex selections and enrichment of one or more data sources.

For detailed information on the Model Join functionality, please see my colleague's blog post.

SAP PaPM Cloud is introducing a new information Function called Model Join

Model RDL


Model RDL is a model function that allows you to access SAP HANA-optimized Results Data types of the Financial Products subledger. A new validation for multiple usages of the same field in sync dialog is now performed for excluded fields and all fields are saved in configuration tables and multiple usages are allowed.

Remote Function Adapter


Before SP17, when using the Remote Function Adapter Type “Replicate CO Master Data” the user can copy all the material or customer master data and/or hierarchies into an environment field but for SP17 the Remote Function Adapter Type “Replicate CO Master Data” was enhanced to have the capability to select data that is to be replicated to an environment field by either assigning a field or maintain a formula for the component “co_area” from the rules tab.


Figure 12. The field column has to be maintained



Remote Function Adapter FI-GL


The Remote Function Adapter Type “Finance General Ledger” now allows posting of more than two amounts and more than one criteria per document.

Machine Learning


In the Machine Learning function, a new Rule Type was introduced called Forecast Method. This allows users to choose a different forecast method than the default Automated Analytics algorithm. The user can select between Default, Linear Regression, and Exponential Smoothing.


Figure 13. Forecast Method Rule Type



Sample Contents


The new support package will include a new standalone sample content and enhancements were done on the sample content listed in the table below which can be expected after patching to SP17 and applying the proper piece list mentioned in the administration guide.

New

















Sample Content

 
ID Version
Production Quality and Sustainability Management SDP 1

Enhanced



















































































































































Sample Content

 
ID Version
Sample Content Value Chain Sustainability Management SXC 15
Sample Content Corporate Sustainability Management SXD 2
Sample Content Financing and Investment Sustainability Management SXV 7
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Accounts Payable SXM AP07
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Accounts Receivable SXM AR06
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Credit Application SXM CA02
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Claims Management SXM CM05
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Order to Cash SXM OC06
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Purchase to Pay SXM PP07
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Production Planning SXM PR06
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Utilities SXM UT03
Sample Content Process Mining on S/4 HANA - Warehouse Management SXM WM05
Fashion Profitability and Cost Management SCF 8
Life Sciences Profitability and Cost Management SCL 9
Consumer Products Profitability and Cost Management SCP 9
Retail Profitability and Cost Management SCR 9
Automotive Profitability and Cost Management SDA 8
High Tech Profitability and Cost Management SDH 9
Industrial Machinery and Components Profitability and Cost Management SDI 8
Aerospace & Defense Profitability and Cost Management SDS 6
Chemicals Profitability and Cost Management SEC 9
Mill Products Profitability and Cost Management SEI 6
Mining Profitability and Cost Management SEM 8
Oil and Gas Profitability and Cost Management SEO 9
Utilities Profitability and Cost Management SEU 8
Banking Profitability and Cost Management SFB 9
Telecommunication Profitability and Cost Management SST 10

This is what the upcoming Support Package offers in terms of new features, enhancements, and content.

Now, are you ready to discover these new features, enhancements and contents? Prepare yourself and plan ahead.

Hopefully, you found this blog post interesting and stay tuned for more details about the upcoming Support Packages!