Integration with ERP/ SOA features of SSM

[Former Member]

Hi,

I am trying to get data directly from the SAP ERP system into SSM. There are a lot of web services available for SAP ERP through which I can get the data .These are available in ES workplace.

But can't find list of web services available for Strategy Management. We don't have BW installed so we need to get the data directly.

Any clue whether intitiatives tracking can be done on the basis of Project Systems module in SAP ERP? Most of our initiatives will exist as projects in SAP ERP. So if a project achieves a milestone in the SAP ERP system, we would like to see the corresponding initiative as having achieved that milestone as well.

With regards,

Milan.

[Bob_McGlynn]

Milan,

There are some significant differences in how SAP ERP and SAP SSM deal with data and these have to be harmonized before you can bring that data into SSM. There is a BICA Connector (Note 1156224) that allows SSM to connect to SAP BW through Queries. You cannot get the data straight from ERP into SSM at this time, so you will need to have BW.

I know that there have been other requests for integration with project systems for tracking initiatives. Currently, the tracking of initiatives is a manual process in SSM. And while integration with other systems is planned, I don't have any information on when that would be realized.

Regards,

Bob

[Former Member]

Bob,

Thanks for clarifications about the initiatives part.

For the ERP data into SSM piece, if I can get the ERP programmers to make the data sit in a new custom table in a way/format suitable for PAS format, then can I get them into SSM? I think I'd read some suggestions that SSM can work without BW and can pick data from ODBC sources. So I was planning to get only the required ERP data in the database copied into the new custom table so that it can be picked into SSM.

If that doesn't work then perhaps I'll have to get the data in through entry and approval via excel I guess.

Milan.

[Bob_McGlynn]

Milan,

When we were first looking at automation/customization with Initiatives, the challenge was how different each project plan was. With all the different layouts and formats that different project leaders used in different areas of the same company, it make it impossible to come up with some way of standardizing how to get the data into Initiatives. If you were looking at bringing in the data to a table first, that would certainly solve that format issue.

Initiatives aren't populated with data from PAS, instead they are created manually in the system. There are pop-up boxes involved as well. I need to do some further research into how you could best do this.

This would be a customization.

Regards.

Bob

[Former Member]

Bob,

I guess I've created a confusion in my last post.

Just to clarify, I have reconciled myself to the fact that initiatives will be tracked manually. For good reasons even I have come to believe that it will be a tough job integrating it with PS.

My last query was more about getting data into PAS models from ERP without BI/BW such as sales, inventory etc. If I could arrange the data in another data table in a suitable way, could it be pulled into PAS using some query? I am assuming that PAS can pull data from most ODBC sources where the data table would be sitting.

With regards,

Milan.

[Bob_McGlynn]

Milan,

Yes, you can pull data from an ODBO/ODBC source. You could put a table together with the data that you wanted and then bring that in to PAS. You would need to make sure that the data in in that table is "raw" -- meaning not already calculated.

Regards,

Bob

[gautam_poddar2]

Thanks Bob. I think I've a work aorund on these similar lines now.

Milan.

[gautam_poddar2]

Thanks Bob, I think I got a work aorund on these similar lines.

Milan.