This practical reference introduces you to the BI Integrated Planning tool, an integral part of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s platform. Avoid spending countless hours researching the various options available in the BI Integrated Planning tool - as all the resources you need are right here in this convenient guide. Readers learn how best to configure, develop, and manage a planning application, plus much more.

The authors take you on a journey, the goal of which is to make BI Integrated Planning for Finance more accessible. Real-world, practical examples help you learn vital concepts via a step-by-step, easy-to-understand approach. You'll quickly enhance your understanding of the importance of planning and then leverage that knowledge to build a complete financial planning application using SAP BI Integrated Planning.

The highly-detailed examples help you develop a deeper understanding of the various features and allow you the opportunity to then reproduce them in your own environment, showing you firsthand how the BI Integrated Planning tool really works. Plus, readers also get expert guidance on the fundamentals of developing their own custom financial planning applications. Whether you're a functional analyst, a consultant, a business manager or a developer, this book goes beyond the basics to help you build world class planning applications in support of your organization's most important business processes.

Highlights

• SAP NetWeaver BI, up-to-date for SAP NetWeaver 2004s
• Insights on business planning concepts
• Exclusive techniques to maximize return on Investment (ROI)
• Expert advice to foster reliable business decision-making
• Critical details on SAP Financials

About the Author(s)

Kumar Srinivasan is a Senior Business Intelligence Consultant working for Zebra Consulting, Inc. He is also a certified cost accountant.

Sridhar Srinivasan is a Senior Business Intelligence Architect for Zebra Consulting, Inc. He is certified in all of the versions of the product, including SAP NetWeaver BI 2004s.

Table of Contents

Part I: Planning and the Evolution of SAP Planning Software

1. An Overview of Business Planning ... 27
... 1.1 Concepts in Business Planning ... 28
... 1.2 Evolution of Planning Software in SAP systems ... 37
... 1.3 The Role of IT in Developing a Planning Application ... 47
... 1.4 Summary ... 49

Part II: Developing Planning Applications Using SAP NetWeaver BI Integrated Planning

2. Introduction to SAP NetWeaver BI Integrated Planning .... 53
... 2.1 Objects Used in SAP NetWeaver BI ... 54
... 2.2 Extracting, Transforming, and Loading Data in SAP NetWeaver BI ... 57
... 2.3 Reporting in SAP NetWeaver BI ... 62
... 2.4 SAP Business Content ... 63
... 2.5 Planning Framework in SAP NetWeaver BI ... 64
... 2.6 High-level Overview for Creating a Planning Application ... 66
... 2.7 Modeling Considerations in Planning ... 71
... 2.8 Case Study for Financial Planning ... 75
... 2.9 Building the Data Model in SAP NetWeaver BI ... 80
... 2.10 Summary ... 130

3. SAP NetWeaver BI Integrated Planning - Configuring a Financial Application ... 131
... 3.1 SAP NetWeaver BI Integrated Planning Prerequisites ... 132
... 3.2 SAP NetWeaver BI Integrated Planning and the Planning Modeler ... 133
... 3.3 Creating and Configuring a Planning Application ... 135
... 3.4 Characteristic Relationships ... 191
... 3.5 Data Slices ... 195
... 3.6 Settings ... 198
... 3.7 Summary ... 199

4. SAP NetWeaver BI Integrated Planning - User Interface ... 201
... 4.1 Reporting Tools in SAP NetWeaver BI ... 201
... 4.2 Creating an Input-Enabled Query for Planning ... 206
... 4.3 Creating a Planning Application User Interface Using the BEx Analyzer ... 212
... 4.4 Creating a Planning Application User Interface Using the BEx Web Application Designer ... 226
... 4.5 Analysis of Gross Profit Margin ... 238
... 4.6 Summary ... 241

Part III: Developing Planning Applications

5. Essential Tools for Developing SAP NetWeaver BI Planning Applications ... 245
... 5.1 Locking ... 246
... 5.2 Status and Tracking System (STS) Application ... 253
... 5.3 Authorization ... 272
... 5.4 Transporting Planning Objects ... 286
... 5.5 Retraction ... 290
... 5.6 Performance Monitoring and Analysis ... 294
... 5.7 Summary ... 296

6. SAP NetWeaver BI Integrated Planning
... 6.1 SAP ASAP Methodology ... 297
... 6.2 Best Practices for Project Implementation ... 299
... 6.3 Summary ... 301

A. Author Biography ... 305

B. Sources and Further Reading ... 307
... B.1 Sources ... 307
... B.2 Further Reading ... 307

C. Glossary ... 309