Table of Contents

Open all
Close all
Foreword
11
Preface
13
How This Book Is Organized
13
Acknowledgments
15
Conclusion
15
1 Collaborative Enterprise Planning in SAP Analytics Cloud
17
1.1 Collaborative Enterprise Planning
17
1.1.1 Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting
17
1.1.2 Rolling Forecasts
22
1.1.3 Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Planning
22
1.1.4 Collaborative Planning and Forecasting
23
1.1.5 Challenges in Planning and Forecasting
26
1.2 Why Perform Enterprise Planning in the Cloud?
26
1.2.1 What Is the Cloud?
27
1.2.2 Benefits of the Cloud
28
1.3 What Is SAP Analytics Cloud?
29
1.3.1 Evolution of SAP Analytics Cloud
29
1.3.2 Deployment Options and Integration Capabilities
32
1.3.3 Models and Stories
35
1.3.4 Addressing the Challenges
36
1.4 Sample Business Planning Process
38
1.5 Summary
41
2 Data Acquisition and Modeling
43
2.1 Defining the Data
43
2.1.1 Common Types of Data Required to Support Planning Processes
44
2.1.2 Data Latency Considerations
53
2.1.3 Configuring Import Connections for Data Acquisition
54
2.1.4 Configuring Live Connections for Real-Time Analysis
59
2.1.5 Configuring Live Connections for Hybrid Planning with SAP BPC
65
2.2 Modeling the Data
65
2.2.1 Defining the Scope, Granularity, and Dimensionality
67
2.2.2 Translating Functional Process Requirements into Models and Dimensions
70
2.2.3 Data Acquisition, Harmonization, and Wrangling
104
2.2.4 Implementing Security for Access to Data Models
126
2.3 Summary
136
3 Setting Up the Planning Process
137
3.1 Managing Planning Versions
137
3.1.1 Strategic Planning versus Budgeting versus Forecasting
137
3.1.2 Maintaining the Version and Date Dimensions
138
3.2 Initializing and Seeding Planning Versions
142
3.2.1 Basic Version Management
144
3.2.2 Implementing Advanced Seeding Scenarios
148
3.3 Inputting Planning Assumptions
154
3.3.1 Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Planning
154
3.3.2 Annualized versus Periodic Planning
164
3.4 Collaboration and Harmonization of Planning Inputs
165
3.4.1 Planning Input Tasks
167
3.4.2 Discussions and Comments
175
3.4.3 Workspaces
178
3.4.4 Publications and Scheduling
180
3.5 Summary
182
4 Automated Planning Logic
185
4.1 Driver-Based Planning
185
4.2 On-the-Fly Calculations
189
4.2.1 Account Member Formulas
189
4.2.2 Calculated/Conversion Measures
193
4.3 Persisted Logic Calculations
201
4.3.1 Creating Data Actions
201
4.3.2 Copy Data Action
202
4.3.3 Cross-Model Copy Data Action
208
4.3.4 Advanced Formulas
214
4.4 Value Driver Trees
238
4.5 Allocations
246
4.6 Currency Conversion
253
4.6.1 Setting Up Your Model for Currency Conversion
254
4.6.2 Creating a Currency Rate Table
257
4.6.3 Using Advanced Overrides in Currency Conversion
259
4.6.4 Currency Triangulation
260
4.7 Summary
265
5 Analysis and Simulations
267
5.1 Key Analytic Goals and Reporting Strategy
268
5.2 User Experience
270
5.2.1 Reporting and Analysis through Stories
271
5.2.2 Creating Presentations in SAP Digital Boardroom
287
5.2.3 Configuring Analytic Applications
294
5.2.4 Extending Data Models into Microsoft Excel
302
5.3 Simulations and What-If Analyses
311
5.3.1 Simulations through Version Management
312
5.3.2 Simulating Changing Relationships with a Value Driver Tree
317
5.4 Augmented Analytics
321
5.4.1 Using Search to Insight for Natural Language Querying of Models
322
5.4.2 Leveraging Smart Insights to Enhance Analysis
326
5.4.3 Using Smart Discoveries for Freehand Data Exploration
327
5.5 Predictive Analytics
331
5.5.1 Predictive Scenarios
332
5.5.2 Automated Trend-Based Predictive Forecasts
333
5.5.3 Creating and Tuning Predictive Models Using Smart Predict
336
5.6 Summary
345
6 Organizing Your Planning Processes
347
6.1 Planning Workflows
347
6.1.1 Managing the Planning Calendar
348
6.1.2 Timing and Governance through Locking
361
6.1.3 Using Roles to Manage Planning Task Profiles
364
6.2 Sharing and Collaboration
368
6.2.1 Sharing Updates with Users and Teams
368
6.2.2 Additional Collaboration Features
371
6.3 Summary
375
7 Publishing to Stakeholders
377
7.1 Sample Profiles of Key Stakeholder Groups
377
7.2 Data Export and Submission Approaches
380
7.2.1 Exporting Data to Offline Formats
380
7.2.2 Exporting Data to External Systems
391
7.3 Summary
392
8 Implementation Best Practices
395
8.1 Predelivered Business Content and Accelerators
395
8.1.1 Standard Planning Models
395
8.1.2 Using Standard Content in Your Implementation Project
399
8.2 Best Practices for Performance Optimization
404
8.2.1 Performance Architecture
404
8.2.2 Optimizing the User Environment
405
8.2.3 Optimizing Data Acquisition Performance
407
8.2.4 Optimizing Planning Scenario Performance
409
8.3 Summary
423
9 Sustaining Your SAP Analytics Cloud Investment
425
9.1 Release Management
425
9.2 Maintenance and Rollouts
428
9.2.1 Transporting Developments and Enhancements across Systems
428
9.2.2 Troubleshooting and Traceability
438
9.3 Summary
451
The Authors
453
Index
455