Scenario for ODS Objects 

The diagram below shows how ODS objects are used in this example of updating order and delivery information, and the status tracking of orders, meaning which orders are open, which are partially-delivered, and so on.

There are three main steps to the entire data process:

  1. Loading the data into BW and storing it in the PSA

    2. The data requested by BW is stored initially in the PSA. The PSA is a transparent database table, in which data is saved, per request, in the format of the transfer structure. A PSA is created for each DataSource and each source system. The PSA is the storage location for incoming data in BW. Requested data is saved, unchanged, to the source system.

  2. Processing and storing the data in ODS Objects.

In the second step, the ODS Objects are used on two different levels.
    1. On level 1, the data from an InfoSource from several source systems is stored in ODS objects. This allows data to be saved in a consolidated way in the technical format of BW. The transfer rules cleanse the data from the source system-dependent data format of the PSA. On level 1, the data is stored on the document level (for example, orders and deliveries) and constitutes the consolidated database for further processing in BW. Reporting is therefore not usually carried out on the ODS objects at this level.
    2. On level 2, transfer rules subsequently combine the data from several ODS objects into a single ODS object in accordance with business-related criteria. The data is very detailed, for example, information such as the delivery quantity, the delivery delay in days, and the order status, are calculated and stored per order item. Level 2 is used specifically for operative reporting issues, for example, which orders are still open from the last week. Unlike OLAP reporting, where very large quantities of data are selected, here data is displayed and analyzed selectively.
  1. Storing data in the InfoCube

In the final step, the data is aggregated from the ODS object on level 2 into an InfoCube, meaning in this scenario, that the InfoCube does not contain the order number, but saves the data, for example, on the levels of customer, product, and month. OLAP reporting using the BEx Query is also run on this data. You can still display the detailed document data from the ODS object whenever you need to. Use the report/report interface from a BEx query. In this way, you are able to analyze the aggregated data from the InfoCube, and target the specific level of detail you want to access in the data.