Geocoding

Use

To display dynamic geo-characteristics as points on a map, you have to determine the geographic co-ordinates for each master data object.

Prerequisites

You have marked the geo-relevant characteristic as geo-relevant in the InfoObject maintenance. See the tab page: Business Explorer

Process

Geocoding is implemented with ArcView GIS software from ESRI. ArcView GIS determines the geographic coordinates of BW data by identifying a column with geo-relevant characteristics in a reference shape file. To carry out this process, you have to load the BW master data table into a dBase file. The geographical coordinates are determined for every master data object. After you have done this, convert the dBase file with the determined geo-attributes into a CSV file ( c omma- s eparated v alue file), which you can use for a master data upload into the BW master data table.

The following steps explain the process of geocoding dynamic geo-characteristics using the 0D_SOLD_TO characteristic ( Sold-to Party) from the 0D_SD_C03 Sales Overview Demo-Content InfoCube.

You download BW master data into a dBase file.
You execute the geocoding with ArcView GIS.
You convert dBase files into a CSV file.
You schedule a master data upload for the CSV file.

Note
The system administrator is responsible for the master data upload.

Result

You are now able to use the characteristic as a dynamic geo-characteristic in the Business Explorer. Each user that works with a query that contains this geo-characteristic can now analyze the data on a map.