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Function documentationService Level Agreements (SLA)

 

You and the customer can use the SLA to agree on the methods of rendering a guaranteed service.

The SLAs define the attributes (such as content, scope, and means) for the service products (such as maintenance or hotline) agreed on with the customer in the service contract. The SLAs that are available in the standard system are the service profile and the response profile.

Example Example

Examples of parameters within an SLA:

  • Response profile (the technician's response time, in other words, the time by which the technician must start the service laid down in the service transaction item as well as the time period in which the service must be completed)

  • Service profile (time period in which the services that were defined in the service contract can be carried out)

End of the example.

Integration

Default Values in Master Data

The Service Levels assignment block is available in the following master data and can be used in SLA determination to assign the correct service profile and response profile to service request transactions such as service requests, incidents, and requests for change.

  • Service contracts

  • Business partners (sold-to party)

  • Product items and products

  • Objects

  • IBases, IBase components, and IBase text components

  • Sales and service organizational units

In the Service Levels assignment block, you can specify values for the above-mentioned SLA parameters, service profile and response profile. If for example, for the transaction type Incident, the SLA determination access sequence is defined so that the system first looks at the IBase and then at the service contract values, the SLA parameters are determined from the IBase and not from the service contract.

If you want to use other parameters in addition to the ones delivered by SAP, you can do so by using another customer-specific set type. Processing of the data from the set type occurs using Business Add-Ins.

Pricing

An SLA influences both pricing in the contract items and the business transactions in Service with reference to a service contract. Therefore, for example, the monthly price of a service can change depending on the response time defined. SLAs also influence date calculation in the service process to which the relevant contract items refer.

Escalation Management

If the services agreed on in the SLA cannot be performed within the time specified, a predefined escalation process is started.

SAP delivers a standard procedure for escalation management that you can use and enhance if required. You can make settings for Escalation Management in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), by choosing Start of the navigation path Transactions Next navigation step Settings for Service Transactions Next navigation step SLA Escalation Management End of the navigation path.

Example Example

An escalation for a missed deadline could occur as follows:

  • The responsible processor is informed per e-mail when the first response time is exceeded and the transaction is still not in process.

  • The responsible department manager is informed per e-mail when the first response time is exceeded by 2 hours and the transaction is still not in process.

  • The responsible service manager is informed per e-mail when the first response time is exceeded by 8 hours and the transaction is still not in process.

A similar escalation could occur if the completion date is exceeded and the transaction is still in process.

End of the example.

Features

By default, SAP delivers the following SLA parameters:

  • Service Profile

  • Response Profile

Activities

You maintain SLA parameters on the SAP Easy Access screen, under Start of the navigation path Service Next navigation step Maintain Availability and Response Times End of the navigation path.

In the service contract items, you can select values for the SLA parameters.

Note Note

If a service plan has been agreed on in the service contract item, you can edit the service plan data and dates, but not the SLA parameters.

End of the note.
Response Profile

In the Maintain Availability and Response Times transaction, you can use any combination of the following indicator keys to create as many time frames with duration and time unit as you want:

  • Category

  • Priority

  • Catalog

  • Code Group

  • Code

In this way, you can define, for example, a duration to first response, a duration to completion and time frames that can be established in between, such as:

  • Time until the arrival of a technician at the customer site

  • Duration of repair

  • Downtime of machines at the customer site

To maintain the response times, choose a key combination in the transaction by selecting the required line and switching to the view for response times. There you can enter any number of time frames for the selected key combination.

Choose a duration of time for each period that was created in Customizing for date management under Start of the navigation path Customer Relationship Management Next navigation step Basic Functions Next navigation step Date Management Next navigation step Define Date Types, Duration Types and Date Rules End of the navigation path. Specify the duration and time unit for these.

You can stipulate a response profile for each contract item during the maintenance of service contracts.

When you maintain service products in the product master, you can enter default values for the response profile in the assignment block Service Levels. You can overwrite the default values in the service contract item in which the service product was stipulated.

Example Example

You receive a malfunction report from a customer on Monday at 10:00 a.m. and a service order with priority 1 is created.

In the response profile for the relevant service contract item, a duration to first response of 2 hours and a duration to completion of 8 hours is defined for service processes with priority 1. The standard service profile is defined in the service profile, which contains the following availability times: Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The following times/dates result from this: First response time 12:00 noon, completion time 9:00 a.m. on the following day.

This means you must have responded to the malfunction report by 12:00 noon on Monday, for example, by calling the customer to discuss or clarify the problem. The transaction must be completed by Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., for example by a technician on-site.

End of the example.
Service Profile

You can stipulate a service profile for each contract item during the maintenance of service contracts.

When you maintain service products in the product master, you can enter default values for the response profile in the Service Levelsassignment block on the Service page. You can overwrite the default values in the service contract item in which the service product was stipulated.

Example Example

You define a standard service profile with the following availability times: Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Central European Time (CET).

You assign the service profile Weekend to the service product Weekend Hotline, in which you define Saturday 8:00 a.m. CET to Sunday 7:00 p.m. CET as availability time.

End of the example.

More Information

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Determination

Service Level Metrics (SLA Metrics)