Displaying Characteristics in an Operating Concern (SAP Library

Displaying Characteristics in an Operating Concern

Use

Characteristics are the criteria according to which you can analyze your operating results and create plan data. They are divided up into the following categories:

Standard Characteristics in the R/3 System

Fixed characteristics

Automatically predefined objects of analysis present in every operating concern. The product number and company code, for example, fall into this category.

Proposed characteristics

Proposed characteristics are available as further options, such as industry and customer group. Although these characteristics do not need to be defined, you do have to transfer them explicitly to the operating concern for them to appear there.

User-Defined Characteristics

Characteristics referenced to SAP tables

You can define your operating concerns by using characteristics that already exist in other applications. For example, you can select fields from the tables for customer master records, material master records, and sales documents. In most cases, it is not necessary to define derivation for these characteristics.

Defining characteristics manually

It is also possible to create characteristics manually which are only required in Profitability Analysis. To derive values for these characteristics, you need to define your own derivation rules. Examples of characteristics in this category are the strategic business unit and the product category.

Characteristics are client-independent and can be used in all operating concerns.

Once a user-defined characteristic has been generated, it is then available for further use as a proposed characteristic. This means that any defined characteristic is automatically available as a proposed characteristic for all operating concerns.

You can see in the overview below which characteristics were set up in the operating concern IDEA and how these are integrated into the different operating concerns. The table that you transfer a characteristic from is referred to as that characteristic’s origin table.

Characteristics for the Operating Concern IDEA

Product-Related Characteristics	Origin Table	Tech. Name	Cat.	Derivation Logic
Product	MARA	ARTNR	A	Independent characteristic
Division	MARA	SPART	A	From material master record
Material group	MARA	MATKL	B	From material master record
Material pricing group	VBAP	MVGR1	C	From sales document item
Prod.hier. 1	MVKE	PAPH1	C	Sales Data for Material
Prod.hier. 2	MVKE	PAPH2	C	Sales Data for Material
Prod.hier. 3	MVKE	PAPH3	C	Sales Data for Material
Prod.hier. 1 before 4.5	--- (COPA)	WWPH1	C	Table lookup in MVKE
Prod.hier. 2 before 4.5	--- (COPA)	WWPH2	C	Table lookup in MVKE
Prod.hier. 3 before 4.5	--- (COPA)	WWPH3	C	Table lookup in MVKE
Product category	--- (COPA)	WWPRC	D	Derivation rule
Product group for SOP	--- (COPA)	WWSOP	D	Extension (User Exit)
Strategic business unit	--- (COPA)	WWSBU	D	Derivation rule

Measurement area	--- (COPA)	WWMEA	C	Table lookup
Quality	--- (COPA)	WWQUA	C	Table lookup
Surface	--- (COPA)	WWSUR	C	Table lookup
Customer-Specific Characteristics
Customer (sold-to party)	KNA1	KNDNR	A	Independent characteristic
Customer group	KNVV	KDGRP	B	From customer master record
Customer classification	KNA1	KUKLA	C	From customer master record
Sales district	KNVV	BZIRK	B	From customer master record
Industry	KNA1	BRSCH	B	From customer master record
Country of the sold-to party	KNA1	LAND1	B	From customer master record
Ship-to party	PAPARTNER	KUNWE	C	From sales order
Ship-to country	--- (COPA)	WWCST	D	Table lookup on MVKE
Receiver region	--- (COPA)	WWRST	D	Derivation rule
Customer hierarchy level 1	PAPARTNER	HIE01	C	Customer hierarchy (SD)
Customer hierarchy level 2	PAPARTNER	HIE02	C	Customer hierarchy (SD)
Customer hierarchy level 3	PAPARTNER	HIE03	C	Customer hierarchy (SD)
Sales order	---	KAUFN	A	Independent characteristic
Sales document item	---	KDPOS	A	Independent characteristic

Characteristics of the organizational structure
Controlling area	---	KOKRS	A	Organizational assignment
Profit center	MARA	PRCTR	A	Organizational assignment
Company code	---	BUKRS	A	Organizational assignment
Business area	---	GSBER	A	Organizational assignment
Plant	---	WERKS	A	Independent characteristic

Characteristics for the organization of distribution
Sales organization	MVKE	VKORG	A	Independent characteristic
Distribution channel	MVKE	VTWEG	A	Independent characteristic
country + region	KNA1	PAREG	C	From customer master record
Region	KNA1	REGIO	C	From customer master record
Region before 4.5	--- (COPA)	WWREG	D	Table lookup in MVKE
Sales personnel	PAPARTNER	VRTNR	C	From sales order
Sales office	KNVV	VKBUR	B	From customer master record
Sales group	KNVV	VKGRP	B	From customer master record
Intercompany indicator	--- (COPA)	WWICI	D	Derivation rule
Order reason	VBAK	AUGRU	C	From sales order

Transaction-oriented characteristics
Promotion	VBAP	WWPRO	C	From sales order
Sales deal	VBAP	WWSDL	C	From sales order

Other characteristics
WBS element	---	PSPNR	A	Independent characteristic
Sales order history for projects	Special logic	SORHIST	B	From project

Procedure

Follow the steps below to view the characteristics in the system. They are conceived for display purposes only.

Call up the transaction as follows from the Customizing: Execute Project screen:

Menu path	Controlling ® Profitability Analysis ® Structures ® Define Operating Concern ® Maintain Characteristics
Transaction code	KEA5

Select Chars from operating concern and enter the operating concern IDEA into the field that follows it.

Choose

Display.

This displays the characteristics b) through d). You see the characteristic’s technical name in the first column, followed by long and short texts. The type determines whether the values for the characteristics are alphanumeric or numeric. The number of characters in the characteristic values are displayed under "Length". The origin table states which table the value was transferred from. For example, the industry characteristic has been transferred from table KNA1 and has been designated with the field name BRSCH in its new location.

Characteristics beginning with WW are user-defined. Their values are determined by derivation rules as opposed to via existing tables. Although the characteristics WWPRO (Promotion) and WWSDL (Sales deal) do indeed begin with WW, they are in fact transferred from a reference table and belong instead to type c).

To display the fixed characteristics, choose Extras ® Fixed fields. The system displays the dialog box Fixed Fields.

These characteristics are automatically located in each operating concern.

Choose the Technical Fields tab page.

These characteristics are also present automatically. They are of lesser importance to reporting or planning and are transferred for technical reasons.

To close the dialog box, choose

Choose

to return to the Customizing: Executet Project screen.