Top-Down Distribution of Actual Data (SAP Library - Profitability Analysis (COPA))

Top-Down Distribution of Actual Data

Use

In Profitability Analysis, sales revenues, sales deductions, and costs of goods manufactured are generally stored at the customer/product level. However, many business transactions - such as freight invoices, insurance expenses, or advertising - cannot easily be assigned to such a detailed level in CO-PA. Consequently, these need to be posted at a summarized level, such as the division, sales organization, or company code level.

Top-down distribution of actual data is a periodic function that lets you distribute this aggregated data to more detailed levels in CO-PA on the basis of reference information (such as the data from the previous year).

Example

Freight invoices that for organizational reasons can only be posted by division can be distributed to sales organizations based on the anticipated freight costs. This function is only available with costing-based Profitability Analysis.

Features

The data is distributed according to existing "reference data". You can use either planning or actual data as a reference. You can also distribute period by period, or aggregate the period values to smooth out variances.

The system distributes the data by value field or according to how the values in the selected value field are distributed.

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text

When top-down distribution is executed, values that are not assigned at the higher level (#) are distributed. Characteristic Derivation occurs but only for those characteristics that were used in summarization (in other words, those values for which the summarized field in the processing instructions screen was selected).

You can perform distribution in any of the following ways:

You can select values posted to any profitability segments and in any value fields, and then distribute this data to a specified distribution level.
You can use existing actual or planning data as the basis for this distribution. The basis can be the values in a single value field (such as revenue) or a calculated value (such as contribution margin 1) or occur by value fields.
You can select several record types for the data to be distributed and the reference data. You can summarize the different record types in the reference data, which means that the reference data is treated as if it had the same record type.
You can also distribute period by period, or aggregate the period values to smooth out variances.

Note

Using top-down distribution of actual data can lead to quite large data volumes, since the data is distributed to a large number of profitability segments. Assessment can be used to obtain a complete view while eliminating data volume at the same time:

For example, if you assess from n cost centers to m profitability segments in each case, you create n*m data records. As an alternative, you can first assess from n cost centers to one (or only a few) profitability segment(s), and then distribute this data to m segments. If the distribution factors for each cost center are the same, this technique only leads to 2+m records.

Activities

You execute the top-down distribution of actual data by choosing Actual postings ® Period-end closing ® Periodic adjustments ® Top-down distribution from the Profitability Analysis menu.

Entries for the actual data

1. The posting periods or -- if you are using the alternative period type -- the weeks that you want to distribute

2. The record types of the data you want to distribute

Specify whether the data should be distributed in both or just in one valuation view.

Recommendation

In cases where you use both valuation views but are only interested in one valuation view at a detailed level, it is recommended that you perform top-down distribution just for this view. This allows you to reduce runtimes in top-down distribution and avoid generating unnecessarily large volumes of data.

Entries for the reference data

1. Enter the periods from which the reference data should be selected.

2. Specify whether you want to reference actual data or planning data. If you reference planning data, enter the plan version from which the data should be selected. The selection of actual data requires a reference currency to be entered.

3. Enter the record types to be used to select the reference data.

If you enter several record types, you can use summarize them (Cumulate Record Type indicator). If you set this indicator, the reference data is treated as if it used the same record type throughout. If you do not set this indicator, the number of record types needs to be the same for actual data and reference data. Moreover, the sequence in which you specify the record types under Multiple Selection must be the same for actual data and reference data. The actual data with the first record type is distributed according to the reference data with the same record type, and so forth. Refer to the example in the field help (F1) for the indicator.

4. Select the Cumulate Periods indicator if you want to add together the period values of the reference data rather than distributing them directly. This gives you the same value in each period for each segment, to smooth out incidental differences which occurred from period to period (see also Example: Cumulating Periods).

If you select this indicator, your reference period can be as large as you want. Only if you distribute by period do the planning period and reference period have to be the same length.

Entries for the reference base

1. Select the Single value field if you want to distribute all the value fields in proportion to the values contain in one value field. You can use any value field or key figure (formula defined using value fields). The key figures you can use here need to be defined in Customizing.

2. If you have selected the Single value field, enter the value field that you want to use as the distribution factor.

3. Select the By value fields field if you want to use each single value field as the basis for how that value field is distributed. This means that the value field Revenue would serve as the basis for how the revenues are distributed. Quantity discount would form the basis for how quantity discounts are distributed, and so on.

Entries under Extras

1. Choose Test run if you want to distribute your planning data without making any changes to the database.

2. Choose Background processing if you are distributing for a large number of segments. The system will execute the function in the background so that your system is not loaded down unnecessarily.

Selection Criteria pushbutton

Here you can restrict the amount of profitability segments that you want to delete. You can enter one or more single values or an interval for each characteristic. All the values of that characteristic are distributed if you use the default asterisk (*).

Processing Instructions pushbutton

Here you can specify how each characteristic should be processed in top-down distribution:

· Distribution level: this is the level to which the data is distributed.

· Retain: the characteristic values remain the same.

· Summarize: the data for all values of the characteristic is summarized.

Recommendation

For those characteristics that are neither distributed nor distributed to, you should leave the default values for the following:

· The selection criteria *

· The processing instructions (generally the option Summarize, for some characteristics such as controlling area the option Copy/Transfer).

Value fields pushbutton

Here you specify the value fields of the operating concern that you want to distribute.