You use planner profiles to control the planning process. These are structured hierarchically. You specify the planning layout used for each planning area, such as cost element/activity inputs, activity type/activity price, or statistical key figure planning. A planner profile must contain one planning layout for each planning area.

Profile items assign the planning layouts in the planner profile. Currently, each planning area must have exactly one profile item.

In a planner profile, you can set the following planning conditions.

• You can control planning authorizations by assigning an authorization group to a planner profile. This is particularly important for decentralized planning. By using specialized planner profiles for planners, and by assigning authorization groups, you ensure that planning is restricted to the authorized area.

• To specify settings for variables in a planning layout, you can preset the planning layout parameters in the planner profiles, by entering variable values in the planner profile. You can overwrite these values, and you can also prevent overwriting by activating the appropriate indicator in the planner profile definition. In a planning session, the SAP System checks all variables defined in a planning layout and handles them as parameters.

The R/3 System includes the following standard planner profiles:

Standard profiles SAP101, SAP102, SAP104, and SAPALL include the following standard planning layouts relevant to the Activity-Based Costing component (CO-OM-ABC):

• Business processes: activity input planning

• Cost Centers
• Orders
• Business Processes
• Cost Objects
• WBS Elements

• Cost Centers

• Business processes: Planning process quantities and prices

• Business processes: Statistical key figure planning

Standard layouts for planning of cost centers and orders supplement these standard profiles. Profiles SAP101 and SAP102 cover most general planning situations, and profile SAPALL covers all situations arising in business process planning.