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Business Planning  Locate the document in its SAP Library structure

SAP NetWeaver BI provides you with a fully integrated solution for business planning. BI Integrated Planning enables you to make specific innovative decisions that increase the efficiency of your company. It includes processes that collect data from InfoProviders, queries, or other BI objects, convert them, and write back new information to BI objects (such as InfoObjects).

Using the Business Explorer (BEx) for BI Integrated Planning you can build integrated analytical applications that encompass planning and analysis functions.

Planning Model

The integration of planning functions is based on the planning model. The planning model defines the structure (such as granularity or work packages) of the planning. It includes:

      Data storage. All the data that was or will be changed is stored in real-time InfoCubes. MultiProviders or virtual InfoProviders can be used to edit the data, but they must always contain a real-time InfoCube. You can define logical characteristic relationships between the data (such as hierarchical structure, relationships by attributes) on the level of the InfoCube.  Using data slices you can also protect data areas either temporarily or permanently against changes. On the InfoCube level, version concepts are prepared and hierarchical relationships are defined within characteristics.

      Data selection (characteristics and key figures) for individual planning steps. Aggregation levels that are used to structure or define views on data are defined here. (The aggregation level is the InfoProvider on which the input-ready queries are created.) In this way you can define the granularity in which the data should be processed.

      Methods for manual or automatic data modification. Planning functions with which you can copy, revaluate, broadcast or delete data are provided for this purpose. You can define complex planning formulas; comprehensive forecasting functions are also available. The planning functions can be included in BEx applications as pushbuttons, but you can also include them in process chains and execute them at predefined times. You can combine planning functions in sequences (called planning sequences). In this way, administrative steps can be automated and tasks can be performed between different planning process steps, making processing easier to use for everyone involved. Examples include automatic currency conversion between various group units or inserted broadcasting steps for top-down planning.

      Tools, such as filters, that can be used in queries and planning functions. You can use these tools to personalize planning more flexibly. The variables for parametrizing the objects can also be used; these can normally be used at least wherever selections are important, for example in data slices.

      Central lock concept. This concept prevents the same data from being changed by different users at the same time.

Modeling Planning Scenarios

To support you in modeling, managing and testing your planning scenarios, BI Integrated Planning provides the Planning Modeler and the Planning Wizard.

The Planning Modeler offers the following functions:

      Selection of InfoProvider.

      Selection, modification and creation of InfoProvider of type aggregation level.

      Creation, modification and (de)activation of characteristic relationships and data slices.

      Creation and modification of filters.

      Creation and modification of variables.

      Creation and modification of planning functions.

      Creation and modification of planning sequences.

The Planning Wizard provides an easy introduction to planning modeling by offering guided navigation.

Creation of Planning Applications

Planning applications are BI applications that are based on a planning model. In a planning application, the objects of the planning model are linked to create an interactive application that permits the user to create and change data manually and automatically. The modified data is available immediately (even if it was not saved first) for evaluation using all the OLAP functions.

Performing Manual Planning

You can either create and execute BI applications with the BEx Analyzer or you can create them with the Web Application Designer and execute them on the Web.

If you use the BEx Analyzer, you have access to all the functions of Microsoft Excel, also for planning. You can process the data locally in Microsoft Excel and then load it back to the central database. You can enhance the centrally managed application to suit your needs using Microsoft Excel; the centrally defined process steps remain protected and can be filled with additional calculations using a defined Microsoft Excel function.

More Information

BI Integrated Planning

 

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