Currency Translation: Notes on
Modeling
When you choose a planning function of type Currency Translation you are, to a large extent, free to include the type and number of characteristics and key figures that you want in currency translation. Some special features can occur here in relation to the SAP BW data model that we will explain in this section.
The SAP BW data model manages currency fields such as characteristics. As a result these fields are part of the logical key of a data record. The currency keys are in the currency fields for one or several key figures. As a result, you determine a part of the semantics and the formatting attributes (decimal places) for these key figures. Therefore there may be transaction data records that only differ in the currency fields.
The key figures can then, for example, on the one hand to be interpreted as values in the global company currency, on the other hand as values in group currency.
You can derive which currency is used in particular cases from characteristics such as company, group, company code or profit center. A currency key is assigned to these characteristics as an attribute.
Scenario
In group-wide planning scenarios, plan data is mostly entered in different currencies for subsidiaries. It is planned in the respective company currency decentrally. This regional data is transferred to the group headquarters, converted into the group currency and revised there.
It is often not sufficient when the central partner only works with plan data in group currency. On the contrary, as a rule access to the output value in company currency must be possible, so that the decentralized planner can respond to queries quickly and simply. For the following observations it is also assumed that the central planner must also still plan a quantity in addition to the key figures for amounts.
Solution Approaches
We present two different approaches below in order to model the planning scenario described with BW-BPS:
§ ...
a. Only one key figure is used for amounts (amount). If required it is translated into group currency.
b. Two key figures (company amount, group amount) and two different characteristics (company currency, group currency) are used for the currency key.
The following tables show the transaction data records: There are two data records in each case. The second result data record results from a currency translation from the first record.
Case a)
Company |
Company currency |
Unit of measurement |
Amount |
Quantity |
913 |
USD |
ST |
100,00 |
50,000 |
913 |
EUR |
ST |
96,00 |
|
Case b)
Company |
Company currency |
Group |
Group currency |
Unit of measurement |
Amount |
Amount |
Quantity |
913 |
USD |
|
|
ST |
100,00 |
|
50,00 |
913 |
USD |
|
EUR |
ST |
|
96,00 |
|
The following stands out in the results records:
· In both cases the Unit of Measurement field is filled, although the quantity is 0 in the results record.
· In case b) the Group field is not filled. Here two data records are also formed by the currency translation although there would actually be space in the first data record to include the amount.
Working with two different data records is unfavorable on one hand because it affects performance and on the other because a new currency translation can change the result.
The following tables show this with the data records in case a) after a second execution of the currency translation:
Case a) data records before a new currency translation
Company |
Company currency |
Unit of measurement |
Amount |
Quantity |
913 |
USD |
ST |
100,00 |
50,000 |
913 |
EUR |
ST |
96,00 |
|
Case a) data records after a new currency translation
Company |
Company currency |
Unit of measurement |
Amount |
Quantity |
913 |
USD |
ST |
100,00 |
50,000 |
913 |
EUR |
ST |
192,00 |
|
Both initial data records are converted into euro and the result is added up: 100 USD = 96 EUR + 96 EUR = 192 EUR. It follows from this that in case a) before a currency translation the target data must be consistently deleted.
Define a planning sequence that contains a delete function at the start. The planning sequence contains the function for currency translation as a second function. The delete function deletes the records that result from translation. The trick is to find those records that have resulted from the currency translation. As this is difficult, SAP recommends (as in case b) that you define currency translation between different key figures.
You can avoid the occurrence of two data records in case b) by defining characteristic relationships. If the first data record is entered, the system automatically adds the values for the Group and Group Currency fields to the characteristic relationship defined.
The following table shows the data record before and after unit conversion:
Case b) data record before currency translation with characteristic relationship
Company |
Company currency |
Group |
Group currency |
Unit of measurement |
Amount company |
Amount group |
Quantity |
913 |
USD |
9 |
EUR |
ST |
100,00 |
|
50,00 |
Case b) data record after currency translation with characteristic relationship
Company |
Company currency |
Group |
Group currency |
Unit of measurement |
Amount company |
Amount group |
Quantity |
913 |
USD |
9 |
EUR |
ST |
100,00 |
96,00 |
50,00 |
This result is already closer to the expectations since here only one transaction data record is formed. As the fields are already correctly derived you do not need to execute a delete function before a new unit conversion.
In our example, we have also planned a quantity with a unit of measurement. If in the group in a planning session, you only plan the amount in group currency a transaction data record is formed in which the Unit of Measurement field is initial. For that reason, with planning functions with fields to be changed (for example, formulas) or those which work with reference data (for example, distribute with reference data), you must make sure that objects exist in the system which have logically different keys and if necessary behave differently during the selection.
See also: