SAP BPC - Planning
SAP BPC provides you with an end-to-end planning process and perform activities like planning, forecasting, budgeting, reporting, etc. It allows you to follow top-down or bottom-up planning with an application and user interface.
Planning Process
In Business Planning and Consolidation, the planning process is supported by automation and workflows. It allows you to create reports and input forms that can write to database.
With reporting interface, you can get data from database to excel spreadsheets and input forms allow you to send data directly to the database.
Input forms contain the same functionality and formatting as reports, only difference is that reports are used for analysis and input forms are used for sending data to database.
Planning Models
Different modeling options are possible with input forms to meet the planning needs while sending data to database.
Spread − Spread modeling option allows you to send a value to specific destination cells. This value can be spread equally or weighted by the range of values.
Trend − Trend modeling method allows you to spread a value or a percentage and spread it by a growing factor in destination cells. You place the source value in first destination cell and rest of the cells are field with increased value by some amount or percentage.
Weighted − It allows you to allocate a set of values by weighted factor in the excel sheets. In this you select some values, grow them and then allocate the new amount based on weights of selected cells.
So input forms provide you with special modeling feature to assist you in your planning needs.
Input Forms/ Input Schedules
Note that input forms is the terminology used in BPC 10 whereas input schedules were used in BPC 7.x. However, eventually they both represent the same thing.
Input forms allow you to spread data from excel sheets directly to database and contains all the functions that are present with reports in BPC. The difference is that input forms write data to database and reports are used for analysis purpose.
Input forms support the following features −
Data Submission − If you have enough authorize access, using input forms you can send data to database. If data validation is allowed by the system administrator, you can also validate the data and ensure that there is no work lock and validity issues on members.
Modelling Options − Various modeling options can be used with input forms −
Work Status − After sending the data to database, you can change the work status locks to apply data locks.
Distribution and Collection Option − You can send the input schedules to different members using distribution option and then get back the input schedules using collection option.
Using Special formalities − You can also apply special formatting to read-only cells.
Input Schedule Templates
There are various templates provided in the system that you can use and apply the customizations as per your needs.
Following is the list of dynamic schedule templates that are available in the system.
| Account Trend or Entity Trend |
This schedule contains Account type members in rows and time periods in columns, using EvDRE functions. |
| Entity Trend |
This schedule contains Entity type members in rows and Entity type members in columns, using EvDRE based functions. |
| Consolidating |
This schedule contains Account type members in rows and Entity type members in column, using EvDRE based functions. |
| Nested Row |
This schedule provides the ability to choose the dimensions and members on the row, column and page. Two-row dimension can be selected and they will be nested. It also uses EvDRE functions. |
| Comparative |
This schedule contains Account type members in rows and Category type members in columns with a variance column, using EvDRE based functions. |
Developing an Input Form
Input schedules can be developed using the following methods.
- Dynamic Templates
- Using EvDRE
- Using Drag and Drop
To create an input form/schedule using drag and drop, login to web client.
In the type select the input form. You can also add dimensions by clicking on + sign.
You can drag the dimension to rows and columns from the list of available dimensions and once you are done, click ‘Save’.
Enter the name of input form and description and click ‘Save’.
Integration with SAP BO Dashboard
You can also view the real-time data from BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation via Dashboard designer. To create Dashboard with BPC, you need to install Dashboard designer and add EPM Connector Add-on to the Dashboard designer and connect to the EPM data using EPM Connector.
Once connector is installed, you can use BPC real time-data to create dashboard.
Go to Analyzer tab in Dashboard Designer.
Then go to Edit Report.
It will prompt you to add a new connection. Click on Add new button. Select SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation data source from the dropdown list and click ‘Connect’.
It will open a new window promoting for BPC Server name, User name and password. You have to enter the same credentials that you use to login BPC Excel client. Once you enter the details, click ‘Next’. Select the AppSet and Finish the wizard.
Select the cube from the dropdown list that contains the data you have to use and select the data source name.
Next select the newly created connection and click ‘OK’. Once you click ok, it will open the Report Manager output, which can be used to design the report output.
These are the steps that can be used to integrate Dashboard Designer with SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation BPC tool. There are various features in the Dashboard designer that can be used to create interactive dashboard, which can be used by decision makers.
