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How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

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  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

    http://www.scmexpertonline.com/article.cfm?id=5509[26/03/2011 2:29:17]

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    Data Management, SCM

    How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

    by Kehinde Eseyin, Systems Support Manager, TOTAL Nigeria PLC, Nigeria October 26, 2010

    Learn how to enhance the performance of your sales and distribution processes along with your

    SAP ERP system by adopting effective data management tips and tricks based on performance-

    driven configuration settings in rebate processing, sales document flow, and collective processing

    runs.

    Key Concept

    Data avoidance, data deletion, and data archiving are data management techniques designed to

    reduce data volume, free up table space, and increase system performance without incurring

    unnecessary costs for additional system resources.

    Transaction processing in sales and distribution (SD) generates large volumes of data that in turnautomatically update database tables in the SAP ERP system, thereby making the tables too large after aperiod of productive use. It is important that the growth of SD tables is well controlled to preventperformance impairments associated with large data volume, such as system slowness, prolongedresponse time, background job termination, or system downtime.

    The techniques Ill discuss apply to all versions of SAP systems. I discuss clear-cut tips and tricks thatcan aid in the effective management of the database table growth as it relates to transaction processingin the following SD processes, which I chose because of the volume of data they generate:

    Rebate processing

    Sales document flow

    Collective processing run

    Rebate Processing

    Rebate processing SD allows you to give a discount to a customer based on a defined sales volume. Onetable that is susceptible to high data growth as it relates to rebate processing is table VBOX (SDDocument: Billing Document: Rebate Index). Uncontrolled growth of this table can lead to performancedegradation (e.g., slow response and system slowdown) of rebate processing functions such as billingupdate and rebate index recompilation. Elements such as document types, sales organizations, andcustomers can be defined as relevant for rebate processing, and these definitions influence how a rebateis calculated. For example, if you define that a particular billing document (such as an invoice or downpayment request) is relevant for rebate processing, the system uses the value on the billing documents toadjust the sales revenue accruable to the customer. Therefore, the sales revenue is used in thecalculation of the rebate for the customer.

    Document items that may be relevant for a rebate condition are determined with the VBOX table. TableVBOX is updated when a billing document is released to accounting regardless of the existence of rebateconditions for the document item. This is because the SAP system supports retroactive rebate processing,which allows you to create rebate agreements for which the validity start date lies in the past.

    A good data prevention strategy to control the number of entries in table VBOX is to appropriatelyconfigure the setting for the relevance of volume-based rebates for document types, sales organizations,and customers. When rebate processing is not needed, this functionality should not be activated. Toactivate or deactivate rebate processing, use transaction OVB0 (Billing Documents Types Overview) andcheck or uncheck the boxes in the Relevant for rebate column (Figure 1).

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  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

    http://www.scmexpertonline.com/article.cfm?id=5509[26/03/2011 2:29:17]

    Figure 1 Activation or deactivation of document types for rebate processing using transactionOVB0

    You can also use transaction VOFA to activate or deactivate rebate processing for billing documents afteryou select a specific billing document type by clicking the Rel. for rebate check box (Figure 2).

    Figure 2Activation or deactivation of billing documents type for rebate processing

    To activate or deactivate rebate processing for sales organizations, use transaction OVB1 (SalesOrganization-Rebate) and check or uncheck the Rebate proc. active box (Figure 3).

    Figure 3

  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

    http://www.scmexpertonline.com/article.cfm?id=5509[26/03/2011 2:29:17]

    Activation or deactivation of sales organizations for rebate processing

    To activate or deactivate rebate processing for a customer, use transaction XD02. Check or uncheck theRebate box in the sales area data under the Billing Documents tab of the customer master record(Figure 4).

    Figure 4Activation or deactivation of customer for rebate processing

    One of the pricing elements that influences rebate processing is the access sequence. The accesssequence defines the order in which the system searches for condition records. You can maintain theaccess sequence by following IMG menu path Sales and Distribution > Billing > Rebate Processing >Condition Technique for Rebate Processing > Maintain Access Sequences (Figure 5).

    Figure 5 Setup of access sequence in customizing with access category options (1 or blank)as inset

    The value of 1 in the Ty. (type) column in Figure 5 signifies rebate-based pricing procedures anddistinguishes them from standard pricing procedures. To reduce the number of records updated in tableVBOX, do not assign access sequences to a rebate condition type if they are not needed. You can controlaccess sequence assignment by using transaction V/06 (Conditions: Condition Types) (Figure 6). Thisscreen shows the assignment of an access sequence (e.g., BO03) to a condition type (BO03).

  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

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    Figure 6Controlling access sequence assignment to condition types

    Furthermore, you can use the archiving object SD_VBRK to archive table VBOX to reduce data volume.You can also use SD_VBRK to archive other tables that are related to billing documents such as VBFA(sales document flow), VBPA (sales document partner), VBRK (billing document: header data), and VBRP(billing document: item data), which you can access via transaction DB15 (Tables and Archiving Objects)(Figure 7).

  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

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    Figure 7Table and archiving objects analysis for archiving object SD_VBRK

    Note

    An archiving object defines the date to be archived and how it is to be archived. Transaction SAP ArchiveAdministration (SARA) provides and environment to manage archiving processes. For more information onarchiving objects, go tohttp://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/8d/3e4d70462a11d189000000e8323d3a/frameset.htm.

    It is important that you archive deliveries before billing documents because of the sequence specified inthe document flow and information interdependencies within the SAP system. Before a billing document isarchived, the system automatically checks if the residence time defined in customization has beenexceeded. The residence time defines the period of time that must be exceeded before the system canarchive application data. The system also checks if a subsequent document has an overall status ofcompleted if the billing document has a subsequent document (for example, a credit memo request withreference to a billing document).

    Note

    For more information on rebate processing, consult SAP Note 75778(Consulting/troubleshooting for rebate processing).

    Sales Document Flow

    A sales document is a business database document that is used for processing transactions in the salesdepartment of an organization, such as a quotation or a sales order. The SAP system supports documentcopy and linking to map business processes appropriately by creating sales documents with reference tothe originating documents. Data is therefore transferred from the originating document to subsequentdocuments while also allowing for a status update on the originating sales document. When creating asales document based on another sales document, you need to distinguish between source documenttypes and target document types. The source sales document type is the document that you want to copyinto another sales document. The target sales document type is the document into which you want tocopy another sales document. For example, if a delivery document type is created based on a sales orderdocument type, then the sales order is the source document and the delivery is the target document.

    The links between a base document and a target document in a sales process are stored in table VBFA(Sales Document Flow). While it is good to tie sales documents together, it can lead to a high growthrate of table VBFA if not properly controlled. This phenomenon can represent a performance bottleneck,especially during transaction processing when a base document is referenced by many target documents.

  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

    http://www.scmexpertonline.com/article.cfm?id=5509[26/03/2011 2:29:17]

    To control the growth of this table, consider reviewing the copy control function for sales document viatransaction VTAA (Order to Order Copying Control). You can deactivate the update of document flowrecords when you create a target document (e.g., a sales order) from a source document (e.g., aquotation) via transaction VTAA by unchecking the Update document flow check box (Figure 8).

    Figure 8Document flow control with update document flow indicator options as inset

    The document flow record provides information about the quantities and values that are copied fromsource documents to target documents. The valid options for the updated document flow indicator are:

    Blank Document flow records are not created

    X Document flow records are created from the target sales document item to the source salesdocument item and possibly to other document items referenced by the source document. Thisoption also supports the creation of document flow records from subsequent document items tothe source document item and its preceding document items. (Note: Subsequent document itemsare document items with reference to target document items while preceding document items aredocument items referenced by the source document item.)

    2 Document flow records are created for all sales documents (with the exception of delivery,goods issue, and billing documents) from the target sales document item to the source documentitem and possibly to its preceding sales document items. Furthermore, document flow records arecreated from subsequent document items to the source document item and its precedingdocument items (provided the subsequent document is a sales document). It is important to knowthat document flow records are not created from a subsequent document item to a sourcedocument item and its preceding document items if the subsequent document is a delivery, goodsissue, or a billing document.

    Program SDVBFA21 allows you to delete superfluous or redundant document flow records for deliveries,goods issues, and billing documents created by the system from table VBFA when the update documentflow indicator is changed from X to 2 (Figure 9). As seen in the inset of Figure 9, the program allowsyou to perform the delete operation for all sales document types (e.g., A for inquiry, B for quotation), aspecific sales document number, or a range of sales document numbers (in the Sales document no. field).

  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

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    Figure 9Initial screen to delete redundant document flow record after changing copy control

    You can perform a productive run of the delete operation by entering X in the Perform update field.Otherwise, a simulation run is automatically performed. Furthermore, the logging of the delete operation(productive or simulation) is supported by entering X in the Issue log field. You should run the programfor small document number ranges or use varying criteria to avoid degrading system performance,especially when a large volume of data is involved.

    To reduce data volume and enhance system performance, you can use transaction DB15 to archive thecontent of table VBFA using different archiving objects, such as SD_VBAK (sales documents), SD_VBKA(contacts), RV_LIKP (inbound and outbound deliveries) and SD_VBRK (billing documents), as shown inFigure 10.

    Figure 10Archiving objects for archiving table VBFA

    Collective Processing Run

    To reduce the number of documents in the system, your SAP system allows you to create differentdocuments for collective processing. For example, you can collectively process sales orders that are duefor outbound delivery in a single step, thereby forcing the system to combine the items in the defined

  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

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    sales orders to minimize the number of outbound deliveries. You can do this by following menu pathLogistics > Sales and Distribution > Shipping and Transportation > Outbound Delivery > Create >Collective Processing of Documents Due for Delivery > Sales Orders (Figure 11). You can execute thecollective processing of documents manually or automatically (in background mode) by choosing theappropriate menu option via the path Program > Execute or Program > Execute in Background,respectively (Figure 11). The number of documents involved can influence how you run collectiveprocessing to avoid performance issues such as slowness and timeouts, the background mode isrecommended.

    Figure 11Execution of a collective processing run for sales orders

    Table VBFS (Error log for collective processing) acts as a repository for collective processing logs. Overtime, this table can grow to the extent that system performance is hampered. Collective processing existsfor different processes such as delivery, billing, picking, and goods issue. However, the high growth rateof table VBFS is more associated with collective delivery processing and collective billing processingbecause other processes generate less data when compared to delivery and billing processes.

    You can use program SDSAMPRO (Log of Collective Run) to display the log entries generated by differentcollective processing upon the definition of an appropriate group type, such as L for deliveries and F forbilling documents (Figure 12). The description list is displayed when you click in the Type of coll. runfield.

    Figure 12 Initial screen for displaying log of collective processing run with the group types asinset

    Use transaction SE38 or SA38 to execute program SDSAMPRO to display the report (Figure 13).

  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

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    Figure 13 Log of collective delivery processing run

    You can also display log entries generated by a collective processing run via transactions V_SA (Log ofcollective run) and V.21 (Log of collective run). These transactions display logs based on defined selectioncriteria.

    Preventing data updates by adopting message exclusion strategy is key to controlling the growth rate oftable VBFS. The inclusion of messages in the collective processing log especially for delivery isdependent on the message type. You can define the message types for the system messages of acollective delivery processing run by following IMG menu path Logistics Execution > Shipping > SystemModifications > Specify Characteristics for system messages > Define the message types of systemmessages (Figure 14).

    Figure 14 Define message types for system messages in customizing with valid message typesas inset

    The following are the attributes of the different message types shown in the inset in Figure 14:

    Blank No message is generated

    I Messages appear in the collective processing log if additional customizing settings have beenperformed via transaction OVM2 (Copy message with type I into collective processing log).Messages also appear in a dialog box as information.

    W Messages do not appear in the log but appear in a dialog box as a warning

  • SCM Expert - How to Use Data Management Techniques to Turbo-Charge SD Processes

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    E Messages appear in the log and in a dialog box as an error

    The check box under the Displ.info column in Figure 15 determines whether or not to displayinformation messages in addition to error messages in the log for processes running in the background,such as delivery due list processing in transaction VL04. You should use the message type attributes torestrict the recording of collective processing logs. This can help control the unnecessary growth of tableVBFS.

    Figure 15Activation or deactivation of message type I for collective delivery processing log

    Another technique to enhance system performance is to delete unwanted logs of collective processingruns. You can delete obsolete collective processing logs via program RVVBSKDL (Delete groups and logs)(Figure 16).

    Figure 16 Initial screen for the deletion of obsolete collective processing run logs programRVVBSKDL

    When deleting collective processing logs via program RVVBSKDL, you have these options:

    Delete the log entries, including the group header after the related documents have been archived

    Delete only the logs, in which case the group headers and items remain in the system

    Simulate the delete operation

    Kehinde Eseyin is the systems support manager at a multinational oil and gas company. He has beeninvolved in the implementation and support of SAP in various industry sectors. He is an expert in SAPBasis, security and audit, SAP Business One, database management, and project management. He has abachelors degree in computer science and various professional certifications, including SAP NetWeavertechnical consultant, SAP Solution Manager Operations - IT Excellence, SAP Business One (solutions andsupport) consultant, Oracle DBA, ITIL, and PRINCE2. You may contact Kehinde at [email protected].

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