6–19 6 In this chapter you will learn how to: Define an evaluation Generate and execute an evaluation Modify the report layout of a flexible analysis... Chapter 6: LIS Flexibl
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Contents
Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses 6–2
Creating a Report with Flexible Analyses 6–7
Getting the Most from LIS Flexible Analyses: Tips & Tricks 6–18
Review 6–19
Where to Learn More 6–19
6
In this chapter you will learn how to:
Define an evaluation
Generate and execute an evaluation
Modify the report layout
of a flexible analysis
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Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses
Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses
In this chapter you will learn about flexible analyses in the Logistics Information System (LIS) Flexible analysis is a presentation tool that is used primarily to display the contents of LIS information structures
What Is Flexible Analysis?
Flexible analysis gives you an adaptable way of combining and aggregating key figures to suit user requirements This flexibility helps meet the information needs of users at different levels in an enterprise For example, flexible analyses can provide administrators with detailed information and management with aggregated information You can also define additional key figures by applying mathematical formulas to existing key figures
Flexible analyses can be:
< Displayed on screen in a table format
< Exported (or downloaded) to other applications in the following formats:
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
Word document
Dbase
HTML
Flat file
< Saved as an extract which can be viewed later Flexible analysis is used to execute an evaluation (or report) An evaluation is based on an evaluation structure You can use flexible analyses to extract data from an information structure, via an evaluation structure All information structures are automatically available
as evaluation structures, regardless of whether they were delivered with the R/3 System or created by the configuration team Therefore, to execute an evaluation, you do not need to create a new evaluation structure Simply use an existing evaluation structure, for example S001E
How Is Flexible Analysis Different From Standard Analysis?
Unlike LIS Standard analyses, with flexible analyses you can:
< View data in a single report, complete with grand totals, subtotals, sub-sub totals, etc without having to drill down into the report
< Create formulas and calculations with greater ease
< Combine data from multiple information structures and Logistics applications in a
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How Is LIS Flexible Analysis Organized?
As shown in the graphic below, flexible analysis consists of the following four layers:
< Physical data basis: The bottom layer contains information structures and DDIC (data
dictionary) tables which store data One of the first things to do after you decide to use a flexible analysis is to decide what tables to use to generate the report
< Logical data view: Evaluation structures provide a logical view of the information
structures or database tables They do not contain any data, but list the characteristics and key figures that are available for reporting
< Data collection: The evaluation is the definition of your report This is where you define
which characteristics and key figures you want to see in your report This is also where you define the report layout and the formulas to include in your report
< Data presentation: The result (or output) of executing your evaluation is delivered to
the user in the form of a list
DDIC Tables
Info Structures
Evaluation Structure Evaluation List
Physical Data Basis Logical Data View Data Collection Data Presentation
In general, a flexible analysis refers to the following activities:
< Defining, changing, and displaying an evaluation
< Executing an evaluation (running the report)
< Varying the report layout
< Creating, changing, and displaying an evaluation structure with reference to either an evaluation structure or a data dictionary table
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Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses
Terminology
It is helpful to be familiar with some of the essential terms and concepts used with LIS Flexible analyses
Information structure
An information structure stores aggregated data resulting from transactions The three types
of data stored in an information structure are:
< Characteristics
< Key figures
< Periodicity (period unit)
An information structure is a transparent table For each information structure
generated, a separate database table is created Among them are Sxxx and SxxxE , where
xxx represents the number of the information structure For a list of SAP-delivered
information structures, refer to appendix E Some of the tables related to LIS can be
found in the data dictionary under tables that begin with TMC
Information structures are special tables but they are different from the document tables While the document tables store all the detailed information about your documents (such as sales orders and invoices), the information structures store data aggregated by
characteristics and period unit
Example: S001 (in the Sales Information System) is an information structure It
contains data related to customers (for example, sales orders, deliveries, and invoices)
Characteristic
A characteristic is a dimension of your business for which you collect data (also the aggregation or subtotal levels)
Examples of characteristics include sales organization, purchasing organization, plant,
sold-to party, vendor, ssold-torage location, material group, and material
Key figure
A key figure is a measure of the business data you are collecting
Examples of key figures include, incoming order value (booking value), incoming order quantity (booking quantity), invoiced sales value, invoiced sales quantity, PO order quantity, PO order value, goods receipt quantity, valuated stock quantity, and valuated
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Periodicity (or Period unit)
The period unit used for aggregating the data stored in the information structure The period unit can be daily, weekly, monthly, or by fiscal period (using the fiscal year variant established by the finance team) Do not confuse this with periodic loads of data
Note: Some information structures do not appear to have periodicity In such cases, these information structures are actually built from the data contained in other information structures As the source information structure itself contains a periodicity, the target information structure “inherits” the periodicity of the source information structure
Evaluation structure
An evaluation structure presents a logical view of the data in the information structure Unlike information structures, evaluation structures do not store data They list the characteristics, periodicity, and key figures that are available for reporting Each information structure in the R/3 System has a corresponding evaluation structure of the same name For example, information structure S001 has a corresponding evaluation structure S001E
Evaluation
An evaluation is the definition of your report In your evaluation, you list the characteristics, key figures, and period you want to see in the report You also define the sort-order of your characteristics and the display-order of your key figures
List
A list is the output of your evaluation
Formula
A formula is a calculation built from key figures in the evaluation structure
How to Access LIS Flexible Analyses?
You can access the flexible analyses in a number of different ways How you access the tool depends on the type of user you are Since this guide is intended for a wide range of users, the menu path shown below is one most commonly used
To access the LIS flexible analyses, from the SAP main menu choose:
Logistics → Logistics controlling → (application area of your choice), then Flexible analyses
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Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses
How Does LIS Flexible Analyses Differ from Other Reporting Tools?
The features of flexible analysis differ from other reporting tools as follows:
< Flexible analysis can access only evaluation structures and not other tables within the R/3 System To access other tables, you must first define them as evaluation structures Remember, you cannot use more than one table for each evaluation structure
< Flexible analysis is an excellent tool for producing aggregated lists easily and quickly
You can view aggregated data for any level defined in the information structure
< Flexible analysis allows the user to view and aggregate various levels of data
< Flexible analysis lets you display a list graphically
What Are the Prerequisites?
< Although you do not need any ABAP programming experience, a knowledge of the fields is helpful Additionally, it is useful to understand the real-life business application
of the fields
< Before starting flexible analysis, you must know which evaluation structure, characteristics, and key figures you want to include in your report A general understanding of these fields and the calculated key figures is helpful If needed, you can create evaluation structures with reference to one or more evaluation structures or data dictionary tables In this chapter, we use an existing evaluation structure
< When you define an evaluation, you need to specify:
The evaluation structure or source of data for the evaluation (for example, S001E)
Key figures in the evaluation structure that you want to include in your analysis (for example, invoiced sales value, invoiced sales quantity, and invoiced cost)
Characteristics or the way in which the selected key figures are to be aggregated (for example, sales organization, sold-to party, and material)
Layout of the report
Formulas, if any (for example, gross profit margin)
When you execute an evaluation, use selection criteria to restrict the scope of the data for the report On the selection screen of the evaluation, specify the characteristic values you want to include in your report (for example, which month(s) or sales organization(s) should be included)
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Creating a Report with Flexible Analyses
This step-by-step approach is built around a sample report (see graphic on the following page) Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the scenario and the desired report
Example: Bungee Corporation wants a report which uses billing information (from the Sales Information System) to calculate the gross profit margin The report must contain the aggregates of invoiced quantity, invoiced sales, invoiced costs, and gross profit margin Users want to be able to view the list by month, sales organization, sold-to party, and material
For this list, we will use the evaluation structure S001 and create an evaluation named 1000
This is the easiest way to get started with Flexible analyses We will also create a key figure for the gross profit margin calculation
Standard information structures are delivered with corresponding evaluation structures
of the same name Therefore, it is not necessary to create an evaluation structure As you
will note in the example below, using SAP-delivered evaluation structures is the easiest way to create an evaluation
For this example we are using Release 4.0B While this release has a different look and feel than prior releases, the underlying concepts and terminology remain the same
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Creating a Report with Flexible Analyses
The graphic below shows the typical steps to create an evaluation:
Modify the layout Execute the evaluation Generate the evaluation
Create the evaluation
1
2
3
4
Step 1: Create the Evaluation
1 From the SAP main menu, choose
Logistics → Logistics controlling →
Sales information system, then Flexible
analyses → Evaluation → Create
2 Enter the name of the evaluation
structure that you wish to base your
analysis on
3 Enter a unique four-character name
and a description for your analysis
4 Choose Enter
2 3
4
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You are now ready to define the
evalution
5 Choose Characteristics to view all
available characteristics in your
evaluation structure
6 From the Selection List window,
select the desired characteristics In
this example, we chose the following
characteristics:
< Distribution channel
< Material
< Month
< Sold-to-party
7 Choose Copy + close
The selected characteristics will appear
on the Chosen Characteristics: Sequence
window
8 Choose Selection list
9 Check marks on the Selection List
window indicate the selected
characteristics
10 Choose Copy + Close
5
6
7
8
9
10
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Creating a Report with Flexible Analyses
The steps shown below rearrange the
characteristics in the following
sequences: Month, Distribution channel,
Sold-to party, and Material
11 Double-click on Sold-to party Once
selected, the name will change to
blue
12 Click once on Material Once
selected, a rectangle will enclose this
field
13 Choose Move to accept the
revised sequence
To move the Month, double-click on
the Month and single-click
Distribution channel Then, click the
Move button to swap their positions
in the sequence (not shown)
14 Choose Copy to accept the new
sequence
The characteristics now appear in the
defined sequence
You are now ready to select the key
figures
15 Choose Key figures
11 12
13 14
15
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16 Select your key figures In this
example we have chosen three key
figures:
< Invoice quantity
< Invoiced sales
< Invoiced sales: cost
17 Choose Copy + close to close the
popup window
18 Choose Copy from the Choose Key
figures: Sequence window (not
shown)
The screen now shows the selected
Characteristics and Key figures in the
desired order
You are ready to define the display type
for your characteristics:
19 Double-click on a characteristic (for
example, Month) to select it
20 Choose Type to view the available
type selections
21 Select the default, Standard display
(type “ “)
22 Choose Copy
16 17
19
20
21 22
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Creating a Report with Flexible Analyses
You can influence the layout of reports through your choice of a characteristic display type You can define a display type for every characteristic you choose In this way, you can format your report so that you can compare the key figure values of two or more characteristic columns
Select one of the following types for each characteristic:
< Type “ “ (Standard display): The characteristics are shown in the sequence you
defined in the selection This is the default display type
< Type 1 (Comparison of char per key figure): This compares the specified key figures
for the characteristic designated in type 1 in adjacent columns You can select Type 1
display for only one characteristic at a time
< Type 2 (Comparison of key figure per char.): The different key figures of each
characteristic value are displayed in adjacent columns Only one characteristic can be chosen
< Type 3 (Characteristic in selection only): The designated characteristics are not
displayed in the output list, but used only for data selection purposes when an evaluation is executed
For types 1 or 2, you also need to specify the number of column repetitions, (i.e., the
number of characteristic values that can be compared)
Invoiced Sales
Customer ABC
Invoiced Sales Qty.
Customer XYZ
For example, type 2:
Sept 1998
Customer ABC
Inv Sales Inv Sls Qty
Oct 1998 Inv Sales Inv Sls Qty
Customer XYZ