Integrated Lean Sales Order Processing

With the lean order entry module, sales transactions can be managed from a single screen, streamling the operation and making it easier to process the order.


This lowers selling, general and administrative costs (SG&A) and makes the sales process as efficient as possible, leading to businness efficiencies and increased customer satisfaction.

Effective sales order processing links all consumer products activities in a chain of closely integrated processes. The Netweaver component of Sales and Distribution, which generates a workflow for the S&D department based on linked documents, makes effective sales order processing possible.


In addition to pre-sales activities that are not part of this business process procedure, the sales and distribution cycle encompasses sales order processing, procurement, delivery, billing and payment. The sales and distribution component models all those processes using electronic documents, each of which is linked to its preceding and subsequent documents.

A sales document is created in order processing. At delivery processing the delivery is created, then picked and goods issue is posted. In the billing process that follows, an invoice is created and, if necessary, released to financial accounting.

Incoming payments are documented in payment processing and then posted in financials.

The document covers the extended sales order processing scenario, including functionalities such as material substitution, free goods, and material exclusion.
               
                       Well at the technical end of it I had an opportunity to work on Lean Order API which facilitates the creation of ERP SD Documents via SAP CRM Web UI. The standard sales order details may be configured to create SD documents from CRM but as the sales order details are enhanced at the ERP end we fail to capture from CRM. lord API provides an option for mapping to maintain data integrity. The extra fields can be created and and mapped via structures in ERP and are also maintained in the maintenance view.

 

SAP Process Integration

Business Processes work hand in hand across a distributed systems requires process integration as it involves in data transfer uniformly.  Before  developing an interface we could check out for a possible existing interface if it suits our requirement and the method we choose depends on the options available at the time of development.

                                     The purpose of SAP Netweaver Process Integration (Exchange Infrastructure) is to provide a platform that allows different interfaces to communicate with each other using a uniform technology. This promotes overall clarity and reduces maintenance effort.

                                  Technical Implementation of a Point-To-Point Connection Sender and receiver software components are usually made by different vendors and use different technologies. The software components often provide external outbound and inbound interfaces. However, they differ in their document structure and in the protocol that the systems support.

                                To establish the connection, you use a connector that supports both protocols and can convert a message from one protocol to another. If the document structures
are different, map the source document fields to the target document fields by using a mapping program. Some connectors provide graphical mapping tools for this purpose.

Architecture of Netweaver Process Integration

Implementing Business Processes

Before we develop the interfaces you have to analyze the business process that you want to implement in a distributed system landscape. In this analysis, you have to determine which process steps you are going to implement in which system and in which software component.

we evaluate the various methods of developing the interface and then implement it. The relationship between the interface and the business process as a whole is often considered to be unimportant for the technical implementation. Usually, the documentation of the business process and the corresponding interfaces is not given high enough priority.

                                          The main consideration is usually how the interface works. However, if the business process is changed at a later date or a software component is exchanged or updated, this can have an effect on communication between the interfaces. In this case it is good to know how the business process and the interface are related.

OTR messages (Online Text Repository)

As a result of multinational companies spanning across the globe there was a need for an easy way of maintaining texts in multiple languages. The solution for the cause would be to maintain online text repository system which would be helpful in internationalization.

Internationalization :-

The process by which language specific text is detached from the program code that uses it is know as “internationalization”

This allows the same program to operate in multiple languages without needing different versions of code for each language.

Netweaver

Netweaver is an open ended platform meant for seamless integration which can intertwine itself with any platform or bind to any interfaces.SAP NetWeaver's release is as a strategic move by SAP for driving enterprises to run their business on a single, integrated platform that includes both applications and technology. Industry analysts refer to this type of integrated platform offering as an "applistructure" (applications + infrastructure).

Netweaver Stack mainly comprises of:

SAP NetWeaver Application Server
SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence
SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment (CE)
SAP NetWeaver Enterprise Portal (EP)
SAP NetWeaver Identity Management (IdM)
SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management (MDM)
SAP NetWeaver Mobile
SAP NetWeaver Process Integration (PI)

Object Relational-Mapping in SAP

ORM is software-programming paradigm in linking object-oriented code with relational databases which is smart solution for accessing data. ORM cuts down our development time and effort and to circumvent bulk code for querying the Data . SAP's answer for the ORM model is a BOL layer with plenty of API's to access the business data and its relations with ease.


The following list shows the various versions of the Business Object Layer:

CRM 3.1 First version – never in productive use
CRM 4.0 First version use in a productive system
CRMIS 4.0 Several improvements – introduction of separate display mode
SAP_ABA 7.0 Relocation from CRM to ABA layer, first usage outside CRM
CRMUIF 5.1 Introducion of dynamic searches; whole CRM with BOL support
CRMUIF 5.2 Stabization and performance improvements
CRMUIF 6.0 Major internal changes for better performance on high number of objects
WEBCUIF 7.0 Current version; Full Switch Framework support; Stable Core release

The BOL API consists of various interfaces and classes that you can use to access business

data:

x CL_CRM_BOL_QUERY_SERVICE
You use this class to select business objects.
x CL_CRM_BOL_ENTITY
You use this class for implementing business objects.
x IF_BOL_TRANSACTION_CONTEXT
You use this interface to control transaction behavior.
x IF_BOL_BO_COL
The interface provides collections to hold business objects.

Integrating and Leverage Automatic Sensing and Identification Technologies

SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure

SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure gives you the capabilities you need to integrate all automated communication and sensing devices — including radio frequency identification (RFID) readers and printers, Bluetooth devices, embedded systems, and bar-code devices. SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure also integrates intelligent controls such as programmable language controls and Savant technologies, ensuring comprehensive device integration.

SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure senses and controls automated signals in real-time. It connects directly with business processes requiring signal data to drive faster and better business decisions. With SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure, SAP has achieved an important milestone in realizing its vision of an adaptive supply chain network.

One of the first applications of SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure is the integration of RFID technology with supply chain processes. SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure provides out-of-the-box functionality to fulfill requirements for RFID compliance in the logistics applications of the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and large retailers such as Wal-Mart. With SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure, you can meet current market needs and be ready for future automatic identification requirements.

SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure is:

Comprehensive — Enables complete integration of RFID readers and printers and other automated sensing devices
Scalable — Handles the vast amounts of data generated by scanning millions of RFID and other automatic identification items
Fast — Handles multiple tag reads simultaneously, ensuring rapid tag reads and data consolidation
Connected — Integrates with existing enterprise applications, including legacy systems, to enable end-to-end synchronization and business process management
SAP plans to release other RFID solution packages that leverage SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure. These solution packages will address business problems such as predictive maintenance, field service management, and adaptive manufacturing.

Business Intelligence

SAP Business Intelligence gives you all the capabilities you need to identify, integrate, and analyze disparate business data from heterogeneous sources. So you can make informed decisions. Take appropriate action. And improve your business operations.

SAP Business Intelligence helps you implement strategies for long-term success by delivering functionality that is:

Complete — SAP Business Intelligence provides data-warehousing features, reporting and analysis tools, best-practice models, business-analysis applications, and administrative resources.
Action-oriented – Features and functions enable employees at all organizational levels to make informed decisions.
Value-focused – With SAP Business Intelligence, you benefit from low total cost of ownership and fast return on investment.
Integrated — SAP Business Intelligence provides seamless integration with all other SAP NetWeaver components.
Open — SAP Business Intelligence supports industry standards such as XML, XML for Analysis (XMLA), OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO), Common Warehouse Metadata Interchange (CWMI), business application programming interface (BAPI), the ABAP programming language, Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE), and JDBC interfaces.
Extensible – SAP Business Intelligence is extensible and adaptable to changing business needs. It includes tools and interfaces for enhancing and extending existing business content or integrating with third-party analysis and reporting tools.
Personalized – With SAP Business Intelligence, users can personalize content and the way they access it — while complying with your company’s security policies.
Proven – SAP Business Intelligence delivers proven, enterprise-class insight and analysis.

Thousands of productive installations worldwide are delivering real value, with low total cost of ownership and rapid return on investment.

SAP Memory Analyzer

What does the SAP Memory Analyzer do?
The Memory Analyzer was developed to analyze productive heap dumps with hundreds of millions of objects. Once the heap dump is parsed, you can re-open it instantly, immediately get the retained size of single objects and quickly approximate the retained size of a set of objects. The Analyzer is (relatively) low on resource consumption, so you can analyze multi-GB heap dumps on 32 bit boxes.

What heap dumps are supported?
SAP Memory Analyzer supports HPROF binary heap dumps, a de-facto standard of Sun supported also by other vendors:

Sun, SAP and HP JDK/JVM from version 1.4.2_12 and 5.0_7 and 6.0 upwards

IBM doesn’t support HPROF binary heap dumps. Therefore IBM heap dumps can’t be analyzed with the SAP Memory Analyzer. We know of no tool to convert an IBM heap dump into an HPROF binary heap dump, but surely such a converter (System Dump/DTFJ API -> HPROF binary heap dump) could be written.

On what platforms does the SAP Memory Analyzer run?
The Memory Analyzer is based on Eclipse 3.3. You can either download the standalone application or unzip the plug-ins to your Eclipse installation. The former is available for all platforms that SWT is available. We greatly appreciate your feedback regarding platforms other than Windows as our scare resources let us primarily target

4G Langages

Often abbreviated 4GL, fourth-generation languages are programming languages closer to human languages than typical high-level programming languages. Most 4GLs are used to access databases. For example, a typical 4GL command is

SELECT FIELD FROM TABLE INTO STRUCTURE

The other four generations of computer languages are

first generation: machine language
second generation: assembly language
third generation: high-level programming languages, such as C, C++, and Java.
fifth generation: languages used for artificial intelligence and neural networks.

A programming languages are derived from computer's machine language. Machine languages consist entirely of numbers and are almost impossible for humans to read and write. Assembly languages have the same structure and set of commands as machine languages, but they enable a programmer to use names instead of numbers.
Each type of CPU has its own machine language and assembly language, so an assembly language program written for one type of CPU won't run on another. In the early days of programming, all programs were written in assembly language. Now, most programs are written in a high-level language such as FORTRAN or C. Programmers still use assembly language when speed is essential or when they need to perform an operation that isn't possible in a high-level language.


Fourth-generation languages are smart way of communicating with computers as much like the processes executing intelligent algorithms. Certain tasks can be performed faster and more accurately by traditionally programmed computers than by human beings, particularly numerical computation and the storage, retrieval, and sorting of large quantities of information. Some of the features of a 4 G language are exception handling, Object Orientation in programming. Object-Relation Mapping, garbage collection and dynamic binding.

For a better understanding of different high level languages you can follow this link. http://99-bottles-of-beer.net/

Solution Manager

The SAP Solution Manager supports you throughout the entire life-cycle of your solutions, from the Business Blueprint to the configuration to production processing. It provides central access to tools, methods and preconfigured contents which you can use during evaluation, implementation and operational processing of your systems.


Features:-

Implementing and Upgrading SAP Solutions:

Central access to all tools for your project (Project Administration, Business Blueprint, Configuration, Test Workbench, create Group Rollout templates)
Central management of all information for your Project (roadmaps, system landscape, project documentation)
Compare and synchronize customizing in different SAP components

Solution Monitoring:

Central System administration
Analysis of your system landscape with Service Level Reporting
Real-time System Monitoring
Business process monitoring

Services and Support:

Access to programs and Services to monitor and optimize the performance and availability of your system landscapes, and minimize risks when running your systems

Service Desk:

Solution support with workflow to Create and Process Problem Messages

Change Management:

Manage change requests, with workflow to trace and audit changes and transports in your system landscape with Change Request Management.

ASAP

ASAP: Accelerated Systems Application and Products in Data
Processing
ASAP methodology means nothing but standard process for
implementation of SAP, It consists of 5 phases.

1. Project preparations - consists of identifying team members and
developing strategy as how to go.

In this phase of the ASAP Roadmap, decision-makers define clear
project objectives and an efficient decision-making process. A project charter
is issued, an implementation strategy is outlined, and the project team as well
as its working environment are established.

The first step is for the project managers to set up the implementation
project(s). They draw up a rough draft of the project, appoint the project team
and hold a kickoff meeting. The kickoff meeting is critical, since at this time
the project team and process owners become aware of the project charter and
objectives and are allocated their responsibilities, lasting throughout the
project.


2. Business Blue print - consists of identifying the client current
process, requirement and how SAP provides solution.Consists of detailed documentation
In this phase you document and define the scope of your R/3 implementation and create the Business Blueprint. The Business Blueprint is a detailed documentation of your company’s requirements in Winword format. Application consultants and the Business Process Teams achieve a common understanding of how the enterprise intends to run its business within the R/3 System, by carrying out requirements-gathering workshops.

During Phase 2, the project team completes R/3 Level 2 training;
this is recommended as early as possible and before the workshops start.

The project team selects the processes that best fit your business from R/3’s functional offering, using the following tools:

3. Realization -The purpose of this phase is to implement all the
business and process requirements based on the Business Blueprint.Unit Test and String Tests are performed followed by documentation of UTR/UTP's and Test Cases. Business Acceptance Test (BAT)

The purpose of Phase 3 is to configure the R/3 System, in order
to have an integrated and documented solution which fulfills your business process
requirements.

In this phase, configuration of your system is carried out
in two steps: Baseline and Final Configuration. The Baseline configuration is
designed to configure about 80% of your daily business transactions and all
of your master data, and organizational structure. The remaining configuration
is done in process-oriented cycles. The Business Blueprint is used as the guide
for the system configuration, done using the Implementation Guide, which will
be described in detail in this chapter. After this, data transfer programs,
as well as interfaces, need to be tested.

4 Final Preparation - The purpose of this phase is to complete
testing, end-user training.

The purpose of this phase is to complete the final preparation
of the R/3 System for going live. This includes testing, user training, system
management and cutover activities, to finalize your readiness to go live. This
Final Preparation phase also serves to resolve all crucial open issues. On successful
completion of this phase, you are ready to run your business in your productive
R/3 System.

In Phase 4, your end users go through comprehensive training.
The last step will be to migrate data to your new system. In particular a going-live
check is carried out and an R/3 Help Desk set up.

5 Go Live and Support
All the functional consultants need good rape with Abaper’s

Now you are ready to go live with your productive system! Afterwards,
the project team focuses on supporting the end users, for which training may
not be completed. It is also necessary to establish procedures and measurements
to review the benefits of your investment in R/3 on an ongoing basis. Key SAP
Services to support you in this phase include

The Online Service System (OSS)
Remote Consulting
EarlyWatch® Services
These services encompass a series of remote analyses of specific R/3 System
settings, with recommendations for improving system performance.
Development QA/ Testing Production



1. Project
preparation
2. Business Blue
print
3. Realization
4. Testing/QA
5. Go Live

Few Documents that are to be recorded in these phases are.

1. Functional Specifications.
2. Technical Specifications.
3. UTR/UTP
4. Test Cases
5. Delivery Documents

SAP CRM Architecture

SAP CRM Web Client Architecture is technically advanced built on netweaver. UI is built up on three different layers.


Business Engine and business Layers are responsible for linking a CRM Business Functionalities within CRM WebClient UI and presentation layer represents main development environment for Web Client UI where single screens can be designed


The business Server Pages (BSP's) are representing the presentation layer of CRM WebClient. They are used to generate the HTML page of CRM WebClient running in the user browser


The business logic of CRM business objects and process are not controlled by the bsps, they are controlled by business layer and business Engine.

Business objects of an CRM Webclient session like business partners, products, transactions, etc. are hold in the Business Object Layer(BOL).


The main framework approach of WebClient UI It is build by the concept of Model-View-Controller.

The MVC - Application is located in third level of a three level client server technology.


The programming model mentioned above is not specific to SAP instead its a generic approach of how to develop a software with a clear separation of business logic and data model and the specific visual presentation of this data

We Distinguish between Model, View, Controller of an application.

Within the application there is a strict separation of reading / changing data,showing data and reacting to user inputs.

Model is a kind of black box entity which contains all necessary methods to get access to business data function.

In case of webclient UI the model corresponds to SAP CRMs Business Layer and Business Engine. All available business objects can be found here.

The views responsibility is to display the data coming from the model and offer an interface to the enduser for working on the data.

The controller is acting as a live intermediate element between a view and a model. It receives and processes user requests, to call certain business functionalities within a model. It receives and processes user requests, to call certain business functionalities within a model and invokes data output with a view.

For example user is pressing a button to get more detailed data shown, controller processes button click, to launch according to business method in model and takes over returning data which will be put into the view for display.

Introduction to SAP CRM

CRM as a front end tool gives a considerable advantage in modelling and synchronizing the business processes. SAP CRM was proved to make a significant change in customer engagement and capture the activities into the central repository. SAP CRM has experienced a number of advancements right from GUI to current web User Interface. SAP CRM harmonized the online SAP CRM user interface with SAP CRM Web Client. Web Client is designed for the web user a role-based workspace that is easy to use and navigate