In case you are a curious reader thinking about studying extra about SAP knowledge fashions, you’ve come to the proper place!
Howdy Medium readers! I’m excited to share some learnings from a latest venture the place I dived into the complexity of SAP’s knowledge fashions.
For confidentiality causes, I’m unable to share all of the venture particulars 🤫. Nevertheless, I’ll talk about a problem I confronted relating to the complexity of SAP knowledge fashions: what does the SAP knowledge structure seems like and the way does all the things match right into a coherent knowledge mannequin that is smart for enterprise customers?
On this venture, my major focus was to combine knowledge into an analytics/mining platform utilizing SAP enterprise knowledge on procurement processes. As I progressed, a number of questions come up relating to knowledge modeling and discovering my approach by way of the varied tables of SAP’s database.
My objective was to create a coherent knowledge mannequin able to effectively powering future dashboards, reviews, and different analytical outputs deliberate within the subsequent steps. To attain this, I needed to absolutely perceive SAP knowledge structure fundamentals, tables mapping and so forth. It was not a simple process however I managed to know this new data 🚀
1) SAP, a software program chief in Entreprise Ressource Planning
As a lot of you understand, SAP is among the many main suppliers of ERP software program, alongside others reminiscent of Oracle and Infor. At present, two generations of SAP ERP software program exist: SAP ECC and its successor, SAP S/4 HANA.
The parts of each softwares cowl all firm features, which aren’t solely inward-looking, but in addition outward-looking, as an example on the client aspect (CRM) and the provider aspect (SCM). It’s made up of various modules protecting all of the wants of an organization: Gross sales, Manufacturing, Logistics, Finance, Human Sources, After Gross sales Service.
It’s a software program package deal that consolidates all enterprise processes right into a single database. It additionally routinely considers the interdependencies between totally different processes. In different phrases, SAP or ERP softwares generally, function the center of enterprise processes, powered by an enormous quantity of information and transactions.
For knowledge analytics and course of optimization tasks, we will solely say that it’s helpful to combine knowledge from SAP and mannequin it for front-end use to offer an end-to-end view of enterprise processes and determine inefficiencies. Nevertheless, it may be difficult with out first understanding how the info is organized in SAP.
2) SAP’s Knowledge and Tables Sorts
How is SAP’s knowledge organized? Briefly, a number of tables in SAP Database retailer all the info generated by SAP transactions, reminiscent of making a vendor or a purchase order order within the case of procurement features. It’s additionally vital to notice that whereas some tables stay secure over time, others retailer knowledge capturing particular enterprise occasions essential for day by day operations. The instance of making a vendor or a purchase order order in SAP illustrates this level effectively.
Let’s think about as an example an organization within the automotive sector. This firm would have a vendor desk itemizing these they continuously work with to buy the supplies wanted to fabricate vehicles and different gadgets. The creation of a brand new vendor on this desk is a uncommon occasion that will solely happen a number of occasions per 12 months. This desk is known as a Grasp Desk, which solely shops Grasp Knowledge.
In the meantime, creating a purchase order order is an operational process. Buying groups inside the identical firm continuously use MM (Materials Administration) transactions to create buy orders (e.g. thousands and thousands of buy orders). Consequently, the desk storing all these buy orders is known as a Transaction Desk, and this sort of knowledge is called Transaction Knowledge.
Each tables in SAP ECC and S/4 HANA have particular names. The Vendor Grasp Desk is called the LFA1 desk, whereas Buy Orders are discovered within the EKKO Desk. For somebody working with SAP tables for the primary time, it might not be instantly clear what every desk represents based mostly on its identify. As an illustration, if I point out the names MCHA, MSEG, BSEG, and so forth., you’ll know these are SAP tables, however wouldn’t essentially know what data they retailer. Do they include manufacturing orders, monetary accounts, or invoices?
That’s exactly why it was essential for me to conduct analysis, take notes, and memorize the tables inside my venture’s scope. Extra importantly, I wanted to know the relationships and fields utilized in every desk. At this stage, it’s additionally vital to map this knowledge for fast comprehension.
3) Knowledge Mapping of SAP Procurement Tables
A further problem that you might face in this sort of venture is knowing each the info structure of SAP and the way procurement enterprise processes are outlined. Fortunately, my earlier expertise engaged on course of enchancment tasks with procurement groups was helpful when it got here to procurement processes. Earlier than entering into the SAP Knowledge Mannequin or Mapping of procurement tables, let’s briefly overview the principle objects dealt with in a procurement course of.
To simplify, procurement is the method of buying one thing, which might be uncooked supplies, providers, instruments, and so forth., from a vendor. This course of includes receiving the bought gadgets, verifying their situation, after which initiating the fee course of, also known as the Accounting Payable course of. Nevertheless, we won’t cowl this course of in our scope.
All through this course of, procurement groups undertake varied duties: they validate buy requisitions, create buy orders, and ship these orders to distributors. Most of those duties are carried out utilizing ERP software program, particularly the MM (Materials Administration) module in SAP. Throughout this circulation of actions, key objects or parts transition from one step to the subsequent:
- Buy Requisitions: These are created internally, usually by manufacturing groups, to tell procurement groups {that a} particular merchandise must be bought for manufacturing functions.
- Buy Orders: These are created by procurement groups and embrace detailed details about the gadgets to be purchased, the amount, the seller who ought to obtain the PO, and different related knowledge.
- Items Receipt: Upon receiving the products talked about within the PO, a items receipt is offered by the seller. This receipt is essential for verifying that the products acquired within the warehouse match what was requested within the buy order.
- Bill Receipt: This doc confirms that the acquired items and providers are appropriate and as per the acquisition order. It’s continuously used to provoke the fee course of to the seller.
Every object in SAP has its related Transaction Desk that shops all of the created objects. For instance, as beforehand talked about, Buy Orders are saved within the EKKO Desk. Nevertheless, there’s one other layer of complexity to think about in SAP Tables: the idea of header and merchandise paperwork.
In SAP, an object or doc reminiscent of a purchase order order has two ranges of illustration: the header degree and the merchandise degree. It’s because, conceptually, a doc is all the time created with two ranges of data. The header comprises normal and aggregated knowledge, whereas the gadgets correspond to particular strains inside the identical doc.
For instance, think about you’re shopping for a PS5, The Final of Us 2, and a headset.
Your ultimate order will embrace a header along with your deal with and order quantity. The gadgets you’re buying, together with their amount (on this case, considered one of every merchandise) and worth, will probably be listed individually in line gadgets
Then, a standard query is: does the EKKO desk signify the header knowledge or the merchandise knowledge? The right reply is the header knowledge. The merchandise knowledge is saved in a separate desk known as EKPO.
This core idea is important because it applies to nearly all of SAP objects/paperwork. Invoices could have one desk for header knowledge and one other for gadgets, as will items receipts. Nevertheless, buy requisitions are an exception, having solely an gadgets desk.
To combine and analyze SAP procurement’s knowledge, I wanted to determine the suitable tables to extract and perceive their relationships to construct a corresponding knowledge mannequin. The mapping I did to visualise how these knowledge components interconnect is detailed beneath:
Clearly, the mapping I’ve finished primarily focuses on the elemental transaction tables of the procurement course of. Further tables, reminiscent of grasp tables and different transaction tables — for instance, these storing modifications to buy orders — might be included within the mapping.
This mapping additionally highlights the relationships between tables, whether or not they’re one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many. Moreover, it consists of the fields that type the first key of every object.
Understanding the position of every desk and the potential relationships could be time-consuming. Nevertheless, quite a few assets can be found to help, reminiscent of people who helped me create this high-level procurement knowledge mapping. In the event you’re thinking about studying extra about SAP tables, think about visiting this web site. It gives an in depth overview of every SAP desk, together with major keys, fields, potential values, and so forth. You solely must kind the identify of the desk you’re in search of, for e.g. MSEG and you’re going to get extra particulars in regards to the desk’s construction and sort of saved data:
Search SAP tables | LeanX
Lastly, if this text obtained you extra interested by SAP knowledge fashions for different enterprise features, don’t hesitate to examine SAP Group web site. You will discover some fascinating content material, as an example the identical high-level knowledge mapping for finance features:
A Relationship (primary) of MM and FI tables — SAP Group
