FQEVENTS is a transaction for FICA related solutions and which enables easy and quick navigation to customization points within the solution.  help.sap.com has some basic background on the FICA event concept here http://help.sap.com/erp2005_ehp_06/helpdata/en/99/64fc3ee241ba28e10000000a114084/frameset.htm

Here's how to use it:

Execute transaction code FQEVENTS in ECC system.

Your screen may look slightly different - use the screen settings icon at the top to adjust as you like.

To find events which are assigned to a specific process, you can use the search term search at the top.  Scroll thru the list to find the search term you are looking for and double-click on it to pull up the list of events assigned, e.g. account determination.  (keep in mind that this list may not be 100% complete but is usually a good starting point)

The list below changes based upon the search term choice form the top window.  There is a list of events which are relevant to account determination.

Double-click on one of the events to pull up the details.

The details will provide 2 or 3 tabs depending on the event and your version of ECC.  There will always be a Documentation tab and a Function Modules tab. 

The documentation tab will usually provide some background details about the event and how to use it.

The function modules tab shows what logic is called for this event and how/why.  There are 3 opportunities for logic to be provided:

1. This is the sample module.  It is used for all industries and only used if no other logic is provided.  The function module provided here is usually empty and it is useful as a template for copy/create of your own custom logic.  In this area, the flag 'additional functions' is important. This flag controls whether one function can be called or several functions.  If empty, then it will call the customer-specific FM (for exception see #2).  If populated, then it will call the industry-specific functions followed by any customer-specific functions.  That order cannot be changed.   Table TFKFBM is used behind the scenes here.
2. This is the industry specific logic.  If an industry solution requires logic in an event then it would be provided and assigned here.  The flag 'No customer modules' is important.  If checked, then a customer cannot provide their own logic for this event.  Very few events are limited in this manner.  As mentioned above, for some events the industry-specific logic will be called in addition to (and called first) the customer specific logic; for others, it is an either/or scenario.  Many events will have industry-specific logic provided here.  Table TFKFBS is used behind the scenes here.
3. This is the place where customer-specific (or as in the text, installation-specific) logic is maintained.  As long as the 'No Cus.Mod' flag is not set,then the logic provided here will be called either in place of the industry-specific logic or in addition to it.  The flag in #1 will dictate whether you can assign one or several customer functions to this event.  Table TFKFBC is used behind the scenes here.  Use the pencil icon to change the customization for the event and add your own function module.

The sequence number is used when you have several functions assigned and will determine in which order they are called.  Enter the name of the function module which has your customer-specific logic, and which has the right signature based on copying from the sample function.

If an event has been designated internally as relevant for brfplus usage, then a third tab will appear as below.

This tab enables you to quickly generate the necessary brfplus function based on the data being provided in the event (This is event 0040 on ECC606).

For every event then, when it is called by the application program, function FKK_FUNC_MODULE_DETERMINE is used which derives the correct function(s) to use for the event.

Huge data has always been a constraint in IS-U. Some examples of huge data are FICA Docs, Invoices, Billing Documents, etc. SAP has provided the concept of "Mass Activity" to process the huge chunk of data in mass. But the mass activity is not available for all business processes specially if the process is handle through a custom z-report. But here comes the SAP's amazing ability to adapt and this gives an option to create a custom mass activity to handle these scenarios.

While creating Payment Scheme for an account, sometimes users don't include all open debit items for the account. Therefore, all debit items do not have clearing restriction 'R' on them. Our business process wanted to have clearing restriction 'R' on all open debit items irrespective of whether these items were included while creating payment scheme or not. thus z-program was created to select all open debit items of all accounts with an active payment scheme.

This program runs on a daily basis and usually takes 4-5 hours. The program definitely needed some improvement in execution timings. After the parallel functionality implementation, this report completes in 10-15 minutes which is a huge timing gain.

In this article, you'll learn how to do all basic configuration required to create Mass Activity. In next series of article I'll include all the coding part required for mass activity to run successfully and I'll update this article once the next article is ready.

1. Create two new events in FQEVENTS to handle intervals and variants

Go to SM30 and maintain table TFKFBM.

Now, create two new z-events as below. One event will be used to handle variant and one to handle intervals.

2. Create a Function Group for the sample function modules mentioned above

3. Create custom Transaction Code to trigger this mass activity.

Go to SE93 and create a custom t-code.

Enter details as below:

Program: SAPLFKKAKTIV2. This is standard program for mass activities.

Screen Number: 999

4. Create Z-Structure to create screen parameters.

In business scenario mentioned above, only payment scheme number will be the selection criteria for Mass Transaction, thus only one structure required for Payment Scheme Range. If instead of range, only Parameter field is required, then this structure is not required.

We'll then create a Table Type for this structure to be used in actual structure required for mass activity screen.

Now, create the actual structure for the mass activity. Please note that, if only a parameter selection criteria is required on screen, then the above two steps are not required.

Here, field OPBEL will be the Payment Scheme range for selection. Field SIMULATION will confirm if mass activity needs to be run in simulation mode. Field EXLOG defines if extended log is required from Mass Activity results. Last two fields are optional.

5. Define Group Frames for Mass Activities

Config: SPRO > Financial Accounting > Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable > Technical Settings > Define Group Frames for Mass Activities

Chose Application. For Finance Mass Activities, chose FI-CA-MASS.

Select FI-CA-MASS and got to Group box. Create a new Group Box and give following details:

Group Box Number along with Description

Program Name: Give Function Group Program Name which was created in Step 2

Screen: Give Selection Screen Number

6. Define Layout for Mass Activities

This config can be found at SPRO > Financial Accounting > Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable > Technical Settings > Define Layouts for Mass Activities

Create a new Tab Layout.

Create Tab Page Titles

6a. Select Tab 1 - Payment Scheme and click on "Position of Groups on the tab pages"

In Position 1, give group box created above in step 5. For Position 2, use standard group box S0117.

6b. Select Tab 3 - Technical Settings and click on "Position of Groups on the tab pages"

Use standard group boxes as specified in screen shots.

6c. Select Tab 5 - Logs and click on "Position of Groups on the tab pages"

Again, use standard group boxes as specified in screen shots.

OK. Now, all basic configurations are done and lets create a new z mass activity type.

7. Prepare Mass Activities

Config: SPRO > Financial Accounting > Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable > Technical Settings > Prepare Mass Activities

Create a new entry as below and give your mass activity type.

7a: Tab "Events"

Give the Interval and Parameter events create in Step 1.

7b. Tab "Transaction"

Give Transaction code create in Step 3.

7c. Tab "Job Control"

Give a standard Job Category applicable.

7d. Tab "Reconcil. Key"

In this business process, no recon key is required hence No Recon Key check box is selected. In case a recon key is required, Select Mass Posting, give Origin and Reservation Object.

7e. Tab "Structures and Parameters"

This tab controls the selection screen for the mass activity. Give Structure created in step 4.

7f. Tab "Application Log"

Select the desired level of Application log and give app log object.

7g. Tab "Other"

Give the tab layout create in step 6. You have other options to explore as well.

8. Create Parallel Processing Object

Create parallel processing object ZPAYSCHEME.

Your custom mass activity t-code then should look like:

This completes all the basic configuration required to create a mass activity. In my next article, I'll include the code part required to run the mass activity.

Rob Schilling, CEO of Space-Time Insight, a Real-Time Visual Analytics company and SAP partner that's expanding into Europe talks about how his company brings mutiple data sets together in real-time or near real-time. They make sense of that data and bring insight on top of big data. 

For more information, see >>www.saphana.com

Research Resources and Rules of Engagement

William Eastman's Picks

Wanted: Sponsors for "Utility of Tomorrow" Innovation Contest

At the 9th International SAP Conference in Copenhagen, SAP announced the "Utility of Tomorrow" contest.

The goal of the contest is to promote, accelerate and share transformative and innovative ideas with utility companies. The contest is focused on creating a connected, interactive and engaging customer experience.

It aims at enabling university students from around the world to engage directly with leading utility companies to transform the utility customer experience. For students the contest begins in September, and the deadline for submissions is in October.

Now we are looking for sponsors, especially in APJ! More information how you can benefit as a sponsor read this >>blog or visit our webpage >>Utility of Tomorrow Contest

FQEVENTS is a transaction for FICA related solutions and which enables easy and quick navigation to customization points within the solution.  help.sap.com has some basic background on the FICA event concept here http://help.sap.com/erp2005_ehp_06/helpdata/en/99/64fc3ee241ba28e10000000a114084/frameset.htm

Here's how to use it:

Execute transaction code FQEVENTS in ECC system.

Your screen may look slightly different - use the screen settings icon at the top to adjust as you like.

To find events which are assigned to a specific process, you can use the search term search at the top.  Scroll thru the list to find the search term you are looking for and double-click on it to pull up the list of events assigned, e.g. account determination.  (keep in mind that this list may not be 100% complete but is usually a good starting point)

The list below changes based upon the search term choice form the top window.  There is a list of events which are relevant to account determination.

Double-click on one of the events to pull up the details.

The details will provide 2 or 3 tabs depending on the event and your version of ECC.  There will always be a Documentation tab and a Function Modules tab. 

The documentation tab will usually provide some background details about the event and how to use it.

The function modules tab shows what logic is called for this event and how/why.  There are 3 opportunities for logic to be provided:

1. This is the sample module.  It is used for all industries and only used if no other logic is provided.  The function module provided here is usually empty and it is useful as a template for copy/create of your own custom logic.  In this area, the flag 'additional functions' is important. This flag controls whether one function can be called or several functions.  If empty, then it will call the customer-specific FM (for exception see #2).  If populated, then it will call the industry-specific functions followed by any customer-specific functions.  That order cannot be changed.   Table TFKFBM is used behind the scenes here.
2. This is the industry specific logic.  If an industry solution requires logic in an event then it would be provided and assigned here.  The flag 'No customer modules' is important.  If checked, then a customer cannot provide their own logic for this event.  Very few events are limited in this manner.  As mentioned above, for some events the industry-specific logic will be called in addition to (and called first) the customer specific logic; for others, it is an either/or scenario.  Many events will have industry-specific logic provided here.  Table TFKFBS is used behind the scenes here.
3. This is the place where customer-specific (or as in the text, installation-specific) logic is maintained.  As long as the 'No Cus.Mod' flag is not set,then the logic provided here will be called either in place of the industry-specific logic or in addition to it.  The flag in #1 will dictate whether you can assign one or several customer functions to this event.  Table TFKFBC is used behind the scenes here.  Use the pencil icon to change the customization for the event and add your own function module.

The sequence number is used when you have several functions assigned and will determine in which order they are called.  Enter the name of the function module which has your customer-specific logic, and which has the right signature based on copying from the sample function.

If an event has been designated internally as relevant for brfplus usage, then a third tab will appear as below.

This tab enables you to quickly generate the necessary brfplus function based on the data being provided in the event (This is event 0040 on ECC606).

For every event then, when it is called by the application program, function FKK_FUNC_MODULE_DETERMINE is used which derives the correct function(s) to use for the event.

William Eastman's Picks

>>LINK to webcast registration

Or learn more about this subject and more by registering for the SAP Utilities Forum North America in Huntington Beach, California, September 15-17^th.

This document talks about the details of integration between SAP Plant Maintenance and GIS (any product by ESRI). The following details are covered in this topic

- Introduction

- Use of GIS system at a Utility

- Use of SAP ERP system at Utility

- SAP EAM Compatible Unit Solution

- Interface between sap gis system

- Business benefits of Integrating two systems 

Introduction:

In  recent years businesses have been striving to optimize their processes andimprove efficiency by using highly integrated ERP systems like SAP for work management/financial management and GIS for map based information management.   Many advances have been observed in both fields; however the integrationbetween these two systems is highly complex. This results in lost opportunities
to leverage spatial analysis capabilities of GIS and highly integrated business management tools of ERP systems such as SAP. This paper discusses theindividual capabilities of each system and the integration approach of SAP ERPsystem with GIS. The paper discusses the benefits gained from SAP/GIS  integration and highlights the major integration aspects involved in theseprocesses. We will also consider the technical approach used for interfacing the two systems. This paper will focus mainly on integration between SAP andAsset Management/Work Management (Plant Maintenance).

The following industries mainly make use of GIS systems:

• Utilities – Water, Electric, Gas, Waste &
  Recycling
• Energy – oil and gas production
• Public Sector entities (like cities and
  states) also make extensive use of GIS systems

This paper focuses on the unique principles of a utility company but the principles would remain the same for other businesses.

The following are the main touch points between SAP and GIS from Utility perspective:

Asset Integration:

This is mainly used in the Utility and Construction Industry. The assets/equipments could be created in SAP and sent back to GIS.

The example of the above would be that a Utility pole could be created in SAP and then automatically represented in GIS. The GIS
users can directly view the ERP data of that pole in the GIS system.

Routing/Network Tracing:

This feature is mainly used by Service Providers:  Routing & Logistics industry, Utilities,Oil and Gas production etc.The ability to identify assets closest to addressinfo provided by caller – then be able to trace the network to see the flow of  the commodity (water, gas etc) and identify other customers that may bepotentially affected – e.g. nearest main and other addresses connected to thatmain

Design and Estimating:

The designs can be used in construction and Utility industry.The following are the main SAP touch points during integration:

• Plant Maintenance – Equipment Master,
  Functional Location, Compatible Units, CU Design, Work Orders
• Supply Chain – Material Master, Compatible
  Unit
• Finance – Reconciliation (Indirect relation)

GIS in Utility Industry:

In the Utilities Industry, GIS is used for real time management of utilityinfrastructure and operations. It is a tool for map-based information
management, utility outages, creation of new assets (new construction jobs),field staking, inspection etc. In the Utilities industry, mapping and geographyare instrumental elements in most decision making processes. All of theprocesses around new infrastructure and outage management are driven by themaps. GIS brings together graphical representation of natural objects (e.g.trees, houses, wells, roads, etc), with attributes of these objects as well astools to manage the behavior of the map objects. This combination allows GIS togo far beyond the management of “background” mapping as it provides truepositional awareness in support of conducting analysis across multiple sources of information.

Whenit comes to integrating the GIS system with SAP, the following are the mainchallenges

• Asset Identification and linking
• Assembly units (basically the labor costs for Installs, Removals and material cost) in
  GIS used for new designs
• New Asset creation and keeping the infrastructure for both systems in sync
• Outage Management

The two main functions we are going to consider here in GIS system are

1. New Construction

2. Map updates

The main use of the GIS is for new construction jobs, i.e. staking the new job andbuilding new lines. The second important function is keeping the map in sync with the actual equipment out in the field.

Let us see the two different functions now, and the way they are performed in GISsystem

For the new construction jobs, GIS needs information for the labor and material for.the various actions they perform such as Install/Removals for the constructionThis information is maintained in terms of assembly units. Theinformation of assembly units is shipped from the enterprise application systemsuch as JDE, Maximo, SAP, etc.

New Construction jobs

The typical construction job is done,from take off pole location.The lines are constructed based on the pole locations above. Once the job is drawn with required assembly units, the system gives anassembly units listing along with the cost estimate report.

The second important function from GIS is to represent the structure or network of the installed equipment. The equipment is displayed
and managed on maps. The way the functionality is managed is referred as “MapEdit sessions” in GIS.

Use of SAP system at Utility:

SAP PlantMaintenance is one of the basic modules implemented by Utilities. The workmanagement functionality of master data management (Equipments and Functional location), Notification, Work Order management and Compatible units is used by a Utility

SAP implementations  increase the ability to make clear business decisions and eliminating processbottlenecks in the Utility industry.

Work Management – Helps organizations manage their assets more efficiently. It keeps the track of preventive and maintenance history and thus helps in decision making process around scrapping of an asset. In conjunction with Project system module it also helps to manage the complex projects using WBS, Compatible unitsetc.

SAP EAM Compatible Unit Solution:

The enterprise asset management module (under corporate services) helps in predictivemaintenance, maintenance cost budgeting, maintenance execution, and work-clearance management.

The Compatible Unit solution within SAP EAM helps mainly with construction work andacts as a tool for creating and maintaining equipment master data. Thisfunctionality resembles to GIS in that certain attributes of the equipmentmaster are maintained in both EAM as well as GIS.

Introduction to Compatible Unit Functionality:

• Predefined standard design templates containing Materials, Labor, 
• Resources and Tools required to completestandard Work Orders 
• Example: Install,Remove, Transfer 40 feet pole.
• New Service Installation.
• CUs helps designers and engineers to more quickly and efficiently and estimate work to be performed
• CUs are predominantly used by Utilities, but not exclusively

The overall design process in SAP is described below

CU Library:

See the attached document for image

The CU master  data carries the task list, classification andreference object type information.

CU Design:

See the image in attached for CU Design

CU design with different Compatible units and associated CU actions

Cost on CU Design:

See the image in attached document.

The cost estimation/reporting on CU design.

CU Work Order from Design:

Work Order created from CU design for execution of work (See the image for detailed CU process)

Equipment Master in SAP:

Equipment Master Data maintained in SAP

Classification data is maintained on Equipment

Interface Between SAP – GIS system:

The following Interfaces are typical between SAP EAM and GIS:

See the attached document for details

• Outbound interface to send CU master data from SAP to UC (what’s UC??)
• Outbound interface to send the equipment master data to UC
• Inbound interface to create CU design from UC in SAP and update the same
• Inbound interface to send the ‘AS BUILTS’from UC job to the SAP work order
• Inbound interface to send equipment updates (change in characters or feeder) to SAP
• One more Interface was set up with OMS system to create notifications on affected pieces of Equipment

Important Facts and Consideration for above interfaces:

Interface between SAP and GIS to maintain master data of Compatible Units – Outbound

• This is an outbound interface sending out the data of the Compatible units from SAPto GIS system. The CUs will be required in GIS for new construction job
• The important fields to be sent to GIS from SAP

       1.Compatible Unit id
       2. Cost associated with each CU. The major costs are labor cost on Install andremovals of Compatible unit for a job. This will also
           include the material cost.

Main considerations:

In order to synch the two systems it is recommended to maintain the same namingconvention for the Compatible Unit in both systems.

Interface between GIS and SAP to send the Compatible Unit design from SAP – Inbound

• This is the most critical interface in the whole set up. This interface sends thenew design created in GIS to SAP.
• As shown above in the screen shots, the GIS system creates new construction job (see image)basically on a feeder. The location 1 shown above is the take off polelocation, where the new construction begins. Each location on the feeder isdenoted by separate locations (location 2, location 3 etc) where the differentCompatible units are installed to complete the job.
• Important fields to be sent from GIS to SAP

       1.Compatible Unit id
       2.   Quantity
       3.   CU Action
       4.   VCU (Locations)

       5.   Pri key id (the physical location or  X,Ycoordinates on GIS side)

       6.   Equipment Id (in case of existing equipments, equipment id will be maintained on GIS sidefrom SAP)

Main Considerations:

• The CU Action and CU ids are important. The location (take off pole position –feeder id) i.e. the functional location in SAP is important for automaticcreation of new equipments (once the order is created)
• The most important thing to take into consideration is that the functional locationhierarchy in SAP should not replicate the geographical locations on GIS side;otherwise it will become a nightmare to maintain two systems in synch. Thefunctional location on SAP side can be based on intelligent grouping ofEquipments, based on object types like Poles, Transformers etc. The feeder id
  can be maintained as a character on Equipment side, to identify the feeder/functional location on SAP.
• The pri key id will act as a common identifier when the Equipment is created.

Interface between SAP and GIS to maintain technical object master data in synch – Outbound

• Thisinterface will send the Equipment ids created from new construction job back toUC. The pri key id acts as a unique identifier between the two systems andplugs the unique Equipment id on GIS side.

Main Considerations:

• As mentioned above the structure of functional location and equipment is veryimportant.The proposed structure will rely on GIS to
  update SAP with any permanent circuit changes. This will ensure that thefunctional location structure always remains accurate while still reflectingthe dynamic nature of the circuit network. This can be achieved by updating theindividual equipment’s distribution feeder number that will be stored as acharacteristic with the circuit change. Temporary circuit changes, such asseasonal load adjustment will not be reflected in SAP, since these are not permanent as-built changes to the network
• The end-state structure
  should be Substation and Distribution Feeder driven. This will allow cost roll-up at the circuit level for better reliability investment decisions, as well as,
  providing better performance analysis.
• The above will make sure that both systems are in synch. The Equipment id has to be maintained on the GIS side.

Interface between GIS and SAP to maintain technical object master data in synch – Inbound (Mapcorrections in GIS) 

• This is an inbound interface. Map corrections/circuit changes always happen in GIS.It is required to maintain the structure in two systems in synch. Thisinterface basically sends the theme layer (object type of Equipment in SAP) and
  the associated attributes like pole height, class or the rating of thetransformer.

Main Considerations:

• The main consideration is minimizing the attributes in SAP and GIS system. All theattributes in GIS system are not always required in SAP. Also the data comingfrom GIS should be classified as a new construction or a map correction job. This
  is important as in map corrections there will be no need of creating new equipments.

Benefits of integrating two systems:

• Some Important benefits are as follows:

• Increase asset data integrity
• Effective financial reporting and meeting regulatory requirements
• Increase end-user productivit
• Increase work order manageability and reporting
• Capitalize on information input into one system utilized in both with efficiency
• Supply chain integration with work management

Increase Asset Data integrity

                - SAP and GIS databases reflect same data

                - Equipment number tracked in GIS
                - Eliminate lost, duplicate and obsoleteasset data

                 -Support reliable reporting and decisionmaking 

                - Proper tracking of refurbished equipment

Effective financial reporting and meeting regulatory requirements

                 - Automatic Financial reconciliation basedon the data from GIS

                 - Segregate the Capital and Operationexpenses on same job

                 - Effective Compliance to FederalReporting – FERC and other reporting requirements 

                 - Automated settlement to correct Asset

                 - Ability to capitalize (settle) workorder costs by expense type (labor, material, overhead etc). CAPEX and
                   OPEX distinguished

                 - Automation of  periodic asset transactions like assetunitizations, Cost of removal, retirements and other adjustment postings

Increase End User productivity:

                - Find SAP asset data (equipment)instantly from the map

                -View equipment details on the map

                - Create/update SAP assets from themap

                - Dynamically link map features toSAP assets in real‐time

                - Doing job once in GIS and updatethem in SAP through interface

                - Submit ASBU (As Built) in GIS and update SAPwork order through interface

Increase work order manageability and reporting:

                - Automated process of creatingdesign in SAP

                - Multiple designs can be createdfor same job

                - Same jobs tied with ConstructionMeasure

                - ASBU (As Built updated) updatedon Work Order

Supply Chain integration with work management:

               - Compatible Units provide forstandardized planned and actual materials and costs on the work ord

               - Planning materials on work orders createsreservations in the warehouse which gives storekeepers  visibiltyto upcoming need

              - Scheduling of the work order materialsallows the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) portion of SAP to automate
                 replenishment of warehouse inventory

Solution Manager Axel Memminger discusses the market opportunity for customers using SAP analytics capabilities.

In this video you can learn how you can get value out of speed by reducing the time for transactions from several hours to minutes. With SAP HANA you wil be capable to send out collection letters, bills and financial statements much quicker. And there are many other areas e.g. the auditing area where saving time means saving money.

For more information, see >>www.saphana.com

At the 9th International SAP Conference for Utilities, Frank Erhoff demonstrates system integration and the value delivered to waste utilities. With processes integrated, as this demo shows, a truck's contents can be quickly weighed and processed to speed things up.

For more information, see www.sap.com and Waste2Energy inside the SAP Solution Explorer.

Hello,

I would like to share this information.

How to attach a file in a device.

There are below ways for the same:-

Process A)

1) Open IQ02

2) Goto System tab in header--> Services for Object--> select the "Device " object type--> then see the first "CREATE Button" click the small Icon beside the BLANK page icon in this button--> and select "Create Attachment". You can directly browse to the file and complete the attachment.

The attached file can be seen after attachment steps are done with the button " Attachment List" which appears besides the create attachment button.

Process B)

1) Goto IQ02- change device mode

2) Below Serial Number there is one field called " Description", click "Intern Note" button.

3) Here you can directly type the details, Or can Copy/Paste

4) Or go to Tab TEXT--> Upload

5) Or try tab INSERT--> Text/ Clipborad/ Graphics.

6) Uploading scanned document/Image-->In INSERT--> Graphics, select--> option " Stored on document server", select image type as black/white OR Color bitmap. Browse for the file stored on your server, and complete the upload process.

Option 6- for Image upload.

Hope this is helpful for friends; who might need this in future.

Regards

Sachin

Walter Zimmermann from the development team at SAP explains the SAP Smart Energy Data Foundation and speaks about the features and functionalities of SAP Customer Energy Management to facilitate communication between utilities and customers.

For more information about SAP Smart Meter Analytics see www.sap.com

For more infromation about SAP Customer Energy Management 1.0 powered by HANA see http://help.sap.com/cem10

At the 9th International SAP Conference in Copenhagen, SAP announced the "Utility of Tomorrow" contest.

The goal of the contest is to promote, accelerate and share transformative and innovative ideas with utility companies. The contest is focused on creating a connected, interactive and engaging customer experience.

It aims at enabling university students from around the world to engage directly with leading utility companies to transform the utility customer experience. For students the contest begins in September, and the deadline for submissions is in October.

Winners will participate in a workshop to further develop their ideas, to be held in Silicon Valley with experts from participating utilities and SAP. Finalists will also have the opportunity to present their ideas at SAP TechEd Las Vegas, being held October 21–25, 2013.

Now we are looking for sponsors, especially in APJ! Depending on  your sponsorship level, you as a sponsor can benefit as follows:

• Prominent placement as a sponsor on our global contest web site
• Inclusion in all announcement of the contest, in all global regions through the summer and fall
• Consultations on contest content, and the definition of the Challenge categories
• Chances to mentor student teams, and to network with other contest sponsors.
• Representation on the winner selection committee, and involvement in planning the winners´workshop
• Access to novel ideas generated by student teams from around the world.

For more information, see >>Utility of Tomorrow Contest

Read more about the contest >>LINK to SAP Newsroom

For more information, see press release >>metering.com

FQEVENTS is a transaction for FICA related solutions and which enables easy and quick navigation to customization points within the solution.  help.sap.com has some basic background on the FICA event concept here http://help.sap.com/erp2005_ehp_06/helpdata/en/99/64fc3ee241ba28e10000000a114084/frameset.htm

Here's how to use it:

Execute transaction code FQEVENTS in ECC system.

Your screen may look slightly different - use the screen settings icon at the top to adjust as you like.

To find events which are assigned to a specific process, you can use the search term search at the top.  Scroll thru the list to find the search term you are looking for and double-click on it to pull up the list of events assigned, e.g. account determination.  (keep in mind that this list may not be 100% complete but is usually a good starting point)

The list below changes based upon the search term choice form the top window.  There is a list of events which are relevant to account determination.

Double-click on one of the events to pull up the details.

The details will provide 2 or 3 tabs depending on the event and your version of ECC.  There will always be a Documentation tab and a Function Modules tab. 

The documentation tab will usually provide some background details about the event and how to use it.

The function modules tab shows what logic is called for this event and how/why.  There are 3 opportunities for logic to be provided:

1. This is the sample module.  It is used for all industries and only used if no other logic is provided.  The function module provided here is usually empty and it is useful as a template for copy/create of your own custom logic.  In this area, the flag 'additional functions' is important. This flag controls whether one function can be called or several functions.  If empty, then it will call the customer-specific FM (for exception see #2).  If populated, then it will call the industry-specific functions followed by any customer-specific functions.  That order cannot be changed.   Table TFKFBM is used behind the scenes here.
2. This is the industry specific logic.  If an industry solution requires logic in an event then it would be provided and assigned here.  The flag 'No customer modules' is important.  If checked, then a customer cannot provide their own logic for this event.  Very few events are limited in this manner.  As mentioned above, for some events the industry-specific logic will be called in addition to (and called first) the customer specific logic; for others, it is an either/or scenario.  Many events will have industry-specific logic provided here.  Table TFKFBS is used behind the scenes here.
3. This is the place where customer-specific (or as in the text, installation-specific) logic is maintained.  As long as the 'No Cus.Mod' flag is not set,then the logic provided here will be called either in place of the industry-specific logic or in addition to it.  The flag in #1 will dictate whether you can assign one or several customer functions to this event.  Table TFKFBC is used behind the scenes here.  Use the pencil icon to change the customization for the event and add your own function module.

The sequence number is used when you have several functions assigned and will determine in which order they are called.  Enter the name of the function module which has your customer-specific logic, and which has the right signature based on copying from the sample function.

If an event has been designated internally as relevant for brfplus usage, then a third tab will appear as below.

This tab enables you to quickly generate the necessary brfplus function based on the data being provided in the event (This is event 0040 on ECC606).

For every event then, when it is called by the application program, function FKK_FUNC_MODULE_DETERMINE is used which derives the correct function(s) to use for the event.

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Data creation is a lengthy task that requires a lot of effort. Whether you’re a functional or developer, you will come across times where you need data, a lot of time sometimes, to test your functionality. And all you hope then is someone that can help and save you from this tedious task.

Master Data Template (MDT) and Master Data Generator (MDG) are the common tools in IS-U to accelerate the data creation process. MDT allows you to allocate fixed values to fields in any given object. This enables you to create data with minimum data entry.

Transaction Code: EPRODCUST

There are a lot of good MDT templates out there; one that I always use is NEWCUSTPOD. This template contains other MDT templates which enables me to create both Technical and Business Data in a single execution.

All objects are deactivated during the initial creation. For the purpose of this blog, I will be demonstrating the creation of Technical Master Data and explaining features like Dynamic Node, Duplicate Nodes and Virtual Attributes.

Step 1: Activate Object Node

The red dot indicates services that need to be defined (with the exception of dynamic node, which will be explained later)

Step 2: Maintain mandatory fields

You have few options to define the node, mostly commonly used are Parameter & Constant are shown below. For key field (e.g. HAUS), always declare it as a Parameter in order to retrieve the object key after the execution. 

Parameter here is referred to Input/Output parameter – so you can also use this option to supply value to your template.

Additional features:

Virtual Attribute:

You can use this option if value is to be determined during run time. You can use Virtual evaluation category in which you can maintain user-defined Function Module. Function modules for virtual attributes must have a pre-defined interface. Use FM ISU_VIRT_ATTR_REGIO_DEMO as a reference.

Duplicate Node:

In the example below, I have duplicated the “Install Register in Installation (Billing-Rel.)” node and renamed them to “Install Register 001” and “Install Register 002”.

This is very common as we always have to deal with device of multiple registers. So next question that might arise:  “Do I need to create separate MDT template to handle single register vs. multiple registers installation”

Answer is No. It would be silly to do that. SAP comes with a cool feature called Dynamic Node just for you to handle that scenario.

Dynamic Node:

To use this feature, you need to define Dynamic Node on the object level and field level (as boxed below). Treat these dynamic fields as optional fields – if there is no input supply to these fields, the entire node will not be executed.

Also observed that the nodes are now shown as red even though all mandatory fields have been defined.

This applies to release SAP IS-UT 606 or higher. The red status does not indicate that the node is in error. It’s a sign that dynamic node and attributes are used which often needs special handling. Please refer to Notes 1867104.

Now all is done, and we’re ready for execution. Observe that this is a single register device installation. We can leave all parameters for 2^nd register as blank w/o causing any issue to the execution.

Hope you find this document useful.

Appreciate your comments. Cheers.

There are scenarios where you want to create multiple contracts under the same Contract Account. This can be achieved using the same Master Data Template that I have created in my first document Master Data Template in I-SU – Data Creation with Ease.

It’s advisable that you go through the document above, before continue with the details below.

The following is the data model that we want to achieve.

The execution is very simple – all you need is to include three values from the initial set of data to your second execution

• Address number
• Partner number
• Contract account number

The defaults on the nodes (Business Partner, BP Address, and Contract Account) will not matter as long as the three values above are supplied.

Above is our initial data. Observed that Business Partner and Contract Account are showing as “created”.

This is the second contract that is created using the three values from the initial data. Observed that the Business Partner and Contract Account are now showing as “changed”.

You have now successfully created data matching our data model as shown above.

Hope that you like this document and find it helpful in your data creation.

Cheers.

Wouldn't it be nice to:

• receive the latest information and be directly informed on which innovations SAP has to offer
• learn best practices from other customers
• hear about how you can enhance your portfolio with partner solutions
• know what is going on in the Utilities community

We are proud to announce our first issue of the SAP for Utilities - Headline News which addresses exactly these topics and keeps you one step ahead with news directly from the Industry Business Unit (IBU) Utilities at SAP.

We invite you to read our first issue and see for yourself!

If you would like to be added to our distribution list and receive this issue and our next issues directly in your inbox, please send me, Susanne Schlenker, an e-mail simply stating Subscribe to SAP for Utilities - Headline News.

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