SAP Business Warehouse Hierarchies and Attributes

SAP Business Warehouse Hierarchies and Attributes in BW-BPS can use attributes and hierarchies created in SAP BW.The maintenance of attributes and hierarchies is located in the Administrators Workbench of SAP BW (RSA1)

BW Hierarchies can be used in BPS in four different ways:

data selection in a planning level or package hierarchical display or sorted display of the data in a layout defining characteristic relationships.

Creating variables for hierarchy nodes.
For data selection an attribute value can be used in the level or package. Attributes can be used in variables as well.
Attributes can be used for defining characteristic relationships.
Attributes (attribute columns) can be displayed in all front-ends.

Data Selection via BW Hierarchies

BW hierarchies can be used for selection in planning levels as well as planning packages. They can also be used in variables (type hierarchy node).
For defining the selection via a hierarchy you specify the hierarchy (name, version, due date,…) and a node or a leaf of the hierarchy. The node can be a characteristic node of the characteristic used to define the hierarchy (base characteristic), a node of an external characteristic or a text node.
The system will internally convert the selection via hierarchy into a selection by characteristic values of the base characteristic. If you select the node "Product Group Water" in the above example the system will use the three different types of water for the selection. If you choose the root node the system will select "Water 1", "Water 2", and "Water 3" and all of the four juices.

Benefits of using a hierarchy in a planning layout:

Expand and collapse according to a structure
Values are sorted according to the hierarchy logic
Only valid combinations are displayed
BW-BPS uses two different types of hierarchies – these are the standard BW

hierarchies plus the so-called BPS-Hierarchies that are generated when executing a layout.

Types of BW hierarchies used in BW-BPS:

hierarchies that contain only nodes and leaves from one characteristic (so-called hierarchies with postable nodes)

hierarchies with several characteristics and/or text nodes.

Base characteristic: characteristic on which the hierarchy is based upon (e.g. product is the base characteristic in a hierarchy, where product groups group products). The base characteristic is always the characteristic in the last level displayed in a hierarchy.

BW-BPS offers different uses for hierarchical planning

Display as hierarchy shows the data in the planning layout in a hierarchical structure following a bottom-up logic, i.e. data is entered on the lowest level of detail and totaled on the hierarchy nodes.
Display as hierarchy with budgeting logic shows the data in the planning layout in a hierarchical structure following either a bottom-up or a top-down logic.

Top-Down: Data may be entered (posted) on all hierarchy nodes and leaves except the top-node displayed in the planning layout. When data is entered on one of the higher level nodes, initially it is not assigned to lower nodes. After checking the new entry, the system generates an additional entry for the amounts that are still to be distributed (characteristic value "#" or a leaf with the characteristic value of the node for a BW characteristic hierarchy with postable internal nodes), on the same hierarchy level. The system uses these nodes in budgeting, to be able to save difference amounts between a higher-level hierarchy node (for example product group) and the total amounts of the lower-level node (for example product).

When data is entered on a lower-level hierarchy leaf or node, it is adjusted on the not assigned values of the same hierarchy level.

Bottom-up: Data may be entered on all nodes and leaves except the top-node displayed in the planning layout. After checking the new entry, the system will sum up to nodes above the node where data was changed and adjust the not assigned data so that the total on this hierarchy level stays balanced.

Display BW Hierarchy with several characteristics

Requirements for hierarchical display:

Expand and collapse according to a structure
Values are sorted according to the hierarchy logic
Only valid combinations are displayed
User can input data only at lowest level in the hierarchy (leaves)
Nodes show sums and must not be changeable

To enter data at higher hierarchy levels (e.g. product group in the layout above) you want to use a layout in another planning level.

Display as Hierarchy in One Lead Column

In order to use a BW hierarchy for display:
In the planning level/package: use a hierarchy for selection of the base characteristic (e.g. product)
Note: it is not necessary to select the characteristics used in the hierarchy nodes

On the first screen of the layout builder:

Select base characteristic as only selection for the lead column
On the last screen of the layout builder:
Select "hierarchy"

This type of display provides all benefits of hierarchies in planning layouts:

Expand and collapse according to a structure
Values are sorted according to the hierarchy logic
Only valid combinations are displayed

Hint: if you do not mark "hierarchy" the data will be displayed as a flat table, but in the sort order of the hierarchy. This works also if you use more than one characteristic in the lead column.

Display BW Hierarchy with several characteristics

Requirements for hierarchical display:

Expand and collapse according to a structure
Values are sorted according to the hierarchy logic
Only valid combinations are displayed
User can input data only at lowest level in the hierarchy (leaves)
Nodes show sums and must not be changeable
To enter data at higher hierarchy levels (e.g. product group in the layout above) you want to use a layout in another planning level.
You want to post to not assigned values

Display as Hierarchy with Several Lead Columns

In order to present a hierarchy over several characteristics in a layout with multiple key columns you use the following settings:

Use characteristic relationships (combination proposal) and the option "all possible combinations" in the first screen of the layout builder in order to get the proper characteristic combinations in the layout.
Use a hierarchy in the selection to obtain the proper sort order.
Mark the flag "Totals as hierarchy" in the layout builder in order to be able to collapse and expand along the hierarchy.

BPS Budgeting Function: Manual Disaggregation of Data

BW-BPS offers different possibilities to disaggregate data manually – in BPS this is called "budgeting"
Budgeting is possible with all types of hierarchical planning, no matter what type of hierarchical data model is used in manual planning
With every type of hierarchy in BW-BPS a budgeting hierarchy display is possible.
BW hierarchy with one characteristic (so called hierarchy with postable nodes)
BW hierarchy with several different characteristics
BW-BPS characteristic hierarchy (virtual hierarchies)
The creation of the hierarchical display differs for the three different types of hierarchical display