SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel

Feature Overview and End-User Guide

Based on the Excel Add-In Version 2408.2.0
Product Management, SAP
August, 2024
PUBLIC
 About this document

The SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel (short: Excel add-in) is one of
the key access points to key figures and master data that is stored in the SAP IBP backend. It is
one of the main user interfaces for the end users of SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP).

The following slides aim to provide an overview of the key features and concepts of the Excel addin
and are intended for end users. The presentation can be used, for example, for end user training
during an implementation project.

Please note that the screenshots and examples are based on test sample planning views and a
test data set. The planning view templates and planning views can look different in your case due
to custom formatting, branding, and additional VBA code that you have embedded, as well as
depending on the different versions of the Excel add-in.

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 What’s New in 2408.2.0

• Use of Case-Sensitive Attribute Values

• Planning-Area-Specific Attribute Names

• Check for Trailing Spaces in Attribute Values

• Displaying the Excel Add-in Version During Logon

• Scenario Planning for Forecast Error and Supply Lead Time Calculations

• New System Language: Romanian

• Deprecation of Member Sorting and Grouping

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 7) Time-based disaggregation of partially editable child nodes
Agenda (1) 8) How to work with planning views
1) Introduction
▪ Editing planning views
2) How to log on to SAP Integrated Business Planning using the Excel add-in
▪ Simulation mode / interactive planning
3) How to create planning views
▪ Versions
▪ Basic Settings
▪ Scenarios
− Workbook settings
− Time settings ▪ Ad-hoc drill down
− Attribute settings ▪ Quick edit view & quick filter
− Key figure settings − Defining the layout
− Filter settings ▪ Fixing key figure values
− Adding a new worksheet ▪ Planning notes
− Working with multiple workbooks
▪ Adding own key figures (local members)
− Refreshing the planning view

▪ Advanced Settings 9) How to save key figure data in a planning view

− Time-based totals and flexible time axis ▪ Read and write permissions and rejection of changes
− Attribute-based totals & subtotals
10) Change history views
− Attribute value “(None)”, strong, and light matches
− Workbook filter 11) Working offline with planning views
− Working with attribute-based filters − Sorting attribute
values 12) Sharing planning views with non-SAP IBP users
− Sorting based on key figure values
13) Application jobs in the Excel add-in
− Scrolling to current time period
14) Master data maintenance
4) Saving planning views as templates and favorites
▪ Single master data maintenance
5) SAP IBP Formatting Sheet
▪ Master data workbook
6) Visualization of key figure editability

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Agenda (2)
15) Planning object maintenance

16) Alert key figures and alert dashboard

17) Task management

18) Navigation to the Web UI

19) Help, user settings, and more in the About area

20) Logging off and troubleshooting disabled Excel add-ins

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1) Introduction
Planning in Microsoft Excel for professional planners

• Real-time access to your SAP IBP system and

data, directly in Microsoft Excel
• Create custom planning views easily
• Visualize, analyze, and adapt your master data
and time series data
• Run planning operators in simulation mode for
ad-hoc what-if analysis and create your own
scenarios
• Use local key figures to quickly use your custom
Excel formulas on SAP IBP data

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• Use own VBA coding to further finetune planning views and planner interaction
Flexible planning view definition

Native Microsoft
Excel capabilities,
such as charts
and dropdowns,
including
VBA coding

Data from
SAP IBP database

Review and Define planning Save planning view Use formatting to change data online view for
the task at as template or indicate what actions and offline hand favorite a user can take
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Some key facts about the Excel add-in

• The Excel add-in does not run in the SAP Cloud (which SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain (SAP IBP) does), but needs
to be installed on the PCs of the individual users, or needs to be made available to the users in a Citrix environment at the customer.
The customer is responsible for upgrading the add-in versions for the individual users.
• The upgrade of the SAP IBP system to the newest version does not require that you install the new version of the Excel add-in. You can
decide to install it whenever you wish to start using its new features. However, if you do install the newest version, please note that .NET
6 Desktop Runtime and Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime are required.
• New features, such as value-based sorting, are only available as of the respective Excel add-in version.
• We recommend using the newest Excel add-in version only after your SAP IBP system has been upgraded to the
corresponding version. Once your SAP IBP test system is upgraded, you can install the newest Excel add-in and run your
upgrade tests. Please note that if an SAP IBP system is still on version n-1, for example, 2311, and the newest Excel add-
in version n, for example, 2402.2.0, is used to log on to the system, some functions might not work as they did before.
For this reason, make sure that your SAP IBP productive system is upgraded before you start using the newest Excel
add-in version [Link] lowest possible version that can be used is the 2208.2.0 version of the Excel add-in.

• For more information, see SAP Note 2394311 (Version information for the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel) at
[Link]
• SAP IBP and the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel are released with certain known restrictions in functionality. For more information,
see the respective Release Restriction Note. You can find the relevant version of the note on the SAP Help Portal at [Link]
under Use > Application Help for SAP IBP for Supply Chain > SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain > Version.
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Prerequisites for working with the Excel add-in

• User must have the Excel add-in installed (or have access to it via Citrix).

• User’s PC must be connected to the Internet.

• User must have a user in the SAP IBP system.

• User must have at least basic authorization to view data in the Excel add-in.

• SAP IBP backend system must be up and running.

• Planning area must be configured and active.

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Downloading the Excel add-in

• Customers can download the Excel add-in in the software download area of the SAP For Me portal
[Link] Please use the search term SAP IBP Excel Add-On.
• The download requires an S-user with the necessary authorization. If the download is not possible,
please contact your company’s S-user administrator.
• If SAP delivers a fix for the Excel add-in between two SAP IBP releases (based on a customer ticket,
for example), a new add-in version is generated that needs to be installed on the customer’s side.

Your IT department usually provides you with the installation file, or even installation package, and
pushes these installations to your local PC. For more information, see the following SAP Notes:
• Silent installation/uninstallation
SAP Note 2135948 at [Link]
• How to distribute the add-in to user’s notebooks
SAP Note 2114654 at [Link]
• Add-in with proxy server
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 SAP Note 2092187 at [Link]

Excel add-in on a MacBook and mobile devices

• The Excel add-in can run on a MacBook. The prerequisite is that a virtual machine (VM) is setup
and that a Windows and Office environment is installed on the VM. Then you can install the
Excel add-in on that VM as usual.

• The Excel add-in can be installed on Microsoft Surface devices.

• You cannot install the Excel add-in on a smartphone or tablet.

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2) How to Log on to SAP IBP Using the
Excel Add-In
Logon
If the Excel add-in is installed correctly, you find a new entry in the Microsoft Excel ribbon, called SAP IBP.
As a first step, you need to log on to the SAP IBP backend by clicking Log On.

• The Log on to SAP IBP dialog appears. Usually, your

administrator distributes the relevant connection details
and you can directly select one of the connections and
click Log On.
• If no connection has been preset by your administrator,
follow the steps on the next pages to set up a connection
manually.
• You can save multiple connections to different systems
and planning areas.
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• In the dropdown menu you’ll find the available connections.
Setting up a connection (1)

Step 1: Open the Connection Manager

To set up a new connection

click to open the Connection Manager Then click Create Connection.

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Setting up a connection (2) DEFAULT represents the default planning area
that you can define in the SAP Fiori launchpad
Step 2: Enter the connection details under Settings.
Step 3: Set the connection as default
Enter a free text name, the server URL (provided (optional)
by your administrator), and either enter the
planning area name directly or click the … Select the Set as Default Connection checkbox if
(Select a planning area) button to get a list of you want to use the connection as your default
planning areas available for this system. connection. The connection name and details are
displayed in bold letters in the Connection
Manager dialog.

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Next time you click Log On, this connection will be
preselected from your list of connections.
Logging on to multiple planning areas or systems in parallel

It is possible to log on to multiple SAP IBP systems and planning areas in parallel. That can be useful, for
example, during implementation and testing phases.

Instead of opening a new Excel workbook, open a new Excel instance. The way to open a new instance depends
on the Microsoft Office version. If the following path does not work for
you, please check the help on [Link]

1. Open your Microsoft Excel workbook (the first instance) as usual

(and optionally log on to SAP IBP).

2. Right-click the Microsoft Excel icon on the Windows desktop taskbar,

press the Alt key, and select Excel from the list.

3. Keep pressing the Alt key until a pop up appears that asks you if you
want to open a new instance. Click Yes.

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You now have two separate Microsoft Excel instances open and can log on to different SAP IBP planning areas
with each of them.

You can achieve the same by double-clicking on the desktop item

(if your administrator has enabled the desktop shortcut during
installation).

Clearing the cache

When you select a connection in the Excel addinformation related to the planning area, such as
attributes, key figures, time periods, and so on, -in and log on to that connection, relevant
Sample error message: are downloaded to the Excel add-in and stored in a
local cache. The information is marked with a version number. The next time you log on to the
same system and planning area, this version information is compared with the current version
on the server. If the versions don't match, the data is downloaded again. If no changes have
been made logging on is faster, as the data can be directly taken from the cache, and doesn't
need to be downloaded again.

Usually, there's no need to clear the cache. However, if you think the data stored in the cache
in the Excel add-in is not accurate, you can clear it. This forces all the planning area
information to be downloaded again. For example, if you know that a key figure name has
been changed in model configuration, but the changed name doesn't appear in the templates
in the Excel add-in, try clearing the cache.

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As of version 2305.2.0 of the Excel add-in, you clear the cache for all connections that you have in the Connection Manager, by clicking the Clear Cache
button.

In versions older than 2305.2.0, you can clear the cache for each connection separately, by
selecting a connection in the Connection Manager, and clicking the Clear Metadata Cache button.

As of version 2308.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the Microsoft Edge WebView2 cache that is used for logging into SAP IBP is also cleared when you click the Clear
Cache button.

Please note: Master data attributes that are marked as personal data are not cached but are read on the fly from the SAP IBP backend.

The same is true if the number of attributes exceeds a threshold set in configuration using the global configuration parameter MAX_DIM_MEMBERS: the excess
attributes are not cached and only read on demand.

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3) How to Create Planning Views

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Planning views in SAP IBP

Plain SAP
Data from SAP IBP database IBP
planning
view (no
formatting,

no VBA code, …)
 VBA-based planning view template
including formatting (example)

Native Microsoft Excel capabilities, such as

charts and drop downs, for example based
on VBA coding / macros (optional)

Data from SAP IBP database

VBA = Visual Basic for Applications

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Creating a new planning view (1)

To open a predefined planning view (template or favorite) or create a planning view from scratch,
click New View in the SAP IBP ribbon. Then choose one of the following:

• From Template

• Without Template on Current Sheet, if you want to create a plain planning view from scratch.
 This option will be explained in the following slides.
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Creating a new planning view (2)

A planning view in SAP IBP requires the following settings:

1) Workbook settings

2) Time settings

3) Attributes

4) Key figures

5) Layout (optional)

6) Filter
(can be either optional or
mandatory, depending on your SAP
IBP system settings)
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7) Alerts based on alert key figures (optional)

Basic Settings
Workbook Settings
Creating a new planning view –
workbook settings

When you create a planning view, you must specify

which version the planning view includes. If you
include the base version in the planning view, you
can add any of the key figures available in the
planning area to the planning view. If you include a
version other than the base version, you can add
only those key figures that are marked as version-
specific key figures in the configuration of the given
version.
As of version 2302.2.0, the Workbook Settings side panel is available. Among other things, you can specify the version or
versions you want to use here.

To specify the versions, choose New View (or Edit

View). In the dialog that opens, expand the Workbook Settings side panel, and choose the Versions & Scenarios dropdown.

Basic Settings
Time Settings
Creating a new planning view – time settings

Define the time intervals for which you want to see data in the planning view. • You can combine
different time intervals.
• The time intervals can use different period

types (such as, Weekly or Monthly) that

you can select in the Time Period field.
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• The period names, such as, Jan 2019 or CW1
2019, are defined by your administrator.
• By using Total for a time interval, you get a
total column that displays the aggregated key
figure value for this time interval.
• The order of the time intervals/total columns
and period types does not need to be
chronological.
Please note: The number of different period types that you can use
for your time intervals and total columns is defined by your
administrator using the global configuration parameter
MAX_TIME_LEVELS in the PLAN_VIEW parameter group. If the
parameter is set to 2, you can, for example, only use two levels, for
example Weekly and Monthly or Monthly and Yearly for your time
intervals/total columns in the planning view, but not Weekly, Monthly,
and Yearly. The totals count as a level as well.
On-the-fly aggregation of data across time periods

Data in SAP IBP is stored at the base level of the respective key figure. The base level defines the type
of periods in which the data is stored, for example, weeks or days. When displaying the data, it is
automatically aggregated up to the requested time period. Example: if key figure data is stored in days
and your planning view displays months, then the days are aggregated to months.

How the data is aggregated is defined in the key

figure configuration. Example: Sum for quantity-
based key figures, Disagg
Avg (average) for prices Aggregation

Your

administrator can also define a more complex

aggregation and disaggregation logic,
dependent on the individual use case.
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Time period - what is a
technical week?

Storing key figures at the technical

week level allows a consistent
aggregation/disaggregation
between weeks and months.

A weighting factor is used as a proportional factor to split data during disaggregation:

 Month June July August

Calendar CW CW CW CW CW CW CW CW CW CW CW CW
CW 27 CW 31
Week 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 32 33 34 35 36
Technical TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW TW
Week 23 24 25 26 27a 27b 28 29 30 31a 31b 32 33 34 35 36a
Factor 5 5 5 5 2 3 5 5 5 5 0 5 5 5 5 1

Basic Settings
Attribute Settings
Creating a new planning view – Attribute settings

• Define the planning level at which you want to see the

data in the planning view.

• On-the-fly aggregation and disaggregation of the planning

data are one of the key strengths of SAP IBP. You can
freely choose from all available master data attributes
displayed.

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• The All Attributes area on the left side of the screen includes the attributes that are available to you. They are sorted in
alphabetical order.

• To select an attribute for your planning view, you can either select the attribute‘s checkbox or drag and drop the
attribute to the Selected Attributes area. The selected
attributes are the ones that will be visible in your planning view. Order in the
planning view:

• The sequence in which the attributes are listed in the

Selected Attributes section determines the sequence of the
attributes in your planning view.
You can easily change the sequence by using the arrow
buttons or drag and drop.
On-the-fly aggregation of data across planning levels

Data in SAP IBP is stored at the base planning level of the respective
key figure, for example, the product ID or a combination of multiple Example: LOC | PROD | CUST | WEEKLY
attributes. LOC = location ID
The data in the database is stored in these attribute combinations. If PROD = product ID
CUST = customer ID
key figures are calculated based on other key figures, the
aggregation works similarly.

When the data is displayed, it is automatically aggregated up to the requested planning level.

Example: If key figure data is stored at the product ID level and you display the data at the brand level,
then the data stored for the product IDs is aggregated to the respective brands.

Example for Product Planning Levels Example for Location Planning Levels

Product Family A Region A

Brand A Brand B Country A Country B

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Product A1 Product A2 Product B1 Product B2 LocationA1 LocationA2 LocationB1 LocationB2

 –

Basic Settings Key

Figure Settings
Creating a new planning view key figure settings

• Define the key figures for which you want to see

data in the planning view

• You can freely choose the currency or unit of

measure (UoM) in which you want to see the data.
Note: Currency and UoM conversion factors must
have been loaded by the administrator
beforehand.

• You need to select a conversion factor for key

figures for which a conversion has been defined by
the administrator.

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• The sequence in which the selected key figures are listed defines the sequence of the key figures in your
planning view.
You can easily change the sequence by using the
arrow buttons or drag and drop.

• You can also specify whether you want to show planning notes in the planning view.
Creating a new planning view –
tooltip for key figures

The tooltip shows you all information on how a

key figure is defined. This can help decide if for
example, fixing or planning notes are allowed,
and in which horizon the key figure is editable.

To make the tooltip appear, hover over a key

figure's name for about two seconds.

With the pin button in the upper right corner,

you can keep the tooltip on the screen and
move it around.

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Creating a new planning view –
The tooltip is also available for attributes, planning levels, versions, time
levels, and so on. By clicking the entities in blue font, you navigate to the
specific tooltip.

extended tooltip for key figures

The tooltip available for attributes, key figures and further entities such as planning
levels, and versions has been enhanced within all dialogs.

The main enhancements are the following:

• Smaller size, which is extendable by clicking Show more, if necessary

• Shortened text focusing on the main details
• Improved handling of the dragging function
• Showing the entity type in the header
• Improved performance

As of the Excel add-in version 2211.2.0, we've added

a copy function to the tooltip available for
attributes, key figures, planning levels, and

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Creating a new planning view –
versions. You can copy the IDs, and technical details of these entities (such as member ID, for
example) by hovering your cursor over the text of the respective ID, and clicking the icon with the quick
info text Copy to clipboard that appears.

key figure groups

Key figure grouping allows the administrator to group key figures for example,
by business processes, roles, or tasks. The
grouping depends on your individual use cases.
A key figure can belong to one, multiple, or no
groups at all.
Example: you add groups per process such as
demand planning, supply planning, inventory
optimization.
The groups have to be maintained per planning
area in the Key Figure Groups app in the WebUI.

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Creating a new planning view –
The different groups make it easier to select the key figures that are relevant
for the specific task or process.

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Creating a new –
planning view key figure groups

You can see the key figure groups in the Edit Planning View or New View window on the Key Figures
tab.

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 In the beginning, the Key Figure
Groups section is collapsed. Click the arrow that selection so that you will only see the key figures
to open the details. that are part of the groups that you had selected. Also,
The system remembers whether the key when opening a template or favorite, relevant groups
figure group side panel was collapsed or are preselected if you have already added key figures
expanded the last time you used it and sets it to your selection that belong to a group.
accordingly the next time you open the
dialog.
On the details screen, you can select
Basic Settings
individual groups or multiple groups. The key
figures that are visible to you are reacting to
Defining the Layout
defining the layout

Customize your planning view and how the

data is shown.

Examples:
 Creating a new planning view –
• Should the time periods be shown as columns or rows?
• What should be the sequence of the attributes and the key figures?

Time periods in columns (default) Time periods in rows

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Basic Settings
Filter settings
filter settings(1)

You can define filter criteria to:

• Reduce the amount of data shown in the planning view (also for performance
reasons)
• Only show the data that is relevant for your current planning task.
There are two different types of filters for planning views in SAP IBP:
Attribute-based filters Examples:
• Customer region = USA AND
These filters can filter the data on
Product ID = 14589; 88874; 12558
a planning view based on
attribute values. • Resource type = assembly unit Value-
based filters
 Creating a new planning view –
These filters can filter the key • Show only combinations where the key
figure data on a planning view figure value is not NULL (that is, empty or
based on key figure values. zero).
Examples:

• Show only customers where

the annual sales volume of
the last year was above
1,000,000 EUR

• Identify products where the

forecast quantity is below
1,000 pieces in the next 3
month

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Creating a new planning view –
filter settings (2)

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Creating a new planning view –

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Creating a new planning view – value-
attribute-based filter

When specifying the attribute-based filter, you Selection with value help:
can either use the value help to see the
available attribute values or copy and paste
them directly in the entry field (a list of values
can also be copied).

Copy and paste System automatically

adds the separators (;)
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Creating a new planning view –
based filter (1)

In the time settings of the value-based filter, you can decide for which time range the filter criteria
should be met.

Both the time period and the range can be different from the time settings of the planning view.

Example: In the planning view you could have weekly buckets from week 8 to week 20 in 2018,
while the value-based filter criteria should be met in monthly buckets for the last 6 months.

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Creating a new planning view – value-
As for the time settings, you can set a rolling horizon using Rolling, Fixed, From Rolls and To
Rolls.

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Creating a new planning view – value-
based filter (2)

As a next step, you decide for which key figure the filter should be applied. You can only choose key
figures that are part of your planning view (including alert key figures).
You then decide on the operator type. The following operator types are available:
• Equal To
• Not Equal To
• Greater Than
• Less Than • Between
• Not Empty
• Not Empty or Zero
• Is Empty
• Is Empty or Zero

After that, you need to set the

threshold values according to your needs and decide where the filter criteria should be met: in at least
one period (for example, month) of the selected time range (March – August 2018 in the example), in all
periods, or in the total column for this time range.

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Creating a new planning view – value-
based filter (3)

To remove any planning combinations where all key figure values are empty, or zero within the
defined time horizon, you set the value-based filter in the planning view to All Selected Key
Figures.

This setting automatically switches the operators next to it, to Not Empty or Zero and In At Least
one Period.

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Creating a new planning view – value-

based filter (4)

• A value-based filters cannot be shared with other users and is not visible to other users under
the name you had given it.

• Value-based filters are saved within templates, favorites and offline workbooks.

• When you share a template or a favorite with other users, they see the filter criteria only as an
Ad-Hoc Filter (that is, with a different neutral name).

• For value-based filters, there are no Template Admin options, such as Don’t copy, Copy as
suggestion or Copy as mandatory (which you have for the attribute-based filters).
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Creating a new planning view – value-
based filter (5)
Before the value-based filter was applied:

The value-based filter is applied when you do the

following:
• When you click OK in the Edit Planning View window
• When you open a template or favorite with a value-based filter
included
• When you refresh the planning view

If an attribute combination or planning level does not

meet the value-based filter criteria, the entire
combination will be removed from the planning view.

After the value-based filter was applied:

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Creating a new planning view – value-

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Creating a planning view – result
You have now created a planning view without a template.

It is a plain planning view (no EPM formatting, no VBA code, …).

We strongly
recommend that you use the SAP IBP
formatting sheet to apply formatting to increase
the usability of the planning views.

Please note that it is mandatory to use the SAP

IBP formatting sheet if you want to use the
following:
• Alerts in the planning view
• Fixing-enabled key figures
Adding a new worksheet or
copying a worksheet
• Your Excel workbook can have multiple Copy the settings to an existing target worksheet from the
Edit Planning View screen:
worksheets that contain different planning

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 views.
• You can either set up each worksheet from
scratch or copy the settings from an existing
worksheet.
• You can freely name and rename the worksheets.

Copy current worksheet

(system automatically adds new worksheet):
Create a new worksheet manually and start from scratch with a new planning view:

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Multiple workbooks

You can have multiple Excel workbooks open with multiple worksheets containing planning
views.

The maximum number of workbooks that can be opened is defined by your system administrator
using the global configuration parameter PV_COUNT_MAX in the PLAN_VIEW parameter group.

Limiting the number of open workbooks makes sense for the following reasons:

• Reduce the PC’s memory utilization, which grows with the number of open workbooks and
transactions. You should still be able to work in parallel with other applications.

• Reduce the SAP IBP backend load

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Refreshing data

The planning views in the Excel add-in show data from the SAP IBP backend at the point in time
when the data was last requested or refreshed.

The data does not refresh automatically when data is changed in the database.

To request the latest data, the planning view needs to be refreshed. Refreshing:

• Can be triggered manually by you by clicking Refresh in the SAP IBP ribbon

• Automatically happens when saving data

• Automatically happens when the planning view settings are edited

Note that data that you have changed and simulated but not saved yet is retained when you
change the planning view settings.

• Automatically happens when a template or favorite is opened

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Advanced Settings
Time-based totals and flexible time axis
Time-based totals

You can define on-the-fly aggregates when defining the time settings for your planning view.

Example: define a planning view that always shows the details and then the sum of the last 6
months
 Advanced time settings (1)

You can define how the data is displayed, as periods, summed up to a total, or both.

Custom labels for total columns, such as, Year to Date or Rest of Year:

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Note that a certain time period must not be included in different time intervals that use the same
period type.
Example: You cannot define two time intervals with monthly periods that both include the month January 2019, such as
October 2018 to January 2019 and January 2019 to March 2019. It needs to be, for example, October 2018 to
December 2018 and January 2019 to March 2019.

However, the same time range (January 2019) can be included in different time intervals that use
different period types, such as Monthly (month January 2019) and Weekly (week 1/2019 to 4/2019).

Advanced time settings (2)

You can also define whether the start and end of a time interval, that is, the first and the last period
of the time interval, are fixed or rolling. The following are your options:
• Rolling: Both the start and end period are rolling.
Example: The current month is January. For the time interval to be displayed, you have selected

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 January 2019 to March 2019 with monthly periods. When the current month changes to February
2019 as time is passing, also the time interval displayed rolls by a month and now shows data from
February 2019 to April 2019.
• Fixed: Both start and end period are fixed.
• From Rolls: Start period is rolling, end period fixed.
• To Rolls: Start period is fixed, end period is rolling.

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Advanced time settings –
example

The planning view on the

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Advanced time settings –
left displays 8 different
time intervals and time-
based totals, as defined in
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 the time settings below.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

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Advanced time settings –
limitations (1)

Simulation capabilities are only supported within one time level (period type). Simulations cannot
be run for different time levels in parallel.
So when you change values manually in different time levels
(for example, a weekly and a monthly value) in the planning
view and run a simulation job (such as, Simulate (Basic) to
recalculate the planning scenario, you will receive a
warning, and only one of the changed values will be taken
into consideration for simulation. The other changed value
will be ignored and overwritten. You can change the other
value afterwards and then start a second simulation.

Time-base totals are read-only and the values cannot be

changed.

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Advanced time settings –
limitations (2)

The determination of the value of the time-based total does not work for key figures which are
based on an L-code implementation or on a complex configuration and which have an aggregation
mode other than Sum, Max, Min, or Avg.

An example of a complex configuration is the determination of the key figure value for the last
period in a time period (for example, the last month of a quarter or the last month of a year), as
described in SAP Note 2286684.

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Advanced Settings
Attribute-based totals & subtotals
Attribute-based totals – overview

You can use attribute-based totals within the

planning view based on the selected attributes
of the planning level.

You can decide if you want to see:

• No Total: no aggregation (default)

• Total Before: Lines with totals are shown

before the normal attribute values.
• Total After: Lines with totals are shown after
the normal attribute values (see screenshot on
next slide).

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Attribute-based totals – visualization

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Processing changes to attribute-based totals (1)

Totals are calculated in the SAP IBP backend (not in the Excel add-in). Hence, when changing a
value on the planning view, the total will only be updated in the planning view after simulation or
save.

You can do a reverse calculation from the total to the individual key figures.
Example below: The value of the total consensus demand without promotions has been changed
to 80000. When you run Simulation (Basic), the system updates the numbers of the total
consensus demand key figures for Europe and USA accordingly.

You can have changes at one level

only in one simulation run (either key
figure value or subtotal).

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Processing changes to attribute-based totals (2)

Note that you can only change subtotals, but not the total for the highest attribute of the planning
level (grand total)

Example: You can change the subtotals at the level of customer region/product group, but not the
value at the next level, the grand total (sum of all customer regions).

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 Subtotals for planning
level Customer Region /
Product Group

Grand total for planning

level Customer Region

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Advanced Settings
Attribute value “(None)”, strong and light
matches
Creating a new planning view attribute value

• In certain cases, you see the value (None) for

an attribute in the planning view.

• This value means that the chosen attribute is

not part of the key figure definition and is
therefore unknown to the system in this
combination.
 planning view – value (None)
• In the example on the right side, you can see that all key figures have the Product ID as a valid
attribute, none of them has the Promotion ID or Promotion Type, and only the Confirmed Qty
and Delivered Qty key figures have the Sold To Party as a known attribute in their definition.

Creating a new attribute

Using Strong Match groups and Light Match groups

The Strong Match and Light Match groups can be used to help find attribute and key figure combinations that
hold data and represent meaningful information within the planning area. Based on your selection in the
Time, Attribute or Key Figure tabs, the Strong Match and Light Match groups are automatically updated.
Example
You select Month as the time period and the attributes Product
Group and Promotion ID. Moving to the Key Figures tab, you
can see the key figures listed in the Strong Match group, where
the base planning level is a complete match to the attributes and
time dimension selected.

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 – (None)
In this example, the Promotion ID is only part of a few base planning levels, so data for it can only be
visualized for 3 key figures in the Strong Match group.
The ones that have a partial coverage are listed under the
Light Match group and the remaining items, that don’t match
at all are listed at the bottom.

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 planning view – value (None)
Creating a new attribute
Strong Match group

The Strong Match group for attributes or key figures shows you which items (attributes, time periods, key
figures) would lead to a full coverage on the planning view, without showing any empty or (None) labeled
elements. This means that all selected attributes are part of the key figure calculation and the other way
around.

Please note, that empty or (None) labeled elements can still appear in case the attribute value itself is
empty, but the appearance is unlikely within this group.

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Items listed in the Strong Match group will not show up in any other group.
Creating a new attribute
Light Match Group

The Light Match group for attributes or key figures shows you which items (attributes, time periods, key
figures) would lead to a partial coverage on the planning view. This means that at least one selected
attribute is part of the key figure calculation and the other way around.

Items listed in the Light Match group will not show up in any other group.
 planning view – value (None)

Advanced Settings
Workbook filter

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 Workbook filter (1)
With Excel add-in version 2302.2.0, you can use the new workbook filter that applies the attribute-based filter to all
worksheets of the workbook.

To define a workbook filter for your planning view,

choose New View or Edit View, expand the Workbook
Settings side panel and either choose one of your
predefined planning filters or add new ad-hoc filter
criteria in the Workbook Filter section.

You can select additional filter criteria for one specific

worksheet on the Filter tab.

Please note: Your saved attribute-based planning filters

can be used equally for the workbook filter and the
worksheet filter.

For more information, see SAP Help Portal at

Combination of Workbook Filter and Worksheet Filter.

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Workbook filter (2)
- combination of workbook and worksheet filter

On the Filter tab of a selected worksheet, you

see which filter criteria are applied on
workbook level. Filter criteria for
the workbook filter are grayed out and can only
be adjusted in the Workbook Settings.

You can choose Add Attribute to add additional

filter criteria that are only applied to the specific
worksheet whose settings you're changing (in
this example the "Demand" worksheet).

The attribute-based filter criteria on worbook and

worksheet level are always merged.

For example, if you select "Product 1" as criteria

in the workbook filter and "Product 2" in the
worksheet filter, "Product 1" and "Product 2" are
displayed in the planning view.

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Workbook filter (3) – exclude workbook filter
For more information, see SAP Help Portal at
Combination of Workbook Filter and
Worksheet Filter.
72

In versions before 2305.2.0, you could either use

the Workbook Filter for all worksheets or specify
a specific attribute-based filter for each
worksheet.

With version 2305.2.0 and newer, it is possible to

exclude the workbook filter from one specific
worksheet and keep the Workbook Filter for all
the other worksheets of your planning view
workbook.

To do so, you need to select the Exclude

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Workbook filter (4)
Workbook Filter checkbox on the Filter tab of the Edit Planning View dialog for the specific
worksheet.

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Workbook filter (5) – exclude workbook filter

You can use the workbook filter for worksheet Demand, exclude the workbook filter from
worksheet Capacity, and define a different filter instead.
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Workbook filter (6) –
The Exclude Workbook Filter
checkbox is also available in
the Edit… function of the
Worksheet Filter in the
Planning View group of the
SAP IBP ribbon.

75

Drill down function

With 2305.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the Drill Down function in the context
menu can also be used if a workbook filter is applied to the worksheet.

When you choose Drill Down > By Attribute, the selected attribute is
added to the planning view and the worksheet filter is adjusted in the
following way:

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Workbook filter (7) – exclude workbook filter
▪ Conditions of the workbook filter are merged with previously selected worksheet conditions.

▪ Conditions that filter on the attributes included in the planning view are replaced by the specific conditions for the
planning combination of the selected cell.

▪ The Exclude Workbook Filter checkbox is selected automatically.

When you choose Back or Initial View, the previous planning view
is loaded again with the previously selected workbook filter and
worksheet filter.

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Workbook filter (8) –
Alert Dashboard

With the upgrade to SAP IBP 2305, the

workbook filter is considered in the calculation
of the number of exceptions for alert key figures
in planning view favorites, which is shown in
the Alert Dashboard.

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 77

cascading filter

As of version 2305.2.0, the

workbook filter conditions are
considered in the Cascading Filter
function.
If you have multiple attributebased
filter conditions and you want to add
additional conditions, you can use
the cascading filter function to
check which filter values are valid in
combination with the previously
selected conditions.

78
Workbook filter (10) –
For more information, see SAP Help Portal at Cascading Filter.

Advanced Settings
Working with filters

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 Cascading filter

• You can use the cascading filter to filter

attributes based on other attributes.
• This is useful when you want to filter on
attributes that have a huge number of
values.
• For example, in your master data workbook
or when editing the planning view, you filter
on Product ID. Using the cascading filter,
you can set another filter criterion, such as
Brand Description. The system then
displays a list of Product IDs that are part
of the Brand that you specified.

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 Apply cascading filter automatically

With version 2305.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the cascading

filter can be applied automatically. You can enable the
function by selecting the Apply Cascading Filter
Automatically checkbox in the Display Options section of
the User Settings dialog in the About group of the SAP IBP
ribbon.
When the function is enabled, the cascading filter is
automatically applied when you open the value help to
select attribute values for filter conditions. You don't need to
choose
Apply manually.

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 Cascading filter for simple master data types

Example: Both attributes are part of the same simple master data type.
• Filter for attribute 1 (such as product ID) based on a cascading filter attribute 2 (such as brand
description) which is part of the same simple master data type as attribute 1.

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 description

Saving your filter

You can save your filter settings to have them

available later on with just one click as a planning
filter.

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 The saved attribute-based filters are available in multiple areas:
• Planning view definition
• Filter menu in the planning view
• Application jobs started from the Excel add-in
• Master data workbook, if the saved filter is relevant for the respective master data

• Planning filter
Change history view menu in the
•
SAP Fiori app Planning Filters on the Web UI, SAP IBP ribbon:
where the saved filters can also be shared with
other users or user groups

Updating and deleting planning filters

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 To update a previously saved filter, select the filter
from the dropdown, change the filter conditions,
and choose Update.

To delete a filter, select the filter from the dropdown and choose Delete.

This works the same way for value-based filters.

Note that you can only delete filters that are not
used. For more information, see the next slide.

Usage check for attribute-based filters

You cannot delete a filter if it is still used, for example, by the following applications:
• Application jobs

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 • Application job templates

• Planning view favorites

• Master data workbook favorites

• Planning view templates

• Planning views in the Web-Based Planning app

• Alert definitions

• Analytics

• Dashboards

To see the applications that use the filter,

use the Planning Filters app. See next
slide.

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Public 86 Public 87

Saving, updating, and deleting value-based filter

This works the same way as for attribute-based filters.

In the filter dropdown menu, you can only see the filters that are based on key figures that are
included in your planning view.

Please note that value-based filters cannot be shared with other users.
Updating and deleting attribute-based filters in the SAP IBP ribbon

As of Excel add-in version 2302.2.0, there

are two filter dropdowns in the Planning
View group of the SAP IBP ribbon; the
upper one for the workbook filter and the
lower one for the worksheet filter.

In the field labels, you can see which filter

is applied (Named Filter, Ad Hoc Filter or
(None)).

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 By using the dropdowns, you can change, remove, and edit the workbook filter or worksheet
filter that is being used in your planning view, or organize your attributebased filters.

Where-used list for attribute-based planning filters

The Planning Filters app on the Web UI of SAP

IBP lists the objects and applications that use a
particular attribute-based planning filter.

Note that you can find master data workbook

favorites under Planning View Favorites. They
have the prefix [MD].

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Invalid values in attribute-based filters (1)

It can happen that attribute values are no longer available, for example, if they have been deleted
from the system.

Example:

• When you defined the filter, you included the products A, B, and C. Later on, the product C
was removed from the system, but is still included in the filter. This means that the filter now
contains an invalid value.

• It can even happen that none of the products defined in the filter exist any longer when you
use the filter in a planning view or for an application job at a later point in time. All the values in
the filter are now invalid.

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Invalid values in attribute-based filters (2) application log says No data
found.

What happens if an attribute-based filter contains invalid Warning in the planning view settings
values?

• If all values are missing in a filter, you get a warning

when you try to use the filter in the planning view
settings or in the application job settings. See the
screenshots on the right.

• The planning view only displays data for the valid

values.
Warning in the application job settings
• An application job runs successfully – even if all
values in the filter are invalid - but you only get results
for the valid values. If there are no valid values, the

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Organizing filters in folders (1)

For better usability, you can use folders

to organize your attribute-based filters
and value-based filters.

You can assign a filter to a folder when

creating or updating it.

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In the filter dropdown menu, you can see your filters in folders.

Organizing filters in folders (2)

When adding (or updating) a filter, you can

assign the filter to an existing folder or create
a new folder to which the filter should be
assigned.

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Organizing filters in folders (3) To reorganize your folders and the
assignment of filters to folders, choose Organize.

Then you can do the following:

• Drag and drop a filter to a different folder

• Create a new folder and drag and drop filters to

this new folder

(Note that folders that do not contain any filters are

deleted automatically. )
• Rename filters and their folders (more about
this later)

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• Share attribute-based filters with other users (more about this later)

Organizing attribute-based filters in folders in the SAP IBP ribbon

The folder structure you created for attribute-

based planning filters is also visible in the To reorganize the folders, choose

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filter dropdown menu of the SAP IBP ribbon. Organize. Also see previous slide.

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Sharing attribute-based filters with other users
You can share attribute-based filters using the Organize dialog either
in the SAP IBP ribbon or in the Filters tab of the Edit Planning
View / New View window.

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Select the filters that you want Select the users or user The filters now have a suffix in to share with other
users and groups. Your selection is saved the name stating that they are user groups and click the
share once you click OK. shared by you. Click OK to save icon and confirm further changes that
you made in this dialog.
Resharing attribute-based filters
If you want to extend the sharing to additional users for multiple filters, in some cases you
might find that the users with whom these filters were already shared might differ from filter
to filter.

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Select the filters that you want names of the users are shown in make sure all filters that you selected
to share with other users and italic and with a filled checkbox in are shared with them.
user groups and click the the dialog.
share icon. You can add new users with whom
If you selected some shared all filters that you selected are
filters but not all filters that shared, or you can also reselect the
you selected were shared ones that you already saw initially to
with the same users, the

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 -
Sharing of attribute based filters – opting-out of shared filters

You can opt out of attribute-based filters that

were shared with you by other users.

Filters that you have opted out of don’t

appear in your attribute-based
filters list any longer.

To opt out, drag and drop these filters to the

Opt Out folder.

To get the filters back, drag and drop the

filter back to the other area.

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Renaming attribute-
You can also use the Move button to opt out of one or multiple shared filters.
Organizing attribute-based filters using the move dialog

To assign or re-assign multiple attributebased

filters to folders, you can use the Move items
dialog, as follows:

1. Select the filters that you want to move to a

different folder or new folder

2. Click Move item

3. Select the folder to which the filters should

be moved or create a new folder

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 based filters and their folders (1)

You can rename attribute-based planning filters and the respective folders via the Organize
menu.

SAP IBP ribbon New Planning View / Edit Planning View

window
You find the Organize dialog in
the dropdown menu for For attribute-based planning filters, the Organize
attributebased filters. dialog can be found in the New Planning View /
Edit Planning View window on the Filters tab.

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Renaming attribute-
based filters and their folders (2)

▪ To rename a folder or planning filter via the Organize menu, you click the (pen) icon next to the name to activate edit
mode.
▪ To validate the new name and check that it is not already being used, you click the (checkmark) icon or press the
Enter key on your keyboard. You will see that the (pen) icon slightly changes for the item.
▪ When you choose OK, changes are validated and saved. Please note that all changes get saved, including the changed
items that are still in edit mode. If you choose Cancel, unsaved changes are discarded.

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Renaming attribute-

Switch to
Edit Mode

based filters and their folders (3)

Please note that you cannot do the following:

▪ Rename favorites or attribute-based filters that are shared with you

▪ Apply a circular renaming in one step, such as A → B, B → C, C → A

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Renaming attribute-
▪ Create duplicate names
based filters and their folders (4)

The following are also not allowed:

▪ Empty names

▪ Special characters
Allowed characters include the following: letters, numbers, currency symbols, - (dash), _ (underscore), and space

▪ Spaces at the beginning or the end of the name are trimmed automatically.

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Advanced Settings
Sorting attribute values
Sorting attribute values – introduction

Sorting attribute values helps you to structure your data in an efficient way for your daily work and
keep an overview of the most important aspects.

Besides sorting the attribute values in ascending or descending order, you can define
custom sorting rules. For example, if you want to have your top three customers always at the top
of the list, you can pin these three customers to the top of your planning view and move less
important customers to the bottom.
Sorting logic in the Excel add-in

In the Excel add-in, sorting is based on ASCII

(decimal) character code.

For more information, see

[Link]

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Assigning a sorting rule to an attribute

In the planning view settings, you can assign a

sorting rule to each attribute that you have
selected for the planning view.

In the dropdown menu next to the attribute, you

can choose between the following sorting rules:

• A-Z, for sorting in ascending order

For each attribute a
• Z-A, for sorting in descending order sorting rule can be
selected.

• Custom sorting rules that you have defined

previously (see next slides)

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Defining a sorting rule for an attribute
1. Click the ellipsis button (…) next to the sorting
dropdown of the attribute.
2. On the right side of the Manage Sorting Rules
window, set up the sorting sequence for the
attribute values.
Example in the screenshot
The Selected Items section shows a list of attribute values. This
list is the sorting rule for the Product Desc attribute. With this rule,
the planning view will list monitors and phones in the planning
view in the following order:
1. CleverTele 42inch white
2. M-Phone 3D 640GB black&pink NEW
3. Others, that is, all other products visible on the left side of
the window in ascending order (A-Z) - except for,
4. CleverTele 48inch silver, which comes at the bottom
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Defining a sorting rule – “Others”
• Others is an SAP default category that includes
all attribute values from the left side that you
have not selected.
• You can decide whether these values get sorted
in ascending or descending order.
• To do so, use the A-Z and Z-A toggle buttons
next to the search field.

Defining a sorting rule – selecting items

and changing the sequence

• To select an item for the sorting rule, select the respective checkbox on the left side or drag and
drop the item from the left side to the right.
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• To deselect an item: Do the same, just from the right to the left.
• To change the sequence of the selected items, move them up and down using drag and drop.
Or use the arrows in the top right corner.

Sorting of Attribute Values by Description if ID-Description Linking is Used

If Description is selected to
be displayed in the planning

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 view, the sorting rule applies
to the description values. You
can change the selection in
the Manage Sorting Rules
dialog.

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Closing the rule creation

You can save the sorting rule that you have just defined
in the following ways:

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 • As a rule that is immediately applied to your

• As a custom rule with a specific name, by

planning view, by choosing OK (ad

hoc sorting) choosing Add

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Saving a custom sorting rule

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 1. Choose Add.
2. Enter the rule name.
3. Choose Add again.

Your sorting rule is now available

in the sorting dropdowns.

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Updating and deleting a custom sorting rule

In the Manage Sorting Rules window, you can

also update or delete a sorting rule.

Please note that you cannot delete sorting rules that are still being used by
favorites and templates. If you try to do so, you
will get an error message with the name of the
favorite or template in which the sorting rule is
used.

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Sorting for attribute combinations

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 Custom sorting
Example in the screenshot
rule XYZ
1. The customer countries are

Sorting Custom sorting

rule Z-A rule XYZ
2. Within each customer

Custom sorting
rule XYZ

3. For each value combination

Sorting Sorting Custom sorting
rule A-Z rule Z-A rule XYZ

sorted in ascending order,

using the standard sorting
rule A-Z.

country, the product groups

are sorted in descending
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 order using the standard
sorting rule Z-A.

of customer country and

product group, the products
are sorted using the custom
sorting rule XYZ.

Changing the sorting rule in the planning view

In the planning view, you can also change the

sorting rule for an attribute using the context
menu, as follows:

1. Right-click an attribute value.

2. Choose Sorting.

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3. Select the sorting rule you want to apply:
• A-Z for ascending
• Z-A for descending
• A custom sorting rule saved previously
Sorting rules in planning view templates and shared favorites

Please note: Planning view templates and planning view

favorites are explained in detail later on. This slide only
covers how these objects handle sorting rules.

The sorting rules for attributes are saved with a planning view template or a favorite. So, next time
you open the template or favorite, your choice of sorting rules is preset for the selected attributes.

If you share a favorite, the sorting rules are shared with the other users as well. Saved sorting
rules, however, will appear as (Ad Hoc Sorting) rules for other users. The same applies if you open
a template that was created by another user.

How you see your favorite: How your colleagues see it:
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Attribute-based sorting and member sorting

Please note: Local members are covered in greater detail later

on. This slide is just about sorting aspects.

In addition to attribute-based sorting, sorting using the Report Editor (also called Member Sorting), is
also available.

We recommend that you only use attribute-based sorting in the planning view, as this is the preferred
way of sorting in the Excel add-in. If you want to use both, please note that attribute-based sorting is
applied by the SAP IBP backend, while member sorting is applied by the Excel user interface. Therefore,
member sorting overrules attribute-based sorting, if there are conflicting sorting settings.
To set up member sorting, choose
Advanced → Report Editor.
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On the Layout tab, select an attribute and then Sort or group members by properties.

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Advanced Settings
Sorting based on key figure
values
Where can you find it?

The Value-Based Sorting function is

available on the Key Figures tab in
the Create Planning View or Edit
Planning View dialog as of version
2211.2.0
In the dropdown, you can choose
one of your available value-based
Sorting based on key figure values (value-based sorting)
sorting rules that you already saved previously. If (None) is selected, no value-
based sorting rule applies.

By choosing the … button next to it, the Manage Sorting Rules – ValueBased
Sorting dialog opens, and you can define a new value-based sorting rule or
update the selected one.

How to set up a sorting rule horizon can be different from

the ones used on the Time
tab)
In the Manage Sorting Rules – Value-Based
Sorting dialog you can select the key figure whose If you choose the same time
values you want to sort. period in the From and To
field, the planning view will
By using the Ascending and Descending toggle be sorted by the key figure
buttons you can decide whether the key figure values of this period. When
values should be sorted in an ascending or you choose several time
descending order. periods instead, the
planning view will be sorted
Select a time level which fits the selected key by the aggregated key figure
figure and choose a time horizon. (Note: The time values over the selected
level and time time periods.
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Sorting based on key figure values (value-based sorting)
→See
example
planning
views on the
following
slide
Sorting based on one time period

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Sorting based on key figure values (value-based sorting)

The values of Consensus

Demand Shortage in the
coming week are sorted
in a descending order.

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Sorting based on key figure values (value-based sorting)
Sorting based on several time periods

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Sorting based on key figure values (value-based sorting)

The aggregated values of

Consensus Demand
Shortage over the coming
5 weeks are sorted in
a descending order.

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Sorting based on key figure values (value-based sorting)
Save your own sorting rule

Once you have configured a sorting

rule, you can choose the Add new
sorting button and define a name.

This way you can save the sorting rule

and reuse it in other planning views
where the related key figure is selected.
To do so, you just need to choose the
name of the sorting rule in the
dropdown of the Value-Based Sorting
field.

You can update and delete the selected

sorting rules by using the Update and
the Delete buttons.
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Sorting based on key figure values (value-based sorting)
Restrictions

There are some restrictions related to the planning view settings

that you must keep in mind if you want to use value-based sorting:
▪ Only key figures that are included in the planning view can be used for
value-based sorting.
▪ Aggregated constraint key figures can‘t be used for value-based sorting.
▪ Time periods must be placed on the column axis.
▪ Attributes must be placed on the row axis (apart from time profile attributes,
which always need to be placed on the column axis together with the time
periods).
▪ Key figures can be placed on either the row or the column axis. On the row
axis, the key figures must be placed after all selected attributes.
▪ Only one version and one scenario can be selected, multiple versions and
scenarios are not supported.
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Sorting based on key figure values (value-based sorting)
▪ Attribute-based sub-totals are not supported, only attribute-based grand
totals and time totals can be used.

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 -
Exclude attributes from value based sorting rules
Motivation

As of version 2302.2.0 of the Excel add-in, you can exclude attributes from the value-based
sorting rule, and sort them according to the attribute-based sorting rule that is defined. In this way,
it is possible to combine attributebased sorting
and value-based sorting in one planning view.

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Exclude attributes from value-based sorting rules
Including all attributes

If you define a value-based sorting rule and

choose to include all attributes in the lower part
of the Manage Sorting Rules dialog, the
attribute-based sorting is deactivated for all
attributes.

Note: This is the default selection when you

create new sorting rules.

This is also
reflected on the
Attributes tab.

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Exclude attributes from value-based sorting rules
Including all attributes

All selected attributes are sorted

by the value-based sorting rule
and attribute-based sorting is
deactivated.

The values of Consensus

Demand Shortage in the coming
week are sorted in descending
order for the available
combinations of Product Group,
Product ID and Customer ID.

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Exclude attributes from value-based sorting rules
Excluding the first attribute

If you define a value-based sorting rule, and

choose to exclude some of the attributes in
the lower part of the Manage Sorting Rules
dialog, the attributes you exclude are sorted
by the attribute-based sorting rule that is
defined. The value-based sorting rule is
applied to the attributes that are included.

This is also
reflected on the
Attributes tab.

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Exclude attributes from value-based sorting rules
Excluding the first attribute

The attribute Product Group is excluded

from the value-based sorting rule, and
is sorted from A-Z.

The values of Consensus Demand

Shortage in the coming week are sorted
in descending order for the available
combinations of Product ID and
Customer ID inside one Product Group.

Restrictions

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Exclude attributes from value-based sorting rules
When excluding attributes from the value-based sorting rule, please keep the following in mind:

• Only sorting rules with all attributes included can be saved as custom rule and reused in other
planning views. (The Add new sorting button is disabled otherwise.)

• Only the first or the last attributes can be excluded, attributes in the middle can’t be excluded.

Please note: If you save ad-hoc value-based sorting rules with excluded attributes in planning
view templates or shared favorites, and other users are opening them using 2211 versions of the
Excel add-in, the rule is applied correctly, but the excluded attributes cannot be changed in the
older versions.

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Advanced Settings
Scrolling to current time period
Example

You can have the

worksheet
automatically scroll to
the current time period
when you open a
planning view.
Opening planning views - scrolling to the current time period
(In this example, the current time period is C47 M11 2022.) How to enable it?

If you select the Scroll to current time

period checkbox on the Display tab of the
Options dialog, the planning view or
change history view of the active
worksheet scrolls to the current time
period every time you open or edit it.

If you want to use this function in a

specific template or favorite, select the
checkbox for all relevant worksheets and
update the template or favorite.

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Opening planning views - scrolling to the current time period
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Good to know

▪ The time periods must be placed on the column axis on the Layout tab of the Create Planning
View or Edit Planning View dialog.

▪ If you have defined multiple time levels or totals in your planning view definition, and the
checkbox Scroll to current time period is selected, the planning view scrolls to the current time
period of the first time level defined.

▪ Make sure to freeze the columns including the headers of the row axis (such as attributes and
key figures) using the Microsoft Excel Freeze Panes function in the View group, otherwise the
headers won‘t be visible after the scrolling is applied.
 Advanced Settings
Copying planning
view settings
Copying settings of a planning view

You can copy settings from one planning view to another

within a workbook that contains several worksheets with
planning views.

1. Choose the document icon with the quick info text Copy
Worksheet Settings in the top-right corner of the
Create Planning View or Edit Planning View dialog.

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2. Select the settings you want to copy, the worksheet with the planning view you want to copy from, and one or
more worksheets as targets.

3. Choose Copy.

The dialog has been enhanced with the 2311.2.0 version of the Excel add-in.
 4) Saving Planning Views as
Templates and Favorites

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Comparing templates and favorites

Templates
• A template administrator can share planning
view templates with all users.
• A template administrator can maintain
defaults, filters, and more.
• The system administrator can restrict the Favorites
access to certain templates for the users • Individual for the user
using authorizations.
• Only visible for users with whom the user
has shared the favorites
• The administrator cannot centrally restrict
the access to the favorites to certain users.
• Favorites have a separate lifecycle:
Favorites that were created from a template
do not get automatically updated when the
original template
gets changed
(the formatting,
for example).

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Creating, updating, and deleting a favorite or template

Once you have created a planning view, you can save it as a favorite or, if you have the
necessary authorization of a template administrator, also as a template.

For templates, choose Templates in the • Update to update an existing template

SAP • Delete to delete an existing template
IBP ribbon and then choose
• Add to create a new template

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For favorites, choose Favorites in the SAP From the Templates dropdown menu in the
IBP ribbon and then choose • Add to Excel add-in ribbon (usually visible for
create a new favorite template administrators only)
• Update to update an existing favorite
• Delete to delete an existing favorite
Accessing templates

Once a planning view is saved as a template, it can be opened as

follows:

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 When you create a new planning view from a
template, you can select the template to
open.
The settings can then also be adjusted
directly.

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Sharing a favorite with another user

You can share your favorite planning views with other users or user groups, as follows:

1) Open the favorite.

2) In the SAP IBP ribbon, click Favorites and then click Share.

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3) Select the users and user groups and click OK.

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Opting out of favorites

You can opt out of favorites that another user has shared with you and that you don‘t want to see
any longer.

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 Drag and drop the
Click Favorites shared favorite to the
and then Opt Out Folder.
Organize.

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 Organizing favorites and templates using folders
Folders can be created for:
• Planning view favorites
• Master data favorites
• Planning view templates

To create a folder, create a • Folders only exist when they

planning view and select Add or have favorites assigned. Folders
Update.

er structure is also
eating or editing the

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 that do not contain a • Folders cannot be transported or shared with
favorite or template are other users.
removed.
Organize your folders and planning views by using drag
and drop, sorting, creating and deleting folders.
Renaming favorites and templates

In the Organize menu, you can rename planning view favorites, master data favorites,
planning view templates, and the respective folders.

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The Organize menu is included in the following groups of the SAP IBP ribbon:

Please note that the same process and

Favorites in the Favorites in the Templates in the
Planning View Master Data Template Admin limitations apply as for the renaming of
group groupgroupthe
attribute-based planning filters.

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5) SAP IBP Formatting Sheet
SAP IBP formatting sheet
You can use the formatting sheet to define a specific format (font, color, size, and so on) for the
data area in the planning view as well as for the header. The formatting settings can be applied
to templates by an administrator, or to individual planning views by planners, provided they have
the necessary authorizations.

The SAP IBP Formatting Sheet consists of the following sections:

• Default Formatting: in this section, you can determine the basic formatting that you want to
apply to your planning view.

• Member/Property Formatting: in this section, you can define additional rules to fine-tune the
formatting dependent of key figure characteristics such as editability or certain conditions.

• Row and Column Banding: in this section, you can define the format for every second row or
every second column to better distinguish between the different rows or columns.

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For a detailed description of the different sections, and how to apply formatting to your planning
views using the SAP IBP Formatting sheet, see the application help on the SAP Help Portal at
[Link] under SAP IBP Formatting Sheet.

SAP IBP formatting sheet

You can open the SAP IBP formatting sheet as follows:

Open a planning view or a planning view template in the Excel add-in, and in
the Planning View group, choose Edit View -> View Formats.

The SAP IBP Formatting Sheet is added to the workbook as an additional

sheet.

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Make your formatting settings in the SAP IBP formatting sheet, as required. Once you are done, you can
hide the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet, choose View Formats again.

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 SAP IBP formatting sheet -
order in which formatting is applied in the
planning view

The formatting settings are applied from the top of the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet to the bottom. As the name suggests, the
settings in the Default Formatting section are available as per default. You can modify them so that they serve your
purposes better.

As you specify formatting settings moving downward in the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet, keep in mind that the settings in the
lower sections override the settings in the sections above. For example, if you specify that the cells in the planning view
should have a white background per default, and then in the lower Member/Property Formatting section, you specify that
editable cells should have a light green background, the settings in the lower Member/Property Formatting section take
precedence, and editable cells will have a light green background.

You can define the format for rows and columns in all three of the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet sections. You can decide if
you want the formatting settings you defined for the rows or the columns to take precedence over the other by choosing either
Priority to Column Format or Priority to Row Format below the header of each section. For example, when you choose
Priority to Row Format, the Column section is displayed first in the formatting section, the Row section is displayed in
second position. As the rules at the bottom of the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet overwrite the rules at the top, the formatting
settings you define for the Row section is used in the planning view if there are conflicts.

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 SAP IBP formatting sheet -
specifying formatting settings

In the cells with the text 10,000 (Data columns) and Label
(Header columns), you can define the format you want to have in
the planning view by using the standard Microsoft Excel cell
formatting options.

You can then further specify which settings (properties) of the

format you previously defined in the Data and Header columns
you want to be applied in the planning view. Double-click in a Use
cell, and select the required properties in the Formatting
Properties dialog. By default, all the formatting settings are
applied and All is displayed in the Use column.

For more information about what each setting means, see SAP
Help Portal at Formatting Properties.

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 SAP IBP formatting sheet -
The Formatting Properties dialog has been redesigned with version 2311.2.0 of the Excel add-in.

applying formatting settings in the planning view

All three sections of the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet have a

checkbox on the left side of the sections' header. You must select
this checkbox to apply the settings in the respective section in the
planning view.

In addition, there's an Apply checkbox on the left of each row in

each section. You must select this checkbox to apply the settings
you made in the respective row in the planning view.

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 SAP IBP formatting sheet -
hiding the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet in templates

If you add or update a template with the formatting sheet visible (not hidden), the formatting sheet
remains visible to all users. This means that when a user chooses New View to create a new
planning view from a template, the resulting planning view will show the formatting sheet so that the
user can view and change the formatting of that planning view.

If you don't want the formatting sheet to be displayed to users, use the Microsoft Excel Hide function
to hide the worksheet before adding or updating the template.

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 SAP IBP formatting sheet enhancements

Your existing formatting sheets are migrated to a new format on the fly when you open a favorite or
template that contains a formatting sheet that was created with lower versions of the Excel add-in.

Your planning views are not affected by this migration and the formatting that you are used to
is contained.

During the migration, certain settings that were irrelevant for the usage with SAP IBP are
removed, certain rules are merged, and labels are changed. The changes result in a formatting
sheet that is easier to use, and requires fewer formatting rules to be set up to visualize that a value
in a cell is editable, for example.

SAP IBP formatting sheet - new rules in the Member/Property Formatting section
Formatting Rule Purpose Example

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 Default Format Maintain specific formatting settings that should be
for Non- applied to cells where the key figure values are not
Editable Cells editable. If not applied, the default formatting is applied.
Default Format Maintain specific formatting settings that should be
for Editable Cells applied to cells where the key figure values are
editable. If not applied, the default formatting is applied.
It is recommended to use this setting to increase the
usability of the planning views.
Default Format Maintain specific formatting settings that should be
for Changed applied to cells where the user has changed a key
Cells figure value. If not applied, the default formatting is
applied. It is recommended to use this setting to
increase the usability of the planning views.
Default Format Maintain specific formatting settings that should be
for Local applied to cells that are associated with a local member.
Member Cells If not applied, the default formatting is applied.
Formatting on Maintain additional formatting settings based on custom
Specific Member/ rules. You can create custom rules for example for
Property specific attributes, key figures, time periods, and
properties of these members.

– enhancement as of version 2302.2.0; formatting for a

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 SAP IBP formatting sheet
specific member or property

With 2302.2.0, we‘ve enhanced the SAP

IBP Formatting Sheet dialog that is used
to add formatting rules for specific
member or property values.

To add such formatting rules, choose

Add Member/Property in either the Row
or the Column area of the
Member/Property Formatting section.

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - enhancement as of version 2302.2.0;
add new formatting rules for specific member or property values
When you choose Add Member/Property, the following dialog is opened. Choose Add Condition
to define a formatting condition based on members, properties or other specifics.

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - enhancement as of version 2302.2.0; add new formatting

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - enhancement as of version 2302.2.0; add new formatting
condition for specific member values

To define a formatting condition based on

members, stay on the Member tab.

Select first the dimension (group of

members), for example Key Figures, a time
level or an attribute. Then select the
member, for example key figure name, time
period, attribute value and choose OK.

Please note: It is possible to select multiple

members of the same dimension which will
result in an OR condition.

For further details about the terminology,

see SAP Help Portal at Terminology:
Dimension, Member, and Property.
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SAP IBP formatting sheet - enhancement as of version 2302.2.0; add new formatting
condition for specific property values

To define a formatting condition based on

properties, switch to the Properties tab.

First, select the dimension, then choose the

property, operator, and value and confirm by
choosing OK.

(As of version 2308.2.0 of the Excel add-in,

the dimensions on the Properties tab are
grouped to make selecting dimensions easier
when you set up formatting rules for specific
members or properties.)

In this example, a formatting condition for key

figures that have the property

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - enhancement as of version 2302.2.0; add new formatting
"Percentage" set to "Y" (Yes) is defined. condition for other specifics

To define a formatting condition for blank

members, total members or local members
available in the planning view, switch to the
Specific Selection tab.

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - enhancement as of version 2302.2.0;
combine multiple conditions in one formatting rule

Once you have selected a condition, it is added to

the first dialog. There you can do the following:
▪ Add more conditions by choosing Add
Condition. Conditions in the same formatting
group are combined by an OR.
▪ Add additional formatting groups by choosing
Add Group. Formatting groups are combined
by an AND.
▪ Adjust or delete conditions.
▪ After you choose OK, the formatting rule
created is added as a new row to your
formatting sheet, and you can format the Data
or the Header cell according to your needs.

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - e
xample: combine multiple conditions in one formatting

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - e
rule (enhancement as of version 2302.2.0)

Apply a formatting rule if the key figure

name is "Customer Receipts Adjusted"
OR "Customer Supply Adjusted", AND if
the time period is the current time period.

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - e
nhanced formatting for a specific member or property -
things to consider (enhancement as of version 2302.2.0)

When you open a template or favorite with version 2302.2.0 or higher, the formatting sheet
included is automatically migrated and the formatting keeps working as before.

Please be careful with updating templates or shared favorites that include formatting sheets, if
you have version 2302.2.0 or higher installed. First, make sure that all users that are accessing the
templates and favorites are also using Excel add-in version 2302.2.0 or higher.

If you are updating templates or shared favorites that include formatting sheets with version
2302.2.0 or higher, formatting rules for specific member or property values are not applied if users
with Excel add-in versions lower than 2302.2.0 are opening the templates or shared favorites.

The same applies if you create new templates or favorites that include formatting sheets with
version 2302.2.0 or higher.

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SAP IBP formatting sheet - e
The general formatting settings and default settings are applied, only the rules for Formatting on
Specific Member/Property function don‘t work if older Excel add-in versions are used.

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6) Visualization of key figure editability
Key figure editability horizon
The editability horizon is the time defined for key figures in which business users can edit the key figure data.

The system considers editability horizons when users make manual changes in key figure values, it is
disregarded when the changes are done by system processes, for example, when a forecast run changes key
figure values.

Editability horizons are considered in the following areas:

• Excel add-in

• (Editability horizons can be visualized in the Excel add-in, using the formatting rules for editable key
figures. For more information, see the application help on the SAP Help Portal at [Link]
under Formatting Rules to Visualize Key Figure Editability.)

• Web-Based Planning app

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• Driver-Based Planning app
Definition of key figure editability horizon

The Manage Editability Horizons for Key

Figures app can be used to define
editability horizons for one or more key
figures.

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Definition of key figure editability horizon –
(fixed rule - static horizon)

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Definition of key figure editability horizon –
The definition of the editability horizon contains:

• A list of key figures which the horizon belongs to (do

not have to be at the same base planning level)

• The time level at which the relative time is calculated

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Definition of key figure editability horizon –
(can be any time level from the planning area)

• The From and To relative periods

• From or To can be unlimited which results in an open editability

horizon

In this example, the key figures Marketing Forecast Qty and Sales
Forecast Qty are editable from the month following the current month
until the 4th month.

For example, if the current date is March 15th, 2021, then from April
2021 to July 2021 (July included)
(rule based on planning level attribute)

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Definition of key figure editability horizon –
It is possible to select the From and/or the To
definition from an attribute of type integer present in
the base planning level of the key figures.

In this example, the horizon is defined at a weekly level.

The From value comes from the FROZENHORIZON
attribute of the planning level and the end of the
horizon is open.

The key figures in the editability horizon definition do not have

to come from the same base planning level, but the attribute
selected should be present in all of them.
(rule based on master data)

It is possible that the attribute defined in the From or To

is not present at the base planning level. In this case, a master
data type can be chosen to define the horizon.

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Definition of key figure editability horizon –
The join condition of planning level and master data do
not have to be at root attribute level, it can be at any
level that the business process requires.

If a value is missing from the master data, the static horizon is

used.
(create master data)

The master data type doesn't have to be part of a

planning area. There is no need to change and
activate a planning area, you can just create a
master data type for the purposes of the editability
horizon.

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Definition of key figure editability horizon –
In this example, if the Region is for example, North America, the
horizon defined in the static section will be used.
(role definition)
The editability horizon needs to be assigned to the users
using roles. It can be found in the Write, Read, Value
Help section

SAP delivers the default editability

horizon SAP_DEFAULT_HORIZON, which
grants an unrestricted editability horizon to all the active
and stored editable key figures of all active planning
areas for which there is no editability horizon defined in
the Ready status.

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Definition of key figure editability horizon –
The default editability horizon cannot be edited, but it can be
assigned to users via the Editability Horizon restriction field.

If you do not want to use this feature, or the planning

area is not normalized, this field needs to be defined
as Unrestricted.

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 Key figure editability horizon – usage considerations
The editability of key figure values by a specific user is determined by a number of factors.
The editability horizon for key figures is taken into consideration on top of other settings
defining the editability of key figure values. It serves to restrict and does not extend the
editability of key figures.

For example:

• Edit Allowed field in planning area configuration

Horizon Aggregation (Dynamic Rules) The • = Current and Future Periods and the horizon is -3
system uses the smallest allowed horizon. to + 5
Horizon information is calculated on the request level based on the Editability horizon is: 0 to +5
combinations which belong to it, the system considers the read
permission filters as well as the attribute filters used for planning Horizon is -3 to + 5 but no permission because of
view for calculating the final horizon: permission filter
• Product 1, Location 1 has horizon from -2 to 3 Editability horizon is: 0, the user has no permission
• Product 1, Location 2 has horizon from 0 to 5 to change key figure values
• Planning view is on Product level Product 1 has horizon 0 to
3
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Formatting rules to visualize the key figure editability horizon
The key figure editability feature is accompanied by
enhanced formatting rules to support the visualization of flexible
key figure editability horizons.

Use the Default Format for Editable Cells to define a format for
cells that are editable by the user, for example, indicated by a
white background.

You can use the Default Format for Non-Editable Cells to define a
format for cells that are not editable and where you wish that the
formatting is different from your overall template background, for
example, indicated by a grey background

These new rules also work with the existing key figure settings for
editability (for example, Editable in the Current and Future)

It is recommended to use these two new formatting rules for data

formatting either in the row or the column area due to
performance impact. The header formatting is not impacted by
this.

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 The new key figure editability settings configured in the Manage
Editability Horizons for Key Figures app are only visualized
correctly when you use the Default Format for Editable Cells
rule.173
Formatting rules – example planning view

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7) Time-Based Disaggregation of partially
editable child nodes
Time-based disaggregation of partially editable child nodes
–
How does it work?
You can edit a key figure value for the current period at an aggregated level, even if the period is only
partially editable.
Let's assume that we are now in February 2021. The key figure is stored at a monthly level, and it is editable
in the current and future periods, according to the configuration of the key figure in the Planning Areas app.
The current quarter, Q1 has already begun, which means that it is only partially editable, as January is over
and is closed for editing. If you try to edit a key figure value at the aggregated, quarterly level, in other words,
if you want to change the value for Q1, you can do so. Time
periods that are partially editable can be edited at an aggregated
level and the changed value is distributed to the editable time
periods, according to the disaggregation mode that has been
specified. In our example, if you change the value of Q1, the
system distributes the changed value between the months of
February and March. The value in the part of Q1 that is closed
for editing (the month of January), remains the same.

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Time-based disaggregation of partially editable child nodes
–
Changes that aren’t allowed

The system rejects following types of changes:

• Changes that would lead to negative values of the editable child nodes at the storage level.
In the previous example, if you change the value of Q1 to 50, the result would be - 75 for
February and March, respectively, which is not allowed.

• Changes of values to empty values, if there are values in the noneditable periods.

• Changes to values if all of the child periods in the editable area are fixed.

Considerations

Things to remember:
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Time-based disaggregation of partially editable child nodes
–
• The system considers manual changes that you make to partially editable key figure values in
the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel. It is not possible to edit such values in the Planner
Workspaces app.

• Changes to partially editable child nodes made by system processes, for example forecasting
runs (simulation or background) are not supported.

• You can fix or unfix key figure values of partially editable periods that haven't been fixed yet or
were fixed before.

• The ADVSIM operator does not consider partially editable child nodes.

Formatting

The Excel add-in shows whether a period is editable or not at the cell level.

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Time-based disaggregation of partially editable child nodes
–
As default, noneditable cells have a light gray background. You can use the SAP IBP Formatting
Sheet to set up your own formatting for editable and noneditable cells (as described in slide 123).

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8) How to Work with Planning Views
Editing planning views

Editing planning views

You can edit all settings of a planning view using the Edit View button in the SAP IBP
ribbon.

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Editing planning views-
resetting changes in your planning
view (1)
Usually, you can use the Microsoft Excel Undo function to reset the
changes you made to key figure values manually. However, if your
administrator has applied a formatting rule in the Default Format
for Changed Cells field of the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet to
highlight cells of key figure values that have been edited, you can’t
use the Microsoft Excel Undo function, as it is deactivated in this
case.

Instead, you can select a cell or range of cells in the data area of
the planning view, and choose Reset Changes from the context
menu. You can select a broad range that also contains cells that
haven‘t been changed, but keep in mind that the number of cells in
the range that you select can’t exceed 10,000 cells.

When you use the Reset Changes function, the key figure values
and the formatting of the selected cells, including formatting for
alerts, are reset to the last status after you opened the planning
view, or after you triggered functions that reload the planning view,
such as Refresh, Save Data or Simulate. In addition to manual

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Editing planning views-
changes, local changes, for example changes that have been made
by using VBA coding, are also reset.

This function is available as of version 2308.2.0 of the Excel add-in.

resetting changes in your planning view (2)
Things to remember

• If you've changed the value of one specific cell several times, all changes that have been made to that cell are reset
when you choose Reset Changes. You can't reset the changes step by step.

• There is no function to redo the changes that you reset using the Reset Changes function, so make sure you only reset
the changes that need to be reset.

• If you have selected the Keep formula on data checkbox under Settings Options in the About group of the SAP IBP
ribbon for the active planning view, the following applies to formulas you entered in the planning view:
• The formulas are not reset if you choose Reset Changes.
• The formulas are not formatted according to the formatting you specified in the Default Format for Changed Cells field
of the SAP IBP Formatting Sheet.

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Editing planning views-
• If your administrator has configured the Changed Member Default Format formatting rule to be applied to headers as
well as to data cells, and you choose Reset Changes, the changed header formatting stays for changed data cells. If
you want to reset the formatting of the headers as well, you must include the related header cells in the selected range
and then choose Reset Changes.

This function is available as of

version 2308.2.0 of the Excel add-in.
resetting changes in your planning view (3)
Planning notes and fixing

If you added planning notes or changed existing

planning notes in your planning view, the
planning note changes that haven‘t been saved
yet are also reset when you use the Reset
Changes function.

The same applies to changes related to fixing and

unfixing of key figure values.
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Editing planning views-
This function is available as of version 2308.2.0 of the Excel add-in.

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Simulation Mode / interactive planning
Interactive planning – simulating the effect of data changes

The Excel add-in offers powerful simulation capabilities that you can use to run what-if simulations
on the fly. During simulations, you can change data in the planning view, simulate what effect your
changes would have on other key figures, and even run planning operators such as statistical
forecasting in simulation mode to analyze the potential results - without changing the actual
planning data in the base planning version.

The simulated data is only visible to you and doesn’t have any impact on the data that is stored in
the SAP IBP backend. This means that other users are not affected by your simulations.

However, if you come to the conclusion that your changes are valid, you can save the simulation
so that it becomes the actual planning.
About simulations

• A simulation recalculates the planning view, only considering the changes that you have made in the
planning view.
• If you have changed a key figure value, you can simulate the effects of the change on the dependent
key figures using Simulate (Basic). You can save the changes either as the new baseline plan to the
SAP IBP database, visible to all users, or save it as your private scenario. To discard your changes,
you simply need to refresh the planning view.
• If you have multiple planning views in one workbook, a simulation in one planning view is automatically
propagated to the other planning views in the same workbook. The same applies if you refresh the
data in one planning view to discard all changes; this discards the changes in all planning views of the
workbook.
• To see the impact of your changes on the plan, you can also run a planning operator, such as, supply
planning, inventory optimization, and statistical forecasting, in simulation mode. Starting an operator in
simulation mode means that the system automatically starts Simulate (Basic) first in order to update
dependent key figures based on your changes before starting the operator itself.

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• Note that there is no undo button for simulations. If you have run multiple simulations, you cannot undo
the last one, but need to refresh completely, thus losing all previous simulation results.

Simulate (Basic)

The basic simulation updates the values of the key

figures that depend on the key figures that you have
changed (using the key figure calculations that have
been defined in configuration) - but only in the
planning view. No data is saved in the SAP IBP
database until you save it.

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Simulate (Basic) – overview
The consensus demand is calculated from the sales forecast quantity, the marketing forecast
quantity, and the demand planning quantity entered by the demand planner.
If you manually change the sales forecast
quantity for 3 consecutive periods and run
Simulate (Basic), the system automatically
updates the consensus demand.
Totals and subtotals are also getting
Sales Forecast
updated.

50%
Marketing Demand Planner
Forecast Forecast

30% 20%

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Consensus Demand Plan
Simulate (Basic) – complex key figure calculations (such as, product A and location B) and
can result in updated planning data for
these as well.

Depending on the key figure definition in configuration in the Simple key figure calculation:
SAP IBP backend, the calculation for a key figure can
become rather complex and, even if only one value was
changed in the planning view, a lot of operations need to
happen at the database level in order to simulate and
recalculate the dependent key figures for that single
changed value.

This means that the size of key figure calculations plays a role
in the performance of interactive planning.

Please note that in some special cases, data changes that

were done for a specific planning combination (such as,
product A and location A) with a subsequent Simulate (Basic)
run can also have an effect on other planning combinations

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A more complex key figure calculation:

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Planning operators in simulation mode –
Statistical Forecasting

Example: Simulate the effect of different forecast models on the data, or simulate the effect of increased
or decreased sales on the statistical forecast.
The system automatically uses the planning level, the periodicity, and the filter criteria defined in the
planning view for the forecast model.

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Planning operators in simulation mode –
The available forecast models automatically appear in the Simulate dropdown menu if the user
permissions are given.

Inventory Planning (Advanced)

Whether an operator is available in the simulation menu, depends on the configured inventory profiles for the
respective planning area, and on your user permissions.

The system uses the planning scope that was set in the Workbook Settings side panel on the Create Planning
View or Edit Planning View dialogs automatically for the operator simulation.

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Planning operators in simulation mode –
You can run the Inventory Planning (Advanced) profiles in simulation mode.

Example: Simulate the effect of changed input factors, run multi-stage optimization to calculate target
inventory components.

S&OP operators

Whether an operator is available in the simulation menu, depends on the configuration of the
operator that is done by your administrator, as well as your user permissions. (The Interactive
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Planning operators in simulation mode –
Mode checkbox must be selected in the operator profile and the planning operator must be
assigned to the planning area.)

The system uses the planning scope that was set in the Workbook Settings side panel on the
Create Planning View or Edit Planning View dialogs automatically for the operator simulation.
Example: Simulate the effect of changed input factors such as new capacity constraints on the
supply plan.

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Subnetworks and planning scope for simulation runs

Subnetworks (previously called planning units) are relevant but not mandatory for
inventory optimization and time-series based supply planning. If subnetworks are set-up
for your planning area, you need to select the
subnetworks that you want to plan in the
Planning Scope tab in the Workbook Settings
side panel.

The setting you make here is applied to all

planning views of the workbook and is
automatically used when simulating Inventory
Planning (Advanced) operators or S&OP
operators.

You can define default subnetworks in the

user settings.
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Planning operators in simulation mode – simulation log

Show Messages

After a simulation run, you can access a detailed log of the last simulation run using the Show
Messages menu entry.

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Simulation across different planning views

A simulation session always involves the entire Excel workbook, including all planning views
(worksheets) in the workbook. So if you change data in one planning view (on worksheet 1, for
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example), then click Simulate (Basic) or start a planning operator in simulation mode, and then go
to another planning view (worksheet 2, for example), you see that associated data has been
updated with the simulation run.

Example:

In your Excel workbook, you have three planning views on three different worksheets. Planning
view 1 shows aggregated data and summarizes the results from the two other planning views.
Planning views 2 and 3 show data on a detailed level for different regions.

Go to planning Go to planning change data

on Review and Simulate your Review changed data on planning review simulated view 1 and view 3. The data on this view

is planning view 2 changes view 2 results on not affected by

aggregated level the simulation.

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Consecutive simulations in one simulation session

You can run multiple consecutive simulations without saving the data in between. For example,
you can change data, run a simulation, review the results, change data again, simulate, and so on,
until you get the appropriate results and want to save the changes or discard them all by clicking
Refresh.

Example:
Review results Move to Review results
Change data
Simulate your of simulation in planning view of simulation
on planning
changes planning view 2 on different on planning
view 1
1 sheet view 2

Change data on
planning view 2 Review results of Move back to Review results
Simulate your
based on the simulation in planning view 1 and save your
changes
results from first planning view 2 on different sheet changes
simulation run

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Change planning view settings during a simulation session

A simulation session is not affected by changes to the planning view settings. So you can use
drilldowns, or change the settings in the Edit Planning View menu without losing the results of your
simulation. The system applies the changed settings to your planning view, but retains the
simulated results.
Example:
Change for example
Change data the planning level or
Simulate your Review results
in your add / remove key
changes of simulation figures via the Edit
planning view Planning View

Review results
Change data
of simulation in Review results
and simulate Save data
changed of simulation
again
planning view

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Versions
About versions

• Versions are used to create “alternative realities” of the global company plan.
• The base version represents the base plan (operational plan) that is used within the company as the go-to plan.
• Additional versions can help determine what the best path forward is, without interfering with the base version.
• Versions are valid for and used by the whole company, or by departments of a company, and are visible to all end users who have the
necessary authorizations.
• Versions are created centrally in the SAP IBP model configuration and are an optional, but common part of an SAP IBP implementation.
• A version consists of a set of key figures that represent the particular plan. Different versions can have different key figure values. For
example, the sales forecast might be 100 in an upside version, only 50 in a downside version, and in the end, 70 in the base version.
• A version always consists of a sub-set of the available key figures that are included in the base version. They cannot include additional
key figures.
• Some key figures within a version are marked as version-specific and some as pure baseline key figures. Baseline key figures will always
show the data stored in the base version, while data in version-specific key figures can differ from version to version.
• A version can consist of version-specific master data (optional).
Versions – sample process
Adjust your planning version to a version Change version Copy version to
view data (such as, upside or base version
downside) to use the • Change key figure
• Change key figure values base version values • Copy values from a
values in the version
in the base version as a basis for version to the base
Copy base version to • Change master data version if you want to
changes to a more
if you are using promote the changed
version optimistic or
version-specific values back to the
pessimistic plan.
• Copy your base master data base version.
Comparing versions

• In the planning view definition, in the Workbook Settings side panel, select the versions you want to see in
the planning view.

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 • • The
default is Base Version.
• The version selection is valid for all sheets in the workbook.

In the planning view, a new column is added, called Version.

You can compare the different versions, change values, and
more.
Please note that this column is not visible when you have only selected the base version in the planning view
definition.

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Copying versions

In the Manage Versions window, you can

• Copy data from the base version to an alternate
version
• Copy data from the alternate version back to the base
version
• Copy data among alternate versions
• Delete data in versions

The actions are executed as an application job for which

you can define the following parameters:
• Time horizon that should be copied
• Master data attributes filters
• Key figure filter

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Version copy and version deletion jobs can also be scheduled as recurring jobs.
The status of the jobs can be seen in the Version Status window.

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Scenarios
About scenarios

• Planners can create scenarios themselves directly in the Excel add-in.

• A scenario is a user-specific “alternative reality” of a plan.
• A planner can use scenarios to determine what the best path forward is, without interfering with the
current planning (for example, the company’s base version).
• Scenarios can help the planner to answer what-if questions quickly.
• A planner can make the scenario visible to other users by sharing the scenario with them.
• A scenario is a subset of the data in a planning area, referring to one or multiple versions.
• Multiple users can create different scenarios for the same planning area.
• The baseline scenario (briefly “baseline”) includes the original data set based on which a particular
scenario was created.

Scenarios - sample process

• Change
Adjustkey figure
your values in
planning • Simulate what effect • Keep hold on the
the baseline Run
thesesimulation
changes have Save as scenario
changes and Promote scenario
view data scenario
(default) on your planning simulations
view without
saving it in the
• versions
Continue to work on
the data until you are
confident that the
scenario is ready to
be promoted to the
versions, such as, the
base version (which is
the company’s
• operational plan).
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 Visualize different
scenarios in one
planning view to
compare the
data.
• Promote the scenario to the versions, for example, the base version.
• The data is immediately copied over to the versions and is visible to all users.
Creating a scenario

• In the Scenarios area, click Create.

• Enter a name and a description of the new
scenario.
• At this point, you can share it with other
users or groups. But this can also be done
later on.

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 • Once you click Save, the new scenario is created and a new column called Scenario is added to your
planning view.
Creating an empty scenario and resetting a scenario

If you have not made any changes yet to your planning view in the baseline scenario,
you can create an empty scenario which is defaulted to the baseline values.
Any change in baseline values will also be changed in the scenario, up to the point when
you start changing values in the scenario, which then decouples it from the baseline.

You can manually reset the scenario to the baseline in the Manage Scenarios window.

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 Creating a scenario including unsaved data changes
You can create a new scenario after you have made changes to your data in the planning view. Please note the following:

• You will need to simulate your changes using the Simulate (Basic) first, before creating a new scenario if your planning
view contains more than one time level.

• The new scenario will automatically contain all your data changes if all changes were valid. In that case, it is not
necessary to first simulate these changes using the Simulate (Basic).

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 • Invalid data changes cannot be detected in all cases by the Microsoft Excel front end as the data validation happens in
most cases when sending the data changes to the SAP IBP backend during a simulation with Simulate (Basic) or when
saving the changes. Invalid changes can occur, for example, if you changed data for a key figure or attribute value
without having editing authorization, or in cases where the fixing of a key figure value would lead to negative values
during disaggregation. When creating a scenario based on a planning view that contains valid and invalid changes, the
following behavior applies:
• If the invalid changes can be detected on the frontend, you are informed about the invalid changes before the new scenario is created. All
changes are discarded when the scenario is created.
• If the invalid changes cannot be detected by the frontend, you are not informed about the invalid changes before the new scenario is
created. All changes are discarded when the scenario is created.

Therefore, it is recommended that you first use Simulate (Basic) before creating a new scenario based on changed values.

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 Comparing scenarios
In the planning view definition, in the
Workbook Settings side panel, select the
scenarios you want to see in the planning
view.
• The default is Baseline.
• The scenario selection is valid for all

sheets in the workbook.

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 In the planning view, a new column is added, called Scenario. You can compare the different scenarios,
change values, and more.
Please note that this column is not visible when you have only selected the baseline scenario in the
planning view definition.
Managing your scenarios

In the Manage Scenarios window, you can

do the following:
• Change the name and description of the
scenario
• Share it with other users and user groups
• Promote the scenario to the versions
involved

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 • Reset the scenario to the baseline values
• Delete the scenario
• Duplicate the scenario, that is, copy it to a new scenario

Sharing a scenario with other users

You can share your scenarios with other users or user groups. In the Manage Scenarios
window, click on the icon and add the respective users or user groups.

Please be aware that these users then have full authorization to change, delete, and
promote the scenario. The users can furthermore not opt out on the scenario as they can’t
change their assignment themselves. Only the user who has created the scenario has the
rights to remove users again.

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 Promoting a scenario

Promoting a scenario means that all changes that were done within the scenario are copied to
the versions and are now visible to all other users in the company.

You can add a comment to explain your decision and changes.

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 Explaining “A scenario is a subset of the data in the versions.”

The planning view shows the data that is

stored as the base version in the SAP IBP
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 database. In this case, the planning view is the baseline scenario.

When creating a scenario, an additional

layer is added in the SAP IBP database
where only the values that are different
from the baseline scenario are stored
(highlighted in red in the screenshot). This
data is only visible to the users associated
with the scenario, that is, the user who has
created the scenario and anyone they shared the scenario with.

Comparing version and scenario

Version Scenario

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 What is it? • A set of key figures that • A user-specific copy of the plan that the planner can create
represents a particular plan of the to save the results of the simulations made during a
company. planning session. The key figure values in the versions or
• Versions are valid for and used by baseline is not changed.
the whole company, or • The planner can use scenarios for long running what-if
departments of a company, and simulations to see how changes to the planning data might
are visible to all end users who affect the overall plan.
have the necessary • A scenario can also be used to quickly save changes made
authorizations. and continue to work on these later on.
• Different versions can have • A scenario can include data from one or multiple versions:
different key figure data. For All versions that were shown on the planning view at the
example, the sales forecast might time when the planner created the scenario are represented
be 100 in an upside version, but in the scenario.
only 50 in a downside version. • A scenario usually consists of less data and has a shorter
lifecycle, compared to a version.
Who creates it and The administrator creates Planners create it in the Excel add-in.
where? it in configuration.
Who can change The administrator • Planners can change their own scenarios.
it? • A planner can share a scenario with other planners so that
they can view and edit it (on-the-fly collaboration).

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Ad-Hoc drill down
hoc drill down – overview (1)

When working directly in the planning view, you can use the drill down capabilities to add
additional attributes and quickly drill down to a certain planning combination.
Ad-
Choose from
the list of
additionally
available
Drill Down: master data
attributes for
further drill
Right-click a cell
down
within the data
range in the
planning view and
choose
Drill Down → By
Attribute…

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Ad-
hoc drill down – overview (2)

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Ad-

The planning view is Right-click Back to go one step back, or

updated with the new master Initial Viewto return to the planning view
data attribute, but only for as it was defined before the drill down.
the planning combination
that was selected previously. Please note that you will not be able to
use the Back option if you edited the
In this case, product family planning view settings, such as time, key
x-phone and customer figure, planning level, and more, after
region APAC. you used the drill down.

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Ad-
hoc drill down and simulation capabilities

As mentioned before, you can change your planning view settings or use the drill down within a
simulation session. Within a drill down, you are basically changing and lowering the planning level
of the planning view by adding attributes. Data changes can be simulated in every level and
reviewed in any other level.

Example:

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Ad-
Review results of Drill down to check
simulation. You where the peak is
Change data in Simulate your originating from.
see an unexpected Simulation results are
your planning view changes
data peak in one disaggregated
area. automatically

Change data for Use Back to go

that peak on lower back to the original Review simulation
Save or discard*
level, simulate planning view results on
data
again and review before the drill aggregated level.
results down.

*You can discard the changes by clicking Refresh. The simulation run ends with the refresh.

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Quick Edit View &
Quick filter
Quick edit

When working in the planning view, you can also easily add and delete planning levels, and shift
them around.
 Right-click an attribute value or
a cell within the time header in
the planning view and choose
Quick Edit Planning Viewand
select, for example,Add
Planning Level Before .

Quick filter

You can set a quick filter on an attribute.

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 The filter comes up with the filter criteria that was defined in the previous step, for example,
customer ID. When you select a specific ID, the data in the planning view is automatically
filtered accordingly.

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Fixing Key Figure Values
Business goal

Protect (lock) key figure values for certain periods on a detailed or aggregated level
against unintentional changes by automated processes or by disaggregation after the user
has simulated/saved changed data.

Reasons could be, for example, a special agreement with customers on a planned event.
Fixing of cell values

500 ➔ 800
◑ Value change 500 ➔ 800 ◑

200 200

100 100 100 100 100 100 ➔ 200 100 ➔ 200 100 ➔ 200 100 100

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Fixing of cell values –
subhierarchies (1)

A planner wants to fix a key figure value for a certain period, including all its child values.
Partially fixed

500 ◑
Fixed
200

Fixed Fixed
100 100 100 100 100

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Fixing of cell values –
Aggregated level,
500
such as, product group

200
Fix

100 100 100 100 100

Base planning level, such as products

subhierarchies (2)

Changes on a higher aggregation level do not change fixed values.

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Fixing of cell values –

500 ➔ 800
◑ Value change 500 ➔ 800 ◑

200 200

100 100 100 100 100 100 ➔ 200 100 ➔ 200 100 ➔ 200 100 100

subhierarchies (3)

Value changes that would cause negative values due to fixing are rejected.

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Fixing of cell values –

500 ➔ 140
◑ Value change 500 ➔ 140 ◑

200 200

100 100 100 100 100 100 ➔ -20 100 ➔ -20 100 ➔ -20 100 100

Negative values are not allowed for fixing-enabled key figures. Negative values that the user has entered are
rejected when the user is trying to save the data and a fixing exists for one of the elements in the
disaggregation path. The system does not create negative values during disaggregation due to fixed key figure
values.

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How to fix values

Right
click

Right
click

You can fix:

• Individual cells
• Ranges of up to 50 cells
• Individual rows

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How to indicate fixed values

Fixed values are indicated by standard Microsoft Excel symbols:

🔒 For completely fixed values

◑🔓 For partially fixed values

For partially fixed values, the fixed quantity is displayed

an Excel
in
comment.

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How to unfix values manually

Right
click

Right
click

You can unfix:

• Individual cells
• Ranges of up to 50 cells
• Individual rows

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About fixing

• Fixing is only possible for key figures that can be edited manually.

• Fixing must be activated per key figure in configuration by the administrator or configuration expert.

• Fixing can only be activated for up to 20 key figures.

• Note that fixing a larger number of cells (all editable key figures in a certain horizon, for example) can have an impact on the
performance.

• You can only fix or unfix a key figure value completely. It is not possible to manually fix or unfix a partial quantity of a key figure
value. Partially fixed values can only be created by the system during aggregation.

• Only single or multiple key figure values can be fixed, not all values of a planning object. For example, you cannot fix all key
figure values for a certain product ID.

• Negative values are not allowed for fixing-enabled key figures. You cannot enter and save a negative value for a fixing-enabled
key figure. The system does not create negative values during disaggregation due to fixed key figure values.

• Empty cells/cells without values (also called NULL values) cannot be fixed.

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Error handling for invalid changes (1)

If you change a completely fixed cell manually and then simulate or save the data, this change is
rejected and a warning message is displayed. Example:

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Error handling for invalid changes (2)

   

Invalid changes detected during saving the data are

listed in a rejection window. The user can:
 Display details for the rejected cells or
 Highlight the rejected cells or
 Resend only the valid changes to the SAP IBP


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backend or 
Abort simulation
Configuration considerations for administrators

For some planning operators that do copy key figure values, the fixing behavior is configurable. As
a system administrator or configuration expert, you need to make the following decisions,
depending on the business process:
• What should happen to a target key figure value after the source value has been copied when the source
key figure value is fixed? Should the target value also be fixed or not?
• How to handle a fixed target key figure value? Should it be protected against changes by the copy
process? Or should it be unfixed so that it can be overwritten with the value from the source?
Regardless: If a source value cannot be copied to the target value because the target value is fixed, a warning
needs to be added to the log.

Configuring the Copy & Disaggregate Key Figures operator

• By default, if a target value is fixed, it is not changed. If the target value is not fixed, it is overwritten with
the source value. However the target is not fixed if the source valued is fixed.
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 • To also fix the target value when the source value is fixed, use the parameter COPY_KF_FIXING.
• To unfix the target value before the source value can be copied, use the parameter COPY_KF_FIXING.
Fixing in the copy process – example

Before copying key figure 1 to key figure 2:

Period 1 Period 2 Period 3
Key figure 1 5 5 5
Key figure 2 3 3🔒 3
After the copy process:
Consider Fixing Automatically Unfix

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 Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 1 Period 2 Period 3
Key figure 1 5 5 5 Key figure 1 5 5 5
Key figure 2 5 3🔒 5 Copy Key figure 2 5 5 5

Copy

The fixed value in key figure 2 has been considered The fixed value in key figure 2 has been automatically
and remains unchanged. unfixed and changed by the Copy & Disaggregate
Key Figures operator.
Fixing in SAP IBP
Consider
Process fixed values Fix Unfix operators
Interactive disaggregation
Yes (Default) Yes Yes
(including versions and scenarios)
Forecast simulation Yes (Default) No No
Batch forecast run Yes (Default) No No
Copy & Disaggregate Yes (Default) Yes Yes
Key Figures operator
Consider fixed (target) key figure
Copy operator No No Yes
values by default
Copy Version Operator No No Yes
Data integration No No Yes
Mass unfixing No No Yes
Inventory optimization No No Yes
Response management No No Yes
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Lag-based snapshot No No Yes
Unfix fixed (target) key figure values by default

Copy scenarios: Fixing information is copied when promoting or duplicating scenarios.

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Planning notes
Business reason and process example for planning notes

Customer orders Adds a planning note in Reviews the plan on Reviews planning
additional 20k pieces. Excel to the changed global level notes Now knows why
Demand planner cell to make it Wants to know why the
updates data on transparent that the high there
increase in customer
customer level (product, increase of the new demand happened was an increase in the
customer). demand comes from the demand
new customer order.
A planning note is a special comment that a planner can create for a key figure value to provide
additional business information, such as, the reason for changes, assumptions, and so on.
Planning notes are visible to other planners.
 Add new Review
Review data
planning note planning note
Demand planner Global planner
Change data
manually
Demand planner Global planner

Comparing planning notes and change history

Change history • To enable the change history for a key
figure, the administrator must enable the key
• The user provides a comment and a reason figure accordingly in the configuration.
code when saving the data.
• The change history is only recorded for
• The comment and the reason code applies change-history-enabled key figures.
to all changes that the user made before
saving the data. Planning notes
• The user provides a planning note to a key
• Comments and reason codes are visible in figure value in the planning view.
the change history view.

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• It is used to capture additional information Creating a planning note (1)
about this specific key figure value.
Planning notes cannot be created for the cells in the red
• Planning notes are immediately visible in area (attributes, key figures, and, time periods). You
the planning view, directly where the user is cannot, for example, create a planning note for the
working. master data attribute value North America or for the
time period W20 2018.
• Planning notes are visible to all planners. You can only create planning notes for the cells in the
They provide a simple way of exchanging green area, that is, for a certain combinations of
additional information between planners. attributes, key figures, and time periods.
• To enable planning notes for a key figure, A planning note can be created for a single cell, but not
the administrator must enable the key figure for a range of cells.
accordingly in the configuration.
• A user can only create planning notes for
planning note-enabled key figures.

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Creating a planning note (2)
1. Right-click the cell to
open the context menu.
2. Click Add Planning
Note. Note that this
entry is only displayed
when the key figure is
enabled for planning
notes.
3. Enter the note text (up
to 1000 characters).
4. Click OK.
The planning note is now
visible in the planning view
as Draft.
5. Click Save Data to save the note to the database and make it visible for other users.

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 Prerequisites:
• You have the necessary read and write authorizations for planning notes.
• The planning view settings are set to show planning notes.
Creating a new planning note – time totals and grand totals

It is not possible to create

planning notes for cells
containing time totals and
grand totals.

You can add planning notes

to subtotals, however.

Planning notes that were

created for a subtotal are

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saved for the corresponding attribute value (the product group HOME THEATER, for
example).

Disaggregation of planning notes

Planning notes that are created on an aggregated level are - during saving - disaggregated to the base
planning level of the respective key figure. This means that the planning note is attached to each value of
a key figure at the base planning level.
Note that the this can result in massive amounts of data on the database. Restriction: Planning notes
cannot be saved when the disaggregation of the planning note to the base planning level of the key figure
would result in more than 20 million attribute/period level combinations on the database. This results in an
error message.

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 disaggregation
Planning note
Brand
Error Message:
Product Group A Product Group B

Product 1 Product 2 Product 3 Product 4

If the planning note is created at Brand level, it gets disaggregated

to the base planning level Product ID in this example. Typically,
base planning levels are more complex, such as, product-location-customer.

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Displaying planning notes in the planning view (1)

• The planning note is visualized as an Excel-native note in the planning view.

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 • You can can use the mouse-over to read the header text of the planning note (such as, Changed At
and Created By).
• The note box automatically auto-sizes so that all of the text is visible when you click into the cell.
Displaying planning notes in the planning view (2)
To see planning notes in the planning
view, you need to set the display options
accordingly in the planning view
definition: Edit Planning View → Key
Figures → Display Planning Notes

Options:
• Don’t Show: Do not show planning
notes.
• Show from This Planning Level
Only: Show only planning notes that
were created on the planning level of
the planning view.

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• Show from All Levels: Show planning notes from all levels of aggregation and disaggregation.
Please be cautious: This setting can have quite a performance impact while loading the data when many
planning notes exist in the system.
Displaying planning notes in the planning view – example

Possible attribute combinations for a key figure with planning notes:

PRODUCT ID PRODUCT GROUP LOCATION ID REGION CUSTOMER ID CUSTOMER
GROUP

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 PRD_1 PRDGRP_1 LOC_1 REGION_1 CUST_1 CUSTGRP_1
Planning note 1
PRD_2 PRDGRP_1
Planning note 2 LOC_2 REGION_2
Planning note 3 CUST_2 CUSTGRP_2
Planning notes have been created for
PRD_1 the key figure at different levels.
PRD_2 PRDGRP_1
LOC_1
REGION_2 CUST_1
CUST_1

The planning level of the planning view is product ID and region. Which planning notes are visible in the
planning view depends on the selected option:
• Don’t Show: No planning notes are visible.
• Show from this Planning Level Only: Planning note 2 is shown.

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• Show from All Levels: All planning notes are
shown.
Auto-sizing for planning notes

By default, the planning notes have a standard size. Not all of

the planning note details are displayed when hovering over the
planning note or when choosing Show All Notes under Notes
in the Review tab of Microsoft Excel.

To check the text of one specific planning note, select the

respective cell and the size of the note will be automatically
adjusted to the size of the text.

If you want to have the planning notes auto-sized when opening

a planning view, you can change the setting Threshold for
autosizing of planning notes in User Settings in the About
group of the SAP IBP ribbon to a higher value than the default
value “0”.

Please keep in mind that the auto-sizing feature can have a Planning note without auto-size:
negative impact on the performance. We recommend that you
Planning note with auto-size:
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 choose a threshold that considers the number of planning notes that are usually viewed within a planning view and check the
performance when opening a planning view with several planning notes included.

Please note that no auto-sizing is being applied at all if the threshold has been reached.
Multiple planning notes in a cell

To display the
additional planning
notes (and to edit
or delete a note),
right click on the
cell, then click
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Show Planning
Public

Notes.
 most recent planning note is
shown, plus the information
<number> further planning notes exist for that cell.

In the details view, further information about the planning

notes can be seen and the planning notes can be edited
or deleted.

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Planning note details: view, edit, delete, use filters

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 Planning level and attribute values for which the
Planning note text planning notes were created
Status of the
planning note
Draft
Saved
Date and Time
Edited
of last change
Deleted

Click to edit the Click to delete the Planning view filter and
User who last planning note planning note visibility filter that was
changed the
planning noteactive when the user

created the planning note

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 Note: If you edit or delete a planning
note, you still need to save these
changes afterwards!
Planning note keywords - assign and create keywords

You can assign keywords to planning notes.

Keywords can be interpreted as tags that help
classify a set of planning notes.

Depending on the system setup and your

authorizations, you can choose from a predefined
set of keywords, or create new keywords on the
fly. The keyword input field provides a type-ahead
function that supports selecting the appropriate
keyword.

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Keywords can help finding related planning notes within the new SAP Fiori app Manage
Planning Notes. This app also allows admins to predefine the keywords.

Comparing planning notes and Microsoft Excel notes

Planning notes use the Microsoft Excel note features to visualize the
planning notes in the planning view, as follows:

• Creating, editing and deleting planning notes using Context menu:

Review tab in Microsoft Excel menu:
Microsoft Excel note features (in the Review tab) is not supported
and results in a warning message when saving the data in the
planning view. These changes are not saved in the SAP IBP
database and will be lost after a refresh of the planning view.
• You can use the user setting Perform Planning Note

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 Validation to disable this check and no warning SAP IBP warning message: message will be
shown.
• Microsoft Excel native comments in an SAP IBP planning
view are also not saved in the SAP IBP database and are
lost after a refresh of the planning view.
• Other Microsoft Excel note features in the Review tab,
such as Previous Note, Next Note, Show All Notes, can be
used.

Copying cells with planning notes –

example

You can copy a cell or a range of cells that contain planning notes and paste it to another cell
or range. The planning notes are now also shown in the target cell/range. This is the
standard Microsoft Excel behavior for copying notes. However, the copied notes are not
recognized as SAP IBP planning notes and subsequently not saved in the SAP IBP
database.
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 Microsoft Excel note on target cell is not recognized as SAP
Copy cell: IBP planning note and will not be stored in the backend.

Using planning notes with scenarios and simulations

You can use planning notes also when working with simulations and scenarios. Even your draft
planning notes that you have not saved yet stay visible when running simulations, performing
drill downs, and so on.
Note: If you have changed planning notes in your planning view, and you want to create a scenario,
simulate your changes first by choosing Simulate→Simulate (Basic), then create your scenario.

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 Review results of Drill down to check where

Change data and Simulate your see an unexpected simulation. You and draft planning notes from. Simulation results

the peak is originating create a new changes data peak in one are disaggregated

planning note
area. automatically.

Change data for Use Back to go Review simulation Save or discard* that peak on lower

back to the original results and data and planning

level, simulate planning view planning note on notes

again, and review before the drill aggregated level results down

*You can discard the changes by clicking Refresh. This ends the simulation run.

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Mass deletion of planning notes (application job)

• Old or obsolete planning notes that are no

longer needed can be removed using an
application job run by the administrator (job
template Delete Planning Notes).
• The application job can be planned as a
recurring job.
• Application job parameters:
− Planning Area
− Version
− Keyfigure
− User
− Attributes of Planning Note Level
− Notes Created Before

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 − Periods Ending Before
− Rolling

Managing planning notes using the Manage Planning Notes app

You can use the Manage Planning Notes app to view, and delete planning notes that have been created
for a specific planning area, version, and scenario by you or other users in the SAP IBP, add-in for
Microsoft Excel, and in the Web-Based
Planning, and Planner Workspaces
apps.

You can also create new keywords,

rename existing keywords or delete
keywords from the Manage
Planning Note

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Keywords view of the Manage Planning Notes app. You can open the view by clicking Manage
Keywords in the planning note overview.
For more information, see Manage
Planning Notes.

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Copying planning notes with planning operators

You can copy planning notes along with key figure values from one version to another version
using the Copy Version operator.

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Adding Own Key Figures
(Local members)
Local formulas and calculations on top of SAP IBP data

• You can create your own calculated, local key figures in a planning view in the SAP Integrated
Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel (Excel add-in). These key figures are called local
members.

• No need to contact the local IT to get another key figure defined.

• Data is not saved on the database, but calculated locally when you open the planning view.
Therefore, please be aware that applying Excel formulas and calculations in SAP IBP planning
views can have an impact on the performance.
• For the same reason, you should check case by case whether a local member really makes
sense or whether it is better to use standard functionality (such as, totals and subtotals) or
calculated key figures in the in the SAP IBP backend.

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Example for local members in rows

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Example for local members in columns

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Prerequisites for creating a local member

To make the SAP IBP system recognize your

local calculations in the planning view, select the
Activate Local Member Recognition checkbox in
the About group of the SAP IBP ribbon, under
Settings -> Options, on the General tab.

As an administrator, you can

also create local members in the
Report Editor. There, you can
also see the local members you
created using local member
recognition.

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Creating a local member using local member recognition (1)

1) In Options, select the Activate Local Member Recognition checkbox.

2) In the planning view, add a new row or column where you want to add your new local member.
3) Enter a name for your local member. If you don't enter a name, a default name is generated,
beginning with (fn).

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Creating a local member using local member recognition (2)

4. In the first cell of the newly added row or column in the data area of the planning view, enter
your formula to calculate the value of the local member. Start with = and use any of the
available Microsoft Excel functions, such as, for example, SUM, MAX, or AVERAGE.

5. Press Enter.

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Creating a local member using local member recognition (3)

The formula is converted into a local member and automatically applied to the whole row or column
of the current worksheet. New rows or columns are added at the same position for all attribute and
time combinations.

In addition, the local member is automatically attached to and added after a specific element in the
planning view. This means that when you add a row below a specific key figure, for example, and
refer to its value in the local member calculation, the local member is always added after this key
figure for all attribute combinations.

Creating a local key figure using local member recognition (4)

A local member created with local member recognition is linked to the following:

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• The SAP IBP elements that it is calculated from, for example, specific key figures or time

periods • A certain position (before or after a certain key figure, see next page)

When you add a column after a specific time period, for example, and refer to a key figure value of
this time period in the local member calculation, the local member is attached to and added after
this time period.

In most cases, the formula remains consistent when you change the planning view, for example,
when you change the order of the attributes or key figures or when you add and remove key
figures. However, make sure that you don't remove any elements that are used to calculate the
local member, as the local member would disappear from the planning view.

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Creating a local member at a fixed position – use position in axis

Sometimes, it can make sense to add a local member at a fixed position in the planning view, such
as a specific column, instead of attaching the local member to an SAP IBP element, for example, a
key figure.

If you want to add such a local member to your planning view, in the About group of the SAP IBP
ribbon, under Settings -> Options -> General, you first have to select the Activate local member
recognition checkbox and the Use position in axis checkbox. Then, you can add the local member.

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Creating a local member at a fixed position – example
You want to add a local member that always sums up the next three months, and your time interval is set to Rolling in the
planning view settings. You add a local member after the first three months of the year 2024. In January 2024, your
planning view and your local member look as follows:

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In February, your time intervals have rolled by a month. If you haven't selected the Use position in axis checkbox, the local
member can no longer be calculated.

If you've selected the Use position in axis checkbox, the local member has kept its position in column four of the time axis,
and sums up the months February, March, and April, 2024. Your planning view and your local member look as follows:

Local members – changing the layout of the planning view

Even with local members included, you can change the layout of the planning view in the Edit Planning View window
anytime. However, always make sure that the local members are calculated and displayed correctly after the change. If
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you're referencing a key figure in the local member calculation, make sure that Key Figure stays the last entry to be

displayed.

Example: When you add Scenario, it will automatically be placed after Key Figure. If you use local members, you need to
manually adjust the order and move Key Figure to the bottom to still see the local calculations in your planning view.

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Deleting a local member

The easiest way to delete local members is using the Options menu. Select the local key

figure you want to delete and click OK.

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Local members – expert setup

For a more complex definition of local key

figures and advanced setup possibilities,
use the Local Members tab in the report
editor.

You can find more information and

examples about local members in the SAP
IBP documentation:

[Link] -> Use -> Planning

with Microsoft Excel ->
Information for Administrators -> Local
Members

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Examples for local members

For information about local member examples, see SAP Help Portal, as follows:

• Examples for Local Member Formula EPMMEMBER

• Example for Local Member Formula EPMTUPLE

• Examples for Local Member Formula EPMSELECTEDMEMBERS

• Example for Local Member Formula EPMALLMEMBERS

• Examples for Local Member Formula EPMDIM_CURRENT_MEMBER

• Example for Local Member Formula EPMPOSITION(n)

• Example for Local Member Formula EPMRELATIVECELL

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Keyboard shortcuts

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Keyboard shortcuts

As of version 2311.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the following keyboard shortcuts are available for the
Save Data, Simulate (Basic), Refresh, and Reset Changes functions. When you use the keyboard
shortcuts, the same actions are performed as when you choose the respective functions in the
SAP IBP ribbon.

The keyboard shortcuts are the following:

• Save Data: Ctrl + Alt + S

• Simulate (Basic): Ctrl + Alt + B

• Refresh: Ctrl + Alt + R

• Reset Changes: Ctrl + Alt + Z

9) How to Save Key Figure Data in a

Planning View

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Introduction

You can change and save key figure values in the planning view.

The changes are saved to the database and directly visible to all other users in SAP IBP.

Planning view
System checks Data is saved
Change key Click Save is refreshed
your on the
figure data Data with the latest
permissions database
data
Saving data

1)

Change key figure values in the planning view.

2) Click Save Data in the SAP IBP ribbon.
3) Valid changes are saved and you are asked to enter a
reason code and a comment (optional).
4) Click Save.
5) The changes are saved in the database, and the planning view is refreshed with the updated data.
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Reason code and comment

• Adding a reason code and a comment is an optional

step when saving your changes.

• Reason codes are predefined by your IT/administrator

and are used to classify the change. Codes can more
easily be analyzed than free text.

• Using a comment (free text), the user can add more

information about the changes.

• Reason codes and comments are stored as part of the

change history records.

• Share With… Collaboration Group: the SAP IBP system

posts a feed in the Collaboration group that informs the
other users about the data change including reason
code and comment. You can set a default Collaboration
group in the user settings.
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Saving data - prerequisites
Whether a specific user can change values of a specific key figure, depends on the following factors:

• The key figure has been configured to be editable by your administrator. Depending on the

configuration, changes are allowed for past periods, current/future periods, or all periods.
• Roles, authorizations, and permissions assigned to business users determine the subset of key figure
values that a specific user can edit.

• The user must have the relevant permission filters assigned.

• The value must not be fixed. Fixed values are indicated by a lock icon:
• The editability horizon defined in the Manage Editability Horizons for Key Figures app further restricts
the editability of key figure values. (For more information about editability horizons, see slides 114 –
124.)

• The user is logged on to the SAP IBP backend through the Excel add-in.
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Editable time periods

• All Editable
Key figure values can be changed in past, current
and future time periods. If you change a value in a blocked
time period, you get a warning
• Editable in the Current and Future Periods when clicking Save Data:
Key figure values can be changed in the current and future
time periods only.

• Editable in the Past

Key figure values can be changed in past time periods only.

For more information regarding the system behavior, please

refer to SAP Note 2570654
([Link]
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Editable in the past with different time aggregation levels

Base planning level of the key figure: days

Current date: July 13, 2018 (calendar week 28)

Data is changed in Data is changed in Data is changed in

weekly periods: monthly periods: yearly periods:
Data is changed in
daily periods: Data can be saved from Data can be saved from Data can be saved from
calendar week 27 June 2018 downwards. 2017 downwards.
Data can be saved from downwards.
July 12, 2018
downwards.

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Editable in the current and future with different time aggregation levels

Base planning level of the key figure: days

Current date: July 13, 2018 (calendar week 28)

Data is changed in Data is changed in

Data is changed in monthly periods: yearly periods:
Data is changed in
weekly periods: Data can be saved from Data can be saved from
daily periods:
Data can be saved from August 2018 onwards. 2019 onwards.
Data can be saved from
calendar week 28
July 13, 2018 onwards.
onwards.

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Invalid changes

If a change is invalid, for example, because the key figure is not editable in a period or the value is
fixed, the user gets a notification when clicking Save Data. Examples:

When you click Yes, the valid changes are saved to the database and the invalid changes are
discarded.
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“Last one wins” principle

• The data a user is working on is not locked. Other users can work on the same data in parallel.

• The last update made to a value is the one that is stored on the database.

Example:
User A saves data at an aggregated level User B saves data at a detailed level (product in this (product
group, monthly periods) at 08:10:02. product group, weekly periods) at 08:10:00.
am

→ The changes from user A will overwrite the changes from user B.

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Time disaggregation

When saving data for an aggregated time period, such as months, quarters, or years, the data is
automatically disaggregated down to the base level of the respective key figure (such as days) and
stored in these lowest periods.

Example: Data is saved for the time period year 2015. The base level of the key figure is technical
weeks.

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If the disaggregation rule Equal Distribution is set for the key figure, the data is equally distributed

across the technical weeks.

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 Disaggregation
Aggregation

Planning level disaggregation

When saving data for an aggregated planning level, the data is automatically disaggregated down
to the base level of the respective key figure and stored in these lowest periods.
Example:
Data is saved for the planning level brand/region. The base level for the key figure is location
ID/product ID/customer ID.
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If the disaggregation rule Equal Distribution is set for a key figure, a key figure value entered for
brand/region is equally distributed across the product/location/customer combinations.

Example for Products Example for Locations

Product Family A Region A

Brand A Brand B Country A Country B

Product A1 Product A2 Product B1 Product B2 Location A1 Location A2 Location Location

B1 B2

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Disaggregation mode examples:
Equal distribution

At the aggregated level, you have increased the quantity from 50 to 100. Disaggregation distributes
the changed quantity equally at the lowest level.

Before After
Change quantity

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Disaggregation mode examples:
Aggregated level: 50 100

Disaggregation

Lowest level: 10 10 10 20 25 25 25 25 Equal distribution

Proportional if aggregated value is not zero;

otherwise, equal distribution (1)

At the aggregated level, you have increased the quantity from 50 to 100. Since the initial
aggregated value was greater than 0 (50), disaggregation distributes the changed quantity
proportionally to the initial lowest-level values.

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Disaggregation mode examples:
Before After
Change quantity
Aggregated level: 50 100

Disaggregation

Lowest level: 10 10 10 20 20 20 20 40 Proportional distribution

Proportional if aggregated value is not zero;

otherwise, equal distribution (2)

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Disaggregation mode examples:
At the aggregated level, you have increased the quantity from 0 to 100. Since the initial aggregated
value was 0, disaggregation distributes the quantity equally.

Before After
Change quantity
Aggregated level: 0 100

Disaggregation

Lowest level: 0 0 0 0 25 25 25 25 Equal distribution

Copy Value

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Disaggregation mode examples:
At the aggregated level, you have increased the quantity from 50 to 100. No matter what the initial
aggregated value was, disaggregation just copies the quantity to the values at the lowest level.

Before After
Change quantity
Aggregated level: 50 100

Disaggregation

Lowest level: 10 10 10 20 100 100 100 100 Copy value

Proportional if aggregated value is not zero;

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Disaggregation mode examples:
otherwise copy value to (1)
At the aggregated level, you have increased the quantity from 50 to 100. Since the initial
aggregated value was greater than 0 (50), disaggregation distributes the changed quantity
proportionally to the initial lowest-level values.
Before After
Change quantity

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Disaggregation mode examples:
Aggregated level: 50 100

Disaggregation

Lowest level: 10 10 10 20 20 20 20 40 Proportional distribution

Proportional if aggregated value is not zero;

otherwise copy value to (2)

At the aggregated level, you have increased the quantity from 0 to 100. Since the initial aggregated
value was 0, disaggregation just copies the changed quantity to the lowest-level values.

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Disaggregation mode examples:
Before After
Change quantity
Aggregated level: 0 100

Disaggregation

Lowest level: 0 0 0 0 100 100 100 100 Copy

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Read and Write Permissions
And Rejection of Changes
Read and write permissions in SAP IBP – overview

Using permission filters, your administrator can limit your read and write permissions to certain
data in SAP IBP.

Example 1: Restricting data that is visible to you

→You can see data for customers in the region North America, but not for other regions.
 Example 2: Restricting data that you can change

→You can see data for customers in the region North America, but you can only change key figure
values for customers in the country Canada and only for products for which you are responsible.

Missing write permissions (1)

You are assigned the permission filter that is visible in the screenshot on the right side.

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In the planning view, you have changed the values in the blue cells. (Note that you have changed
key figure values for objects for
which your are not authorized,
such as, product HT_002).
Then you have clicked Save
Changes or Simulate (Basic).
Missing write
permissions (2)

You receive
the following

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 pop-up with an error message and various options to
choose from.

Opens a new
window with Closes the pop
-up, no
details of the non
- changes are sent to the
editable cells SAP IBP database

Highlights the cells for which

Sends only the valid changes for which you
you have no permission to
have permission to the SAP IBP database
change the values

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Missing write permissions –
resend changes

When you decide to resend the changes,

the SAP IBP system rejects the changes
for cells for which you do not have
permission.

You can see that only the cells for which

you have permission are actually changed.
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Missing write permissions –
highlighting non-editable cells

The 6 cells highlighted in yellow are not-editable for the user, according to the assigned
permission filter. The highlights are removed from the planning view only after you save the valid
changes.

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Missing write permissions –

details for rejected cells

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Missing write permissions –
You get additional information, for
example which planning objects are
not editable, the old value, and the
new value that you have entered.

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Missing permissions – continue work

When you click Continue Work, the

error message disappears and you

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can continue to work with the planning view. The changed values
stay.

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Missing permissions – jump to rejected cell in planning
view

If you click the values in the column

New Value in the Details of the
Rejected Cells window, the cursor automatically jumps to this cell in
the planning view.

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10) Change History Views
Change history views –
overview

You can review and analyze changes to the key figure data directly in the Excel add-in. The
change history view displays changes according to your selection. For example, it shows changes
made in a certain time period, by a specific user, or with a specific reason code.

Change History app on the

Web UI Change history view
in the Excel add-in

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Change history views –
prerequisites in planning area configuration

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Change history views –
To enable the tracking of the key figure changes in a planning area, the administrator needs to
select the Planning Area Enabled checkbox in the Change History section.

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Change history views –
prerequisites in key figure configuration

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Change history views –
In addition, the administrator needs to select the Change History Enabled checkbox for each key
figure that needs to be tracked. Key figures that are calculated from change history enabled key
figures are tracked automatically.
example

Key Figure Stored Calculated Change-history Change history

enabled visible in
Excel?
KF1 X X Yes Yes
KF2 X No No
KF3 X No Yes
(KF3 = KF1 * KF2)

Key figure changes are tracked for KF3 because it

is calculated from the change-historyenabled key
figure KF1.

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Change history views –
Please be careful. The administrator needs to keep the performance aspects in mind. An
“accidental” mass tracking of key figures that are calculated from a change history enabled key
figure can have a negative impact on performance.

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Change history views –
settings

To define the change history view

from scratch in the Excel add
-in,
open a blank worksheet and select
New View→ Change History View on
Current Sheet.

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Comparing effects view and original changes view

Two different change history views are available, which serve

different
use cases. • The attributes of your planning view,
such as, product ID, customer ID, or
Effects of Changes on Planning View location ID (planning level)

The Effects of Changes on Planning View • The key figures you are interested in •
option (effects view) provides a summary
Time periodicity and time periods
of changes that happened to the data
that you select using the following Additionally, you can set filters according
criteria: to your requirements.
Original Changes
• The time range of the changes
The Original Changes option (original
changes view) displays the changes
exactly at the level where they have been

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Effects view –
made. You use this view if you are level and the time periods where the
interested in identifying the origin of changes were made.
changes.

For example, you come across changed

key figures in your planning view. You
want to find the reasons for the changes,
which most likely lie at a different planning
level. The original changes view helps
answering the following questions: at
which level have the key figures been
changed originally, by whom, with which
reason code?

The original changes view is based on the

time range of changes and the key figures
you specify. Optionally, you can set filters
according to your requirements. The
system automatically detects the planning

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Effects view –
settings (1)

On the Change History tab, you can

determine the changes to be
1 displayed as follows:
• Changes that happened in a
2 certain time interval
• Changes identified by a certain
change ID (A change ID is a
technical ID, automatically
created by the system, that points
to a specific change or set of
changes*. A change ID can

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Effects view –
include multiple changed values: if a user changes multiple values and clicks
Save, one change ID is assigned.)
In addition, you can define which values should be shown, for example, only the
value before the change or the difference between old and new value.
settings (2)

On the Time tab, you can

define the usual time settings,
such as, the period and the
time horizon.

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Effects view –
settings (3)

On the Planning Level tab,

two attributes are already
preselected for a change
history view:
• Change ID

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Effects view –

• Type of Value:

You need to add at least one additional attribute to further structure the
data within the planning view, such as, the product name.

The change ID is not mandatory and can be deselected.

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Effects view –
settings (4)

On the Key Figures tab, you

can select the key figures for
which you want to see the
changes.
The key figures that are
highlighted in bold are the
ones that were change
history enabled in the
configuration or calculated
from a change history
enabled key figure.

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Effects view –
example, if you want to check dependencies between the change history
enabled key figures with other key figures.

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Effects view – settings (5)

On the Filter tab, there are two additional

attributes that you can use to further filter the
data:
• Reason Code
Note that reason codes need to be enabled in
the system to use this feature.
• Changed By
Filters the changes made by the selected
users.

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 Effects view –
results visualization (1)

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 Effects view –

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 Effects view –
results visualization (2)

The effects view includes a header and the results comparison:

• Header: shows the change IDs for which reason codes or comments are available. In addition,
the respective change date and time, user, reason code, and comment are listed.

• Results Comparison: lists the detailed change history of the data, grouped by your selected
attributes, the change ID, the type of the value (dependent on your settings), and the key
figures.

results visualization (3)

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 Effects view –
• The change history view can be saved as a favorite, but
not as a template.

• Formatting sheets can be used, for example, for formatting purposes and to increase the
usability.

• You can enhance, for example, the appearance of the change history views with VBA code.
However, the size of the change history header (number of rows) is determined by the number
of relevant change IDs. The rows are deleted completely at refresh and then created again,
depending on the required number of rows. Therefore, all changes to the header area, such
as formatting or charts, get lost.

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Original changes view

The Original Changes option (original changes view) shows the manual changes that
were made for a specific key figure during a defined time range or for a specific
change ID (which is automatically generated when you save data). • You don’t need to
define a planning level or time settings, because the system automatically detects the
planning level and time periods.
• You only select the relevant key figures.
• The system then shows the following data:
− Relevant settings (planning level, filter, conversions)
that were used at the time when the change was made
− Dates and time when the changes were made
− Reason codes and comments
− Key figure value before and after the change

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Original changes view – changes at a single planning level

Before saving, a user changes multiple key figure values at the same planning level. When saving, the
changes get assigned one change ID.
Example: User ABC changed values for two brands These changes get captured with the same change
ID 140685/1. That the changes happened at the same planning level is indicated by “/1”.

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Original changes view – changes at multiple planning levels

Before saving, the user changes key figure values at different planning levels. When the planning view
is saved, the changes made at different planning levels get assigned different change IDs, one for each
planning level. Example:
• First the user ABC changes values at the level of Brand ID, Customer Desc., and Location Region, and
then uses Simulate (Basic).
• Then the user ABC changes the planning level (by adding Product ID) and changes data at this
planning level, before clicking Save.

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The changes get assigned the change IDs 140690/1 and 140690/2. “/1” and “/2” indicate the two
different planning levels.
Navigating from the planning view to the original changes view

1. Select an area in the planning view for which you want to see the change history.
2. Right-click the area to call the context menu and choose Show Change History.
3. The change history pop-up opens.

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4. Select the time range for which you want to see the changes. All other settings are prefilled according to
your selection in the planning view (see next slide) but you can still adjust the settings.
5. You will only see the change history if the change history is enabled for that key figure.
Navigating from the planning view to the original changes view – filter
settings
In some cases, you see more attribute combinations in the change history view than what you selected in the
planning view.

Example: You select a range of cells that includes

the following location products:

• Product PROD_001 at location LOC_001

• Product PROD_002 at location LOC_002.

The filter criteria for the change history get automatically prefilled with the following data:

• Product = PROD_001; PROD_002

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• Location = LOC_001; LOC_002

With these filter criteria, the change history displays

all location product combinations for
PROD_001, PROD_002, LOC_001, and LOC_002.

Navigating from the effects view to the original changes view

1. Select one or multiple change IDs for which you want

to see the change history.
You can select the ID either in the view, as shown in the
screenshot, or in the header of the change history view.
2. Right-click and choose Show details for these
changes.

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11) Working Offline with Planning Views
Working offline with planning views – overview

You can work offline with the SAP IBP planning views, and later save your data changes to the
SAP IBP database.
You can take a planning view offline in the following ways:

• Log off from the SAP IBP system and keep the Microsoft Excel workbook open if you just want
to make a short break, or save the workbook to your local computer, close it and open it again
without logging on.
• Choose Go offline in the Data Input group of the SAP IBP ribbon. Advantages

• You don‘t have to be online to edit data.

• In the offline workbook, you can change key figure values and when you're done working offline,
you can log on to the SAP IBP system and save the data to the SAP IBP database.
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Working offline with planning views – details

• You are working with the local data. As long as you are working offline, you cannot get the latest data from the
SAP IBP database. (Refresh is only available online).

• The same is true as for working online: if a colleague is changing the same data in the SAP IBP backend while
you are working on it offline, you will not be informed about the changes they make. When you log on again and
save the changes you made while working offline, you might overwrite the data entered by your colleague (last
one wins).

• You must not change the master data attributes (such as names) in the offline version, as the SAP IBP system
checks against these when saving and would not recognize them anymore.

• If the master data attributes you are using in your planning view are changed in the SAP IBP backend while you
are working offline (for example, a product is renamed and you have the attribute product name with that product
as part of your planning view), the system rejects all of your changes when you try to save.

• It is not recommended to perform mass changes to the planning view and save these at once, due to
performance reasons.

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• You cannot fix values or create planning notes while you are working offline. However, draft planning notes and
fixing indicators that you have created but not saved before you logged off are not lost and you can save them
later on when logged on again.

12) Sharing Planning Views with non-SAP

IBP users
Offline mode for planning views

With the offline mode, you can easily share your planning views with users
who do not have the Excel add-in installed.

These users can open and work with the planning views (for example, update
key figure values) as a normal Excel workbook file, send it back to you as an
Excel workbook, and you can then set it to online mode again and upload
their changes to the SAP IBP system.

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 Offline mode for planning views –
conversion of SAP IBP formulas

If you choose Go Offline in the Data Input group of the SAP IBP ribbon, your current workbook, including all
sheets, is converted to a Microsoft Excel workbook that no longer contains the SAP IBP references and
formulas, so that it can be understood by Microsoft Excel installations that don’t have the Excel add-in
installed.

Example:

SAP IBP formulas and references in a planning view (online mode):

This online SAP IBP formula can only be understood by Microsoft Excel installations that also have the Excel
add-in installed.
SAP IBP formulas and references in a converted planning view (offline mode):

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 Offline mode for planning views –
This offline formula can be understood by all Microsoft Excel installations, even without the Excel add-in
installed.
sheet protection

If you choose Go Offline in the Data Input group of the SAP IBP ribbon, your current workbook, including all
sheets, is also protected against changes that would destroy its structure and later on make it impossible for
you to set it to online mode again and save the changes.

Only the data input area can be used in the offline mode. If the user clicks in any other area (highlighted in red
in the screenshot), a warning comes up and their action is blocked. For example, the user cannot change the
name of a key figure or an attribute value or remove rows from the sheet.

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 Offline mode for planning views –
Please note that the SAP IBP formatting sheet is not protected against changes.
available Microsoft Excel functions

When you take a planning view workbook offline (by choosing Go offline), the following Microsoft
Excel functions are available:

• Use AutoFilter

• Format columns: Use any of the column formatting commands of Microsoft Excel, including
changing column width or hiding columns.

• Format rows: Use any of the row formatting commands of Microsoft Excel, including changing
row height or hiding rows.

• Group and Ungroup: Expand or collapse a group of cells that is included in your planning view
workbook. However, it is not possible to create new groups.

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 Offline mode for planning views –
Format columns, Format rows, and Group and Ungroup are available as of version 2308.2.0 of
the Excel add-in.

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Filtering data in offline mode (1)

One exception to the sheet protection is that users who work with planning views in offline mode
can use Microsoft Excel filtering.

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Sorting however is disabled.

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Filtering data in offline mode (2)

To enable filtering for the users who want to work with a planning view
in offline mode, additional settings are required.

These need to be made by the user who enables the offline mode in an
SAP IBP workbook, as follows:

1) Make sure that the Repeat row headers checkbox is selected. You
find the checkbox in the About area of the SAP IBP ribbon under
Settings -> Options on the Formatting tab.

2) Enable the Microsoft Excel filtering for the planning view:

a. Select the headers in the planning view that you want to be filter-enabled.
b. On the Data tab of the Microsoft Excel ribbon, choose Filter.

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3) Choose Go Offline and send the offline workbook to the users who want to work offline with
the planning view.

Offline mode for planning view – going online

After you have got the file back and want to upload any data changes to the SAP IBP
system, you can open the Excel workbook and log on to SAP IBP, which
automatically sets the workbook to online mode again.

If you are already logged on to SAP IBP when opening the offline workbook, choose
Go online in the SAP IBP ribbon.

Afterwards, choose Save Data to upload the data changes.

Offline mode for planning views
Using the offline mode in mixed workbooks with SAP IBP and EPM sheet types

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Only sheets with worksheet type SAP IBP will be set to offline mode when you use the Go Offline
feature on the SAP IBP ribbon.

If you are using Microsoft Excel workbooks that contain a mixture of SAP IBP and EPM
worksheet types, and want the EPM sheets to be set to offline mode as well, you also have to
choose Offline Mode on the EPM ribbon. Otherwise these sheets would stay online.

The same behavior applies when you want the workbook to go online again.

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13) Application Jobs in the Excel Add-In
 Application jobs in SAP IBP

Planning algorithms and other tasks can be run as background jobs in SAP IBP.

Usually, these background jobs are scheduled by a central team (administrators or configuration experts), but there
are also uses cases where planners can rerun or schedule them manually in the Excel add-in.
Example: Demand planning is done every month. At the beginning of the month, the statistical forecasting jobs are
run automatically. After that, the sales and marketing colleagues add their information to the forecast.

Background jobs can perform different planning tasks. Some are used more for housekeeping purposes. Examples:

• Copy and disaggregate key figures

• Inventory optimization
• Statistical forecasting
• Forecast error calculation
• Time-series-based supply planning (using the heuristic or the optimizer)
• ABC/XYZ segmentation
• Deployment run or confirmation run in order-based planning
• Realignment of planning data
• Taking snapshots
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 • Purging key figure data
Application jobs on the Web UI and in the Excel add-in
Application Jobs app on Web UI Application Jobs in Excel add-in

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 • Advanced scheduling options • Quick access for planners to run application jobs
• Definition of job chains and templates directly from the Excel add-in
• More detailed parameter settings for some • Note that not all application jobs can be run from
operators Excel. Some are only available on the Web UI.
• Log overview • Basic job scheduling options
• Saved planning filters only • Business logs with filtering
• Use of job chains and templates that were set up
Recommendation: on the Web UI
Use this area to set up job schedules. • Basic parameter settings for some planning
operators
• You cannot define detailed settings and
configuration of planning operators in the Excel
add-in. This can only be done on the Web UI.
• Ad-hoc filters to run and schedule jobs

Running operators as application jobs in Excel add-in – prerequisites

The administrator needs to do the following for planning operators:

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 • Set up the specific configuration on the Web UI. The configuration defines how the operators are working (for example, what are the input and output key
figures, what are the specific parameters and settings,…)
• Assign them to the planning area. Example for Planning Operators:
• Grant the users sufficient permissions to run the relevant application jobs.

Note that not all operators can be started as application jobs in the Excel add-in.

The following operators are available:

• Copy Operator (Advanced)
• Statistical Forecasting
• Forecast Error
• Inventory Optimization
• S&OP Operator (heuristic and optimizer for time-series based supply planning)
• Demand-driven Replenishment
• Snapshot
Version Copy:
• Redo Snapshot
The following other application jobs and templates are available:
• Version Copy
• Application Job Templates
Application Job Templates:

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 Running an operator as application job

You can start an application job by selecting Run in

the respective dropdown menu in the Application Jobs
group of the SAP IBP ribbon.

Depending on the application job, you first select the

planning operator that you want to run and then set
different parameters. Some examples:

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 Define filter criteria Select the
Operator Profile

Choose Currency
and UoM if
possible

Define Scenario
and Version

Running application job templates in the Excel add-in

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 Your administrator can also define application job templates in the SAP IBP backend and make them
available in the Excel add-in. These templates can consist of different steps and operators (job chains,
for example) and can also contain operators that you can normally not start directly from the Excel
addin, such as, operators for order-based planning, data integration via CPI-DS, ABC & XYZ
segmentation and more.
However, you cannot freely define any settings (such as, scenarios or horizons) for these templates but
have to reuse the settings that the administrator made when setting up the template.

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 Information message displayed when you run application jobs
As of version 2305.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the information
message that is displayed when you run application jobs
from the Application Jobs group of the SAP IBP ribbon
works in the following way:

▪ The status of the job is displayed within the message

and is refreshed every 5 seconds.

▪ You can keep the message open and continue working

until the status changes to Finished. (The message
does not block Excel.)

▪ To check further details you can open the Status dialog

by choosing the Navigate to Status button.

Note: The same applies when you copy versions by using

the
Manage function in the Versions group of the SAP IBP
ribbon.
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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Overview

When running or scheduling application jobs in the Excel add-in, in many cases the job should
be triggered for the data set shown in the planning view.

With version 2211.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the planning view settings of the open worksheet are
copied to the application job definition per default, when you choose Run or Schedule in the
Application Jobs group. This saves time, you don‘t need to select the same settings again.

Additional details:

▪ If you decide that you don‘t need this new function, it‘s possible to disable it by using the User
Settings available under Settings in the About group of the SAP IBP ribbon.

▪ An information message explains which settings are copied to inform the end user about the
changed behavior when running or scheduling application jobs.

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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Related user setting

In the User Settings in the Application Jobs section,

you will find the Copy planning view settings
checkbox.

By default, the checkbox for this setting is selected

when using version 2211.2.0 of the Excel add-in.

The checkbox Show information message lets you

decide whether you want the related information
message to show up, when running or scheduling
application jobs. By default it is selected.

Copied planning view settings

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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Depending on the type of application
job, the following settings of the Create
Planning View or Edit Planning View
dialog are copied:
▪ Scenarios
▪ Versions
▪ Planning Scope
▪ Time period
▪ Attributes
▪ Conversions selected on the Key
Figures tab
▪ Attribute-Based Filter selected on
the Filter tab
Please note: If you have a change
history view open, the settings
available in the Create Change History
View or Edit Change History View dialog are copied.

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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Information message

An information message tells you which settings

are copied when you run or schedule a specific
application job.

By selecting the checkbox Don‘t show again, the

information message won‘t show up any further
for your user and the system and planning area
you are connected to.

Consequently, the user setting Show information

message will automatically be deselected.

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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Example for
Copy Operator (Advanced)

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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Example for

Statistical Forecasting
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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Example for

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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Example for
Inventory Planning (Advanced)

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 Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Example for

Please note: For Inventory Planning (Advanced) the Planning Scope settings are copied.
The same applies for S&OP Operator and Demand-Driven Replenishment.
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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
Restrictions S&OP Operator

If S&OP Operator V2 is enabled for the Excel add-in (global configuration parameter
EXCEL_SOP_UI_2 is set to YES) the following applies depending on the version of the Excel add-
in the business user is using:
Version of the Excel Add-In Restrictions
Version lower than 2305.2.0 and higher than 2211.2.0 ▪ The version and scenario of the planning scope settings can only be copied if one
version and one scenario is selected.
▪ From and To time periods of the planning scope are not copied, as the time level can
differ.
▪ Subnetwork IDs are copied if Subnetwork by Subnetwork ID is selected in the
Network/Subnetwork dropdown.
▪ The attribute-based filter is not copied as Subnetwork by Filter. This is because the
subnetwork filter differs from the attribute-based filter in the planning view, as not all
attributes can be used as filter criteria. For more information, see Selecting Subnetworks
by ID or by Filter.

Version higher than 2305.2.0 ▪ From and To time periods of the planning scope settings are not copied if multiple time
levels exist, and the time level of the first selected operator differs from the one selected
in the planning scope settings.
▪ The attribute-based filter is not copied in any case. For S&OP operators, we do not offer
a dedicated filter tab, but subnetwork filter possibilities instead, which are defined in the
planning scope settings. For more information, see Selecting Subnetworks by ID or by
Filter

Filter tab not enabled

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Copy planning view settings for application jobs
For some available application jobs, the Filter tab is disabled depending on their configuration
(such as Application Job Templates or Copy Operator (Advanced))

In this case, the attribute-based filter of the planning view is copied, but is only used for those
planning operators that have the Filter tab enabled.

The same applies to conversions, which can be

enabled or disabled

Filter criteria for application jobs

You can set filter criteria for most planning

operators. It is highly recommended that you use
this function to limit the amount of data that is
copied, purged, or planned.

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Subnetwork – overview

A subnetwork (previously also called planning unit) is a subsection of the overall supply chain
network for which a planner is responsible or that the planner wants to plan in a separate
planning run (for example, all location products in a particular region or all location products in a
particular product group).

Similar to the master data model for the entire supply chain network, a subnetwork consists of
nodes (that is, location products) and arcs (which are used to model the transport links between
the location products). You define the subnetwork to which a location product belongs in the
location product master data. You can define subnetworks for product groups or regions, or for any
other property of locations, products, or location products.

When you start an application job, you select one or more subnetworks that are to be taken into
account by the planning algorithm. This defines the set of location products that are to be planned.

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Subnetworks in the Excel add
Subnetworks are relevant (but not mandatory) for inventory optimization, time-series based supply
and demand-driven replenishment planning operators .

-in Settings side panel in the Create or Edit

Planning View dialog.
You can define default values for subnetworks
If subnetworks have been set-up for your planning in the User Settings.
area, you can select them when starting the For more information, see SAP Help portal at
respective operator in the Excel add-in. Subnetworks.
Furthermore, you can select the respective time
horizon for the planning scope for time-series
based supply planning operators.
Simulation runs
For planning operator simulation runs, you need to
select the subnetworks that you want to plan in
the relevant Planning Scope tab in the Workbook

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Subnetworks in the Excel add
Run S&OP operator as an application job:

Set planning scope in planning view definition in the

Workbook Settings side panel:

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Subnetworks in the Excel add
-in using S&OP Operator V2 (1/2)
As of version 2208.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the same improved functions as have been provided by the application job templates
S&OP Operator V2 and S&OP Optimizer Explanation V2 are available in the S&OP Operator
function of the Excel add-in.

When running or scheduling an S&OP operator, you can choose one of the following options in
the Network/Subnetwork field:

• Subnetwork by Subnetwork ID

• Subnetwork by Filter

• Forecast Consumption Filter

(The different options in the Network/Subnetwork dropdown depend on the operator and
whether subnetworks are set up.)

Please note:

• Your administrator must make some configuration settings for the improved functions to
Operator V2 Available in the Application Jobs Group of the SAP IBP Ribbon

• Version 2208.2.0 of the Excel add-in does not support the advanced functions of the S&OP

• To be able to use the advanced functions of the S&OP Operator V2 in simulation mode you
of the Excel add-in, see SAP Help portal at Running S&OP Operator V2 in the SAP IBP,
information about S&OP Operator V2 in the Excel add-in.

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Subnetworks in the Excel add
-in using S&OP Operator V2 (2/2)

The option Subnetwork by Filter allows you to plan specific

location products based on the attributes of the master data
types location, product, or location product. You can use either a
predefined filter or you can manually specify the filter criteria.

Please note: Only attributes of the master data types location,

product, or location product can be used as filter criteria, so you
might not be able to select all of your saved filters.

See SAP Help Portal at Selecting Subnetworks by ID or by Filter

for more information.

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Explanation of S&OP optimizer results

The optimizer for time-series-based supply planning

can provide additional information about the planning
results.

You can select the issue types for which you want to
have explanations (for example, why demands were
not met or inventory targets were missed).

This feature needs to be activated by your

administrator.

For more information, see Explanation of Optimizer

Results on the SAP Help Portal.

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Explanation of S&OP optimizer results – time horizon settings

As of version 2211.2.0 of the Excel add-in, when you run an optimizer enabled for explanation (the Explain
Optimization Results checkbox has been selected in the profile for the time-series-based supply planning
optimizer), the time horizon on the Explanation tab is now empty by default, and you need to select the
relevant time horizon.

We recommend using the explanation function with caution and only if needed, as it is performance intensive.
When using the explanation function, please restrict the time horizon to the time periods where problems
have been detected.

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Scheduling an application job

operator.
Click Add to save
and schedule the
job

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To schedule a job, choose Schedule from the respective planning operator’s drop down menu. Adjust all
settings and parameters, set a filter, and use the Recurrence tab to define the schedule. Provide a job name
and click Add. The job is automatically scheduled and will show up in the Status window of the planning

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Application job status

• An information message informs you that the application job

was started.
• When this message is displayed, the application job is queued
and will start to run as soon as possible.
• You can check the status of the job in the status window.

• All jobs for the specified planning area that were run or are scheduled are listed. Older past jobs are
removed after a reasonable time period.
• The status Finished means the job finished successfully. The
status Error means that an error occurred and the job did not
run successfully.
• To see the log, click on Finished or Error in the Status
column.

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Job log

Depending on the planning operator, a simple log or a more advanced business log is available
that you can analyze.

Simple Log:

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Business logging

Business logging provides more detailed logs on the planning object level, such as, location
product. These logs are created when running S&OP operators (operators for time-series-based
supply planning) or the operators for statistical forecasting.
The new logging structure also allows you to filter for specific planning objects or information within
the job logs.
For example, you can prefilter the log by attributes (see next slides).
And later on, in the log itself, further filters for the attributes are available:
• Severity of the message
• Message text
• Date and time
• Forecast model and step (statistical forecasting only)
• Planning period (S&OP operator only)

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Business logging – example

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Business logging for statistical forecasting

For statistical forecasting logs, you can filter using the same attributes you selected as planning
level attributes within your job definition.

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Business logging for S&OP operators

For logs for S&OP operators (operators for time-series based supply planning), you can filter by the
default attributes that are used within the S&OP operator jobs.

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Running simulations for long-running operators as application jobs in a
scenario – overview

After you have changed key figure values in the planning view, you can start planning operators in
simulation mode to see the impact of your changes on the plan, without interfering with the
productive data. Note that some planning operators, such as, the operator for multi-stage
inventory optimization or the optimizer for time-series-based supply planning replan the entire
network.

Such a huge planning scope run in simulation mode can result in a long runtime.

To avoid this, you can run the application jobs in a scenario instead. With that, you still do not
interfere with the productive data, but the application job is running in the background and does not
hinder you from working.

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Running simulations for long-running operators as application jobs in a
scenario – how-to

1) Change the data in your planning view.

2) Create a scenario.

3) Run the planning operator as an application

job and select your scenario. Deselect the
Baseline Scenario.

4) After the job is finished, you can see the

changes within your scenario, discard the
scenario, or continue with the changes up to
the point where you promote your scenario
to the baseline.

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14) Master Data Maintenance
Making changes to the master data in the Excel add-in

• The basic assumption for SAP IBP is that master data records are
imported from a leading system on a regular basis, using standard
data integration (CPI-DS). Examples of leading systems include systems for master data
management, BW systems, ERP systems, such as SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA.
• However, there might be reasons and use cases where the master data in SAP IBP can differ
from the data in the leading systems, for example:
− A new product is introduced and needs to be planned before the product record is set up in the ERP
system.
− There are master data attributes defined in SAP IBP that don’t exist in the leading system, for
example ABC codes, because they are only required for planning purposes.
• Therefore, users who have sufficient authorizations can create new master data records, and
change and delete existing records.

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 • The user needs to have write permissions set in the Attribute Permissions app on the Web UI
for the respective attributes.
• Note that this feature is not intended for mass upload and change of master data records.

Single master data maintenance

Managing single master data records

• You can access a single master data record, such as, a product,
including all of its master data attributes.
• You can view , copy , and edit the master data attributes for
a single master data record.
• You can delete the whole master data
record.
• You can create a new master data
record and the associated attributes.
Example: Attribute permissions (write access) in the single master data view
(1)

Example: You don’t have write access for the attribute Customer ID

If Customer ID is a key field and you select the master data type Customer, the Create New
Record, Copy Record, and Delete Record buttons aren't shown. You can still edit all attributes
related to that master data type for existing master data records.

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Example: Attribute permissions (write access) in the single master data view
(2)

Example: You don’t have write access for the attribute Product Group

The attribute Product Group is not a key field in the master data type Product, so you can use the
View, Add, Edit, Copy, and Delete buttons in the Product master data records.

You can't edit the attribute Product Group in this case. That is the reason why the font color in this
field is grey.
Master data workbook
Maintenance of master data using the
master data workbook

• You can access multiple master data types and mass

records in parallel by using multiple worksheets.
• You can view, copy, and edit the master data attributes
for master data records.
• You can create a new master data record and the
associated attribute values.
• A master data workbook can include multiple
worksheets.
• You can't delete master data records in the master
data workbook. This is only possible in single master
data maintenance.
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 Creating a view in the master data workbook (overview)
1. You can set up a workbook filter in the Workbook Filter side panel. The workbook filter is applied to all worksheets in the master data
workbook.
2. On the General tab, make sure that
the Master Data button is selected.
3. In the Master Data Type field,
select the master data type whose
records you want to maintain in the
master data workbook. (An
information message tells you
whether you have the relevant
permissions to edit the master data
records of the selected master data
type.)
4. Optional: In the Version field, select
a version that is different from the
base version if you want to
maintain master data records of a
version different from the base
version.

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 Creating a view in the master data workbook (selecting attributes)
In the list of available attributes, the attributes that
are assigned to the master data type you
selected on the General tab are displayed.
Attributes of related master data types are also
shown here, if the respective attributes are
assigned to the planning area. The values of
attributes from related master data types can only
be displayed in the master data workbook, but
not edited. To determine related master data
types, the system considers master data types of
compound master data types and attribute
checks.
You can remove the attributes that you don't
need and change the order in which they will be
displayed in the master data workbook, as
needed. You can drag and drop the attributes in
the order you’d like, or use the checkboxes in
combination with the arrows under Selected
Attributes.
You can remove required attributes from the list
of selected attributes and still review or change
existing master data entries, but not create new
master data entries.
If you save your master data workbook as a
favorite, the attributes you that you selected and
the order that you set up are saved. The next
time you open your master data favorite, only the
attributes you selected are displayed in the order
you specified.
The order in newly created master data
workbooks might differ from previous Excel addin
versions, because the attributes are sorted by
their description, and not by their ID, as before.
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 Creating a view in the master data workbook (specifying a filter)

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 On the Filter tab, specify whether you want to use
the Simple or Advanced filtering mode for attributes,
by choosing the Simple or Advanced toggle button.

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You can use the Simple filtering mode to filter for attributes that are either directly assigned to the master data type you selected, or are assigned to master data types that are related to the
selected master data type. You can filter with attributes that are assigned to at least one planning level. The system considers some dependencies, such as master data types of compound
master data types and attribute checks when you use the simple filtering mode. For example, if you want to filter for the attributes of the Location Product master data type, you can select
master data attributes that belong to the Product or Location master data types, as these master data types are part of the Location Product compound master data type.
You can use the Advanced filtering mode when
you would like to filter with attributes that are not part of the master data type that you selected. You can filter with any attribute that is assigned to at least one planning level, and the planning
area. The system considers additional
dependencies between master data types of the
planning area
when it applies filters. For example, you can filter a
simple master data type such as Product by
attributes of its compound master data type such
as Location Product.

Creating a view in the

master data
workbook (adding
master data
worksheets)
If you want to create additional master
data worksheets, choose the icon with
the document and plus sign (tooltip
Add) at the bottom of the dialog and
follow the same steps for setting up a
master data worksheet, as described
before.
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 Creating a view in the master data workbook (suggest sheets)
You can let the Excel add-in suggest worksheets.

1. To use the sheet suggestion

function, choose the button with the
magic wand icon (tooltip Suggest
Master Data Worksheets).
2. In the dialog that opens, select the
attributes for which you want the
Excel add-in to add worksheets of
related master data types. You don't
need to specify any attribute values.
They are not relevant here, as the
system searches for master data
types that contain the selected
attributes. (For each master data
type that contains the attributes that
are specified, the Excel add-in adds
one worksheet.)
3. Check and adjust the settings for
each worksheet as needed and
delete worksheets that you don't
need.
4. Choose OK.

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 Workbook filter for master data workbooks (1)
The workbook filter is an
attributebased filter that is applied to
the whole workbook (including all
worksheets in the master data
workbook).

You can find the workbook filter in

the Workbook Filter collapsible side
panel.

In the workbook filter you can define

filter criteria for all attributes that are
available in the planning area,
whereas, in the worksheet-specific
filter, by default, you can only select
attributes that belong to the master
data type or planning level that you
have selected for the specific
worksheet.

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 Workbook filter for master data workbooks (2)
When you use the simple filtering mode
and you define a workbook
filter, the workbook filter conditions also
appear on the Filter tab of the master
data worksheet.

As a prerequisite, the relevant attributes

must belong to the selected master data
type or the selected planning level, or
must be attributes of related master data
types of the selected master data type.
Attributes can be selected only if they are
assigned to at least one planning level.

The values of attributes from related

master data types can only be displayed
in the master data workbook, but not
edited.

To determine related master data types,

the system considers master data types
of compound master data types and
attribute checks.

When you open the master data

workbook, the applicable workbook filter
conditions are merged with the
worksheet filter conditions.

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 Workbook filter for master data workbooks (3)

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 For master data worksheets, you can
also use the advanced filtering mode
which lets you filter with attributes that
are not part of the master data type that
you selected. The system considers
dependencies between master data
types of the planning area when it
applies filters.

In this way, all workbook filter conditions

are displayed and considered on the
worksheet level. If you want all filter
conditions to be taken over from the
workbook filter, select
the Advanced button on the Filter tab of
the Create Master Data
Workbook or Edit Master Data
Workbook dialog. For example, you can
filter the Location Product master data
type with an attribute of
the Location master data type, such
as Location Region.
The Excel add-in doesn't check whether filter conditions from the workbook
filter are valid and would reduce the amount of data in the master data
worksheet. It only displays which filter conditions can be used in the worksheet
for a specific master data type.

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 Simple and advanced filtering modes
You can use the simple filtering mode to filter for attributes that are either directly assigned to the master data type that you select for the
master data worksheet, or are assigned to master data types that are related to the selected master data type.

When you use the simple filtering mode, some dependencies, such as master data types that are part of compound master data types as
well as attribute checks are considered. For example, you can filter the Location Product compound master data type by attributes of the
Product master data type that is a component of the Location Product master data type.

The simple filter is selected by default when you create master data workbooks. It is the only filtering option for worksheets that include
planning objects with key figure data.

You can use the advanced filtering mode to filter with attributes that are not part of the master data type that you select for the master data
worksheet. When you use the advanced filter, the system considers dependencies between master data types of the planning area when it
applies filters to your master data worksheet.
You can use the advanced filter in combination with the workbook filter if you are interested in a set of data records and master data types that
have similar characteristics. For example, you are thinking about a new product, and therefore would like to see master data records that have
similar characteristics.

If you want all of the filter conditions that you define in the workbook filter to be taken over in master data worksheets, enable the advanced
filtering mode by choosing the Advanced button on the Filter tab. Please remember to do this for each master data worksheet where you want
to use the advanced filtering mode.

The advanced filtering mode is available for master data worksheets, but not for worksheets that
include planning objects with key figure data.

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Display Changed By/On and Created By/On information in master data
workbooks
You can check when specific master
data entries have been last changed
and by whom.

The following noneditable columns are

added to the master data workbook to
display administrative information:

▪ Changed By
▪ Changed On
▪ Created By
▪ Created On
When you create a master data
workbook, the columns are added
automatically. You can remove them
by deselecting the relevant
checkboxes on the Attributes tab.

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Display Changed By/On and Created By/On information in master data
workbooks

Please note the following:

▪ Even if it is possible to edit the cells of the columns Changed By, Changed On, Created By and Created On in the Excel add-in
and are ignored when you choose Save Changes in the Master Data group of the SAP IBP ribbon.

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Display Changed By/On and Created By/On information in master data
workbooks
▪ After you have changed existing master data entries, or added new ones in the master data workbook, you need to choose Ref
see the updated values for Changed By, Changed On, Created By and Created On.

▪ The timestamps are displayed in UTC and formatted according to your Microsoft Windows Region settings for Date and time fo
timestamps as such, and you can filter on them by using the native Filter function in Microsoft Excel.

▪ If the time is exactly set to 00:00:00, the Microsoft Excel default applies, and only the date is displayed. You can change the for
the Microsoft Excel context menu.

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Using master data favorites

If you want to save the current workbook as a favorite for future easier accessibility, you can create a master data favorite
and share the workbook favorite with other users.

In the Favorites drop down, you can create and manage favorites:
• Add a new favorite
• Access, update, or delete existing favorites
• Organize the favorites in a folder structure

Unlike in the case of planning view favorites, any changes to the Microsoft
Excel workbook, such as hidden columns, adjusted formatting, included Visual Basic for
Applications (VBA) coding, or additional worksheets not related to SAP IBP that have
been added are not saved as part of the master data favorite. If you need permanent
structural and formatting changes, contact your administrator. There are ways to influence
the appearance of the master data workbook by using VBA coding.

For more information, see Formatting in the Master Data Workbook Using VBA
Events.

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 Editing the
master data
workbook

You can edit the master data

workbook any time.
Refreshing the master
data workbook
Use Refresh to discard all unsaved
changes to the master data workbook
and to get the latest data from the
SAP IBP database. However, you
don't need to make changes to be able
to refresh the worksheet. You can also
use
the Refresh function to get the newest data from the SAP IBP system if you've already had the workbook open for some
time.

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Best practices for changing entries in the master data workbook
You can do the following:

• Delete rows that you are not planning to change. This does not delete records in the SAP Integrated Business
Planning for Supply Chain (SAP IBP) system, but improves performance.

• Cut a row or column and paste it somewhere else.

• Add data rows directly after the downloaded rows.

• Insert data rows between downloaded rows.

• Change record keys (for example, product ID) to create a new record.

You should make sure not to do the following:

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• Delete key columns or other mandatory columns, for example, the Product ID column.

• Make changes to hidden row 1 or hidden column A.

• Create gaps between rows or columns.

• Modify a large number of records while other users are logged on. This is not recommended for performance
reasons, and to keep the data consistent for the other users.
Best practices for the master data workbook – working offline

Master data workbooks can be taken offline. Master data workbooks that you create with Excel add-in version 2405.2.0 or higher are
recognized when you log on to the Excel add-in after having been offline. The master data workbook is also recognized when you're
working online and open a master data workbook that you've previously saved locally on your hard drive. You can do the following:
• Store master data workbooks locally and open them again later. Once you're logged on to the SAP IBP system, the master data
workbook and its settings are recognized and can be changed.
• If you saved the master data workbook as a favorite and you take it offline, it's recognized as a favorite when you log back in to the
SAP IBP system, and you can then update the favorite.
• You can share offline master data workbooks with your colleagues, and they can open the master data workbook after they've logged
in to the same system and planning area, or a planning area with the same master data types or planning levels. The following
restrictions apply:
• If you change data while being offline, the changes are not recognized in version 2405.2.0 of the Excel add-in.
• If you take offline master workbooks online again and you want to make changes to the data, first choose Refresh to be able to enter
and save your changes.
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• The worksheets in the master data workbook can only be recognized if the selected master data type or planning level exists in the
planning area and system you are connecting to and you have the respective permissions to display the master data type or planning
level. Otherwise, an error message is displayed when you open the master data workbook. When you edit the master data workbook,
the respective worksheets are marked as Unknown, and you need to choose the master data type or planning level and the related
settings that you want to be displayed.

Example: creating new master data records for a new product (1)
The new product PRODNEW is introduced, and you need to create all relevant master data for the product.
PRODNEW is very similar to the already existing product PRODOLD. You can use the workbook filter in
combination with the advanced filtering mode for master data types to create the master data records for the
new product.
Proceed as follows:
1. In the Master Data group of the SAP IBP ribbon, choose Master Data Workbook -> Create...
2. In the Workbook Filter side panel, specify the following filter:
• Attribute: Product ID
• Operator: =
• Values: PRODOLD
3. Choose the button with the magic wand (quick info text Suggest Master Data Worksheets).
4. In the dialog that opens, select the attribute Product ID and confirm by choosing OK.
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 The system creates worksheets for all master data types that contain Product ID as a key attribute or
attribute.
Example: creating new master data records for a new product (2)
5. After the system has added the worksheets, review and adjust them as needed, and delete the worksheets
you don't need.

6. For each worksheet, on the Filter tab, in the Filtering Mode field, choose Advanced.

This step is needed if you want to apply the workbook filter to all worksheets, even if the related master
data type doesn't include Product ID as an attribute.

7. Choose OK.
The master data workbook is opened in a Microsoft Excel workbook.

8. Go through the worksheets and replace PRODOLD with PRODNEW using the Find and Replace feature of
Microsoft Excel. Make manual changes as needed to define all master data information for the new
product.

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 9. Save the changes you made in each worksheet. In the Master Data group of the SAP IBP ribbon, choose
Save Changes for each worksheet where you made changes.
Saving changes

Save Changes sends the continuous range of cells starting from cell B3 to the
SAP IBP backend.

Hence, deleting rows that have not changed before saving improves the
performance, as less data has to be send and checked by the SAP IBP
backend.

Please note: Deleting a row does not delete the record

in the SAP IBP backend.

When finished, the system offers a summary of the

changes and you can download a report. This is useful,
for example, if data changes have rejected and you
want to analyze the reasons.
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Public 447
Processing of master data changes in master data workbooks
Reports and application log

• When master data values are created, or changed, an application log is created. (The application log is not
created for worksheets that include planning objects with key figure data.)

• You can find application logs for a master data type by searching for the master data type in the
Application Logs app.

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Processing of master data changes in master data workbooks
Reports and application log

The functions described here do not apply to

external master data types.

• The full report as well as the error report can be found attached to the log in the Application
Logs app.

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Processing of master data changes in master data workbooks
Reports and application log

The functions described here do not apply to

external master data types.

Both reports contain the following information:

• The Status column lets you know whether the changes have been successfully processed.
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Processing of master data changes in master data workbooks
Reports and application log

• The Rejection Code and Rejection Description columns explain why the change was rejected by
the system.

• The list of attributes of the master data records.

The functions described here do not apply to

external master data types.

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 Processing of the deletion of single master data records
Application log

• When single master data records are deleted using Manage -> Single... in the SAP IBP ribbon
in the Master Data group, an additional application log is created.

• You can find application logs for a master data type by searching for the master data type in the
Application Logs app.

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 The functions described here do not apply to
external master data types.

Processing of the deletion of single master data records

Attached information

You can find the following additional

information attached to the application log
as a .csv file:

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• The master data record that was deleted.

• The number of deleted records for all affected master data types.

• The number of deleted planning objects and planning object records for all dependent planning
areas, versions, scenarios, and planning levels.

Example: attribute permissions (write access) in the master data workbook

(1)

Example: You don’t have write access for the attribute Customer ID which is a key field.

When you create a new master data workbook, you can select the master data type Customer. In
the master data workbook, the Customer ID values are marked with a gray background to indicate
that they aren't editable.

Because Customer ID is a key field, you are not allowed to create new master data records, and
you get an error message when you save the changes.

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 Example: attribute permissions (write access) in the master data workbook
(2)

Example: You don’t have write access for the attribute Product Group.

When you create a new master data workbook, you can select the master data type Product. In the
master data workbook, the Product Group values are marked with a gray background to indicate
that they aren't editable.

If you edit the attribute values for Product Group and save the changes, the system disregards the
changes.

Formatting sheets in the master data book using VBA hooks

The appearance of the master data worksheets can be changed by using custom VBA code. This is
usually implemented centrally by an administrator or IT department.

Examples:
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 - Change the sorting of the columns from the default (alphabetical) to a custom
order - Hide columns by default
- Change formatting, like background color or font color for certain attributes
- Apply custom functions such as VLOOKUP
- Apply a value help for certain attributes, such as A,
B, or C for the ABC Code

Find more information at Extensibility Using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) - SAP Help Portal and
take a look into the sample provided in our GitHub at
[Link]
%20samples/SAP%20IBP%20Hooks.

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15) Planning object maintenance
Planning objects in SAP IBP
▪Planning in SAP IBP is based on planning objects.
▪A planning object is a single entity for which you can perform planning. It is identified by a combination of
master data attribute values.
Example: The location product with the master data attribute values PRODUCT_A and LOCATION_B is
represented by a planning object.
Note: A planning object is comparable to a characteristic value combination in SAP APO.
▪Before an attribute value combination can be planned in SAP IBP or displayed in the Excel add-in, a planning
object needs to be generated in SAP IBP (such as PRODUCT_A -LOCATION_B). Without a planning object,
there can be no planning for this combination.
▪There is an additional condition for being able to plan a planning object: It needs to be assigned a time
dimension (a time series, basically).
▪Planning objects are generated in SAP IBP as follows:
▪ Planning objects are automatically generated – including the time dimension - when transactional data is uploaded during data integration (for
example, from SAP ERP), or when key figure values are uploaded as a CSV file using the Data Integration Jobs app.
▪ If only a master data record is uploaded to SAP IBP or created in the Excel add-in, no planning object is generated. You need to trigger the
generation of the planning object (including the time dimension) explicitly. The next slides explain how to do this in the Excel add-in.
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▪For more information, see SAP Note 2798109 ([Link]
Planning objects in SAP IBP - example
1. A user creates a new master data record: Product ID = NEWPRODUCT •At this point, the master data
exists, but not the planning objects.
• This means that this product ID does not show up in any planning view.
2. The user creates the planning objects for the new product based on the base level of a key figure which the
user is planning. The base level of key figure is Product ID | Location ID | Customer ID | Weekly.
Product ID Location ID Customer ID Week 1 Week 2 …. Week n
NEWPRODUCT DC1 CUST-A NULL / Empty NULL … NULL
(shows as empty cell in
planning view)

NEWPRODUCT DC1 CUST-B NULL NULL … NULL

NEWPRODUCT DC2 CUST-C NULL NULL … NULL
3. The 3 combinations can now be planned upon and are visible in the Excel add-in.
4. Other combinations might theoretically be possible, for example a DC3, but might not be realistic.
Therefore, no planning should be possible. Example: DC3 is in Europe and the new product is only sold to
US customers and is only distributed by US DCs.
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Note that the new master data record must already exist before you can create planning objects.
Creating planning objects
There are two places where you can create new planning objects after you have created a new
master data record for a new product:

New Planning Object in the Planning Objects with Key Figure planning view
Data in the master data workbook

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Public 461
Creating planning objects in the planning view – overview

You can add new planning objects to a planning view. Note: Even if the planning view shows data
at an aggregated planning level (for example, a region containing many locations), the records are
created at the lowest level (for example, locations).

You create planning objects, for example, to do the following:

• Introduce a new product based on the planning objects of an existing product, directly in the
Excel add-in without having to use data integration functions (such as, CPI-DS or the Data
Integration app.

• Simulate selling a product in a new region or bringing a new plant online

Please note: This function does not replace the data integration functions that are normally used in
SAP IBP (such as, CPI-DS). We recommend that you use it to create and edit smaller numbers of
planning objects and only from a low disaggregation level (such as, for example, product ID).
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Creating planning objects in the planning view (1)

1) Open a planning view that has the key figures and is in the planning level for which you want to create new
planning objects.

2) Choose Planning Objects -> New Planning Object.

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Creating planning objects in the planning view (2)

3) In the New Planning Object dialog, select the master data records for which you want to create the
planning objects. The attributes that are available in the New Planning Objects dialog are determined by the
attributes that you selected as the planning level for your planning view.

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Creating planning objects in the planning view (3)

4) Choose Add. Please note that the system first simulates the new planning objects and shows the simulation results
in the planning view.

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5) Review the planning objects to verify the data is correct. Then choose Save Data.

Please note that the new planning objects will only be displayed in the planning view if key figure values are
associated to them. So, if you want to use the planning objects in a planning view immediately, please enter key figure
values before saving. Otherwise, the planning objects will not be displayed in the planning view.

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Recommendations for creating new planning objects

A mass creation of planning objects at a high level is not recommended, as the planning object
records are created at the base level of the key figures (for example, product-location-
customerdays).

Example: You create planning objects at a high level such as brand = SHOES and the key figure
base level is product-location-customer-days. In that case, the system creates planning objects for
all available product-location-customer combinations (where the respective attribute brand =
SHOES), with all locations, all customers, and all days.

This may result in many new planning objects that are logically wrong because the combination
product New Shoe US / location Rome, Italy / customer Garibaldi (Italy) is never planned since the
new product is only sold in the US market.

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Therefore, please create planning objects at the lowest level possible, OR use the SAP
recommended way of creating planning objects, using Planning Objects with Key Figure
Data in the master data workbook.
Creating planning objects with key figure data in the master data workbook
(1)

In the master data workbook, you can create, view, and edit planning objects and stored key figure data for a
selected planning level.
This is the recommended way to create planning objects manually in the Excel add-in.

1) Choose Master Data Workbook -> Create….

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Creating planning
objects with key figure
data in the master data
workbook (2)
2) On the General tab, choose the
Planning Objects button.

3) Select the relevant planning level and

version.
An information message tells you
whether you have the relevant
permissions to edit the planning objects
of the selected planning level.
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 You can also select time-independent planning levels in the Planning Level dropdown. When you select timeindependent planning levels,
the time settings are removed, but all other settings such as version, attributes, key figures, and filters remain the same as when you select
time-dependent planning levels. The layout of the worksheet differs from time-dependent planning levels, as the key figures are displayed
on the column axis.

4) Specify the time horizon for which you want to create planning objects with key figure data.
Creating planning
objects with key
figure data in the
master data
workbook (3)

5) On the Attributes tab, select the

attributes that you want to be
displayed in the planning object
worksheet.
You can choose from the
attributes that are available for
the selected planning level.
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 Root attributes are selected by default and can’t be removed. The values of nonroot attributes can only be displayed in
the master data workbook, but not edited.
You can define the order in which the attributes are displayed using drag and drop, or the arrows in the dialog.
Creating planning objects with key figure data in the master data workbook
(4)

6) On the Key Figures tab, select the

key figures whose data you want
to display in the worksheet.

Only key figures that belong to

the selected planning level and
store values are displayed,
calculated key figures are not
shown in this list. All available
key figures are selected by
default, but you can remove the
ones that you don't need and
change the order in which they
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 will be displayed in the master data workbook, as needed. You can drag and drop the key figures in the order you’d like or
use the checkboxes in combination with the arrows under Selected Key Figures.

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Creating planning objects with key figure data in the master data workbook
(5)

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7) On the Filter tab, define a filter for
the attribute values you want to
work with in the worksheet.

8) Optional: You can define several

worksheets for additional planning
levels, versions, and time horizons
by choosing the button with the
document icon (tooltip: Add) and
specifying the required values.

9) Choose OK.
The worksheet shows all planning
objects that are available for the
selection you made.

10) Create a new planning object by

adding a row or changing data in
the worksheet.

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Creating planning objects with key figure data in the master data workbook
(6)

11) In the Master Data group of the SAP IBP ribbon, choose
Save Changes.
The planning objects are created in the SAP IBP system.
Depending on the data volume, this task might take some
time.

11) The system offers a summary of the changes when it has finished saving the data.
You can decide if you want to see the full report of the
changes. If, for example, data changes have been rejected,
you can download the report and analyze it.

12) The planning view does not refresh automatically after you
saved the changes. To refresh the screen, choose Save
Changes -> Refresh.

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Creating planning objects with key figure data –
example (1)

• Edit the master data at base level, for

example, overwrite the product ID HT_001
of an existing planning object with the
product ID HT_NEW_1 of the new

planning object.
• The new product ID must already exist as
master data in the SAP IBP backend.
• Choose Save Changes.
• The system creates the new planning objects
for the new product ID and key figure data
using the existing key figure values.

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Creating planning objects with key figure data –
• You need to remove the key figure values if you don’t want them to be copied over to the new
planning objects. (Empty cells are
copied as NULL values.)

example (2)

• To create a new planning object, you can also copy and paste an existing entry (the entire row,

for example) to a new row.

• Then proceed as in the previous slide.

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Creating planning objects with key figure data –
example (3)

You can also use the Planning Objects with Key Figure Data view to overwrite the key figure
values for the individual combinations.

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16) Alert Key Figures and Dashboard
Alert key figures in the planning view

In configuration, the administrator can define alert key figures. Alert key figures can make the
user aware of any data that hits a predefined threshold. For example, the capacity utilization
exceeds 95%. Alerts can be displayed in the alerts dashboard of the planning view.
If alert key figures have been configured for the
planning area, the Alerts tab is available when
you create and edit a planning view.

You need to assign an alert key figure to the

following:
• Scenario
• Version • Workbook sheet Note:
• If you share a planning view favorite that
contains alerts, the recipients don’t see the
alerts in the alert dashboard.
• Alert key figures do not work with the sheet
option Remove Empty and Zero Values.
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Alert key figures in the planning view - All Versions and All Scenarios for
alerts (1)
In the Edit Planning View or Create Planning View
dialogs, you can define a formatting rule for alert
key figures on the Alerts tab. When defining a
formatting rule you need to select the version and
the scenario to which the alert formatting should be
applied.

You can choose All Versions in the version

dropdown of the alert definition and All Scenarios in
the scenario dropdown, instead of selecting a
specific version or scenario. This way, the alert
formatting is applied to all valid version and
scenario combinations that are selected in the
Workbook Settings side panel.

When changing the version or scenario in the

Workbook Settings side panel, you do not need to
adjust the alert definition if All Versions or All
Scenarios was previously selected. The selection
stays and can also be saved in templates and
favorites.
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 Please note: If you want to check the alert in different versions, the respective alert key figures and referenced key figures
must be available in all This function is available as of version 2308.2.0 of the Excel add-in. relevant versions.
Alert key figures in the
planning view - All Versions
and All Scenarios for alerts –
enhancements in version
2311.2.0
If you select All Versions or All Scenarios when
defining alert formatting, the text field for Name
in Alert Dashboard (Favorites only) stays active
as of version 2311.2.0, so you can provide a
name for the alert.

The respective alerts appear in the Alert

Dashboard dialog, which means that you can
display the same alert several times in the Alert
Dashboard for different version and scenario
combinations.
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To this end, as of version 2311.2.0, the Scenario column has been added to the Alert Dashboard. It displays the scenario
the alert has been set up for. The number of exceptions is calculated and displayed for each version and scenario
combination.

Alert dashboard and planning view favorites – example

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 In the planning view, the
cells where the alert
threshold is met are
highlighted according to
your settings in the
planning view definition.
Alert dashboard

An alert is only displayed in the alert dashboard if:

1) The planning view which contains the alert key figure definition has been saved as a favorite
planning view.

2) The Name in Alert Dashboard (Favorite Views Only) field has been filled.

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Please note that the alerts in the alert dashboard are constantly recalculated by the system. This
can have an impact on the performance.

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17) Task Management
Task management

• Open tasks that have been assigned to

you as part of a process step can be
visualized in the Excel add-in.
• Process, process step details, and
progress can be seen as well.
• Tasks can be grouped and sorted by the
following:
• Process
• Priority
• Due date

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Task management

You can set the status of your tasks to Completed by clicking on the task. If you complete a task,
refresh the dialog to make it disappear from the list of tasks. (The process and task-related information
is automatically refreshed when you log on to the Excel add-in, but you need to refresh it manually
while you are working in your planning view.)
You can set the status of your tasks from the Excel add-in as follows:
Status of the Task Can It Be Changed in the To What Status?
Excel Add-In?
Open Yes Completed
In Progress Yes Completed
Completed No -
If you change the status of a task to Completed, and you decide that the task is not completed after all,
you can change the status back to Open in the Collaboration app. Similarly, if you have a task in
status In Progress, you need to change it back to status Open in the Collaboration app to be able to
complete the task in the Excel add-in.
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Process management

The processes and tasks that are visible in the Excel add-in are defined and managed using the

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Manage Processes app.

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Task window in the Excel add-in

The Processes and Tasks Dashboard window is a separate window and not a pop-up. It can
therefore be arranged within a split window next to the Excel window with the planning view on
the same screen (Windows function as of Windows 10).

This makes it easier for you to take a look

at the tasks and, in parallel, review and
change the data to complete the tasks.

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 18) Navigation to the Web UI

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Navigation to the Web UI

You can navigate from the Excel add-in to specific SAP Fiori apps on the SAP Fiori
launchpad (Web Client).
• Home opens the SAP Fiori launchpad.
• Collaboration opens the Collaboration SAP Fiori app.
• Promotions opens the Analyze Promotions SAP Fiori app.
• Manage Planning Notes opens the Manage Planning Notes SAP Fiori app.
 • Manage Product Lifecycle opens the Product Assignments or Forecast Dates tab of the
Manage Product Lifecycle app.

19) Help, user settings, and more in the

About area

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Help
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 This feature is designed mainly
▪ The ping time measures the time it takes for a
small data package to reach the SAP for administrators and About: Know
which Excel IBP server until receiving it back consultants. add-in version is
installed (roundtrip).
 Help
You can open the help that is available on the SAP Help Portal as well as the getting
started video hosted on the SAP youtube channel, from the About area of the Excel
add-in.
• Open SAP IBP Help: opens the application help which has a section for end users
as well as a section for administrators.
• Open SAP IBP End-User Guide: opens this guide.
• Getting Started: opens the getting started video.

As of version 2305.2.0, you can also open the detailed help from the respective dialog
or field in the Excel add-in by pressing the F1 key.
Note: This function doesn't work in all of the dialogs of the Excel add-in, but we're adding new
topics continuously.

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 Log
The SAP IBP log is a technical log that
can be used to perform a more detailed
error analysis.

If you encounter issues with the Excel

add-in, your administrator or the SAP
support team might ask to provide the log
file.

You can use the Log Dialog to find the log

and trace files that you need, and copy
them directly out of the dialog.

To open the Log dialog, in the SAP

IBP ribbon, in the About group,
choose Help -> Log.

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 Log Dialog
In the Log Dialog, you can see the following information:

• The recent lines of the log.

If you need to provide the log information to your administrator, or to SAP
support, you can copy and paste the text directly out of the dialog.

• Technical information about your installed software and environment.

• The location of the log files on your computer.

By choosing the Open folder… button, you can access the log files directly. You
can also copy the file path to your clipboard.

In the Log dialog, you can specify in which case the Excel add-in should create logs
for your current Microsoft Excel instance. In pervious versions, this required
administrator permissions.

For more information, see Trace and Log Files in the Excel Add-In.
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 Settings
Default User Settings User Settings (user-specific settings)
(Administrator Settings)

The settings are valid

for the particular connection
(system/planning area
combination). You need to
make changes changes
individually for each connection.
The settings are not stored
locally on your PC.

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 For more information about the settings, see SAP Help Portal at User Settings.

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 Settings –
general settings

• Language: You can change the language for the Excel add-in. All Excel add-in controls are displayed in the selected
language.
• Default Display Time: You can decide in which default time zone the dates and times are shown (in the planning

operator logs, for example).

• File Path for Workbooks: When you open a planning view template or favorite, the workbook is downloaded from the
SAP IBP system and stored in a certain folder. From there, it is opened on your PC. This file path determines the
storage location. For performance considerations, it is recommended that you specify a file path pointing to a folder on
your local PC instead of a folder located on a network drive or shared drive. The default file path is the following:
• %Temp%\SAP_IBP is used as of version 2205.2.0.
• %localappdata%\SAP_IBP_AddIn\Workbooks is used as of version 2305.2.0.

For more information, see Setting Up File Paths for Workbooks, and Setting Up Your Own File Path for Workbooks.
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 Settings –
default values

In the settings, you can set various default values, for example, the default currency and unit of
measure. These default values help you to save time when working with planning views.
You can set fixed values or define that the value last used is applied. You can also overwrite these
values with your user-specific ones in the template planning views.

It depends on the configuration of your planning area whether you see the default value fields. If,
for example, no key figure is planning note enabled, then the Display Planning Notes field is not
visible. The same is true for Collaboration groups or units of measure.

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 Settings –
display options (1)

Show information message for master data workbook: Defines if you get a pop-up when opening a master data workbook with
additional instructions.

Expand Cascading Filter: Defines if the Cascading Filter dropdown menu (for example, on the Filter tab of the planning view
definition) should be automatically expanded.

Apply Cascading Filter Automatically: When you select this

checkbox, the cascading filter is applied automatically when you
open the value help to select attribute values for filter conditions.
You don't need to choose Apply manually.

This function is available as of version 2305.2.0 of the SAP IBP,

add-in for Microsoft Excel.

Show information about slow connection speeds if response

time is more than … miliseconds: If you select this checkbox,
and specify a value here, you will be informed about slow
response times between your computer and the SAP IBP server as well as a
potentially slow network connection. The response time is measured during
logon, and combines server and network response times.

Show information about the deletion of empty folders: If folders have

been created by using the Organize function, and if no entities (templates,
favorites, filters, and so on) are assigned to them, the empty folders are deleted when you close the Organize dialog.

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 Settings –
display options (2)

Show up to <number> most used

attributes/key figures:
• You can see a list of your most used
attributes and key figures in multiple
places in the Excel add-in.
• This short list helps you to quickly see
the attributes and key figures that are most relevant to you. You do not need to pick them from a
long list of key figures and attributes.
• The default value is 5.
• Set the value to zero to turn the feature off.
• If you reset the user settings by clicking the Reset to

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 Settings –
Default button, the Excel add-in “forgets” your most used
key figures and attributes but learns
them again over time. display options
(3)

If the attributes and key figure list in the

planning view settings should use the
strong-match group and the light-match
group, select the Show Strong and Light
Match Groups checkbox.

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 Settings –
auto-sizing planning notes

• If you hover the mouse over a cell containing a planning note,

the planning notes are displayed in a standard size that does
not display the free text.
• The system automatically can increase the size of the
boxes,
Standard size: adapting them to the respective free text.
• Auto-sizing is only performed if the number of planning notes in the planning
view does not exceed the threshold that you have entered in the settings.
• The default threshold is 0 (no auto-sizing).
Autosized to fit the full text : • In the example, the threshold
is set to 7. This means

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 Settings –
that autosizing is active if the planning view contains 7 or less
planning notes.
• Consider that auto-sizing a large number of planning notes can have a significant performance impact.
• Note that if you click a cell, the planning note is
always displayed in full size.
planning note validation

You can decide whether an additional validation

step should run when saving planning notes and
inform you about invalid changes.
Invalid changes can happen if you change an SAP
IBP planning note with native Microsoft Excel
functions, such as, Edit Note.

With or without using the additional check, invalid changes to the planning note are not saved. But with the
additional validation check switched on, the system provides you with information in a warning message. So
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 Settings –
you have a better chance to see that the changes you made to the planning note were invalid and will not be
saved.
Please note that the additional validation check can have a negative impact on the performance. It can be
skipped for users who are familiar with the restriction not to use any Microsoft Excel native notes with SAP
IBP planning notes.
As a default, the validation is switched on.
application jobs

Depending on how many planning operators are assigned to your planning area, the list in the
Application Jobs group in the Excel add-in ribbon can get rather long. In the Display Operator
Types One by One field, you can enter how many planning operators or application jobs are listed.

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 Settings –

Choose Never if no individual application jobs should be displayed.

Choose, for example, Up to 6 to show up to six individual application jobs:

If more than 6 application jobs are assigned to your planning area, no application jobs are
displayed (same as the Never option).

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Message history

In the message history window, you can see all of

the warning and error messages you’ve received
since your last logon to the SAP IBP system.

This is useful if you closed a error/warning pop-

up, and want to review the information, or when
you face issues and need to inform your
administrator. In the second case, you can send a
screenshot of the respective warning/error
message for further analysis.

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Check backend version

Hover the mouse over Help button to show the release of the SAP IBP backend, as well as the
Hotfix Collection. This comes in handy when you are asked, for example, by your administrator
or by SAP support, which version of the Excel add-in is installed on your PC.

Example: SAP Integrated Business Planning 2008.0 means that the backend is
SAP IBP release 2008, Hotfix Collection 0
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20) Logging Off and Troubleshooting
Disabled Excel add-ins
Comparing disconnect and log off
After you have finished your work, you can disconnect or log off from the SAP IBP backend
system. Alternatively, you can close all Excel
Disconnect
Log off
If you choose this option, you get
disconnected from the SAP IBP system If you choose this option, you get logged off
without loosing the Remember me settings from the system completely. The system
(depending on the identity provider). “forgets” you, so that you need to enter the
user and password next time when you log on
again.

workbooks by clicking Close (X) in the upper right corner.

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Use disconnect, for example, if you have left the Excel add-in inactive for too long or if a
planning area activation is in progress
Troubleshooting a disabled Excel add-in

If Microsoft Excel “crashes” while working with the Excel add-in, or was ended in an exceptional
way, for example, through the task manager, it might start the next time without the Excel add-in
that it suspects to have caused the shutdown. In such a case, a pop-up like the following will
appear when you start Microsoft Excel:

Please select No.

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If you select Yes, the Excel add-in will be disabled and disappear from the ribbon. You need to
manually enable it again.

How to enable the Excel add-in (1)

If the SAP IBP menu has disappeared from the Microsoft Excel ribbon, a likely reason is that it
has been disabled.

How to enable the Excel add-in:

• In Microsoft Excel, choose File → Options → Add-Ins.
• Select Manage: COM Add-Ins and choose Go.

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• Select SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel and choose OK.
How to enable the Excel add-in (2)

Try starting the Excel add-in via the desktop shortcut or the Windows programs.

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Please note that this option is only available if your administrator has enabled it.

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