SAP BPC Questions/

1.What is BPC?
As you must be aware that BPC stands for Business Planning and Consolidation. As the name suggest, BPC is used for both Planning and Consolidations, unlike IP, which is used for only planning.

2. When BPC 7.5 NW is avaliable?
The 7.5 version is currently in the ramp-up stage and should be availble in few months. I am not sure of the exact month.

3. BPC for NW has an aggregation level or not, Is BPC an application on top SAP-IP?
BPC and IP have completely different architecture. BPC doesnt use aggregation levels or filters. BPC and IP have no relation and thus, cannot be compared. BPC uses various script logics, business rules for doing the planning. Manual planning can be done with input schedules. The input schedules are on excel platform and are quite versatile. You can use BPC functionalities alongwith native excel functionalities for better design of the input schedules.

4. What about BPC in consolidation part?
BPC comes with pre-delivered components for consolidationm, which can be leveraged on. There are few business rules, which makes the consolidation process easier.

5. What is the concept for plan data from BPC?
The concept of planning is the same as you have in any other tool. The functional side of the planning remains the same. However, the tool differs. The way you configure a planning scenario will be much different than any other planning tool. Unfortunately, it will not be feasible to address this in the forum. You can definitely go through the study materials for a better understanding.

6. BPC for NW need to install .NET application server and Web server or not?
Yes. You can have a look at the installation guide available on market place for detailed requirements.

7. What is BPC client tool? and If I planning on BEx report, I have to create an aggregation level for planning data or not?
BPC client sits on the client machines, from where, you will be doing the design. There are mainly 3 interfaces available - BPC Admin, BPC Office, and BPC Web. BPC Office, in turn has 3 interfaces - Excel, Word, Powerpoint. These interfaces can be used for various requirements.

8.SAP BPC:-Business Consolidation:
SAP Business Planning and Consolidation meets all your legal and management consolidation and reporting requirements. Because the software's centralized data repository contains up-to-date actuals from your operational systems, you always have instant access to harmonized charts of accounts, shaving weeks off your consolidation process and simultaneously ensuring compliance with regulatory mandates, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Specifically, you gain a single, centralized view of performance data and can instantly generate clear, transparent financial statements and reports relating to profit and loss, cash flows, and balance sheets. In addition, the software helps you compare budget-to-actuals data (assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses); automate the intercompany elimination process; gain transparency into corporate transactions at all levels; and manage any number of currencies by performing conversions, allocations, and eliminations. Automated reports support all reporting standards, including Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP), Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), International Accounting Standards (IAS), and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Finally, the software improves compliance with regulatory and financial standards and generates a fully documented audit trail to reduce external audit costs.

9. SAP BPC :-Reporting and Analytics:
With SAP Business Planning and Consolidation, you gain a unified, predictive performance management solution for financial and operational reporting and analysis. You can perform production and management reporting (including exception reports), financial and operational analysis, and ad hoc and multidimensional analysis. At the same time, the software provides automated predictive analytics that proactively push findings relevant to employees so they can take appropriate action. It automatically identifies key performance indicators (KPIs) that are at risk, identifies the metrics and drivers of those KPIs, and recommends actions that can change predicted outcomes for the better. In addition, you can quickly find explanations for variances - and root causes - so you know where to focus management attention. Finally, you can make risk-adjusted plans and more calculated decisions using intelligent modeling functions that give you a more precise understanding of risk probabilities.

10. SAP BPC :-Forecasting:
SAP Business Planning and Consolidation provides centralized, collaborative, prepackaged business process flows, tightly linked to the data and processes supporting planning and budgeting, to simplify the enterprise-wide forecasting process. Predictive analysis functionality goes beyond the typical trend and seasonality algorithms, enabling you to produce more accurate plans and budgets, create rolling forecasts, and incorporate real-time actuals with historical data for the most effective forecast seeding possible.

11. Extracts: Vision, Strategy, Business Processes, Organizational Structure, Roles, IT System
Transforming the story into business terms we could say the business owner had a Vision (his imagination), a Strategy (his long term plan), few Business Processes (to produce his imaginary product / service), an Organizational Structure (the model of his business), a few Roles (human resources to run his business). Additionally he implemented an IT System to leverage his initial investment.
Business Equation
Based on the above description of a Business, we can summarize a business model with following equation:

Input > Processing > Output

To get the desired Output, it’s obvious we’ve to have Correct Input and Processing. Referring the equation to successful businesses we could notice “Well defined Processes are key success factors”. And we can’t determine a process is correct unless we know what Output was actually required.

Business Processes’ Study
Understanding the equation requires a thorough study of
vision & Strategy to find out what exactly company is targeting and how
• processes it employs to achieve its goals
• organizational model to know the RACI
• IT system which refines the processes
Business Process Management

Business Process Management – a Holistic Management Approach, talks about Optimization of Business Processes which is achieved by
Analyzing existing processes of an organization and
1. Designing refined & optimized model of business processes.
SAP Business Process Management Methodology what it does?
SAP BPM Methodology addresses the need and provides details on “how-to”
Identify the key success factors of a business
• Understand the existing processes & set the priorities for analysis
• Compare the business processes with Industry’s Best-Practices processes
• Identify weak areas, link them and Assess them together
• Develop high-level and detailed design of to-be model
• Figure-out the required adaptation areas within an organizational model
• Create a transformation plan and utilize existing landscape to support the new model
• Fit & map the changes into an existing solution with analysis of organizational and master data

Phases: A methodological approach

The methodology clearly distinguishes between the Business Approach (Top-Down) and the IT Perspective (Bottom-Up) and is divided into 4 major Phases i.e.
Calibration
1. As-Is Analysis
2. To-Be Design
3. Solution Transformation

It provides the necessary tools 1) to Analyze the existing processes and 2) to Design a To-Be Model.