SAP Query Reporting—Practical Guide

Stephan Kaleske

• Publisher: SAP PRESS
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781592293650
• eBook ISBN: 9781592297276
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Computer Science General
• Index: Computer Science

In this book, you'll learn how to utilize SAP Query for your business analysis needs in SAP FI, SAP SD, SAP MM, and more. The most essential SAP database tables are presented, enabling you to extract specific information from SAP ERP. Numerous screenshots, detailed instructions, and comprehensive real-life examples guide you through all steps of report creation. The book is based on SAP ERP 6.0, but it is also ideally suited for users of older releases (e.g., R/3 4.6C). 1. Basic Principles of Query Reporting Learn about the relationships between QuickViewer, user groups, the InfoSet, and SAP Query. This book explains how to localize tables and which query utilities support you in your work. 2. All Major Query Features Discover everything you need to know about selection and layout variants, drilldown functions, icons, ABC analyses, and much more. 3. Designing User-Friendly Reports Master challenging reporting requirements, including ABAP coding. Utilize ranked lists and statistics, Microsoft Excel integration, and much more. 4. Query Administration How do you transport queries? How do you improve performance? What do you need toconsider with regard to authorizations? Here, you find the answers to these questions and others. 5. Immediately Usable Queries for Download The special feature of this book is 100 immediately usable queries, available on the publisher's Web site for download.

Highlights:

• SAP Tables and Table Links
• QuickViewer, SAP Query, Query Utilities
• InfoSet and SAP Query in Detail
• Selection and Layout Variants
• Traffic Light Icons, Drilldown, Graphics, and ABC Analyses
• Designing User-Friendly Queries
• Statistics and Ranked Lists
• ABAP Fundamentals
• Integration with Microsoft Excel
• Query Management
• Transport System
• Data Retrieval and Function Modules
• Authorizations and Transaction Creation
• Real-Life Examples

PART I   Introduction to SAP Query

SAP Query is used to create analyses in real time without any great effort. Such analyses are used to optimize processes and master data, and to support corporate management. In your SAP ERP system, you can use the SAP Query functions without the need for any additional installations or license fees.

1 Introduction to SAP ERP Reporting

For enterprises, quickly and accurately accessing business information is vital. To this end, SAP provides an extensive portfolio of tools for report creation. The most important tools are as follows:

• Query reporting tools
• Report Painter/Report Writer
• Drilldown Reporting
• SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW)/SAP Business­Objects

The term query reporting tools comprises the following tools:

• SAP Query
• QuickViewer
• InfoSet Query

This chapter introduces you to SAP Query, Report Painter, and Drilldown Reporting, and distinguishes among these three tools and SAP NetWeaver BW. In addition, you will learn about frequently used standard SAP reports. After obtaining an overview of the basic requirements for report creation in Section 1.1, ABAP Report Generators, we will compare the three aforementioned query tools in Section 1.2, Query Reporting Tools. Here, you will learn when it is advisable to use the query reporting tools to query information directly in the SAP ERP system. In Section 1.3, Comparing Analysis Tools: SAP Query and SAP NetWeaver BW, we will highlight the advantages of SAP Query over SAP NetWeaver BW.

If you need reports with summarized figures (totals), which is often the case in Financial Accounting (FI), we recommend that you use the following tools: Report Painter/Report Writer and Drilldown Reporting. In Section 1.4, Cumulated Analyses with Multilevel Hierarchies, you will see how SAP ERP is used in different enterprises with different business requirements. For the most important reporting requirements, which are often the same for many customers, a standard report is frequently available in SAP ERP. Before you create a new report, you should always check whether an existing report already covers your requirements (see Section 1.5, Using Standard Reports).

1.1 ABAP Report Generators

At the start of every report, there is a specific requirements specification. After the data basis has been clarified, the user decides how to format the data and answers the following questions:

• What does the selection screen look like?
• Which field contents do you want to output?
• Which report jumps (drilldown) are useful?
• How do you want the data to be formatted?
  • Output length, decimal places, unit
  • Color display
• How do you want to summarize or display the data?
  • Summation levels
  • Excel display

For example, a developer can use an ABAP report to format the data. However, a good ABAP developer requires time to output structured data. He needs not only technical expertise but also business knowledge, in particular.

Because the business requirements of an enterprise are often challenging, both detailed technical knowledge and industry knowledge are essential. In addition to technical knowledge, a good consultant, key user, user, or developer must have some business knowledge to create the best analyses.

If you have a good level of technical knowledge, you must acquire the relevant business expertise. Because the analysis requirement is based on many years of real-life experiences, the question of simplified technical analysis options arises. Is it always necessary to create an analysis program from scratch? Are there easy ways to create ABAP code? The goal is to generate a good report and to access a simple report generator, either to accelerate the implementation speed or simply due to a lack of programming knowledge. Table 1.1 provides an overview of the most important report generators for you.

Table 1.1 Overview of the Most Important Report Generators for You

SAP provides different utilities for creating ABAP code for an analysis. We already mentioned the most important reporting tools in the introduction, namely Report Painter/Report Writer, Drilldown Reporting, and SAP NetWeaver BW. The Logistics Information System (LIS) is another tool. The term query reporting tools is often used in different contexts, both in literature and in real life. Frequently, the term SAP query reporting is also used to describe the SAP NetWeaver BW reporting tools. However, this book concerns only those query reporting tools within the SAP ERP system.

In the next section, we will explain which query reporting tools are available to you.

1.2 Query Reporting Tools

This section provides a first impression of the functional scope of query reporting tools. We will compare the various options and application areas of SAP Query , InfoSet Query, and QuickViewer agai...

Table of contents

• Notes on Usage and on the Screen Presentation
• Table of Contents
• Dear Reader
• Preface
• Introduction
• PART I Introduction to SAP Query
• 1 Introduction to SAP ERP Reporting
• 2 Overview of SAP Tables and Table Links
• 3 QuickViewer
• 4 Overview of SAP Query
• 5 Query Utilities
• PART II SAP Query Functions
• 6 InfoSet in Detail
• 7 SAP Query in Detail
• 8 Selection and Layout Variants
• 9 Traffic Light Icons, Drilldown, Graphics, and ABC Analyses
• PART III Designing User-Friendly Reports
• 10 Summarized Data Output with Statistics and Ranked Lists
• 11 ABAP Fundamentals in the InfoSet
• 12 Integration with Microsoft Excel
• PART IV Query Management
• 13 Transport System
• 14 Data Retrieval and Function Modules
• 15 Authorizations and Transaction Creation
• PART V Real-Life Examples
• 16 Real-Life Examples
• A Important SAP Tables
• B The Author
• Index
• Service Pages
• Legal Notes