Implementación del bus SUCHAI
4.1. Arquitectura del bus SUCHAI
4.1.3. Capa de red
Service Plans
Unit Overview
This unit gives a compact overview of service plan functionality in SAP CRM.
Unit Objectives
After completing this unit, you will be able to:
• Describe the functions and contents of service plans • Create a service contract, including a service plan item • Understand Service Plan Simulation
• Simulate a Service Plan
Unit Contents
Lesson: Service Plans ...124 Lesson: Service Plan Simulation ...134 Exercise 8: Creating a Service Plan ...137
Lesson: Service Plans
Lesson Overview
This lesson introduces basic features of CRM service plans. Also relevant master data and specific transaction settings are presented.
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
• Describe the functions and contents of service plans • Create a service contract, including a service plan item
Business Example
Your service organization would like to maintain technical objects repeatedly and it should only be described once. With service plans it is also possible to use time or counter-based interval strategies.
Figure 53: Service Plans
You can use a service plan to schedule and organize periodic services that occur repeatedly at certain intervals, such as regular maintenance, ahead of time. Service plans help you to save costs resulting from unforeseen outages or breakdowns, to plan services in a better and more transparent way, and to schedule resources, like personnel or materials, more efficiently.
Follow-up documents are generated using an action on sub-item level: • Temporal trigger
– Based on time interval (for example, every year) – Fixed Interval – terminated by confirmation • Performance-dependent trigger
– Based on counter readings
– Fixed counter interval with date forecast • Complex trigger
– Combination of the above.
Service orders are created from a service plan using actions (the Post Processing Framework).
The service plan creates release objects, such as service orders, in the system with the help of scheduling, which can take place on the basis of time intervals or counter readings
Three steps are carried out by the system:
1. Create a service order by copying the service plan item (copy control). 2. Merge the new service order with additional data (sub-items from a service
order template, reference objects, or dates).
You can functionally enhance a service contract by adding a service plan. To do so, you enter one or more service plan items at item level in the service contract (left part of the figure above). A service plan created in this way differs from an independent service plan in that data can be entered for business partners and billing, and this type of service plan has a time limit, since it ends when the service contract runs out.
The service plan appears in the service contract at item level as a separate item category. According to the way your service contract is set up, you can create service plan items as subitems for a service contract item, or you can add service plan items directly to the service contract header without the contract item in between.
To enable processing of planned dates and service plan data, such as interval values, assign item category SPLA (Service Plan Item) to the item. This item category must be assigned to the item object type Service Plan Item CRM (BUS2000148) in Customizing.
If you want to create a service contract item with service plan items under it, you can use the product proposal in the service contract item. This way, you can automate creation of the service plan items
You first create a service contract item for a service plan, and would like to define service plan items as subitems. You can use the product proposal to help you make your entries when creating the service plan items. In the case of the product proposal, relevant services are proposed for selection for the reference object that you enter in the object list of the service contract item. A service plan item is created automatically for each service that is selected.
The service plan can be a separate business process which is independent of the service contract. Contract-independent service plans primarily reference the object on which the services will be performed, and are valid for the entire lifetime of the object. Unlike service plans that are bound to service contracts, contract-independent service plans contain no data specific to the customer or sold-to party, and they are not related to the validity period of a service contract. For contract-independent service plans, SAP delivers the transaction type SRMP (SAP Service Plan) in standard Customizing. This transaction type has the leading transaction category Service Plan (BUS2000245). In addition, item category SPMP (Service Plan Item in Service Plan) is available for contract-independent service plans. This item category must be assigned to the item object type Service Plan Item CRM (BUS2000148) in Customizing.
Figure 55: Life Cycle of an Object, Service Contract, and Service Plan
The service plan no longer has to be linked to the contract, but can be linked to the object to be serviced. This feature enables the service plan to remain assigned to the object for its complete life cycle, even if its owner changes.
A service plan can be linked to a contract or stand alone
• Scenario 1 shows the linkage of a service plan to the reference object. The service plan exists independent of the location or assignment to a customer (service contract)
• Scenario 2 shows the situation where a service plan is linked to a service contract. A service plan exists only, when there is an existing service contract.
Figure 56: Service Interval Template
Service interval templates are defined within SAP GUI (SAP Menu → Service →
Maintain Service Interval Templates).
A Service order template describes only the scope of planned services and not the actual execution (customer and time frame).
Figure 57: Service Intervals and Products
Service plan products are maintained via the WebClient UI (Accounts & Products
→ Search/Create → Products/Product).
A service plan product should to be assigned to the item category group Service Plan Product (SPLA).
A service plan product needs the set type SERVICEPLAN to allow the maintenance of a service interval template.
Caution: The Interval Template field is hidden in the standard delivery. UI configuration is necessary in order to make this field available within the product application.
Figure 58: Scheduling Scenarios
Scheduling, in this context, is defined as:
• A general rule about the frequency and the parameters of a planned service The following scheduling types are provided:
• Cyclic • Once • Alternating • Fixed values
All scheduling types can depend on all service plan types • Time
• Counter
• Both time and counter:
– For example, “Mobility Service” for cars: → Inspection every 15,000 km
→ 20% rebate on time and material
→ Mobility warranty for one year (breakdown service and so on). – Questions to be answered within Planned Services:
→ How many inspections will we have to perform next week/month/year?
→ Do we have enough service technicians available? → What about costs and revenues for mobility services? All service plan types can be combined with all scheduling types.
Figure 59: Scheduling
The system calculates the planned dates (that is, the dates on which a service should be performed) for the services defined in the service plan.
The “Planning Start Date” is calculated on the start of planning. This is, by default, the current date when the service plan item is created - because the date rule “Todays Date” is assigned by default to the date type “Planning Start Date” in Customizing.
Planned dates can be determined for counter-based scheduling by means of a consumption prediction or a calculated consumption value. For time-based scheduling, the planned date is calculated using the service interval that was defined in the service plan.
Follow-up documents (such as service orders or quotations) are created before the planned date is reached. The date on which a follow-up document is created is defined by the date type “Release Date”.
You can use the duration “Lead Time” to calculate the “Release Date”. After the “Release Date” is exceeded, an action is triggered and a follow-up document is created in the system.
As soon as the document is created, the service employee can process and confirm the document.
A Business Add-In for the Service Plan (CRM_SERVICEPLAN_BADI) is available.
Figure 60: Creating a Service Order from a Service Plan Item
A service plan item is a sub-item of the service contract item.
If a service order template has been assigned to the service interval template of the service plan product, the service order template items are copied in the service order item as sub-items.
A background job can be set up for automatic monitoring that checks, at regular intervals, if all the scheduled actions comply with the start condition and, if necessary, generates the follow-up documents.
The data from the service plan item is first copied to the item of the new business transaction during generation of the follow-up documents. Additional data, such as price agreements, can be copied from the service contract. The planned dates in the service plan can then be recalculated, and the service plan can be updated accordingly.
If more complex services are to be used on a planned date, you can predefine a business transaction template in which the detailed services and their scope are entered, such as a service order template.
You can assign a business transaction template to a service interval either within a service interval template, or in the contract during maintenance of a service plan item.
Lesson Summary
You should now be able to:
• Describe the functions and contents of service plans • Create a service contract, including a service plan item
Lesson: Service Plan Simulation
Lesson Overview
This lesson introduces the Service Plan Simulation options which are helpful for planning of resources like service technicians and service parts.
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to: • Understand Service Plan Simulation • Simulate a Service Plan
Business Example
Service Plan Simulation
Figure 61: Service Plan and Forecast
Simulation of service plans or service contracts provides you with a list of future service orders and enables you to determine the resources (service employees, service parts) required for each service order, and to calculate the workload for a predefined period. Service plans can be simulated for a short-term period (such as the upcoming week or month), or also for a long-term period (such as the entire lifecycle of a service plan). You can also, for example, simulate all
existing service plans, or only the service plans of a certain customer for a defined period. In addition, you can fix a time for the start of the simulation. For example, you can make a setting for all the service plans for the upcoming month to be simulated at the start of every month
Process of Service Plan Simulation can be describes as follows: 1. Enter parameters for forecast horizon
2. Select all service contracts with service plan within this horizon
3. The system creates virtual service orders to determine resources for search service event date.
4. View a list of dates and services orders containing the desired information (resources, products, dates etc.)
5. Transfer data to SAP NetWeaver BI
Service plan simulation can be executed by choosing Service Contracts → Search
→ Service Plan Simulation.
During the simulation, virtual service orders are created using existing service plans and their date rules. These virtual service orders are displayed in the list together with additional information, such as information about the required resources and products. The virtual service orders cannot be stored in SAP CRM, but they can be read and evaluated for business purposes without the data having to be transferred to SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI) first for analysis. If necessary, you can send the data forecast during the simulation to SAP NetWeaver BI to perform further, more detailed analyses, or to compare current and planned service data. SAP supplies predefined queries for analyzing the simulated data in SAP NetWeaver BI.
Figure 62: Forecasting: Process Steps in SAP CRM
If necessary, you can send the data forecast during the simulation to BI to perform further, more detailed analyses, or to compare current and planned service data. SAP supplies predefined queries for analyzing the simulated data in BI.
Exercise 8: Creating a Service Plan
Exercise Objectives
After completing this exercise, you will be able to: • Explain the concept of service plans
• Create a service contract with a service plan item • Simulate a service plan
Business Example
Service plans help you to save costs incurred through unforeseen downtimes and increase efficiency, for example, through improved and more comprehensible planning and more efficient scheduling of resources, such as employees or materials.
Task 1:
Examine a special service plan product that will later be used in a service contract (such as a service plan item).
1. In the WebClient UI find and open the service product SPL_SERVER. 2. Which item category group is assigned to the product?
3. Which interval template is assigned to the service plan?
Task 2:
In SAP GUI examine the service interval template that was assigned to the service plan product.
1. Which service plan type is used?
2. Which scheduling type for service interval is used? 3. How frequently will service orders be generated?
4. Which service order template (transaction template) is assigned?
Task 3:
Task 4:
Where in customizing for transaction types can you define that a new transaction of that kind has the characteristic of a template?
1. Check the details of the transaction type SRVT.
Task 5:
Create a new service contract but this time with an additional service plan item. 1. Create a service contract of type Service Contract and enter the following
data:
Description: ##Service Plan Sold–to Party: ##Megastore
Add product SER_022 with quantity 1 and – as a sub–item – the product SPL_SERVER, also with quantity 1.
2. Which item category was determined for the service plan product? 3. Check the service plan data on item level.
4. Is an action scheduled for the service plan item?
5. Release the service contract and check the scheduled actions again. Is there a scheduled action available?
6. Save your service contract.
7. Use the Action Monitor in SAP GUI to generate a follow–up service order. Select the scheduled action using the search criteria Application Key.
Hint: Enter your contract number with preceeding and succeeding wildcard (“*”).
You could alse enter Action Profile SERVICEPLAN or Action Definition CREATE_SERVICEORDER
8. In the WebClient UI go to the assignment block Transaction History of your service contract and check if a service order is displayed.
Have all the products from the transaction template been copied into the service order?
Task 6:
Perform a simulation of service plans.
1. How many service orders do you expect to be simulated when selecting your service contract?
2. Start the service plan simulation and simulate service orders for your service contract.
Use appropriate selection parameters (transaction type Service Process; Simulation of Next 12 Months).
Solution 8: Creating a Service Plan
Task 1:
Examine a special service plan product that will later be used in a service contract (such as a service plan item).
1. In the WebClient UI find and open the service product SPL_SERVER. a) Choose Accounts & Products
Choose Search → Services.
Service ID: SPL_SERVER. Choose Search.
2. Which item category group is assigned to the product?
a) Select the corresponding entry in the result list by clicking the link in column Service ID.
The item category group can be found in assignment block Service Details. It is SPLA (Serv. Plan Products).
3. Which interval template is assigned to the service plan?
a) The Interval template can be found in assignment block Service Details.
Interval template IDES_HT_1 is assigned.
Task 2:
In SAP GUI examine the service interval template that was assigned to the service plan product.
1. Which service plan type is used? a) SAP GUI:
SAP Menu → Service → Maintain Service Interval Templates.
The Service Plan Type is Time–Based 2. Which scheduling type for service interval is used?
a) The Scheduling Type is Cyclical
3. How frequently will service orders be generated?
a) Select the template line and double–click Service Interval in the dialog structure on the left.
A service order will be generated every three months. 4. Which service order template (transaction template) is assigned?
a) Service Order Template (Transaction template) 200670
Task 3:
In the WebClient UI take a look at the service order template (transaction template) which was assigned to the service interval template.
1. Which products are assigned to the service order template? a) Choose Service Orders
Choose Search → Service Order Templates Service Order
Template ID:
200670
Choose Search.
Select the corresponding item and click the link in column Service
Order Template ID.
The products can be found in assignment block Items. Two products are assigned to the service order template: service produckt SRV1_4 and service part R–1130.
Task 4:
Where in customizing for transaction types can you define that a new transaction of that kind has the characteristic of a template?
1. Check the details of the transaction type SRVT.
a) Check the details of the transaction type SRVT (SAP Serv. Ord. Templ).
SAP Menu → Architecture and Technology → Configuration → Customizing
Choose SAP Reference IMG.
SAP Implementation Guide → Customer Relationship Management → Transactions → Basic Settings → Define Transaction Types.
Find and select entry SRVT. Choose Details ( ).
In the General settings observe that the field Template Type is set to D (= Template for Transactions: CRM Online Without Document Flow).
Task 5:
Create a new service contract but this time with an additional service plan item. 1. Create a service contract of type Service Contract and enter the following
data:
Description: ##Service Plan Sold–to Party: ##Megastore
Add product SER_022 with quantity 1 and – as a sub–item – the product SPL_SERVER, also with quantity 1.
a) Choose Service Contracts
Choose Create → Service Contract. Choose Service Contract.
Description: ##Service Plan Sold–To party: ##Megastore Choose the assignment block Items.
Product ID: SER_022
Quantity: 1 Choose ENTER. Higher–Lev. Item: 100 Product: SPL_SERVER Quantity: 1
2. Which item category was determined for the service plan product?
a) The item category can be found in assignment block Items. The item category is Service Plan Item (SPLA).
3. Check the service plan data on item level.
a) Choose Actions → Edit ( ) to navigate to the item details of the service plan item.
Choose the assignment block Service Plan Item Details. Here you can find the scheduling type and service plan type.
Choose assignment block Interval Details. Here you can find the interval value and unit, as well as the template.
5. Release the service contract and check the scheduled actions again. Is there a scheduled action available?
a) Choose Back.
Status: Release
Again go to the item details of the service plan item. Now a scheduled action Planned Service is available. 6. Save your service contract.
a) Choose Back. Choose Save.
7. Use the Action Monitor in SAP GUI to generate a follow–up service order. Select the scheduled action using the search criteria Application Key.
Hint: Enter your contract number with preceeding and succeeding wildcard (“*”).
You could alse enter Action Profile SERVICEPLAN or Action Definition CREATE_SERVICEORDER
a) SAP Menu → Service → Action Monitor
Application Key:
<* your contract number *>