Service Pack 9 for Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) 10, Netweaver version, has some notable enhancements that are worth discussing.  There are three that we are speaking of specifically:

• Support for Time Dependent Hierarchy
• Parallel execution framework is implemented
• MDX on HANA

Topics: HANA, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

This is Part 2 of 2 dealing with EPM Integration and Financial Information Management. If you have not read Part 1 discussing Installation, please read it first. For me, there are two components to configuration.  First there are systematic configurations to bring the environment up and running.  And then there is usability configuration to setup user & groups (although it’s part of environment configuration...), but most importantly creating and configuring data store connections.

Topics: Process Improvement, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Cloud, Financial Information Management, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

SAP released the latest update to the Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) roadmap on March 19^th.  Although I won’t go into great detail on the roadmap or discuss every new feature, I will provide high level overview of the highlights as I see them. 

Topics: HANA, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Innovation, Roadmap, Value, Data, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

EPM & BPC Training: Addressing the Needs of Adult Learners

Posted by Jennifer Harlan on Thu, Mar 07, 2013 @ 11:03 AM

No single model of training will be the best for all situations, and different learners have different learning styles. Many educators have only recently started to recognize using multiple learning styles when developing educational materials.

Topics: Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Training, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

Are you Ready for a BPC Upgrade?

Posted by David Meharry on Thu, Feb 28, 2013 @ 11:02 AM

At some point all software will be upgraded to take advantage of new features, new technology, and/or to keep in synchronization with other software which has been upgraded. I’ve assisted a number of companies with BPC software upgrades.  Some have been very quick and efficient while others were not as efficient as they could have been. 

Topics: Process Improvement, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Performance, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

Adding Value Through the Consolidation Process - Part One

Posted by Mike Sullivan on Wed, Feb 06, 2013 @ 09:02 AM

If you have recently evaluated replacing your consolidation system, you were undoubtedly faced with justifying the value of the solution. While a new solution will have a plenty of new features and performance benefits, at the end of the day, the accounting rules that need to be followed and the results being generated are the same. Today, we are seeing more consolidation system evaluations based not only on adding value, but more importantly their ability to integrate with and add value to the overall enterprise performance management (EPM) processes. Implementing SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) is one way of accomplishing that, particularly through the use of business process flows (BPFs).

Topics: Process Improvement, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Consolidation, Value, Data, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

What's in a name? – A history lesson on the many name changes of what is now known as BPC.

Topics: Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Value, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

What is an Installation Consultant? – Part 2: Landscape Design

Posted by Charles Dagaev on Wed, Jan 09, 2013 @ 09:01 AM

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the differences between installation consultants and technical consultants. In Part 2, let's dig into the details of technical landscape design.

Topics: Process Improvement, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Performance, Implementation, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

What is an Installation Consultant? – Part 1: Installation vs. Technical Consultants

Posted by Charles Dagaev on Mon, Jan 07, 2013 @ 09:01 AM

Column5 is the premier partner of SAP in the enterprise performance management (EPM) space, and in the Technical Services team, we often come across competitors' proposals and RFPs that refer to installation consultants as distinguished from a technical consultant role.

Topics: Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Project Management, Performance, Implementation, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

Planning and Forecasting: Category Set-Up for SAP BPC

Posted by David Meharry on Tue, Dec 18, 2012 @ 09:12 AM

Whether you are just getting started with your Business Planning & Consolidation (BPC) implementation or looking for improvements to your existing implementation, best practices are often simple concepts that improve user satisfaction and reduce chances for errors.

Issue: Untrustworthy Data
One of the most frustrating things for users when it comes to planning and forecasting is data that they cannot trust. I recall one example where, after publishing executive reports, an analyst realized that their prior forecast had unexpectedly changed. The bad data was an accidental result of input templates, logic, and security being open for a prior forecast. Fortunately, the data was recovered, but not before a costly loss of time and resources. The error was the result of many manual steps in a process where all steps had to be done in exactly the right order. Prior to the forecast, there was a change in personnel. Even though proper knowledge transfer was done, the error still occurred.

Topics: BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation), Forecasting