Reporting and Analysis Practice (8 questions)
#practice #报表分析
| Keyword |
Answer |
| ALV Grid Control |
SAP List Viewer — standardized, interactive table display with sorting, filtering, totaling |
| MMBE |
Stock Overview — displays stock across plants, storage locations, batch, and special stock |
| MB51 |
Material Movement List — shows history of goods movements for materials |
| ME2N/ME2M/ME2L |
PO reports by PO number, material, or vendor |
| LIS Layers |
Info structure → Update rules → Analysis (3 layers) |
| PURCHIS |
Purchasing Information System — LIS component for procurement analytics |
Question 1 - ALV Grid Control [recall]
What is ALV Grid Control and what are its key features?
ALV Grid Control (SAP List Viewer) is a standardized tool in SAP for displaying data in tabular format with interactive features.
Key features:
- Consistent display format across all SAP reports using ALV
- Sorting: Sort data by any column (ascending/descending, single or multi-level)
- Filtering: Apply complex filters to restrict displayed data
- Totals and subtotals: Calculate sums and subtotals for numeric fields
- Column management: Hide, show, reorder, and resize columns
- Layout management: Save and reuse personalized layouts/variants
- Export: Export data to spreadsheet (Excel), Word, or other formats
- Drill-down: Double-click on rows to navigate to detailed information
- Print: Formatted printing of report data
- Aggregation: Summarize data at various grouping levels
ALV provides a uniform user experience across all SAP applications and reports, reducing training effort and improving usability.
Question 2 - Stock Overview Transaction [recall]
Which transaction displays the stock overview across storage locations, and what information does it show?
Transaction: MMBE (Stock Overview)Information displayed:
- Stock quantities organized in a hierarchical tree structure:
- Plant level — Total stock per plant
- Storage location level — Stock broken down by storage location
- Batch level — Stock by batch (if batch-managed)
- Special stock — Vendor consignment, customer stock, project stock, etc.
Stock types shown:
- Unrestricted use stock (available for use)
- Quality inspection stock (pending quality check)
- Blocked stock (restricted from use)
- In-transit stock (being moved between locations)
Key features:
- Enter material number and plant to view stock
- Can also view without plant (cross-plant overview)
- Drill-down capability to see stock at each organizational level
- Shows both quantity and value (depending on configuration)
Question 3 - Material Movement History [recall]
Which transaction shows the material movement history and what can it display?
Transaction: MB51 (Material Movement List)Information displayed:
- List of goods movements for a specified material or range of materials
- Each movement shows:
- Material document number and year
- Posting date of the movement
- Movement type (e.g., 101 = GR, 201 = consumption, 311 = transfer posting)
- Quantity moved
- Plant and storage location (from and to)
- Vendor or customer (if applicable)
- Purchase order number (if movement references a PO)
- User who posted the movement
Selection criteria:
- Material number
- Plant
- Movement type
- Date range (posting date)
- Storage location
- Vendor/customer
MB51 is the primary tool for auditing and tracking the complete movement history of materials in the system.
Question 4 - Finding Open POs for a Vendor [application]
A buyer needs to find all open (not fully delivered) purchase orders for a specific vendor. Which transaction should be used and what are the key selection criteria?
Transaction: ME2L (Purchase Orders by Vendor)Alternative: ME2N (by PO number) with vendor filter, but ME2L is designed for vendor-based searches.
Key selection criteria:
- Vendor (LIFNR): Enter the specific vendor number
- Purchasing Group (EKGRP): Optional — filter by buyer responsible
- Plant (WERKS): Optional — filter by receiving plant
- Document Date range: Optional — limit to POs created within a period
- Scope of List: Select appropriate list scope (e.g., “BEST” for open items)
- Dynamic selections: Can add more criteria like material group, purchasing organization
Finding OPEN POs specifically:
- In the Scope of List field, select a variant that filters for open deliveries
- Look for the “Open” indicator or delivery status column in the results
- PO items with delivery status “Not yet delivered” or “Partially delivered” are open
- The open quantity column shows remaining quantity to be delivered
Result interpretation:
- The ALV list shows PO numbers, items, materials, quantities, and delivery status
- Open POs have quantities where ordered > delivered
- Can sort, filter, and export the results using standard ALV functions
Question 5 - LIS Three Layers [recall]
What are the three layers of the Logistics Information System (LIS)?
The three layers of LIS:1. Info Structures (Communication Layer)
- Central data containers that collect and store statistical data from transactions
- Define which fields (characteristics and key figures) are captured
- Info structures are configured in customizing
- Examples: S012 (Purchasing), S013 (Vendor evaluation)
- Characteristics = dimensions (vendor, material, plant, purchasing group, etc.)
- Key figures = metrics (order value, delivery quantity, lead time, etc.)
2. Update Rules (Update Layer)
- Define how data from business transactions flows into the info structures
- Specify which transactions trigger updates (e.g., PO creation, GR posting, invoice)
- Determine the timing of updates (synchronous or asynchronous)
- Define aggregation rules (how data is summarized)
- Can update at document level or aggregated level
3. Analyses (Analysis Layer)
- Provide tools for evaluating and presenting the collected data
- Standard analyses (predefined by SAP)
- Flexible analyses (user-defined)
- Features: drill-down, sorting, ranking, graphics, ABC analysis
- Users interact with this layer for reporting and decision-making
Question 6 - Standard Reports vs LIS Analyses Comparison [analysis]
Compare standard reports (ALV-based transaction reports) with LIS analyses. When should each be used?
Comparison:
| Aspect |
Standard Reports (ALV) |
LIS Analyses |
| Data source |
Direct from operational tables (online transaction data) |
From info structures (aggregated statistical data) |
| Data timeliness |
Real-time — shows current state |
Depends on update timing — may have a delay |
| Performance |
May be slower for large datasets (reads live data) |
Faster — reads pre-aggregated data |
| Scope |
Single-document focused (e.g., list of POs, list of movements) |
Cross-process analytics (e.g., purchasing trends, vendor performance) |
| Historical analysis |
Limited — primarily current data |
Strong — designed for trend analysis over time periods |
| Aggregation |
Basic totaling and subtotals |
Advanced aggregation across multiple dimensions |
| Drill-down |
To document level (PO, material doc) |
To characteristics (vendor, material group, period) |
| Customization |
Layout variants only |
Flexible analyses can be fully customized |
When to use Standard Reports:
- Operational tasks: Find specific POs, check current stock, review open items
- Document-level queries: “Show me PO #4500000001”
- Immediate answers: Need real-time data with no delay
- Day-to-day operations: Routine purchasing and inventory management
- Examples: ME2N, ME2L, MMBE, MB51
When to use LIS Analyses:
- Strategic analysis: Purchasing trends, vendor performance over time
- Management reporting: Aggregated KPIs, period comparisons, ABC analysis
- Large data volumes: When standard reports would be too slow
- Cross-functional analysis: Viewing procurement data across plants, vendors, and time periods
- Examples: PURCHIS analyses, vendor ranking, purchasing group performance
Key insight: Standard reports answer “what is happening now?” while LIS analyses answer “what are the trends and patterns?”
Question 7 - PURCHIS [recall]
What is PURCHIS and what kind of analyses does it provide?
PURCHIS (Purchasing Information System) is the LIS component dedicated to procurement analytics.
Access transaction: MCCP or through Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → Reporting
Types of analyses provided:
Standard Analyses:
- Purchasing group analysis — Evaluate performance of purchasing groups
- Vendor analysis — Rank and evaluate vendors by various criteria
- Material analysis — Track procurement history for materials
- Purchasing organization analysis — Compare across purchasing organizations
- Plant analysis — Procurement analytics by receiving plant
Key figures available:
- Purchase order value and quantity
- Delivery performance (on-time, complete)
- Price development over time
- Invoice verification statistics
- Lead time analysis
Analysis features:
- Period comparison — Compare data across different time periods
- ABC analysis — Classify vendors/materials by value or volume
- Ranking — Rank vendors or materials by key figures
- Graphics — Charts and graphs for visualization
- Drill-down — Navigate from high-level summaries to detailed data
PURCHIS transforms raw purchasing transaction data into actionable business intelligence for procurement decision-making.
Question 8 - ABC Analysis of Vendors [application]
A purchasing manager wants to perform an ABC analysis of vendors by purchase volume. Which LIS component and analysis type should be used, and what are the key steps?
LIS Component: PURCHIS (Purchasing Information System)Transaction: MCCP or navigate via Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → Reporting → PURCHIS
Steps to perform ABC analysis:
Select the analysis type:
- Choose Vendor Analysis (or equivalent standard analysis in PURCHIS)
- This focuses the analysis on vendors as the primary characteristic
Set selection criteria:
- Purchasing organization — Restrict to relevant org
- Period/Date range — Define the time frame (e.g., last 12 months)
- Vendor range — Optionally restrict to specific vendors
Choose key figure for ranking:
- Select Purchase Order Value (net value) as the key figure
- This ranks vendors by total purchase volume
Execute the ABC analysis:
- Use the ABC analysis function within the results
- Define the classification thresholds:
- A vendors: Top 70-80% of total purchase value (few vendors, high volume)
- B vendors: Next 15-20% of value (moderate volume)
- C vendors: Remaining 5-10% of value (many vendors, low volume)
Interpret results:
- A vendors (small number, high spend) — strategic partners, negotiate contracts, manage closely
- B vendors (moderate number and spend) — maintain relationships, periodic review
- C vendors (large number, low spend) — consider consolidation, simplify procurement
Take action:
- Focus negotiation efforts on A vendors
- Consider vendor consolidation for C vendors
- Set up contracts with high-volume A vendors
| Keyword |
Answer |
| ALV Grid Control |
Standardized interactive list display with sort, filter, total, export |
| MMBE |
Stock Overview — hierarchical stock by plant, SLoc, batch, stock type |
| MB51 |
Material Movement List — history of goods movements |
| ME2L |
PO report by vendor — for finding open POs per vendor |
| LIS 3 Layers |
Info structures → Update rules → Analyses |
| PURCHIS |
Purchasing Info System — procurement analytics (MCCP) |
| ABC Analysis |
Classify vendors/materials into A (high), B (medium), C (low) value groups |
| Standard vs LIS |
Standard = real-time operational; LIS = aggregated strategic/trend analysis |
