SC constructed a multidimensional database using SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW). This enables different forms of reporting and analysis to be designed for the specific needs of local sales staff. In order to provide detailed and flexible analytical functionality, SC had previously used an aggregate cube. Producing an aggregate cube for a data warehouse that updates daily, however, requires a vast amount of processing resources.

1. we know
they know
Sumitomo Corporation: SAP NetWeaver
Business Warehouse Accelerator allows fast
data analysis to support management decisions
and staff operations
Overview
 The Challenge  The Solution batch processing. The size and
Sumitomo Corporation (SC) is a In 2002, SC constructed a multi- demands of the data often caused
worldwide general trading company dimensional database using SAP delays of batch completion in the
with approximately 150 offices in NetWeaver Business Warehouse beginning or the end of month,
seventy countries. With over 900 (SAP NetWeaver BW). This when the amount of data that
companies and 60,000 employees, enables different forms of reporting needed processing reached peak
the group’s global network operates and analysis to be designed for the levels. SAP NetWeaver BWA
in a large variety of business specific needs of local sales staff. now provides swift and detailed
sectors. As early as 1998, and In order to provide detailed and analyses, reducing the time taken
in order to promote the most flexible analytical functionality, SC by overnight batch processing,
advanced use of information for had previously used an aggregate lightening the load on its servers
the management of its businesses, cube. Producing an aggregate cube and ensuring the same high
SC set up an ‘Information Systems for a data warehouse that updates levels of reliability and analytical
Advancing Committee’. The daily, however, requires a vast performance.
company decided to use SAP ERP amount of processing resources.
as the backbone for this project SC adopted SAP NetWeaver  Key Solution Components
to standardize operations and Business Warehouse Accelerator Industry: Wholesale
optimize data sharing across the (BWA) in order to replace the Applications: SAP® ERP, SAP
group’s vast array of businesses. aggregate cube, speed up batch NetWeaver® Business Warehouse,
While managing to provide processes and retain analytical SAP NetWeaver Business
flexibility for the different variety of functionality. Warehouse Accelerator
businesses that are incorporated Hardware: IBM BladeCenter®
within SC, it also provides large  The Benefits HS21, IBM System Storage®
amounts of data analysis to support SAP NetWeaver BWA reduced the DS4700
management decisions and staff daily burden that the aggregate Services: IBM Business Partner
operations. When analyzing huge cube put on SC’s servers, Sumisho Computer Systems
amounts of data, performance is shortened the time taken by Corporation
key. By adding to SAP NetWeaver overnight batch processing,
BWA, SC has increased the speed and retained system reliability.
of its data analysis, while retaining SC had previously produced an
data quality and reliability. aggregate cube using overnight

2. “We chose IBM as Customer requirements: Improving Business Warehouse (BW), providing
performance without producing an data analysis functions that are
our partner for
aggregate cube accessible by all employees. Accurate
implementing SAP When starting the upgrading project and speedy data analyses on a system
NetWeaver BWA, of SC’s information systems from with as many as 300,000 company
because their pre- 1998, one of the most critical issues codes across the company are very
contract assessment was legacy systems. With the added important requirements.
complication caused by many
allowed us to estimate
disparate systems in each division, The ODS data warehouse is updated
how effective it would gathering consolidated data took daily, and SC originally produced an
be and we relied on long time and required a lot of manual aggregate cube to ensure it could
the know-how they processes. provide high quality data analysis for
had gained from IBM’s its employees. An aggregate cube,
SC first introduced SAP ERP platform however, requires a vast amount of
wealth of experience.”
in order to create a single backbone processing resources, and the data
Akiyoshi Yamada for all its data requirements across the recovery by enterprise system trouble
Team Leader group. It also improved the sharing was very difficult, in some cases
Enterprise Information Management Team
of information by standardizing impossible. Sometimes the overnight
IT Planning and Promotion Department
Sumitomo Corporation processes, systems, and codes, batch processing of an aggregate
and created smoother more efficient cube would also run into the next day.
operational systems. The solution
also offers a variety of data to support SC needed an alternative way of
management decision-making and producing reliable data without
sales activities within each division. aggregate cubes while improving
speed and performance. SAP
A multi-dimensional database, the NetWeaver Business Warehouse
Operational Data Store (ODS), was Accelerator (BWA) provided
also launched using SAP NetWeaver the answer as it could improve
performance without compromising
data analysis and without the need to
reconfigure SAP NetWeaver BW.
“We looked at a variety of software to
replace the aggregate cube, including
other data warehouse packages, but
we decided to use SAP NetWeaver
BWA, because we were already
using SAP NetWeaver BW,” says Mr.
Akiyoshi Yamada, Team Leader of the
Enterprise Information Management
Team in SC’s IT Planning and
Promotion Department.
Selecting SAP NetWeaver Business
Warehouse Accelerator
SC planned to upgrade to the next
version of SAP NetWeaver BW, on

3. which the ODS was based, in 2009. It SAP NetWeaver BWA in May 2009. “SAP NetWeaver
looked at improving performance with After vigorous testing and verification,
BWA works behind
SAP NetWeaver BWA as an alternative the solution went live on time, in
to the existing aggregate cube. December 2009. The large scale
the scenes. It is
However, the company was uncertain implementation inevitably faced a not something that
that the solution could replace the number of technical issues, all of users see. But, by
strong analytical functionality or the which were solved by IBM and SAP, maintaining the same
loads by several thousand concurrent allowing implementation to remain on
level of performance
users. track and on time.
without the aggregate
To settle any doubts, IBM proposed a “There were some technical issues cube, it has shown how
pre-contract assessment to evaluate during implementation, but IBM solved effective it is.”
the performance of the NetWeaver these together with SAP. IBM’s wealth
Hiroshige Taniguchi
BWA. IBM prepared actual data of experience in implementing SAP
Sub-Leader of the Enterprise Information
used in real scenarios and compared NetWeaver BWA and its partnership Management Team and Assistant to the
performance with, and without the with SAP helped to solve the problems General Manager
IT Planning and Promotion Department
aggregate cube, to generate good swiftly, and we were able to complete
Sumitomo Corporation
comparisons. The results were enough the project without any delays,’
to convince SC to use SAP NetWeaver says Mr. Hiroshige Taniguchi, Sub-
BWA. The company found that the Leader of the Enterprise Information
same performance levels of analysis Management Team and Assistant
could be maintained by replacing the to the General Manager of SC’s IT
aggregate cube with SAP NetWeaver Planning and Promotion Department.
BWA.
Dramatically reducing the time of
SC considered a number of overnight batch processing
companies as possible partners to Producing the aggregate cube used
implement the BWA, and decided to take up to eight hours. With SAP
on IBM for two main reasons: IBM NetWeaver BWA, update processing
suggested and carried out a positive has been cut to a maximum of five
pre-contract assessment and, it had hours – almost 40 per cent faster. SAP
a good track record of implementing NetWeaver BWA also makes it much
SAP NetWeaver BWA. easier to recover data, improving
overall efficiency.
“We chose IBM as our partner for
implementing SAP NetWeaver “When there was a problem with
BWA, because their pre-contract producing the aggregate cube
assessment allowed us to estimate at night, we sometimes could not
how effective it would be and we relied recover the data in time for the start
on the know-how they had gained from of business. Now that we are using
IBM’s wealth of experience,” says Mr. SAP NetWeaver BWA, we have TECHNICAL LANDSCAPE
Yamada. several hours between finishing the Servers: IBM BladeCenter HS21, IBM
overnight batch processing and the System Storage DS4700
IBM proposed its pre-contract start of business, so we have time Software: SAP ERP, SAP NetWeaver
assessment in December of 2008. for recovery. Reducing the time it Business Warehouse, SAP NetWeaver
SC and Sumisho Computer Systems takes to process data has been really Business Warehouse Accelerator
Corporation began implementing important,” says Mr. Yamada.

4. Analytical performance has also The company says it plans to provide
proved just as reliable as with the more sophisticated analytical
aggregate cube. Mr. Taniguchi says functions to help managers and local
the lack of complaints from users sales staff in their decision making,
proves how effective it has been. by expanding the scope of the data
gathered on which analysis is based,
“SAP NetWeaver BWA works behind and further refining the granularity of
IBM Deutschland GmbH
the scenes. It is not something that its data.
D-70548 Stuttgart
users see. But, by maintaining the ibm.com/solutions/sap
same level of performance without “The current ODS, which is in IBM, the IBM logo, and ibm.com are trademarks
of International Business Machines Corporation,
the aggregate cube, it has shown how continuous use as part of people’s
registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A
effective it is,” says Mr. Taniguchi. regular work, is matured in some ways. current list of other IBM trademarks is available
on the Web at “Copyright and trademark
We have weeded out some of the
information” at http://www.ibm.com/legal/
Gathering more data and increasing the reporting that was being provided and copytrade.shtml
range of analytical functions that we don’t need currently. Thinking Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Xeon and the Intel Xeon
logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
SC intends to expand the range of about future development, rather than
Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United
analytical functionality it provides, having a larger variety of reports, we States and other countries. UNIX is a registered
trademark of The Open Group in the United
using SAP NetWeaver BWA. The ODS want to rethink reporting in terms of the
States and other countries. Linux is a trademark
provides analytical functionality that underlying data gathering – to provide of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other
countries, or both. Microsoft, Windows, Windows
is in constant use by as many as 7,000 analyses functions that is optimized
NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks of
- 8,000 users, as part of their regular for local sales staff and management Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other
countries, or both.
work. decision making,” concludes Mr.
Other company, product or service names may
Yamada.
be trademarks, or service marks of others.
SC’s medium-term management
This case study illustrates how one IBM
plan looking over the next ten years customer uses IBM and/or IBM Business Partner
technologies/services. Many factors have
says as fundamental principles, ‘to
contributed to the results and benefits
promote medium/long-term growth by described. IBM does not guarantee comparable
results. All information contained herein was
enhancing value creation capability
provided by the featured customer and/or IBM
while reinforcing soundness and Business Partner. IBM does not attest to its
accuracy. All customer examples cited represent
efficiency’ and ‘to promote company-
how some customers have used IBM products
wide growth by leveraging the diversity and the results they may have achieved. Actual
environmental costs and performance
and strengths of our businesses.’ It
characteristics will vary depending on individual
has therefore launched the ‘SIGMA customer configurations and conditions.
Upgrading Project,’ which aims to This publication is for general guidance only.
Photographs may show design models.
achieve a higher level of sophistication
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2011. All rights reserved.
for its business information systems.
© Copyright 2011 SAP AG
SAP AG
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