An explanation of the new features of SAP PLM 7.01, including infrastructure requirements and the new front end, SAP NetWeaver Business Client. (NWBC)

1. Assisting Companies Leverage
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A comprehensive guide
to
SAP PLM 7.01
by Shobhit Singhal

2. In This Presentation…
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A quick intro into the different ways of managing
changes in the SAP PLM system
An explanation of the new features of SAP PLM
7.01, including infrastructure requirements and
the new front end, SAP NetWeaver® Business
Client (NWBC)
A look at the security setup required to enable
SAP NetWeaver Business Client
A detailed look at the new Engineering Record,
including configurations, extension capabilities,
and system demos
An analysis of the process route capability, its
strengths and shortcomings
Tips and tricks from SAP PLM 7.01 project
experience
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3. Change Management in SAP
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SAP supports engineering change management
(ECM)
Simple to highly complex change processes
Variety of industries, from normal discrete manufacturing
to medical devices
Via ECM, changes to key product are controlled,
including:
Materials, BOMs, drawings, documents, configurations,
variant configuration, etc.
Workflow enablement
Pushing information to right people at right time
Capture digital signature (FDA 21 CFR Part 11)
Full traceability
Where is the change? What changes are open?
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4. Existing Options for Change Management in SAP ERP
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Most SAP customers have implemented
change management in their landscape in
one of the following ways:
Use change masters
Simple and linear change process with not much
collaboration
Use ECR/ECO
More controlled process following system status
network
Use SAP quality notifications to manage the
content collection and link these to ECR/ECO or
change masters
Most controlled, yet flexible process
Best solution where heavy collaboration is needed
Can help meet compliance needs most efficiently
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5. What’s New with Change Management in SAP PLM 7.01
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A new object called Engineering Record is introduced
which comes pre-integrated with change masters and/or
ECR/ECO
The Engineering Record is intended to:
Replace any paper forms you utilize today to request or process
changes
Replace any SAP quality notifications you may be using in your
change management process
Act as the primary content collection tool for the entire process
Better search and visualization across your SAP system
Ad hoc workflow capability
Better reporting
Better user interface using SAP NetWeaver Business Client
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6. Differences Between SAP 7.0 and 7.01
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Product structure management (streamlined
version of iPPE PVS and assemblies)
Engineering Record for more flexible
ECR/ECO processing
Guided structure synchronization for
transition from engineering to manufacturing
(or other type) BOMs
Manufacturer parts visibility
Support of automotive long material number
Enhancements of engineering desktop
Other PLM Web UI enhancements
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7. SAP PLM 7.02
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Coming attractions: PLM 7.02 – SAP ERP 6.0
enhancement pack 6
Status and release management
New “Status” tab in Web UIs of many objects with more
control over status transitions
Visual assembly
Reduce process time to generate manufacturing BOM
Bill of material redlining
No kidding!
Document browser
Easy DMS type functionality within Web UI
Guided structure synchronization enhancements
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8. PLM 7.01 — Infrastructure Requirements
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PLM 7.01 released as part of SAP ERP 6.0
enhancement pack 5
Latest service packs
Being a newer release, it is always recommended to
have the latest available service packs to avoid
problems
Any required SAP Notes (refer to documentation)
TREX
To enable advanced search capabilities
SAP NetWeaver Business Client (front end)
New functionality of SAP PLM 7.01 Web UI is not
accessible via traditional SAP GUI
E.g., you cannot get to the Engineering Record in the SAP
GUI
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9. New Interface — SAP NetWeaver Business Client
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SAP NetWeaver Business Client is a rich UI client
acting as the main entry point to SAP applications
SAP NetWeaver Business Client comes in two flavors:
SAP NetWeaver Business Client for Desktop
Power user
SAP NetWeaver Business Client for HTML
Casual user
SAP NetWeaver Business Client is also available
inside your
SAP Portal
SAP PLM 7.01 functionality is the same, no matter
which front end is used for access
Each user sees the menu structure based on his/her
SAP security roles
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10. New Interface Overview
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New functionality of SAP PLM 7.01 Web UI is not
accessible via traditional SAP GUI
E.g., You cannot get to the Engineering Record in
the SAP GUI
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11. Quick Search
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Cross-object search functionality with
support of new object types like change
records, product families, recipes,
specifications, etc.
One place to search the complete system
Same look and feel for all major PLM
objects
Search based on a full text search
Flexible and extendable
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12. Quick Search
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13. Object Navigator
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The object navigator is a flexible display tool,
which provides navigation help for complex
object relations on an integrated user interface
Easy way to look up material where-used
information, linked documents, open changes, etc.
The starting point of the object navigator is the
central object that you load in the object
navigator
The system displays the objects that are related to
the central object in the views of the object navigator
You can display a complex structure using the
relations that you have defined for a view in
Customizing for the object navigator
Bread crumb trails provides easy navigation
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14. Visualization
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The first thing you will notice when working with SAP
PLM 7.01 is that visualization is everywhere
Example: With Quick Search you can see a
preview of the part you are looking at
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15. Setting up the SAP NetWeaver Business
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Client Menu Structure
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The SAP NetWeaver Business Client
menu structure depends solely upon
the security roles assigned to the user
Each user needs to have at least one
user role assigned to them that has a
menu structure
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16. What Can Be Added in the User Menu
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You can add various types of links inside
the menu by clicking the Transaction
button
Transaction codes
Web Dynpro screens
Online help links,
e.g., SharePoint
page
Web pages (URLs)
Excelsius
dashboards
Etc.
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17. Translation of PFCG Role into SAP
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NetWeaver Business Client Menu Structure
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SAP GUI
SAP NetWeaver
Business Client

18. Migration of Existing Security Roles
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Clean up of existing security roles may be
required before they can be used inside the
SAP NetWeaver Business Client
The following things need to be taken into
account:
Is the menu needed in SAP NetWeaver Business
Client?
If not needed, then hide the menu
Is the menu cleanly structured and simple to
navigate?
Most standard roles have a menu made up of a list of t-
codes without any structure
Note that unless all roles are cleaned up and
migrated to SAP NetWeaver Business Client,
there may be a two GUI environments during
the transition period
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19. Introduction to Engineering Record
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Engineering Record was introduced as a new object
in EHP5
Engineering Record is a flexible object that controls
the planning and execution of changes
SAP delivers two types of engineering records: ECRD
(date effectivity) and ECRP (parameter effectivity)
The Engineering Record is meant to help group your
change objects and guide them through a controlled
engineering change process
Supports ECR/ECO process
Embedded ad hoc workflow capability using process
route
Integration to Business Context Viewer (BCV) for real-
time reporting
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20. Structure of Standard Engineering Record
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A standard engineering record includes the
following sections:
Header data
Enter description, priority, reason for change, status,
etc.
Auto-generated change master number shows up here
as link
Change item data
Change Items tab
Process Route tab
Notes tab
Documents tab
Administrative Data tab
Authorizations tab
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21. Linking Objects to Engineering Record
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You can add a lot of different objects to the
Engineering Record and include them on your change
Materials
Bills of Materials
Document Information Records
Specifications
Recipes
Etc.
The list of available objects is configurable
You can customize what additional information you
want to capture along with the object
E.g., disposition, material revision, document status, cost,
etc.
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22. Configuration — Where to Find It
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All configuration items related to PLM
7.01 are stacked under Logistics –
General PLM
A few configuration items like Status
Network and Case Type definition are
found under Case Management
All others are listed under Logistics –
General PLM PLM Web User
Interface
Engineering Record-specific
configuration menu can be found under
Objects in PLM Web UI Engineering
Record
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23. Configuration — Initial Setting Up of
Engineering Record
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Two default ECR types are delivered out of the box.
You can create custom ones as required
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24. Configuration — Status Network
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Status Network for Engineering
Record is under the Case
Management customizing
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25. Configuration — Status Based Field Control
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Logistics – General PLM PLM Web
User Interface Objects in PLM Web UI
Engineering Record Status-Based
Field Control
Here you can:
Define the field properties of the header and
change items per Engineering Record status
Fields can be set to Editable, Mandatory, Read
Only, Inactive, or Invisible
Determine the prerequisites to be able to set a
status
E.g., value in a certain field should be within a
certain range in order to be able to set a certain
status
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26. SAP Notes
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Recommendation – keep an eye out for the
latest SAP Notes on service.sap.com (login
credentials required)
From project experience we have found that
there are a lot of SAP Notes being released
in the PLM 7.01 space
These SAP Notes are generally corrections
to bugs found on current implementations
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27. Latest Enhancements Delivered Through
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SAP Notes
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Electronic Signature in the Engineering Record
SAP Note 1643197
Once the Engineering Record transitions to a status
with signature, a pop-up to sign with SAP GUI
password is presented
Electronic Signature in PLM WEB UI Inbox
SAP Note 1643594
The PLM Web UI inbox now supports digital
signatures for all objects (workflow template
WS2000018 is delivered)
Many other enhancements as requested by SAP
customers
Collective SAP Note 1643532
E.g., filter option for search results
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28. Extension Capabilities of the Engineering
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The Engineering Record is a flexible object
that can be extended to meet your process
needs
Some of the possible extensions are:
Add, change, or delete tabs
Add custom fields or links
Link custom screens or reports to the Engineering
Record using either buttons or Additional
Functions dropdown
SAP PLM 7.01 development is based on SAP
Web Dynpro, and developers need to be
familiar with this technology in order to
adjust or enhance the standard objects
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29. Extending the Engineering Record
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The Web Dynpro application for Engineering
Record is /plmu/wda_ecr_app_oif
To make any change to the standard layout
of the Engineering Record, use the
application configuration
/PLMU/WDA_ECR_APP
_OIF_CFG and copy it to create a custom
one
Inside this custom configuration, you can
make the required changes using the
configurator
To add or change tabs, you will need to
create your own Web Dynpro components
and assign them using the configurator
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30. Process Route — Overview
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A process route is a collection of individual
workflow tasks listed in serial, parallel, or both
Process route is a new feature released as part
of EHP5
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31. Process Route — Overview (cont.)
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The Process Route tab is integrated into all of
the Web UI versions of standard objects like
Material Master, BOMs, Engineering Record, etc.
Users have the option to either load a predefined
process route, or create a new one as required
A process route supports ad hoc definition of
processes by end users by letting them:
Insert/change/delete steps
Assign process route containing parallel and/or
sequential tasks
Assign task agents
Easy-to-use user interface
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32. Process Route — Strengths and Weaknesses
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• Strengths
• Reduced configuration and development effort
compared to classic SAP workflow
• Ability to save templates for defined processes
• Allows for a flexible process
• Weaknesses
• Process route is not decision-based. All steps need to
be executed in the same order as listed.
• Does not support loops (e.g., rework or rejection loop)
• Does not support complex agent determination logic
Based on project experience, a process route
may be useful in case of simple business
processes that are not decision- based, need
rework loops, or conditions
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33. What Seems to Work Well and What Doesn’t
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SAP NetWeaver Business Client has been well
received by users across the board
The Engineering Record is a very powerful tool
and it can be extended to capture all required
fields and forms
Once the custom fields and tabs have been
created, it’s now possible for functional
consultants and even the internal IT team to
design the screen layout as they see fit
A process route is a great tool for triggering ad
hoc workflows
Whitelist for Web UI version of Document
Management (DMS) has been known to be a
challenge to set up and roll out
This may have been fixed by some SAP notes
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34. Some Extension Ideas
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Toggle text
This is a great tool to show context help directly
on the screen
Detailed change log for individual fields
Out-of-the-box change log is only for status
changes
An enhanced change log is required for certain
industries with strict compliance requirements
Custom where-used functionality and auto
copying the resulting objects onto the
Change Items tab
If your product structure is too complex, consider
developing a where-used functionality using Web
Dynpro
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35. Some Extension Ideas (cont.)
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Status-based field control
OOTB solution adds some restrictions where the
users are forced to fill out the mandatory fields
before switching tabs
Consider using custom code to perform checks
which reads the configuration table only when
user clicks Save
Attachments
OOTB solution forces users to create DIRs and
then link them to the Engineering Record
You may create a custom screen where users can
pick a file from their local machine and attach it to
the Engineering Record using one click
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36. Additional Resources
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http://help.sap.com/saphelp_ppm50/helpdata/en/16/70
c9004ced4a2ebf141387585a8819/frameset.htm
Configuration help on Engineering Record
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/31
/8dd113b8ba4832aeaafb4b756e1eed/frameset.htm
More details on SAP NetWeaver Business Client
including installation, configuration, and role
maintenance
Johan Malmström, “What’s New for SAP PLM 7.01 in
Enhancement Package 5” (SAP AG, May 2010).
www.adfahrer.com/SIG/Attachments/100511_SAP_
PLM_7_01.pdf
LeverX Webinar Series – Essentials of ECM with SAP
PLM 7.01
http://youtu.be/xkNRZKCsFRY
My website sapplmworld.com
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