In SAP COPA, you can use summarisation level as one of the key measure to improve processing time of reporting, planning and assessments. This will also lead to better system performance. Transaction processing within COPA, initially, reads data from summarisation tables and then from segment tables and then from line item tables. By building summarisation levels (in COPA) tailored for specific transactional processes that involve large volumes of data or large processing times, you can significantly reduce those processing times and improve the performance of the system. Blogs on SAP COPA summarisation: #1 Summarisation levels in SAP COPA – an overview (2012/05/09) #2 Summarisation levels in SAP COPA – define your summarisation level (2012/05/16) #3 Summarisation levels in SAP COPA – build your summarisation level (2012/05/23) #4 Summarisation levels in SAP COPA – Tips to optimise your summarisation level (2012/05/30)

1. Summarisation Levels in COPA
How to improve your COPA
processing time and system
performance using summarisation
levels
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2. Summarisation Levels
• Summarisation is an important feature in SAP COPA that can lead to leaner runtimes of reporting, planning and
assessment transaction processing. This can lead to improved system performance.
• SAP COPA is a powerful multi-dimensional reporting tool. Being multi-dimensional is also a disadvantage; multi-
dimension leads to larger line item tables. Complex requirements within reporting, planning and assessment could
lead to long runtimes.
• To alleviate this problem, SAP delivers segment table/ level that summarises data from line item tables.
Transaction processing in COPA, without summarisation, initially reads data from segment table/ level. This
obviates the need to read or access line item table.
• However segment table/ level is a SAP delivered summarised table. It contains all dimensions that are part of your
Operating Concern. If your user wants to report on only one slice of the universe of data, processing time would
be same as a report that requires a larger slice of the universe of data.
• To further summarise selected data from segment table/ level, SAP users can define custom Summarisation Levels.
These tables can be defined for the smaller slices of data that is required for the specific purpose (i.e. they can be
built fit-to-purpose)
• Transaction processing within COPA now, initially, reads data from summarisation tables. By building
summarisation levels (in COPA) tailored for specific slices of data, you can significantly reduce those processing
times and improve the performance of the system.
• The following slides will explain the concept of summarisation, why it is important to SAP COPA, how
summarisation levels are defined and built, and how they can be used in SAP
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3. This presentation can be read in conjunction with blogs published at www.veritysolutions.com.au
Summarisation levels in SAP COPA #1 – an overview (2012/05/09)
Summarisation levels in SAP COPA #2 – define your summarisation level (2012/05/16)
Summarisation levels in SAP COPA #3 – build your summarisation level (2012/05/23)
Summarisation levels in SAP COPA #4 – Tips to optimise your summarisation level
(2012/05/30)
RELATED BLOGS
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4. TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE
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5. Table Architecture in SAP COPA
Segment
Data is summarised in real time Table/ Level CE3V000 and CE4V000
in segment tables
Data is written at a detailed
level in line item tables
Line Item tables CE1V000 and CE2V000
For the purposes of illustration, only some COPA characteristics are shown in this presentation.
For purposes of this presentation, Operating Concern is V000.
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6. Actual Line Item table (CE1V000) – an example
Document Company Period Customer Product Plant Revenue Profitability
number code Segment
100000001 V001 007.2011 99001 1451 V005 100 1
100000002 V001 007.2011 99002 1451 V005 100 2
100000003 V001 007.2011 99001 1431 V005 100 3
100000004 V001 007.2011 99001 1431 V001 100 4
100000005 V001 007.2011 99002 1451 V005 100 2
100000006 V001 007.2011 99001 1431 V005 100 3
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7. Segment Table CE4V000 and Segment Level CE3V000
Company Customer Product Plant Profitability
code Segment
V001 99001 1451 V005 1
V001 99002 1451 V005 2
V001 99001 1431 V005 3
V001 99001 1431 V001 4
Each unique
combination of
characteristic value
will generate a
unique Profitability
Profitability Period Revenue
Segment.
Segment
1 007.2011 100
2 007.2011 200
3 007.2011 200
4 007.2011 100
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8. How is data written into COPA tables
Search for Yes Update line item
Data posted in Profitability PSG table CE1V000 and
COPA Segment (PSG) in exists? segment level
CE4V000 table CE3V000
No
Update line item
Create a new entry
table CE1V000 and
in segment table
segment level
CE4V000
table CE3V000
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9. How is data read from COPA tables
(without summarisation)
Search for Yes Extract data from
Report executed in Profitability PSG CE3V000 for that
COPA Segment (PSG) in exists? profitability
CE4V000 segment > report
No
Extract data from
Search for data in
CE1xxxx for that
line item table
profitability
CE1xxxx
segment > report
You should design your reports, assessments, and planning transactions to always read segment table / level.
Reading line items could have potentially disastrous consequences to the processing time of the transaction
and the performance of the system
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10. SEGMENT TABLE AND
SUMMARISATION LEVEL
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11. Segment Table and Summarisation Level ..1
• Using data in the previous examples, our client has defined a report on product
profitability by plant. Characteristic “Customer” is not required for this report.
• When this report is executed, SAP will read Segment table/ level. It has to read 4
records in CE4V000 and CE3V000. If the report reads line item table CE1V000, it will
read 6 records.
• Due to the lower number of entries in segment tables and due to the nature of the
structure of these tables and its indexes, it is more efficient to read segment table/ level
• However, the disadvantage of Segment tables / level, in our example, is that their
structure contains all characteristics from your Operating Concern. Our client wants to
report on 2 characteristics product and plant and does not want to report on
“Customer”
• Hence, the report reads far more records than required due to this structure of the
segment table.
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12. Segment Table and Summarisation Level ..2
• Our client can define Summarisation levels / table to suit their needs; in our example,
the client can build a summarisation level with product and plant as characteristics. This
table will have only 3 records.
• When report is executed, SAP will read this summarisation level first. Since the
summarisation level is fit-to-purpose, the processing time of the report is vastly
reduced.
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13. Segment Table summarised
Company Period Customer Product Plant = Profitability
code Segment
Segment Table /
V001 007.2011 99001 1451 V005 = 1
Level
V001 007.2011 99002 1451 V005 = 2
V001 007.2011 99001 1431 V005 = 3
V001 007.2011 99001 1431 V001 = 4
Company Period Product Plant = Summarisation
Summarisation
code Segment
V001 007.2011 1451 V005 = 1
Level
V001 007.2011 1431 V005 = 2
V001 007.2011 1431 V001 = 3
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14. How is data read from COPA tables
(with summarisation)
Search for
Yes Extract data from
Profitability
Report executed PSG summarisation
Segment (PSG) in
in COPA exists? table for that PSG
Summarisation
to report
tables
No
Search for data in
segment table
CE4xxxx
Extract data from
PSG
segment table for
exists? Yes that PSG to report
No
Extract data from
Search for data in
CE1xxxx for that
line item table
profitability
CE1xxxx
segment > report
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15. Technical Architecture (with summarisation)
Summarisation
Data scheduled to summarise Segment
in summarisation tables tables K81xxxx and K81xxxx
Table/ Level
Data is summarised in real time
Segment table /
in segment tables level CE3V000 and CE4V000
Line Item tables
Data is written at a detailed Line item tables CE1V000 and CE2V000
level in line item tables
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16. DEFINE YOUR SUMMARISATION
LEVEL
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17. Define Summarisation Level - ID
Define a numeric ID for your summarisation level. IMG Path
Controlling > Profitability Analysis > Tools > Summarisation Levels > Define summarisation levels
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18. Define Summarisation Level - overview
Once summarisation ID is saved, the overview of the summarisation level is generated. This
overview presents technical information about the summarisation level.
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19. Define Summarisation Level –
Select characteristic to
summarise
Here you select which
characteristics you want to
summarise data by. In our
example, we will select product and
plant. The various entry options are:
1. Wildcard “*” – include all values
2. Specific entry – include only
specific values
3. Hashtag # - include values =
blank only
4. Leave blank – do not include in
summarisation
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20. Define Summarisation Level – define index for summarisation level
If you do not define an index, SAP will propose and generate an index. In most cases, this
index will suffice your needs. If not, you can define a custom index to your summarisation
level.
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21. BUILD YOUR SUMMARISATION LEVEL
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22. Build your summarisation level
• Once you have defined your summarisation level, you can build it with data.
• It is recommended your schedule this build job several times every day (“Refresh”). This
will ensure your summarisation level has the most recent data
• If you need to delete data in your summarisation tables and rebuild them, use the
“Rebuild” option
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23. TIPS TO OPTIMISE SUMMARISATION
LEVEL
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24. Structure your summarisation levels as a “hierarchy”
Company Period Customer Product Summarisation
Summarisation
code segment
Level 2
V001 007.2011 99001 1451 1
V001 007.2011 99002 1451 2
V001 007.2011 99001 1431 3
Summarisation level 2 is “nested” within Summarisation level 1. Hence, when you build
Summarisation level 2, it will read data from Summarisation level 1. It is recommended that
you build “larger” summarisations first.
Company Period Customer Product Plant Profitabilit
code y segment
Summarisation
V001 007.2011 99001 1451 V005 1
Level 1
V001 007.2011 99002 1451 V005 2
V001 007.2011 99001 1431 V005 3
V001 007.2011 99001 1431 V001 4
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25. Re-design your assessments, reports structure
Segment Company Sales Customer Product Plant Product Class Sales Proposed
# code Organisat (derived from Office Cycle
ion Product)
1 Y Y Y Y Y 2
2 Y Y Y Y 2
3 Y Y Y Y Y Y 3
4 Y Y Y Y Y 1
5 Y Y Y Y 1
6 Y Y Y Y Y 1
You should re-design your reports/ assessments/ planning structures such that it reads a smaller number of
profitability segments; and those segments exist as summarisation levels or segment table.
• Segment 4, 6 can be grouped as Cycle 1.
• Discuss with your business whether segment 5 can include “Sales Organisation” as a characteristic. If so, it
can be grouped as Cycle 1. If “customer” is a receiver characteristic, it might be reasonable to include “Sales
Organisation” as a characteristic.
• Segment 1 and 2 can be grouped as Cycle 2. Product Class is derived from characteristic “Product”. Exclude
that characteristic and group Segment 1 & 2 into Cycle 2.
• Segment 3 is similar to Segment 4 except that it has an additional characteristic “Sales Office”. If this receiver
is essential to the segment, then Segment 3 should be assigned to Cycle 3.
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26. More tips
• If you want to read more tips on summarisation levels, read the blog on
our website www.veritysolutions.com.au
– Summarisation levels in SAP COPA #1 – an overview (2012/05/09)
– Summarisation levels in SAP COPA #2 – define your summarisation level (2012/05/16)
– Summarisation levels in SAP COPA #3 – build your summarisation level (2012/05/23)
– Summarisation levels in SAP COPA #4 – Tips to optimise your summarisation level
(2012/05/30)
• You can reach me:
Name: Rajesh Shanbhag
Mobile: +61 (0)4 1123 8873
Email: rajesh@veritysolutions.com.au
• You could leave a comment against the blog
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webpage/ blog page
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