Adding Characteristics

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to add the data elements that define the project, such as Events, Schedules, Fees, and Management Events, to a statement of work in SAP Fieldglass.

Characteristics

Adding Characteristics is the fourth step in the creation of an SOW.

The breadcrumb trail of an SOW creation page, showing the fourth step: Characteristics

The bulk of an agreement between a buyer organization and the service provider is comprised of various activities that result in payment or event tracking. These activities are referred to as Characteristics, and they define the project deliverables and specify all the details around what work will be done, when it will be done, and how it will be done, as well as the payment terms.

Within SAP Fieldglass, there are a variety of these activities:

The Characteristics page of an SOW during creation. Along the top of the section are four tabs: Events, Schedules, Fees, and Management Events. The Events tab is selected and below it is displayed a list of events that have been added to the SOW, including 75% Complete, 50% Complete, 25% Complete, and Project Start. For each event the Name, Description, Due On date, Capitalized, Amount, Units, and PO number details are provided. Icons representing edit, copy, and delete appear to the left of each event.
1Events - Milestones that incur costs upon completion, such as project deliverables.
2Schedules - Payments to be made to the supplier according to a preset schedule or date, like a monthly licensing fee.
3Fees- Individual unit-based payments to be made to the supplier on a per item basis, such as a flat amount for every laptop repaired.
4Management Events - Tasks to be tracked that do not incur costs, such as status reports.

Characteristics can be added manually to an SOW during its creation, but to simplify the creation process a library of pre-configured characteristics can be added to an SAP Fieldglass tenant through the admin menu. This is an entirely optional step in the tenant configuration, but for fees or events that are regularly used, it can streamline the process for users creating an SOW. It can also facilitate more accurate reporting if the same characteristics are used across multiple projects, for organizations who include characteristic types in their analytics.

AI-Assisted Event Hierarchy Generation

In addition to the standard Characteristic types listed in the previous section, SAP Fieldglass also offers a more advanced services functionality, called Event Hierarchy, which allows customers to define tiered, hierarchical service deliverables that reflect associated tiers and dependencies with each other from a services line-item perspective, therefore aligning with integrated third-party purchase order procurement systems. It should be noted that for buyer tenants that utilize this configuration and functionality, SAP Fieldglass offers an additional AI-Assisted service to generate Event Hierarchy content from prompts that the buyer selects and from user-entered parameters such as SOW Description, Classification, Duration, and Goals. This service reduces manual effort, improves data consistency and completeness, and saves time and operational cost.

An image of the Services Procurement Management process wheel highlighting the Engage stages and the Add Characteristics step using AI prompts in the SAP Fieldglass UI

Add Characteristics to the SOW

WorkingNet Networking, Inc., a global manufacturer of data networking equipment, is building several new distribution centers in several countries, while simultaneously implementing new logistics software and processes.

Their first new distribution center is being built in the US, in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, so WorkingNet will use the new Atlanta hub as their base of operations. Darius, the Logistics Manager for WorkingNet, is overseeing the project.

Darius has engaged CarryAll Consulting, a logistics design and implementation firm, to help streamline their logistics processes as well as implement the new software.

Together they determine that the project will take six months—from January 1st through June 30th—and will be budgeted at 300,000 USD. A payment of 75,000 will be made at 50% completion, and 100,000 will be paid at completion.

The project also requires SOW Workers which includes a project manager overseeing a team of five implementation consultants. The project manager's hours will be tracked and billed at 125 USD per hour and the consultants at 100 per hour.

In order to engage CarryAll, Darius will use SAP Fieldglass to create the statement of work.

Darius has already chosen the appropriate supplier and SOW template for the SOW he is creating, has added the overall details of the project, has modified the legal clauses, and is now ready to add the SOW Characteristics that will comprise the overall agreement.

Follow along as Darius adds the milestone characteristics to the SOW.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Summary

Characteristics define project deliverables, work details, and payment terms, forming the bulk of the agreement between buyer and service provider.

Key Points:

  • Events: Milestones that incur costs upon completion, such as project deliverables.
  • Schedules: Payments made to suppliers on a preset schedule or date, like monthly fees.
  • Fees: Unit-based payments made to suppliers on a per-item basis, like repair costs.
  • Management Events: Tasks tracked without incurring costs, such as status reports.
  • Adding Characteristics: Can be done manually or using a pre-configured library for streamlined process and accurate reporting.
  • Pre-Configured Library: A library of pre-configured characteristics can simplify the SOW creation process and enhance reporting accuracy.

Learning

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