Cross Topics

To provide you with more flexibility when defining attribute-based filters, many areas across Planner Workspaces now support advanced operators. These operators are available, for example, in the workbook filter, the dialogs for creating and editing variants, and in many components, such as planning views, analytics charts, and product lifecycles. You can use them to define conditions for a set of values, rather than selecting or excluding specific values.

The advanced operators available for attribute-based filtering depend on the attribute's data type. Refer to the table on the right for detailed information

To enable this capability, the dialog for defining attribute-based filters has a new Conditions tab. In this tab, you can select an operator for the attribute, enter a filter value, and add rows for additional values. When you choose OK, the filters defined in the Conditions tab are used. If filter values are also selected in the Selections tab of the dialog, they're ignored and aren't saved. Filters from both tabs can't be used together.

The following conditions apply when using advanced operators:

Only one advanced operator can be used per attribute.

Multiple values can be used for the starts with, ends with, and contains operators. To do so, you must add a separate row for each value.

Only a single value can be used for the greater than, less than, before, and after operators.

The starts with, ends with, and contains operators are case-sensitive (IBP-100 vs. ibp-100). If the case doesn't match existing attribute values, no data is found.

Advanced operators can be used only to filter attribute ID values, even when the linked attribute description is displayed in the Planner Workspace.

When advanced operator filters are applied to components, the following behaviors may occur:

• If a component doesn't support advanced operators, the component can't be loaded. In this case, the unsupported filters must be removed or adjusted for component to be displayed.
• If a component contains filters that use different operators for the same attribute (for example, as a result of merging workbook and component filters), the component can't be loaded. In this case, the conflicting filters must be removed or adjusted before the component can be displayed.
• If a planning filter includes advanced operators that a component doesn't support, the unsupported filters are removed. Supported attributes and operators are applied as an ad hoc filter, but the planning filter isn't applied or selected.

Advanced operators are supported in job definitions only when the underlying job template supports them (for example, Copy Operator or Statistical Forecasting). Otherwise, the unsupported operators are removed from the filter conditions.

You can also now use advanced operators to define the IBPAttributeBasedFilter parameter in URL-based navigations to workbooks and variants. The following operators are now supported, in addition to the existing operators eq and in:

startswith

endswith

contains

greaterthan

lessthan

Example: IBPAttributeBasedFilter=PRDID eq 'IBP-100' and LOCID in ('1720','6210') and ATTR1 startswith 'ABC' and ATTR2 endswith 'DEF' and ATTR3 contains 'GHI' and ATTR4 lt '100' and ATTR5 gt '0'

Previously, managing planning filters required using another app, such as the Planning Filters app. Now, you can manage them directly in the Planner Workspaces app by sharing, editing, deleting, and assigning groups to planning filters.

You can access these capabilities by choosing the new Manage option in the dropdown list on the planning filter selection button in the workbook filter. In the dialog that opens, the planning filters to which you have access are displayed, along with information about who created each filter, whether you have write access to it, and whether its used by other objects in your SAP IBP system.

Assign Group

You can assign one or more planning filters to an existing group, or create a new group for them. This option is available for planning filters you own or that have been shared with you.

Share

You can share a planning filter with individual users or user groups. This option is available only for planning filters you own.

Edit

You can edit the name, description, and group assignment of a planning filter. This option is available for planning filters you own or that have been shared with you with write access.

Delete

You can delete one or more planning filters. This option is available only for planning filters you own. You can only delete filters that aren't used by other objects in your SAP IBP system. If you attempt to delete a planning filter that is currently in use, an error message will appear with a direct link to the Planning Filter app, allowing you to review where the filter is being utilized.

Previously, if you created a new planning filter with the same name as an existing one that you owned, the system required you to enter a different name. Now, if the name you enter is already in use by a planning filter you own, you can choose to overwrite the existing planning filter. This is an option when you create a planning filter using Save or Save As in the workbook filter.

Aggregated constraint key figures can be used in time-series-based supply planning to model constraints at an aggregate level.

In Planner Workspaces, you can now select the (Not Specified) attribute value when filtering the data for these key figures in the workbook filter and in component filters for planning views and analytics charts. (Not Specified) represents the value __NS (two underscores followed by NS), which you set for an attribute when you don't want to specify a particular value.

You can select (Not Specified) only when you filter by attributes that are root attributes of the aggregated constraint key figure's planning level. You must also have proper access to the aggregated constraint key figures that you want to filter.

You can also pass __NS filters using URL-based navigations to workbooks and variants.

To streamline the configuration of contextual navigations in the Planner Workspaces app, as of SAP IBP 2608, the Planner Workspaces - Planning View option in the Manage Navigation to Other Systems app will be removed. Contextual navigations configured using this option will no longer be available in the Planner Workspaces app. We recommend that you stop using this option when you create navigations to other systems. We recommend that you change any existing Planner Workspaces - Planning View type navigations to Planner Workspaces - Contextual Navigation as soon as possible and create the configuration of the contextual navigation in the Planner Workspaces app.

With the upgrade to SAP IBP 2608, any remaining Planner Workspaces - Planning View type navigations will be converted to Planner Workspaces - Contextual Navigation.

We recommend that you change any existing Planner Workspaces - Planning View type navigations as follows:

1. In the Manage Navigation to Other Systems app, select an existing Planner Workspaces - Planning View type navigation and choose Edit.
2. From the Available In dropdown list, select Planner Workspaces - Contextual Navigation.
3. In the Available In field, remove Planner Workspaces - Planning View.
4. Save your changes.
5. In the Planner Workspaces app, open a planning view where the navigation used to be available.
6. In Design mode, right-click any cell and choose Create Contextual Navigation.
7. From the Navigation Target dropdown list, select External Navigation, select the type of navigation, and then select the name of the navigation from the list of available navigations.
8. Complete all the steps of the contextual navigation wizard.
9. If you don't want to change the navigation in every component, from the Available In dropdown list, select Workspace.
10. Save your changes.

In the Alerts tab, the options to expand all, collapse all, and view additional information about an alert have been moved to … (Additional Options). When space is available in this tab, the options for expand all and collapse all can still be displayed in the header.

The option to switch between the Active and Snoozed sections of the Alerts tab is now available only when there are snoozed alerts. If there are no snoozed alerts, only the active ones display.

The option to switch between the Open and Completed sections of the Tasks tab is now available only when there are completed tasks. If there are no completed tasks, only the open ones display.

Additionally, task marked as completed will be moved automatically to the Completed section.

You can now maintain default settings that control whether the version, scenario, or filter of the open workbook are automatically transferred into the parameters of a job.

Enabling these default settings allows planners to run a job immediately using the latest context without extra clicks. Planners therefore do not need to manually select Use Workbook Filter in Planner Workspaces.

Recently used Jobs are a "snapshot" and will always run with the exact same parameters as the previous run. For saved jobs you can define the handling individually, see next slide.

If the user selects Use Workbook Filter the version/ scenario and attribute-based filter will be passed, ignoring what is defined in the job definition or My Job.

When you add a job definition to My Jobs or manage a saved job in Planner Workspaces, you can now do the following:

• Change the job name
• Add a description for the job
• Maintain the default settings defined in the job definition that control whether the version, scenario, and filter of the open workbook are injected into the job parameters. This setting will be also considered when you run the job from the jobs drop down.

You can now work with harmonized scenarios, which allow you to create and manage scenarios that integrate order information and time-series-based data.

The following key improvements were introduced in release 2602:

• Unified lifecycle management for scenarios involving both key figure values and orders
• Consistent support for simulations across scenarios with key figure values and orders
• To avoid the accumulation of unused scenarios in your system, new scenarios are created with a scheduled deletion date

To use harmonized scenarios, your system and your planning area need to be enabled for the new feature. Visit the SAP Help Portalfor details.

You can now promote a scenario directly from the scenarios dropdown without opening the Manage Scenario dialog. To do this, select Scenarios > Promote Scenario. You also have the option to "promote all" changes or just "promote interactive changes". Depending on your system setup you can also choose to provide a reason code and a comment when you promote a scenario.

It is now possible to update your scenario with the latest order-based planning data by synchronizing it with the current version. To synchronize, go to Scenarios > Manage Scenarios, choose the scenario you want to update, and click Sync.

Reviewers can now process approval workflow tasks for the start or end of process steps in the Planner Workspaces app as an alternative to using the My Inbox app on SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). In addition, administrators can now assign a workbook, a version, and optionally a variant to the workflow-related settings (for the step start and end) in the Manage Process Templates app, which has the following advantages:

• Reviewers can, if they wish, navigate directly from the approval tasks in the My Inbox app to the Planner Workspaces app to review the planning context of the assigned workbook, version, and optional variant.
• In the Planner Workspaces app, approval tasks assigned to reviewers are displayed on the Tasks tab, where they can open the assigned workbook, version, and optional variant directly from the task to view the details, decide whether to approve or reject the task, and leave a comment to explain their decision.

If you have collaboration with Microsoft Teams enabled, you can now share reason codes with Microsoft Teams when you save changes to data in your workspace. In the Save Changes dialog box, you have the option to include a team and a channel.

You can select multiple worksheets when you import a template or favorite from the Excel add-in. When you select templates or favorites to import in the Import Planning View from SAP IBP, Add-In for Microsoft Excel window, you can select multiple sheets from the Worksheet dropdown menu. You can modify the planning view in the side panel. You must save the planning views for them to be persisted.

In the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app, you can now restrict the foundational scope of the data that is used to calculate custom alerts by defining attribute-based filters in custom alert definitions. These filters can help improve system response times and can be used in combination with attribute-based filters defined in alert subscriptions to refine the scope of the alert calculation.

The filter defined in the alert definition can be reviewed in the Alert Definition Details dialog.

Example

You define a filter in the alert definition for the Location Region attribute with the value EMEA to restrict the alert to data for this region. To refine the alert further, you then create alert subscriptions with filters for the Location Country attribute, using Germany as the value in one subscription and Spain in another. Since Germany and Spain both meet the conditions of the EMEA attribute-based filter in the alert definition, each subscription narrows the alert's scope to its selected country, and the alert is calculated for each subscription.

When selecting time periods in Planner Workspaces, the calendar control now uses the week numbering defined in the Language and Region tab in the Settings dialog of your SAP Fiori launchpad.

If the calendar control in the Select Time Periods dialog is used to select time periods based on the Planner Workspace's underlying time profile, differences between the time profile and your week numbering setting can lead to unexpected selection results. For example, if the calendar weeks in the time profile start on Monday, but your week numbering setting uses Sunday as the first day of the week, the selected period will span Monday to Sunday while the calendar will display weeks from Sunday to Saturday.

To ensure consistent time period selection, we recommend that you align the week numbering in your launchpad settings with the data in your Workspace's underlying time profile.

• In the Planner Workspaces app, you can now create standalone tasks based on workbook variants that use segmentation. When you do, the filters defined for the segmentation variant at the time of creation are automatically assigned to the task.
• When you share a Workspace that uses a private appearance, the private appearance is displayed to other users. They can also copy the appearance, though it's not displayed in the list in Workspace Settings:Appearance.
• Many dialogs across the Planner Workspaces app have been enhanced to support live search so that results now begin to display automatically as you type.
• By default, the time level "Calendar Week" is selected when defining time periods in the workbook filter. If calendar weeks are not available, the next available time level is automatically preselected.

SAP Integrated Business Planning, AI-assisted inventory optimization analysis now provides insights into how the immediate upstream and downstream nodes in your supply chain network impact the safety stock levels for the product-location you're analyzing.

By situating the safety stock within its network context, this enhancement supports a deeper investigation of safety stock drivers across multiple stages of your supply chain.

If your planning area is based on the Integrated Business Planning (I_SAPIBP2) sample planning area, you can now display procurement-related data in charts in the Supply Chain Network app.

With this enhancement, you can visualize and analyze the entry point of supply (such as components or raw materials) from unspecified vendors within the flow of your supply chain network.

As of SAP IBP 2602, the Inventory Analysis app is deprecated and will be removed from the SAP Fiori launchpad in SAP IBP 2608. To prepare for the removal, we recommend that you start using the Planner Workspaces app for your inventory scenario planning as soon as possible.

As with the Inventory Analysis app, you can use the Planner Workspaces app to create, manage, run, and analyze scenarios that explore the impact of changes in key variables, such as service levels, lead times, and carrying costs, on your inventory plans.

The Minimum Number of Periods with Sales setting has been moved to a more intuitive location in the Forecast Error Profiles app.

This change improves the user experience when configuring forecast error profiles and supports more accurate and consistent forecast error calculation results.

IBP Help Link

Outlier Correction: Enhanced Outlier Smoothing for Intermittent Time Series

When using automated outlier correction algorithm or the smoothing method is selected for outlier correction, the system now checks whether the time series contains more than two zeros. If more than two zeros are found, the system calculates correction values based only on the non-zero values when smoothing the data. Previously, intermittency patterns were not checked and correction values were calculated based on all values in the time series. The new approach can result in more accurate forecasts

PLM: "Created By Information" in Product Lifecycle Management Apps

You can now display "Created by" information for product assignments and forecast dates in the Manage Product Lifecyle app and when you use the Manual Forecasting app. This information is hidden by default, but you can select it from the Settings menu. In addition, you can also filter product assignments and forecast dates by created by information.

PLM: Defining Attributes for Reference Product Search

In the Settings for Product Lifecycle app, you can now define which attributes of the Product master data type are used to calculate matching values in the reference product search of the Manage Product Lifecycle app. This can help planners find the reference product that is best suited.

01 Process Management

02 Approver Workflows

Managing Approval Tasks in Planner Workspaces

03 Collaboration

Extending the Use of Microsoft Teams

04 Driver-Based Planning

Performance

• Revised step settings section with more fields for configuring the step start and step end conditions.
• You can now assign workbooks, variants and versions to the approval workflows for starting or signing off a process step.

• The collaboration groups connected SAP IBP with the external social collaboration platforms SAP Jam, SAP Build Work Zone, advanced edition, and Microsoft Teams.
• The integration with the external social collaboration tool serves two purposes:
  • Enable collaborative work to complete SAP IBP tasks
  • Inform the planning community and stakeholders of the S&OP through update messages pushed from SAP IBP
• The section for connecting a process step to the right community was updated. The goal was to introduce an equivalent capability for Microsoft Teams. Now you can select a Microsoft Teams channel to send process-related update messages from SAP IBP. A different channel can be used for each process step.

This slide is a recap, as the capability for process automation to send messages to MS Teams was shipped in the previous version in 2511. How we achieved to have equivalent capability for MS Teams as with WorkZone is in other parts of IBP, where we can now also send messages to a channel in Teams.

• You can now make approval decisions for supply chain management without needing to switch context and go to the My Inbox app of SAP Build Process Automation.
• SAP IBP approval tasks can also be managed in the Planner Workspaces app.
• Approval workflows require SAP Build Process Automation. SAP IBP leverages that workflow engine.

• Click the approval task name to display the details.
• Click an approval task to open its business context (workbook, variant and version).
• You can approve or reject approval tasks.
• You can enter a comment when you approve or reject approval tasks.
• Display recently processed approval tasks on the Completed tab.

• As the S&OP process progresses, update messages are sent automatically by SAP IBP to the Microsoft Teams channel that you assigned for each step in the process template.
• Other SAP IBP messages can be sent by planners to a target channel when the user:
• • schedules a background job
  • saves changes in the Planner Workspaces app or IBP Excel Add-in

• The performance has been improved for the display of the drivers in the summary view.
• The column filters have been removed from the summary view to enable faster loading of the drivers. The system displays the first 1,000 drivers based on your filters. As the user scrolls further down, an additional set of drivers are read and displayed.
• If required, administrators can deactivate this feature and restore the column filters by using the new global configuration parameter SUMMARY_LOADING_LIMIT.

The new application job Data Integration Using SAP Cloud Integration (CI) enables scheduling integration flows (iFlows) in SAP Cloud Integration from IBP using an application job.

The technical connection from IBP to CI is realized through the new communication scenario SAP_COM_0B05.

The application job can also be started from the IBP Excel UI or the Planner's Workspaces app.

The application job will start an SAP-delivered technical iFlow through the HTTP adapter, which will start the target iFlow asynchronously through JMS. Entitlement for JMS, included in the Standard Edition or higher of SAP Integration Suite is currently a pre-requisite.

Two different connections are required from IBP to CI:

• An API connection to read metadata, status, and log information
• An HTTP connection to start the scheduler flow

The new communication scenario SAP_COM_0B05 has two corresponding outbound services. A BTP instance and an IBP communication arrangement must be created for both. The two arrangements must get the same value for the custom property System Name. The application job will find the two relevant arrangement based on that value.

You can call all ProcessDirect-enabled iFlows from the application job. For smooth operation:

• The ProcessDirect Address should either be externalized or should follow the naming convention: replace spaces in the iFlow name with '_' characters
• Header parameters corresponding to externalized parameters should follow the naming convention: remove spaces in the parameter name

To call the application job from Excel or the Planner's Workspaces app, you must save a template variant with the Planning Area parameter set to the same planning area you work with. The planning filter ID and user permission filter are not taken into account - planned for future development.

SAP IBP-delivered iFlows can be called directly, but we recommend creating a dedicated wrapper iFlow on top to hide parameters you don't want to expose through the application job.

Status mapping from iFlows to application job statuses:

• The application job will have an In Process status as long as any iFlow in the started iFlow chain (with the same correlation ID) is running
• Successful iFlow runs will result in a Finished job status, iFlow runs with an error status will result in a Failed job status
• iFlow runs with Escalated status will result either in Finished or User Error status depending on the setting of the Treat Escalation as Success parameter.

Log attachments from CI will only be shown for selected SAP-delivered iFlows in the IBP application logs for data privacy reasons.

Note

In the MM Purchasing component, a contract is a type of outline purchase agreement against which orders can be issued for agreed materials or services as and when required during a certain overall time-frame.

If a contract with one of your principal vendors exists for a material, you can create purchase orders referencing this contract.

The contract consists of items defining the individual materials, material groups, or services with prices and in many cases quantities.

An item is assigned to an item category, which defines the type of procurement (e.g. item category K for consignment, or L for subcontracting).

Quantity contracts

Use this type of contract if the total quantity to be ordered during the validity period of the contract is known in advance. The contract is regarded as fulfilled when release orders totaling a given quantity have been issued.

Value contracts

Use this type of contract if the total value of all release orders issued against the contract is not to exceed a certain predefined value. The contract is regarded as fulfilled when release orders totaling a given value have been issued

Behavior similar to Purchasing Info Records

If plant not maintained in contract (only on Purch. Org level), Transportation Lanes created for all plants assigned to the Purch. Org.

New checkbox in CFM1 to create Integration Model for MM contracts

Purchase Contracts will serve as an additional source of supply in SAP IBP beside MM Info Records

Purchase Contracts with item category standard, subcontracting and consignment are supported

Transportation Lanes based on Contracts have higher priority than Info Record based ones

Subcontracting Contracts should have an Info Record connected to determine Production Version

Available in I_SAPIBP2 and SAP7F based planning areas

Orders created with reference to a contract in SAP IBP will be linked to the contract in SAP ECC/SAP S/4 as well

There is no check against the total quantity or value of a contract item

• Vendor - Plant - IBP2511
• Vendor - MRP Area - IBP2602
• Plant - Plant - IBP2511
• Plant - MRP Area - IBP2602
• Vendor - Subcontractor (direct shipment) - IBP2602

• Vendor - Plant - IBP2511
• Vendor - MRP Area - IBP2602

• Subcontractor - Plant / MRP Area* (regular subcontracting) - IBP2511 / IBP2602
• Subcontractor - Subcontractor (Multilevel / Nested Subcontracting) - IBP2602

• /IBP/API_BATCH OData API provided for extraction and maintenance of batches
• Characteristics-based Planning ( CBP ) attribute values can also be specified
• Communication scenario SAP_COM_0951 ( IBP External Stock and Batch Data Integration ) includes this API
• Harmonized planning area ( SAPIBP2 ) is also supported
• KBA Note with Bruno collection will be provided soon
• Technical details are available on the SAP API hub

Microsoft announced that in Microsoft 365 and Office 2024, the settings for ActiveX controls have changed to be disabled by default. For more information, see the Microsoft support pages

Since version 2511.2.0 of the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel, it is no longer required to have ActiveX controls activated to use the Excel add-in.

However, the sample VBA planning view templates that were offered by SAP before August 2025 contained ActiveX controls. This means, if your planning view templates and favorites are based on these sample VBA templates, you either have to keep ActiveX controls activated or migrate the templates and favorites before deactivating ActiveX controls. Otherwise, your users can no longer use the VBA chart and will get VBA error messages displayed when opening such kind of planning views.

Note: If you keep ActiveX controls activated, you aren't impacted at all. You can keep working with your planning view templates and favorites as before, even with versions 2511.2.0 or newer of the Excel add-in.

To deactivate ActiveX controls for your users there are different cases that need to be taken into account which depend on your templates and favorites and if those contain ActiveX controls or not:

If you do not have any VBA chart from the former sample VBA template and no custom VBA code with ActiveX controls included in your templates and favorites, we recommend the following:

1. 1. Ensure that ActiveX controls are activated
   2. Open all templates and favorites with version 2511.2.0 or newer in order to have ActiveX controls in the background automatically migrated. For more information, see Automatic Migration of Templates, Favorites, and Formatting Sheets
   3. Update the templates and favorites in this version using the Update function
   4. Make sure all your users have 2511.2.0 or newer installed
   5. Deactivate the ActiveX controls for all users
2. See also Migrating Templates and Favorites Without ActiveX Controls

• If you do have the VBA chart from the former sample VBA template or custom VBA code with ActiveX controls included in your templates and favorites, we recommend the following:
  1. Ensure that ActiveX controls are activated
  2. Open the templates, replace the ActiveX controls by Form controls by using one of the following options:
     • New: Use the Migrate this Workbook function in version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in
     • Download the new sample template based on Form controls (see SAP Note 1790530) and newly create your templates based on this sample.
     • Manually exchange the ActiveX controls by Form controls. (This might be required if you have customized templates.)
  3. Upload or update the adjusted templates with version 2511.2.0 or newer using the Add or the Update function
  4. Inform your business users that they need to create new favorites based on the adjusted templates. Alternatively, give them access to the workbook migration feature so they can migrate their favorites.
  5. Make sure all your users have 2511.2.0 or newer installed
  6. Deactivate the ActiveX controls for all users
• See also Migrating Templates and Favorites with ActiveX Controls

To ease the update of planning view templates and favorites that contain ActiveX controls a new function is introduced with version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in.

You can use the Migrate this Workbook function in the ActiveX Migration group of the SAP IBP ribbon to replace the ActiveX controls included in the open workbook by Form controls. During the migration, the underlying VBA code included in the workbook is adjusted as well.

The migration replaces all ActiveX controls available in any worksheet of the workbook hidden or not. ActiveX controls belonging to the former sample VBA templates and any other ActiveX controls that you might have added to customize your templates and favorites are replaced.

You will be notified once the migration is completed. Please check if the controls such as buttons, checkboxes, or list boxes are working as they should, before adding or updating the template or favorite.

Note: It is not guaranteed that the migration will work for customized templates.

For the migration to work you need to have ActiveX controls activated.

Additionally, the Microsoft Excel setting Trust access to the VBA project object model needs to be activated to be able to migrate the open workbook and change the underlying VBA code.

You'll find the setting in the Excel Options under Trust Center > Trust Center Settings… > Macro Settings > Developer Macro Settings.

If the settings are not activated a related error message is displayed.

If you have ActiveX buttons with pictures included a screenshot is taken to create the new button. To avoid that the pictures are blurred, please go to your Display settings and set the Scale setting to 100% before using the Migrate this Workbook function.

If they are still blurry, you could also exchange the pictures by new ones doing a right click on the picture and choosing Change Picture from the Microsoft Excel context menu.

For this function to be available in the SAP IBP ribbon, you need to have write permissions for the ActiveX Migration (IBP_AXMIGR) restriction type which belongs to the Basic Planning Tasks (SAP_IBP_BC_EXCEL_ADDIN_PC) business catalog.

In the restriction type, you can define the planning area for which the user should be able use the ActiveX migration.

For administrators who have write access set to Unrestricted, the function will be available without the need to change the restrictions in the related business role.

With SAP IBP 2602, the the generative AI Feature SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel, AI-assisted Planning is generally available for all customers.

To be able to use this feature the following prerequisites need to be fulfilled:

• agree to the SAP AI Units Supplement
• purchase the new AI Unit SKU 8019164
• license the Joule Premium for Supply Chain Management package, which costs 8 AI Units per user per month

For further details related to the pricing of Premium AI features, see 2025 SAP Business AI Commercialization

Please consult your account executive for more information.

Additionally, you need to provide your users the required permission, so that the Planning Assistance functions show up in the Excel add-in. For this add the Natural Language Services (SAP_IBP_BC_DS_NLI_PC) business catalog to their business roles, and maintain the EXCEL value for the Generative AI Features restriction type.

SeeAI-Assisted Generation of Formulas in SAP IBP

SeeAI-Assisted Generation of Formatting Rules in SAP IBP

As of SAP IBP 2602, new time-series-based scenarios created in the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel will have a deletion date. When you create a new scenario, the system schedules it for deletion 365 days after creation by default. The scenario is automatically deleted after this period. Existing scenarios that have been created before SAP IBP 2602 are not impacted.

Users working with version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in will see the deletion date (Deleted On:) when creating new scenarios. However, they will not be able to adjust the date in the Create Scenario dialog and will also not be able to check and adjust the deletion date in the Manage Scenario dialog in the Excel add-in. With SAP IBP 2602, users can only check and adjust the deletion date in the Manage Scenario function in the Planner Workspaces app, if they have the required permission.

• Users working with versions of the Excel add-in older than 2602.2.0 won't see the deletion date when creating scenarios. However, after the upgrade to SAP IBP 2602 newly created scenarios will be deleted 365 days after creation, independent from the Excel add-in version that is used. Inform your users, if they used to work with scenarios longer than 365 days.
• The new global configuration parameter DEFAULT_EXPIRY_DAYS_TS allows you to adjust the default deletion date. With SAP IBP 2602 it is set to the maximum allowed value which is 365 days.
• It is planned to support the enhancements related to harmonized scenarios (see What's New in SAP IBP 2602: Introducing Harmonized Scenarios) with version 2605.2.0 of the Excel add-in. Also, the deletion date is planned to be made available in the Manage Scenario dialog with this version.

As of SAP IBP 2602, Microsoft Teams can be used as collaboration tool to share information (reason code and comment) when saving data changes or when running application jobs in the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel.

If Microsoft Teams is enabled as collaboration tool, you can share reason codes and comments to team channels when you save data changes or run application jobs. You can select the team channels from the dropdown in the Share With section of the respective dialog.

Note: You may be required to renew your access token. To do this, go to your Fiori user settings, choose SAP Integrated Business Planning, then select Get Access from the Integrated Microsoft Teams Features section.

With version 2508.2.0 of the Excel add-in, a new logic for cascading filters and the Advanced filtering mode was introduced when using I_SAPIBP2-based planning areas. With the upgrade to SAP IBP 2602 it is also possible to use the new logic for planning areas other than I_SAPIBP2.

To enable the changed logic in your system, you need to change the global configuration parameter EXCEL_FILTER_LOGIC from the default value 1 to 2.

When using Excel add-in version 2508.2.0, you'll notice the following:

• the Cascading Filter is evaluated based on existing planning objects or modeled master data relations depending on where you use cascading filters.
• the Advanced filtering mode in master data workbooks is evaluated based on modeled master data relations.
• you can use the Processing Information for Advanced Filtering Mode button to check how the system processes the conditions you specified for the Advanced filtering mode.

When using Excel add-in version 2511.2.0 or newer, you can use the filter operators, that have been introduced with this version (Starts With, Ends With, Contains, Less Than, Greater Than) also in the Cascading Filter and when using the Advanced filtering mode.

By default the Cascading Filter and the Advanced filtering mode is evaluated based on attribute IDs as before (Value set to 1). If you change the parameter to 2 the evaluation is based on existing planning objects and master data relations.

In planning views, attribute values are filtered based on existing planning objects. When you work with master data (for example in master data worksheets), attribute values are filtered based on modeled master data relations. For a detailed description of how the attribute values are determined, you can click on the info icon.

When you use the workbook filter in the master data workbook, you can apply the cascading filter based on master data or based on planning objects. For the worksheet filter, however, the evaluation mode is derived from the worksheet type (Master Data or Planning Object) as shown in the previous slide.

• When selecting the Advanced filtering mode for filtering master data types in the master data workbook, the filter is evaluated based on modeled master data relations and considers up to four relationships between master data types.
• The following relationship types are considered in both directions:
• Attribute checks
• Dependencies between the key attributes of compound and simple master data types
• Dependencies based on the use of reference master data types
• See Advanced Filter Based on Modeled Master Data Relations for details.

After entering the filter conditions in the master data worksheet, you can use the Processing Information for Advanced Filtering Mode button to check how the system processes the conditions you specified and the number of records it finds.

• If you have enabled the new logic for the filter evaluation, the additional filter operators for attribute-based filters introduced with version 2511.2.0 of the Excel add-in (Starts With, Ends With, Contains, Less Than, Greater Than) are available in the Cascading Filter and when you use the Advanced filtering mode in the master data workbook.
• See What's New in SAP IBP 2511: Advanced Operators for Planning Filters in SAP IBP, Add-In for Microsoft Excelfor details.

As of version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in, Delete buttons are available in the Organize dialog for attribute-based filters, value-based filters, planning view templates and favorites, as well as master data favorites.

When choosing to delete one of the items, those are marked for deletion and will only be permanently deleted when confirming by choosing OK.

You can only delete items that you own, shared items cannot be deleted.

Different from previous versions it is possible to delete a folder including all items. Not only the folder, but all included items are then marked for deletion.

Note: A folder can only be deleted in case no shared items are included.

For planning view templates, favorites and master data favorites the Delete function has been removed from the respective dropdown in the SAP IBP ribbon. As of version 2602.2.0, the Organize function needs to be used for deletion.

With version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the names of the filter operators for attributes from type TIMESTAMP have been changed. Instead of Less Than and Greater Than, they are now called Before and After.

In the Job Definitions app, when you create job definitions available in the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel, you can now define whether the version, scenario, and filter of the open planning view are automatically transferred into the parameters of a job.

Enabling these default settings allows planners to run a job immediately using the latest context without extra clicks. Planners therefore do not need to manually select Use Planning View Context.

When planners are saving a job to My Jobs, they can also define if the version, scenario or filter should be automatically taken over from the planning view context.

You can now use ad hoc filters including advanced filter operators, such as Starts With, Ends With, Contains, Less Than, or Greater Than, if the job template supports those operators (Copy Operator, Statistical Forecasting).

• When you copy settings from one worksheet to another using the Copy Worksheet Settings option in the Create Planning View or Edit Planning View dialog, you can also copy layout and alert settings. In addition, we've split the filter settings into attribute-based and value-based filters, so you can decide which type of filter to copy. In the past, it was only possible to copy all filters.
• Note:
• The Layout settings can only be copied in the following situations:
  • the attributes are also copied or are the same on the From and To worksheet.
  • the attributes on the From worksheet are located on the same axis and in one block.
• When copying alerts and the alert key figure does not exist on the To worksheet the alert is not copied.

• As of version 2602.2.0, when using the Quick Edit Planning View options in the context menu for adding attributes before or after an element, you'll see the selected attributes displayed to the right. You can change the order in which they are added to the planning view by using the arrow buttons or drag and drop.
• The same applies to the Drill Down > By Attribute... Function in the context menu.

As of version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the settings to shift a planning view have been removed from the Report Editor dialog and have been added to the Display tab in the Options… under Settings in the About group of the SAP IBP ribbon.

Note: If you previously selected to shift the planning view by 1, no gap was included between the headers and the data area. So, the value for the gap is 0 and not 1. When opening the Options for existing planning views the values are automatically adjusted, as shown on the following slide.

The Report Editor function is still available in the Template Admin group but only includes the Member Sorting and Grouping functionality. The Report Editor function is planned to be removed in an upcoming release.

The new settings in the Options dialog allow you to:

• Include or remove gaps (additional columns) between the row headers and the data area.
• Include or remove gaps (additional rows) between the column headers and the data area.
• Move the planning view in the Microsoft Excel worksheet by changing the first cell in the data area (K6 in this example). There are no arrow buttons to change the cell value, but you can use the arrow keys instead.

Note: You can also insert or remove columns or rows between headers and the data area by using the Insert or Delete function of Microsoft Excel. The respective IBP settings in the Options are adjusted accordingly.

To be able to use the shifting settings in the Report Editor function you needed to have the restriction value PV_TMPLT (Planning View Template) assigned in the restriction field Administration Functions.

The settings in the Options, however, are available to all users with business catalog Basic Planning Tasks (SAP_IBP_BC_EXCEL_ADDIN_PC) assigned.

With version 2602.2.0, it is no longer possible to shift the row axis by a negative value.

This option moved the row header to the opposite side of the row axis, displaying the planning view from right to left if it was previously displayed from left to right, and the other way around.

Note: If some of your planning views included in favorites or templates are shifted by a negative value, those can still be opened with version 2602.2.0. When opening the Options and trying to choose OK an error message is shown.

Use the native Microsoft Excel right-to-left functionality, if you want to display a planning view from right to left.

As part of the SAP IBP release 2602 we will raise the minimum version to 2408.2.0 (version six versions before 2602).

Please note: Since SAP IBP 2311, we are raising the minimum Excel add-in version with each release by one major version in a rolling manner. This means once SAP IBP 2605 is released the minimum required Excel add-in version will be 2411.2.0 and so on.

Maintenance: As before, Excel add-in versions are in maintenance and supported for 6 months after their release. This means that the current and previous versions of the Excel add-in are in active maintenance and will receive updates. In certain cases, depending on the urgency of the fix, updates will be only applied to the current version. 

Compatible: Users can use the current version or six prior versions of the Excel add-in. As a consequence, upgrading just once a year is still possible. Nevertheless, we propose a regular upgrade schedule to keep up with security, stability, performance and feature enhancements.

Incompatible: Affected versions of the Excel add-in are incompatible. The installation of a newer version is mandatory.

Mitigation:

• If not done yet, download and roll-out a newer version of the Excel add-in to your user base.
• Check in the Login Statistics for Excel Add-in app to see which of your users are affected and notify them to upgrade their Excel add-in in time. 

By using the global configuration parameter MINIMUM_ADDIN_VERSION you can let the system bring up a warning message each time a user logs on with a version older than the specified one. To do so, change the value of the parameter to, for example 2408.2.0. 

In November 2025, Microsoft released .NET 10, see Microsoft .NET Support Policy. With version 2602.2.0 or any other supported version of the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel you can also install and use .NET Desktop Runtime 10 .

.NET 8 will be further supported until November 2026, therefore we do not yet raise the required version of .NET Desktop Runtime for the Excel add-in yet. For version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the required .NET Desktop Runtime version is .NET 8.

Note:

• Please always make sure to check the version note for the Excel add-in version you are using before rolling out a new major version of .NET.
• Before upgrading to a newer version of .NET Desktop Runtime than .NET 8, make sure to update your outdated templates and favorites, see following slides.

Planning view templates and favorites that have last been updated with a version of the Excel add-in older than 2111.2.0 can't be opened when using .NET Desktop Runtime 9 or newer. Therefore, we recommend updating them as soon as possible.

.NET 9 was released in November, 2024 and will only be supported for 18 months, so it can happen that you don't use it at all. However, when the support of .NET 8 ends in November, 2026 you will need to switch to version .NET 10 and face the restrictions which were introduced with .NET 9.

In general, it is good practice to update your planning view templates or favorites from time to time for the following reasons:

• To include new features that are only available with newer Excel add-in versions
• To improve the performance when opening templates and favorites
  • Sometimes migration steps are done in the background when opening old templates with newer versions (for example the migration of old formatting settings to newer formatting settings)
  • As of version 2405.2.0 of the Excel add-in the size of the workbook is reduced when updating templates or favorites

With version 2411.2.0 and newer, a warning message is displayed when you log on, showing the number of outdated templates and favorites in your system and planning area that have last been updated with a version of the Excel add-in older than 2111.2.0.

You can decide whether you want to start the update process directly, which may take some time depending on the number of templates and favorites, or whether you start it the next time you are logging on.

It is possible to cancel the update process at any time. If you stop the process, you won't need to update the templates and favorites again for which the update was finished. You can update the remaining templates and favorites the next time you log on.

Open a case on SCM-IBP-XLS-TF in case the update function does not work as it should.

To be able to use this function, you need to have write permissions for the Migration Planning View Templates and Favorites (IBP_WBMIGR) restriction type which belongs to the Basic Planning Tasks (SAP_IBP_BC_EXCEL_ADDIN_PC) business catalog.

In the restriction type, you can define the planning area and the workbook type (templates or favorites) for which the user should be able run the update process.

For administrators who have write access set to Unrestricted, the function will be available without the need to change the restrictions in the related business role.

Please note: If you only have the permission to update templates but not favorites, the message lists 0 favorites that need to updated, even if there could be favorites that need to updated in the system and planning area.

With an upcoming version of the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel, we plan to deprecate the Member Sorting and Grouping function in the Report Editor. Please make sure that you adjust your planning view templates and favorites in due time so that they use the alternatives that are already available instead of the deprecated functions. Planning views will keep working after the deprecation, but functions relying on the deprecated member sorting and grouping will no longer work.

You can use the following functions:

• For member sorting, use other sorting capabilities, such as attribute-based sorting, and value-based sorting, as well as the sorting provided by Microsoft Excel.
• For creating formulas set up SAP IBP formulas in the new Formulas tab of the Create/Edit Planning View dialog or in the Local Member tab of the Report Editor, when using older versions of the Excel add-in.

Grouping and sorting of members based on properties is planned to be deprecated completely.

In the release in which we remove member sorting and grouping, we also plan to deliver new functionalities with which some of the existing capabilities of member sorting and grouping can be replaced more easily.

The What's New webinars as well as the What's New documentation on the SAP Help Portal at http://help.sap.com/ibp are available some weeks before the actual release date.

None of the material presented include any indication of licensing required, which you can discuss with your individual account team. You can also visit "Applications and Features of SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain"

and select the latest version available for more details or get in contact with your Customer Success Partner.

> Customer Influence!

The new Permission Filters for Orders and Stock app allows you to restrict the data that is available to users in the Projected Stock and View Stock Details apps, which:

• Improves security of your supply plan
• Tailors views to relevant data, reducing clutter

The Manage User Permissions app provides an overview of assignments. You can assign to users directly, via user groups or business roles with restriction type: Permission Filters for Orders and Stock (IBP_ORDPFR).

With the upgrade to 2602, users have unrestricted read access by default, and you can apply read access restrictions as required.

In the Job Definitions app, you can now maintain default settings that control whether the version, scenario, or filter of the view context are automatically transferred into the parameters of a job.

• Reduces the manual effort for planners
• Granular control per parameter type
• Full control to override the default for saved jobs

When managing My Jobs, you can now also change the job name and add a description.

You can now use planning filters with advanced operators with Statistical Forecasting scheduled in the following places:

• Application Jobs app
• Run Job dialog in Monitor Application Jobs, Planner Workspaces and SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel

You can now use advanced operators with ad hoc planning filters if supported by the underlying application job (for example, Copy Operator and Statistical Forecasting).

> Customer Influence!

As of SAP IBP 2511 hotfix collection (HFC) 4, version 2 of the SAP IBP connector is available for integrating SAP IBP with Identity Provisioning services. The SAP IBP connector version 2 supports the provisioning of users and user groups and the assignment of users to roles and user groups.

Version 2 of the SAP IBP connector is SCIM-based and uses communication scenario SAP_COM_0465.

You can integrate Microsoft Teams with jobs in SAP IBP, so that jobs automatically post comments to Microsoft Teams channels to indicate when a job step starts running. This acts as an automated alert to keep everyone informed in real time.

This feature is available only for jobs based on job templates that have the Share With parameter.

The SAP_IBP_BC_BASIC_PC business catalog must be assigned to the user role, and the MS Teams Integration for Process Updates (SAP_COM_0B01) communication scenario must be configured.

You can now directly assign IAM apps to business roles in the Maintain Business Roles app. This enables you to handle authorizations more flexibly. You can also use the Mass Change Wizard if you need to add or remove multiple IAM apps at once.

In the IAM Information System app, the main entity Application has been deprecated. This has been replaced by IAM App, which is now contained in the Main Entity dropdown list.

IAM apps were introduced as the main object for authorization assignment. You can now define access at the app level rather than relying solely on business catalogs as broader groupings.

Direct IAM app assignment is only possible for IAM apps of the App Authorization Variant type.

The Data Integration Using SAP Cloud Integration template can now be included as a step in a reference template for use in the Job Definitions app.

Scenarios support multiple use cases for what-if analysis

• Operative simulation and impact analysis
  • Triggered by alerts, opportunities or short-term disruptions
  • Typically, on transactional data
  • Fast decision making, close to current plan
• Tactical and Strategic investigation
  • Triggered by longer term disruptions, tactical analysis as part of S&OP cycles
  • Changing transactional data and master data
  • Collaborative decision making, thorough analysis, stable environment

• One Lifecycle Management for scenarios across key figures and orders
• • Create, Copy, Sync, Reset, Delete and Promote actions
• New expiry date handling
• Consistent support of Simulations on Scenarios across key figures and orders
• New Promote capability allow to "promote all" or to "promote interactive changes"
• • Promote capability will promote key figures and orders

• New harmonized scenarios are combined scenarios for orders and key figures
• • If no orders are configured in the planning area, the scenario will handle only key figures (e.g.: in SAPIBP1 planning areas)
• Options to create a scenario in Planner Workspace
• • Create new scenario
  • Create new scenario from simulation in a version
  • Create a scenario based on a simulation on an existing scenario (branch out)
  • Create scenario based on another scenario (duplicate)

1. Create scenario - make changes to scenario and Simulate - Save changes to scenario
2. Do not create a scenario yet, just have the version - make changes to the version and Simulate - without saving changes to version - Create scenario out of the simulation (the simulation data is saved to the scenario)*
3. Create scenario - make changes to scenario and Simulate - Save changes to scenario - Simulate on top of scenario without saving changes to the scenario - Create scenario out of the simulation (a.k.a. branch out scenario creation: original scenario + simulation data)
4. Create scenario - make changes to scenario and Simulate - Save changes to scenario - Create new scenario based on a scenario where the user fills out parameters - Alternative is to use Copy scenario that copies all scenario parameters (a.k.a. duplicate scenario)

• Harmonized Scenarios have a Scheduled Deletion Date to clean-up old scenarios. Scenarios will be deleted after this date.
• When creating a scenario, a default scheduled deletion date is defined
• • The default deletion date for harmonized scenarios is 70 days from now.
  • The default deletion date for scenarios in time series only planning areas is 365 days from now.
• Note: Scenarios in planning areas which are not enabled for harmonized scenario management also introduce an expiration
• • New Time-series only scenarios expire after 365 days
  • New Order-based scenarios expire after max 5 days (as before)
  • Scenarios that were create before IBP 2602 upgrade do not have an expiry date

• SAP IBP now supports Simulation on scenario also for orders
• Any changes to orders in a scenario is kept in a simulation
• The user can then
  • Save into the scenario
  • Discard the changes
  • Branch into a new scenario which includes the simulated changes
• With IBP 2602, simulated changes in a scenario are supported in the Projected Stock App
• The Change Summary in the Projected Stock app shows the changes in the simulation
  • with respect to the underlying version in case of a simulation on a version
  • with respect to the underlying scenario in case of a simulation on a scenario

• The scenario Dropdown menu in the Planner Workspaces App is extended by one new entry: Promote
• • Promote can be called without first opening the "Manage Scenario" pop-up
• Promote will update the underlying version with key figure and order changes
• You can promote a scenario in two ways:
• • Promote All changes: all data changes - e.g. changes to key figure entries by an application job - will be promoted to the version
  • Promote Interactive Changes: Only changes in editable key figures or interactive changes to orders will be promoted, system edits on key figures or orders will not
• A promote action starts a background application job which can be monitored via the job status. A job log with application job messages is stored.
• After a Promote action, the scenario is reset

• While changes to key figure values in a version immediately shine through to the scenario based on this version, this is not the case for order updates
• Reason: Order updates happen more frequently through real-time integration or planning runs in the version and can cause confusion in the scenario
• The planner can control the shine through of orders with the new "Sync" capability
• If you run "Sync" for a scenario, the system will include latest updates to orders, stock, and batches from the baseline.
• The "Sync" capability also performs feasibility a check on the orders in the scenario - equal to the feasibility checks during promote - and deletes unfeasible changes in the scenario

  Example: if you change a Purchase Requisition (PReq) in the scenario and the PReq is converted to a Purchase Order in the version, the "sync" will delete the changed Preq in the scenario and will show the new Purchase Order from the version

• While promoted key figure values overwrite the values in the version, there is a feasibility check before promoting orders
• Orders are only promoted, if they still exist in the version
• Changes in execution orders are not promoted to the active version (the version which is integrated with an ERP system)
• The underlying principle of promoting orders is that all the changes are promoted which could also be done interactively in the underlying version

  Example: if you change a Purchase Requisition (PReq) in the scenario and the PReq is converted to a Purchase Order before promoting the scenario, the change in the scenario will not be promoted, because the respective PReq does no longer exist in the version

Pre-Requisites

• Harmonized Scenario Management requires your system to run on HANA Cloud
• Your system does not contain any planning areas that are based on SAP7 (SDI-based integration)
• The Planning Area needs to be configured to use Order Key Figures (cached) to activate Harmonized Scenario Management
• You must have deleted any existing scenarios used for order-based planning in the planning area where you want to use Harmonized Scenario Management.

Steps to Activate Harmonized Scenario Management

• Ensure that pre-requisites are given
• SAP needs to activate this feature in your system. To request that SAP enables harmonized scenarios, use the SCM-IBP-RMU-PS component.
• Add the planning areas in which you want to use them to the HSM_PLANNING_AREAS global configuration parameter.
• Ensure that no order-based scenarios exist in the respective planning area
• Re-activate the respective planning area

Some limitations for working with harmonized scenarios exist in IBP 2602 and will be resolved over time

• Creation and management of harmonized scenarios are supported in Planner Workspace. Full support in SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel (Excel add-in) will follow
• Order-based planning runs and application jobs managing planned receipts are not supported for harmonized scenarios
• The Change Summary is not yet supported for harmonized scenarios.
• When creating a new scenario in Planner Workspace from a simulation on the version, the simulated changes to orders are not saved to the new scenario.

For full details, please review note 3494331 

The IBP team wants to understand better:

• at which point in their work our users struggle
• which features are valuable to our users
• based on this, where to improve the user experience of IBP apps

The PX survey is a tool to ask users about their experience with the software:

• all SAP products
• either triggered manually by the user, or pops up automagically
• ratings and comments are associated with individual apps

Please answer the survey when it pops up automagically:

• random selection of users and apps will give us balanced results
• after answering it, the algorithm will not ask again for a while(and please leave a comment if you feel it's appearing too often)

Trigger the survey manually when you want to leave a comment:

• you're surprised by the system's behavior
• you miss a feature, or you have an improvement idea (for that, Customer Influence Portal is actually better)
• a (new) feature is especially useful for you(we definitely like to know :-)

Consists of three parts

• Product Satisfaction score
• Usefulness and Easy of Use scores (UMUX Lite)
• free-text comments

Do:

• spend seven clicks when the automagic survey pops up(that's the minimum, answering three questions)
• rate and comment the specific app listed on the dialog (the survey was triggered for)(makes analysis of your feedback much easier)

Don't:

• put any personal data (e.g., email) in the comment
• enter unspecific comments ("worst system ever"); rate "very dissatisfied" instead

Performance best practice note 2686746was updated with a guide for analytics stories.

It aims to provide you with best practices to ensure your reports are not only informative but also perform optimally.

Creating effective and efficient reports is essential for properly leveraging the SAP IBP Manage Analytics Stories app.

Joule will be available in all IBP modules, all Fiori Apps (not in Excel!). Any IBP customer will be able to use Joule, independently on which part of IBP they are using.

Wherever you are in Fiori (Planner Workspace, Analytic Stories, Manage Master Data) you have access to the digital assistant.

Pros and Cons: the capabilities of Joule are available everywhere, but currently do not take into account the context of where the user is asking the question from.

See the Joule in SAP Integrated Business Planning documentation:

• Transactional interactions provide our users with a direct entry point to the backend system. Triggering and influencing business processes with the power of natural language and AI.
• E.g. purchase orders which need to be reviewed and approved, job positions which are created or any other CRUD-interaction (create, read, update, delete) within SAP cloud applications.

AI-assisted Forecasting Results Analysis

See the documentation:

AI-assisted Inventory Analysis

See the documentation

Meet the Expert: Explainability via Generative AI in SAP IBP - Recording

With SAP IBP 2602, the generative AI Feature SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel, AI-assisted planning

is generally available for all customers. GenAI capabilities will be available in the planning UI under the term "planning assistance".

Watch the video: AI-Assisted Generation of Formulas in SAP IBP

See documentation with examples: Planning Assistance

See documentation with examples: Planning Assistance

Watch the video: AI-Assisted Generation of Formatting Rules in SAP IBP

Let's break down the model into its logical components:

Base AI

• Base AI provides navigational and informational services through Joule, supporting fundamental business functions
• Some business functions include AI capabilities as standard for their use cases in product licensing
• All customers receive unlimited, free access to Base AI across SAP business areas unless specifically identified in product licensing
• No AI unit purchase is required to access these benefits

Premium AI

• Most Premium AI services will follow a per-user, per-month (PUPM) model, where AI units are deducted monthly based on the number of authorized users.
• Customers can assign users to each business area and adjust the quantity as needed on a monthly basis.
• Some Premium AI services will operate on a consumption-based model, directly consuming AI units per request or record.
• Premium AI includes both Joule Premium and embedded AI value. All Joule Base functionality is included in Joule Premium.
• A new AI Unit SKU (8019164 ) is required for Premium AI.

AI Foundation capabilities and custom AI use cases continue to leverage BTPEA credits as they have in the past.

AI Unit (SKU 8019164)An AI Unit is a consumption-based virtual currency that provides access to SAP Business AI services across SAP solutions. Customers purchase AI Units annually and draw from a central pool with flexible usage across multiple products. Units are consumed per request or record, and unused units expire after 12 months.

Per User PackagesEach per-user, per-month package provides features for a specific product area (such as Finance, Spend, Customer Experience, or Human Capital Management). Packages include a set number of AI Units, which are consumed when a user is assigned to the package. Each assigned user also receives a defined number of requests. Some features may require more than one request per use - see the AI Feature Guide price list for details.

Consumption-based

In addition to per-user packages, customers can use a consumption-based model, where AI Units are consumed per request or record. This offers flexibility for scenarios where is not tied to individual user assignments.

Assign named users in SAP Cloud Identity Services (IAS)

see the video guide for step-by-step instructions.

Once complete, Premium AI is ready to use.

Background: To enable Premium AI, two steps are required:

Customers must activate the desired AI capability package in SAP for Me.

Users must be assigned to these packages via SAP Cloud Identity Services.

Feature packages for SAP Business AI can be activated directly in SAP for Me, and users are then assigned to those packages through Cloud Identity Services

Currently, after purchasing AI Units, customers will not immediately see the Joule packages in SAP for Me. To access the Premium AI features, they need to have the Joule Premium for Supply Chain Management package activated via an incident.

Current Issue: At present, Step 1 - Package Activation - is not functional.Customers cannot complete this step on their own in SAP for Me.

Temporary Process: Until this issue is resolved, customers whose contracts start in 2025 and who intend to use Premium AI should create a support ticket. The ticket should include the IAS external ID and the requested PUPM packages. The packages will then be activated manually by the team. (Either via Account Executive or onboarding/help documentation)

Customer receives confirmation Ticket updated once activation is complete

Assign named users in SAP Cloud Identity Services (IAS) (see screenshots from video):

• Inside IAS assign named users to the appropriate packages (Joule Premium for SCM)
• Navigate to Users & Authorizations & select Groups (click the arrow on the right side of the group you want to assign users - z.B. Group SAP Joule Premium-SCM)
• From there 2 options to assign users: add with plus individual users or import CSV file with list of users

Restricting User Access for IBP GenAI Features

If you, as a customer, want to control which of your users gets access to which of the IBP Premium AI Features, you can use the restriction field IBP_AIUCSE in the Business Catalogue SAP_IBP_BC_DS_NLI_PC

Available values for this field are, for example:

AI-assisted Forecast Results Analysis /

Forecast Explainability: FCST_EXPL

AI-assisted Analysis of Inventory Optimization Results /

Inventory Explainability: INV_EXPL

AI-Assisted Time Series Supply Optimization Results Analysis / Time Series Supply Optimization Explainability: TSOPT_EXPL

Add-In for Microsoft Excel, AI-assisted Planning / Planning Assistance in Excel: EXCEL

Intelligent Scenario Turnkey Jobs

• In Maintain Job Users and Application Jobs apps: automatically created "turnkey schedule" jobs for intelligent scenarios
• Needed for the integration of generative AI capabilities in IBP
• Do NOT delete any of these jobs that begin with "IBP" in the name

More information - SAP note 3607997 - SAP IBP: Turnkey Schedules for Intelligent Scenarios

In the Application Jobs app, users with the SAP_BR_ADMINISTRATOR business role can cancel all of the turnkey jobs for intelligent scenarios(*) that don't begin with "IBP". Make sure to not cancel any turnkey jobs that begin with "IBP", otherwise the generative AI features will not work.

1. If you encounter an issue during Joule setup, get support by using the Get Support (Case, Expert Chat...)Card available in SAP for Me

2. Choose the option to create a Case and make sure the Case is submitted under one of the following components:

3. Recommended information to be added in the Support Case:

• Region information (EU10, US10, for example)
• Subaccount ID
• The steps used to replicate the error
• Screenshots and network trace

In the Application Jobs app, users with the SAP_BR_ADMINISTRATOR business role can cancel all of the turnkey jobs for intelligent scenarios(*) that don't begin with "IBP". Make sure to not cancel any turnkey jobs that begin with "IBP", otherwise the generative AI features will not work.

• Discovery Center - List of all AI featuresin IBP
• Webcasts about AI in IBP:
• AI use cases in SAP IBP: PDF| Recording:
• Joule in SAP IBP: PDFRecording 
• Asset to support with Joule Setup:
• SAP Help:Joule Help
• SAP Help: Activate Joule on BTP
• PDF: Joule Base Entitlement Activation Guide 
• PDF: Joule Setup Guide for SAP IBP
• Video: SAP Joule Activation Guide for SAP IBP (video)
• Blog: Specific IBP Setup Guide (community blog)
• Blog with architecture slides: Joule set up
• Learning Journey: Provisioning and Implementing Joule
• AI Unit Estimator on Discovery Center

In the Application Jobs app, users with the SAP_BR_ADMINISTRATOR business role can cancel all of the turnkey jobs for intelligent scenarios(*) that don't begin with "IBP". Make sure to not cancel any turnkey jobs that begin with "IBP", otherwise the generative AI features will not work.

SAP IBP Joule Activation Video

Joule Roadmap for SAP IBP

Customer Influence

The new Permission Filters for Orders and Stock app allows you to restrict the data that is available to users in the Projected Stock and View Stock Details apps:

• improves security of your supply plan
• tailors views to relevant data, reducing clutter

With the upgrade to 2602, users have unrestricted read access by default, and you can apply read access restrictions as required.

In the Job Definitions app, you can now maintain default settings that control whether the version, scenario, or filter of the view context are automatically transferred into the parameters of a job.

• Reduces the manual effort for planners
• Granular control per parameter type
• Full control to override the default for saved jobs

When managing My Jobs, you can now also change the job name and add a description.

You can now use planning filters with advanced operators with Statistical Forecasting scheduled in the following places:

• Application Jobs app
• Run Job dialog in Monitor Application Jobs, Planner Workspaces and SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel

You can now use advanced operators with adhoc planning filters if supported by the underlying application job (for example, Copy Operator and Statistical Forecasting).

In the Application Jobs app, we've added the Start column:

• displays the actual start time, as opposed to the planned start time
• if greater than one minute, you can consult the reason for the delay

The new Start column is hidden by default.

Customer Influence

As of SAP IBP 2511 hotfix collection (HFC) 4, version 2 of the SAP IBP connector is available for integrating SAP IBP with Identity Provisioning services. The SAP IBP connector version 2 supports the provisioning of users and user groups and the assignment of users to roles and user groups.

Version 2 of the SAP IBP connector is SCIM-based and uses communication scenario SAP_COM_0465.

You can integrate Microsoft Teams with jobs in SAP IBP, so that jobs automatically post comments to Microsoft Teams channels to indicate when a job step starts running. This acts as an automated alert to keep everyone informed in real time.

This feature is available only for jobs based on job templates that have the Share With parameter.

The SAP_IBP_BC_BASIC_PC business catalog must be assigned to the user role, and the MS Teams Integration for Process Updates (SAP_COM_0B01) communication scenario must be configured.

You can now directly assign IAM apps to business roles in the Maintain Business Roles app. This enables you to handle authorizations more flexibly. You can also use the Mass Change Wizard if you need to add or remove multiple IAM apps at once.

In the IAM Information System app, the main entity Application has been deprecated. This has been replaced by IAM App, which is now contained in the Main Entity dropdown list.

IAM apps were introduced as the main object for authorization assignment. You can now define access at the app level rather than relying solely on business catalogs as broader groupings.

Direct IAM app assignment is only possible for IAM apps of the App Authorization Variant type.

The Data Integration Using SAP Cloud Integration template can now be included as a step in a reference template for use in the Job Definitions app.

Microsoft announced that in Microsoft 365 and Office 2024, the settings for ActiveX controls have changed to be disabled by default. For more information, see the Microsoft support pages

Since version 2511.2.0 of the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel, it is no longer required to have ActiveX controls activated to use the Excel add-in.

However, the sample VBA planning view templates that were offered by SAP before August 2025 contained ActiveX controls. This means, if your planning view templates and favorites are based on these sample VBA templates, you either have to keep ActiveX controls activated or migrate the templates and favorites before deactivating ActiveX controls. Otherwise, your users can no longer use the VBA chart and will get VBA error messages displayed when opening such kind of planning views.

Note: If you keep ActiveX controls activated, you aren't impacted at all. You can keep working with your planning view templates and favorites as before, even with versions 2511.2.0 or newer of the Excel add-in.

To deactivate ActiveX controls for your users there are different cases that need to be taken into account which depend on your templates and favorites and if those contain ActiveX controls or not:

If you do not have any VBA chart from the former sample VBA template and no custom VBA code with ActiveX controls included in your templates and favorites, we recommend the following:

1. 1. Ensure that ActiveX controls are activated
   2. Open all templates and favorites with version 2511.2.0 or newer in order to have ActiveX controls in the background automatically migrated. For more information, seeAutomatic Migration of Templates, Favorites, and Formatting Sheets
   3. Update the templates and favorites in this version using the Update function
   4. Make sure all your users have 2511.2.0 or newer installed
   5. Deactivate the ActiveX controls for all users
2. See also Migrating Templates and Favorites Without ActiveX Controls

• If you do have the VBA chart from the former sample VBA template or custom VBA code with ActiveX controls included in your templates and favorites, we recommend the following:
  1. Ensure that ActiveX controls are activated
  2. Open the templates, replace the ActiveX controls by Form controls by using one of the following options:
     • New: Use the Migrate this Workbook function in version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in
     • Download the new sample template based on Form controls (see SAP Note 1790530) and newly create your templates based on this sample.
     • Manually exchange the ActiveX controls by Form controls. (This might be required if you have customized templates.)
  3. Upload or update the adjusted templates with version 2511.2.0 or newer using the Add or the Update function
  4. Inform your business users that they need to create new favorites based on the adjusted templates. Alternatively, give them access to the workbook migration feature so they can migrate their favorites.
  5. Make sure all your users have 2511.2.0 or newer installed
  6. Deactivate the ActiveX controls for all users
• See also Migrating Templates and Favorites with ActiveX Controls

To ease the update of planning view templates and favorites that contain ActiveX controls a new function is introduced with version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in.

You can use the Migrate this Workbook function in the ActiveX Migration group of the SAP IBP ribbon to replace the ActiveX controls included in the open workbook by Form controls. During the migration, the underlying VBA code included in the workbook is adjusted as well.

The migration replaces all ActiveX controls available in any worksheet of the workbook hidden or not. ActiveX controls belonging to the former sample VBA templates and any other ActiveX controls that you might have added to customize your templates and favorites are replaced.

You will be notified once the migration is completed. Please check if the controls such as buttons, checkboxes, or list boxes are working as they should, before adding or updating the template or favorite.

Note: It is not guaranteed that the migration will work for customized templates.

For the migration to work you need to have ActiveX controls activated.

Additionally, the Microsoft Excel setting Trust access to the VBA project object model needs to be activated to be able to migrate the open workbook and change the underlying VBA code.

You'll find the setting in the Excel Options under Trust Center > Trust Center Settings… > Macro Settings > Developer Macro Settings.

If the settings are not activated a related error message is displayed.

If you have ActiveX buttons with pictures included a screenshot is taken to create the new button. To avoid that the pictures are blurred, please go to your Display settings and set the Scale setting to 100% before using the Migrate this Workbook function.

If they are still blurry, you could also exchange the pictures by new ones doing a right click on the picture and choosing Change Picture from the Microsoft Excel context menu.

Note:1790530

For this function to be available in the SAP IBP ribbon, you need to have write permissions for the ActiveX Migration (IBP_AXMIGR) restriction type which belongs to the Basic Planning Tasks (SAP_IBP_BC_EXCEL_ADDIN_PC) business catalog.

In the restriction type, you can define the planning area for which the user should be able use the ActiveX migration.

For administrators who have write access set to Unrestricted, the function will be available without the need to change the restrictions in the related business role.

With SAP IBP 2602, the generative AI Feature SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel, AI-assisted planning:

is generally available for all customers.

To be able to use this feature the following prerequisites need to be fulfilled:

• agree to theSAP AI Units Supplement
• purchase the new AI Unit SKU 8019164
• license the Joule Premium for Supply Chain Management package, which costs 8 AI Units per user per month

For further details related to the pricing of Premium AI features, see 2025 SAP Business AI Commercialization

Please consult your account executive for more information.

Additionally, you need to provide your users the required permission, so that the Planning Assistance functions show up in the Excel add-in. For this add the Natural Language Services (SAP_IBP_BC_DS_NLI_PC) business catalog to their business roles, and maintain the EXCEL value for the Generative AI Features restriction type.

See AI-Assisted Generation of Formulas in SAP IBP

See AI-Assisted Generation of Formatting Rules in SAP IBP

As of SAP IBP 2602, new time-series-based scenarios created in the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel will have a deletion date. When you create a new scenario, the system schedules it for deletion 365 days after creation by default. The scenario is automatically deleted after this period. Existing scenarios that have been created before SAP IBP 2602 are not impacted.

Users working with version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in will see the deletion date (Deleted On:) when creating new scenarios. However, they will not be able to adjust the date in the Create Scenario dialog and will also not be able to check and adjust the deletion date in the Manage Scenario dialog in the Excel add-in. With SAP IBP 2602, users can only check and adjust the deletion date in the Manage Scenario function in the Planner Workspaces app, if they have the required permission.

• Users working with versions of the Excel add-in older than 2602.2.0 won't see the deletion date when creating scenarios. However, after the upgrade to SAP IBP 2602 newly created scenarios will be deleted 365 days after creation, independent from the Excel add-in version that is used. Inform your users, if they used to work with scenarios longer than 365 days.
• The new global configuration parameter DEFAULT_EXPIRY_DAYS_TS allows you to adjust the default deletion date. With SAP IBP 2602 it is set to the maximum allowed value which is 365 days.
• It is planned to support the enhancements related to harmonized scenarios (see What's New in SAP IBP 2602): Introducing Harmonized Scenarios with version 2605.2.0 of the Excel add-in. Also, the deletion date is planned to be made available in the Manage Scenario dialog with this version.

As of SAP IBP 2602, Microsoft Teams can be used as collaboration tool to share information (reason code and comment) when saving data changes or when running application jobs in the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel.

If Microsoft Teams is enabled as collaboration tool, you can share reason codes and comments to team channels when you save data changes or run application jobs. You can select the team channels from the dropdown in the Share With section of the respective dialog.

Note: You may be required to renew your access token. To do this, go to your Fiori user settings, choose SAP Integrated Business Planning, then select Get Access from the Integrated Microsoft Teams Features section.

With version 2508.2.0 of the Excel add-in, a new logic for cascading filters and the Advanced filtering mode was introduced when using I_SAPIBP2-based planning areas. With the upgrade to SAP IBP 2602 it is also possible to use the new logic for planning areas other than I_SAPIBP2.

To enable the changed logic in your system, you need to change the global configuration parameter EXCEL_FILTER_LOGIC from the default value 1 to 2.

When using Excel add-in version 2508.2.0, you'll notice the following:

• the Cascading Filter is evaluated based on existing planning objects or modeled master data relations depending on where you use cascading filters.
• the Advanced filtering mode in master data workbooks is evaluated based on modeled master data relations.
• you can use the Processing Information for Advanced Filtering Mode button to check how the system processes the conditions you specified for the Advanced filtering mode.

When using Excel add-in version 2511.2.0 or newer, you can use the filter operators, that have been introduced with this version (Starts With, Ends With, Contains, Less Than, Greater Than) also in the Cascading Filter and when using the Advanced filtering mode.

By default the Cascading Filter and the Advanced filtering mode is evaluated based on attribute IDs as before (Value set to 1). If you change the parameter to 2 the evaluation is based on existing planning objects and master data relations.

In planning views, attribute values are filtered based on existing planning objects. When you work with master data (for example in master data worksheets), attribute values are filtered based on modeled master data relations. For a detailed description of how the attribute values are determined, you can click on the info icon.

When you use the workbook filter in the master data workbook, you can apply the cascading filter based on master data or based on planning objects. For the worksheet filter, however, the evaluation mode is derived from the worksheet type (Master Data or Planning Object) as shown in the previous slide.

• When selecting the Advanced filtering mode for filtering master data types in the master data workbook, the filter is evaluated based on modeled master data relations and considers up to four relationships between master data types.
• The following relationship types are considered in both directions:
• Attribute checks
• Dependencies between the key attributes of compound and simple master data types
• Dependencies based on the use of reference master data types
• See Advanced Filter Based on Modeled Master Data Relations for details.

After entering the filter conditions in the master data worksheet, you can use the Processing Information for Advanced Filtering Mode button to check how the system processes the conditions you specified and the number of records it finds.

• If you have enabled the new logic for the filter evaluation, the additional filter operators for attribute-based filters introduced with version 2511.2.0 of the Excel add-in (Starts With, Ends With, Contains, Less Than, Greater Than) are available in the Cascading Filter and when you use the Advanced filtering mode in the master data workbook.
• See What's New in SAP IBP 2511: Advanced Operators for Planning Filters in SAP IBP, Add-In for Microsoft Excel: for details.

As of version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in, Delete buttons are available in the Organize dialog for attribute-based filters, value-based filters, planning view templates and favorites, as well as master data favorites.

When choosing to delete one of the items, those are marked for deletion and will only be permanently deleted when confirming by choosing OK.

You can only delete items that you own, shared items cannot be deleted.

Different from previous versions it is possible to delete a folder including all items. Not only the folder, but all included items are then marked for deletion.

Note: A folder can only be deleted in case no shared items are included.

For planning view templates, favorites and master data favorites the Delete function has been removed from the respective dropdown in the SAP IBP ribbon. As of version 2602.2.0, the Organize function needs to be used for deletion.

With version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the names of the filter operators for attributes from type TIMESTAMP have been changed. Instead of Less Than and Greater Than, they are now called Before and After.

In the Job Definitions app, when you create job definitions available in the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel, you can now define whether the version, scenario, and filter of the open planning view are automatically transferred into the parameters of a job.

Enabling these default settings allows planners to run a job immediately using the latest context without extra clicks. Planners therefore do not need to manually select Use Planning View Context.

When planners are saving a job to My Jobs, they can also define if the version, scenario or filter should be automatically taken over from the planning view context.

You can now use ad hoc filters including advanced filter operators, such as Starts With, Ends With, Contains, Less Than, or Greater Than, if the job template supports those operators (Copy Operator, Statistical Forecasting).

• When you copy settings from one worksheet to another using the Copy Worksheet Settings option in the Create Planning View or Edit Planning View dialog, you can also copy layout and alert settings. In addition, we've split the filter settings into attribute-based and value-based filters, so you can decide which type of filter to copy. In the past, it was only possible to copy all filters.
• Note:
• The Layout settings can only be copied in the following situations:
  • the attributes are also copied or are the same on the From and To worksheet.
  • the attributes on the From worksheet are located on the same axis and in one block.
• When copying alerts and the alert key figure does not exist on the To worksheet the alert is not copied.

• As of version 2602.2.0, when using the Quick Edit Planning View options in the context menu for adding attributes before or after an element, you'll see the selected attributes displayed to the right. You can change the order in which they are added to the planning view by using the arrow buttons or drag and drop.
• The same applies to the Drill Down > By Attribute... Function in the context menu.

As of version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the settings to shift a planning view have been removed from the Report Editor dialog and have been added to the Display tab in the Options… under Settings in the About group of the SAP IBP ribbon.

Note: If you previously selected to shift the planning view by 1, no gap was included between the headers and the data area. So, the value for the gap is 0 and not 1. When opening the Options for existing planning views the values are automatically adjusted, as shown on the following slide.

The Report Editor function is still available in the Template Admin group but only includes the Member Sorting and Grouping functionality. The Report Editor function is planned to be removed in an upcoming release.

The new settings in the Options dialog allow you to:

• Include or remove gaps (additional columns) between the row headers and the data area.
• Include or remove gaps (additional rows) between the column headers and the data area.
• Move the planning view in the Microsoft Excel worksheet by changing the first cell in the data area (K6 in this example). There are no arrow buttons to change the cell value, but you can use the arrow keys instead.

Note: You can also insert or remove columns or rows between headers and the data area by using the Insert or Delete function of Microsoft Excel. The respective IBP settings in the Options are adjusted accordingly.

To be able to use the shifting settings in the Report Editor function you needed to have the restriction value PV_TMPLT (Planning View Template) assigned in the restriction field Administration Functions.

The settings in the Options, however, are available to all users with business catalog Basic Planning Tasks (SAP_IBP_BC_EXCEL_ADDIN_PC) assigned.

With version 2602.2.0, it is no longer possible to shift the row axis by a negative value.

This option moved the row header to the opposite side of the row axis, displaying the planning view from right to left if it was previously displayed from left to right, and the other way around.

Note: If some of your planning views included in favorites or templates are shifted by a negative value, those can still be opened with version 2602.2.0. When opening the Options and trying to choose OK an error message is shown.

Use the native Microsoft Excel right-to-left functionality, if you want to display a planning view from right to left.

As part of the SAP IBP release 2602 we will raise the minimum version to 2408.2.0 (version six versions before 2602).

Please note: Since SAP IBP 2311, we are raising the minimum Excel add-in version with each release by one major version in a rolling manner. This means once SAP IBP 2605 is released the minimum required Excel add-in version will be 2411.2.0 and so on.

Maintenance: As before, Excel add-in versions are in maintenance and supported for 6 months after their release. This means that the current and previous versions of the Excel add-in are in active maintenance and will receive updates. In certain cases, depending on the urgency of the fix, updates will be only applied to the current version. 

Compatible: Users can use the current version or six prior versions of the Excel add-in. As a consequence, upgrading just once a year is still possible. Nevertheless, we propose a regular upgrade schedule to keep up with security, stability, performance and feature enhancements.

Incompatible: Affected versions of the Excel add-in are incompatible. The installation of a newer version is mandatory.

Mitigation:

• If not done yet, download and roll-out a newer version of the Excel add-in to your user base.
• Check in the Login Statistics for Excel Add-in app to see which of your users are affected and notify them to upgrade their Excel add-in in time. 

By using the global configuration parameter MINIMUM_ADDIN_VERSION you can let the system bring up a warning message each time a user logs on with a version older than the specified one. To do so, change the value of the parameter to, for example 2408.2.0. 

In November 2025, Microsoft released .NET 10, see Microsoft .NET Support Policy. With version 2602.2.0 or any other supported version of the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel you can also install and use .NET Desktop Runtime 10 .

.NET 8 will be further supported until November 2026, therefore we do not yet raise the required version of .NET Desktop Runtime for the Excel add-in yet. For version 2602.2.0 of the Excel add-in, the required .NET Desktop Runtime version is .NET 8.

Note:

• Please always make sure to check the version note for the Excel add-in version you are using before rolling out a new major version of .NET.
• Before upgrading to a newer version of .NET Desktop Runtime than .NET 8, make sure to update your outdated templates and favorites, see following slides.

Planning view templates and favorites that have last been updated with a version of the Excel add-in older than 2111.2.0 can't be opened when using .NET Desktop Runtime 9 or newer. Therefore, we recommend updating them as soon as possible.

.NET 9 was released in November, 2024 and will only be supported for 18 months, so it can happen that you don't use it at all. However, when the support of .NET 8 ends in November, 2026 you will need to switch to version .NET 10 and face the restrictions which were introduced with .NET 9.

In general, it is good practice to update your planning view templates or favorites from time to time for the following reasons:

• To include new features that are only available with newer Excel add-in versions
• To improve the performance when opening templates and favorites
  • Sometimes migration steps are done in the background when opening old templates with newer versions (for example the migration of old formatting settings to newer formatting settings)
  • As of version 2405.2.0 of the Excel add-in the size of the workbook is reduced when updating templates or favorites

With version 2411.2.0 and newer, a warning message is displayed when you log on, showing the number of outdated templates and favorites in your system and planning area that have last been updated with a version of the Excel add-in older than 2111.2.0.

You can decide whether you want to start the update process directly, which may take some time depending on the number of templates and favorites, or whether you start it the next time you are logging on.

It is possible to cancel the update process at any time. If you stop the process, you won't need to update the templates and favorites again for which the update was finished. You can update the remaining templates and favorites the next time you log on.

Open a case on SCM-IBP-XLS-TF in case the update function does not work as it should.

To be able to use this function, you need to have write permissions for the Migration Planning View Templates and Favorites (IBP_WBMIGR) restriction type which belongs to the Basic Planning Tasks (SAP_IBP_BC_EXCEL_ADDIN_PC) business catalog.

In the restriction type, you can define the planning area and the workbook type (templates or favorites) for which the user should be able run the update process.

For administrators who have write access set to Unrestricted, the function will be available without the need to change the restrictions in the related business role.

Please note: If you only have the permission to update templates but not favorites, the message lists 0 favorites that need to updated, even if there could be favorites that need to updated in the system and planning area.

With an upcoming version of the SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel, we plan to deprecate the Member Sorting and Grouping function in the Report Editor. Please make sure that you adjust your planning view templates and favorites in due time so that they use the alternatives that are already available instead of the deprecated functions. Planning views will keep working after the deprecation, but functions relying on the deprecated member sorting and grouping will no longer work.

You can use the following functions:

• For member sorting, use other sorting capabilities, such as attribute-based sorting, and value-based sorting, as well as the sorting provided by Microsoft Excel.
• For creating formulas set up SAP IBP formulas in the new Formulas tab of the Create/Edit Planning View dialog or in the Local Member tab of the Report Editor, when using older versions of the Excel add-in.

Grouping and sorting of members based on properties is planned to be deprecated completely.

In the release in which we remove member sorting and grouping, we also plan to deliver new functionalities with which some of the existing capabilities of member sorting and grouping can be replaced more easily.

Thanks a lot for your attention, if you have any questions don't hesitate to write me an e-mail, you'll find all the respective e-mail addresses in the slide deck.

Gain Thank you and have a great rest of the day.