Our current step in the process takes us to Unit 5: Creating fields in SAP Price Calculation.
In the previous unit, Lisa created several rate elements to determine how the pricing of this subscription will be calculated. Her next step is to set fields in SAP Price Calculation’s Manage Field Catalog app. These fields contain information regarding product IDs, discounts, sales area, customer IDs, valid from dates, and more. The information set in these fields allows the system to automatically compute the total prices based on the rate element values and rules created earlier.
Before setting these price calculation fields, Lisa will explain the benefits of SAP Price Calculation, including the ability to create flexible pricing models based on a customer’s specific need.
SAP Price Calculation Overview
SAP Price Calculation is a standalone app that helps businesses manage recurring billing for their subscription services. The integration of SAP Price Calculation with SAP Subscription Billing simplifies the complex task of managing subscription pricing to provide flexible pricing and ensure the accuracy and consistency of the quote-to-cash billing process.
SAP Price Calculation supports multiple industries, such as utilities, media, automotive, and other industries selling physical goods, services, and subscriptions. It enables consumers to expand into industry segments undergoing business transformation processes, including the shift to subscription and usage-based pricing. SAP Price Calculation is not a standalone product: it is only available as part of other SAP solutions. In our case, it is delivered automatically with SAP Subscription Billing.
Let’s familiarize ourselves with the apps associated with SAP Price Calculation.
Select the video below to view the apps available for SAP Price Calculation!
SAP Subscription Billing is integrated with SAP Price Calculation. Both applications are deployed on your SAP Business Technology Platform subaccount. Selecting one of the price calculation apps will open SAP Price Calculation in a separate web browser tab with a new URL.
There are many advantages to using SAP Price Calculation as part of a subscription billing solution.
SAP Price Calculation Features and Advantages
Referencing Pricing Schemes
SAP Price Calculation represents prices using what are known as Pricing Schemes. Within SAP Subscription Billing, there are options to create a rate plan "with" or "without" a Pricing Scheme.
By choosing "with Pricing Scheme", you are selecting a defined pricing logic or calculation that already exists within your SAP system during the price calculation. This pricing scheme could be simple, with a few conditions such as a base price and discount. Or it could be complex, with multiple layers of discounts, surcharges, markups, and other conditions affecting the final price.
If you choose "without Pricing Scheme," you can only calculate simple prices without a reference to a Pricing Scheme.
The flexibility to choose between these two methods allows organizations to best choose how they manage and apply pricing dynamics, whether they require a simple price calculation or a more comprehensive, nuanced pricing scheme. You will learn more about Rate Plans and the configuration of their templates "with" or "without" pricing schemes in units 10 and 12.
Other features of SAP Price Calculation include:
- Calculation of prices
- As a consumer service, you can use the output data resulting from Price Calculation to support processes in other SAP solutions.
- Pricing logic
- Create and maintain a pricing logic by defining simple and complex pricing trees and combining different price elements.
- Flexible pricing
- Adapt the way you price items by using varying prices and pricing dates. You can aggregate items and take global properties of that aggregation into account when pricing each item.
- Use of lookup tables
- Set up lookup tables that facilitate the import and display of prices with their corresponding price conditions and validity periods.
- Pricing scheme configuration
- Use pricing scheme configuration to set up prices and compose prices using multiple price elements, which represent costs, fees, discounts, margins, surcharges, and more. You can create and maintain price elements based on pricing logics. If needed, you can mark certain elements as statistical and avoid contributing to the overall amount and maintain calculation for reporting purposes.