Giving an Overview of Utilities Processes

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to identify the key innovations in SAP S/4HANA Utilities.

Overview

SAP Help Portal

SAP S/4HANA Utilities What's New is described on the Help Portal.

The image is a screenshot of the SAP Help Portal webpage for SAP for Utilities, dated 2024-10-17. The top section includes a black header with navigation links such as Browse by Product and SAP Learning Journeys, along with a search bar labeled This product. The main content is split into two sections: SAP Utilities Core and SAP S/4HANA Utilities. The SAP Utilities Core section states the essential capabilities of the Utilities meter-to-cash and related processes under one offering, with a PDF link for more detailed information. The SAP S/4HANA Utilities section describes the next generation business suite built on SAP HANA. It contains links to various resources, including: - SAP S/4HANA Utilities Road Map Items (PDF) - Feature Scope Description - What's New in SAP S/4HANA 2023 FPS02 - SAP S/4HANA for Utilities User Assistance - Virtual Data Model for Utilities - Simplification List for SAP S/4HANA (PDF) - Utilities Business Functions - SAP S/4HANA User Assistance Overview Page - SAP S/4HANA Utilities for Customer Engagement User Assistance The SAP S/4HANA Utilities Road Map Items and What's New in SAP S/4HANA 2023 FPS02 links are highlighted with blue boxes.

The following is an overview of some of the innovations in SAP S/4HANA Utilities:

Master Data and Master Data Recommendation SAP

This guide describes and illustrates how you can set up your data model for market communication with SAP S/4HANA. The guide provides sample data models on which you can base your own. It includes different combinations of market partners, system setups, devices, metering types, and views of the master data. Although the guide contains many variants, it is not complete.

SAP Help Portal: About This Guide

SAP Fiori Launchpad interface showing various options under 'Utilities Billing and Invoicing.' Sections include Insights, Billing and Invoicing Exceptions, and Contracts and Billing Orders. Insights section offers tiles for Periodic Billing Overview, Periodic Invoicing Overview, and Billing Analysis. Billing and Invoicing Exceptions section includes tiles for processing billing errors, resolving document conflicts, and managing outstanding invoices. Contracts and Billing Orders section has options for releasing blocked contracts, processing and suspending billing orders, and blocking utility contracts. Statistics displayed: 983 billing errors, 41,110 billing documents, and 876 invoicing documents.

Customer Experience

  • new Fiori Apps
  • Some billing solutions, the process documents, the clarification cases, and also the MaCo Cloud only work via Fiori Apps
  • For the SAP Fiori apps, the GUID IDs are essential (that is, the GUID IDs must be unique).
  • SAP Fiori Apps Reference Library

Note

The following screenshot is displayed in German, as it is only relevant for the German market.
A flowchart in German illustrating a transaction process involving multiple components: Benutzer (User), EC*, Utilities S Funktionsbaustein, Neues BAdI Integration, BAdI-Implementierungsstandard, and Vertragsmanagement. The process begins with the user executing the transaction and calling the service function. The flow includes various steps such as checking the initial source code, validation, allowing or blocking, informing the user if blocked, performing integration, checking if CE is relevant and allowing blocking, starting the integration process, and finalizing the original code if failed. Messages and results are displayed to the user at relevant steps.

Customer Management

SAP Help Portal: Utilities Sales Contract Management

SAP Help Portal documentation page for SAP S/4HANA Utilities for Intelligent Metering of German Energy. The page is titled What's New in SAP S/4HANA Utilities for Intelligent Metering of German Energy 2305 SP04. The page features filters for area, type, release, available as of, and active as of, but no selections are made. It shows a table with columns for area, title, description, type, release, available as of, and active as of. The entries listed include Termination of Parameterization Profile for BDEW Products, New Business Processes, Sending of Resources, and Introduction of AnyKey Field for Enhanced M-Bus Functionality, all of which are planned for release 2305 SP05 on August 16, 2024. Options to download the content as CSV or PDF, as well as to favorite, subscribe, share, or clear filters, are available. A note mentions that the preview content is provided with no warranty and might change.

Device Logistic

Note

The following topic is relevant only in Germany.

SAP S/4HANA Utilities for Intelligent Metering of German Energy

SAP Help Portal: SAP S/4HANA Utilities for Intelligent Metering of German Energy

Diagram showing interconnected data flows within an IS-U system. The diagram includes several elements: - A rectangular box at the top not labeled. - Three oval-shaped objects in a row connected with arrows. - A large rectangular outline enclosing these ovals and connecting to five labeled boxes below it via arrows: 1. IS-U billing and invoicing. 2. IS-U master data handling. 3. IS-U device and consumption data. 4. Service management. 5. An unlabeled box indicating more elements. The arrows illustrate data flow among these components within the outlined structure.

Energy Settlement

SAP Note 2270502 - Monitoring Profile Value Import

SAP Note 2694441 - IS-U - Utilities Settlement Control

Diagram illustrating the SAP Convergent Invoicing process. The top row features five input entities: SAP S/4HANA Utilities, Subscription Billing, Convergent Charging, Non-SAP systems, and Partners. Arrows from these inputs point down to the SAP Convergent Invoicing section. The Convergent Invoicing section includes various functions: - Items Upload - Trx. Values Determination - Validation - Aggregation - Invoice Generation - Account Determination - Discounts - Taxation - Invoice Corrections - Localization Requirements - Correspondence - Cust. & Partner Statements Below the SAP Convergent Invoicing section, arrows point down to two financial components: - FI-CA (Contract Accounting) - FI-GL (General Ledger)

Energy Billing

SAP Help Portal: Utilities Product Integration Layer

SAP Help Portal: SAP S/4HANA Utilities for German Billing Enhancements

Simulation of utility bills using product configuration

Service Billing

Note

The following screenshot is displayed in German, as it is only relevant for the German market.
Screenshot of the SAP Help Portal Documentation page for SAP S/4HANA Utilities for EEG billing of German electricity. The page features a search bar and navigation options at the top. Below are six sections with links: Neuerungen, Funktionsumfang, Konfiguration, Administration, Product Assistance, and Verwandte Produkte. There is also a section for Zughörige Informationen. Each section contains descriptions and links for further information or downloads, primarily in German.

SAP Help Portal: SAP S/4HANA Utilities for EEG billing of German electricity

Feed-In Billing

Find out what's new and what has changed for functions in SAP S/4HANA Utilities for EEG billing of German electricity.

Note

The following screenshot is displayed in German, as it is only relevant for the German market.
SAP Help Portal Documentation page for SAP S/4HANA Contract Accounting (FI-CA). The menu on the left lists topics such as configuration, organizational units, basic functions, transactions, credit and collections management, integration with other components and products, closing operations, and more. The main content area explains the capabilities of Contract Accounting in managing large volumes of accounting transactions and integrating with finance and other solutions. The page is in German (Deutsch) and includes navigation and options for feedback, PDF download, and commenting.

Receivables & Disputes Management

Screenshot of the SAP Help Portal documentation page for SAP S/4HANA Utilities for German Billing Enhancements. The page includes the following sections: What's New, Feature Scope Description, Configuration, Product Assistance, Administration, and Terminology. The sections list various guides and documents available in PDF format. The right side of the page displays links to related information such as the Product Availability Matrix and related products including SAP Market Communication for Utilities, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP S/4HANA Utilities Master Data Updates Option for Germany. The page has a search bar at the top for searching documents related to the product.

SAP Help Portal: SAP S/4HANA Utilities for German Billing Enhancements

SAP S/4HANA Utilities for German Billing Enhancements and German Regulation Processes

  • SAP Help Portal: SAP Market Communication for Utilities
  • Overtake/Undertake Quantities Billing and Market Area Billing
  • Report /US4G/TRIG_MM_PROC
  • Transaction /US4G/MEMI_REV_CONV (SAP Note 3154376)
  • MOS Billing
  • Report /US4G/RP_UPD_POG_CHECK_INFO zum Füllen der POG in den Vertragszeitscheiben
  • WIM (Change in Metering)
  • IDE Outgoing Payment Processing (SAP Note 2574483)
  • Billing of Disconnection and Reconnection Costs
  • Complaints
  • SAP Note 2868671 - Report /US4G/RP_ADV_LINE_A_CORR
  • Price Catalogs
  • Outbound SAP Note 2859288 contains the report /IDXGL/PRICAT_H_MIG_CORR for generating and persisting the GUID IDs in ECC.
  • Inbound SAP Note 3416238 contains the report /IDXGL/PRISHEET_H_MIG_CORR for generating and persisting the GUID IDs in ECC.
Screenshot of the SAP interface showing a Contract Blocked For Billing Query report. The top section includes filters for date, portion, division, company code, and billing block reason. The main section is split into two parts: on the left, there is a Dimensions panel with options to select rows, columns, and available fields for analysis such as Billing Block Reason, Division, Contract, Company Code, and more. On the right, there is a bar chart under the Graphical Display tab. The bar chart displays the number of contracts blocked for billing, categorized by different billing block reasons like manual processing, customer complaint, incomplete data, incorrect meter reading data, and processing by contracts department, with divisions for electricity, gas, and gas (OD). Most blocks are in the 'Manual processing' category for 'Electricity'.

Utilities Analytics

Leveraging of SAP Datasphere for the utilities industry – premises, contract, and installation

  • Overview: Extraction of data in SAP S/4HANA Utilities by core data service (CDS) views, providing master data such as utilities contract, utilities installation, and premises
  • Benefits: Support analytic applications in the cloud such as SAP Datasphere

Provide modernized and flexible analytic capabilities for the utilities industry

  • Features: Datasphere enablement of CDS views for installation, contract and premise

A new option for analytics based on SAP Datasphere has been introduced for SAP S/4HANA Utilities, which provides CDS views for the extraction of IS-U data. A delta extraction is supported.

SAP Help Portal: Enablement of SAP S/4HANA Utilities for SAP Datasphere

The current scope covers master data for the utilities contract, utilities installation, and premise.

Screenshot of an SAP interface displaying two panels. The left panel shows the Data Browser: Table TNRO Select Entries screen, listing various entries with columns for Object and Text. Some examples from the list include: /APE/EXDOC (Exception Document), /APE/PDOC (Process Document), /APE/TDOC (Transaction Document), and /US4G/MA (Market Location). The right panel shows the Number Range Object /US4G/MA: Display screen with details for the Market Location. Fields shown include Short Text (Market Location), Long Text (Market Location), Package (/US4G/BA_EDM), and Number Length Domain (CHAR20). Options for intervals and customizing are available, and the % Warning is set to 1.0 with No rolling checkbox selected.

Number Ranges

(Transaction SNUM, table TNRO and NRIV)

The number ranges in namespace /ID* no longer exist in SAP S/4HANA Utilities. These are replaced in favor of /US4G

old number ranges ECC, examples:

  • /IDEIM/DIR only Germany

  • /IDEIM/MI only Germany

  • /IDEIM/MP only Germany

  • /IDEIM/TR only Germany

  • /IDXMM/DOC only Germany

  • /MOS/CTR only Germany

  • /MOS/TSID only Germany

New number ranges for SAP S/4HANA Utilities, such as:

  • /US4G/CP only Germany

  • /US4G/DIR only Germany

  • /US4G/EA only Germany

  • /US4G/EDN only Germany

    /US4G/MA only Germany

    /US4G/MI only Germany

    /US4G/MP only Germany

    /US4G/CTR und /US4G/TS only Germany

The image shows a screenshot from the SAP GUI titled IS-U: Display Application Log for Mass Processing. On the left side, there is an option to select Mass Act. Type, with a checkbox indicating it is selected. Below it, there are fields for Parameter Recognition, Date ID, and Run ID. The checkbox for Select Subobjects to Be Displayed is not selected. On the right side, a pop-up window titled Mass Activity Type (1) lists 229 entries of mass activity types. The entries include 0002 Creation of Balanced Account Statements, 0004 Automatic Clearing, and others such as 0095 Write Off and various types of IDOC document processing entries. The first entry, 0002 Creation of Balanced Account Statements, is highlighted.

Mass Activities

(transaction SLG_ISU)

The mass activities in the namespace /ID* no longer exist in SAP S/4HANA Utilities.

Old Mass Action Types

  • IXG2 IDXGC Mass Action

  • IXGC IDXGC Mass Action

New Mass Action Types

  • KWLE Fiori: End Clarification Cases

  • ML01 ML Cash Application: Training

  • ML02 ML Cash Application: Incoming

  • ML03 ML Cash Application: Training Master Data

  • Process PPDP Payment Advice Note

  • PPDR Request Credit Payment

SAP for Me Simplification Item Catalog page. There are menus on the left side, including Home, Calendar, Reporting, Finance & Legal, Portfolio & Products, Services & Support, Systems & Provisioning, Users & Contacts, Get Assistance, Legal, and Status. At the top, there are search and view options with Customer View and Internal User View buttons. The main section contains the Simplification Item Catalog description and a search bar with the text Search Simplification Item by title, ID, or business impact note. Below the search bar, there are four boxes with product versions: SAP S/4HANA 2023 with 829 items, SAP S/4HANA 2022 with 808 items, SAP S/4HANA 2021 with 762 items, and SAP BW/4HANA 2023 with 85 items. A Feedback button is positioned on the right edge of the page.

Simplifikation List

SAP for Me: Simplification Item Catalog

The planned innovations are in the SAP Road Map Explorer.

Support packages (SPs) for German utilities add-ons have a quarterly release cycle – and as of 2408 a six-monthly release cycle. The implementation of each second quarterly support package is optional. However, add-on releases that precede a semi-annual BNetzA format change are mandatory.

Add-On SPs are released 5 to 7 weeks before the format change and a few days before the update of the MaCo Cloud test system to give customers time to update and test their 3 or 4 tier landscapes in time before the format changes on 1st April or 1st Start October

Upcoming add-on SPs will be announced on German Utilities add-ons: Customers & Partner Information, via webinars, and on the What's New page about two months before the release date.

For technical details, see the SAP Notes (2708509, 2708497, 2708496) about the release strategy and maintenance of the German add-ons.

Add-on SPs are at least compatible with the current and previous SAP S/4HANA release. For detailed prerequisites, see the Availability Matrices for Focused Business Solutions.

Roadmap

You can find all recent and planned Road Map items in SAP Road Map Explorer, using specific filter criteria. To display Road Map items related to S/4HANA Utilities, please filter by:  

  • Product = SAP S/4HANA
  • Business Priority = Utilities Bill to Cash
  • Business Priority = Smart Metering and Markets
  • Business Priority = Utilities Customer Service
SAP Road Map Explorer interface displaying selected tags: SAP S/4HANA, Smart Metering, Utilities Custom, and Utilities Bill to C. The interface includes options for Products, Processes, Industries, and Focus Topics. An Earliest to Latest filter is also visible.

Select the delivery timeframe (planned) in which you are interested, using the button with the calendar icon on the right-hand side.

You can access the filter above directly from the SAP Roadmap Explorer using the following link: SAP Road Map Explorer

Plan the updates of your systems early before the release of the updates. Familiarize yourself with:

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