Development and implementation of an SCP solution for Strip stamp management

Project Description

Development and implementation of the Strip Stamp management solution (SSM) powered by SAP Cloud Platform to automate the accounting of strip stamps (abbr. SS) in Russia. The implementation project has been performed for a leading producer of alcoholic beverages worldwide.

Project background

As required by legislation, it is prohibited to import alcoholic products without strip stamps on bottles in many countries. Thus, strip stamps become one of the components of final products. The customer aimed to optimize the existing processes and subsequently keep efficient accounting and control of strip stamps.

Project objectives

• Implement a single SSM process to eliminate the main risks;
• Improve the process of strip stamps planning and monitoring;
• Refine reporting functionality to monitor the coverage of strip stamps, preparation of reports for the central strip customs;
• Full automation of most stages of the accounting of strip stamps.

Technical details of the SSM solution

As part of the solution, have been developed:

• 20+ front-end apps focused on working with a large amount of data (in productive operation >100 million unique strip numbers are currently stored and processed):
  • 4 applications for master data management;
  • 8 applications and transactional logs of documents that implement the business logic of accounting for goods movement, calculation of balances, and current statuses of SS;
  • 7 reports;
  • 3 maintenance applications.
• The data model of the solution consists of:
  • 100+ tables;
  • 200+ dbview;
  • 400+ procedures and functions that implement business logic on the back-end side.
• SAP Cloud Portal – published applications with a single access point.
• Bi-directional integration с SAP ERP.
• A role model of interaction with applications.
• Uploading and downloading data from/in CSV format, with a volume of >200 thousand records (processing time less than 1 minute).
• Export of reports to MS Word/Excel, printable web-forms.
• 40+ simultaneously active users.

Master Data Applications

Master data are reference books that support all stages of business processes, relatively rarely changing data:

1. 20+ master data objects;
2. For all reference books have been implemented the following functions: adding, changing, deactivating and deleting, storing data, implementing detailed logging of user actions when changing data;
3. Configured the data update in directories from SAP ERP system through SAP PI integration;
4. Implemented the audit of changes to any record by each user.

Maintenance applications that capture events:

• Log viewer that records the development of various procedures, business functions, and the result of this work.
• Change Log auditor to record all changes and deletions of data.

Integration with SAP PI

An application for monitoring messaging with SAP PI has been developed.

As a part of the integration with SAP ERP has been done the following:

• Implemented the integration of incoming and outgoing IDOC messages with SAP ERP;
• For each message, a record should be created in the internal monitor of the SSM solution;
• It is possible to repost erroneous messages on the SAP Cloud side.

Key integration points:

• Acquisition of material master info from Global SAP;
• Mapping between IPC and ICC codes;
• Maintainance and change of master data;
• Local SAP makes a request to SS Manager to connect all Purchase Order information: batch info, packing list.

Applications that implement business logic

• 15 related applications and 7 reports that implement customer processes and work with >100 million records;
• Log formation of changes and statuses based on events;
• Loading and importing from CSV files >200 thousand records;
• Export of reports to MS Word/Excel, web-forms for printing.

Business processes of SSM solution

This solution enables several processes related to strip stamps management:

Calculation of SS amount is a process in which the required quantity of alcohol products (in bottles) is comparing to Strip Stamps Stock. As a result of the comparison, the user can see the required SS quantity to order.

Order SS from public authorities. This process is aimed to register SS orders from public authorities and get SS orders registration numbers.

SS Receipt from public authorities. This process enables the uploading of SS numbers and bar-codes received from the government into the Strip Stamp management solution.

Send SS to applying plant​ & detail info - process to assign SS to plant and send assigned SS to the plant.

Import FG preparation - gather related to Import order info so that Broker could realize custom clearance.

Custom clearance is a process to enter custom clearance into the Local SSM Tool.

Return SS details & traceability for import Inbound Delivery is a process to return Local SAP info for batch classification creation and traceability info related to the requested purchase order.

Prepare legal report to the government agency with information about receipted SS usage.

Monitor SS Stock is a process to actualize SS status "Applied" in the Local SSM Tool.

The total SSM solution allows:

• create SS purchase orders;
• control the supply time frames and due dates;
• track the movement of SS;
• determine the current status of the order at any time, control the time and delivery time;
• forecast and calculate the need in the future up to 9 months based on the production plan, schedule the required volume of supplies in the context of months;
• manage SS stocks;
• track SS stocks at the current moment;
• use a personal account for customs brokers, generate the necessary printed forms for customs authorities;
• carry out automatic data exchange with on-premise SAP ERP, generate purchase orders, reference data exchange;
• upload data in CSV format;
• generate and view the necessary routine reports and reports for internal accounting;
• the ability to export reports and data in PDF, Word, Excel, CSV, XML formats;
• master data management;
• record and view in the Changelog Auditor all data changes be a separate user;

Advantages of SSM solution:

• High performance;
• User-friendly interface;
• The solution is based on a two-tier architecture: back-end – SAP HANA, front-end – SAPUI5;
• Lack of java application layer, which significantly saves time for development, testing, and implementation;
• Wide possibilities for integration with other SAP and non-SAP systems;
• Ability to upload data from CSV in large volumes (>200 thousand records);
• Transparent monitoring of all activities in the system;
• Uploading reports in the MS Office format;

Technologies

SAP Portal is a WEB-portal designed for publishing applications, as well as differentiating access to them. Contains tools for changing and publishing content (CMS - panel).

SAPUI5 is a JavaScript-based framework. Applications, analytical reports, the entire front-end part have been developed using this library. The library has a large set of pre-built visualization elements (Smart-forms, Smart-tables, Smart-graphics), supports the MVC concept, and uses the ODATA protocol as an interface for interaction between the front-end and back-end.

SAP HANA In-memory DataBase (OLAP + OLTP) is the core of the whole system. All data is stored in RAM, which achieves high processing speed and fast delivery of results to end-users. 
The system uses columnar data storage, as a result of which the amount of data placed in memory takes up much less space (according to statistics, an average of 8-10 times, that is, for example, a 64 GB database is equivalent to a classic 512 GB database).

The digital core has the wide capabilities of a classic database, in addition, it provides services for rapid deployment and development of services with support for the ODATA protocol, has an application server with JavaScript server-side support, has SAML, SMTP integration with external servers. This database is focused on working as a Data Warehouse, it supports and contains tools for the development of data marts for subsequent use in analytical systems.

Advantages of JET BI

• Unique technical expertise and experience with Business Intelligence tools;
• Efficient QA processes and transparent handling of bugs enhancement applications ensure the highest quality possible;
• Bureaucracy minimum;
• Alignment with client`s internal processes and challenges
• Highly motivated employees on the project.