Modeling SAP BTP in LeanIX - An Example using BTP Custom App for S2P Optimization

Modelling ‘SAP BTP’ using LeanIX - An Example of Custom App Development on BTP

Let us start with an use case initiative of using SAP BTP for Optimizing Supply Chain Operations under a broader Source to Pay heading with the goal of delivering a end to end Supplier Freight Tracking, Monitoring & Compliance app on BTP . Our primary objective is to adhere to fundamental clean core principles throughout our journey and utilize SAP LeanIX to model this within the context of SAP Enterprise Architecture. Given our focus on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) modeling using LeanIX as the centerpiece of this article, we will not delve into the intricacies of S/4HANA modeling with LeanIX. Furthermore, this article does not encompass the entire Source-to-Pay ecosystem, including hybrid deployments of S/4HANA with Ariba solutions. Our aim is to concentrate solely on modeling BTP solutions.

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Objective:? To provide a more comprehensive enterprise perspective, we could phrase our Objective as ‘Optimize Supply Chain Operations.’ This broader phrasing encompasses other related initiatives that contribute to this goal. Furthermore, this Objective can be divided into specific, tangible benefits that we anticipate achieving. For instance,

• Increase freight visibility: Achieve 90% real-time tracking of all inbound supplier shipments.
• Reduce freight costs: Decrease transportation costs by 5% through optimized routing and carrier selection.
• Improve on-time delivery: Increase on-time delivery performance from suppliers by 10%.
• Enhance collaboration: Enable seamless information sharing between suppliers, carriers, and internal stakeholders.

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Initiative: According to the LeanIX v4 Meta Model, Initiatives are designed to support Objectives. In this specific scenario, we have two Initiatives that contribute to our overarching Objective of 'Optimizing Supply Chain Operations.

Initiative 1: Supplier BTP Apps Development: This initiative focuses on the design, development, and testing of the BTP application for Supplier Freights Tracking, Monitoring & Governance. This initiative ensures suppliers are trained and integrated onto the new platform.

Initiative 2: System Integration: This initiative connects the new application with existing ERP and TMS systems.

Initiatives can be further divided into Subtypes such as Programs and Projects. However, for the sake of simplicity, we will focus solely on the Initiative level in this article.

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After establishing our Objectives and desired Outcomes, we can proceed to model the Platform, Initiative, Organization, and Business Capability. These elements are directly connected to our stated Objective

Business Capability: Business capabilities structure and describe the essential elements (capabilities) that an organization needs to fulfill its business model.

So we consider following Business Capabilities that are benefitting from our Objective and Initiatives. This is just a sample set of Business Capabilities, which are linked to the Objective.

• Supplier Qualification: This capability covers all processes involved in identifying, evaluating, and onboarding new suppliers. This includes gathering information, assessing risks, verifying qualifications, and negotiating contracts.
• Supplier Performance Management: This capability involves monitoring and evaluating supplier performance based on key metrics like quality, delivery, and compliance.
• Freight Procurement: This capability covers the sourcing and contracting of freight services from carriers, including rate negotiation, carrier selection, and contract management.
• Shipment Planning and Execution: This capability involves planning and executing the physical movement of goods, including route optimization, load planning, and shipment scheduling.
• Freight Planning and Optimization: This capability focuses on real-time monitoring of shipments, providing insights into location, status, and estimated arrival times.

Business Context: Business contexts describe on a more granular level what an organization does to achieve its business goals; they can be clustered and analyzed by, e.g., products, processes, customer journeys, and value streams. In this article, we list out few Value Streams & Business Processes which are directly affected/related to the Initiatives and Organizations.

• Purchase Requirements Processing: Initiate the procurement process by creating purchase requisitions for goods or services. Route requisitions for approval based on predefined workflows. Generate purchase orders from approved requisitions.
• Purchase Order Processing: Generate purchase orders based on approved requisitions, specifying details such as materials, quantities, prices, and delivery dates. Send purchase orders to suppliers through various channels, including EDI, email, or supplier portals. Monitor the status of purchase orders and track confirmations from suppliers.
• Freight Order Collaboration: Determine optimal shipping routes, modes of transportation, and carriers. Monitor the location and status of shipments using tracking systems and technologies.
• Goods Receipt : Physically receive goods at the designated delivery location. Confirm that received goods match the purchase order in terms of quantity, quality, and specifications. Update the system with details of the goods receipt, including quantities, storage locations, and batch numbers.
• Invoice Processing : Receiving and verifying supplier invoices, ensuring accuracy and compliance with purchase orders and contracts.
• Payment Processing : Initiating and executing payments to suppliers according to agreed-upon payment terms and methods.

Organization: In LeanIX Meta Model, Organizations represent the users/owners/Departments that own Objectives, Platforms, Initiatives, Business Contexts and IT Components. Organization uses Applications for day to day Operations and activities.

We have identified the following Organizations to be modeled in LeanIX as they are the primary beneficiaries of the BTP initiative. Please note that this is a representative sample for the purpose of this article and does not constitute an exhaustive list.

• Global Procurement OU Local
• Procurement OU
• BTP Center of Excellence
• Global Finance OU
• Local Finance OU

It is beneficial to categorize Organizational units as Global (Headquarters) and Local (Country or Region-specific) because when modeling Business Contexts (for example, Business Processes), we can assign both Global and Local Business Processes to the corresponding Organizations that own them. This approach aligns with the traditional SAP concept of Global Templates and Local Templates.

Platform: Platforms provide functionality consumed by other applications and microservices to accelerate delivery or provide consistent/common functionality and support a set of capabilities. In the context of BTP modelling following 2 Platforms ( Business Technology Platform & ERP Platform) are considered in the Platform factsheet.

?Following Best Practices laid out in the LeanIX Documentation has to be considered.

• Define objectives and intiatives to build up your SAP BTP instance to your strategic ERP platform of the future. You can also link other objectives and initiatives to your platform fact sheets.
• Link fact sheets from the business architecture layer (organization, business capability, business context) to get a good understanding of the business value of your SAP BTP solutions.
• Define your SAP BTP account structure with the platform fact sheet, which reflects SAP BTP’s logical governance structure. It consolidates all your SAP BTP Global and Subaccounts, showing responsibility and potentially costs for major BTP elements.
• Model custom-built and deployed apps on SAP BTP with application fact sheets.
• Connect these applications to the relevant PaaS services using IT component fact sheets and link them to underlying SAP ERP systems via interface fact sheets if they retrieve data from those systems.

Create a custom Tag group for tagging IaaS, PaaS, SaaS , the IT Components that are created and linked to Business Technology Platform are classified? using this custom Tags.

Generate a Landscape Report for the SAP Business Technology Platform.

Application: Applications are software systems or programs that process or analyze business data to support business tasks, processes, or aspects of an organization’s business model. The Supplier BTP Apps that we planned are? Applications in the context of LeanIX meta model. Also, the surrounding application ecosystems that BTP App interacts with are also modeled ( for example, S/4HANA Cloud, SAP Cloud Connector, SAP Integration Suite etc.

Some example Applications could be;

• Supplier Freight Tracking Fiori App
• Supplier Onboarding Fiori App
• Supplier Performance & Governace Dashboard

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Data Object: Data Objects are used in SAP LeanIX to analyze which data is processed by specific Applications and exchanged via specific Interfaces. In the SAP world, the common Data Objects are Master Data and Transactional Data. In this modelling example, we consider following? Master Data and Transactional Data.

• Business Partner, Material Master, Storage Location, Shipping Points, Purchasing Info Records
• Purchase Order, Purchase Requisition, Shipping Document, Delivery, Goods Receipts, Invoice Receipts

Hint : Create subtypes for factsheet Data Object, recommended to have at least Master Data and Transactional Data. This would be very useful while modeling the Data Flow diagrams.

Interfaces: Interfaces are connections between Applications. They model how data exchange happens between Applications. We consider HTTPS and RFC interfaces between BTP and S/4HANA Cloud PCE system.

Tip: If the organization is SAP heavy shop, then I suggest to have various subtypes for Interface factsheet like below;

IT Component: IT Components are building blocks of Applications that run, maintain, and change Applications.

• IaaS: IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) refers to virtualized computing resources provided over the internet. For example, SAP Data Center in our example where BTP PaaS is hosted.
• PaaS: PaaS (Platform as a Service) refers to cloud platforms for developers to build and deploy applications. For Example, SAP BTP
• SaaS: SaaS (Software as a Service) refers to software applications accessed over the internet on a subscription basis. For example, SAP Integration Suite.

Hint: The Reference catalog already has all the major BTP Services covered, while creating IT Component, you could link your factsheet with the item from Reference Catalog.

Here is one such useful Diagram view as output of modeling BTP.

This Diagram shows the linkage between the Objective to Initiative to the Application layer for a BTP initiative. It is suggested to maintain all relevant factsheet types while modeling. The factsheets will then unlock the ability to create numerous diagrams like this, showcasing the various layers and their relationships.