The Benefits of Investment Management
The SAP Investment Management (IM) module can offer many advantages, such as:
- Overall transparency for costs and investments
- Integrated projects and budgets that provide a clear, executive-level overview of all ongoing company costs
- Integration between other modules like FI-AA, CO and PS
- Harmonized reporting
If you would like to learn more about the functionality and benefits of IM, please click here.
There are many reasons why a company might want to migrate its IM data from one SAP system to another. This could be anything from the move to SAP S/4HANA to company code carve outs into a new system, to migrating a new company code into your existing system. Whatever the reason, this is the perfect opportunity to reevaluate your IM setup and take advantage of the benefits that SAP IM has to offer.
At a Glance: Challenges of Manual Migration
The main challenge of a manual migration is how can the migration of the IM data in SAP be performed as accurately and as easily as possible, without limiting the data required or the functionalities of IM in your system?
Migrating data to SAP can often be a complex challenge, with numerous dependencies and integrations with other modules, especially when using modules like IM that often rely heavily on integrated data and processes. The process typically requires a high level of manual effort, which can be time-consuming and resource intensive. Furthermore, a manual migration increases the chances of errors, e.g., when hundreds of journal entries have to be posted to the SAP system.
Simplified Migration Through the Use of cbs Enterprise Transformer
One way to reduce the effort required as well as the potential risks of a manual migration is through the cbs ET Enterprise Transformer.
The cbs ET Enterprise Transformer for SAP S/4HANA is the world’s first comprehensive standard software for holistic SAP data transformation. It enables a value-based approach to data selection, allowing all relevant data to be transferred, regardless of status. The tool supports efficient process changes like standardization, harmonization, implementation of S/4 innovations, applied consistently across all data. It also offers flexible cutover scenarios, either in stages (e.g., by company code) or in a single, near-zero-downtime “big bang” transition.
Using this software, the migration process becomes significantly streamlined. Not only can you migrate master data, but also the related transactional data without concerns surrounding the timing of the migration in regard to the fiscal year. The tool allows for precise selection of the required data, simplifying the workload and enabling a more efficient and seamless migration experience. Additionally, the cbs Enterprise Transformer has the capability to migrate IM data within a defined time slice – for example, migrating only data from the past three years. This allows for selective migration, meaning that not all historical data have to be transferred to the new system.
If you want to learn more about the cbs Enterprise Transformer and its benefits, please click here.
Relevant Business Objects & Fundamental IM Tables for Migration
The cbs Enterprise Transformer consolidates functionally related data in the SAP system into different business objects. For instance, the IM module is comprised of several interconnected tables. These data models are implemented in the cbs Enterprise Transformer using business objects. The cbs Enterprise Transformer includes over 400 business objects for standard master and transactional data. Additionally, it offers flexibility to customize or extend the cbs Enterprise Transformer by incorporating customer-specific tables as needed for a project.
The most important tables for the IM migration are the following ones:
- IMAK – Appropriation Requests
- IMTP – Investment Programs
- IMPR – Investment Program Positions
- IMZO – Assignment Table: CO Object – Capital Investment Program Position
Variety of Customer-Specific Migration Scope
In addition to migrating the IM tables, the data migration of investment measures, such as projects and orders, have to be considered as well. As an example, the following budget tables can be migrated in relation to IM.
- BPJA – Totals Record for Annual Total – Controlling Objects
- BPPE – Totals Record for Period Values – Controlling Objects
- BPGE – Totals Record for Total Value – Controlling Objects
- BPEG – Line Item Overall Values – Controlling Objects
A hybrid approach combining manual migration with the cbs Enterprise Transformer is also possible. For example, investment programs can be manually created in the new system, while related settings, e.g., budgeting values, can be migrated using the cbs Enterprise Transformer.
To ensure the consistency of the transactional data, it is recommended that the entire IM object should be migrated if any relevant posting occurs within the corresponding time slice. This ensures that ongoing investment measures, e.g., orders or projects, are fully migrated, even if the time slice is not within the migration scope.
Additionally, the status of various investment measures can be migrated directly, eliminating the need for manual programs to update the status in the new target system, e.g., for projects and orders. Typically, investment measures are created with a “Created” status and require manual adjustment. To streamline this process, an additional business object will be defined in the cbs Enterprise Transformer.
To ensure a flawless IM migration, the top node of the investment program position should typically be maintained in the global currency, while all subordinate investment program positions have to be maintained in the local currency. In exceptional cases, the investment program position top node currency can be maintained in the transaction currency, provided that specific configuration adjustments are made.
The Bottom Line: Smart Migration
To ensure a seamless and efficient migration in IM, the cbs Enterprise Transformer is the ideal solution to cover the unique needs of your company.
The flexibility of the IM data migration approach with the cbs Enterprise Transformer accommodates a wide variety of individual needs and combinations across different migration scopes. Specifically, a highly integrated module like IM can be seamlessly migrated without any downtime, ensuring continuous data flow and full connectivity with related modules such as CO, FI-AA, and PS.
