PLM 7.01 is the latest version of Product Lifecycle Management software delivered by SAP. This version introduces a web-based interface to many of the SAP objects like materials, documents, BOMs, routings etc. There are a lot of useful features available in this version including better search, visualization, Engineering Record, better access control inside and outside your organization etc. The presentation is designed to serve as a comprehensive guide to setting up SAP PLM 7.01. The following topics are covered: - A quick intro into the different ways of managing changes in the SAP PLM system - An explanation of the new features of SAP PLM 7.01, including infrastructure requirements and the new front end, SAP NetWeaver® Business Client (NWBC) - A look at the security setup required to enable SAP NetWeaver Business Client - A detailed look at the new Engineering Record, including configurations, extension capabilities, and system demos - An analysis of the process route capability, its strengths and shortcomings - Tips and tricks from SAP PLM 7.01 project experience

1. Assisting Companies Leverage
Investments in SAP Solutions
A comprehensive guide
to
SAP PLM 7.01
by Shobhit Singhal

2. In This Presentation…
Assisting Companies Leverage
Investments in SAP Solutions
 A quick intro into the different ways of managing
changes in the SAP PLM system
 An explanation of the new features of SAP PLM
7.01, including infrastructure requirements and
the new front end, SAP NetWeaver® Business
Client (NWBC)
 A look at the security setup required to enable
SAP NetWeaver Business Client
 A detailed look at the new Engineering Record,
including configurations, extension capabilities,
and system demos
 An analysis of the process route capability, its
strengths and shortcomings
 Tips and tricks from SAP PLM 7.01 project
experience
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3. Change Management in SAP
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 SAP supports engineering change management
(ECM)

Simple to highly complex change processes

Variety of industries, from normal discrete manufacturing to
medical devices
 Via ECM, changes to key product are controlled,
including:

Materials, BOMs, drawings, documents, configurations,
variant configuration, etc.
 Workflow enablement
 Pushing information to right people at right time
 Capture digital signature (FDA 21 CFR Part 11)
 Full traceability
 Where is the change? What changes are open?
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4. Existing Options for Change Management in SAP ERP
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 Most SAP customers have implemented
change management in their landscape in
one of the following ways:

Use change masters
 Simple and linear change process with not much
collaboration
 Use ECR/ECO
 More controlled process following system status
network

Use SAP quality notifications to manage the
content collection and link these to ECR/ECO or
change masters
 Most controlled, yet flexible process
 Best solution where heavy collaboration is needed
 Can help meet compliance needs most efficiently
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5. What’s New with Change Management in SAP PLM 7.01
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 A new object called Engineering Record is introduced
which comes pre-integrated with change masters and/or
ECR/ECO
 The Engineering Record is intended to:

Replace any paper forms you utilize today to request or process
changes

Replace any SAP quality notifications you may be using in your
change management process

Act as the primary content collection tool for the entire process
 Better search and visualization across your SAP system
 Ad hoc workflow capability
 Better reporting
 Better user interface using SAP NetWeaver Business Client
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6. Differences Between SAP 7.0 and 7.01
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 Product structure management (streamlined
version of iPPE PVS and assemblies)
 Engineering Record for more flexible
ECR/ECO processing
 Guided structure synchronization for
transition from engineering to manufacturing
(or other type) BOMs
 Manufacturer parts visibility
 Support of automotive long material number
 Enhancements of engineering desktop
 Other PLM Web UI enhancements
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7. SAP PLM 7.02
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 Coming attractions: PLM 7.02 – SAP ERP 6.0
enhancement pack 6

Status and release management
 New “Status” tab in Web UIs of many objects with more
control over status transitions

Visual assembly
 Reduce process time to generate manufacturing BOM
 Bill of material redlining
 No kidding!

Document browser
 Easy DMS type functionality within Web UI
 Guided structure synchronization enhancements
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8. PLM 7.01 — Infrastructure Requirements
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 PLM 7.01 released as part of SAP ERP 6.0
enhancement pack 5
 Latest service packs

Being a newer release, it is always recommended to
have the latest available service packs to avoid
problems
 Any required SAP Notes (refer to documentation)
 TREX

To enable advanced search capabilities
 SAP NetWeaver Business Client (front end)

New functionality of SAP PLM 7.01 Web UI is not
accessible via traditional SAP GUI
 E.g., you cannot get to the Engineering Record in the SAP
GUI
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9. New Interface — SAP NetWeaver Business Client
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 SAP NetWeaver Business Client is a rich UI client
acting as the main entry point to SAP applications
 SAP NetWeaver Business Client comes in two flavors:
 SAP NetWeaver Business Client for Desktop
 Power user

SAP NetWeaver Business Client for HTML
 Casual user
 SAP NetWeaver Business Client is also available
inside your
SAP Portal
 SAP PLM 7.01 functionality is the same, no matter
which front end is used for access
 Each user sees the menu structure based on his/her
SAP security roles
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10. New Interface Overview
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 New functionality of SAP PLM 7.01 Web UI is not
accessible via traditional SAP GUI
 E.g., You cannot get to the Engineering Record in
the SAP GUI
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11. Quick Search
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 Cross-object search functionality with
support of new object types like change
records, product families, recipes,
specifications, etc.
 One place to search the complete system
 Same look and feel for all major PLM
objects
 Search based on a full text search
 Flexible and extendable
11

12. Quick Search
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12

13. Object Navigator
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 The object navigator is a flexible display tool,
which provides navigation help for complex
object relations on an integrated user interface

Easy way to look up material where-used
information, linked documents, open changes, etc.
 The starting point of the object navigator is the
central object that you load in the object
navigator

The system displays the objects that are related to
the central object in the views of the object navigator
 You can display a complex structure using the
relations that you have defined for a view in
Customizing for the object navigator
 Bread crumb trails provides easy navigation
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14. Visualization
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 The first thing you will notice when working with SAP
PLM 7.01 is that visualization is everywhere

Example: With Quick Search you can see a
preview of the part you are looking at
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15. Setting up the SAP NetWeaver Business
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Client Menu Structure
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The SAP NetWeaver Business Client
menu structure depends solely upon
the security roles assigned to the user
Each user needs to have at least one
user role assigned to them that has a
menu structure
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16. What Can Be Added in the User Menu
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 You can add various types of links inside
the menu by clicking the Transaction
button

Transaction codes
 Web Dynpro screens
 Online help links,
e.g., SharePoint
page
 Web pages (URLs)
 Excelsius
dashboards
 Etc.
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17. Translation of PFCG Role into SAP
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NetWeaver Business Client Menu Structure
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SAP GUI
SAP NetWeaver
Business Client

18. Migration of Existing Security Roles
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 Clean up of existing security roles may be
required before they can be used inside the
SAP NetWeaver Business Client
 The following things need to be taken into
account:

Is the menu needed in SAP NetWeaver Business
Client?
 If not needed, then hide the menu
 Is the menu cleanly structured and simple to
navigate?
 Most standard roles have a menu made up of a list of t-
codes without any structure
 Note that unless all roles are cleaned up and
migrated to SAP NetWeaver Business Client,
there may be a two GUI environments during
the transition period
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19. Introduction to Engineering Record
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 Engineering Record was introduced as a new object
in EHP5
 Engineering Record is a flexible object that controls
the planning and execution of changes
 SAP delivers two types of engineering records: ECRD
(date effectivity) and ECRP (parameter effectivity)
 The Engineering Record is meant to help group your
change objects and guide them through a controlled
engineering change process
 Supports ECR/ECO process
 Embedded ad hoc workflow capability using process
route
 Integration to Business Context Viewer (BCV) for real-
time reporting
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20. Structure of Standard Engineering Record
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 A standard engineering record includes the
following sections:

Header data
 Enter description, priority, reason for change, status,
etc.
 Auto-generated change master number shows up here
as link

Change item data
 Change Items tab
 Process Route tab
 Notes tab
 Documents tab
 Administrative Data tab
 Authorizations tab
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21. Linking Objects to Engineering Record
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 You can add a lot of different objects to the
Engineering Record and include them on your change

Materials

Bills of Materials
 Document Information Records
 Specifications

Recipes

Etc.
 The list of available objects is configurable
 You can customize what additional information you
want to capture along with the object
 E.g., disposition, material revision, document status, cost,
etc.
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22. Configuration — Where to Find It
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 All configuration items related to PLM
7.01 are stacked under Logistics –
General  PLM
 A few configuration items like Status
Network and Case Type definition are
found under Case Management
 All others are listed under Logistics –
General  PLM  PLM Web User Interface
 Engineering Record-specific
configuration menu can be found under
Objects in PLM Web UI  Engineering
Record
22

23. Configuration — Initial Setting Up of
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Engineering Record
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 Two default ECR types are delivered out of the box.
You can create custom ones as required
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24. Configuration — Status Network
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 Status Network for Engineering
Record is under the Case
Management customizing
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25. Configuration — Status Based Field Control
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 Logistics – General  PLM  PLM Web
User Interface  Objects in PLM Web UI 
Engineering Record  Status-Based Field
Control
 Here you can:

Define the field properties of the header and
change items per Engineering Record status
 Fields can be set to Editable, Mandatory, Read
Only, Inactive, or Invisible
 Determine the prerequisites to be able to set a
status
 E.g., value in a certain field should be within a
certain range in order to be able to set a certain
status
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26. SAP Notes
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 Recommendation – keep an eye out for the
latest SAP Notes on service.sap.com (login
credentials required)
 From project experience we have found that
there are a lot of SAP Notes being released
in the PLM 7.01 space
 These SAP Notes are generally corrections
to bugs found on current implementations
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27. Latest Enhancements Delivered Through
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SAP Notes
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 Electronic Signature in the Engineering Record

SAP Note 1643197

Once the Engineering Record transitions to a status
with signature, a pop-up to sign with SAP GUI
password is presented
 Electronic Signature in PLM WEB UI Inbox

SAP Note 1643594

The PLM Web UI inbox now supports digital
signatures for all objects (workflow template
WS2000018 is delivered)
 Many other enhancements as requested by SAP
customers

Collective SAP Note 1643532

E.g., filter option for search results
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28. Extension Capabilities of the Engineering
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 The Engineering Record is a flexible object
that can be extended to meet your process
needs
 Some of the possible extensions are:
 Add, change, or delete tabs

Add custom fields or links

Link custom screens or reports to the Engineering
Record using either buttons or Additional
Functions dropdown
 SAP PLM 7.01 development is based on SAP
Web Dynpro, and developers need to be
familiar with this technology in order to
adjust or enhance the standard objects
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29. Extending the Engineering Record
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 The Web Dynpro application for Engineering
Record is /plmu/wda_ecr_app_oif
 To make any change to the standard layout
of the Engineering Record, use the
application configuration
/PLMU/WDA_ECR_APP
_OIF_CFG and copy it to create a custom
one
 Inside this custom configuration, you can
make the required changes using the
configurator
 To add or change tabs, you will need to
create your own Web Dynpro components
and assign them using the configurator
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30. Process Route — Overview
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 A process route is a collection of individual
workflow tasks listed in serial, parallel, or both
 Process route is a new feature released as part
of EHP5
30

31. Process Route — Overview (cont.)
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 The Process Route tab is integrated into all of
the Web UI versions of standard objects like
Material Master, BOMs, Engineering Record, etc.
 Users have the option to either load a predefined
process route, or create a new one as required
 A process route supports ad hoc definition of
processes by end users by letting them:

Insert/change/delete steps
 Assign process route containing parallel and/or
sequential tasks

Assign task agents
 Easy-to-use user interface
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32. Process Route — Strengths and Weaknesses
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• Strengths
• Reduced configuration and development effort
compared to classic SAP workflow
• Ability to save templates for defined processes
• Allows for a flexible process
• Weaknesses
• Process route is not decision-based. All steps need to
be executed in the same order as listed.
• Does not support loops (e.g., rework or rejection loop)
• Does not support complex agent determination logic
Based on project experience, a process route
may be useful in case of simple business
processes that are not decision- based, need
rework loops, or conditions
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33. What Seems to Work Well and What Doesn’t
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 SAP NetWeaver Business Client has been well
received by users across the board
 The Engineering Record is a very powerful tool
and it can be extended to capture all required
fields and forms
 Once the custom fields and tabs have been
created, it’s now possible for functional
consultants and even the internal IT team to
design the screen layout as they see fit
 A process route is a great tool for triggering ad
hoc workflows
 Whitelist for Web UI version of Document
Management (DMS) has been known to be a
challenge to set up and roll out

This may have been fixed by some SAP notes
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34. Some Extension Ideas
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 Toggle text

This is a great tool to show context help directly
on the screen
 Detailed change log for individual fields
 Out-of-the-box change log is only for status
changes

An enhanced change log is required for certain
industries with strict compliance requirements
 Custom where-used functionality and auto
copying the resulting objects onto the
Change Items tab

If your product structure is too complex, consider
developing a where-used functionality using Web
Dynpro
34

35. Some Extension Ideas (cont.)
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 Status-based field control

OOTB solution adds some restrictions where the
users are forced to fill out the mandatory fields
before switching tabs

Consider using custom code to perform checks
which reads the configuration table only when
user clicks Save
 Attachments
 OOTB solution forces users to create DIRs and
then link them to the Engineering Record

You may create a custom screen where users can
pick a file from their local machine and attach it to
the Engineering Record using one click
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36. Additional Resources
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 http://help.sap.com/saphelp_ppm50/helpdata/en/16/70
c9004ced4a2ebf141387585a8819/frameset.htm

Configuration help on Engineering Record
 http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/3
1/8dd113b8ba4832aeaafb4b756e1eed/frameset.htm

More details on SAP NetWeaver Business Client
including installation, configuration, and role
maintenance
 Johan Malmström, “What’s New for SAP PLM 7.01 in
Enhancement Package 5” (SAP AG, May 2010).
 www.adfahrer.com/SIG/Attachments/100511_SAP_
PLM_7_01.pdf
 LeverX Webinar Series – Essentials of ECM with SAP
PLM 7.01

http://youtu.be/xkNRZKCsFRY
 My website sapplmworld.com
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