Report Development Tools 6–1
Chapter 6: LIS Flexible Analyses
Contents
Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses.....................................................6–2
Creating a Report with Flexible Analyses............................................................6–7
Getting the Most from LIS Flexible Analyses: Tips & Tricks ...........................6–18
Review ...................................................................................................................6–19
Where to Learn More............................................................................................6–19 6
In this chapter you will learn
how to:
 Define an evaluation
 Generate and execute an
evaluation
 Modify the report layout
of a flexible analysis
Chapter 6: LIS Flexible Analyses
Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses

Reporting Made Easy

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Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses
In this chapter you will learn about flexible analyses in the Logistics Information System
(LIS). Flexible analysis is a presentation tool that is used primarily to display the contents of
LIS information structures.
What Is Flexible Analysis?

< Create formulas and calculations with greater ease.
< Combine data from multiple information structures and Logistics applications in a
single report.
Chapter 6: LIS Flexible Analyses
Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses

Report Development Tools
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How Is LIS Flexible Analysis Organized?
As shown in the graphic below, flexible analysis consists of the following four layers:
< Physical data basis: The bottom layer contains information structures and DDIC (data
dictionary) tables which store data. One of the first things to do after you decide to use a
flexible analysis is to decide what tables to use to generate the report.
< Logical data view: Evaluation structures provide a logical view of the information
structures or database tables. They do not contain any data, but list the characteristics
and key figures that are available for reporting.
< Data collection: The evaluation is the definition of your report. This is where you define
which characteristics and key figures you want to see in your report. This is also where
you define the report layout and the formulas to include in your report.
< Data presentation: The result (or output) of executing your evaluation is delivered to
the user in the form of a list.

DDIC
Tables
Info
Structures
Evaluation
Structure
Evaluation


An information structure is a transparent table. For each information structure
generated, a separate database table is created. Among them are Sxxx and SxxxE , where
xxx represents the number of the information structure. For a list of SAP-delivered
information structures, refer to appendix E. Some of the tables related to LIS can be
found in the data dictionary under tables that begin with TMC.
Information structures are special tables but they are different from the document tables.
While the document tables store all the detailed information about your documents (such as
sales orders and invoices), the information structures store data aggregated by
characteristics and period unit. Example: S001 (in the Sales Information System) is an information structure. It
contains data related to customers (for example, sales orders, deliveries, and invoices).

Characteristic
A characteristic is a dimension of your business for which you collect data (also the
aggregation or subtotal levels).
Examples of characteristics include sales organization, purchasing organization, plant, sold-
to party, vendor, storage location, material group, and material.
Key figure
A key figure is a measure of the business data you are collecting.
Examples of key figures include, incoming order value (booking value), incoming order
quantity (booking quantity), invoiced sales value, invoiced sales quantity, PO order
quantity, PO order value, goods receipt quantity, valuated stock quantity, and valuated
stock value.
Chapter 6: LIS Flexible Analyses
Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses

Report Development Tools

depends on the type of user you are. Since this guide is intended for a wide range of users,
the menu path shown below is one most commonly used.
To access the LIS flexible analyses, from the SAP main menu choose:
Logistics
→
Logistics controlling
→
(application area of your choice), then Flexible analyses.
Chapter 6: LIS Flexible Analyses
Learning the Basics of LIS Flexible Analyses

Reporting Made Easy

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How Does LIS Flexible Analyses Differ from Other Reporting Tools?
The features of flexible analysis differ from other reporting tools as follows:
< Flexible analysis can access only evaluation structures and not other tables within the
R/3 System. To access other tables, you must first define them as evaluation structures.
Remember, you cannot use more than one table for each evaluation structure.
< Flexible analysis is an excellent tool for producing aggregated lists easily and quickly.
You can view aggregated data for any level defined in the information structure.
< Flexible analysis allows the user to view and aggregate various levels of data.
< Flexible analysis lets you display a list graphically.
What Are the Prerequisites?
< Although you do not need any ABAP programming experience, a knowledge of the
fields is helpful. Additionally, it is useful to understand the real-life business application
of the fields.
< Before starting flexible analysis, you must know which evaluation structure,
characteristics, and key figures you want to include in your report. A general

This step-by-step approach is built around a sample report (see graphic on the following
page). Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the scenario and the desired report. Example: Bungee Corporation wants a report which uses billing information (from the
Sales Information System) to calculate the gross profit margin. The report must contain
the aggregates of invoiced quantity, invoiced sales, invoiced costs, and gross profit
margin. Users want to be able to view the list by month, sales organization, sold-to party,
and material.

For this list, we will use the evaluation structure S001 and create an evaluation named 1000.
This is the easiest way to get started with Flexible analyses. We will also create a key figure
for the gross profit margin calculation. Standard information structures are delivered with corresponding evaluation structures
of the same name. Therefore, it is not necessary to create an evaluation structure. As you
will note in the example below, using SAP-delivered evaluation structures is the easiest
way to create an evaluation.
For this example we are using Release 4.0B. While this release has a different look and feel
than prior releases, the underlying concepts and terminology remain the same.
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2. Enter the name of the evaluation
structure that you wish to base your
analysis on.
3. Enter a unique four-character name
and a description for your analysis.
4. Choose Enter.

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