ERPsim S/4HANA Business Experience – Instructor‘s
Guide
January, 2016 by Ali A.
Table of Contents
1
Overview and what is different ................................................................................................2
2
System request .........................................................................................................................2
3
Running a successful event ......................................................................................................2
4
Setting up the simulation and user roles (Fiori UI & SAPGUI) ..............................................3
5
Configuring teams and simulation duration .............................................................................6
Note: Checking teams‘ statuses ...................................................................................................9
6
Entering bypass code .............................................................................................................11
7
Starting the simulation ...........................................................................................................14
8
Logging in Fiori UI ................................................................................................................18
9
Lumira visualizations .............................................................................................................18
10
Troubleshooting guide ...........................................................................................................19
11
Appendix – 0116 Improvements ............................................................................................21
12
Appendix – Costs ...................................................................................................................25
12.1
Warehouse Costs: ........................................................................................................25
12.2
Marketing Costs:..........................................................................................................26
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1
OVERVIEW AND WHAT IS DIFFERENT
This guide provides instructions for using the latest version of the ERPsim instructor console,
which is used in all Baton AWS instances, and is being rolled out in all CAL images as well. It
also includes a troubleshooting section highlighting common browser issues and resolution.
The guide will also elaborate on improvements, front and backend, applied on January 2016. See
appendix.
2
SYSTEM REQUEST
To request a system, send an email to [email protected] indicating the date of the
event and the number of teams. You will be assigned a system the day before with the letters you
can use.
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3.1
RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL EVENT
Room setup
ERPsim is designed as a team event. Room setup can help the team aspect of the game. It is
recommended that, if possible, the tables be set up in squares with all team members facing each
other. There are typically 3-4 players on a team. If teams have more than 4 players, there is a
high likelihood that some people will be passive.
3.2
Game setup
For ½ day events, it is recommended to set up the simulator for 4 or 5 20 minute quarters. You
will probably only be able to play 3, but the pace is good and the energy level stays up for the
duration. If you have longer quarters, you run the risk of having to involve Q3 concepts in Q2
just to finish on time. If you have shorter than 20 minute quarters, you run the dual risks of
being to frenetic for the students and too much for the simulator.
3.3
Testing network access and firewall ports
SAP systems and the ERPsim console require the following ports to be open: 8000, 8020 and
8080. Typically the SAP CORPORATE wi-fi will NOT have these ports open and you will need
to use either SAP INTERNET or SAP GUEST. If running an event at a customer location,
system access should be tested prior to the event.
3.4
Important user IDs
Username
ADMIN1
ADMIN2
ERPSIM
Password
admin1
admin2
3rps1m
Username
VIEW
BANK
CLOCK
Password
viewer
banker
ticker
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3.5
Introduction
ERPsim is a game, not a standard lecture/exercise event. While it important to keep your
comments to a minimum, some introduction is required to give the students a general framework
and to “train” them enough to do what they need to do. The recommendation is to start with a
short introduction of yourself, the goals of the day and high level about the game (“each of the
teams will be running will be running a different company that distribute different varieties of
bottled water”). As the team members might not know each other and will be playing as a group,
you can have the teams take a short amount of time to introduce themselves to each other, choose
a company name, and elect their spokesperson. Short introductions can then be done at the team
level through the elected spokesperson.
3.6
Timing
0:00-0:20 Overview and Introductions
0:20-0:40 System Intro (login, short navigation, etc.) and Q1 concepts
1:00-1:30 Play Q1
1:30-2:00 Short debrief of Q1 & Q2 concepts
2:00-2:30 Play Q2
2:30-3:00 Break, Short debrief of Q2, & Q3 concepts
3:00-3:30 Play Q3
3:30-4:00 Final Debrief
3.7
Final debrief
Use this time to re-emphasize the goals of the day and the exercise. It’s important that the
participants get involved in this. It’s not lecture, it’s them giving their views. Winning teams
should be giving the opportunity to gloat, but the conversation should be guided back to the
original concepts.
 Impact of real-time information on decision-making
 Insight to action
 Requests for follow on in-depth demos
 ...
4
SETTING UP THE SIMULATION AND USER ROLES (FIORI UI & SAPGUI)
After connecting to SAP server using the provided link (for example
<http://##.#.####.###:8000/sap/bc/gui/sap/its/webgui>). You should have the following screen
and you are ready to login.
In the login screen input the following:
Client: as provided typically 401
Username: admin1
Password: admin1 to login and make sure your language is EN in the third field on the screen
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Language: EN
If you block admin1 user for some reason, try the following user.
Username: admin2
Password: admin2 to login and make sure your language is EN in the third field on the screen
Language: EN
In the next screen, input ZSIM_START on the top left corner as shown in the image, or doubleclick on the transaction
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The following screen will come up, choose the radio button to the game you wish to play and
click on execute. Currently Fiori is only supported in the Distribution Game (Water).
Set up may take up to 5 minutes until it is finished. You will get a confirmation when complete.
It is ok if you end up with warnings.
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5
CONFIGURING TEAMS AND SIMULATION DURATION
This steps needs to be executed a couple hours before the workshop. Execution of these steps
may take approximately 15 minutes to execute in total. Follow the provided ERPsim Console
link such as <http://##.#.###.###:8080/erpsim/>.
Enter the login information:
Client : as provided typically 401
User Name : erpsim
Password: 3rps1m
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In the upcoming screen choose the distribution.xml and click on Load
Note: As of July 2015, only the distribution game has been ported to S/4 Fiori.
If you want to practice, select practice-distribution.xml or practice other games. You can only
select one team, and the quarter will be pre-set to 5 min. Baton does not invoice SAP for practice
sessions. All other events will be invoiced.
The distribution game buys and sells bottled water of different types. Participants start with 1000
of each product.
After Chosing distribution.xml, click load and It will start loading the simulation as below
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Click OK to confirm that ZSIM_START is executed
In the next screen, input the simCID assigned to you by Baton Simulations when you did your
certification (TTT). This simCID is instructor-specific. Every instructor has their own simCID.
And after this click on Submit
After you entered the simCID, you will have the next screen where you can assign team, number
of quarters and duration for the simulation.
If you are running the distribution.xml, you can modify how many minutes each round will take,
this will have an affect on how many minutes each day will take in reality. You can modify how
many rounds would you like to play the simulation game. You will also choose the teams you
will use. In this case below there will be team A, B, C, D, E. Therefore user names and
passwords for each user will be as following
Username(s) = a1, a2,a3..., a9
b1,b2,b3..., b9
c1,c2,c3..., c9
d1,d2,d3..., d9
e1,e2,e3... , e9
Password : erpsim
The preconfigured settings are designed for the distribution game so you don’t need to change
anything. After the modification, click on the Activate button at the bottom of the screen.
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Note: Checking teams‘ statuses
In order to know which teams where used up and contain previous game’s data run transaction
ZF01 in the web gui with the admin1 or admin2 login. The used teams will have financial data,
while the teams available would have blank entries.
Another important function to be aware of in the ZSIM_START preparation transaction is the
Company Code Status button.
This button will shed light on which teams have been used before and that can not be used again.
As illustrated below, the teams with a yellow cautionary icon have already been used to run
games and thus contain data and can not be used to run a game again.
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Once you have setup your team configuration and time, click Activate.
Next, you will be prompted to enter Bypass Code.
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ENTERING BYPASS CODE
After clicking the link to get the bypass code, fill in the required fields: Name, Country, Event
type. Game, simCID and Team Letters are filled for you.
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Here are the different types of Events. Please select the correct one, as this has impact on internal
billing.
Customer Event: Used when running external simulations with customers
Sales Demo: used when running internal enablement sessions with colleagues
Practice: when the instructor selects practice-distribution. You need to make sure you have an
instance available. Baton does not invoice practice sessions (1 letter, 5 min. Round).
Train the trainer: only used in structured train-the-trainer sessions run by Baton or SAP
After chosing the proper information, click Request
Copy bypass code
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Paste bypass code
Click Validate code
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7
STARTING THE SIMULATION
You should be at this screen. Click the START button to initiate simulation set up.
If you have the following pop-up, click on OK.
You will see the following screen. Wait until preparation is completed. This may take another 13 minutes.
NOTE: Clicking the START button only initates PRE-GAME PROCESSING. It does not start
the game. (This happens in the next step with the CONTINUE button).
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Important: DO NOT CLICK ‘Continue’ immediately! Wait until you and the audience are
ready to begin the first quarter of game play. Confirm that your selected teams have initial stock
for all materials (see yellow arrow). Once the game starts, watch for the stats on the right-side of
the portal screen. This information will tell you whether the simulation is running properly
based on your pre-defined settings. It is common for the first couple of days to last a little longer
than expected.
At the top of the team page, you have information about the SAP client used (server and client
number) and the Administrator user and role. This is also where the Logout button is located.
Logging out of the simulator is not sufficient to stop a simulation. All this does is close your
view of the simulator. To stop the simulation, you must UNLOAD it.
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In the screen header, you see the SIMULATION STATE bar. This bar provides information
about the current state of the simulator:
o The Not Started state is displayed when an instructor logs into the simulator and
no configuration file is currently loaded for that particular SAP server and client.
o The Ready state indicates that a configuration file is loaded and the simulation is
ready to be started. When in this state, the Admin page will also display the day
and quarter at which the simulation will start, as well as the maximum number of
days in a quarter and the total number of quarters as defined in the current
configuration file. You remain in this state until the Start button is clicked, hence
beginning the simulation.
o The Preparing state indicates that the Start button was clicked and that the
simulator is performing all pre‐game initializations. If either the Pre‐Game
Financial Transactions or the Quarter 1 transactions functionalities were activated,
they would be performed at that point, but only when starting a new game. Once
all these transactions are executed, the Continue button appears.
o The Running state corresponds to the game itself. In that state, the status bar also
displays the current day and quarter. The simulator will remain in this state until it
reaches the end of the last quarter. In this state, the quarterly financial reports are
produced automatically at the end of every quarter. The simulator will
automatically move from one day to the next without interruption until the end of
a quarter, at which point, it automatically pauses.
o The Final report state is where any end‐of‐game adjustment will be performed.
When in this state, the simulator will delay the display of financial reports until all
operations pertaining to the end‐of‐game are completed.
o The End of simulation state simply indicates that the simulation is completed.
Watch as the simulation goes through its days. Next is connecting to SAP to complete
transactions, view reports, and manage the companies.
You can manually pause the simulator by hitting the Pause button. Once paused, the simulator is
restarted with the Continue button.
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

The Final report state is where any end‐of‐game adjustment will be performed. When in
this state, the simulator will delay the display of financial reports until all operations
pertaining to the end‐of‐game are completed. You reach the next state by clicking the
Continue button.
The End of simulation state simply indicates that the simulation is completed. You exit
the simulation by hitting the Unload simulation button.
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8
LOGGING IN FIORI UI
When the participants of the workshop login to the Fiori UI with a1,b1,c1,etc... usernames
and password erpsim, they will see a set of Fiori tiles all loaded under the following link
example: <http://xxx-xx-x-x-xxx.compute1.amazonaws.com:8000/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/ui2/ushell/shells/abap/FioriLaunchpad.html?sapclient=401&sap-language=EN>
The first time they log, participants also log into the HANA DB, using the same user name
and password.
When you see a screen similar to this, you are good to go. Notice initial stocks set to 1k units
9
LUMIRA VISUALIZATIONS
Here is a short video that goes through different Lumira charts made from the Lumira Sales
Order Report tile.
https://youtu.be/pRD4NeV-YkU
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10 TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
No. Symptom
Cause/Solution
1.
Takes too long
to load
transaction or
report.
In the beginning of the
simulation it is normal for
transactions/reports to take
longer to load as cache is
being created and saved. The
second time around it will be
quicker. Be patient this is
only for the first time you
load a transaction/report.
It is good practice to have the
participants load the tiles
with you when you are doing
the initial demo of Fiori.
2.
The reports do
not update or
show incorrect
data
The reports are showing
previous details.
Delete your browsing history.
Close and reopen the
browser.
You may want to use the inprivate mode in the browser.
3.
Transactions
don’t open
Make sure your browser’s
pop up blocking is
deactivated
4.
User name and
password not
working for
second
credential
(HANA DB).
Log in using another team
member credential (ex. A1 to
A9).
5.
MM Posting
Periods
outdated error
when opening
ZSIM_START
transaction
Simply execute the
transaction for the
Distribution Game (Water)
and that will resolve the
error.
(don’t forget it is normal to
have post transaction
execution warning, those can
be ignored as illustrated on
page 13)
Illustration
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6.
Lumira table
does not
propagate
properly
Change the screen resolution
until you find a resolution
that propagates the data
properly. Use Ctrl + or Ctrl –
to zoom in and out. You can
also use Ctrl and mouse
scroll, if that is an option.
Before:
After:
7.
MRP Run is slow It might take up to 30
seconds to execute. MRP is a
huge operation, please be
patient.
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11 APPENDIX – 0116 IMPROVEMENTS
11.1 Fiori Launchpad Improvements
11.1.1 Front-end
0116 Release
2015 Release
Improvements
 Groups layout
 Tiles’ titles,
subtitles, and icons
 Broken link (top
right corner)
Migrated MD61 to
Fiori and Integrated
with MRP
transaction (now one
tile)
Report opens at
illustrative graph
rather than table
Removed redundant
chart
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Added Cost column
Removed condition
types and EUR
column
Removed irrelevant
columns in inventory
report
Renamed column
headers
11.1.2 Back-end
Renamed variables (revenue vs costs
rather than revenue vs marketing
expenses)
Fixed day sequence.
Blank fields are processed as 0
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Lumira custom sales report points at a
cleaner/user-friendly HANA View
Inventory Report tile indicates when
inventory levels are high (orange for
over than 1000 units, and red for over
2500 units)
Detailed Sales Report KPI is sum of
revenue (NETWR) rather than sum of
prices (NETPR)
N/A
Added Marketing Budget Report which
compares marketing expenses to
contribution margin.
Marketing expenses are incurred every
day but are posted to general ledger
every 5 days.
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11.2 ERPsim Console and Meta-Data Improvements
Problem
Solution
Results
Waiting for Initial logon
screen
New 6.6 release


Instantaneous logon screen loading
Faster console navigation
Faster simulation
processing time
Simplified built-in Simple
Finance function via script

One round can be processed in 5
minutes for practice (previously
minimum was 20 minutes)
Requisitions load instantaneously
End of round reports are generated
faster


Default warehousing costs
New 6.6 release


New 6.6 release
Improved marketing
algorithm
•
Participants setting high forecast (>
1000 in Pl. Ind. Req.) will now incur
warehousing costs.
Warehousing capacity is 6,000 units,
and every 1,000 units (rounded up)
above that quantity will incur costs of
100 euros/day and posted to general
ledger every 5 days.
Marketing spend has greater impact on
sales (but lower prices will continue to
be more impactful)
11.3 Documentation Updates
• Fiori Job Aid
• Updated tile names
•
•
Added useful hints (use PO#, and filters).
Instructor’s Guide
• Updated new screen shots
•
Included warehouse costs details
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12 APPENDIX – COSTS
12.1 Warehouse Costs:
Unlike 2015 release, 0116 release by default has warehousing costs activated.
Your warehoue can hold up to 6,000 units, and if your company requires more warehouse
space, you can rent additional space on a daily basis. The additional space can be rented at
a cost of: 100€/day for each 1,000 additional unit. The extra storage expenses are posted to
the General Ledger account at the end of each week (i.e. every 5 days). The cost of
additional storage will be automatically billed, and paid immediately.
HERE IS A TIP: Storage costs can be onerous and quickly drain cash reserves. Make
sure that you manage your replenishing strategy to keep these costs under control.
The Inventory Report tile will indicate when a product is over 1000 units in stock by the
orange range and when over 2500 units it will be in the red range. There are 6 points in the
line, indicating each of the products B01 to B06.
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12.2 Marketing:
You must determine the daily advertising budget for each of your products (up to 6) and
each of the 3 regional areas.
Because the preferences of consumers might differ from one area to the other, it may be
optimal to target advertising expenditures differently across areas. The difficulty, of
course, is to know how much should be invested for marketing each product in each area.
Advertising is good but not always necessary, especially if your product is desired. Do not
spend all your available cash on advertising; you will end up losing money. Marketing
expenses only affect demand for the current period and its benefits are not carried over to
the future. Hence, it is useless to spend on marketing on any given day for a product that
you do not have in stock. Remember that the impact of marketing is immediate. Marketing
investments have an immediate negative impact on profit, and (hopefully) a positive one
through increased sales.
Note, similar to warehouse expenses, marketing expenses are posted in General Ledger
every 5 days.
Marketing is persuasive. It seeks to convince consumers that your product is the one they
should prefer.
HERE IS A TIP: Try to avoid spending a lot of advertising money for two different
products in the same geographic area. One euro spent on a product hurts the sale of
the other and vice versa.
The Marketing Expense Report will provide you with insight as to how much your
marketing budget is compared to your overall contribution margin (Net Income is
contribution margin minus marketing and warehouse expenses)
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Contact: [email protected]
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