SAP Community - SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence

How to Solve Error during SUM Execution "The server selected protocol version TLS10 is not accepted by client preferences [TLS12]"

2021-06-08T19:14:07+02:00

The SAP is implementing several Security Updates and Patches into several products to different times. In some circumstances, it may be happen, that too many of this updates and security patches accumulate into one maintenance window with conflicting results.

In our case this has happen on a Windows Server 2012 R2 running NetWeaver 7.5 JAVA on MSSQL Server 2012 DB Service Pack 1.
The issue is depending to SAP KERNEL, SAPJVM8 and current SUM versions.
The Problem is, that TLS1.0 is not longer supported by SAP, but it is used on MSSQL Server 2012 SP1.

With SAP KERNEL 7.53 Patch 800 the NetWeaver is working, but configtool is failing with error message regarding TLS1.0.
With SAPJVM 8.1.074 and higher, NetWeaver is not starting anymore, since TLS1.0 is disabled by default (https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2199062).
And finally also at SUM 26 Patch 3 or higher TLS1.0+1.1 is disabled by default.

/SUM10SP26_2/SUM/jvm/jre/lib/security/java.security > TLS 1+1.1 are not disabled (jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms=SSLv3, RC4, DES, MD5withRSA, \)

/SUM10SP26_3/SUM/jvm/jre/lib/security/java.security > TLS 1+1.1 are disabled (jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms=SSLv3, TLSv1, TLSv1.1, RC4, DES, MD5withRSA, \)

I have developed a routine to solve that issue and migrate the system from TLS1.0 to TLS1.2 (including Service Pack Upgrade for MSSQL Server to SP04 if needed).

optional: check TLS1.0+1.1 are enabled (use IISCrypto.exe* for example)

use SUM (Version before 26_3) to update kernel7.53 (800) + sapjvm8 (8.1.075)
- java-only start will failing - continue with next step, but let SUM stay at it is! (See picture below)

check and update java.security files
1. "/usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/exe/jvm/NTAMD64/sapjvm_8.1.075/sapjvm_8/jre/lib/security/java.security"
2. "/usr/sap/<SID>/J00/exe/sapjvm_8/jre/lib/security/java.security"
  - enable tls1+1.1 temporarily
  - #jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms=SSLv3, TLSv1, TLSv1.1, RC4, DES, MD5withRSA, \
    jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms=SSLv3, RC4, DES, MD5withRSA, \

Stop and Start NetWeaver

continue SUM (Version before 26_3) to repeat Restart JAVA-Only (successfull)

Stop NetWeaver afterwards

update java.security files
1. "/usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/exe/jvm/NTAMD64/sapjvm_8.1.075/sapjvm_8/jre/lib/security/java.security"
2. "/usr/sap/<SID>/J00/exe/sapjvm_8/jre/lib/security/java.security"
  - disable tls1+1.1 again (default settings)
  - jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms=SSLv3, TLSv1, TLSv1.1, RC4, DES, MD5withRSA, \

Backup NetWeaver DB

install sql server 2012 sp4 (KB4018073) - or each other RDBMS supporting TLS1.2

install sql server 2012 sp4 security update (KB4583465) - or each other RDBMS supporting TLS1.2

optional: disable TLS1.0+1.1 (use IISCrypto.exe* on client and server <Best Practices> for example)

Reboot System (NetWeaver Auto Start)

update SUM to version 26_3 or higher

use SUM (Version 26_3 or higher) to continue update Maintenance for NetWeaver, ME and MII...

*https://www.nartac.com/Products/IISCrypto/Download

MSSQL Server 2012 Service Pack 04 Files: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=SQL%20Server%202012%20Service%20Pack%204

SUM Process Execution Error in Restart System for Java-Only Step

Using this procedure make the update for SAP NetWeaver 7.5 JAVA SP20 with SAP Kernel 7.53 Patch 800 and SAPJVM8 Patch 75 on MSSQL SERVER 2012 SP4 possible. Otherwise it is not possible to update a system running a MSSQLSERVER 2012 with current patch and support packages from SAP.

Without this procedure JAVA Start will failing during update process und the update process is not able to finish properly.

please check also SAP Q & A: https://answers.sap.com/questions/ask.html?primaryTagId=681405860242501232266070960678260

regards

Matthias

SAPPHIRE NOW China Summit - High Tech Customer Industry 4.0 transformation journey

2021-06-29T15:22:11+02:00

The post-pandemic world presents challenges to all industry sectors. However, there are a number of factors which are specific, and especially acute for High Tech industry. We have seen the phenomena:

The pandemic drives popularity of consumer electronic devices including games consoles, laptops and tablets. PlayStations got harder to find in stores; Broadband providers faced months long delays for internet routers.

A global shortage of semiconductor computer chips is impacting car production around the globe and continues to disrupt the automotive supply chain. Car makers slashed production.

Electronics Manufacturing in High Tech Industry is a tough and competitive business, and the supply chain is global, which is characterized by:

Mass-customized production, typically in electronic components, aims at maintaining high-sequence throughput and consistent quality despite increased product variances.

High-volume production, such as consumer electronics, semiconductor chips, full automation (lights-out production) drives further productivity increase while changing product mixes require higher flexibility or production line adaptation.

A long and complex production process, which relies on a large number of high precision and complex equipment.

An intermediated, global, and very complex supply and value chain, which are networked of multiple partners, suppliers, and component manufacturers. A typical electronic product has hundreds of individual components, typically provided by different suppliers, often traveling thousands of miles. (see figure-1)

Unpredictable demand, sometimes even unreasonable customer expectations. For example, the stay-at-home era pushed the demand for computers and office equipment to support home workers (and network equipment to supply their connectivity) far beyond levels projected before the pandemic.

Figure-1 High Tech Industry Value Chain

SAP Strategy for Industry 4.0

To address these challenges, SAP has introduced the Industry 4.0 scenarios in “SAP’s Strategy for Industry 4.0” (see Figure-2):

Figure-2 Industry 4.0 Scenario Examples Across Industry Clusters

How is the customer Industry 4.0 transformation journey with the help of SAP solutions?

Let us look at a customer example - Shenzhen ABSEN Optoelectronic Co. Ltd. ABSEN is a leading LED displays manufacturer and shared their “Industry 4.0 transformation journey” at 2021 SAPPHIRE NOW China Summit.

Since 2016, ABSEN has started with an Industry 4.0 smart factory approach by deploying SAP® Manufacturing Suite and SAP S/4HANA®. Here are some highlights:

ABSEN has combined automated SMT assembly, manual module assembly and case assembly into one digital process, enabling digitally networked manufacturing.

SAP ME is seamless integrated with SAP ERP and SCADA. 139 equipment are connected. 303 data collection points ensure the data accuracy traceability with full transparency across the production lifecycle.

ABSEN has simplified user interfaces on the shop floor using mobile devices, which allows shopfloor worker to go paperless, and have implemented active process interlocking and control.

ABSEN has connected assembly stations with automated guided vehicles and automated warehouse processing, bringing new levels of flexibility to an already highly automated process. This has resulted in increased throughput, improved uptime, and lower capital expenditure on shop floor equipment while still supporting increased product diversity.

SMT equipment is set up automatically with parameters taken from the production order; SMT equipment operating parameters are collected for preventive and even predictive maintenance. The real time process data is collected for automated process control and quality control.

With such a digital backbone: automating processes, digitalizing operations, and leveraging detailed information from the shop floor operations, ABSEN is continuously improving product design, Supplier collaboration, Logistics and after sales service to fulfil varying customer demand and deliver high service levels.

To learn more about it, please visit:

2021 SAPPHIRE NOW China Summit - “Industry 4.0 transformation journey”

How Can a Smart Factory Transform Production to Deliver Sustained Competitive Advantage?

In this blog, I try to give you an overview:

What are the major challenges High Tech manufacturers are facing in post-pandemic world?

What is SAP’s Point of view for Industry 4.0 scenarios in High Tech industry?

How does Industry 4.0 frontrunner response to these challenges?

Looking forward to receiving your feedback and comments! You can also go to Ask a Question if you have further questions.

Helpful SAP ME/MII server Troubleshooting Resources with Hana Database

2021-07-18T09:40:07+02:00

Introduction:

In this blog post you will learn how to resolve issues while working in MI/MII server.In that case we can follow some steps that includes:

validation of correct SQL port (SQL Port mentioned in Landscape tab ) and that is used in Config Tool

expired password of Hana database users

We will also go through issues that can be noticed while starting the server and going through log files.

Different scenarios and their solutions are :

Case 1: ERROR => Node 'bootstrap' failed with exit code 558

You can follow snote- https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/710663

Case 2: Error -An internal error occurred ; contact technical support

URL - http://<hostname>:<port>/manufacturing

Cause -DB users like WIP, ODS, DM and INT are expired.

Resolution -

Check user status with below query -

select USERNAME,ACCOUNT_STATUS,LOCK_DATE from dba_users where USERNAME=’WIPUSR’;

User Status will be expired.

Run query to change password for expired users :

ALTER USER username IDENTIFIED BY password;

Do the same for all users

Restart DB and NW

Case 3: The Manufacturing server is still down

Resolution -

Please do the following which will force all new configurations
to be realised in the Java system;

1) Completely stop the system.
2) Back up and remove all files from the below directories:
/usr/sap///work/
/usr/sap//SCS/work/
/usr/sap///j2ee/cluster/server/log (For each server node)
3) Change the Bootstrap mode to FORCE: 710663 - AS Java Bootstrap Synchronization
3) Start the system.

Case 4: Check parameters of config Tool

Resolution -

Please perform the following changes:

In the /usr/sap/SID/inst_Nr/2ee/cluster/bootstrap/jvm.properties file add the parameter -

Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true

ClassPath=./bootstrap/sap.com~tc~bl~offline_launcher~impl.jar

JavaParameters=-Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true

MainClass=com.sap.engine.offline.OfflineToolStart

Parameters=com.sap.engine.bootstrap.Bootstrap ./bootstrap

Also edit the configtool.bat or configtool.sh file, insert the JVM parameter after the line starting with %JAVA_CMD%:

"%JAVA_CMD% -Duser.language=en -Xmx1024m -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -classpath .\lib\sap.com~tc~bl~offline_launcher~impl.jar;. com.sap.engine.offline.OfflineToolStart com.sap.engine.configtool.visual.ConfigTool ./lib/ "

Start configtool and set the -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true for the Java server nodes, see SAP KBA 2250890 - IPv6 addresses are used unexpectedly

Conclusion

I hope you have learned about how to handle situation where SAP Manufacturing server is down and contains error messages and log files .I suggest to check the Process list and Instance list during restart of the server .When the server is stopped and if it is not stopped completely and we execute the start command , the server fails to start.

Please, let us know your comments. If you have any questions, we encourage you to post into the comment section and we will try to answer them as soon as possible.

Regards

Pallavi Anand

How a Leading Commercial Vehicles Manufacturer Embraces Industry 4.0 to Achieve Smarter and Leaner Operations

2021-11-17T12:06:13+01:00

Headquartered in Gurugram, a city located about 30 kilometers southwest of the national capital New Delhi, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd. is regarded as the most successful joint venture in the Indian commercial vehicle (CV) industry.

In 2008, two leading players in the commercial vehicle business — Volvo Group and Eicher Motors — joined forces with a common vision of driving modernization in the commercial transport business in India. Volvo Group brought in global expertise, leadership in product technology, well-defined processes, and a brand respected all over the world. Eicher Motors is a leader in the Light and Medium Vehicle segment, and contributed with frugal engineering, considerable after-sales infrastructure, and cost-effective operations.

VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd. (VECV) is comprised of five business verticals: Eicher Trucks and Buses, Volvo Trucks India, Eicher Engineering Components, VE Powertrain, VECV Engine Business, and Volvo Bus India. The company includes the exclusive distribution of Volvo Trucks in India, engine manufacturing and exports for Volvo Group, non-automotive engines, and the Eicher component business. A multi-brand, multi-division company backed by innovative products and services, VECV is today recognized as a leader its industry.

Mastering highly complex Assembly Processes at Minimum Cost

Commercial truck manufacturing involves highly complex assembly operations due to the large number of variants, the thousands of parts being assembled, and the many types of tools and machines that are required.

On top of this, VECV faced several challenges:

Shortage of skilled manpower made it extremely difficult to maintain quality and high productivity at minimum cost.

Inability to track and trace its assembly operations.

Considerable training effort was required for new operators as there was no system to guide operators on assembly processes while performing operations.

Suboptimal line efficiency, machine utilization and operator productivity resulted in lower quality and higher rework due to lack of process controls and error-proofing.

Lack of data connection on the assembly line which did not allow any meaningful insights to improve process quality.

Paving the Way to Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing

VECV needed a solution that would enable real-time monitoring of its entire manufacturing supply chain processes to:

Gain meaningful insights to increase overall line efficiency, productivity, and quality

Achieve cost savings by standardizing operational processes and equipment

Creating standard operating procedures to guide new operators and reduce time for operator deployment on assembly lines

Reduce operator errors and driving efficiency by making assembly operations 100% traceable

Decrease costly downtime by implementing predictive maintenance for critical machinery

Embracing Industry 4.0 principles, the vehicles company decided to adopt smart manufacturing processes by implementing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-based solutions from SAP to bring shop-floor visibility to the top floor. That enables faster decision-making and provides meaningful insights to improve overall line efficiency, productivity, and quality.

Fostering Smarter and Leaner Operations with Impressive Results

VECV introduced SAP Manufacturing Suite which is comprised of a number of digital manufacturing solutions that helped them meet their objectives. The solution was deployed on all 10 assembly lines, each comprised of about 150+ assembly stations, where 200+ machines are used to assemble about 3,000 parts.

This means that:

Assembly operations’ standard operating procedures are now displayed in real time. Assembly machines are connected to capture more than 400 critical process parameters, ensuring tight process controls and error-proofing.

Automated part selection guarantees correct selection and traceability for all 3,000 parts. The RFID integration through SAP Plant Connectivity eliminates manual interventions and MES screens on assembly stations optimize efficiency.

A defect capturing and feedback system improves product quality and reduces errors.

A 100% labor tracking improves operator efficiency.

Overall Equipment Efficiency calculations enable predictive maintenance of critical machines. Real-time reports provide meaningful insights and enable faster decision-making. Vibration sensors installed on 6 key critical machines capture data into SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (SAP MII) solution via SAP Plant Connectivity (PCo) software. Data is analyzed to create an algorithm in SAP MII to predict machine failure.

SAP Manufacturing Suite enabled the company to standardize operational processes, equipment, and activities, leading to cost savings in operations and faster gains in productivity and quality. With 100% tracking and traceability of all assembly operations, troubleshooting time was significantly reduced. Tight process controls and error-proofing increased overall product quality, reduced mistakes, and improved productivity.

As Sumit Goyal, Senior Manager IT, Digital Manufacturing explained, “SAP Manufacturing Suite has brought many tactical and strategic benefits to VECV. It has helped improve productivity, lower operating costs, and increased quality and compliance. By gaining real-time visibility into the entire manufacturing supply chain, we are able to accelerate root-cause analysis by making fact-based decisions”.

And the numbers speak for themselves. VECV have seen:

15% productivity improvement

30% process quality improvement

Reduction in field failures

20% improvement in manpower utilization

Significant reduction in non value-add activities through automation

40% error reduction

100% tracking and traceability of critical process parameters and assembled parts

Zero compliance issues

And from an IT perspective:

Single platform capturing data from different sources, eases system maintenance

Reduced infrastructure and operational costs by removing standalone, third-party solutions used to capture data from different systems

95% of machines connected with line controls, and improved process quality by 20%

30% reduction in unplanned downtime

15% improvement in OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) OEE Management and OLE (Overhead Line Equipment)

Would you like to learn more about how innovative organizations utilize Industry 4.0 to improve manufacturing processes? Check out the “Building Intelligent Factories with Industry 4.0” report and read the Business Transformation Study.

Sending Mail Via SAP MII Attachment or table in Mail body

2021-12-26T07:08:15+01:00

In today’s world, habit of reading an E-mail can differ person to person while there is lot of data we must put in mail. As some of people might want to see data as an attachment in mail, but many of us want to have everything paste into the Mail body as content itself. As nobody has time to save endless sheets in their system.

To counter this problem in while sending Mail via MII, it provides both functionality to user to attach data sheet (txt file, csv file, pdf file) into the mail as well as you can create html tables in the Mail to show the data into mail body.

Prerequisite for this functionality to work.

Mail server configuration in MII (please refer to link https://blogs.sap.com/2021/04/28/mail-server-configuration-sap-mii/)

Basic XSLT language understanding.

Pinch of html.

As described in above blog, after configuring the mail server in MII we are ready to proceed with sending data with different approaches.

Let’s check both approaches one by one:

Approach-1: Send Attachment in mail using SAP MII.

Get data from source system. (preferably XML)

manipulate the data according to the requirement (format that we want to send) let’s say (.csv file)

By using the write file action block save file in the web folder.

while sending mail paste E-mail address in To and from parameter and for picking the file please use the attachment parameter from action block as below.

Mail Action Block configure links:

Figure:1 Link_attachmentViaMail

Sample BLS in SAP MII:

Fig.2 BLS_AttachmentViaMail

Output in MailBox:

Fig.3 Output_attachmentViaMail

Approach:2 Create html table in mail body using SAP MII.

Get data from source system (preferably XML)

For creating the table, we need to use XSLT. Sample XSLT example (https://www.w3schools.com/xml/xsl_intro.asp)

Content type will be “text/html”

Configure mail action block with below parameter.

Mail Action Block configure links:

Figure:4 Link_HTMLTableViaMail

Sample BLS in SAP MII:

Fig.5 BLS_HTMLTableViaMail

Output in Mailbox:

Fig.6 Output_HTMLTableViaMail

Conclusion:

This is how we can use MII mail functionality to send data using Attachment or paste it in mail body.

Hope you have enjoyed this blog while reading. If you have any comments/queries or suggestion, please write those in the comment section.

Happy Reading.

Usage of Checkbox in the MEINT Workflow

2022-04-28T10:32:31+02:00

Hi Folks,

My blog post is regarding some newly introduced features of the MEINT workflow. After completing the blog post, you will be able to understand the usage & advantages of those features which can be used in an optimum level to implement any desired functionality.

Recently many of you probably have noticed a checkbox in Standard / partner pre or post XSLT in MEINT workflow. If not yet, then please have a look below. 😊

These checkboxes were not there earlier. Suddenly these have been introduced by SAP & made them visible in all the 91 no. of available workflows in MEINT. Therefore, without further surprise, following obvious questions came into my mind after seeing the above changes in MEINT.

The usage or utility of the checkboxes

If the checkbox is introduced for standard & partner XSLT, then why not the same for customer XSLT?

It’s well-known that the standard XSLT cannot be modified by partner or customer. If the partner or customer XSLTs aren’t customized, then by default the standard one will be executed. Then what is the point of activating the standard XSLT by checking the checkbox externally?

To find all the answers, me & my colleague Mr. Palavesa Muthu have explored the area in details & found out the following facts.

To test the functionality of the checkboxes, we wrote some custom logic for a workflow & placed the BLS link in different places of the workflow to find out the difference in behavior.

Case1: Configured Standard and Partner pre–XSLT Transaction (only standard is activated)

Standard and partner pre-XSLT transactions are configured, and standard transaction checkbox is selected.

Message is Enqueued.

Both standard and partner transactions got executed.

Case2: Configured Standard and Partner pre–XSLT Transaction (only Partner is activated)

Only the Partner transaction got executed.

Case3: Configured Standard and Partner pre–XSLT Transaction (nothing is activated)

Only Partner transaction got executed.

Case4: Configured Standard, Partner and Customer pre–XSLT Transaction (Both Standard & Partner are activated)

All three transactions got executed.

Case5: Configured Standard, Partner and Customer pre–XSLT Transaction (only Standard is activated)

Standard and customer transactions got executed.

Case6: Configured Standard, Partner and Customer pre–XSLT Transaction (only Partner is activated)

Partner and customer transactions got executed.

Now what?? The head started spinning after seeing so many screenshots??

Don’t worry. We have summarized the whole investigation & the learning from it in a nutshell below for a quick reference.

Hope the above analysis has given a detail picture of the newly introduced checkboxes, its utility & advantages.

Please feel free to provide your valuable comments & feedback. Don't forget to like it if it enhances your knowledge. I'll be happy to answer your questions & clear your doubts in comment section.

With Best Regards,

Puspita Dutta

PAPI Services call failed in SAP ME.

2022-11-21T14:17:26+01:00

Introduction:

PAPI (Public API) is a set of ME web services that enable services to communicate with one another and leverage one another's data and functionality via a documented interface. Developers aren't required to understand how a PAPI works; they simply use the PAPI interface to communicate.

Each PAPI service is made up of one or more operations (methods) that can be used to invoke business functions in SAP ME.

These operations (methods) can be used to implement font-end UIs, integrate with manufacturing equipment and business systems, or extend the SAP ME solution to meet your organization's needs.

This blog tells you what you should do if the PAPI web services fail and what solutions you can implement.

Reason:

If SAP ME goes down (either intentionally or because the application crashed) and is then restarted, the references to the SAP ME libraries are not reloaded and PAPI calls made to SAP ME fail with the error “Exception: [com/sap/me/integration/util/MEPAPIHelper : cannot initialize class because prior initialization attempt failed]”

Solution:

Anytime SAP ME goes down or is taken down and is restarted, SAP MII should also be restarted so that the referenced libraries are also reloaded correctly.

Use the following steps to restart SAP MII:

Log on to the SAP NetWeaver Administrator console using the following URL (replace host and port with appropriate values for your system) http://<host>:<port>/nwa

Choose the Operations tab and click on the Start & Stop link.

Choose the Java Applications tab.

In the Application list, select xapps~xmii~ear application and stop it.

Select xapps~xmii~jraapp application and stop it.

Refresh the list and check that xapps~xmii~ear, xapps~xmii~jraapp, xapps~me~integration~ear and xapps~me~integration~ui are fully stopped.

Select xapps~xmii~jraapp application and start it.

Select xapps~xmii~ear application and start it.

Refresh the list and check that xapps~xmii~ear, xapps~xmii~jraapp, xapps~me~integration~ear and xapps~me~integration~ui are up and running.

Conclusion

I would also recommend that you follow the SAP Manufacturing Execution community so that you can receive notifications about upcoming content from myself and other community members.

SAP Manufacturing Execution

You can also look at the Q&A in communities and ask questions.

Q&A Platform

Finally, I'd like to request and encourage you to follow my profile so that you can be the first to learn about any new and exciting technical or functional information regarding SAP Manufacturing Execution.

Thank you for reading my blog post, and if you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let me know so I can make it better.

Web based UI5 code editor for MII

2023-01-04T11:31:06+01:00

Hello MII Developers,

In this blog post, I want to demonstrate the web-based UI5 editor for SAP MII. I noticed most of the MII developers use external editors to write the code and copy-pasting it into the workbench. So I taught of avoiding this process by developing the web-based UI5 code editor.

By using this editor we can directly edit MII web files in the browser and on save it saves the files straight into MII Workbench. Below are the few features of this web IDE.

It gives the auto code suggestions and errors if any while typing the code. We can also perform all the other actions like creating a file, creating a folder, copying and pasting the files, etc.

We can create a complete UI5 app from the template with a few clicks.

One more add-on feature is creating and maintaining versions for a file. at any point, we can commit the code and it stores the code to MDO. This helps to prevent losing previous code.

We can Split the tab into two and work on multiple files simultaneously side by side. This feature is useful when we work with multiple files at a time or with large files.

We can also view the API reference directly from the editor without going to another tab. This helps focus on the code and logic.

Below is a short video demonstrating all the features of this code editor. also, get this Open source Project in GitHub

This the extension to the editor developed by christian.libich5

Conclusion

I hope you have got how to set up and use the MII code editor to improve the UI5 application development in SAP MII.

Please, let me know your comments. If you have any questions, I encourage you to post in the comment section and I will try to answer them as soon as possible. Please follow me for more useful content.

Custom Archiving Setup

2023-01-25T15:34:41+01:00

Hello Everyone,

I would like to share the subject related to the Archiving setup in SAP MES. We are all familiar with the Standard Archiving setup in the SAP ME system. But sometimes based on the business requirement, we have to archive the custom tables.

From this blog, you will get the business logic to archive the custom tables in SAP ME.

Standard Archiving in ME

The number of records in the WIP (Work In Progress) database becomes quite large after a certain period of time. When the system searches through a large number of records, it slows down the retrieval process. So, the performance of the system will be poor. To achieve good performance, we must archive closed SFC or shop orders. Once we archive the shop orders or SFC, the DB performance will improve.

Why do we need Custom Archiving?

The Standard Archiving setup in SAP ME allows you to archive the standard tables in ME. The Shop Order and SFC tables can be archived with this configuration.

In some cases, based on the project need, we have mapped and stored the shop order and SFC details in custom tables in SAP ME. Here, the standard archiving setup ignores the custom table archiving, and the archived Shop Orders and SFCs were not archived from the custom tables.

In this case, the custom table details must be archived. So, we have to follow the steps to archive the Custom tables in SAP ME.

High-level Steps

Step 1. Create an archive table for “Z_ID” (Custom Table).

Step 2. Develop a transaction for archiving.

Step 3. Create a scheduler to execute the transaction every night (say, at 1:30 am).

Detailed Steps:

Step 1. Create an archive table for “Z _ID”.

In the WIP database, create the archive table "Z_AR_ID" for "Z_ ID".

The new table should contain all columns belonging to the “Z _ID”

Make sure the column names for the new table have the same naming convention as the “Z _ID”

Step 2. Develop a Transaction for archiving.

Write an SQL query to get the newly archived shop order list from the last scheduler run and validate that the records are not in “Z_AR_ID” but present in the “Z_ID” table.

For each shop order from the list, insert into the custom archive table “Z_AR_ID”.

Write the query to delete the archived shop order (Z_AR_ID) from the custom table “Z_ID”.

Step 3. Create a scheduler to execute the transaction Every day at 1:30 AM.

Create a scheduler “Archive_Z_ID_Table” in MII Menu -> System Management -> Scheduler.

Set Scheduler time as “0 30 1 * * *” for 1:30:00am every Day.

Conclusion:

I hope you have got how to set up the MII schedulers and use the MII transactions to improve the application development in SAP MII. Please, let me know your comments. If you have any questions, I encourage you to post in the comment section and I will try to answer them as soon as possible. Please follow me for more useful content.

ME Data collection from External System using SOAP Web Service

2023-01-31T16:57:35+01:00

Hello Everyone,

SAP ME (Manufacturing Execution) and MII (Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) are niche tools given by SAP to connect shop floor systems like PLCs, / SCADA / Historians / Third-party systems to ERP (SAP ECC / SAP S/4 HANA).

Here, in this article, I am describing the steps involved in connecting such a third-party shop floor system with SAP MII using SOAP Web service methods instead of the traditional OPC integration methods.

Prerequisites:

ME data collection parameters setup completed as required

To make the Web service call, create a ME/MII UME service user.

High-Level Overview:

Expose the MII BLS transaction as a WSDL service to send Machine parameter values.

Create a Custom workflow.

Built BLS transaction to receive Machine values and record them in ME data collection.

1. MII BLS transaction as WSDL service

Developed a BLS transaction in the MII workbench with an input XML parameter.

XML structure should be enveloped by the message name and enlist required parameter names as nodes containing respective values, as shown below.
```
<Message_Name>

<Param_Name1>Value</Param_Name1>

:

</Message_Name>
```

Validate and assign the input XML parameter to the Message Enqueuer action block to call the Custom Workflow configurations.

Provide the MII WSDL URL for the third-party system to call and pass external system Machine parameter values.

2. Create a Custom Workflow

Create a Custom workflow for Message type processing, as shown below.

Message name should start with Z to identify as Custom Workflow.

Map a new MII BLS transaction as a service transaction to receive the input XML and proceed further.

Note: Using a custom MII Workflow Configuration, the triggered messages can be traced for any failure and can be re-run from the SAP MII Queue monitor.

3. BLS Service transaction to receive and record ME data collection values.

Within the mapped MII BLS service transaction, repeat through the XML nodes to validate the required conditions for the DC data type and value received.

Then call the PAPI (logDCGroup) to initiate the ME Data collection. Catch and handle any exceptions thrown from PAPI as needed.

Frame the MII BLS transaction WSDL path with parameter name(s) for the Third-party system developer to call and pass the ME Data collection parameters & values.

Syntax options:

For SOAP Webservice call, MII WSDLGen shall be used as shown below after assigning proper reference documents,

http://<Hostname>:<Port>/XMII/WSDLGen/<TransactionPath>?wsdl

Or you can encapsulate the MII transaction into a XACUTE query to have session parameters properly binded and expose the web service call URL as below,

http://<Hostname>:<Port>/XMII/Illuminator?QueryTemplate=<XacutePath>&<InputParams>

Directly use the Runner based URL to call the transaction,

http://<Hostname>:<Port>/XMII/Runner?Transaction=<TransactionPath>&<InputParam>=<<InputXML>>

Conclusion & Merits:

Usually, for shop floor integration scenarios, where Machine data is captured from PLC / SCADA / Other Third-party systems, MII will use PCo (Plant Connectivity) based OPC or ODBC connections to drive the interface.

In cases like this where a Third-party system doesn’t expose data through OPC or ODBC frameworks but can call a simple web service to pass data over for further SAP processing above demonstrated the interface works seamlessly.

This also eliminates an additional integration point/software i.e., PCo which needs to be maintained.

I believe, this article will help you how to set up the Machine Integration and use the MII transactions to improve the application development in SAP MII. I encourage you to post your comment and I will try to answer them as soon as possible. Please follow me for more useful content.

Transfer of BOM with phantom items to external system via SAP MII

2023-02-02T22:12:14+01:00

Hello Everyone,

SAP MII (Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) is a powerful tool provided by SAP to connect shop floor systems (PLC / SCADA / Historians) to ERP (SAP ECC / SAP S/4 HANA).

There may be cases where you need to transfer the BOM with phantom items to external system. Using MII we can achieve this.

Why we need this?

To display the BOM details with Phantom components to the External System.

Prerequisites:

MEINT Configuration

IDOC Configuration for BOMMAT S4 to MII

External system URL to Post BOM Component from MII

High-Level Overview

MII workflow configuration

Built BLS transaction for pass handler of BOMMAT05.

Built BLS transaction to transfer BOM with Phantom items to external system (Service Transaction)

Transfer of BOM Details to External system

Conclusion

1. MII workflow configuration

Go to SAP ME ERP Integration-->SAPMEINT Configuration-->Workflow Configuration standard workflow of BOM BOMMAT05 in SAPMEINT workflow configuration. Fig: 1.1

To the BOMMAT05 workflow, add the pass handler transaction.

Pass handler transaction should trigger the new workflow after BOM is updated to ME standard tables. Fig: 1.2

Create a new workflow message type name Z_SEND_BOM to transfer BOM to external system and attach trigger point in BOMMAT05 pass handler.

So that whenever BOM updated in Standard ME tables. Z_SEND_BOM workflow will be triggered and BOM will send to external system.

In Z_SEND_BOM workflow add service transaction and request XSLT. Fig: 1.3

Whenever BOM is pushed from S4 in MII BOMMAT05 workflow triggered and update in standard ME tables and after updating Z_SEND_BOM workflow trigger.

It will initiate the transfer of BOM to external system.

The triggered message to external system can be noticed on the MII Queue.

2. Built BLS transaction for pass handler of BOMMAT05

Create a BLS Pass handler transaction.

In pass handler check the Modified data of BOM.

Assign the Date to local property of data type date. Irrespective of date format we should be able to check the date.

Figure 2.1 shows condition to check Modified date of BOM value from BOM Component Table which is assigned in local property.
Fig: 2.1

So that whenever there is a change in BOM or BOM component. The new BOM is allowed to transfer to external system. Fig: 2.2

3. Built BLS transaction to transfer BOM with Phantom items to external system (Service Transaction)

Create two local properties BOM header and BOM components as shown in below figure 3.1 & 3.2.

Based on the requirement change the local properties accordingly Fig: 3.1

Fig: 3.2

Using SQL query get the BOM details and

check phantom indicator is active. Fig: 3.3

If component indicator is active append the components in BOM component local property

External system only accepts JSON format. So, I have built an XML and converted into JSON format before transferring to external system.

Using for next loop checked every Components which have phantom indicator and get the phantom components and added it with the parent BOM xml structure.

In Configure for next loop set loop count FROM 0 and TO 25 (TO represents how many times the loop should run). Based on requirement varies.

As of now twenty-five levels Phantom’s can be achieved by for next loop action block. Fig: 3.4

Assign the BOM details from repeater to BOM component local property.

Using condition block separated assignment of BOM header and Append BOM components. We can avoid append BOM header details repeatedly assigning in XML structure. Fig: 3.5

4. Transfer of BOM Details to External System

Converted the BOM details to JSON using XML to JSON converter action block because the external system only accepts JSON format.

External system team have provided Posting URL.

Using HTTP Post action block linked the converted JSON BOM details in post data and external system URL. Fig: 4.1

5. Conclusion

I would also recommend that you follow the SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence community so that you can receive notifications about upcoming content from myself and other community members.

SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence

You can also look at the Q&A in communities and ask questions.

Q&A Platform

Finally, I’d like to request and encourage you to follow my profile so that you can be the first to learn about any new and exciting technical or functional information regarding SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence.

Thank you for reading my blog post, and if you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let me know.

Start and Complete operation from external system using web service

2023-02-02T22:45:45+01:00

Hello everyone,

In this blog, let us see how to trigger the MII transaction for the start and completion of an operation from an external system to MES.

Here, in this article, I am describing the steps involved in connecting such an external system with SAP MII using SOAP Web service URL to get external data and automatically start and complete operation in SAP MII.

Instead of PCO, I have used WDSL URL. For this, I created a custom workflow to monitor the operation start and complete message status (pass/fail) in the SAP MII Queue.

High-level Steps:

Step 1. Create MII transaction

Step 2. Create custom workflow

Attach the Request XSLT

Configure service transaction (to auto-start and complete the operation)

Step 3. Build WSDL URL to pass the external data

Detailed Steps:

Step 1. Create MII transaction

Create a MII transaction to read input from external system. Inside the transaction use Enqueuer action block to call the workflow.

Step 2. Create workflow and attached Request XSLT & Service Transaction to auto start and complete the operation

Create a custom workflow. Configure the request XSLT for getting external data.

Configure service transaction to start and complete the operation.

Create a service transaction for start and complete the operation. Pass the request payload as input parameter to this transaction.

Define the input and output transaction parameters as shown below.

Inside the inputXML, pass the request payload as input parameter to this transaction properties.

In the Start & complete PAPI, map these input variables to start and complete the operation.

To get a response message, we required Success Message variable. So, we have created the variables in Local properties and map to the assignment action block.

Define the SuccessMessage given below as a local property.

When the data come from external system, the transaction will be triggered.

The transaction will call the Workflow, the workflow will trigger the service transaction.

The service transaction will get called to start and complete the operation in ME and the message will be shown in the SAP MII Queue monitor.

Step 3. Build WSDL URL to pass the external data

Build a WSDL URL using MII portal path with transaction path.

URL:http://<Hostname><Port>/XMII/WSDLGen/<TrasactionPath>?wsdl

Conclusion

Normally, for shop floor integration scenarios, where Machine data is captured from PLC / Other Third-party systems, Mostly MII will use PCo (Plant Connectivity).

This eliminates an additional integration. i.e., PCo which needs more configuration.

I hope, this article will help you how to set up the external system integration and use the MII transactions to improve the application development in SAP MII. Thank you for reading this blog post. For further questions related to the blog, please check the Q&A area and feel free to post your questions.

Steps to Configure NWDS for SAP MII

2023-08-12T02:11:26+02:00

Configuration Steps

Following setup files to be downloaded for NWDS configuration. The setup files mentioned in below are versions which used while writing this blog.

NWDS (NWCEIDE23P_3-80002366)

SAPCAR (SAPCAR_1115-70006231)

SAPJVM(SAPJVM8_31-80000211)

7ZIP setup(not required if 7ZIP is already installed in the system)

STEP 1: Place all downloaded files from 1 to 3 in single folder and install the 7ZIP if not installed in system. 7ZIP was used as standard windows unzip extracted folder had errors or missing files.

STEP 2: Extract the NWDS (NWCEIDE23P_3-80002366) using 7ZIP into the same folder where all downloaded files were placed from STEP 1 and a folder name eclipse will be the output of extraction.

STEP 3: Open command prompt. Use command CD (your folder path where download was placed)

Example: CD C:\Users\documents\NWDS (for example if all downloaded files are placed in NWDS folder in some system path)

STEP 4: Now the below command to extract SAPJVM(SAPJVM8_31-80000211) in same command prompt session of step 3.

SAPCAR.exe -xvf SAPJVM.SAR -R./SAPJVM

Below is the example as per the versions downloaded in Step 1 and wait till extraction completes.

SAPCAR_1115-70006231.exe -xvf SAPJVM8_31-80000211.SAR -R ./SAPJVM

STEP 5: Find the javaw.exe file in extracted JVM folder from Step 4 and copy the path. Replace all backward slash’s to forward slash’s

Example: C:\Users\ documents\NWDS\SAPJVM\sapjvm_8\bin\javaw.exe

STEP 6: Now open eclipse folder which was extracted from Step 2 and look for eclipse configuration file.

Paste the below command as shown in screenshot and Replace all backward slash’s (\) to forward slash’s (/) of the copied javaw path.

openFile

-vm

C:/Users/ documents/NWDS/SAPJVM/sapjvm_8/bin/javaw.exe

STEP 7: Now open (double click) eclipse application from eclipse folder.

STEP 8: When the Sap Netweaver Developer Studio is open, go to Window / Preferences. Now you’ll add the system which you want to connect with.

In the Preferences screen open Development Infrastructure and go to System Landscape Directory:

Enter after URL a SLD link and click on Ping to test the connection.

STEP 9: Go to Web Services / Enterprise Service Browser, and fill in the connection settings:

STEP 10: Go to File/Import. Then select Development Configuration as shown below and press Next

Select Import from System Landscape Directory(SLD) and Press Next

Enter the credentials for the Development Infrastructure and Press Log On.

STEP 11: Go to Window/Show View/Component Browser

Select the SLD system which was added.

Go to Window/Show View/Transport View

Transport View will be open which we will use in future steps for releasing the transport requests

Steps in SAP MII Workbench

STEP 1: Go MII Workbench and Login to Source Control

Right click on Project go to Source Control/Share

STEP 2: Any object now must be edited needs to Check Out with Activity Creation and Activity Creation is required to add new Objects as well to the shared project.

STEP 3: After completing changes in objects. Goto Source Control/Show Open Activities

Select the activity and check Activate check box then press Check In

STEP 4: Create a TR in Solman and assign it specific user and then go to NWDS Transport View all waiting and released activities will be visible in Transport View.

Right click on any waiting activity and select Release

TR created will be displayed in popup window, same to be verified and Press Release rebuilt deployable DCs

Experience SAP Digital Manufacturing via Interactive Value Journeys

2023-08-14T13:41:22+02:00

Introduction

SAP Digital Manufacturing is an enterprise-level, scalable, manufacturing solution that enables global manufacturers to manage and control manufacturing and shop floor operations and realize Industry 4.0 scenarios.

It's a cloud-based Manufacturing Execution System (MES) that supports sustainable, risk-resilient manufacturing operations through a resource-efficient Industry 4.0 approach, enabling companies to integrate and embed intelligence in manufacturing processes.

It provides coordination of planning and execution processes, covering all aspects of the manufacturing cycle from planning to the shop floor and beyond.

Experiencing SAP Digital Manufacturing

You can have a glimpse and experience several aspects of SAP Digital Manufacturing via the Interactive Value Journeys below:

Discrete within SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA Cloud

Process Industry within SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA Cloud

Tool Management within SAP Digital Manufacturing

Resource Orchestration within SAP Digital Manufacturing

Production Process Design within SAP Digital Manufacturing

Shop Floor Orchestration with SAP Digital Manufacturing

Time Tracking within SAP Digital Manufacturing

SAP Digital Manufacturing for Insights

Nonconformances Processes within SAP Digital Manufacturing

E2E MTS for Discrete with SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA

E2E MTS for Discrete with SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA Cloud

Process Industry Manufacturing with SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA Cloud, public edition

* Better viewed in Desktop or iPad in Landscape mode

Discrete within SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA Cloud

Process Industry within SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA Cloud

Tool Management within SAP Digital Manufacturing

Resource Orchestration within SAP Digital Manufacturing

Production Process Design within SAP Digital Manufacturing

Shop Floor Orchestration with SAP Digital Manufacturing

Time Tracking within SAP Digital Manufacturing

SAP Digital Manufacturing for Insights

Nonconformances Processes within SAP Digital Manufacturing

E2E MTS for Discrete with SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA

E2E MTS for Discrete with SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA Cloud

Process Industry Manufacturing with SAP Digital Manufacturing and S/4HANA Cloud, public edition

* Better viewed in Desktop or iPad in Landscape mode

Do you like this post? Please let me know in the comments section what you think. Any feedback is highly appreciated.

Or, if you have any questions, please check SAP Community Q&A Area, or comment down below.

Thanks,

Manoel Costa

External API / Web Service integration with SAP Digital Manufacturing - Demystified!

2023-10-26T20:23:49+02:00

Hello Everyone,

Recently I learnt few things about SAP DM integration so thought of sharing what little I learnt.

This blog is about utilizing any third party API in SAP DM, to read data and post it against SFC using standard methods and SAP DM LCNC(Low-Code No-Code) options.

We have seen a few blogs around this in past but those were quite heavy and were using different technologies and tools. Here we would be checking this example without any external language knowledge or tool requirement. Let's talk about the pre-requisites first:

Data collection group with parameters maintained for data collection at relevant Operation.

Released order running on a POD with active SFC

External API to be used to capture data, in this case we would be using a simple weather API, URL example: https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast?latitude=73.8567&longitude=18.5204&current=temperature_2m,windspeed_10m&hourly=temperature_2m,relativehumidity_2m,windspeed_10m

Having the system ready with above pre's, below are the steps that will guide you to complete this use case.

STEP 1: Creating a Destination in SAP DM tenant:

Go to accounts.hana.ondemand.com and open subaccount for your DM tenant. Create a destination of Type HTTP in SAP DM tenant, it should look like as shown below.

Destination created on DM Tenant for service API

Note: Here we are using "NoAuthentication" as it is not required for this open service, but you can use appropriate Authentiation depending on the service your are using. Please refer SAP DM help documentation for more on Authentication.

STEP 2: Create a webserver in SAP DM.

Open SAP DM and search for "Manage Web Server" app, click on create and provide name, description and URL ("https://api.open-meteo.com" in our case), click on save. Ref picture below:

Once webserver is created, you would see 4 tabs:

a. Server Details - Having basic server connection configuration

b. Consumed by - Showing which webserver is connected to this, it would initially show 0.

c. Destinations - Select the destination created in DM tenant here for weather api. "DM_WEATHER_SRV"

d. Services - Shows the service using this webserver, currently this section would also be blank.

STEP 3: Linking "DMC_Cloud" to the Webserver created in step 2,

Click on "DMC_Cloud" webserver from the list of web servers under "Manage Web Server", go to connection panel, click on "Create" and select DM_WEATHER_SRV (Note: this should be the name of web server, dont confuse it to Destination name as here we are using same name at both the places which need not be the case in usual scenario).

STEP 4: Create a Service Registry using "Manage Service Registry".

Open SAP DM and search for "Manage Service Registry" app, click on create under API Services tab and provide name, ID, existing group or new group name you are willing you create, and other details for HTTP type, REST protocol and GET method.

Provide the URL suffix that is the remaining part from API url between domain.com and parameters( "/v1/forecast" in our example).
Provide parameters in parameters panel by getting the parameter query string, select the web server from value helper and provide the one created in previous step. Check the "Availability" check box and save. Ref picture below.

Service registry for Weather API.

After this step, your DMC tenant can connect to external API(weather API in our case).

STEP 5: Create a production process design by going to Production Process Designer App in SAP DM. The production process should have start, end, a service call and a script task.

Before you can add web service call to production process, you need to add the service by clicking on "Select Services" button on the left panel, find the Web Server you created in STEP 2 and select the service under that webservice, picture below for ref.

Adding service to production process.

Create the production process as shown below:

Production process design frame

Input to Service call could be automatically included due to parameters maintained while creating service, though this can be modified and parameters can be passed. We are keeping it as it is for simplicity.

Under Script Task, create input/output parameters as input: srv_result (String), Output: srv_result (String), you don't have to assign any value here.

Also, map service response('Service_Weather#httpResponse') to input parameter.

Under script, add below code:

=========================

$output.temprature=JSON.parse($input.srv_result).current.temperature_2m;

=========================

This code reads temperature value from service response JSON and assigns it to output of the script task.

Map input of Log DC control as shown below:

Input parameter mapping for DC

It is obvious the hardcoded values here can be modified with input parameter linking for dynamic values. I have kept it like this for brevity.

No output parameter mapping is required as we can see results in POD directly. Click on "Save All" and "Quick Deploy". Test the production process by clicking on Debug--> Run, check the logs of the flow completing successfully.

DC Collection successfully completed.

Verification: Open Work Center POD, select SFC/Operation and go to data collection panel, you would see the data collected by this process.

DC Collection list on POD.

The above process describes integration and utilization of external web service in SAP DM with the use of Production Process Designer. The flow you created using Production Process Designer can then be linked to Automatic Triggers or POD actions there by using data from external APIs.

The blog grew long but hope this helps you understand the use case in a simple way!!

Do like the blog if you like it.

Nice time!

Best Regards,

Swaroop

Revolutionize Your Manufacturing: KINEXON and SAP

2024-02-20T11:44:13.305000+01:00

Co-authored by Lana Lee and Hrishi Joshi of SAP.

In today’s Industry 4.0 world, where connectivity and automation are redefining our manufacturing landscape, the partnership between SAP and KINEXON stands out as an example of true innovation. This collaboration, highlighted in a recent IDC case study and to be featured in a March 7 webinar, leverages connected and automated operations to enrich SAP's Digital Supply Chain portfolio for Manufacturing and Logistics. Kinexon and SAP are focused on improving how businesses like yours approach both efficiency and sustainability.

Unlocking Efficiency through Collaboration

The goal of this partnership is to continually improve supply chain and production operations, delivering business process innovation and intelligent enterprise development outlined in RISE with SAP. This synergy leverages KINEXON's prowess in automation and IoT, significantly bolstering the SAP Digital Supply Chain portfolio with an enriched suite of tools. With Kinexon OS certified as an SAP Endorsed App and in the SAP Store, this collaboration is a significant leap towards accelerating the efficiency of your manufacturing operations.

The strategic benefits of this integration are profound, including a marked decrease in manual data entries, enhanced productivity, and considerable annual savings attributed to reduced cycle times. Insights from the IDC case study highlight these gains as essential for maintaining a competitive edge in the dynamic manufacturing sector.

Elevating Value Chains

This initiative is set to transform value chains, especially within the automotive, manufacturing, and aerospace sectors, by not only adopting but redefining the use of technology. Enhanced visibility and the link between early demand feedback and accelerated production underscore a shift towards more agile and responsive industry practices.

Embracing Industry 4.0 Innovations

Embodying the essence of Industry 4.0, this collaborative effort seamlessly merges IT and OT, enhancing data utilization to drive your business resilience and innovation. A key component of this transformation is the real-time tracking of assets and efficient management of logistics and production orders, which can provide you a competitive edge through increased automation and visibility.

Revolutionizing Shop Floor Operations

With Kinexon and SAP creating significant improvements to the shop floor, you can now integrate real-time location data, digital visualization, and advanced process management. This approach not only streamlines your operations but also promotes sustainability by transitioning your business towards a paperless production environment, while contributing to broader environmental goals.

Join the Movement: Watch our Smart Automotive Manufacturing Webinar

As we explore these groundbreaking advancements, the shift towards smart automotive manufacturing, highlighted by IDC analysts, becomes clear. 'Realizing the Promise of Smart Automotive Manufacturing,' the webinar on March 7th, offers a deep dive into this transformative era. Featuring insights from IDC and showcasing the SAP and KINEXON collaboration, this session explores the innovation forefront in automotive manufacturing. Secure your spot to discover how this synergy is revolutionizing the industry, and connect with the ideas driving the next wave of manufacturing excellence.

The Race for Semiconductor Manufacturing: How AI is Revolutionizing the Industry

2024-03-19T13:31:24.833000+01:00

In today's high-tech world, semiconductors are the lifeblood of the global economy. They power everything from electric vehicles to defense systems, making semiconductor fabs the new oil fields of our time. However, the dispersed and specialized nature of the global supply chain has raised concerns about potential threats to this crucial industry. As a result, major powers around the world are now embarking on a multidecadal effort to bring semiconductor manufacturing back onshore.

But this shift isn't just about relocating factories. It's also about embracing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) in revolutionizing the industry. Over the years, the semiconductor industry has made significant advancements in design automation and digital transformation, but never before has AI been able to learn and adapt based on best practices for new device design and manufacturing.

Enter SAP, IBM, and PDF Solutions. These industry leaders have joined forces to develop innovative solutions that leverage the Internet of Things (IoT), manufacturing solutions, and AI technologies to address the pain points of the semiconductor industry. Their collaborative efforts have resulted in a seamlessly integrated manufacturing solution that offers real-time monitoring, automated reporting, quality inspection, cognitive worker guidance, and predictive analytics.

One of the key benefits of these AI technologies is their ability to provide predictive and generative capabilities. With the help of conversational chatbots embedded with large language models and internal knowledge graphs, manufacturers can track real-time operations, identify equipment issues before they ruin batches, and trigger predictive maintenance. This level of insight and intelligence is invaluable in a complex industry where broken links in the manufacturing process can have significant impacts, such as lack of visibility, difficulty in decision-making, and safety concerns for workers.

By leveraging SAP's Conversational AI, Visual Inspection with AI, and Generative AI solutions, manufacturers can achieve real-time manufacturing execution planning, automated reporting, quality inspection, cognitive worker guidance, and end-to-end predictive analytics. These AI-powered solutions provide a comprehensive view of the production process, from planning to execution, enabling management to make informed decisions and optimize operations.

The collaboration between SAP, IBM, and PDF Solutions represents a major step forward in the race for semiconductor manufacturing dominance. With AI technology driving the industry's evolution, manufacturers can overcome the challenges of a dispersed supply chain and stay ahead in the global race for semiconductor supremacy.

To learn more about SAP's AI solutions for the semiconductor industry, visit the following pages:

SAP Conversational AI: SAP Conversational AI | SAP Community
SAP Visual Inspection with AI: Visual Inspection with AI - Detect product defects faster on the shop floor (sap.com)
SAP Generative AI: Generative AI for analytics and planning (sap.com)

2024 - Patches/fixes for SAP MII

2024-04-03T16:22:31.221000+02:00

4/26/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.5 SP 000 Patch 21:

Unused system property "Monitoring Retention Duration", note 3449627
System Management - Projects screen assigned roles editing Issue, note 3294426

XMII 15.5 SP 000 Patch 37:

Unused system property "Monitoring Retention Duration", note 3449627
File size not updated leading to possible Out Of Memory during blowout, note 3453485
PE Job inserts multiple rows when job is run several times, note 3412798
Additional Logging in XMII-Module, note 3340019
Enhancing the logs for MII Start and Stop services, note 3438776
GetDBTablesRowCountOEE | Get the total row count of all the key tables based on OEE, note 3443901
Query Number format is not working as expected, note 3443976
MII show more details for PCo Connector data server creation errors, note 3449609

4/24/2024:

XMII 15.5 SP 001 Patch 14:

File size not updated leading to possible Out Of Memory during blowout, note 3453485

4/19/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.4 SP 001 Patch 19:

System Management - Projects screen assigned roles editing Issue, note 3294426
Shared Memory is in read only mode even though user has all access related to Shared memory, note 3447829
Unused system property "Monitoring Retention Duration", note 3449627

XMII 15.4 SP 001 Patch 46:

Additional Logging in XMII-Module, note 3340019
Enhancing the logs for MII Start and Stop services, note 3438776
Query Number format is not working as expected, note 3443976
Shared Memory is in read only mode even though user has all access related to Shared memory, note 3447829
MII show more details for PCo Connector data server creation errors, note 3449609
Unused system property "Monitoring Retention Duration", note 3449627
File size not updated leading to possible Out Of Memory during blowout, note 3453485

4/12/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.5 SP 001 Patch 8:

Unused system property "Monitoring Retention Duration", note 3449627

XMII 15.5 SP 001 Patch 13:

Adding Transaction Persistence as parameter in case of transaction called via SOAPRunner interface, note 3445523
MII show more details for PCo Connector data server creation errors, note 3449609
Unused system property "Monitoring Retention Duration", note 3449627
Event data from onChange event not propagated, note 3449926
Event Parameters do not get updated, note 3449959
UIElementCheckBoxM | SSCE UI Element CheckBox bad styling when unchecking, note 3453122
PE Job inserts multiple rows when job is run several times, note 3412798
History | Improved History Mode for the Scheduler Service, note 3442938

4/10/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.3 SP 001 Patch 25:

Unused system property "Monitoring Retention Duration", note 3449627
System Management - Projects screen assigned roles editing Issue, note 3294426

XMII 15.3 SP 001 Patch 54:

Unused system property "Monitoring Retention Duration", note 3449627
Missing Order in MII due to Duplicate Message ID creation for XMII_JCOMESSAGES, note 3448342
Incorrect Search result for fields with "_" character, note 3227452
PE Job inserts multiple rows when job is run several times, note 3412798
Enhancing the logs for MII Start and Stop services, note 3438776
MII more details for PCo Connector data server creation errors, note 3449609

03/19/2024:

XMII 15.5 SP 000 Patch 36:

Conditional | Added Conditional Action Block log entries in transaction debug output, note 3440246
History | Improved History Mode for the Scheduler Service, note 3442938
Query Number format is not working as expected, note 3443976
Adding Transaction Persistence as parameter in case of transaction called via SOAPRunner interface, note 3445523

03/14/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.3 SP 001 Patch 24:

Job status shows as scheduled in the Scheduler screen, note 2031689

XMII 15.3 SP 001 Patch 53:

DB Object is closed error is thrown in case of sql transaction, note 3364376
Unable to read DataBufferActionInstance parameter using databuffer service, note 3395994
Usage Status Monitoring for DataServer with wrong date, note 3429629
Workbench file export generates the wrong cemd file for SSCE Dashboards, note 3430755
Additional logs for transaction action failure due to timeoutException, note 3407507
MII transaction fails with SAP DBTech JDBC: Object is closed error, note 3416130

03/11/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.5 SP 001 Patch 7:

System Management - Projects screen assigned roles editing Issue, note 3294426
Details header not changing after selecting any tag in simulator services under data services, note 3264633
Open activities with checked-out files are still visible after disabling and enabling the NWDI configuration, note 3433017
Job status shows as scheduled in the Scheduler screen, note 2031689

XMII 15.5 SP 001 Patch 12:

Enhancing the logs for MII Start and Stop services, note 3438776
Conditional | Added Conditional Action Block log entries in transaction debug output, note 3440246
Details header not changing after selecting any tag in simulator services under data services, note 3264633
Version history missing in MII workbench, note 3418076
Additional logs and traces in message processing module of MII, note 3426125
Usage Status Monitoring for DataServer with wrong date, note 3429629
NWDI version history displays limited number of activities, note 3432814
Open activities with checked-out files are still visible after disabling and enabling the NWDI configuration, note 3433017
DependencyManager | Added dependency check for the MII_ADMIN component version, note 3308632
Additional Logging in XMII-Module, note 3340019
System Warning window on MII home page for component incompatibility, note 3399037

03/07/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.4 SP 001 Patch 18:

Job status shows as scheduled in the Scheduler screen, note 2031689

XMII 15.4 SP 001 Patch 45:

Conditional | Added Conditional Action Block log entries in transaction debug output, note 3440246
DB Object is closed error is thrown in case of sql transaction, note 3364376
Job status shows as scheduled in the Scheduler screen, note 2031689
MII transaction fails with SAP DBTech JDBC: Object is closed error, note 3416130

03/05/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.5 SP 000 Patch 20:

Job status shows as scheduled in the Scheduler screen, note 2031689

XMII 15.5 SP 000 Patch 35:

DB Object is closed error is thrown in case of sql transaction, note 3364376
Job status shows as scheduled in the Scheduler screen, note 2031689
JMS updates causing scheduler breakdown, note 3360558
Usage Status Monitoring for DataServer with wrong date, note 3429629
Workbench file export generates the wrong cemd file for SSCE Dashboards, note 3430755
Additional logs for transaction action failure due to timeoutException, note 3407507
MII transaction fails with SAP DBTech JDBC: Object is closed error, note 3416130

02/16/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.4 SP 001 Patch 17:

NWDI configuration gives null pointer exception on save, note 3342267

XMII 15.4 SP 001 Patch 44:

Support for X-CSRF-Token in MII HTTP POST action block, note 3429523
Usage Status Monitoring for DataServer with wrong date, note 3429629
Workbench file export generates the wrong cemd file for SSCE Dashboards, note 3430755
SSO cookie logged and displayed in MII Log Viewer, note 3410041
Get Jar Signing related information which gets checked while opening workbench., note 3346027
NWDI configuration gives null pointer exception on save, note 3342267
Scheduler history cleanup default value changed from 24 hours to 72 hours, note 3394218
Unable to read DataBufferActionInstance parameter using databuffer service, note 3395994
Scheduler history comes blank when job is stuck or not executed in last hour, note 3396099
JMS updates causing scheduler breakdown, note 3360558

02/09/2024:

XMII 15.5 SP 001 Patch 11:

Running remote workbench with proxy for jar based workbench, note 3369660
Unable to read DataBufferActionInstance parameter using databuffer service, note 3395994
Source table is missing inside the Global setting on SSCE, note 3424542
Settings.view | Event Parameters table headers not visible, note 3426391
MII PortalContent.zip file not found under Tools and Archives, note 3427393
i5Grid getRowCount() error, note 3428910
UIElementTextFieldM | Text Field UI Element size, note 3429413
Workbench file export generates the wrong cemd file for SSCE Dashboards, note 3430755
Additional logs for transaction action failure due to timeoutException, note 3407507

02/06/2024:

MII_ADMIN 15.3 SP 001 Patch 23:

NWDI configuration gives null pointer exception on save, note 3342267

XMII 15.3 SP 001 Patch 52:

SSO cookie logged and displayed in MII Log Viewer, note 3410041
Cannot view changelist details or process a changelist, note 3336846
Get Jar Signing related information which gets checked while opening workbench., note 3346027
MII workbench login with x.509 certificate based SSO login, note 3370246
NWDI configuration gives null pointer exception on save, note 3342267
Running remote workbench with proxy for jar based workbench, note 3369660
Scheduler history cleanup default value changed from 24 hours to 72 hours, note 3394218
New Workbench launcher can not open the workbench if server url has '-' in it, note 3394368
Scheduler history comes blank when job is stuck or not executed in last hour, note 3396099
JMS updates causing scheduler breakdown, note 3360558

01/17/2024:

XMII 15.4 SP 001 Patch 43:

Cannot view changelist details or process a changelist, note 3336846
Catalog query with production events is returning Non-PE when there are records in PE table, note 3338596
Duplicate Rows inserted in PE table due to duplicate shift rows in MPM_TC37T table, note 3345988
PIC Analysis Query - Production events displaying incorrect data, note 3219251
Duplicate rows inserted in production table when PE job is run again, note 3333504
i5Chart (Gauge Chart Type) is starting from zero value for any change in Value., note 3404399

01/12/2024:

XMII 15.5 SP 001 Patch 10:

Catalog query with production events is returning Non-PE when there are records in PE table, note 3338596
Additional Logging in XMII-Module, note 3340019
MII workbench login with x.509 certificate based SSO login, note 3370246
Duplicate Rows inserted in PE table due to duplicate shift rows in MPM_TC37T table, note 3345988
Scheduler history cleanup default value changed from 24 hours to 72 hours, note 3394218
Production events job creates duplicate records in Production Events table, note 3300655
Duplicate rows inserted in production table when PE job is run again, note 3333504
i5Chart (Gauge Chart Type) is starting from zero value for any change in Value., note 3404399
SSO cookie logged and displayed in MII Log Viewer, note 3410041
Bug in SSCE text field i5ValueHelp, note 3413146

MII transaction fails with SAP DBTech JDBC: Object is closed error, note 3416130

MII configuration and content transport management

2024-04-05T09:49:58.574000+02:00

1. Introduction

SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence is a manufacturing platform providing seamless integration from top floor to shop floor and vice versa, shop floor operational visibility and manufacturing performance management. customer/partner does quite of MII configuration and MII content development to cater to specific shop floor requirement customer has which needs to be transported across system e.g., development to quality to production system. This document will share what are the different options for transporting MII configuration and MII content across systems.

2. MII Configuration transport

MII has quite of configuration objects e.g. data servers, credential store etc. which needs to be transported across system for faster implementation. in MII, There are 2 ways of transporting MII configuration i.e., using export/import using Zip files and using CTS+ configuration which will be discussed further.

2.1 MII Configuration transport using zip file.

In order to transport MII configuration data using zip file, please use the following steps.

In the source system, Go to MII Menu -> System Management -> Configuration -> Export tab. Choose Export Method as File System, file format as Zip, Encryption Algorithm as one of the option mentioned in the dropdown, provide a pass phrase to protect the file and select the configuration data you would like to transport to other system.

2. It will provide an option to download the file into your file system. Save the file in your machine.

3. In the target system, Go to MII Menu -> System Management -> Configuration -> Import tab. Choose the encryption algorithm and pass phrase as what was provided during the export, provide the file location and choose Import button. This will import the content from the Zip file into target system.

2.2 MII Configuration transport using CTS+.

Export/Import using the zip file could be quite cumbersome, provide no tracking and approval process hence it is possible to use CTS+ process to transport the MII configuration data across system which internally creates an ABAP transport request, attaches the content file to the transport and on release import into target system as defined in the transport route in ABAP system. This process can be integrated with solution manager also to provide transporting content from different technologies i.e., MII and ABAP. Please check the note 3452468 - How to transport MII configuration data across system using CTS+ approach for step by step details on how to configure such transport.

3 MII Content transport

Customer/Partner creates quite of development objects in MII using MII workbench i.e. Query Template, Display template, transaction. All these objects are stored in MII DB in XML format. This content needs to be transported across system for seamless implementation and also requires proper source code management since multiple people need to work on these development object and for multiple releases. MII supports multiple options for transporting MII content with and without source code management which will be discussed now.

3.1 MII Content transport using zip file.

In order to transport MII content data using zip file, please use the following steps.

In the source system, Go to MII Menu -> System Management -> Projects and select a project and choose Export button.

It will download the project content in a zip file and store it in your machine.
In the target system, Go to MII Menu -> System Management -> Projects and select import. Provide the zip file path in the pop up screen and choose Ok. This will import the project in the target system.

The transport using the zip file approach doesn’t provide any source code management for MII content and moves the whole project instead of only changed projects hence it is always recommended to use the NWDI based approach which provides central source code management, build process and deployment process.

3.2 MII Content transport using NWDI integration with CMS.

MII Content transport using NWDI approach uses SAP NetWeaver Java Development Infrastructure with following components.

Design Time Repository (DTR): DTR is a central storage of design time objects (application source code) that supports distributed versioning. Access to the central storage is through the standard WebDAV and DeltaV protocols.
Component Build Service (CBS): CBS plays a central role in the realization of the concepts of the NWDI. It offers centralized build services, storage of build results and build tools.
Change Management Service (CMS): CMS offers services to configuration of the landscape, transport software changes within the landscape and also packaging and delivery of the components being developed using NWDI.

For step-by-step details on how to do this set up, kindly check the following note 3452084 - How to setup/configure NWDI in MII for content development.

3.3 MII Content transport using NWDI integration with CM Services

CM Services is a enhanced version of CMS which provides fine granular transport of the activities. For details please check the note 1361909 - CM Services in CTS+ and following blog.

MII NWDI integration using CMS moves the all the project across system. In case much fine granular transport is needed then use NWDI integration with CM Services. Please find the step-by-step details in following note 2862116 - CM services integration with SAP MII for build process using NWDI.

4 Conclusion

SAP MII supports detailed transport management for configuration and MII Content

based on above mentioned information. In case, you have different version of MII content

development e.g., one deployed on production on which corrections are needed for

patch delivery and another version for new development then it is recommended to use

different tracks for these scenarios. Please check the following blog for more details.

How to configure NWDI in SAP MII for Content Development

2024-04-16T12:44:07.800000+02:00

This post will guide you through all steps necessary for the initial configuration of NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) and its integration with SAP MII. After all configuration steps are done, you will be able to enable NWDI feature via SAP MII Home Page and use NWDI powered processes.

Please check the attached document in SAP Note 3452084 which guide you through the complete process.

The document describes two systems:

1) Source System: where SLD and NWDI server is configured.

2) Target System: where MII runs.

Once the configuration is completed, you should be able to enable the NWDI and use MII along with NWDI.