Introduction
Many companies using Variant Configuration in ECC and are looking to upgrade to S4HANA on-premise or private cloud are also thinking about moving to the AVC. Others already in S4HANA are wondering the same thing. Probably one of the main questions raised is how do we transform our models to the AVC if that is deemed the direction to head.
Obviously, every company is different, and there can be complex considerations to be made. That is a topic for another day.
However, if you are looking at the transformation of all or some of your LO-VC models to the AVC then this is for you, whether you are a manager or a modeller. I will describe the tools that SAP provides.
They are also described in the latest VC book from SAP Press "Advanced Variant Configuration with S4HANA", you can participate in a workshop "AVC - Transformation of your Data from LO-VC to AVC" at the CWG Conferences and even try the tools in the CWG Sandbox. I will leave links to these sources.
Process Overview Summary
Just a quick note before talking about the process. If you are on S4HANA on-premise or private cloud, the AVC functionality you have available is dependent on the release you are currently on. As the AVC is an evolving offering it may not have all the functionality you are expecting.
The process as described by SAP has six steps and my diagram is an interpretation of their flow and enhanced to show the transactions used, and within the transactions, the steps (buttons) provided to execute each step.
It is mainly a sequential process, however, at different points either on the LO-VC side or on the AVC side there will often be manual interventions to a final result. This can be because LO-VC can do something that AVC cannot such as Functions, the AVC has better syntax available such as enhanced manipulation of strings and therefore there are decisions to be made along the process steps.
Before examining the process in more detail we need to understand what is being transformed and what is not.
Basic master data is not transformed as it does not change. This includes Materials, Classes and Characteristics.
The objects that are transformed are listed and you will see that each object has a parent. This becomes important in the transformation process in step 04 where converted objects need to be assigned to the parent.
Transformation Object | Parent |
|---|---|
Configuration Profile | Material Master |
Constraint Net | Configuration Profile |
Constraint | Constraint Net |
Procedure | Configuration Profile, Characteristic, Characteristic Value |
Precondition | Characteristic, Characteristic Value |
Selection Condition | Characteristic |
Variant Tables are also relevant but do not have a parent, and so any issues will be identified in the logs when checks are executed. In some cases, it may just be a data fix, a new table for AVC or a mixed mode setting if the table is shared with LO-VC and the AVC.
UI Interfaces are not transformed as the AVC uses Characteristic Groups instead, so these need to be created manually in the AVC.
Process Steps
VCH_L2A_WORKSPACES | Workspaces - The Launchpad |
 START TRANSITION OPEN IN WORKBENCH | Transaction VCH_L2A_WORKSPACES allows you to create workspaces for your models. A workspace is a container for one or more models that are planned to be converted to the AVC together. There can be multiple workspaces that allow you to manage the conversion process across multiple models. Before you start using the workspaces, you will have a VC Model review to decide on what is to be converted and when it is planned to be converted. Once you have a plan this can be represented in workspaces. Add your model/s and press the Start Transition button and the relevant objects are transferred to the Work Bench.
   |
VCH_L2A_WORKBENCH | Workbench - Manage Transformation Objects |
 CHECK LO-VC OBJECTS | The Work Bench can be called from Workspaces, or using the transaction VCH_L2A_WORKBENCH. The purpose is to provide a framework to manage the transformation process. It does not automate it completely. In practice, there are points where you may need to make changes in LO-VC, and further along the process, you may need to create or make changes manually in the AVC models. The first step is to understand how compatible our VC Models are for conversion to the AVC. For each model, an object hierarchy of objects relevant for conversion is shown. Configuration Profiles, Dependency Nets, Constraints, Procedures, Preconditions and Selection Conditions.   This will provide information on any objects that are not compatible with the AVC. At this point it may be possible to make changes in LO-VC or else make changes later in the AVC. |
 COPY | The next step is to Copy the objects into the AVC version. Although both LO-VC and the AVC can use the same object dependency names, they are stored under a different type. so that SAP can identify the process.  In the transition objects, SAP has proposed the new naming for the AVC with the suffix AVC. You can change this name if required.  |
 CHECK AVC OBJECTS ASSIGN |  With this check, SAP is checking that all the objects are accounted for and can signal those that need an intervention.  In this case, the Configuration Profile could not be created and fixing it in LOVC seemed to be a problem. So we can manually create it in the AVC.   When running assign this will assign the objects to the parent item. The example shows performing the assign step on an individual object.
Assigning the precondition has a parent of a characteristic value.
 |
 START COMPARISON RELEASE |  To compare the AVC to the LO-VC we use VCH_L2A_COMPARISON or the button. This allows you to select "Start Comparison" and check a document in SAP such as a sales order item and SAP will check the AVC result with the LO-VC result.  This displays the result. The top level is OK, while the component level has not been transformed.
  As with many of the transformation buttons, there is a simulation mode and an update made. Clicking the small triangle is for simulation. Using the simulation option you can check for any issues that are apparent. Nothing is updated.
 Repeat with the actual release.
 The final result in PMEVC shows the AVC objects have been added to the model. Once released any new sales documents and other documents will use the AVC ongoing
 |
VCHMOVMVAR | Transfer Material Variants |
 SWITCH MATERIAL VARIANTS | If you are using Material Variants these can be updated in transaction VCHMOVMVAR.
 |
Pro's
My thoughts on the pros is that it is good to see a set of tools to assist in the transformation. They provide a process to follow and should identify any issues at the various stages.
It could be useful to test existing models to see how good, or how hard the transformation is going to be. Constraint-Based models tend to be a lot easier than pre-condition-based models.
The workspaces provide an environment to plan and execute your transformation processes.
Con's
As with any new tool, there is a learning curve. Ideally, you need a playpen environment to get familiar with it and make sure you understand how it works with your data. It is not quite intuitive.
The tools are not completely robust and even in this simple example, it had trouble recognizing that some manual changes had occurred. For example, creating the configuration profile manually did not update the assigned tick box. SAP may fix some of these issues over time.
At its core the tool is designed to take whatever modelling approach you had in LO-VC and make an AVC version of it. This is not necessarily a good thing if your VC models were for example using Preconditions and not constraints.
Sometimes you may want to change the classification design, however, the tools themselves do not touch the classes or characteristics (other than changing selection conditions, preconditions etc assigned)
Closing
So in closing it is great to see that SAP has provided these tools. But as I have said it is trying to replicate what you have in LO-VC into the AVC and that may not be a good thing longer term. Good practices in the VC modelling approaches are almost identical in LO-VC and the AVC.
At Radiant Think, for a number of years, our online VC Essential Course has shown in practice what this means. So companies need to think carefully on whether they transform what they have, or redesign to make the most of AVC.
Companies that I have met with on good practice approaches are looking at redesigning, even if they have no immediate plans for the AVC, but see the advantages in doing it in LO-VC.
Feel free to add comments, your experiences and any other information that may help others.
I would like to have feedback from those who have used the tools on an actual transformation project. Was it good?, was it helpful?, did it need more functionality?
well written