First Solar SAP HANA Success Story

1. Case Study: How First Solar achieved real-time analysis of supplier and
delivery performance metrics using SAP HANA Enterprise solution
Monday, September 16, 2013.
Allen Blackmore
MIS Solutions Architect, First Solar, Inc.
Kiran Yelamaneni
Associate Partner, IBM Global Business Services
Presenters

2. At the end of this session, you should be able to Understand :
 How HANA Business Value Cases were defined?
 HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise? Why NOT BW on HANA?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
 Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
 Solution Review (data models, scripting, security, and so on)
 How to setup HANA Systems Operations?
 Business value benefits
 Key Learnings
SESSION OBJECTIVES

3. Agenda
 About First Solar
• Business Value Cases
• HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
• Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
• Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
• Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
• HANA Systems Operations
• Business Value Benefits for Procurement
• Lessons learned

4. Premier Provider of Comprehensive PV Solar Solutions:
Founded in 1999, First Solar has become the world’s premier provider of fully integrated solar solutions, creating
value-driven renewable energy projects that represent the leading edge of utility-scale solar technology and
innovation.
First Solar delivers clean and affordable solar power—and spans the entire value chain, including module
manufacturing; project development, Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC), financing; and
Operations and Maintenance (O&M).
Key Highlights:
 First Solar has a strong workforce comprising more than 6,500 associates worldwide
 Launched IPO on 17 November 2006; common stock traded on NASDAQ under the symbol FSLR
 Broke the $1 per watt barrier in 2008 and is the current cost leader at less than $0.75 per watt
 Became the first PV solar company to produce 1GW in a single year with over 5GW installed to-date
 Set world records for CdTe PV cell (17.3%) and PV module (14.4%) efficiency certified by NREL
 Attained the smallest carbon footprint and fastest energy payback time of any PV technology
About First Solar, Inc.

5. Agenda
• About First Solar
 Business Value Cases
• HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
• Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
• Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
• Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
• HANA Systems Operations
• Business Value Benefits for Procurement
• Lessons learned

6. First Solar panels produce power at a cost of $0.75 / watt. This is the ultimate measure of the company’s success.
Drive down
manufacturing costs
Analyze all data
sources pertaining to
panel performance to
maximize output
Use real-time tactical
information to drive
value
 Analyze manufacturing data to glean insights into how yields can be
improved and processes optimized
 Get real-time information related to manufacturing performance by
line and by plant, and quickly spot and resolve manufacturing
performance problems and implement corrective action
 Ensure that sales related information is available real-time
 Empower Finance with the capability of doing rapid variance analysis
to quickly understand why costs are higher than expected
 Improve the overall efficiency through which operational information
is disseminated throughout the organization
 Large volumes of data from services installations must be analyzed
to help understand how to maximize power outputs and minimize
service disruptions
 Help predict when failures are imminent
 Link environmental conditions to panel performance and reliability
Analytics are important for First Solar

7. SCM Analytics
Power Generation
Data Analysis
Customer Service
Enablement
Continuous
Improvement
Analysis
Finance Analytics
BPC Acceleration
 Rapid access to tactical information
 Enhanced variance analysis and detailed procurement analytics
 Analyze large volumes of information gathered from the field, pertaining to panel
installations
 Gain an understanding into what conditions affect power output
 Integrate data from Sales orders, Contracts, Warranties, Rebates, and
Manufacturing
 Gauge the efficiencies in Customer Service, and enable analysis
 Enable continuous improvement of professionals to perform data analysis
against large volumes of manufacturing data quickly and effectively, to drive
improved yields and manufacturing efficiency
 Implement RDS for operational reporting
 Leverage finance models and bring G/L reporting onto HANA to facilitate faster
month-end closing processes
 Accelerate BPC on HANA
 Project future potential roadmap for FSLR
Several business cases are identified…

8. • Ad-hoc analytics via SAP BO Webi
– Universes for:
 Material Master
 Vendor Master
 Purchase Order
 Purchase Requisition
– Delivered basic set of reports
• Why Supply Chain?
– We didn’t have a strong SAP BI presence outside SAP ECC
– SAP ECC data source, manageable data volume
– Mature business processes, accessible SMEs
– Users would do more if they could
Selected Use Case – Supplier Analytics

9. Agenda
• About First Solar
• Business Value Cases
 HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
• Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
• Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
• Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
• HANA Systems Operations
• Business Value Benefits for Procurement
• Lessons learned

10. • Business users heavily rely on IT to
generate ABAP-based report
• No BW for SCM
• Limited flexibility. Changes to existing
reports are longer time-to-value
Current Solution
• Flexible product, with ability for IT to create
and edit models on the fly while allowing
end-users to create their own reports.
• Addresses future needs as a company.
• Integrated solution across finance, supply
chain and HR for cross-functional reporting.
HANA Solution
Benefits of HANA:
 Ability to access large volumes of data in real-time
 True alternative reporting solution
 Seamless integration between SAP products: ECC -> SLT -> HANA -> BO
 HANA Studio is intuitive with an easy-to-use interface
Why SAP HANA?

11. Query Performance
System Layers
Available Skillset
Support Cost
Future Enhancements
Data Accessibility
Flexibility / Ease of Use
Complexity 3rd Party Accessibility
Why HANA Enterprise ?

12. SLT on Existing ECC Box Separate Dedicated SLT Server
Pros  Simplified landscape and
administration
 No software maintenance dependencies
 Flexibility
Cons  Performance impact
 Potential software maintenance
dependencies
 Investment and maintenance effort for
separate server / NW instance
Which SLT Installation Option to Choose ?

13. First Solar HANA System Architecture
DEV
Schema
QA
Schema
Transport Transport
Transport Transport
Transport
Transport Transport
PROD
Schema
SAP ECC DEV DR1 (300) SAP ECC QA QR1 (100) SAP ECC PROD PR1 (100)
SLT Server
DU1 (100)
SLT Server
QU1 (100)
SLT Server
PU1 (100)
HANA DEV DH1 HANA PROD PH1
BO Development BO QA BO Production
 1 box for DEV and QA
 1 box for Production
 Separate SLT Server
 Implementation of SAP
BusinessObjects 4
HANA Landscape Design

14. Agenda
• About First Solar
• Business Value Cases
• HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
 Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
• Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
• Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
• HANA Systems Operations
• Business Value Benefits for Procurement
• Lessons learned

15. Strong Project Leadership
 Exhibited clear understanding of FSLR
objectives
 Demonstrated adept knowledge on HANA
 Confirmed strong vendor relationships
 Assured successful project delivery
 Worked as single point-of-contact
Right Resource Mix
 Good onsite and offshore mix
 Cost effective proposition
 Allocated SME time instead of FTEs
 Selected highly motivated consultants
 Engaged process experts with right background
on SAP ECC functionality along with good HANA
expertise
Scalable Platform
 Two- system HANA landscape:
X3950 X5, 4X Xeon 10C, E-7-8870, 130W,
2.4Ghz, 512GB (32 x 16GB) Memory
Disk – 4.8 TB (8x600 GB 2.5in. SAS)
 Proven backup and restore capabilities
 Right size HANA systems with scalable options
Innovative Approach
 Well defined business value case
 Validation workshops and not requirements gathering
 Developed and proposed new 4D methodology
 Business involvement from week 2
Why IBM ?

16. Agenda
• About First Solar
• Business Value Cases
• HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
• Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
 Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
• Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
• HANA Systems Operations
• Business Value Benefits for Procurement
• Lessons learned

17. • Design, develop, and implement pre-defined and prioritized business use cases.
• Design and implement SAP HANA on top of SAP ECC using SLT.
• Determine data extraction / replication methods from SAP ECC to HANA.
• Determine SAP HANA data modeling with SQL and SQL Scripts.
• Design and implement the integration of SAP HANA with SAP BusinessObjects
including design and creation of BO reports (specifically WEBI and Explorer reports),
and supporting universes.
• Provide knowledge transfer to the First Solar team on HANA modeling; system
integration, data extraction, and ongoing system administration and management.
• Provide design documentation, implementation guides, and operating procedures.
Phase I - Project Scope

18. 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
1. Define
Value cases & Roadmap definition
HANAAppliance Requirements
BI Analytics & Presentation
HANASystems Operations
2. Design
Architecture and Systems Integration
HANAModeling (Schemas, Views,…)
Securityand Access
BI Universes and Presentation Formats
3. Develop
Configure Schemas, Views
Setup SLT and Enable Replication
Develop BI Universes and Analytics
Develop Security& Authorizations
VerifyAnalytics and Validate Data
User Acceptance & PRD Ready
4. Deploy
Promote Content
Initial Loads & Enable Replication
Final Verification & Go-live
Stabilization
WEEK 9 WEEK 10WEEK 5 WEEK 6WEEK 1
IBM's 4D Methodologyfor HANAProjects
WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 7 WEEK 8 WEEK 14WEEK 11 WEEK 12 WEEK 13
Tight project schedule with first-of-a-kind HANA implementation required innovative
and Agile development strategies
Implementation Schedule

19. Partnered with IBM and successfully completed HANA Implementation:
IBM Roles FSLR Roles
• Serve as overall lead for SAP HANA Program
• Monitor risks (i.e. Technical, Functional, Organizational, Resource related) and take proactive
action when needed to drive successful completion of the Project
Project Executive
(part-time)
• Architect solution, define data models, systems integration, and analytics
• Design data models, analytical views and calculation views
• Configure data models, load data, performance testing, and system tuning
• Develop transport procedures for the Model Migration
• Load data and enable replication.
• Repair Replication Error
SAP HANA
Solution Architect
• Define and develop BI4.0 reports.
• Design Universes and BO Explorer KPIs.
• Develop Webi and Dashboards.
SAP BI 4.0 Developer.
(offshore)
• Install and integrate BI 4.0 with HANA system
• Configure JDBC connectivity and Kerberos authentication
• Develop HANA Data Model Based on requirements.
• Configure Schema Mapping for Single HANA Instance
• Migrate universes and reports from Rapidmarts to HANA environment
SAP HANA Modeler/ BO
Integrator
(offshore)
• Partner with HANA Modeling Architect and design the solution architecture
• Linux based activity such as HANA Start & Stop, Backup and Scheduling Cron Jobs.
• Review SQL Script design used for composing the information views
SAP HANA Architect
• Setup SLT server and integrate with ECC and HANA systems
• In collaboration with architect define background jobs, execute LTR
• Apply SAP messages, HANA revisions, and Basis related configuration settings
SAP Basis Support
• Develop HANA Model
• HANA Scripting based on requirement
• Validate data from ECC
SAP HANA Modeler
(offshore)
Skills and Roles

20. Agenda
• About First Solar
• Business Value Cases
• HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
• Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
• Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
 Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
• HANA Systems Operations
• Business Value Benefits for Procurement
• Lessons learned

21. Transactional Data Models:
– Inventory Model: Reflected true value of HANA by handling large volume of data to provide real-time
analysis of goods movement.
– Purchase Order Model: Real-time data reflecting vendor delivery performance, invoice and goods receipt
discrepancy, vendor direct spend, open purchase orders, and so on.
– Purchase Requisition Model: Complex model that provides start-to-finish picture of material requisition
to goods receipt including who received it, who created the purchase order, and so on.
Master Data:
– Material Model: Built to obtain on-hand quantity, minimum and maximum quantity, stock in transit, and
so on.
– Vendor Model: Vendor across companies, vendor banking details, vendor partner function details, and
other classifications, such as payment terms, INCO terms, and so on.
– Multiple audit and / or ad-hoc reports for additional master data, such as company code, plant,
purchasing groups, and so on.
FSLR Data Models

22. Purchasing Line (EKPO)
PK EBELN - Purchase Order Number
PK EBELP - Purchase Order Line
Purchasing Schedule Line (EKET)
PK EBELN - Purchase Order Number
PK EBELP - Purchase Order Line
PK ETENR - Schedule Line
Purchasing Header (EKKO)
PK EBELN - Purchase Order Number
SQL Script Distribute Quantity & $ Amount
BY Purchase Order Number
BY Purchase Order Line
BY Purchase Order Schedule Line
Summary Table (EKBE)
SUM Quantity
SUM $
MAX Date
BY Purchase Order Number
BY Purchase Order Line
Purchase Order History (EKBE)
PK EBELN - Purchase Order Number
PK EBELP - Purchase Order Line
PK ZEKKN - Accounting Sequence Number
PK VGABE - Transaction/Event Type
PK BELNR - Material Document Number
PK BUZEI - Material Item Number
PK GJAHR - Material Doc. Year
Only GR and IR
Transactions (1 and 2)
One of the key requirements for Purchase Order (P.O.) reporting is to provide vendor delivery performance by utilizing the delivery
date and the schedule line level. In order to provide this, the EKET purchasing schedule line table is used as the foundation as
opposed to the EKPO purchasing line table. Goods receipt and invoice receipt for the P.O. document will be included in the data
model. Only quantity, dollar amount, and date from GR / IR will be brought into the data model. These values will be summarized at
the P.O. number and P.O. line level. A key assumption is if P.O. schedule line has multiple GR’s or IR’s then the max date will be
used for delivery performance.
Distribution of GR / IR quantity and dollar amount to the corresponding P.O. schedule line will be based on the earliest requested
delivery date. For example, if a P.O. item has 2 schedule lines with line 2 having an earlier requested delivery date than line 1, the
goods receipts will be distributed by the earliest requested delivery date first.
A SQL script was written to execute the described logic inside a calculative view.
Procurement Data Model

23. Views:
 Attribute Views: Create master data in HANA to be utilized by analytic and
calculation views, that is, text for Material, Vendor, Purchasing Org., and so on.
 Analytic Views: Create a data foundation using simple joins still allowing the
creation of calculated attributes and measures, that is, Purchase Requisition Model
Attribute View Analytic View
 Created for Material
 Created for Purchase Requisition
 Created for all master data
Modeling in HANA Studio (1 of 2)

24. Views (continued):
 Calculation Views: Define your own data foundation for complex joins using SQL
scripts, that is, FSLR’s procurement model. These views were created for
transactional data using graphical calculation view or script calculation view (SQL
Script and CE Functions).
Graphical Calculation
View
SQL Script Calculation View
Created for Vendor, Purchase Order and Inventory Analysis
Modeling in HANA Studio (2 of 2)

25. Scripting:
 For calculation views, SAP recommends the use of Calculation Engine (CE)
Functions whenever possible.
 DDL functions are not allowed within calculation views.
 SQL Script: Projects can leverage skills widely available in the market. However,
a lot depends on how a person writes the specific SQL.
 CE Function: CE Functions are pre-built functions delivered by SAP that can be
used within SQL scripts to replace what you would have otherwise done with
simple SQL. They are executed by the Calculation Engine directly, thus providing
better performance.
SQL Script CE Function
INNER JOIN SELECT A, B, Y, SUM(D) from "COLTAB1" INNER
JOIN "COLTAB2" WHERE "COLTAB1"."KEY1" =
"COLTAB2"."KEY1" AND "COLTAB1"."KEY2" =
"COLTAB2"."KEY2"
CE_JOIN("COLTAB1","COLTAB2",
[KEY1, KEY2], [A, B, Y, D])
Scripting in HANA Studio

26. • Design Considerations:
– Flexibility
– Speed-to-market
– HANA models were designed to include
majority of ECC table elements, while
minimizing the exposure in BO Universe Layer.
• BO Security:
– Analytical privileges were created in the HANA
model based on Process Area.
– Different generic IDs were created in HANA and
utilized in BO based on security needs.
Analytics through SAP BI (1 of 2)

27. SAP BO Tools:
• Web Intelligence—*Primary Reporting Tool
• Crystal Reports
• Explorer
WEBI report showing purchase orders
at schedule line level
True ad-hoc analysis capability
through Explorer
Direct connection to HANA view
(skipping universe)
Crystal Report showing real-time
inventory movement
Analytics through SAP BI (2 of 2)

28. Agenda
• About First Solar
• Business Value Cases
• HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
• Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
• Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
• Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
 HANA Systems Operations
• Business Value Benefits for Procurement
• Lessons learned

29. • Transports:
– Two HANA instances for QA / DEV and Production increased the cost savings
– Schema entries were tweaked to handle two instances using Schema Mapping
• Data Replication:
– SLT Internal Tables (Similar to BW internal Dimension Tables)
– Tweaking Internal Table number range; QA and DEV tables should have unique table
number range
– Background Job Definition:
• Debugging:
– Repair Runtime Object:
• Understand the internal tables, (such as RS_ORDER, RS_STATUS both in HANA Studio
and SLT Server)
• Install SAP Provided ABAP Program (You will use it)
Master Job IUUC_MONITER_<ID>
Master Control Job IUUC_REPLIC_CNTR_<ID>
Data Load Job DTL_MT_DATA_LOAD_<ID>_<2_digit>
SLT Jobs
HANA Systems Operations

30. HDBSQL
Data Backup
$INSTANCE_DIR/
backup/data
Automatic
Log Backup
$INSTANCE_DIR/
backup/log
Linux
Clean Logs
/etc/crontab $INSTANCE_DIR/backup/backup.sh HANA DB
Linux O/S
EMC Avamar Data Store
MSA DR
Storage
• Client is installed to /usr/local/avamar
• Connected to central Avamar server
pbg1ava01s100.fs.local:
– Full O/S backup is scheduled for 12:00 a.m. daily
– Agent watches for changed blocks at the file system level
– Uses an advanced de-duplication approach:
• Initial DH1 backup found - 40%+ duplicated blocks
• Agent process is always running
• Backups are replicated offsite (Daily x 30, Monthly x 12,
and Yearly x 2)
 Located in $INSTANCE_DIR/backup
 Uses the HANA client hdbsql command line to initiate backup
 Sends an email notification upon failure
 Removes old log file backups
 The M_BACKUP_CATALOG and
M_BACKUP_CATALOG_FILES views provide backup detail
 For example:
SELECT TOP 1 *
FROM M_BACKUP_CATALOG
WHERE ENTRY_TYPE_NAME = 'complete data backup‘
AND STATE_NAME = 'successful'
ORDER BY SYS_END_TIME DESC
Process O/S Backup Script
HDB SQL
HANA Systems Operations

31. Agenda
• About First Solar
• Business Value Cases
• HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
• Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
• Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
• Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
• HANA Systems Operations
 Business Value Benefits for Procurement
• Lessons learned

32. User Feedback
– “Prior to HANA, users would have to submit a Service Desk
ticket and wait two days, now they can run their own ad-
hoc reports!”
– “This is great, it took them one week to get me this data,
and I’m not sure it was right. Now I can get the data right
away and I’m going to show my manager Explorer!”
– “I’ve been waiting for this!”
Technical
– Deployed HANA and SLT and enabled real-time analytics
– Integrated BI Platform with user friendly tools for business
– Granular analysis against large data sets with rapid results
– Short hands-on learning curve
Success!

33. Agenda
• About First Solar
• Business Value Cases
• HANA Technology Review:
– Why HANA Enterprise?
– HANA Landscape and Systems Integration
• Why IBM was selected as an Implementation Partner?
• Implementation Review (Scope, Schedule, and Skills)
• Solution Review (models, scripting, security, and so on)
• HANA Systems Operations
• Business Value Benefits for Procurement
 Lessons learned

34. • Two HANA servers were connected to three source systems
– Requires moving models within the same HANA server
• Not experienced supporting the Linux O/S
– Relying on SAP for critical support
– However, it has not been needed
• EMC Avamar backup connectivity
• Underestimated BASIS SLT configuration effort
– This was the most challenging part of the system
• Prepare for frequent patches
• Prepare to pave the way but SAP is there to help!
Key Learnings
ECC Dev ECC QA
HANA
Non-Prod
SLT Dev SLT QA
ECC Prod
HANA
Prod
SLT Prod

35. • SAP HANA solution delivered value
• The accessibility of data is unmatched within the SAP
landscape
– Our Supply Chain ad-hoc analytics use case was a perfect fit
• IBM services delivered within time and budget
• You’re either on the bus or left waiting!
Summary

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@BChambersASUG on Twitter to keep up to date with
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