The Integration Add-On 3.0 is a key element that needs to be installed with the standard solution for the SAP ERP HCM talent-hybrid deployment model. In this model, the core HR solutions, such as Personnel Administration, Organizational Management, Payroll, and Time Management are implemented using SAP ERP HCM, and the HR talent management solutions, such as recruiting, learning solution, compensation management, and performance management are implemented on the SuccessFactors HCM suite. In this article I focus on the integration scenarios delivered in Integration Add-On 3.0, Support Package 00 (Integrating SAP ERP HCM Qualifications with SuccessFactors HCM suite Competencies). I discuss how the Qualifications Catalog is extracted from SAP ERP HCM and then imported as Competencies into the SuccessFactors HCM suite. I also discuss the regular synchronization between employee competencies in the SuccessFactors HCM suite with the employee profile (Qualifications) in SAP ERP HCM.

Integrating SAP ERP HCM Employee Qualification Profiles with SuccessFactors HCM Suite Competencies

An employee’s talent profile, qualifications, competencies, skills, and proficiencies are managed in the SuccessFactors HCM suite and are updated during the performance management process. The qualifications profile of an employee is an important factor in assigning tasks and determining the skill gap for employees. It is helpful to use to compare employees’ qualifications to the activities associated with their positions and jobs. Because of this it is important to update employees’ qualifications in SAP ERP HCM with his or her competencies from the SuccessFactors HCM suite.

Business Case Overview

In this example scenario, I am using a healthcare company named MediaTech to illustrate my points. MediaTech has implemented an HR solution in which the core processes (e.g., Personnel Administration, Time, Payroll, and Organizational Management) are managed by SAP ERP HCM and the Talent Management functions are performed in the SuccessFactors HCM suite. Integration processes between the two systems have been implemented. A MediaTech manager needs to evaluate the qualifications and skills of an employee in SAP ERP HCM, and based on this data he is supposed to assign the employee to the right shift, work center, and tasks. Hence he needs get the employee’s qualifications profile into the SAP ERP HCM system from the SuccessFactors system. He’s looking for a standard way to integrate SAP ERP HCM with the SuccessFactors HCM suite to do this. With the updated Employee qualifications in the SAP ERP system, certain project task allocations can be automated.

The Integration Process

In order to integrate SuccessFactors competencies with SAP qualifications, the SuccessFactors Competency Library has to be integrated with the SAP Qualifications Catalog, and the employee competencies have to be integrated with the employee qualifications. An illustration of this is shown in Figure 1. A one-time upload of the Qualifications Catalog from SAP ERP HCM into the SuccessFactors HCM suite is required to sync the initial data in the system. Currently this is done as a manual file upload. Any further updates to the competencies for the employee are performed in the SuccessFactors HCM suite. If there are updates, these changes are replicated back into SAP ERP HCM using SAP integration technology—in this case, with SAP HANA Cloud Integration. Any changes to the Competency Library automatically update the Qualifications Catalog, and changes to the employee competencies automatically update the employee qualifications.

Note SAP HANA Cloud Integration facilitates the integration of business processes and data across on-premise and cloud applications (e.g., cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-on-premise integration). The integration supports both Personnel Administration- and Personnel Development-based qualifications in SAP ERP HCM.

Table 1 shows the minimum system requirements and prerequisites for this integration.

System	Software components
SAP ECC	SAP ERP 6.0 Support Package 15
SAP HCM Integration Add-On	Integration Add-On 3.0: SFIHCM03 Support Package 00
SAP HANA Cloud Integration	Pre-packaged content: SuccessFactors HCM Suite Competency with SAP HCM Qualifications
SuccessFactors HCM suite	Release b1405
SAP NetWeaver Gateway 2.0 Support Package 7	IW_BEP SP07

Here is an outline of the steps required to achieve this integration.

The High-Level Implementation Steps

Before you can integrate SAP ERP HCM on-premise and SuccessFactors Talent Management, there are several high-level integration steps that must be taken. They are briefly explained below.

1. Check to make sure the minimum system requirements are installed.
2. Check to see if the SAP HANA Cloud Integration instance has the pre-packaged content “SuccessFactors HCM suite competencies with SAP ERP HCM qualifications.”
3. Make the required PROVISIONING settings in the SuccessFactors HCM suite to enable SuccessFactors application program interfaces—APIs—and set the proper access rights for the administrative user.
4. Enable and activate the OData service in the SAP NetWeaver Gateway configuration.
5. Make sure the SuccessFactors HCM suite is connected with SAP HANA Cloud Integration using basic user authentication (e.g., provide appropriate access for this in the Set User Permissions section).
6. Identify and define the connection methodology between SAP ERP HCM and SAP HANA Cloud Integration (this is because if the on-premise instance is behind the firewall, the proper channel has to be defined for access). You can do this by defining the reverse proxy and authenticating it by using the client certificate.
7. Identify the file location paths for storing the CSV file for a one-time upload.
8. Configure and deploy the SAP HANA Cloud Integration-packaged content. Also define and configure the connection adapters and deploy the mapping contents.
9. Implement the configuration steps defined for the “Integration scenario for Qualification data folder” in the SAP IMG.
10. Schedule the regular integration program jobs in SAP HANA Cloud Integration.

Next, I discuss the setup for the configuration.

Configuration Setup in Detail

Implement the following configuration steps by following IMG menu path Personnel Management > Integration Add-On for SAP ERP HCM and SuccessFactors BizX > Integration scenario for Qualification data. From the screen that opens (not shown) you can do the following steps.

Define Authorizations

Standard ABAP role (PFCG) SAP_HR_SFI_QUALIFICATION is delivered. Copy the role to a custom role and create the appropriate profiles based on the requirements. Assign this role to the user to provide authorization to transfer qualification data from the SAP ERP HCM system to the SuccessFactors HCM suite, and vice versa.

Gateway Configuration

Activate the OData service HRSFI_QUALIFICATION_SRV in your SAP NetWeaver Gateway system. Navigate to following IMG path: SAP NetWeaver > Gateway > OData Channel > Administration > General Settings > Activate and Maintain Services. In the screen that opens click the Add Service button and select the appropriate filter for the SAP NetWeaver Gateway (Figure 2). Click the search icon (the binoculars in the figure) and search for the External Service Name HRSFI_QUALIFICATION_SRV. Once you find it, select it and click the Add Selected Services button to add and activate the OData service (Figure 3). If the service is already added you don’t not need to perform this step. Once the service is added and activated it is listed as shown in Figure 4.     Next you need to extract the Qualifications Catalog from the SAP ERP HCM system and import it as Competencies into the SuccessFactors HCM suite. This is a manual, one-time activity.

Define the File Path for Storing the Generated Files

From the IMG, execute the Define File path for storing the Generated File node. Scroll down to the HR_SFI_DIR file name. The Add-On 3.0 uses logical file path and filename HR_SFI_DIR. The physical file name consists of the following placeholders; set the values as follows:

<PARAM_1> = The filename from the selection screen.

<PARAM_3> = The file extension (in this case, it’s always .csv).

Run the Extraction for the Qualifications Catalog

The next step is to run the extraction for the Qualifications Catalog. Trigger utility report RH_SFI_EXPORT_QUALI (transaction code HRSFI_QUAL_DATA_EXPT) to download the Qualifications Catalog from the SAP ERP HCM system. The generated file is stored in the directory path specified in HR_SFI_DIR (explained previously). The generated CSV file is in the format specified by the standard SuccessFactors system. This can be imported in Provisioning or Admin Tools. The steps to execute the utility program are as follows:

1. Select the Qualification Group from the search help, as shown in Figure 5.
2. Enter the file name to be stored (without the extension) and the language to extract the texts for the qualifications.
3. Click the execute icon.
4. On execution the file is generated and stored in the specified path (e.g., HR_SFI_DIR).

The CSV file that is extracted and stored is retrieved to import the same in the SuccessFactors system. To retrieve the CSV file, execute transaction code CG3Y and the screen as shown in Figure 6 opens. Specify the folder location in your system to retrieve and download the CSV file. Once it’s retrieved, you can store it the local folder by clicking the download icon on the bottom-right of the pop-up as shown in Figure 6. Now when you open the CSV file from your desktop you see that all the qualifications are downloaded and the CSV file is ready to be imported as competencies in the SuccessFactors HCM suite. Figure 7 shows the sample CSV file that is downloaded from the SAP ERP HCM system. It is important to maintain the relationship between the Qualifications Catalog ID and the SuccessFactors ID. When the standard utility tool is executed, it saves the relationship automatically. Typically it does not need to be changed, but in certain circumstances when the data is transferred manually make sure you maintain the relationships accordingly.

Middleware Configuration and Deployment

SAP HANA Cloud Integration is used as middleware to deliver the packaged solution for Integration Add-On 3.0. Briefly, here are the steps involved in the SAP HANA Cloud Integration packaged solution deployment. The package contents can be seen on the SAP HANA Cloud Integration instance when you log in to the web user interface (UI) of SAP HANA Cloud Integration as shown in Figure 8. Select the SuccessFactors HCM Suite Competency with SAP HCM Qualification package option. Choose the copy to workplace icon (Figure 9). The package is copied and is ready for deployment. After copying, the packaged solution is available for configuration under the Design tab. Just hover over the menu icon’s top left corner and navigate to Design (Figure 10). Select the SuccessFactors HCM Suite Competency with SAP HCM Qualification option (highlighted in red in the figure) and double-click it. This opens the screen in Figure 11 with all the package contents shown on the left. The current package content is as follows:

• Competency Catalog: The regular process for transferring the Competency Catalog; this content needs to be configured
• Competency to Qualification Proficiency Value Mapping: This contains the standard value mapping to transfer the data from the SuccessFactors HCM suite to SAP ERP HCM.
• Configuration Guide: The document that explains the configuration steps.
• Employee Qualification Rating: The process flow that describes the one-time upload of employee qualification ratings to the SuccessFactors HCM suite; this content needs to be configured.
• SuccessFactors HCM Suite: The URL link to the solution.
• User Competency Rating: The process flow that describes the regular upload of user competencies from the SuccessFactors HCM suite to the SAP ERP HCM system; this content needs to be configured.

Set Up the SuccesssFactors Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) Adapter

To configure the adapter (connection), click the link connecting the system and SAP HANA Cloud Integration (highlighted in red in Figure 12). This opens the screen at the bottom of the figure where you find the adapter settings that need to be configured. Click the Adapter Specific button and then click Edit to edit the settings. Specify all the entries as per your system set-up as described in Table 2.

Adapter settings	Description of the values
Directory	Specify the directory of the CSV file.
Server host	The SFTP host name.
User name	The name of the user who can access the system.

Next I show how to configure the connection with SAP ERP HCM.

Set Up the SAP HCM OData Adapter

In the screen in Figure 12, select the Source option (on the left) and then the Adapter Specific button. This opens the screen shown in Figure 13 with the adapter settings at the bottom. Click Edit and specify the entries as per the details in Table 3.

Adapter settings	Description of the value
Address	Enter the fully qualified server details that can be accessed passing through the firewall: HOST and PORT. Or provide the URL established via the reverse proxy, which can be authenticated by client certificate.
Authentication method	This method can be in Basic or Client-Certificate mode.
Credential name	If it is in Basic authentication mode then enter the deployed artifact name that is created via Eclipse that contains the User ID and Password to access the OData service.
Private key alias	If it is a Client-Certificate authentication mode then enter the certificate. However, before entering the certificate, make sure that the certificate is deployed in the keystore of the SAP HANA Cloud Integration instance.

Using these same steps, you need to configure all the adapter connections for all the other process flows (User Competency rating and Employee Qualification rating). More details on how to create deployed artifacts from Eclipse is available in the Configuration Guide in the package contents.

Schedule the Interface Program

Next you have to enter the processing parameters for the SFTP adapter settings. You do this by providing the appropriate details as shown in Figure 14. Then click Processing on the left and provide the values for scheduling the interface program. With this step, you have finished configuring the adapter settings to connect the systems (SuccessFactors HCM suite and SAP ERP HCM) via SAP HANA Cloud Integration. Next I briefly discuss the SAP ABAP developments that are useful for the integration.

Important ABAP Developments

There are two Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) that are relevant for integrating competencies and qualifications. They are:

1. HRSFI_USERID_TO_PERNR (Determine SAP ERP Personnel Numbers and SuccessFactors Userid): Method PROVIDE_PERNR is provided to determine the personnel number and SuccessFactors User IDs from the given information. Custom logic based on the requirement can be implemented.
2. HRSFI_NORMALIZE_QUAL_RATING (Configure Value mapping for Qualification rating): Method NORMALIZE_RATING is provided to achieve the following logic, resolve multiple ratings for competency into one qualification rating, and adjust the incoming employee rating as per the rating scale set up in SAP ERP.