Profitability Analysis (SAP)

Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) is a module of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software SAP[1] that allows users to report sales and profit data using different customized characteristics (such as customer, country, product) and key figures (such as number of units, price, cost, etc.) CO-PA derives its data from the SD[2] (Sales and Distribution), MM[3] (Materials Management), and CO[4] (Controlling) modules of SAP, and as such its configuration is closely tied to those modules. CO-PA was originally designed as a strategic reporting tool rather than as a financial reporting tool, but soon it began to be used for financial reporting. Because CO-PA recognizes sales differently than the CO and GL modules, this caused some reconciliation issues. In response, SAP enhanced CO-PA to derive data from the CO and GL modules. This "flavor" of CO-PA is known as "account-based CO-PA", while the original functionality is known as "costing-based CO-PA". Definition

profitability analysis

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Profitability analysis is a component of enterprise resource planning (ERP) that allows administrators to forecast the profitability of a proposal or optimize the profitability of an existing project. Profitability analysis can anticipate sales and profit potential specific to aspects of the market such as customer age groups, geographic regions, or product types. Profitability analysis can help key personnel in an enterprise to:

Identify the most and least profitable clients.

Identify the most and least profitable products or services. Discover which sources of information offer the most reliable facts. Optimize responses to changing customer needs. Evolve the product mix to maximize profits in the medium and long term. Isolate and remedy the causes of decreasing profit margins.