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What is SAP S/4HANA?
SAP S/4HANA is an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, an intelligent business platform that enables companies to quickly respond to market developments. By integrating all business processes end-to-end, SAP S/4HANA fits seamlessly with your business needs. SAP S/4HANA helps companies grow, become more sustainable, increase customer satisfaction, and increase production processes efficiency. All this in an era where adaptability as a company is crucial.
Let's face it, IT transformations are complex. That's why you need a partner with the right expertise, a proven approach, and a collaborative vision. Our team of 250+ experts brings a wealth of experience at the intersection of business and IT, always focusing on your true business priorities.
SAP S/4HANA: Public vs. Private Cloud Editions
Your company and processes are unique. Why bring your ERP to a standard in the cloud? Because the quality, cost, and scalability advantages are so significant that the choice for most customers becomes a 'no brainer'. Within the cloud however, there are still many options to choose from. Which version suits you best?
SAP S/4HANA is the leading ERP platform in the market and is available in 3 editions:
SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud is managed by SAP and offers limited customizability and control over the system. The advantage of the Public Cloud is the quick implementation and scalability, as the system is already fully set up and delivered with standard configuration by SAP. Although less customization is possible, SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud uses Scope Items. These are predefined business processes that you can activate when they are applicable to your company. Additionally, SAP makes new developments (such as SAP Joule AI) available first in the Public Cloud, allowing you as a user to benefit from the latest innovations first.
SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud is managed by SAP. It is essentially an on-premise system that runs on SAP's servers instead of your own server. Although there is limited control over the system, it still offers flexibility as adjustments within certain limits are possible. The advantage of the private cloud is the quick implementation and scalability.
SAP S/4HANA On-Premise offers the possibility to install and manage the system locally (on your own cloud server). Often hosted on hyperscalers like Azure Cloud, Amazon Web Service or Google Cloud. This gives companies full control over the SAP system and the ability to make adjustments within the system's limits. It also offers fast response and data processing.
SAP S/4HANA Implementations
A successful transition to SAP S/4HANA Cloud requires more than just IT; it's about delivering value to the business. Our approach guarantees this.
Lay the foundation first with the proven SAP Activate methodology for a structured and efficient implementation. Pay attention to change management from the start with our Change Management approach to promote acceptance of changes and reduce project costs and risks.
Learn from best practices and standardize where possible to save valuable implementation time. Enrich the approach with unique McCoy accelerators such as SAP Signavio for process architecture and SMART Re-use™ for the reuse of successful investments. Keep aiming for value, even after go-live, to guarantee lasting value for the business.
Continue reading about the Implementation of SAP S/4HANA
SAP S/4HANA Functionalities
SAP S/4HANA offers a bunch of new functionalities when compared to it’s predecessor SAP ECC to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. A few examples are:
SAP Fiori: Offers your users a simplified, intuitive user experience with a web-based UI. With role-based apps that are accessible from any device, it enhances the usability and productivity of the system.
SAP Joule: your smart AI assistant. SAP Joule is always ready to help you with tasks and find your necessary information. Whether you want to change your address or request information about your team members, Joule handles it for you. Joule is now gradually being rolled out across SAP's entire product portfolio.
Business Partners: Centralizes the management of all your partners such as suppliers, customers, and off course employees. Simplifying interactions and data maintenance.
Flexible Workflows: Automates business processes like purchase order (and other transactional documents) approvals without the need for ABAP development, making it accessible to non-developers to create and maintain these workflows.
Situation Handling: Proactively addresses potential issues with real-time alerts and notifications, improving operational efficiency.
SAP S/4HANA Modules
SAP S/4HANA has various modules for the different processes within a company. For example, Finance & Control for all financial operations and Supply Chain Management for all logistics matters. Here we have highlighted most of the main modules for you with examples of new functionalities per module.
Finance & Control
SAP S/4HANA Finance & Control, along with Supply Chain Management, remains the heart of the ERP system. It continues to offer the functionality you are accustomed to but also includes several new and improved components. These help organizations manage and streamline their financial processes. Some of these new features are:
SAP Central Finance: Harmonizes and consolidates financial data from multiple sources into your SAP S/4HANA system using real-time replication, maintains existing systems, and ensures accurate financial reporting.
SAP S/4HANA Advanced Financial Closing: Automates and streamlines financial closing tasks, provides real-time monitoring, unified task management, and role-based access to improve accuracy and efficiency.
SAP S/4HANA Intercompany Matching & Reconciliation: Streamlines the reconciliation of intercompany receivables/payables, offers real-time dashboard insights, detailed analysis, and efficient automated/manual reconciliation.
SAP S/4HANA Accrual Engine: Automates the allocation of costs over multiple periods, reduces manual workload, and improves reporting accuracy.
SAP S/4HANA Central Invoice Management: Streamlines invoice processing with features like automatic data capture, exception management, and real-time reporting straight from your S/4HANA Public Cloud System.
Supply Chain Management
SAP S/4HANA Supply Chain Management also offers many new tools to streamline and optimize logistics, production, and procurement processes, enhancing efficiency and decision-making in complex supply chain environments. A few of these improvements are:
SAP S/4HANA Advanced Planning: Balances customer demand and production efficiencies, replacing SAP APO. Focuses on production locations using forecasts and sales orders for demand management, simplifying planning scenarios and decision-making in complex environments.
SAP S/4HANA Advanced Availability to Promise: Prioritizes B2B customers over B2C when inventory is scarce, using a single material number. Efficiently manages product allocation, simplifies material management, and allows flexible allocation groups. The Fiori app supports allocation management and visualization.
SAP Basic Transportation Management: Included in the standard S/4HANA license. Streamlines inbound and outbound transportation activities, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
SAP S/4HANA Predictive MRP: Aligns demand and supply by predicting demand and planning available capacity. Creates scenarios to optimize production, taking into account inventory transfers, stock, and production constraints. The app helps assess and compare simulations for capacity and supply chain issues.
Sales & Distribution
SAP S/4HANA Sales & Distribution is designed to streamline sales processes, manage customer orders, and optimize distribution. Next to all the existing functionality of SAP ECC, it offers advanced new tools such as:
SAP S/4HANA Settlement Management: Flexible Contract Management enables you to manage your commercial agreements such as sales rebates, commissions, and royalties more easily. This offers enhanced capabilities for handling provisions and settlements as well as extensive reporting capabilities via SAP Fiori apps. Condition Contract Management supports detailed management of conditions and agreements, allowing for more accurate and transparent handling of conditions. The system utilizes new data structures and improved data models for recording and processing business volume and financial transactions.
SAP S/4HANA Backorder Processing: enables companies to optimize their inventory allocation and order management by using advanced prioritization rules and machine learning models. This feature helps prioritize important customers and orders, reallocate available inventory, and provides insights into backorder statistics via SAP Fiori apps. This results in improved customer satisfaction and more efficient operational processes.
SAP S/4HANA Customer Management (extension): Integrates service processes, offers enhanced visibility, extensive cost and revenue tracking, real-time analytics, and detailed financial insights, all with minimal customization.
Sourcing & Procurement
Like every other module offers SAP S/4HANA Sourcing & Procurement many new and improved features for the entire procurement process:
Sourcing & Contract Management: Helps acquire the right products and services at the best prices from reliable suppliers, strengthened by integration with Ariba Network or Ariba Sourcing.
Operational Procurement: Provides a robust Self Service Procurement process with a user-friendly interface and new features like Multiple Drafts Processing and deep integration with SAP Ariba Network for supplier communications.
Supplier Management: Includes supplier classification and evaluation, helping categorize and assess suppliers based on criteria like innovation and sustainability.
Integration with SAP Ariba: Seamless integration with SAP Ariba for improved contract management, sourcing, and operational procurement, ensuring a more efficient procurement process and better collaboration with suppliers.
Embedded Analytics
SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics involves various components that help companies analyze and visualize their data in real-time within their ERP system. This is made possible through the SAP HANA databases on which S/4HANA is built and provides access to:
Analytical Apps: Pre-built applications that provide insights into operational performance.
Smart Business Cockpits: Dashboards and KPIs for real-time monitoring of business processes.
Multi-dimensional Reporting: Flexible reporting options for in-depth analyses.
Real-time Data Processing: Ability to perform analyses on current data without delay.
Development & Data Management
SAP S/4HANA, in addition to its standard functionality, offers various degrees customizations in the systems. Furthermore, there are also more and simpler options for data migration and data management:
BAdI Implementations: Develop custom applications and extensions for specific business processes.
Fiori Development: Create user-friendly, role-based apps with SAP Fiori for a consistent user experience.
Data Migration Cockpit: Easily migrate data from legacy systems to S/4HANA.
API Management: Manage secure and efficient APIs for integration with other systems and applications.
SAP S/4HANA Customer Stories
SAP S/4HANA is a platform for ambitious companies. We share some of our customers' ambitions with you:
Royal FloraHolland aimed for and achieved the top position in 'Best in Finance' with their financial processes.
Marel aimed for 'One Face to the Customer' and 12% growth per year. To achieve this, we simplified the organizational structure and operating model.
Strukton prepared for a data-driven future and 'smart buildings'.
Irish Distillers (IDL) aimed to grow from 12 to 20 million cases of whiskey with their existing bottling plant and workforce.
Moving to SAP S/4HANA
Ask yourself: “Do you want to continue working with software that doesn't allow you to react in real-time to market changes? Software that doesn't let you take advantage of disruptive technologies like AI and Machine Learning?” You shouldn't see the move to SAP S/4HANA as just another upgrade. Instead, consider the flexible innovation opportunities it offers you.
Strategic ambitions require a clear direction. Therefore, first sharply define the reasons for switching to S/4HANA, and do so with both business and IT. Experience shows that you need a strong, knowledgeable sparring partner for this. We provide inspiration, show you all the possibilities, and ask the critical questions. This ensures you configure exactly the right solution. We do this in a brief and powerful Discovery trajectory.
We have listed the 5 most important reasons for companies to switch to SAP S/4HANA
What are the 5 most FAQ's of SAP S/4HANA?
Switching to SAP S/4HANA is like investing in an electric car. "Why should we buy a new car when the old one still runs fine? A good tune-up, new tires, and it’ll last for years." Discussions about choosing between an upgrade or replacement don't just happen at home; companies face the same investment dilemmas regarding their ERP systems. We'd like to fuel this discussion with some insights.
Think of the cloud editions as choosing between renting and buying a house. The Public Cloud is like renting. You benefit from simplicity and lower costs. Everything is maintained for you, and you have fewer worries but fewer customization options. Perfect for smaller companies looking to scale without many IT concerns. The Private Cloud is like buying a house. More control and customization options. You can paint the walls however you like, but the maintenance is your responsibility. Ideal for larger companies with specific needs.
The implementation of SAP S/4HANA follows a structured approach using the SAP Activate Methodology: from planning and preparation to configuration and rollout. Change management and best practices ensure a smooth transition. Post go-live, continuous optimization is crucial, much like regular car maintenance, to ensure lasting business value.
An SAP S/4HANA implementation usually takes between 6 months and 2 years, depending on the complexity of your business processes and the chosen edition. We've even completed a S/4HANA Public Cloud implementation in just 2.5 months! It's like building a house: a simple house is quick to finish, a luxury villa takes a bit longer.
There are many new features. Think of SAP Fiori for a better user interface. SAP Joule is your AI assistant, like Siri or Google Assistant, but for your business. Flexible Workflows to automate processes. And lastly, Situation Handling for real-time alerts, to tackle issues before they arise.
