S/4HANA is an acronym for SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA. Similar to the shift from SAP R/2 to SAP R/3, it brings in the next significant wave of innovation for SAP clients. SAP S/4HANA is SAP’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for large businesses. It is the successor to SAP R/3 and SAP ERP, and it is built on SAP HANA, the company’s in-memory database.
SAP S/4HANA is an ERP business suite based on the SAP HANA in-memory database that allows companies to perform transactions and analyze business data in real time.
S/4HANA is the centerpiece — or digital core — of SAP’s strategy for enabling customers to undergo digital transformation a broadly defined process where they can modify existing business processes and models or create new ones. This allows the companies to be more flexible, responsive and resilient to changing business requirements, customer demands and environmental conditions. SAP refers to this S/4HANA-centered business environment as the intelligent enterprise.
S/4HANA is designed to be easier to use and administer than its predecessors, while also assisting in the solving of more complex problems and handling vastly larger amounts of data. It’s accessible in on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployment modes, with SAP promoting the cloud option heavily. SAP S/4HANA can be installed on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid configuration. SAP S/4HANA On-Premise and SAP S/4HANA Cloud are the two editions of the S/4HANA product.
SAP S/4HANA is a new generation of ERP solutions that integrate predictive analytics, big data, and mobile access and run in real time. These innovations will help businesses reinvent their workplaces, engage with consumers in new ways, and cooperate more effectively. SAP S/4HANA enables fast insights and smarter decisions by unifying data in real time. All SAP systems will eventually be replaced with SAP S/4HANA.
S/4HANA is more than a new technology for SAP. It’s built to deliver instant benefit across all lines of business and sectors while maintaining the highest level of complexity.
S/4 HANA features
S/4HANA was designed to make ERP more modern, faster and easier to use through a simplified data model, lean architecture and a new user experience built on the tile-based SAP Fiori UX. S/4HANA includes or is integrated with a number of advanced technologies, including AI, machine learning, IoT and advanced analytics. The SAP HANA in-memory database architecture and the integration of advanced technologies allow S/4HANA to help solve complex problems in real time and analyze more information faster than previous SAP ERP products.
It contains the following features:
- Batch processing and data reconciliation are no longer necessary because everything is done in real time.
- User satisfaction can be improved by minimizing waiting times.
- Simulate the impact of business decisions on the final result.
- Future Opportunities and Difficulties: Identify and respond to future opportunities and challenges.
- Drilldowns: Analyze data at any level without having to export it.
- Recommendations: Data-driven decision support systems built-in
How does SAP S/4HANA work?
SAP S/4HANA is an ERP business suite based on the SAP HANA in-memory database, which enables enterprises to conduct real-time transactions and interpret company data. It’s offered in on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployment modes, with SAP promoting the cloud option heavily .
SAP S/4HANA Modules
Individual SAP S/4HANA modules make up an S/4HANA implementation. Each one focuses on a certain company function, such as general ledger, logistics, or materials management. They essentially break down the SAP suite’s very monolithic structure into smaller, more manageable pieces. One of SAP’s main priorities in developing S/4HANA modules was to keep things simple.
Modules include:
SAP Materials Management (MM)
SAP Material Management (SAP MM) is an SAP module that deals with material and inventory management. Material management as a process ensures that there are no shortages of materials or holes in the organization’s supply chain process. SAP MM streamlines procurement and material management processes to keep your business running smoothly and efficiently. It deals with the management of materials (products and/or services) and resources in an organization to increase productivity and reduce costs.
SAP Plant Maintenance (PM)
The SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM) application component provides organizations with the tools to complete all maintenance tasks. Because all maintenance tasks are interconnected, this module is tightly integrated with other modules such as Production Planning, Material Management, and Sales and Distribution.
SAP Human Capital Management (HCM)
SAP HCM is one of the most important SAP modules for building a well-organized business management structure. SAP HCM experts are among the most popular experts in the world. HCM is one of the most important businesses of all sizes. A typical HR concept is limited to hiring. HR, on the other hand, is more than just hiring.
SAP Production Planning (PP)
The process of creating production and procurement schedules for finished products and materials by matching demand with manufacturing facilities is called production planning. SAP PP is a critical SAP module. It keeps track of and records the production process flows, such as planned and actual expenditures. Plant and storage locations are critical in production planning. At the Plant level, all Production master data is created. Plant-level planning activities are also carried out. The process of production confirmation and related products transfer takes place at the plant and storage facility level.
SAP Sales and Distribution (SD)
SAP Sales and Distribution is a key component of the SAP ERP system and it is used to manage the shipping, invoicing, selling and shipping of products and services within a company. From quotation through sales order to product or service billing, the SAP Sales and Distribution module, which is part of the SAP Logistics module, manages customer connections.
SAP Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP)
SAP developed ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming), a high-level programming language. Logical databases (LDBs), which provide a high level of abstraction over the basics of databases, were introduced in ABAP as one of the first languages. It is also designed for use by SAP clients to enhance SAP applications. Customers can use ABAP programming to create custom reports and interfaces.
SAP Business Application Software Integrated solution (BASIS)
A group of programmers and tools that serve as an interface between a database, an operating system, communication protocols, and business applications is known as the basis (such as FI, CO, MM, etc.). In its full form, BASIS stands for “Business Application Software Integrated Solution.” SAP programmers such as FI, CO, PP, and others can run and communicate with one another across multiple operating systems and databases with the help of BASIS.
SAP Financial Accounting and Controlling (FICO)
The SAP FI (Financial Accounting) module is a critical component of every SAP implementation. External reporting, such as the balance sheet and profit and loss statements, is done with it. MM (Materials Management), SD (Sales and Distribution), PP (Production Planning), PM (Plant Maintenance), and PS (Plant Security) are all SAP modules that interact with the SAP FICO Module (Project Systems).
SAP Master Data Governance (MDG)
SAP Master Data Governance (MDG) is a master data management solution that allows you to centrally develop, amend, distribute, and unify master data across your whole system landscape. Because of this data integration, you may reuse data models, validation frameworks, and business logic, resulting in much better master data quality. SAP Master Data Governance (MDG) gives you quick and secure access to your data, allowing you to address digital, analytical, and operational challenges head on.
SAP Warranty Management (WM)
SAP Warranty Management is a SAP solution for handling claims and master data management. The solution connects customer (reimbursement) and vendor (recovery) procedures across the entire supply chain. SAP Warranty Management is in charge of the financial aspects of claims and unifies the processes that go along with them (e.g. return parts logistics or quality improvements.).
SAP Environment, Health and Safety (EHS)
SAP EHS is used to manage environmental hazards including as pollution, employee health and safety, and accidents.
Business value of SAP S/4HANA for customers
Originally written for the SAP HANA platform, SAP S/4HANA is a completely new generation of SAP Business Suite, offering attractive features such as simplification, significant efficiency improvements, and planning and modeling options for many existing transactions.
SAP S/4HANA is a sign of transition from a transactional system that simply records data to providing proactive, real-time decision support to end-users based on data from internal and external sources. We are currently in the process of developing a business value calculator for SAP S/4HANA that drills down on data to quantify benefits at the solution level. With SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA, customers were able to calculate business cases to save money and optimize the total cost of ownership.
These calculations are equally valid for SAP S/4HANA. However, the simplifications created in SAP S/4HANA provide other benefits included in the Business Value Calculator, such as a new user interface, less data, more flexibility, and higher throughput. For example, the finance department can benefit from more efficient common services and faster financial closes.
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