Become a Digital Transformation Leader!
SAP S/4HANA is a modern ERP system for an intelligent enterprise designed as a successor to older SAP ERP systems. It provides a modern user interface, business process optimization, and a range of new features and capabilities.
One of the main objectives of S/4HANA is to simplify business processes by eliminating unnecessary steps, reducing complexity, and increasing efficiency. This allows organizations to better manage their resources, finances, supply chain, manufacturing, and other aspects of their operations. S/4HANA also offers advanced analytical functions and integration with other SAP solutions and external systems, which allows for full digital transformation of the organization.
Examples of applications:
- A large manufacturing enterprise with S/4HANA can gain better control over the supply chain, increase efficiency, and respond faster to changing market conditions.
- The service sector has the opportunity to better track project costs, increase team efficiency, and deliver better value to customers.
- S/4HANA allows for better integration of financial data, faster reporting, and precise analysis and enables better risk management.
- The retail chain gains the ability to better track product data, analyze customer preferences, manage promotions, and tailor sales strategies to individual customer needs.
- A hospital or medical institution may have better medical data management, access to up-to-date patient information, optimization of administrative processes, and improved patient care.
SAP S/4HANA – A MODERN ERP SYSTEM FOR AN INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE
Digitally supported processes
Real-time analysis of the organisation’s efficiency allows optimising the processes in the company – from purchase and sales planning, through logistics chain management, to analyses, period closures and financial management.
Companies are increasingly experiencing a new level of market volatility, which is revolutionary in their approach to engaging with investors, customers, suppliers, regulators and employees. This volatility results not only from traditional areas such as the risk of currency prices or changes in the prices of raw materials but also from macroeconomic volatility, innovative methods of competition and ever-changing consumer and employee preferences. Moreover, the volatility of tax policy and complex regulatory requirements pose a challenge to obtain, analyse and provide detailed and more reliable information in real-time. The challenges faced by enterprises require that their processes be based on innovation, so as to flexibly adapt to changes, manage volatility and find new opportunities to create value. SAP S/4 HANA is a financial innovation platform that enables the digitisation of business by combining business processes and analysis into one seamless digital world. It is the foundation of a smart enterprise.
The S/4 HANA system supports end-to-end processes in the company
„Record to report”
The overall financial scenario, which refers to a faster, continuous and correct financial closing. This scenario starts with the recording of accounting data for many companies, charts of accounts, etc. and ends with the closing of the books and the creation of financial statements (e.g. International Financial Reporting Standards, US GAAP or other local regulatory requirements).
Benefits:
- The universal general ledger does not require any reconciliation
- Full data transparency
- Operations settled in real-time
- Faster and more efficient, automated closing of periods
- Real-time data consolidation
- Reporting and analysis available on an ad hoc basis without the need for transfer to the data warehouse and aggregation
„Order to cash”
A comprehensive scenario ensuring a smooth, automated processing of customer orders from the offer to the payment record.
Benefits:
- Multi-channel access to a reliable central and up-to-date source of data on products, customers, price lists, promotions.
- Process automation and group work mechanisms
- Mass data processing
- Scalability of processes
- Intelligent mechanisms for recognising and combining payments
- Ergonomic service
„Procure to pay”
Comprehensive process of effective cooperation between buyer and supplier and compatible and efficient processes of electronic data exchange of trading partners. This scenario includes purchase planning, demand management and order creation in accordance with the rules in force in the organisation, order execution from suppliers, delivery verification, handling of warehouse processes, settling supplier’s liabilities together with improving the processes of settling liabilities.
Benefits:
- Total control in the supply chain
- Standardisation and efficiency of purchasing processes
- More efficient product life cycle management
- Comprehensive management of market activities
- Optimal adaptation to industry needs
Key features of the S/4 HANA system
Integrated solution - it was designed and created as a set of business applications running on one database and one data model. Internal integration of the system provides authorised users with a uniform and consistent view of data.
The division into business applications (modules) is conventional - they form one whole. The system user goes through the registration process only once, after which they can use modules according to the roles and permissions assigned to the user.
The real-time solution of single data entry makes the data immediately visible (as dictated by application logic) in all functional areas of the system, where it is required for other authorised users. It enables organisations to address all business issues in real-time at both operational and strategic levels.
The solution is delivered with open source code – customers are able to develop the product on their own with their own functionalities and applications generating competitive advantages. The “in memory” technology allows the use of advanced analytical and prediction tools based directly on the source data in the system, which allows for a faster and more accurate response to the market situation or the course of a specific process or operation.
QUO VADIS OR MIGRATION TO S/4 HANA FOR CURRENT SAP ERP USERS
How to make a good decision – in 3 steps
The decision to migrate to S/4 HANA is an important business decision for companies – it requires the involvement of teams and incurs project costs. An optimal decision requires an analysis of the situation of the company in 3 basic aspects:
Three quick steps to making a good decision
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A MODERN ERP SYSTEM?
1. Why? -> Purpose Definition
Analysis of the business strategy and the target system architecture supporting this strategy.
- Defining goals in the perspective of several years: change in the scale of business, change in the scale of employment, change in the territory of operation (markets, geographical territory), change in the way of conducting business, reorganization of internal structures, dynamics of changes in the company and changes in the business environment, etc.
- Evaluation of the current SAP ERP system in terms of the effectiveness of support for current processes and anticipated requirements.
- Development of an optimal target architecture of business applications optimally supporting current and future operations.
- Initial introduction to the possibilities/advantages of innovations of the S/4 HANA system [link to Part I].
2. What? -> selection of the optimal migration path, e.g.
3. HOW? -> Development of a preliminary migration plan
- Selection of the expected implementation option ('on premise', private or public cloud – for the SAP ERP system itself and the infrastructure)
- Defining the approach to license migration [link to the presentation or video on license conversion]
- Estimated project budget
- Planned deadlines for the implementation of the project for the main tasks, organizational strategy, e.g. in relation to the order of countries, business units, implemented solutions
Conversion to S/4 HANA - 5 decisive steps in the SI2S4 methodology
ALREADY HAVE AN ERP SYSTEM AND WANT TO IMPROVE IT?
SAP BTP - an alternative place to implement extensions for SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud | ||
RESOURCES - LISTEN TO OUR EXPERTS
- SI-KSEF Workshop - presentation CLICK HERE
- Anna Konieczna-Garbacz's article "How to prepare well for the conversion of ECC to S/4HANA and why you should take action now" CLICK HERE
- Dariusz Wiśniewski's article "Best Practices in the implementation of the SAP platform – does it make sense?" (Financial Newspaper) CLICK HERE
- Bartłomiej Socha's article "Supply and sourcing in SAP S/4HANA" (MyERP.pl) CLICK HERE
- Renata Rokita's article "Man meets technology, i.e. the human face of digital transformation" (Gazeta Finansowa) -> CLICK HERE
