Introduction and purpose

Although a many good articles have been written by a number of experts about S/4HANA, there still seem to be a lot of confusing terminology floating around. SAP customers and consultants are struggling to figure out answers to their open questions around the numerous SAP products which seem to offer similar functionality. I have provided my point-of-view on the direction SAP is headed in an effort to help relatively junior SAP consultants and aspiring future SAP consultants.

A bit of background

The biggest ERP in the market 'SAP' has evolved over the past four decades and has been the single most integrated business solution implemented in the market. While companies across the globe in numerous industries their businesses and IT systems utilizing SAP solutions, it offered a career opportunities in the form of a large number of highly paid consultants.

The integrated nature of the SAP package required a combined effort from many professionals who come with deep business knowledge and expertise in different business areas (functional consultants) such as procurement, manufacturing, sales & distribution, finance, quality, maintenance, warehouse, service, etc. In addition to the process areas, consultants with deep technical expertise (technical consultants) are needed to fill the gaps in standard SAP solution and to customize the solution. Also, there is a need for system administrators and people who administer security (basis and security consultants).

Traditionally, companies hired consulting firms (also called as system integrators) to understand their business processes and bring in their consultants with specific skill sets who can understand their business processes, design and configure the future SAP system and also train their personnel.

A quick look at how SAP product(s) evolved

The mainframe based SAP R2 was released in 1979 with a two tier architecture. The widely popular R3 system was released in 1992 which comprised of 3 tier architecture (database, application server and the presentation server being the 3 tiers). SAP kept enhancing the product in the form of releases. SAP stabilized its product with the name ECC6 released in 2006. SAP kept adding enhancement packs until 2013, the last one being EHP7 released in 2013.

In the last decade, SAP released numerous products that worked in conjunction with core ECC6 (also called as ERP6) to meet specific business needs, a few examples being mySAP CRM, SRM, APO, PLM, EWM, BW/BI, MII, SCM, MRS among many others.

In addition, numerous industry specific versions of SAP ECC6 (ERP) are made available, which catered to specific industry segments such as retail, utilities, public sector, oil & gas, healthcare, banking to name a few.

Demand for SAP Consultants

The number of SAP consultants increased steadily as the number of SAP implementation increased from late 80s until now. Depending on the demand for a certain skills, consulting companies and independent consultants charged their clients high hourly rates. However demand for the skill sets varied based on the industry trends, the number of ongoing implementations, support requirements, all in the mix of newer products and functionality being released by SAP. Seasoned SAP consultants would very well know that they need to constantly upgrade their skills with newer product releases and acquire newer skills that are in demand constantly so that they can stay in high demand.

Over the past two decades, a number of SAP skills became commoditized. For example, skills in certain SAP modules such as SAP MM, SD, FI, PP or even ABAP programming as the number of implementations diminished and the number of consultants increased. Long gone are the days when consultants charged top hourly rates for these skills.

Advent of new generation SAP products - S/4HANA, Cloud

SAP came up with strategies to stay as a leader in ERP market with sustaining growth over years to come. SAPs new mantra to achieve this is by bringing the new S/4 HANA into the market.

What is HANA?

SAP traditionally operated on databases that they did not own. All of the SAP installations done prior to HANA were utilized competitor's databases. HANA is SAP's own 'state-of-the-art' database which is column oriented and stores data 'in-memory'. It offers 'real-time' analytics.

SAP introduced HANA database to the market in 2011. SAP so far did a few HANA releases since then with different names and functionality. 'BW on HANA' was released in 2012 which gained a lot of momentum in the world of analytics. Soon in 2013, SAP released 'Suite-on-HANA (SOH)' which is nothing but the entire existing SAP products running on HANA database. Since the introduction of HANA, SAP is working towards enhancing and optimizing all of the existing products to take advantage of the capabilities of HANA database and eliminate restrictions that the existing relational databases imposed.

SAP continued to expand their product portfolio by acquiring a number of companies and merging the products with their new generation products. A few such examples are SuccessFactors, Ariba, Hybris, Syclo, etc.

SAP released Simple Finance in 2014, which is an S/4 product and runs on HANA. Simple Finance saw a big change in terms of how financial data is stored in the SAP system. Numerous tables that traditionally stored SAP Finance and Costing (FI/CO) data have been condensed into a handful of HANA tables which reduces complexity in data storage and increases reporting speed.

Moving ahead in the same path, SAP intends to HANAize all of the traditional modules in the ERP. SAP release 1511 S/4HANA covers the latest suite of SAP products including S/4HANA Enterprise Management.

What is Fiori?

SAP also addressed the age old complaint that the SAP screens are not user friendly and non-intuitive, by releasing what is called 'Fiori' user interface (Ux). Fiori is based on UI5 technology and contains a set of front end templates called 'tiles' that users can pick and choose for the applications thy intend to run on SAP. One other key feature of Fiori is mobility integration. All the new generation SAP products are web enabled, persona based and configurable.

It appears like the future SAP implementations would typically comprise of S/4HANA Enterprise Management application running on Fiori front end and mobility enabled. Since the table structures would have been simplified, there would probably be a limited need for the RICEF(custom developments). Reports would be generated using the in-memory (cloud) capabilities. Just a guess but simple queries might be able to generate complex reports given that the table structures are simple. We may have to wait and watch to see if the new generation digital analytics might possibly eliminate the need for traditional BW reporting..!

What it means to SAP Consultants

While SAP is driving big changes and on their way to creating new markets for the new generation products, customers are still confused with the fast pace of changes and the array of products available currently with overlapping functionality. They have hard time making the right choices.

This offers a huge challenge as well as a huge opportunity for SAP consultants to catch up with SAP's pace and understand the latest products and provide customers with right information and guide them making the right choices. Good news is that the core business processes are actually driven by the industry and more of less would remain the same irrespective of the technology advancements. So the need of the hour for SAP consultants is to invest time in upgrading their skills, after all consultants are the ones to take the brunt of understanding the new products, features and functionality..!

Certainly there will be a many customers in the future who would wan to implement S/4HANA and Fiori. Consultants could look forward to upgrade projects as well as new implementations the 'this' is the right time for them to gear up and get ready for the 'next big thing'..!

Most of the organizations now running SAP are trying to ascertain the business benefits with S/4 HANA. Highlighted the design principles behind S/4 HANA in one of the previous blogs in URL http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2015/11/16/principles-features-directions-methodology-and-market-trend-with-sap-s4-hana-1511-update. Simplification list of Release 1511 states that the activation of material ledger is mandatory. Writing this blog to summarize ‘What is material ledger’, ‘ challenges in implementing in SAP ERP’ and ‘How S/4 HANA can simplify material ledger with its new data model’.

Material ledger (ML): Provides following main features

• Multiple currency : Traditionally inventory is mainly valuated with a single currency in SAP ERP. ML allows valuation in two additional currencies. Today’s global organizations operating in different countries desire to valuate inventory in multiple currencies. Like for example, a company in Norway dealing with oil needs to maintain their books in Norwegian currency (NOK) , they will also like to evaluate their inventory in USD as oil is traded in international market in USD. This functionality is available in Release 1511 of S/4 HANA.

• Multiple valuations : ML offers the option of  three different levels of valuations (Legal ,group and Profit center) for a corporate group operating in multiple countries . Generally legal valuations are stored in local currency, group & profit center valuations are stored in group currency (mostly in USD). Parallel valuations support transfer pricing for internal sales between legal entities or profit centers within the group for worldwide supply chain. If a product is assembled in China with parts produced & procured from different units operating in different countries (within the same group) , then final cost price may get added up to a very high value (due to internal profits in cross company sales). If company wants to reduce this final cost price, then this multiple valuations help them to achieve that by eliminating internal profits for MNCs’. This functionality is expected to be ready in S/4 HANA in middle of 2016.

• Actual costing : Inventory and material movements are generally valuated either at Standard price (S) which is constant over a period of time or Moving average price (MAP) which gets adjusted (calculated) automatically based on every Goods receipt or Invoice receipt. Both of these two methods have their own pros and cons. Actual costing combines the advantages of standard price with advantages of using MAP.

ML captures all price variances (like purchase price variances, production variances etc) and allows (as optional period end activity) revaluation of ending inventories at period end and releases it as standard price (generally) for next period. Actual costing is optional in S/4 HANA.

Challenges with ML in SAP ERP : Material ledger functionality is present in SAP ERP , but not many companies have implemented it mainly due to

• Several configurations (perceived to be complex)
• Discipline in logistic process specially for actual costing and need for high quality master data (Material price can be changed at any time without ML , but there are restrictions in changing the price within a period if actual costing is active. Material posting needs to happen in current period only, Goods receipt should be done before Invoice receipt for purchase order etc)
• Production startup activity (Perceived to be complex with considerable business down time)
• Additional period end activities (Specially when actual costing is active)
• Performance (Transaction run time gets impacted due to update in several ML tables during goods movement , invoices and additional period end activities) 
• Analytics (Analysis of price to be drilled down to individual document takes time)

Valuation on actual costing is a legal requirement in many countries like Brazil. Many MNCs’ have implemented ML only for their Brazil unit but not for units in other countries.

Simplified data model of S/4 HANA : Data will now be stored mainly in universal journal table ACDOCA , several ML tables have been replaced with HANA views with same name.

So, existing customers using ML will be happy as bottlenecks with performance and analytics will be eliminated through simplified data model, higher throughput, ‘on the fly’ aggregates, real time reporting. Some of the period end activities (for reconciliation etc) may not be needed with single table ACDOCA. But, other customer not using ML (for all of their plants) may not be happy for mandatory implementation of ML in all plants.

Undoubtedly ML has great features and global companies will reap benefits with parallel currency and parallel valuations with ML embedded in S/4 HANA , but many customers may like to get clarified on following questions

• Will requisite configurations be simplified? Will ‘guided configuration’ be useful or relevant?
• Will relevant business logic and certain restrictions with ML be simplified? 
• Will there be explanatory logs for complex cost calculations for regular business users?

ML is just a single chapter in the story of S/4 HANA, there are several chapters in it and each chapter has its own nuances as highlighted in another blog in URL http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2016/02/03/transition-to-s4-hana-pre-checks-and-whether-migration-or-new-implementation.We will eagerly wait to read the chapters not yet released, predict what can or should happen next, but we must all agree that the story is very interesting, probably the right path for digital economy,but it is not simple !!

I used to think that activating FIORI apps is a cumbersome task and I have to admit I had to give it a few attempts before I got some success.

But today I got four of them running in a short time, so I really got "in the flow". Now I think that it's not that hard, after all.

I'll share with you what I did / my general approach here:

[Please note: I'm working on an sandbox system, that is not even accessible from the "outside world" - if you're in a productive environment you probably have to pay a lot more attention to security-concerns.

(Like, thinking twice and checking back with others, before activation services in SICF; or fine-tuning the authorizations)]

Have your systems installed / up to date

We are running a backend with S/4 HANA 1511, SP1:

S4CORE          100       0001     SAPK-10001INS4CORE            S4CORE

Our frontend (gateway server) has SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA 1511 installed:

UIS4HOP1        100       0000     -           UI for S/4HANA On Premise

For configuring those systems, I use a document called "SAP Fiori Technical Foundation Configuration(EE0)" (I got it from a colleague, I couldn’t find a link to provide to you, maybe someone can help me out with that?)

Other prerequisites:

• Have a equally named user in both the front- and the backend.
• For testing, I give them quit a lot of authorization in fron- and backend (like SAP_ALL). 
• In the backend, let it have role SAP_SM_S_RFCACL .

After this is done, to activate an app what I do is this:

(if not mentioned otherwise, things are done on the front end = gateway server).

1. Find your App in the App-Libraray (https://fioriappslibrary.hana.ondemand.com/sap/fix/externalViewer/)

     I'll take "Manage Purchase Orders" (https://fioriappslibrary.hana.ondemand.com/sap/fix/externalViewer/#/detail/Apps('F0842')/S3OP) as an example.

2. Check that the needed front- and backend-components are installed.

3. Activate the UI5-application in SICF.

The path is allways: /default_host/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/sap/

The appslibrary will tell you the service name (MM_PO_CRES1)

-> just right-click and activate.

4. Activate OData services:

In /IWFND/MAIN_SERVICE, publish the OData servic(es) mentioned in the appslibrary (MM_PUR_PO_MAINTAIN).

Also make sure that it's activated in SICF as well:

Here the path is: /default_host/sap/opu/odata/sap/

5. Assign the role given in "PFCG role for Business Catalog" (SAP_BR_PURCHASER) to your user and start testing:

6. Log on to the Fiori-launchpad.

It's usually located at [server:port]/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/ui2/ushell/shells/abap/FioriLaunchpad.html .

Tipp: use Chrome as your browser.

7. You now should see the Apps as provided by the PFCG-Role.

8. Find the one you wanted (Manage Purchase Orders) and klick on it.

9. It's quite possible that it will not work right away, but don't let that stop you:

The F12-Key is your friend!

-> switch to the Console.

Press F5 to reload the launchpad again.

Then click the App again.

-> Watch the error messages in the console!

There are usually 2 main error sources you can identify by those messages:

a)

A service is not running!

GET http://[hotsname]/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/sap/mm_purdoc_lsts1/~29C6FEC22735BB70BBE819198D78D~5/Component.js403 (Forbidden)

-> go to the SICF-Node given in the URL (here: /sap/bc/ui5_ui5/sap/mm_purdoc_lsts1) and activate it.

b)

An OData service is not available:

GET http://[hostname]/sap/opu/odata/sap/ME2STAR_OD_SRV/$metadata?sap-language=DE 403 (Forbidden)

-> go to /IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE and publish it!

(don't forget to to activate the respective SICF-Node as well!)

You probably have to repeat those steps (reload, Click, Look, activate something in b) a few times, but in the end you should have your running app:

Bonus-steps:

You already see the other apps (provided by the PFCG-Role) so why not make the usable, too!?

-> you can use the same "klick, look, activate"-cycle for it.

Conclusion:

As always you have to invest some time and get acquainted with the problem domain. As you gain experience, the solution hidden behind an error message will get more and more obvious to you.

F12 is key when trying to find out what's wrong!

So what do you think of this approach? What steps do you go when implementing Fiori-Apps (in S/4 HANA or elsewhere)?

Your comments are most welcome!

S/4 HANA On-premise edition (1511 release) is out with hype. SAP clearly says ‘It is a new product’ and the path to S/4 HANA from ERP ECC is not an upgrade. Not sure whether existing SAP customers has any choice rather than switch to S/4 HANA at certain point in time, the moot question is When and How to move to S/4 HANA .

When: S/4 HANA is not fully released i.e developments are ongoing and will continue for more years. SAP has a road map, but no completion date. So, should the transition be started when it is fully released? SAP’s marketing person says to start the journey as SAP is releasing its functionalities over time.

How: SAP says 3 transition paths as in below screen shot.

If it is migration (System conversion or Landscape transformation), then probably all old (and redundant) custom codes, existing order types also will be carried over, then will the innovations or simplicity really be achieved? Is new-implementation a better option to come out of legacy or changed business processes? Or a mixed approach ( like System conversion for core ECC functionality and then new implementation for IBP) is better?.There is no straight answers to ‘When’ and ‘How’ questions. But the most important is to analyze the Simplification (or restriction) list as in URL https://uacp.hana.ondemand.com/http.svc/rc/PRODUCTION/pdfa4322f56824ae221e10000000a4450e5/1511%20000/en-US/SIMPL_OP1511.pdf ,  understand the impacted functionalities on conversion to  S/4 HANA and then decide considering the complexity , custom developments , dependency with other SAP applications , feasibility of streamlining businesses, industry specific solution , minimal disruption to business etc . Highlighted below some of the On-premise functionalities which will be different (and/or not available) in S/4 HANA and must be pre-checked for migration or transition before deciding the path for S/4 HANA journey.

Finance :Migration from classic G/L to new G/L (using ledger to update particular valuation) is mandatory. Secondary cost elements will now be G/L accounts and need to migrated to chart of accounts. Existing functionality of parallel valuation needs to be adapted due to merger of FI & CO tables into universal journal. Activation of material ledger is mandatory . Account based COPA is now the default option though Costing based COPA is still available.Actual costing is optional. Some migrations are also needed if source system is already active with material ledger.

Business partner : Customer and vendor master data will be replaced by Business partner . Customer / vendor integration (CVI) is a Pre-requisite for transition to S/4HANA. Custom fields or code (if any) for auto creation of customer or vendor master data etc need to adapted to Business partner.

Material number extension : Material number can now be 40 characters from existing 18. It is a optional feature. Impact of this extension on custom coding, interfaces, other SAP applications need to be evaluated before switching on 40 characters.

Foreign trade: Functionality of foreign trade under SD (Sales & distribution) has been deprecated with SAP’s GTS (Global trade service). There is an option to integrate GTS natively in S&4 HANA or it can be separate application / instance. Existing foreign trade processes need to be analyzed.

Change in SD data model : There are several changes in SD data model including pricing (which is the heart of existing applications).  SAP has provided some migration options to move data from existing tables to new tables, however it needs to be evaluated the impact of amendment / append of existing tables.

Credit management : SD credit management is replaced by Credit management under Financial Supply Chain Management (FSCM).

SD revenue recognition: Revenue recognition is not supported. SAP's Recommendation is to migrate to ‘Revenue accounting and reporting’. Not all functionalities of revenue recognition are available in release 1.1 of Revenue Accounting and Reporting

Rebate: SD Rebate Processing (excepting SAP CRM Trade Promotion Management (TPM)  is replaced by Settlement Management. Existing rebate agreements must be closed by a final settlement before migration.

Billing : Contract billing is not supported . Existing billing output (through NAST ) needs to be migrated to Adobe , Smart forms etc.

Variant configuration , BOM  Version: Certain functionalities are not supported

MRP : Material Planning only on plant and MRP area is possible , but not on storage location level (as a part of simplification) . MRP will be run through MRP Live (optimized for HANA). Net change planning is not supported.

ATP & Scheduling : APO’s GATP & PPDS functionalities are expected to be bundled in future release of S/4 HANA for Availability check and production scheduling.  MRP live is pre-requisite for PPDS functionality in S/4 HANA.

S&OP : Sales and operational planning will be replaced by IBP (Integrated business planning). Some functionalities of APO are also being made available in IBP.

Product catalog : SAP is positioning Hybris for web / internet processes , Product catalog will not be in target architecture.

SRM : S/4 HANA will have SRM bundled within it . Only limited SRM functionalities are included in 1511 release.

Quality management : ITS services for results recording , quality notifications & certificates are not supported .

Project system : PRT (Production resources and tools) , texts , claim , Easy cost planning (ECP) , Work force planning , project reports , OpenPS , cProjects  will not be supported. Many transaction codes will not be present as a part of simplification . Existing CJ20N is being  enhanced for navigation to different reports. Needs huge knowledge transfer to users.  Archiving needs to be done through central SARA transactions i.e not by individual transaction like CN80 etc.

Warehouse management : Standard WM functionality is available though it is not in Target architecture. Existing warehousing (WM) functionality will be replaced by EWM (Extended warehouse management). Migration for existing EWM (running separately) customers to natively integrated S/4 HANA also needs to be evaluated. QIE within EWM also will be made obsolete. It is not clear how quality functions of existing EWM will work within S/4 HANA.

Transportation : Existing Logistics execution transportation (LE-TRA) is also not in target architecture and may be replaced by TM (Transportation management). TM has several advanced functionalities on transportation planning , optimization , freight charge / settlement, carrier selection & procurement, but has huge master data requirement. Is TM an overkill for customer (Shipper) with simple distribution requirement?

There are obvious advantages in unifying several applications within S/4 HANA as highlighted in other blog in URL http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2015/11/19/sap-s-road-map-for-supply-chain-solution-with-s4-hana-and-its-expected-benefits , however the implementation of EWM in place WM , TM in place of LE-TRA are separate projects by itself. So, the warm up (Pre-check) for move to S/4 HANA will be a huge project spanning several years. SAP’s innovations may be in right direction, but the journey towards unified digital platform will not be that simple and that is probably the reason for changing the name for ‘Simple finance’ to ‘S/4 HANA Finance’ or ‘Simple logistics’ to ‘S/4 HANA Logistics’.

Maybe you might ask yourself how the Integration path of S/4HANA is being used in the context of SAP cloud solutions? Here is the answer:

SAP S/4HANA is the next-generation business suite product that provides innovated and tightly coupled solutions that supports end-to-end business processes integration between SAP S/4HANA core components and SAP software-as-a-service (SaaS) cloud solutions such as SAP Ariba, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Fieldglass, Concur, SAP Hybris, SAP Cloud for Costumer, SAP Financial Services Network, or other third-party solutions depending on the available API’s to those.

  Figure :Integration path of SAP S/4HANA, On-premise and Cloud Edition

To understand and explore the whole picture of the Integration capabilities of SAP S/4HANA to SAP cloud solutions, please check out the following link:

• Integration capabilities of SAP S/4HANA and SAP cloud solutions

All latest and greatest information on S/4HANA can be found at: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-64980

What is the benefit?

• SAP S/4HANA priovides choice of integration and deployment options for on premise and cloud editions.
• SAP S/4HANA is closely integrated with cloud solutions from SAP, such as Ariba Network, SuccessFactors Employee Central, and Concur and more.
• SAP S/4HANA offers Integration technology options based on the deployment selection: SAP process orchestration, SAP HANA cloud integration and web services.
• SAP S/4HANA is easy to integrate because it leverages preconfigured best practices, guided configuration and onboarding either for the cloud or on premise deployment model.
• SAP S/4HANA is designed with SAP Fiori UX and integrated user experience with simplified usability on any device.

Stay tuned for more details on this exciting enhancement and functional aspects of each S/4HANA Integration scenarios.

Hello,

find attached the Simplification List for SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511  FPS1 in the XLS format.

http://service.sap.com/~sapidp/012002523100004341232016E.xls

The textual version of the Simplification List can be found in SAP Help: SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition – SAP Help Portal Page

Kind Regards,

Frank

In 2015, more than 2,700 companies chose SAP S/4HANA. By any measure, it has been SAP’s most successful launch. Companies of all sizes, across every industry, are recognizing the value of a next generation business suite designed to enable digital transformation. But how do you know what SAP S/4HANA can do for your organization?

Beyond the broad topics of an award winning user experience and a single source of data for transactions and analytics, what impact can SAP S/4HANA deliver to your organization? And, once you know that, where should you focus first?

To help answer these questions, we developed the Business Scenario Recommendation tool (BSR). Through the BSR, we examine your current landscape and usage, then provide you with a free custom analysis in 5 business days or less.

You will receive tailored recommendations, by line of business and based on your current productive system usage, that highlight where you can most benefit from SAP S/4HANA:

• 
An overview of the improvements to line of business-specific value levers
• The process innovation delivered by SAP S/4HANA to address today’s business challenges
• The impact of SAP Fiori UX and SAP HANA on your business

We even provide you with an example migration path to SAP S/4HANA and recommendations of SAP Support Services for your implementation.

Get started today with a free Business Scenario Recommendation for SAP S/4HANA.

You've probably heard a lot about SAP S/4HANA by now and the S/4HANA Community Space as well as the S/4HANA cookbook are the right places to learn more about it overall. I already wrote about the transition to SAP’s latest Business Suite in my earlier blog post for both, on-premise and cloud editions. Check it out using the link below:

Welcome to 2016 – Transition Paths to SAP S/4HANA | SAP TechEd Lecture of the Week

When it comes to the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Editions, did you ever think about migrating your data to the cloud? We at SAP did and therefore, we actually built the migration engine right into the foundation of the S/4HANA Cloud Editions. While this applies for cloud only, it’s a really smart way to get your data in by file upload with generated templates that you can work with using MS Excel. But it’s not just an upload, it also includes validations and value mapping as this is supported by the new tool. This is available as part of SAP S/4HANA through the 'Manage Your Solution' SAP Fiori application that contains the app for migrating your data. You can execute data migrations directly out of this application and the migration objects are proposed based on the selected preconfigured business processes.

Data Migration based on the 'Migrate Your Data' app at a glance:

• Create your own migration project to transfer data from file by leveraging the built-in data migration best practices content
• Select the migration objects you need to transfer according to the given solution scope your very own the SAP S/4HANA cloud edition system
• Download template files that provide the metadata for the available and required fields as well as some additional technical fields
• Learn about the fields and fill in your source data into the template according to the structure
• Upload the populated spreadsheet, view the data and manipulate it
• Validate the data, perform the value mapping and resolve errors
• Load the data into SAP S/4HANA

Click here for watching the demo.

You can find more information on this in the SAP Service Marketplace (SMP) by clicking the link below:

SAP Service Marketplace - SAP BP for SAP S/4HANA, cloud enterprise edition 

(http://service.sap.com/public/s4ce)

Simply open the 'Enterprise technology' area and you'll find the data migration scope items that are built-in for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Enterprise and Cloud Project Services Edition.

Watch The Data Migration Guys:

Introducing the Data Migration Guys | SCN

Data Migration Community Space:

Data Migration | SCN

Follow us on Twitter: @SAPServices

If you are starting an SAP S/4HANA or even considering implementing SAP S/4HANA there are a number of tasks that you need to perform to ensure it is a success.

SAP provides documentation to cover off the functionality within SAP S/4HANA and produces a document called the Simplification List that provides details of the various changes that have occurred compared to SAP ECC.

Within the On-Premise version of SAP S/4HANA a number of SAP Transaction codes have been removed, improved or replaced compared to SAP ECC. Reviewing this document and understanding the changes that are required for your specific system usage will enable you to have a better view of the changes that will be required. Without a piece of information it can be hard to plan the project or to understand the scale of the effort that will be required. Lastly, without this information you cannot understand the level of business change required or the business benefits that you can achieve with SAP S/4HANA.

To speed this process up we have built a simple SAP Fiori app that allows a customer to review their current list of SAP ECC transaction codes that they currently use and see which particular ones require additional attention.

By using this SAP Fiori app, you can clearly see which transaction codes have been impacted by SAP S/4HANA with further information around the changes that you should make. By importing in your current list of SAP transaction codes you can compare them against the master list of impacted transaction codes.

Have a look at the video below which provides an overview of how the tool works.

Alternatively, you can watch the video on YouTube here: Bluefin S/4HANA TCode Analyser - YouTube

SAP has just launched an update of the Business Scenario Recommendations for SAP S/4HANA. This new version includes the latest information on the new wave of simplification and innovation in SAP S/4HANA Material Management and Operations (SAP S/4HANA 1511 shipment) in addition to the SAP S/4HANA Finance recommendations already available.

The Business Scenario Recommendations report identifies the most valuable digitized business scenarios – running on SAP S/4HANA – for customers, based on their current SAP usage information. Customers can browse the report by line of business and review their individual business scenario details and benefits. It explains the business context, challenges addressed, values, business drivers, as well as, innovations provided by SAP HANA and SAP Fiori for every recommended business scenario. Furthermore, it includes high-level technical prerequisites, information on how to implement SAP S/4HANA and much more.

The report has been enriched with numerous additional business scenarios including many simplified logistics scenarios. It includes new links to Solution Explorer and thousands of new transaction mappings, which improve the accuracy of the analysis.

Discover how SAP S/4HANA can help you become a digital enterprise: In just five minutes you can order the new, enhanced Business Scenario Recommendations for SAP S/4HANA and get your personalized report within approximately five business days. It will help to identify the most valuable digitized business scenarios for your enterprise.

Business Scenario Recommendations for SAP S/4HANA explained in 4 Minutes (video)

Order your free Business Scenario Recommendations report now, download a sample report or find out more information at www.s4hana.com.

We are using transaction BP in SAP On Premise edition 1511.  When trying to link a Plant to the Vendor in BP transaction ( using BP Role FLVN01 ), we find that the Plant field in " Additional Purchasing Data " is greyed out :

On clicking on the "Create" button, we are getting a screen where we can enter the Plant, but getting an Error saying Vendor Sub Range is mandatory. We do not need VSR, we only need to assign a Plant to the Vendor BP in order to enable Stock Transfer Order scenario.

Getting the Message " Enter Vendor Sub-Range " as shown above.  So, we are unable to assign the Plant in Additional Purchasing Data.

Any help would be appreciated.

If you are starting an SAP S/4HANA or even considering implementing SAP S/4HANA there are a number of tasks that you need to perform to ensure it is a success.

SAP provides documentation to cover off the functionality within SAP S/4HANA and produces a document called the Simplification List that provides details of the various changes that have occurred compared to SAP ECC.

Within the On-Premise version of SAP S/4HANA a number of SAP Transaction codes have been removed, improved or replaced compared to SAP ECC. Reviewing this document and understanding the changes that are required for your specific system usage will enable you to have a better view of the changes that will be required. Without this information it can be hard to plan the project or to understand the scale of the effort that will be required. Lastly, without this information you cannot understand the level of business change required or the business benefits that you can achieve with SAP S/4HANA.

To speed this process up we went through the 270-page Simplification List document and compiled a list of all affected transaction codes. Using Google Sheets as an Odata service, we built a simple SAP Fiori app that allows a customer to review their current list of SAP ECC transaction codes that they currently use and see which particular ones require additional attention. Here is a useful post on how to use Google Sheets as JSON.

By using this SAP Fiori app, you can clearly see which transaction codes have been impacted by SAP S/4HANA with further information around the changes that you should make. By importing in your current list of SAP transaction codes you can compare them against the master list of impacted transaction codes.

Have a look at the video below which provides an overview of how the tool works.

Alternatively, you can watch the video on YouTube here: Bluefin S/4HANA TCode Analyser - YouTube

Related reading: Beginners Guide to Transitioning to S/4HANA 1511 On Premise edition for Existing SAP ERP 6.0x users

Have you come across other tools that could help customers start their S/4HANA projects? I'd be interested to read your comments.

Hi All,

S/4HANA is steadily gaining shape in the market and so is the S/4HANA Embedded Analytics.

Introduction:

What is Embedded Analytics?

          It is the collection of all Analytical Features integrated in the SAP S/4HANA Suite that enables, Business users or end users to perform real time analytics or operational reporting on the live transactional data. It comes with a set of predefined and prepackaged representations of operational data. These representations called VDM (Virtual Data Models) allows business users to derive good insights into the data.

It doesn’t require a separate implementation. It is a part of the S/4HANA Software and is generally available with the new S/4HANA releases.

Customers and partners can extend the existing CDS Views VDM’s and build new ones in SAP  S/4HANA.

Please be informed that SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics will not replace any existing SAP Solutions.

SAP strategy is to offer customers maximum choice and flexibility and more innovations and S/4 HANA Embedded Analytics compliments existing SAP Solutions.

You can carry out all your operational  reporting with S/4HANA Embedded Analytics. This can help you reduce the operational reporting load from your SAP BW Application. You might still need BW for your EDW which will help you analyze the historical data, data consolidation from multiple sources and intensive data analysis.

My Personal opinion here is with SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics, SAP BW (Embedded BW) has got a lot of significance.

Now we will go through the various S/4HANA Embedded Analytics options:

1)  QUERY BROWSER

Launch into a Fiori Launchpad of a S/4 System.

You will have a tile called Query Browser, which basically displays the available CDS Views. The CDS view output can be accessed through “Open in Design Studio”. (I believe this is just a flavor of Design studio and not the entire application)

Once your Analytics is completed, you have the flexibility of saving the same as a Tile as well.

If you want to explore the CDS code behind, Double click on the View name, to see more details.

Go to the Annotation tab

Take the SQL View name from the Annotations tab.

Go the Backend system in the SAP Logon PAD.

Take SE11 --> Provide the SQL View name in the Views part and click display.

Double click the Package name to Open the Package Hierarchy

Remember this name and open the Backend System in HANA Studio ABAP Perspective.

Right Click on the system and click “Add a Package”.

Select the package name that we took earlier and click OK.

We can now find the CDS View definition within the Data Definitions  Folder

Double Click on the same and the CDS View definition is displayed.

2)  MULTI DIMENSIONAL REPORTS

Multidimensional reports are based on Webdynpro grid application that we have as a template. It renders all sorts of analytical CDS queries. All queries can be rendered in the same way. Functionality is the same for Analytical reports.

Example: Incoming Sales Orders

Thanks for going through the Document. Do let me know your Reviews and Suggestions.

This is a 3 Part Blog Series. In the Subsequent parts, we will see more on:

a)   Analytics Annotations

b)   Accessing CDS View in Bex

c)   Accessing CDS View in Analysis for Excel

d)   Accessing CDS View in Lumira

e)   Accessing CDS View in DesignStudio

f)   Accessing CDS View in Cloud For Analytics(C4A)

g)   FIORI Smart Business Apps(Newly Introduced S/4HANA KPI Modeler tools)

h)   Analysis Path Framework (APF) in Fiori

BR

Prabhith

You want to mass migrate Business Partner data from your existing system to S/4HANA 1511. This blog explains how to import data from tab delimited text files residing on FrontEnd computer (PC) using transaction code LSMW - Direct Input method together with a custom program provided.

1. DOWNLOAD AND EXTRACT FILES:

Download file BP.ZIP and extract into a dedicated folder ( e.g. C:\TEMP\BP) on the FrontEnd Computer (PC). Each Excel file listed below corresponds to different Master data segments of the Business Partner Object as input parameters of function module RFC_CVI_EI_INBOUND_MAIN::

          01_CVIS_BP_GENERAL.xlsx

          02_CVIS_BP_ROLES.xlsx

          03_CVIS_BP_INDUSTRY.xlsx

          04_CVIS_BP_IDENT_NUMBERS.xlsx

          05_CVIS_BP_BANK_DETAILS.xlsx

          06_CVIS_BP_TAX_NUMBER.xlsx

          07_CVIS_BP_TAX_NUMBER_COMMON.xlsx

          08_CVIS_BP_ADDRESS.xlsx

          09_CVIS_BP_ADDRESS_USAGE.xlsx

          10_CVIS_BP_ADDRESS_TELENO.xlsx

          11_CVIS_BP_ADDRESS_FAXNO.xlsx

          12_CVIS_BP_ADDRESS_EMAIL.xlsx

          13_CVIS_BP_ADDRESS_URL.xlsx

          14_CVIS_BP_RELATION.xlsx

          15_CVIS_CUSTOMER_GENERAL.xlsx

          16_CVIS_CUSTOMER_COMPANY.xlsx

          17_CVIS_CUSTOMER_SALES.xlsx

          18_CVIS_CUSTOMER_COMP_DUNNING.xlsx

          19_CVIS_CUSTOMER_SALES_FUNC.xlsx

          20_CVIS_CUSTOMER_TAX_INDICATOR.xlsx

          21_CVIS_CUSTOMER_GENERAL_VAT.xlsx

          22_CVIS_SUPPLIER_GENERAL.xlsx

          23_CVIS_SUPPLIER_COMPANY.xlsx

          24_CVIS_SUPPLIER_COMPANY_WTAX.xlsx

          25_CVIS_SUPPLIER_PURCHASING.xlsx

          26_CVIS_SUPPLIER_GENERAL_VAT.xlsx

2. CREATE STRUCTURES IN S/4HANA SYSTEM:

You can use program in BP.ZIP (file ZLSMW_STRUCTURES.TXT) to create structures. Activate the structures.

Alternatively you can manually create structures (SE11) according to specifications in provided Excel files as described below. Choose a transportable package in customer namespace and put this into new transport request.

Using transaction SE11 generate the following structures with “CHAR” data types copying the exact parameter name and data type length in the “Z” structure. Name the “Z” structures as defined in the following table:

For example, structure CVIS_BP_ROLE will match ZZCVIS_BP_ROLE component names as shown below.

Make sure that you set all data types to “CHAR” in the “ZZ” structures and add component STYPE to all structures as the first component in the structure. Activate the Structures.

3. CREATE REPORT PROGRAM IN S/4HANA SYSTEM:

Using LSMW Program source code provided in BP.ZIP (file ZLSMWDSPRG_CVI.TXT), create a program (SE38). Create a transportable package in customer namespace, adding to above transport request. Remember to add the text elements specified in the LSMW Program text elements file. Activate the program.

4. MAINTAIN LSMW CUSTOMIZING TABLES:

Using transaction code SM30, maintain tables SXDA0, SXDA1, and SXDA2 as below:

Add following entry for Business Partner in table SXDA0.

Add following entry in table SXDA1.

If you have problems to maintain entries in table SXDA1 check the following note: 2192586 - Table maintenance dialog of SXDA1 dumps

Create following entries in table SXDA2:

5. CONFIGURE BUSINESS PARTNERS:

Configure Business Partners in your S/4HANA 1511 system according to the Best Practices Building Block Configuration Guide "J61_S4HANAX_BB_ConfigGuide_EN_XX.docx". This guide is also included in the BP.ZIP file.

6. UPLOAD LSMW PROJECT FILE:

Using transaction LSMW -> Extras -> Import Projects upload LSMW Project File LSMW_S4H_ZLSMWCVI_BP.TXT

7. PREPARE DATA FIELDS FOR UPLOAD:

Open all Excel Files (Templates), rows 1-4 give you description of fields. After you input all your legacy business partner data into rows 5 onwards in each file, remove rows 2,3,4 and export the file as a tab-delimited text file, retaining the file name but saving to extension .TXT.

In the resulting upload text file, row 1 must contain the field names and row 2 and above contain the data. (Note: since certain fields such as address may have a comma in the field, we do not recommend .CSV files.). Place the upload text files into the same folder (C:\TEMP\BP).

8. ASSIGN INPUT FILES:

Assign input files to LSMW data structure only if your PC upload path is not C:\TEMP\BP). As shown below execute step “Specify Files” in your LSMW Project, and switch into change mode (Ctrl+F1).

For each file, click on the file name to open the “File on FrontEnd: Maintain Properties”.  Click the drop down button of the File field, and select your input file, navigating to the pertaining upload directory of your FrontEnd PC. The other settings should remain as follows -:

• File Contents: Data for One Source Structure (Table)
• Delimiter: Separator Tabulator
• File Structure: Field Names at Start of File
• File Type: With Record End Indicator (Text File)
• Code Page: Code Page ASCII

9. PERFORM INITIAL UPLOAD:

For the creation of new Business Partner records proceed according to standard LSMW process i.e., Read Data, Display Read Data, Convert Data, Display Converted Data and Start Direct Input Program

For each BP, the following input data has to be prepared:

          A. 01_CVIS_BP_GENERAL.xlsx file

               a. Column C BPARTNERGUID field: blank

               b. Column F OBJECT_TASK field: Enter “I” (for Insert)

          B. All input files

               a. Column A RUN_ID field: Enter the BP number for reference across multiple input files.

          C. Single entry for each BP in the following files:

               a. 01_CVIS_BP_GENERAL.xlsx (Mandatory)

               b. 15_CVIS_CUSTOMER_GENERAL.xlsx (Optional)

               c. 22_CVIS_SUPPLIER_GENERAL.xlsx (Optional)

          D. Other required master data files

               a. Multiple entries are allowed for each BP in all other files based on the business requirements.

          E. Not relevant files:

               For the data files not applicable to the business, save the blank file with only the title row into its corresponding txt file without any data.

10. PERFORMING DELTA UPLOADS:

Function module, RFC_CVI_EI_INBOUND_MAIN, called in LSMW BP upload tool only allows changes to existing data in 01_CVIS_BP_GENERAL.xlsx. Besides BP General Data, Customer General Data and Supplier General Data views, additional entries could be added to the existing BP, e.g. telephone numbers, new sales area customer SD data, additional addresses, bank accounts, etc.

For the update of existing Business Partners with changed and/or additional data records proceed as follows:

     A. 01_CVIS_BP_GENERAL.xlsx file

          a. Column C, fieldname BPARTNERGUID: Enter the BP GUID which can be extracted from BUT000 table fieldname BUT000-PARTNER_GUID.

          b. Column F fieldname OBJECT_TASK: Enter “U” (for Update).

          c. Make necessary data changes in this file.

     B. Prepare other input files to add more data views to the existing BP.

NOTE: Files 15_CVIS_CUSTOMER_GENERAL.xlsx and 22_CVIS_SUPPLIER_GENERAL.xlsx can only be uploaded once and cannot be changed by this LSMW tool. The value of the field OBJECT_TASK in these 2 files is ignored by LSMW program.

Thank you,

The S/4 HANA RIG AMERICAS TEAM

(Patrick Fiegl, Michael Foo, Jorge Baltazar & Mahesh Sardesai)

Step 1:

Navigate to SAP S/4 HANA Trial Landing Page.

https://go.sap.com/cmp/oth/crm-s4hana/index.html

S/4 HANA Trial Editions are available free in both cloud and on-premise editions.

SAP S/4 HANA Cloud Trial Edition is being given for free for 14 days and SAP S/4 HANA Cloud Trial Edition mainly for discovering the value of simplicity across concrete roles and predefined scenarios in finance, project management and marketing.

SAP S/4 HANA On-Premise Trial Edition is being given for  30 days and SAP S/4 HANA On-Premise Trial Edition mainly for experiencing the value of instant insight across end-to-end business processes in finance, controlling, manufacturing and service modules.

SAP S/4 HANA Cloud Trial Edition, Click "Start your journey now" link. (Highlighted below)

Step 2:

Then It will take it you SAP S/4 HANA, Cloud Edition Trial Page.

https://go.sap.com/cmp/oth/crm-s4hana/s4hana-cloud.html

Click "Start your free trial now" button.

This Trial Edition will be used for

1. Project Manager 

2. General Ledger Accountant

3. Accounts Receivable Accountant

4. Accounts Payable Accountant

5. Marketing Expert

6. Purchaser

7. Sales Representative

Step 3:

SAP S/4 HANA Terms and Conditions page will open. Read the Terms and Conditions and click "I Accept"

Then Create Initial Password (8 character long - 1 Upper case, 1 lower case and 1 digit) and Click "Access Trial".

After that, In Launch Tab, S/4 HANA Cloud Edition - URL and User Name will be provided.

Application URL:

-https://my******.s4hana.ondemand.com/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/ui2/ushell/shells/abap/FioriLaunchpad.html?sap-ushell-config-url=/resources/sap/dfa/help/sap/cfg/Help4S4TRIAL1511.json#Action-rolePicker?zset=s4hana_us

User Name:

P**********   (Your SCN User ID)

Step 4:

Click on the Application URL and Fiori Launch pad will be opened and It will ask User name and Password.

User:             P**********   (Your SCN User ID) Displayed in Launch Tab

Password:      The one you created during "Initial Password" Tab (Not your SCN password)

After Successful Logon, S/4 HANA Application will be opened for different business scenarios.

1. Create a Project (Used by Project Manager)

2. Analyze a project (Used by Project Manager)

3. Create a Campaign (Used by Marketing Expert)

4. Prepare E-Mail Campaign (Used by Marketing Expert)

5. Create a Promise (Used by AR Accountant)

6. Post Incoming Payments (Used by AR Accountant)

7. Set Payment Blocks (Used by AP Accountant)

8. Display Financial Statement (Used by GL Accountant)

9. Procure to Invoice (Used by Purchaser)

10. Check Sales Order Fulfillment (Used by Sales Representative)

Step 5:

I explored Creating Purchase Order - "Procure to Invoice" module. (By Clicking the Respective Purchaser widget)

Then the Page will navigate to Respective Procurement section.

It will gave 3 sub-modules to create Purchase Order.

1. Create Purchase Order

2. Post Good Receipt for Purchase order.

3. Create Supplier Invoice.

Create Purchase Order:

Lets Explore Create Purchase Order scenario.

Select Appropriate Purchasing Documents and Click Create Button.

Then Review and Verify the Invoice - Purchasing Items in General Data, Items, Delivery and Invoice, Address and Communication Sections. Click the Submit Button.

If Everything is fine, Purchase order will be created successfully. Notification pop-up will be displayed to user with Purchase Order ID Information.

Then This Purchase Order ID will be used for further sub modules - Post Goods Receipt for Purchase Order.

Best Regards,

Muthuram

For one fiori app, we should have authorization check, for example company code check. People from company A should only be allowed to look into data of company A.  Company B's data should be fitered out.

The structrue of the fiori app:

     FrontEnd: smart template

     BackEnd: CDS View

     Authorization Check: DCL for the above CDS View is created.

DCL looks like:

define role I_GAPSTARTNUM_DOC {

    grant select on FISVD_DOCNR_GAP_STARTNUM

    where

     ( bukrs )          = aspect pfcg_auth ( F_BKPF_BUK, BUKRS  ,            ACTVT = '03' );

}

Problem Description: Authorization check unsuccessful. Everyone can get every company's information.

How I reach my solution:

   Step 1: ensure the DCL is in the system (for systems other than Dev system.)

   Step 2: Go to backend system(where CDS view is located), use Tcode: SACM, full name for this tool is Access Control Management.

Step 3: Use Runtime tool "ACM Runtime Tool", input parameters like below, execuate it. You will find if the DCL is execuated.

Step 4: If you find issues inside of the Runtime tools mentioned in Step3, or you just have no idea, you can go to Designtime tool "DCL-Documents" mentioned in Step 2. Check the status of your DCL. Run "Generate ABAP-Artifacts" if the status is not green.

Till this step, I have solved my problem. There are other tools that can be used. Try carefully.

Hi All,

S/4HANA is steadily gaining shape in the market and so is the S/4HANA Embedded Analytics.

Part1 of the Blog can be found here -->

http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana/blog/2016/03/10/sap-s4hana-embedded-analytics-a-detailed-walkthrough-part-13 

Introduction:

What is S/4HANA Embedded Analytics?

          It is the collection of all Analytical Features integrated in the SAP S/4HANA Suite that enables, Business users or end users to perform real time analytics or operational reporting on the live transactional data. It comes with a set of predefined and prepackaged representations of operational data. These representations called VDM (Virtual Data Models) allows business users to derive good insights into the data.

It doesn’t require a separate implementation. It is a part of the S/4HANA Software and is generally available with the new S/4HANA releases.

Customers and partners can extend the existing CDS Views VDM’s and build new ones in SAP  S/4HANA.

Please be informed that SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics will not replace any existing SAP Solutions.

SAP strategy is to offer customers maximum choice and flexibility and more innovations and S/4 HANA Embedded analytics compliments existing SAP Solutions.

You can carry out all your operational reporting with S/4HANA Embedded Analytics. This can help you reduce the operational reporting load from your SAP BW Application. You might still need BW for your EDW which will help you analyze the historical data, data consolidation from multiple sources and intensive data analysis.

My Personal opinion here is with SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics, SAP BW (Embedded BW) has got a lot of significance.

CDS Annotations:

I am not going to take you through the entire Annotations topic here but would rather concentrate on the ANALYTICS ANNOTATIONS:

It enables the analytic manager for multidimensional data consumption, performing data aggregation, and slicing and dicing data.

Some Relevant Analytical Annotations are as following:

a)   Analytics.dataCategory

By specifying the data category, the developer can give directives and hints, for example, tell the analytic manager how to interpret individual entities.

Possible values are:

@Analytics.dataCategory: #DIMENSION, #CUBE, #FACT, #AGGREGATION LEVEL

b)   Analytics.query

Query view classification. By tagging the CDS view, the developer can specify which views will be exposed to the analytic manager.

Possible values are:

@Analytics.query: true, false

c)   Analytics.dataExtraction.enabled

Application developers can use this annotation to mark views that are suitable for data replication (for example, delta capabilities must be provided for mass data)

  @Analytics.dataExtraction.enabled : true, false

d)   Analytics.hidden

You can use this flag to decide whether the entity should be visible to analytic clients.

@Analytics.hidden: true, false

e)   Analytics.planning.enabled

You can use this annotation to define an input-enabled analytic query

@Analytics.planning.enabled : true, false

f)    Analytics.writeBack.className

Only relevant for Analytics.dataCategory: #CUBE or Analytics.dataCategory: #FACT.

Disclaimer : The above contents are extracted from help.sap.com

Its Worth Noting that all S/4HANA CDS views are automatically exposed as a ODP transient Info Provider.

We would be leveraging this functionality extensively in the subsequent sections.

3) SAP BW Bex Query

{ 

Hope you remember that we had defined the SQL View name as CFIDAYSSLSOUTSTG. (in Part 1of this Blog Series)

The Transient Provider naming convention is 2C*.

So Prefix 2C with the SQL view and search with that in Bex Query designer:

(2CCFIDAYSSLSOUTSTG)

}

The Step by Step process for exposing CDS View to Bex have been explained in the below Blog:

http://scn.sap.com/community/bw-hana/blog/2016/02/10/expose-cds-views-to-sap-bw-bex-query-designer

4)  SAP Lumira

Open Lumira from your Desktop.Click New -->

Some times, the BW Connector will not be available (Like Below Screen)

For Solving that, Go to the Extensions:

Search for SAP BW Data Acquisition Connector

Download and Restart Lumira

After Reloading you can see the connection “Download from SAP BW”.

Click on that and Press Next:

Connect to Local BW System (Embedded BW in S/4 HANA System).

Provide the credentials of S/4HANA System and Proceed.

Select Info Area and Search for our Object

{ 

Hope you remember that we had defined the SQL View name as CFIDAYSSLSOUTSTG (in Part 1 of this Blog Series)

The Transient Provider naming convention is 2C*.

So Prefix 2C with the SQL view and search with that in Bex Query designer:

(2CCFIDAYSSLSOUTSTG)

}

Select and Proceed.

The Parameters defined in CDS will appear here (above screen)

Provide the Parameters and Press OK

Drag the Required Dimensions and Measures and Press Create.

You will see that the Dataset is getting created.

Arrange the Dimensions and Measures.

This Completes the S/4HANA Embedded Analytics – Lumira Scenario.

Hope you are already aware that now we don’t have Publish to Lumira option. Instead publish it to the SAP BI Platform (out of Scope in this blog).

Thanks for going through the Document. Do let me know your Reviews and Suggestions.

This is a 4 Part Blog Series. In the Subsequent parts, we will see more S/4HANA Embedded Analytics options. Stay Tuned..

BR,

Prabhith

For SAP S/4HANA we already deliver the best practice content via proven channels . Now we take a huge step forward by delivering SAP S/4HANA Best Practice Process Content including BPMN2 diagrams and project WBS for consumption in Solution Manager 7.2.

Solution Manager 7.2 is now in ramp up and for testing purpose you can also consider trying Solution Manager 7.2 in CAL for testing. Having configured a Solution Manager 7.2 at customer site, the content is instantly ready for download. After the download, the content is available in the import branch of the solution. The content consists of the main documentation assets:

• process (scope item) with structure (process steps and interfaces)
• the links between processes
• BPMN2 diagrams based on the process steps and interfaces describing the flow of the processes
• building blocks with IMG activities & links to configuration documentation required for the configuration of each process
• process step originals in library
• interface originals in library
• executables (transaction codes, URL's, web dynpro applications, fiori apps)
• the WBS for the package leading to the creation of an implementation project in IT-PPM in Solution Manager 7.2 according to SAP Activate with accelerators

Most process steps carry assignments of relevant executables (transaction codes, web dynpro, programs or fiori apps). For each process and the assigned building blocks, the content delivers the links to the respective documentation. The reuse entities executables, process steps, interfaces and building blocks reside in the respective library areas in the Solution Manager Unified Directory. Take a look into our teaser video and see how it looks like to execute an import of SAP S/4HANA Best Practices content into Solution Manager 7.2.

After the import, it is possible to both work with project in IT-PPM and with content. All content can then be modified to full extent. Details of that will be shown in another posting.

In good tradition we will extend the FAQ series for SAP S/4HANA, thanks again to many feedback received. Let´s dive right into the Q1/2016 update.

What is new regarding release management and naming for SAP S/4HANA?

Let’s distinguish on premise from cloud shipments. For on premise customers, SAP has shipped a “Feature Pack Stack (FPS)”, SAP S/4HANA on premise FSP01 on February 3rd 2016. The release notes and other document like the “Feature scope description” for the solution can be found here. SAP will ship such a FPS every quarter.

For cloud customers, SAP is shipping a new release on a quarterly basis. The next cloud release of our SaaS ERP, SAP S/4HANA cloud enterprise edition, has been released in March: SAP S/4HANA cloud enterprise edition 1603. At the same time, SAP will release SAP S/4HANA cloud professional services edition 1603 and SAP S/4HANA cloud marketing edition 1603 (hybris solution).

For what additional industries has SAP S/4HANA FPS1 been releases?

With SAP S/4HANA on premise edition 1511 FPS1, SAP is supporting two new industry solutions: “Higher Education and Research” and “Defense and Security”. This is adding to an already long list of 19 supported industries like Chemicals, High-Tech, Industrial Machinery & Component, Insurance, Life Sciences and more. The latest industries have been release in November with SAP S/4HANA on premise 1511 with a full coverage, i.e. without any industry specific restriction. Generic Line of Business restrictions may apply though. More details you can find via the Note 2214213.

Important to state again: even if you are part of an industry not on this list, you can start. And many customers are doing this, take S/4HANA Finance for example or if you do not need industry specific functionality.

What is new regarding User Experience and SAP Fiori Apps?

SAP has shipped new or enhanced Fiori applications to complete the current scope of SAP S/4HANA on premise. Let me mention a few of them here, my favorites, of SAP Fiori apps that were shipped with SAP S/4HANA FPS1 for the “Shipping Specialist”

• Outbound Deliveries
• Pick Outbound Delivery
• Create Outbound Deliveries

Picture 1: new SAP Fiori App for Outbound delivery

Here a few new cross application SAP Fiori Apps shipped with FPS1:

• Application Jobs
• Implementation Cockpit
• Output Management Email Queue

More information on the available SAP Fiori apps per role, industry or line of business is available in the SAP FIORI Library here.

What new pre-configured content from SAP Activate is now available for on premise? What is planned for the cloud?

SAP Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA contain complete and consistent configuration settings and assets to use as enablement and accelerators in your implementation projects. The accelerators are integrated with implementation methodologies and tools for SAP S/4HANA.

SAP Activate is providing “scope items” that enable to run the application and speed up the implementation. The content from SAP Activate (the so called “best practices”) are following the end to end processes described in the SAP S/4HANA product map available in the Solution Explorer (check for an LoB Solution to see the product map).

For FPS1, SAP Activate is bringing additional content. Here are some examples for the on premise shipment with more than 50 new best practices for: Revenue Planning, Customer Returns, Internal Order Planning, Profitability and Cost Analysis, Credit Memo Processing, Repetitive Manufacturing. For the cloud solution, SAP will release a substantial number of best practices too, for example in procurement, manufacturing, finance. SAP will provide as well content for data integration to Ariba Nettwork and SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, and finally data migration from SAP to S/4HANA.

This chart is showing a best practice for “Repetitive Manufacturing” that is available for on premise and cloud. For more details about the SAP Activate pre-configured content check this link.

Picture 2: Process Diagram for the best practice “Repetitive Manufacturing”

Any update on the SAP CRM 7.0 integration to SAPS/4HANA?

SAP is providing different options to connect SAP S/4HANA on premise and SAP CRM 7.0. Most important to know is the release limitation notes that shows what is in the works and will be supported in the future. Everything else on this integration topic is handled as with the integration to SAP ERP. Keep looking for updates here as SAP is going to remove all limitations over time: 2231667

What add-ons have been release for SAP S/4HANA on premise 1511 FPS1?

SAP has released the following add-on with the FPS1, more to follow…

• CPM FOR S/4HANA 1601
• SAP ADD-ON ASSEMBLY KIT 5.0
• SAP FIN. CLOSING COCKPIT 2.0
• SAP FIORI FOR SAP EHSM 1.0
• SAP FIORI FOR SAP SCM 1.0
• SAP MII 15.1
• SAP PAYMENT ENGINE 8.0
• SAP TAX CLASS REPORT 1.0
• UI FOR EHP3 FOR SAP SRM 7.0
• UI FOR EHP7 FOR SAP ERP 6.0
• UI FOR SAP PORTF PROJ MGMT 6.0

Information about the compatible S/4HANA add-ons can be found in the note 2214409

Can you share some early experience from customers?

Hundreds of projects running, as a big thank you I would like to share our first live customer with on SAP S/4HANA on premise with a logistics scope. Learn more details on the customer and on the project itself in the video here. Implemented in weeks by a partner, run on AWS infrastructure as a Service, resulting in an integrated platform for engineering to order and a platform for future growth.

Do you have a check list of “must reads” before a project starts?

Here is a good first start for a “readiness check”:

• Always check the release notes: start with SAP Note 2189824
• Check for relevant add-on: SAP Note 2214409
• Check what add-on and industry solutions are released: 2214213
• Register for download information for pre checks 2242576

What are the most important checks from a change management perspective?

Here is my list to help you assess your project efforts:

• Data model changes: go thru the Simplification List
• Regarding UX changes: make sure the apps you need
• Decide on new implementation or conversion with the note 2182725
• Check your custom code with the custom code check tool
• Project accelerators: leverage the method and content from SAP Activate

One last expert question: should customers use account based CO-PA or cost based CO-PA with SAP S/4HANA?

I’d like to close this blog with a recommendation on the topic CO-PA, profitability analysis in the new solution. Both account-based and cost-based CO-PA are available in SAP S/4HANA on premise. However account-based CO-PA has been extended and now provides more flexibility, for example with the ability to split variance (respective COGS) postings to multiple accounts. In conjunction, with the ability to add your own characteristics (“dimensions”), it is worthwhile re-evaluating the use of cost-based PA. Cost-based PA is still needed to include calculated amounts like freights.

Keep the feedback and your questions coming, we will prioritize accordingly and update our FAQ for you. Keep the feedback coming.
Also check frequently sap.com/s4hana.

Lets stay connected@SDenecken

Series:SAP S/4HANA - Frequently Asked Questions - the collection

Following changes in SAP PP related master data expected in SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511: 

Material Number Field Length Extension

With SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511, the maximum field length of the material number is extended from 18 to 40 characters.

MRP fields in Material Master

Following fields in material master are not used in SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511.

• MRP1 tab
  • Lot size data
    • Unit of Measure Group
• MRP2 tab
  • Procurement data
    • Quota Arrangement Usage
• MRP4 tab
  • BOM explosion/dependent requirements data
    • Selection Method
  • Repetitive manufacturing /assembly / deployment strategy :
    • Action control
    • Fair share rule
    • Push distribution
    • Deployment horizon
  • Storage location MRP data
    • Storage Location MRP indicator
    • Special procurement type: SLoc 
    • Reorder Point
    • Replenishment quantity

The database fields for these "omitted functionality" remains existing in the system.

BOM, Routing, Production Version

With SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511, the functional relation between Bill of Material (BOM), Routing and Production Version has changed.

The Customizing for date validity is no longer considered for BOM explosion. Instead, only BOMs with valid production version are considered during BOM explosion. Therefore, it is now mandatory for Manufacturing BOMs to maintain the product version for correct BOM explosion.

PP-MRP – Subcontracting

SAP ERP had three different ways of planning parts to be provided to a subcontractor:

• Planning subcontracting demand together with internal demand in the make-to-stock planning section (3.0-logic)
• Separating subcontracting demand and stock into single subcontracting planning sections (one section per subcontractor) and planning uncovered subcontracting demand together with internal demand in the make-to-stock planning section (4.0-logic)
• Planning separately the demand of every subcontractor by means of subcontracting MRP areas (available from SAP ERP release 4.5)

In SAP S/4HANA on-premise edition 1511, the 4.0 logic was removed while the 4.5 logic was simplified. The SAP S/4HANA MRP uses default planning parameters if MRP-area-specific material master records do not exist. You only have to create an MRP area for every subcontractor. Of course, it is still possible to create MRP area/supplier-specific material master data if required.

This simplification has the following advantages:

• Separate planning of every subcontractor is possible without having to create an MRP-area-specific material master record.
• The planning logic is simplified. There are two rather than three different ways to plan parts to be provided to a subcontractor.

Storage Location MRP

The S/4HANA MRP only plans on plant and MRP area level. Planning on storage location level is not available in

SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511.

In SAP ERP, storage locations can be excluded from MRP planning or they can be planned separately from other storage locations. In the latter case a reorder point procedure with maximum lot size is used which triggers transport reservations to fill up the storage location.

MRP areas cover the very same business requirements. Materials with MRP-area-specific MRP type 'ND' (no MRP) can be used instead of materials with a storage location excluded from MRP. Materials with MRP-area specific MRP type 'VB' (reorder point planning) can be used instead of materials with separately planned storage locations. The storage location functionality is a subset of the MRP areas capabilities.

The reasons for this change are:

• The MRP logic is simplified. There is only one solution for planning on storage location level
• The MRP area logic is more advanced than the logic for planning on storage location level. All MRP types and lot-sizing procedures are possible on MRP area level
• The system creates planning file entries on plant and MRP area level. If planning is required on MRP area level, then the system only plans the affected MRP area. The system does not create planning file entries on storage location level and it did not do so in SAP ERP. The SAP ERP MRP had to plan all separately planned storage locations and the plant level every time inventory or an expected receipt was changed in a single separately planned storage location. Planning on MRP area level is more efficient

Simplified Sourcing

SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 supports the following types of sources of supply:

• Production versions
• Delivery schedules
• Purchasing contracts
• Purchasing info records

Sourcing selects valid sources of supply with the following conditions:

• The source of supply is a production version
  • procurement type of the material is either 'E' or 'X'
  • production version is neither "Locked for any usage" nor "Locked for automatic sourcing"
  • planned material receipt's quantity is inside the quantity range of the production version
  • planned material receipt's delivery date is in the validity period of the production version
• The source of supply is a purchasing info record when
  • procurement type of the material is 'F'
  • purchasing info record is flagged for "Relevant for automatic sourcing"
  • planned material receipt's quantity is inside the quantity range of the purchasing info record
  • planned material receipt's delivery date is in the validity period of the purchasing info record
• The source of supply is a delivery schedule or a purchasing contract if the procurement type of the material is 'F'

Quota arrangements can be used to prioritize sources of supply in case several sources of supply are valid simultaneously. If sourcing determines several valid sources of supply for the same material, plant, quantity, and date, but does not find any quota arrangements, then its priority of selection is as below:

1. Production versions
2. Delivery schedules
3. Purchasing contracts
4. Purchasing info records

If sourcing selects a production version as source of supply, then the material receipt is going to be a planned order. If sourcing selects a purchasing info record, then the planned material receipt is going to be a purchase requisition.

Miscellaneous changes

Logistics Batch Management

The following transactions related to Logistics Batch Management are not available in SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511: MSC1, MSC2, MSC3 and MSC4. The functional equivalents in SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 are the following transactions:

• MSC1N Create Batch
• MSC2N Change Batch
• MSC3N Display Batch
• MSC4N Display Change Documents for Batch

Classification

With SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 transactions of the Classification is renovated so that transactions may have changed functionality or may be completely removed within SAP Product Lifecycle Management (SAP PLM).

• User Defined Data Type (031) for characteristics has been removed.
• Rename Characteristic functionality has been disabled.
• Parameter Effectivity has been hidden.
• Due to security reasons batch import has been limited and batch import is possible only from presentation server.

New Material Type SERV

Material type "SERV" for services is introduced for Product Master in SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511.

Supported user departments are:

• Accounting
• Purchasing
• Basic Data
• Sales

Availability of Transactions in MM-IM

The following "MB transactions" are not available with SAP S/4HANA. In SAP S/4HANA only the single-screen generalized transaction MIGO is available:

MB01, MB02, MB03, MB04, MB05, MB0A, MB11, MB1A, MB1B, MB1C, MB31, MBNL, MBRL, MBSF, MBSL, MBST and MBSU

The transactions MMBE_OLD (Stock overview), MMBE (Stock overview), MB51 (Material Document List), MB52 (Display Warehouse Stocks of Material) and MB5B (Stock at posting date) are still available for some time.

Business Partner Approach

Business Partner is now capable of centrally managing master data for business partners, customers, and vendors. With current development, BP is the single point of entry to create, edit, and display master data for business partners, customers, and vendors.

Transaction like XD01, XD02, XD03 or VD01, VD02, VD03 / XK01, XK02, XK03 or MK01, MK02, MK03 etc. are not available in SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511.