The Total Guide to SAP S/4HANA

Our guide covers everything you need to know about SAP S/4HANA ERP, including integration, market fit, pricing, features, and comparisons. Access our free E-book to learn more about automating accounts payable and global mass payments with SAP S4/HANA.

What is SAP ERP?

SAP S/4HANA ERP (enterprise resource planning) is SAP’s latest unified management software for multi-entity companies. The ERP handles a variety of business processes and functions on a cloud platform, deployed as SAP S/4HANA on-premises or with a hybrid deployment option. SAP competes with Oracle ERP.

This Integration Guide focuses on features of the SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud product and its modules. SAP S/4HANA ERP is also offered in a Private Cloud version. Many companies using the older SAP ERP called ECC (a component of SAP Business Suite which is being phased out) will transition to SAP S/4HANA.

SAP S/4HANA ERP is a next-generation, intelligent ERP using AI and machine learning. It’s used for finance and accounting, sourcing and procurement, supply chain management, sales and distribution, project management, human capital management, and other functional areas. It can be integrated with the SAP CRM or Salesforce.

Features

Key Features and Benefits of SAP S/4HANA

SAP S/4 HANA is a comprehensive modular ERP system for large and medium-sized businesses, including the Fortune 500. SAP S/4HANA The SAP HANA S4 software is ideal for global multi-entity companies. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition has localized functionality in 55+ countries and 32+ languages. 

SAP Fiori (UI/UX Layer)

SAP Fiori is a SAP solution that provides a consistent, modern, and intuitive user interface to improve the SAP S/4HANA user experience when using SAP applications on the Internet or mobile devices. 

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Industry-specific Module Bundles

SAP S/4HANA offers industry-specific versions for these industries: consumer products, fashion, financial services, public services, energy & natural resources, and discrete industries, including automotive, aerospace& defense, and high tech. Nonprofits use the public services industry edition. 

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SAP HANA Data Models

SAP S/4HANA ERP is built on the SAP HANA in-memory database, which enables fast processing and real-time analytics for informed decision-making. This SAP HANA Database solution also enables users to perform data modeling.

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SAP Analytics Cloud

SAP S/4HANA Cloud includes a limited-feature, embedded version of SAP Analytics Cloud for creating real-time insights from the SAP S/4HANA database within the Fiori U/X. Embedded Analytics is a set of Fiori tiles for operational reporting. 

Your business can optionally integrate the full version of SAP Analytics Cloud with SAP S/4HANA, which uses data from SAP S/4HANA and third-party data for real-time analytics and business intelligence.

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SAP BASIS and ABAP

SAP BASIS is used for system administration, including configuration and system performance monitoring. 

SAP ABAP is a programming language for developing and customizing SAP applications.

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SAP S/4HANA Advanced Modules

SAP S/4HANA offers advanced modules for extended warehouse, transportation, and product lifecycle management.

Modules

SAP S/4HANA Modules

SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP software offers core modules and optional functional, technical, advanced, and industry-specific modules to meet your business needs. SAP S/4HANA modules include:

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SAP Lines of Business (LOBs)

SAP groups its available modules into lines of business (LOBs) categories. SAP S/4HANA lines of business include finance, logistics, asset management, sales, R&D, human resources, and environmental health and safety.

Finance (FI), Controlling (CO), and Financial Planning and Analysis (FPA)

The Financial Accounting module (FI) records accounting transactions and creates financial reports. FI includes subsidiary ledgers for accounts receivable and accounts payable, a general ledger, and a trial balance for closing the books. 

Controlling modules (CO)  are used for management accounting, including cost accounting (with cost centers, WBS elements, and orders), Enhanced Profitability Analysis(CO-PA), Product Costing (CO-PC), and Cost Object Controlling (CO-PC-OBJ). 

SAP S/4HANA also has a finance module for Financial Planning and Analysis (FPA).

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Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC)

This SAP S/4HANA module has a Microsoft Excel front-end for uniting business planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial statement consolidation instead of using siloed systems for these tasks.

Treasury & Risk Management

The SAP S/4HANA Treasury & Risk Management module integrates with cash forecasts, market data, payments, financial accounting, and the SAP cloud trading platform for debt and investment management, liquidity enhancement, and managing FX exposures. 

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Sales and Distribution (SD)

Sales and Distribution integrates with the CRM (customer relationship management). SD is used for end-to-end customer inquiry through invoicing, including order management with sales quotes and sales orders, delivery management, and billing.

Materials Management (MM)

Materials Management includes multiple modules and sub-modules for Procurement, which include sourcing, Inventory Management, Master Data Management, External Service Management to procure external services, and Logistics Invoice Verification.

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Production Planning (PP)

Manufacturing companies use production planning (PP) for capacity planning, scheduling, MRP (material requirements planning), and master data management. PP lets manufacturers use bills of material, routings, and work centers. 

Quality Management (QM)

The SAP S/4HANA module for Quality Management performs and tracks quality planning, quality control, inspections, and quality compliance with industry standards.

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More Modules

Plant Maintenance(PM)

The Plant Maintenance SAP S/4HANA module is for preventative maintenance, repairs, and refurbishing of business assets. PM plans, executes, and monitors required maintenance. SAP S/4HANA offers manufacturers a related solution for plant maintenance predictive analytics. 

Project Systems (PS)

SAP S/4HANA Project Systems is used for project management, including project planning, resource allocation, time management, cost accounting, financial analysis, project status, and results reporting. PS integrates with other SAP S/4HANA modules and includes collaboration tools for sharing documents, tracking issues, and managing change orders.  

Human Capital Management (HCM)

Human Capital Management is used for employee management along with SAP SuccessFactors by integrating SuccessFactors Employee Central (employee master data).

Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS)

The Environmental, Health, and Safety module helps businesses track sustainability compliance, mitigate environmental factors, measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and monitor business safety compliance.

Extended Warehouse Management (EWM)

This warehouse management module is available in a Basic version for simple warehouses or an advanced version for complex warehouse operations.

Transportation Management (TM)

Businesses use the Transportation Management module to manage logistics and transportation carriers (including planning, execution, freight booking, carrier communications, and payments).

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

Businesses manage products throughout their lifecycle from planning to R&D, change management, regulatory and sustainability compliance, manufacturing, and product classifications.

SAP Analytics Cloud Integration

Integrating the fully featured version of SAP Analytics Cloud provides real-time analysis from SAP S/4HANA and third-party software data for planning and decision-making.

SAP S/4HANA improves significantly with AP automation and global mass payments integration.

Tipalti’s multi-entity finance automation solutions save time and money, reduce hiring needs, fraud risks, and errors, and help your business control costs and improve tax and global regulatory compliance. 

Industries

Industries Using SAP S/4HANA

Businesses in many industries use SAP S/4HANA software. SAP S/4HANA ERP with apps fits:

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Manufacturing companies

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Distribution companies

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Retailers, including online eCommerce and brick-and-mortar businesses

Companies with field service operations

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R&D companies

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Service companies

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Nonprofits

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Apparel, footwear, and accessories

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Financial Services

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IT services

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Accounting firms

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Food & beverage

Oil & gas

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High-tech companies

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Software companies

Natural resources

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Utilities

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Transportation and logistics

Aerospace

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Automotive

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Healthcare

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Consultants

Implementation

How to Implement and Use SAP S/4HANA

The ERP implementation process for SAP S/4HANA can take six months to over one year (as a greenfield implementation), depending on the planning success, complexity, data volume, custom code needed, and team time available for implementation. Migration with system conversion to SAP S/4HANA ERP from SAP ECC or another ERP  software (brownfield implementation) takes up to 2 years.

Implementation with cloud deployment is faster than on-premises. 
SAP Press describes best practices for SAP S/4HANA implementation. Your business must devote adequate time to planning the system implementation and prioritize the project as essential, requiring team member resources for a timely and successful implementation.

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Step 1

Team Formation

Select a cross-functional implementation team and appoint a leader. This essential change management project requires the CEO, executive management, and employee support. Hold an all-hands meeting to communicate and emphasize the importance of transitioning to SAP S/4HANA ERP.

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Step 2

Hiring a SAP Partner Consultant

 Hire an experienced SAP Partner consultant. The consultant will provide a successful implementation plan using SAP Activate as a roadmap, with key steps and simplifications to implement SAP S/4HANA and guidance on needed modules and third-party add-ons.

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Step 3

Setting Goals and Milestones

Determine organizational goals for a successful implementation through collaboration and set roles, milestones, and deadlines with the best project management techniques.

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Step 4

Training

Train the implementation team and give users hands-on training before going live. Use online learning resources in addition to training courses.

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Step 5

Data Migration and Testing

Establish and perform procedures for SAP S/4HANA migration, including cleaning data and mapping fields from the old ERP system. 
Test the new SAP HANA S4 system in a sandbox environment and run it in parallel with the existing ERP before going live to ensure it works properly. 

Step 6

Post-Implementation Evaluation

Obtain feedback from the implementation team and employees to improve future system implementations. Document implementation challenges and suggestions in a report. 

How Does AP Automation Software Integration Work With SAP S/4HANA?

In the SAP Intelligent Enterprise framework, SAP envisions that users include modules and third-party software integrations to add functionality and value to SAP S/4HANA ERP and other SAP products. 

SAP S/4HANA fully and seamlessly integrates with AP automation software using API-based SAP integration. Tipalti provides multi-entity capabilities and scalability for complex businesses. It syncs data with SAP S/4HANA ERP for suppliers, purchase orders (POs), receiving data, supplier invoices, payables, account coding, payments, and supplier credits. Tipalti performs digital invoice processing on time to take early payment discounts. It automatically prepares a real-time batch payment reconciliation with the SAP S/4HANA general ledger. These reconciled batches are high volume (as used by enterprise and medium-sized companies), with multiple payment methods and currencies. Tipalti provides suppliers with automatic payment status. 

Tipalti provides digital transformation and streamlines supplier invoice processing, including global payments. Tipalti AP automation uses machine learning and Tipalti AI℠ in its automation processes, including digital invoice data capture and automatic account coding. Its real-time spend analysis queries (Ask Tipalti AI℠) also use AI. Tipalti embeds the large generative AI language model ChatGPT in the AP automation software. 

Tipalti AP automation begins with self-service supplier onboarding and helps you collect supplier W-8 and W-9 forms before making the first payment.  Tipalti automation software works through the SAP S/4HANA login to save businesses 80% of the time required to process payables under a manual system and reduce errors by 66%. Tipalti AP automation software can help accelerate your accounting close by 25% through payment reconciliation efficiency. Tipalti offers suppliers a choice of 50+ payment methods in 196 countries and 120 currencies.

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Tipalti AP automation software combines with the Tipalti Expenses product. Expenses lets employees submit claims in the Tipalti Expenses mobile app for reimbursement from data captured from digital photos. Approvers can also approve (or reject) these employee expense reports in the app, which automatically checks for company travel & expense policy compliance and flags discrepancies. 

Tipalti AP automation can be integrated with Tipalti’s advanced foreign exchange solutions, Multi-FX and FX Hedging. With Multi-FX, companies use a centralized virtual account without establishing a regional international bank network. The centralized virtual account lets you make and manage global payments for all subsidiaries and country-available payment methods in 30 currencies. Tipalti Hedging locks in FX rates for accounts payable between the invoice receipt and payment dates.

Tipalti’s unified finance automation software platform also consists of other products. Tipalti Procurement is a product that simplifies purchase requisitions (PRs) intake, provides relevant stakeholders visibility, and automates approval routing. Tipalti Procurement automatically creates purchase orders from approved PRs. 

The Tipalti Mass Payments automation product makes efficient global payouts to affiliates, creatives, publishers, streamers, influencers, and independent contractors like freelancers. Tipalti integrates with major performance marketing systems. 

For approved users, payment methods include the Tipalti Card, a managed corporate spending card issued to employees. 

How Much Does SAP S/4HANA Cost?

SAP S/4HANA ERP is priced as a top-tier ERP system for larger companies, using custom quotes that depend on selected modules, the number of users, tiered volume pricing, and other relevant factors unique to your business. Contact a SAP Partner (VAR or reseller) of SAP S/4HANA products. Also, budget for consulting, training, and third-party integrations for business process automation. 

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