Preface

17

Objective of This Book

17

Target Audience of This Book

19

How to Read This Book

19

Acknowledgments

22

On with the Show

23

1 The Basics: What Is SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

27

1.1 Overview

28

1.2 Cloud ERP and the Two-Tier Model

33

1.3 Preconfigured End-to-End Business Processes

35

1.4 ERP Cloud Building Blocks

38

1.4.1 Software as a Service

38

1.4.2 Platform as a Service

40

1.4.3 Infrastructure as a Service

40

1.5 Ongoing Support

41

1.5.1 SAP Production Support Models

41

1.5.2 Business Analyst

42

1.5.3 Extensibility Support

43

1.6 Summary

47

2 Customer Use Cases: Who Should Use SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

49

2.1 ERP in the Cloud

50

2.1.1 Minimal IT Spend

51

2.1.2 International Businesses

52

2.1.3 Outsourced IT

54

2.1.4 Faster Upgrade Cycles

55

2.2 Preconfigured ERP

55

2.2.1 SAP Best Practices

56

2.2.2 Standard Business Practice-Driven Model

59

2.2.3 The Fit-to-Standard Approach

62

2.3 Two-Tiered ERP Model

64

2.3.1 Two-Tiered Approach: Maturity Level

66

2.3.2 Federated Manufacturing Model

67

2.3.3 Holding Company Model

70

2.3.4 Start-ups and Mergers and Acquisitions

72

2.4 Localization

77

2.5 Summary

78

3 Implementation: How Do You Set Up SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

79

3.1 SAP S/4HANA Cloud Best Practices

79

3.1.1 Navigating

80

3.1.2 Content

83

3.2 SAP Activate

86

3.2.1 Discover

89

3.2.2 Prepare

90

3.2.3 Explore

95

3.2.4 Realize

102

3.2.5 Deploy

106

3.2.6 Run

108

3.3 Team Requirements and Timing

108

3.4 Summary

110

4 Costs: How Much Will SAP S/4HANA Cloud Cost?

111

4.1 Subscription Price Structure

112

4.1.1 Simplifying the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Licensing Model

113

4.1.2 Current Pricing

113

4.2 SAP’s Cloud Extension Model

114

4.3 Implementation Cost Components

115

4.4 Estimating Implementation Costs

119

4.4.1 Fit-to-Standard Process

119

4.4.2 Cost Estimation Process

119

4.5 End User Support via SAP Application Management Services

121

4.6 Summary

123

5 Maintenance: How Do You Maintain SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

125

5.1 Quarterly Release Management

126

5.1.1 Communicating with Users

127

5.1.2 SAP Communications

132

5.1.3 Enabling New Releases

134

5.2 Report Development

136

5.3 Tile Customization

139

5.4 Integration Management

143

5.5 End User Support via Application Management Services

143

5.6 Summary

144

6 Product Functionality: What Processes Does SAP S/4HANA Cloud Perform?

147

6.1 The Big Picture

148

6.2 Streamlined Procure-to-Pay

150

6.2.1 Procurement Master Data

150

6.2.2 Supplier Management

151

6.2.3 Operational Purchasing

156

6.2.4 Contract Management and Collaborative Sourcing

166

6.2.5 Inventory Management

168

6.2.6 Invoice and Payables Management

173

6.2.7 Procurement Analytics

175

6.3 Accelerated Plan-to-Product

178

6.3.1 Basic Production Planning

179

6.3.2 Basic Production Processing

182

6.3.3 Inventory Management

190

6.3.4 Maintenance Management

190

6.3.5 Project Control and Product Development

192

6.4 Optimized Order-to-Cash

193

6.4.1 Order-to-Cash Scope Items Covered in Other Functional Groupings

193

6.4.2 Order and Contracts Management

194

6.5 Project Services

210

6.5.1 Project Management

210

6.5.2 Contract-to-Cash

215

6.5.3 Time and Expense Management

216

6.6 Core Finance

218

6.6.1 Accounting and Closing Operations

218

6.6.2 Statutory Reporting

229

6.6.3 Treasury and Financial Risk Management

232

6.6.4 Receivables Management

233

6.7 HR Connectivity

234

6.8 Data Management

234

6.8.1 Basic Data Integration

235

6.8.2 Master Data Maintenance

235

6.8.3 Master Data Management

236

6.9 Functionality in New Releases

236

6.10 Summary

238

7 Embedded Analytics: What Can SAP S/4HANA Cloud Teach You About Your Business?

239

7.1 SAP Fiori UX Overview

240

7.2 Tiles

244

7.2.1 SAP Smart Business Tiles

244

7.2.2 Custom Tiles

247

7.3 Standard Graphical Reports

251

7.4 Standard Overview Apps

255

7.5 Multidimensional Analytics

256

7.6 Customized Queries

260

7.7 Summary

263

8 Integrations: Can You Connect SAP S/4HANA Cloud with Other Applications?

267

8.1 Built-in Integrations

268

8.2 Custom Integrations

274

8.2.1 SAP Cloud Platform

274

8.2.2 Development Process and Components

276

8.2.3 APIs

281

8.2.4 Electronic Data Interchange

285

8.3 Summary

286

9 Extensibility: How Can You Personalize SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

287

9.1 In-App Extensibility

288

9.1.1 In-App Extensibility Authorization

288

9.1.2 Locating Extensible Apps

288

9.1.3 Changing, Adding, and Deleting Fields and Groups on a Screen

290

9.1.4 Adding Logic

296

9.1.5 Adding Business Objects

299

9.1.6 Adding CDS Views

303

9.2 Side-by-Side Extensions Using SAP Cloud Platform

306

9.3 Customer-Developed Extensions via SAP S/4HANA Cloud SDK

308

9.4 Summary

308

10 Roadmap: Where Do We Go from Here?

309

10.1 Current Roadmap

310

10.1.1 The Importance of the Roadmap

311

10.1.2 Upcoming Functionalities

312

10.2 Recent Innovations and How They Might Affect the Roadmap

316

10.2.1 Master Data

317

10.2.2 Extensibility

317

10.3 Where to Find Roadmap Updates

319

10.4 Summary: What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

319

Appendices

321

A Conclusion

321

B The Authors

325