This blog post provides sample roadmaps for migrating to SAP S/4HANA.
Even though the situations described in this section may not exactly map to your specific situation for your system landscape, you can still obtain useful information for creating your own roadmap.
From a Single System to an SAP S/4HANA Single System
The first example involves a global SAP environment with regional SAP EWM systems. The existing solution consists of the following components:
- A single global SAP ERP system
- A single global SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization system used for the global ATP function
- A single SAP SRM system for the Self-Service Procurement function
- A single SAP BW system for operational and strategic reporting as well as SAP BPC for financial planning and consolidation
- The recent introduction of SAP EWM with the aim of creating three regional systems to minimize risks
A long-term target landscape with SAP S/4HANA looks as follows:
- A single global SAP S/4HANA system will be introduced. In addition to the functions used in SAP ERP today, the plan is to map the following functions with SAP S/4HANA:
- In addition, a global SAP IBP system will operate in the cloud for sales and distribution, planning, and procurement
- A global SAP BW system will be used for strategic reporting based on historical data
- Three regional SAP EWM systems will limit the risk of failure
This figure illustrates these changes graphically. A value-driven roadmap for migrating to this new target landscape could look as follows.
- You can proceed with the implementation of the SAP EWM systems as planned because no changes are necessary.
- First, SAP IBP in the cloud is used for new functions, such as SAP IBP for response and supply, which complements your existing SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization implementation. This cloud-based implementation is a new implementation, which you can carry out regardless of whether you’re migrating to SAP S/4HANA.
- You can then add the planning function for demand (SAP IBP for demand) to SAP IBP, which replaces the corresponding function of the SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization implementation. This adoption is also independent of migrating from SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA.
- You can convert the SAP ERP system to an SAP S/4HANA system in one step because the solution currently used still meets most of your business requirements.
- When converting to SAP S/4HANA, and in subsequent projects, new functions will be added to the new system (e.g., operational reporting and advanced ATP), which replace their corresponding functions in SAP BW and SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization.
- After converting to SAP S/4HANA, you should migrate your financial planning and consolidation functions from the separate SAP BPC system to the corresponding function embedded in SAP S/4HANA. The previous Self-Service Procurement function is also migrated from the separate SAP SRM system.
The figure below graphically illustrates the entire roadmap for this example.
From an SAP ERP Landscape Distributed across Regions to a Global SAP S/4HANA Landscape
In our second example, we’ll start with a system landscape distributed across multiple regions that will be consolidated into a global system landscape.
T2
The initial situation of our landscape distributed across multiple regions is the following:
- Three regional SAP ERP systems use a harmonized global template. One SAP ERP system, for the leading region, is much more comprehensive, while two smaller regional satellite systems also exist.
- Three regional SAP BW systems are used for regional operational and strategic reporting.
- A further global SAP BW system, including SAP BPC, is used for enterprise-wide reporting as well as financial planning and consolidation.
The long-term planning for this SAP S/4HANA target landscape could look as follows:
- You introduce a single, global SAP S/4HANA system because day-to-day operations have been globalized. In addition to the SAP ERP functions used so far, the following functions will be added:
- Real-time reporting with SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics
- Replication-free financial planning and consolidation with the SAP BPC function included in SAP S/4HANA
- A global SAP BW system is used for strategic reporting based on historical data.
The figure below shows the entire landscape before and after the conversion. An appropriate roadmap for this migration to the target landscape could look as follows.
- You convert the largest SAP ERP system of the leading region into an SAP S/4HANA system in one step.
- You then migrate selected data from the regional satellite systems to the new SAP S/4HANA system. This data includes relevant master data and transaction data in the form of open items.
- You add the new real-time reporting function to the new SAP S/4HANA solution. You can add these real-time reporting functions during the system conversion or add them before or after migrating the data from your other regional systems. You can then gradually add further reports to replace the reporting from your regional SAP BW systems.
- From the separate SAP BPC system, you can migrate the financial planning and consolidation function to the corresponding function in SAP S/4HANA. However, all regions must be integrated into the new SAP S/4HANA target landscape before you can move these functions. After integrating all the regions, the financial dataset is complete, which is required for financial planning and consolidation in SAP S/4HANA.
- The global SAP BW system remains unchanged and is populated with data that is relevant for strategic reporting and historical data from regional SAP BW systems. These systems can be removed from the landscape after this process has been completed. This step is largely independent of the actual migration to SAP S/4HANA.
Editor’s note: This post has been adapted from a section of the book Migrating to SAP S/4HANA: Operating Models, Migration Scenarios, Tools, and Implementation by Frank Densborn, Frank Finkbohner, Martina Höft, Boris Rubarth, Petra Klöß, and Kim Mathäß.