SAP S/4HANA –
Your Entry into the Digital World
Efficient, fast, innovative – the demands placed on companies are constantly increasing. Those who want to remain competitive and successful need a powerful ERP system of the latest generation, such as SAP S/4HANA. A migration to such system is like entering into the digital world – from real-time analytics to Industry 4.0 to Machine Learning.
Your Future Starts Here
It’s the platform for smart businesses in a data-driven, digital world: SAP’s S/4HANA ERP system is a ground-breaking development that heralds a paradigm shift in data processing. A move to SAP S/4HANA is much more than a migration. Rather, the system has the potential to revolutionise business processes from finance to supply chain to sales.
To unlock the full potential, a company-specific requirements analysis is crucial. Practical experience and implementation expertise make all the difference here. Our approach has proven itself in many projects and enables our customers to get a fast and professional start into the SAP S/4HANA future – a world full of digital possibilities.
The Base of the Digital Transformation
A database of unimaginable speed: SAP HANA – short for High-Performance ANalytic Appliance – offers a platform on which huge volumes of data can be processed in real time. The basis for this is a high-performance in-memory database, in which the data to be analysed is not just temporarily copied from the hard disk to a working memory, but is stored directly in the working memory. This makes it possible to perform analytical and transactional operations simultaneously and for any data type. And it can be done on-premise, in the cloud or in a hybrid format. Many SAP solutions run on SAP HANA, above all SAP S/4HANA, but also SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud.
Ready for Future
SAP S/4HANA replaces the ERP system SAP ECC, the support for which will be discontinued in 2027. The system takes its name from the underlying database technology SAP HANA; the S stands for Simple, the number 4 for the fourth product generation. Whereas SAP ECC was all about modules, SAP S/4HANA is aimed at processes that cover the entire company and are coordinated with each other – from finance to logistics and human resources to procurement. And this can take the form of on-premise, cloud or hybrid solutions.
Implementing SAP S/4HANA is about more than just migrating from an old system to a new one. SAP S/4HANA not only optimises the entire business processes, it is the basis for innovations and new business ideas. The implementation of SAP S/4HANA is not solely an IT project, but a company-wide one that should be based on a strategic decision by the management. Only the transformation of processes leads to an optimal strategic achievement of goals.
SAP S/4HANA is the heart, the digital core, of the SAP solution portfolio. All processes can be restructured and digitised in line with the corporate strategy, and many other functions can be connected via the digital core. In this way, the full potential of SAP S/4HANA can be tapped.
User Experience on a New Level
SAP S/4HANA impresses with a new usability: the Fiori user interface. This interface visually resembles conventional apps as known from smartphones and is characterised by a modern visual design. The complex process steps in the back end are hidden behind a simple interface. Thanks to this, the apps are particularly intuitive and convenient to use.
In addition, the SAP Fiori apps can be quickly and easily adapted to company-specific requirements and provided with their own interfaces. In contrast to SAP GUI, where transaction-oriented work predominated, SAP Fiori can be personalised by, for example, adapting the layout and field individually to the user and their role. The user can work with the applications almost without any training and display them on their personalisable start page used most frequently in the user’s daily work.
One innovation that makes everyday work much easier is responsive web design: this means that employees can also access SAP S/4HANA on the go using any device such as a smartphone or tablet.
The Road to SAP S/4HANA
Precheck – Checking the Perequisites for Migration
A project begins by determining the best course of action. That’s why we consider a detailed analysis of the current situation and the company’s goals to be crucial to the success of the project.
To do this, we first look at your system requirements and subject your existing system to a readiness check, which automatically checks your technical data. This is the basis for the subsequent precheck, in which we perform further relevant analyses. With the help of our experience from a large number of SAP S/4HANA projects, we process the results from both checks and present them in a way that is relevant to your decisions.
Just as crucial as taking stock of the technical requirements is a look at the business processes. We use the SAP Process Discovery analysis tool to measure the performance of your processes and subject them to a standardised industry comparison. In this way, we identify automation and digitisation potentials and show which SAP S/4HANA functions, intelligent technologies and Fiori apps will bring your company forward in line with your business strategy.
Finally, you will receive a recommendation for further action and a detailed offer for a migration to SAP S/4HANA.
Playful Testing with the Sandbox
If you want to test the possibilities of SAP S/4HANA in advance and see for yourself what it can do in a playful way, consolut’s Sandbox is just the thing. The best thing about it is that the sandbox keeps your own data. A personalised look into the future, so to speak.
We create the sandbox according to your wishes and requirements. If required, we also offer hosting and run your system entirely on the SAP cloud platform Microsoft Azure, without any impact on your system. A prerequisite for a sandbox is a readiness check, an SAP S/4HANA licence or release by SAP and a backup of your current ECC 6.0 system.
Roadmap to SAP S/4HANA – Safely to the Destination
Migration to SAP S/4HANA fundamentally changes processes and technologies in the company. To ensure that you achieve exactly the result you want, a thorough preliminary study is important. This serves to find out which migration path is best suited to your company. his changeover path is then presented to you in your individual roadmap. It clearly and precisely divides the project into milestones, plans the individual steps and provides information about time and costs. The starting point for the preliminary study is a joint roadmap workshop in which we consider the opportunities and risks of the migration and clarify, for example, whether on-premise or cloud solutions, a greenfield or brownfield approach and a changeover in phases or a big-bang changeover fixed to a particular point in time are right for you. Once these questions are answered, the roadmap will guide you safely to your destination.
Greenfield, Brownfield or a Mixture of both?
Since the changeover to SAP S/4HANA affects not only IT, but almost every aspect of your business, the introduction is a big step. For it to succeed, thorough analysis and preparation are required. The decisive factor is the appropriate migration approach – Greenfield, Brownfield or a mixture of both.
Greenfield – Completely New Implementation
In this approach, the system is implemented completely from scratch, built on a greenfield site, as it were. This means that all processes and master data are newly installed and configured. This is ideal for someone who is new to the market. But the approach also offers great opportunities to anyone already using an ERP system. Especially if, for example, there are many inefficient processes that have crystalised in the many years of business operations, if an internal reorganisation is pending, in the case of carve-outs or consolidations due to mergers & acquisitions.
Brownfield – Upgrade to Business Suite
In the brownfield approach, existing processes, data and individual developments are transferred to SAP S/4HANA, meaning that it is an upgrade of an existing SAP system. This approach is ideal if the existing systems are still comparatively new, are close to the SAP standard, if you are basically satisfied with the existing processes or you want to switch to SAP S/4HANA relatively quickly.
Shell Conversion or Mix & Match?
Hybrid approaches such as Shell Conversion or Mix & Match, which are a mixture of a new implementation and a system conversion, are also widespread. For example, the existing environment is renewed and streamlined, but existing data is partially transferred.
Our approach
To successfully implement SAP S/4HANA, we work with our proven Prisma methodology. We lead you to your goal in clearly defined, sequential steps: We start with a thorough analysis of your current situation. We work with you to develop a roadmap that shows you what to expect, from initial preparations to implementation and go-live. So you know exactly what to expect.
The Benefits of SAP S/4HANA
Real-time analytics for faster insights and data-driven decisions
Increased efficiency, lower costs, and greater productivity by automating routine tasks and streamlining workflows
Improved usability through modern, intuitive user interface, reduced need for training
Improved reporting -– create reports quickly and easily with advanced reporting capabilities
Better integration capabilities with other SAP and third-party systems
We will be glad to help.
You want to know whether it is worthwhile for you to migrate to SAP S/4HANA or you have already decided but are still looking for the right partner? You are welcome to contact us!
