SAP S/4HANA Reviews

We are implementing SAP S/4HANA for our customers.

We are dealing with firms who are into manufacturing, retail, and pharmaceutical.

Nowadays, people are choosing the cloud solution only, and are probably going with AWS or Azure. It varies from case to case.

In terms of the features I have found most valuable, I don't think that there is any lack or any gap process-wise. SAP is a very good tool.

If I can highlight one point that could be improved, when we talk about other ERPs, like Oracle, nowadays these ERPs provide free integration with other ERPs. For example, there is an API for banks integrated into every tool and every product form requires that bank integration in order to give real time data into the ERP. But SAP is charging a lot for that particular bank integration scenario and I think it should be free because other ERPs are providing this feature built in to the ERP. People always ask us about the integration and how much it will cost to go with that solution, so people are thinking about this.

I have been working with SAP S/4HANA for more than four years.

SAP S/4HANA is stable. It is more or less a very, very smooth and seamless product. Day by day they are increasing their technology features and they are keen to resolve the issues. India has a complex business scenario and SAP is thinking about that and resolving the issues day by day.

SAP S/4HANA is scalable, but it is scalable for those who have money. In terms of  boutique firms, nowadays they are also thinking about how to move themselves into big ERPs. But because of the cost, most of the boutique firms are choosing Microsoft Dynamics. Because of the price, SAP is not likely the highest product to be chosen, and I think SAP should think about that because if they want to benefit their customers or to increase the size of their customer base, they have to think about pricing as well.

If somebody is asking for the two module support, it is only going to require up to two main servers, but if they are saying that we are providing you proper support and proper IT for the project then it is going to be up to four people. In India or in any country, people are pressing to do the freelance thing. The answer to this question depends on the scalability.

Customer support is good. It's very nice. There are no more issues with that. When I post SAP tickets that I mark as high priority they always ask why is it high? It should be high, medium or low. From their perspective, these tickets should be  medium or low because high priority should be replied within 24 hours. If I raise any complaint in SAP as a very high priority it should be resolved within 24 hours.

They always come up with this complaint. I faced this issue in my last project. If it is a critical thing from my business side then I need to put that remark as a very high priority. I don't know why they always question that high priority. We always want to deliver the things on a timeline. That's why we put that kind of a remark when we raise any ticket to SAP.

The initial setup is straightforward. I am using SAP for more than six years, meaning SAP ERP, not SAP S/4HANA. So it is straightforward for me. But for those who are boutique and are now going from a small ERP to a bigger ERP like SAP or another one, for them the initial setup is complex.

The implementation will take six months. It covers every process and integration for the standard part. The time depends upon if they want to integrate more tools and more processes, then it could be up to nine months. If they want a vanilla system to be implemented it is going take six months, a standard which every ERP takes if I compare with Oracle. I am not talking about any other ERP, like a homegrown ERP.

There are three phases if somebody is going to implement the SAP. There is a pre-implementation part, there is the ongoing implementation, and then there is the post implementation part where we include the support, as well. We are also doing the quality review, but it is the same as if I'm doing the implementation and we want a particular person for a particular module. Let's take the example if somebody is implementing four or five modules in SAP - for every module we require a senior guy and a junior guy so that he or she can deliver the things on a timely basis. Because it requires teamwork, the integration of every module requires up to around 10 people for any implementation, including the project manager.

I am talking only about the implementation part. Project support or the pre-implementation part is a different thing.

In our company we have our own team for SAP implementation because we are a partner with SAP. We do hire outside people, but not from SAP. We are hiring the manpower from a third-party. If the project size is very large and we need to cover things in a short period, we prefer to hire other resources so that we can finish according to the timeline which is important for every product platform. That's why if we do the things according to the timeline they give us good feedback and the word of mouth comes into the picture and they share it with other people who then reach out to us.

Regarding ROI, in India there are more startup firms and ROI is only an issue for people going for SAP to get funding because it's a very good tool and more business tycoons are looking for those companies who are using SAP. So in my experience, if somebody is using SAP there are more chances for ROI.

SAP licenses are more costly than others. But now SAP provides flexible models for licenses for users who are in a higher position or only have to give approval or check things.

On a scale of one to ten, for me SAP S/4HANA is an eight.

We use SAP S4HANA in a distribution business. We have the main site which purchases all material for management and then it goes through the main warehouses to the distribution sites. Finance controls, sales, and distribution are already there with the treasury added on top of the project.

The solution could improve by making customization easier. The on-premise version is a lot more flexible.

I have been using SAP S4HANA for approximately two years.

SAP S4HANA version 1909 is stable. We have not gone live with 2020 yet.

SAP S4HANA is scalable in terms of infrastructure scaling. The solution does not cover all aspects of the business. For example, there is no final solution from SAP for point of sale. They have no specific point of sales solution, you have to build something to cover this area.

Our project is at a large company with 8,000 employees.

We had an issue with localization, there is some sort of localization for S/4HANA for a specific country. We did not face a lot of trouble with the support. The response was good, but overall it seems the process itself takes too much time. You have to go through specific steps waiting for a reply and then the escalation takes more time. The support could improve their speed.

The SAP cloud itself was not easy to implement any project because it is very hard to do any customization for the business requirements.

SAP S4HANA is expensive and for smaller businesses, it is very difficult for them to have the budget.

My advice to those wanting to implement SAP S4HANA is to make sure they have their blueprint and design. People have specific imaginations but things can turn out differently. Align very well with the business and identify your scope correctly to be sure you are following a solid plan along with the project lifecycle.

I rate SAP S4HANA an eight out of ten.

We are an SAP partner, and we support customers. Our customers use the solution mainly for their business uses like HR operations.

I think anything related to manufacturing public clouds could be improved.

I have been using SAP S/4HANA for more than 15 years.

I rate the solution ten out of ten for stability.

Most of our clients for the solution are enterprise businesses.

I rate the solution’s scalability a nine out of ten.

It takes months to deploy the solution.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

The integration features of SAP S/4HANA stand out as the most valuable, surpassing those of other systems.

The product could be improved in several key areas, particularly in API granularity and ease of configuration. It is typical for new technology to initially lack the full functionality of older systems, as seen in every development cycle. In the Business Technology Platform (BTP) context, certain granular configurations available in S/4HANA, such as output determination, are not as easily replicable through current APIs. Previously, configuring outputs for delivery at a detailed level was straightforward. For example, one could easily specify output settings for regular deliveries. However, replicating this process in an API-driven workflow is currently more complex and less intuitive for business users. Additionally, there is no simple way in the new technology to verify if an output was successfully created and sent to a partner.

We have been using S/4HANA for approximately two to three years.

Overall, the stability of the solution is commendable. The core system demonstrates robust performance, maintaining operational stability in general use. However, there are instances where specific functionalities become less stable. These issues often stem from implementation-related factors, such as custom user exits, rather than inherent flaws in the software itself. For example, an order may fail due to a custom user exit, which should be considered an implementation issue rather than a reflection of the system's stability.

The scalability of SAP S/4HANA is highly impressive, making it suitable for companies of all sizes. Its flexibility allows for adding applications as required, enabling customization to meet specific business needs effectively.

The initial setup of SAP S/4HANA is inherently complex, with various factors contributing to its intricacy. While the software installation may be completed quickly, configuring it for practical business use involves a lengthy process spanning years.

Typically, an implementation partner is involved in this process. These implementers handle most setups, including addressing bugs or issues during deployment. They act as the primary contact with SAP for resolving technical problems.

I rate the product an eight out of ten.

Because I'm a procure-to-pay consultant, I mostly look at that angle, and I have a bit of experience with sales and distribution. I also like the integration between S/4HANA and other ERPs because S/4HANA is a suite. For example, the integration between S/4HANA and EWM Transportation Management, and Ariba.

The procure-to-pay solution in the Contract Management angle could be better. If you look at it on Ariba, the Contract Management Life Cycle for Ariba is more robust. You can create documentation, SLAs, and NDAs. Apart from the procurement aspect of the contract, you have the legal side, but Ariba cannot do that.

From what I've seen, the features of the procure-to-pay model in S/4HANA and their Contract Life Cycle Management side primarily focus on the procurement side. I believe it would be good if this solution could handle a part of the legal side.

They will incorporate Extended Warehouse Management and Transportation Management into the S/4HANA cloud. Most big companies that use a solution like S/4HANA have a legal department within the organization. Suppose they can incorporate that to be in S/4HANA suites; I think it'll be good. It will be just like what we have with Transportation Management and Extended Warehouse Management.

The user interface could be better. They have too much information on the interface, and our customers still keep complaining that it looks complex. Even though many things have changed, they still complain that the interface or the screen they see is a bit complex. It's only when they see the Fiori interface that their mind becomes a bit calm.

I've been using SAP S4HANA since 2018.

SAP S4HANA is a stable product.

SAP S4HANA is scalable. That's one of the main benefits of using SAP solutions. Most SAP solutions are scalable.

In Nigeria, we have to consider currency conversion rates with the Euro and Dollar that impact the final cost. But I believe that it'll be cheaper in the cloud where SAP has to do the maintenance of the server and more in the long run. 

I would tell potential users that S/4HANA is suitable for big companies. It comes with best practices and handles most processes, be it simple or complex. SAP also has almost 50 years of experience in the supply chain and financial industry. They should go for it, but they should stick to the best practices and not do much customization.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give SAP S4HANA an eight.

I'm a senior functional consultant and we partner with SAP. 

Previously, when a sales person had to register a deal, it meant logging onto Windows to look at the deals, now it can all be done from a mobile phone. That's a huge benefit for us. 

The best part of this solution is the Fiori design. 

The documentation for this solution can definitely be improved and I'd also like to see more support, more numbers of Android or iPhone apps.

I've been using this solution for three years. 

This solution is stable. 

The solution is highly scalable. We've scaled it more than 75% of what we initially had. We regularly scale and there's no excess consumption of resources or major tweaks required when we're scaling up. We have around 500 end users and we have a team of five or six people responsible for maintenance, including a system administrator. We use this solution extensively and will continue to expand our use of it. 

We had a good experience with technical support. They know what they're doing and the response time was good. 

We previously used SAP ECC. We switched because they discontinued maintenance of ECC and this is a new solution altogether. It didn't make sense for us to continue with SAP ECC.

The initial setup was moderate on the complexity side. Not too complex, but also not so easy. The deployment was done in-house and took several months. 

There are a lot of ERP solutions on the market - Oracle, JD Edwards, and the like, but when it comes to SAP, my experience is that once you implement the solution and you understand how it works, it becomes intuitive to work with. When you upgrade to a new solution or when a whole lot of changes come in, the user experience stays pretty much consistent.

I rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

I am a consultant and SAP S4HANA is one of the products that I work with.

From a technology standpoint, the theory and analytics are fascinating.

When it comes to the delivery of features, I would like it presented in a more user-friendly way. Every year, when a new version is released, it comes with a very thick booklet of 300 or 400 pages and it is a little difficult to comprehend. This is something that should be simplified. A simple comparison between the older and newer version would be very helpful for customers and consultants.

The default UI has been the same for a long time and in my last few projects, I've found that it wasn't fast enough. 

I have been working with this product since version 1511 in 2015, about five years ago.

I am comfortable with its stability.

This product is definitely scalable. 

I would say that it is for medium-sized companies. For smaller companies, the scale of the project might be too large, so they may not be able to harness the complete power of S4HANA.

The support from SAP is excellent. It is very good, compared to other products.

The SAP Marketplace is a good source of support.

I have hands-on experience with a few other products that are on the market.

Compared to older versions, prior to S4HANA, it is very easy to deploy. Starting from a development environment, I say it would take about three to four months to deploy for a mid-sized customer.  

For ERP, I do not recommend anything other than SAP 4/HANA. For other applications such as CRM and planning, I may recommend a different product.

I think that the newest version is great and I think the idea should be to quickly push it to cloud completely.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

SAP has many functionalities and a high level of detail so that you can manage all processes in detail without any issues.

It would be very good to merge the SuccessFactors or other solutions with S/4HANA to make it one suite. They could have a single dashboard for all types of products. I have many embedded solutions. 

I have been using SAP S/4HANA for four years.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

Six hundred users are using this solution.

I rate the solution’s scalability a nine out of ten.

SAP needs to improve its support. They don't provide a quality response.

Neutral

I have used IBM and Microsoft.

The initial setup is easy.

There is an additional cost for migration.

Only one consultant is enough for the solution's maintenance. 

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.