SAP S/4HANA Reviews

We are mainly implementing it for finance, sales, and purchasing.

The most valuable feature is probably the full integration with the finance system. Everything I do automatically creates final or accounting documents, and the capability to make reports on different axes or the latest access is very useful.

The process for the auto administration of the system needs improvement. When I implement a new system, there's a lot to do on the technical side to make it work correctly. 

There are many checks on another SAP application server, and some implementations need a lot of recommendations. Activating the Fiori access is improved, however, it should be easier to activate a new process. 

Today, I have to find the right role, activate all the services, hope everything is correctly activated, and test it. Sometimes, it's a bit complicated to activate new features. 

Additionally, maybe the customization of the screens should allow users to add or change the layout easily. Also, there are a lot of business functions available but not activated by default. I never activate additional business functions since I am unaware they exist, so I might propose or ask to activate some of the exclusions. 

Maybe the performance of the SAP interface could be improved. When using the interface, it's not as good as the SAP GUI, for example, which is not the same type of access, but they try to sell something that should be very reactive. In fact, every time I connect, it's very slow.

I have used the solution for eight years.

It's as stable as the previous version of SAP ERP. The only thing that might need reviewing is when the system has no more space for the transaction load. The SAP HANA system is not very easy to unlock, and it's something strange as, compared to other databases, when transaction logs are full, you stop the system, run the transaction log backups, and then restart. 

When it's full in HANA, I cannot do it that way. I must make some space to let the system process the finance transaction log because it needs some additional space for the transaction logs' backup. That's not very convenient.

I am not dealing with very big customers. The biggest customer I have is mainly in the retail industry, with about 30,000 sales tickets sent back to SAP every morning. That's when the system works the most. Otherwise, I don't see any performance problems.

I sometimes open tickets to SAP. However, I usually find many answers in the SAP notes, which makes that part okay.

Neutral

There's a technical setup during implementation.

In projects, we usually use around eight people.

There is an ROI, otherwise I would not buy it. However, something annoying is the huge difference between the public price and the final price for customers. It makes a good prediction for the customer, however, there's a lot of commercial communication. Speaking about product pricing, it starts to be very expensive. There is a lot of reduction when I start discussions with my customers.

Something could be improved in pricing. There's a lot of difference between casual users and expert users. There should be some categories to make pricing simpler, such as limited users and expert users as it was before. Trying to figure out precisely what they should execute according to the license is not easy. 

On the cloud side, they've changed the license price. It's not easy to have a clear understanding of the price and the value, especially if I talk about the business transaction platform. 

The BTP platform has many services, and I don't know which ones could be used or needed according to different scenarios I want to deploy. That's not very easy to understand now on the price.

The overall product rating is nine out of ten.

Our company provides SAP services for the SAP ECC version and the latest SAP S/4HANA version running on the SAP HANA database. SAP S/4HANA is used by SMEs, large enterprises, and Fortune 500 companies that are globally distributed. For ERP solution requirements for the aforementioned companies, I believe SAP is the market leader that provides end-to-end solutions to cater to all business requirements, daily business transactions and operations. 

As part of the business operations, SAP solutions are used for inventory, procurement, production, planning, quality maintenance, post-production, post-quality check, dispatching, and sales. SAP also caters to completing end-to-end financial processes in fields ranging from expense to revenue. SAP also has multiple add-ons for services in analytics, data warehousing, and advanced or enterprise warehouse management with SaaS productive solutions.   

There is another SAP Ariba product used for advanced P2P, payment and procurement processes. SAP also has solutions for CRM and customer solutions and multiple other products for every line of business. SAP has ideal tools for retail, hospitality management, agriculture, and Oil & Gas businesses.

Depending on customer requirements and their line of business, our company provides suitable SAP services. Based on certain prerequisites like company turnover and yearly revenue, SAP products or system licenses can be adopted. Based on the user licenses procured, whether on-prem or cloud, the solution can be managed by the vendor. SAP products are also adopted by all lines of businesses, including automotive and manufacturing. 

Our company not only implements SAP S/4HANA but also manages the migration from older versions to the latest SAP S/4HANA. For any dedicated projects with SAP S/4HANA, there are some taxation-based processes and procurement processes to develop or customize the solution. 

SAP S/4HANA is a highly compliance-oriented system. The solution provides real-time compliance and auditing from the financial and system perspectives. SAP's USP is that about 80% of customers in the market are using their solutions to run across different systems. Another USP of SAP is that the solution supports all the data across models with proper integration for each and every processes. 

There are no misalignments, ambiguities, or issues within the system for database transactions, business transactions, or reports when using SAP S/4HANA. The product is trouble-free, and it enables businesses to make faster decisions and run systems without errors in day-to-day business operations. 

Consultants need to always remain updated with the latest technology and features from SAP S/4HANA. The licensing of SAP S/4HANA needs to be improved. 

I have been using SAP S/4HANA for four to five years and have been working with SAP products for seventeen or eighteen years. 

SAP S/4HANA is quite scalable. But to scale the solution, there are some additional costs associated for the infrastructure. In our organization there are four to five clients for the SAP solution. SAP S/4HANA gets easily integrated with almost any third-party tool. 

The initial setup of SAP S/4HANA is straightforward. The license of the solution should be obtained in accordance with the customer's requirements. For deployment of the solution, there are compliances and audits that need to be implemented, following which compatibility has to be analyzed and prerequisites need to be verified for the organization who are willing to adapt SAP S/4HANA.

The solution can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud. Once the deployment model is identified, SAP or its service partners should identify the organization's business processes across all business modules.

As part of the deployment process, a business blueprint documentation needs to be prepared, the complete end-to-end scope needs to be identified, realization certification needs to be obtained, and user testing needs to be implemented. If a customer wants any customizations in SAP S/4HANA that can also be implemented. 

The deployment of the solution can be diligently handled in agile mode by identifying the primary requirements that are of major importance and secondary requirements that can be considered at a later stage. 

Our organization's customers have claimed that the ROI is realized within three to five years of using SAP S/4HANA. Our organization's customers of SAP S/4HANA have also informed us that the solution has helped reduce business costs, narrowed business operation leakages, improved compliance, and streamlined the taxation process.  

The product is expensive. The licensing of SAP S/4HANA needs to be improved by allowing more privileges to the on-prem segment because there are still customers who prefer to use the on-prem version. Due to data security, validation and privacy reasons, certain customers are unwilling to transport their data to the cloud. There are some restrictions and limitations on the on-cloud version of SAP S/4HANA due to network security. 

The customers of our organization are facing numerous issues in user-licensing; we have found that the customers are reluctant to obtain a perpetual or subscription-based license because every organization has its own budget and business requirements. 

SAP S/4HANA helps in real-time operations by providing real-time reports. When using the HANA database, the complete in-memory data arrives in the RAM, which is slightly expensive for the one-time installation and implementation purposes, but once the overall business database is transferred to the RAM, SAP S/4HANA provides a fast and easy access to reports across all the modules.

Using the features of SAP Fiori and SAP BTP landscape, you can acquire and access dashboards, general reports and MIS reports for faster decision-making using mobile devices. 

The vendor is making efforts to transport the solutions to the cloud but in our organization, we have witnessed that a large number of customers want the solution in on-prem versions. Even if the technologies are shifting to cloud and its becoming the nature of system maintenance, still somewhere down the line, the vendor should be aware that in some cases the solution will need to be deployed on-prem. 

The cloud version of SAP S/4HANA is completely managed by the vendor and the on-prem version is managed by the customer. A certified SAP service partner should be identified for the implementation of the product. When each and every process of setup is signed off with proper documentation and consolidation there won't be any issues.

I would rate SAP S/4HANA as nine out of ten. I would advise others to first check if their company is able to fulfill the prerequisites for adopting SAP S/4HANA and they should also analyze the cost.

SAP has now launched the BTP that helps SAP S/4HANA integrate with not only SAP solutions but also with other vendor solutions. Any heterogeneous system can be easily integrated with the SAP S/4HANA. Using micro-managed services, cloud platform integrations and BTP, all integrations can be smoothly managed in SAP S/4HANA. 

SAP is very strong in finance and incorporates a lot of emerging technology. I like how SAP integrates a lot of new technologies, such as in-memory databases and HANA. SAP S/4HANA can be mapped as per business requirements, and you can name any industry, and SAP can be used, whether in manufacturing, retail, pharma, real estate, or any other industry.

The integration is quick to implement and very user-friendly. 

SAP S/4HANA is particularly user-friendly and quick to deploy.

SAP invests a lot of money in R&D. Every three months, I receive a patch, which is an upgrade within the SAP systems. SAP is good, however, SAP users should have the knowledge to tackle SAP effectively. I recommend training from a systematic approach.

I have been in the SAP industry for 11 years.

SAP is stable and a leader in the ERP space.

SAP S/4HANA itself is a scalable product. You can integrate any third-party solution with SAP.

I find the support to be quite good, with an offshore center in Hyderabad. However, you need to communicate with the right system integrator.

Neutral

The initial setup is very easy, involving configuring and implementing apps for business requirements.

15 members including myself worked on one project, which is 15 times more advanced.

The setup cost is expensive. I would compare it to the difference between a Ferrari and a Rolls Royce. That's the level of distinction.

I always provide battle cards to my clients for SAP, Microsoft, and Oracle. However, SAP remains number one.

I strongly recommend SAP S/4HANA for any industry with companies having more than one hundred employees. I think the business should go with SAP. 

I am the founder of Accent and Consulting.  

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

I work in the stack, and I'm on the technical side. My customers span about 20 different industries, including public sector federal government, manufacturing, service vehicles, agriculture, and mining. I don't really have a specific area. In terms of the use case of the product, HCC is now legacy, and S/4HANA is the future product for those customers running ECC, whether they want to run it on-premises, in the cloud, or in the public cloud. There are obviously a few differences there. I don't get involved in the sales side since I'm on the technical side.

It's replacing the ECC due to all the finance modules, such as ST, MM, PP. I deal with all the modules at the stack level, so I don't really focus much on the functional side. S/4HANA is integrated with the SAP interface products, like SaaS, products in the cloud, software as a service, and things like SuccessFactors. SAP sells these products, and they are integrated in the cloud, offering flexibility and scalability. The use of a memory-based database makes it more efficient. You might not think it's revolutionary, however, it's adopting new technologies and infrastructures.

Comparatively, this is a bit of a subjective question. The models are very different in the cloud, where it's all about monthly subscriptions, similar to Netflix. The pros and cons of software in the cloud are standard. Previously, models involved buying software to run on infrastructure with licensing and perpetual maintenance. Now the license model has shifted to subscriptions, with customers paying a monthly fee. This reflects the detailed terms of what products are used, their usage, and pricing. Although this transformation is not necessarily cheaper, it brings changes. Organizations face challenges like adapting to new technologies rapidly, and whether customers are early or late adopters influences their experience.

I have used the solution for 30 years or so.

The solution is very complex, and stability is based on maturity. Newer versions and features tend to be less stable. Overall, the products serve well. I don't judge businesses that run the world.

Support is a challenge. The effectiveness of the SAP support paradigm depends on particular skills. I wouldn't comment positively or negatively on the support itself. It has been a cloud scale.

Positive

It depends on the cartridges, the size of the cost, and whether it's a brownsfield or greenfield implementation. It is certainly in the millions of dollars. Training and resource support are essential.

Hacking SAP is favorable for me instead of nine and ten. It is very good for the time. Pearce rates it as a ten. At C-suite level, decision-makers, such as CFOs and CIOs, need to have an open mind and change their mindset. Prioritizing the right team is essential. 

The overall product rating is ten out of ten.

There is a feature in SAP S/4HANA that is used by reconstruction companies. This feature allows the creation of different cost objects within the ERP. Instead of assigning costs to a single cost center or costing object, you can distribute costs across various aspects such as projects, work breakdown structures, activities, networks, and problem management. This flexibility enables the ERP to handle different cost elements within the organization.

It provides a 360-degree perspective of cost segmentation and tracking all cost elements within the organization. This includes materials, projects, human resources, and equipment. The integration with the public cloud and SuccessFactors is a new and intriguing development, making it possible to manage different aspects of the organization seamlessly as if they were part of a single product.

In SAP S/4HANA, an interesting feature is the quality inspection and delivery process within the ERP system. For instance, if there is a delivery for a project part that requires quality inspection and receives feedback from the customer, this can be recorded through the mobile application. The responsible person can visit the site, open the system using the mobile app, and add remarks and notes directly into the system without the need for paper or extensive communication.

Everything is automated and all information is collected and reflected in the system, providing a complete history of any project. This comprehensive approach ensures that SAP S/4HANA effectively meets the requirements of any construction contract, demonstrating SAP's excellence in this industry.

SAP S/4HANA offers two deployment options: the private cloud and the public cloud. The private cloud is a comprehensive solution. While it does require numerous approvals, it is a highly reliable product. However, when it comes to continuous improvement, the public cloud excels. My previous explanation focused on the private cloud. Medium-sized companies that cannot afford the private cloud often opt for the public cloud. However, the public cloud does not include all the modules available in the private cloud. Therefore, it is essential to enhance the module offerings in the public cloud.

For example, in the construction industry, companies needing advanced project systems often have no choice but to make a significant investment in the private cloud. SAP should invest more in expanding the features available in the S/4HANA public cloud. One area for enhancement is predictive analysis. SAP has developed solutions on the Business Technology Platform, including AI and machine learning products. However, there is still no packaged ERP solution that automatically delivers these features to customers.

It should provide better integration of AI products through the Business Technology Platform, providing storage and examples of best practices for various industries. Many customers are interested in AI but are unsure how to implement it within SAP applications. SAP, a reputable company, already has best practices, but it should expand its library to include more examples of AI applications. 

The solution is scalable. We have two companies, one have 150 users and the other habe 50 users using this solution.

Partners provide support and their cloud support is excellent. They respond immediately to requests. They have an integration process without delays and a customer interaction center. If we have any case requiring immediate support, we can call them directly and receive support promptly. You can schedule meetings with experts and easily make appointments. Additional chat support is available as well. The support challenge is already addressed and accessible, allowing for quick resolution of issues.

The initial setup of SAP S/4HANA is moderately complex, but there are not many use cases, especially in the Middle East. 

For the cloud solution of SAP S/4HANA, maintenance is not required. However, this is not the case for the on-premises solution, which does require technical support.

When you are using SAP S/4HANA for the construction industry, it is crucial to understand the specific needs and processes of construction companies, which are often based on the number of projects they handle. To effectively utilize SAP S/4HANA in this context, it's essential to explain how the system can support and streamline business operations.

In the construction industry, projects typically begin with a tendering process where companies look for construction services. In terms of presales, a system like SAP S/4HANA is invaluable for planning opportunities by incorporating initial construction rounds and cost estimates to determine pricing. These processes can be efficiently managed through an ERP system.

Once a project is secured, a new project is created in SAP S/4HANA, and WBS is established. Integrating the ERP with CAD solutions that contain the project drawings is crucial for reviewing cost elements and budgets. Based on the budget, POs can be issued to vendors for materials, automating the procurement process.

Cost objects related to the WBS or network are tracked using fund management within the ERP system. Integration with SAP SuccessFactors is also important to hire and assign employees to specific projects, ensuring accurate tracking of progress and costs.

The system enables tracking project progress, completion percentages, and project costs. Reports comparing planned versus actual costs can be generated at any time. Project invoicing and planning are based on completion percentages and material consumption, as construction projects do not have regular invoicing. Instead, settlements are based on the completion percentage and material usage, allowing for accurate customer invoicing and cash collection.

Integration with service sheets ensures that customers can approve completed work. Once the work is confirmed, the system can automatically generate invoices and initiate the collection process. Additionally, the integration with tools like AutoCAD enhances the visibility and visualization of project completion within the ERP system, eliminating the need for external systems to track progress.

By leveraging SAP S/4HANA, construction companies can manage their projects more effectively, ensuring seamless integration of processes, accurate tracking, and improved financial management.

I recommend S/4HANA for various industries, except one. I cannot recommend it for that industry due to affordability concerns. However, for manufacturing, utilities, public sector, construction, and real estate, S/4HANA is the number one choice. But when it comes to the automotive industry, my recommendation is to go for Maxwell Dynamics.

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

At our company, I have been using SAP S/4HANA for our clients in the goods and services industry for multiple purposes including store and network management. Our company has also developed custom models of SAP S/4HANA. I primarily use the solution to handle the integrations with any third-party services or assembling products for our clients. 

SAP S/4HANA has an excellent UI. Most of the solution's functionalities can be accessed through the COD propaganda. A COD portal can be configured easily using SAP S/4HANA, where the interface can appear as a website with a PI enrolled. Every functionality can be integrated into an interface using the COD of SAP S/4HANA. 

The solution overall provides a user-friendly interface. 

The solution users of a company should focus on the data warehouse or data retention management; otherwise, SAP S/4HANA can incur huge costs.

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

It's a stable solution because of the usage of power hardware from IBM for on-prem projects. 

At our company, we have found the product to be scalable when we installed the production on multiple nodes where auto cluster and failover features remain enabled. 

At our company, we reach out to customer support very frequently for daily issues. The customer support team is responsive enough and I would rate them a nine out of ten. But my rating is mostly based on the response to high-priority product enrollment issues. For any medium or low-priority incidents, I would rate the customer support differently, probably six out of ten. Thus my overall rating is seven out of ten for customer support. 

Neutral

I found the initial setup process of the solution quite simple due to my experience working with multiple database tools. 

SAP S/4HANA is an expensive solution. 

I have worked witha few competitor CRM products of SAP S/4HANA. Unlike other solutions, which run on traditional databases, SAP S/4HANA has an in-memory database that makes it operate faster. 

SAP S/4HANA has enhanced performance by handling huge chunks of data, given that regular optimization is implemented on the database layer. SAP S/4HANA is an in-memory solution, so size optimization is required. If a large database is used, the solution's memory cost also reduces. 

The solution can be used in an Octane. The functionalities of the product remain optimized to some extent from first usage. I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. I primarily work with database fetching with SAP S/4HANA whenever a need arises to export data and visualize using multiple other integrated tools. Integration of large databases in  SAP S/4HANA is easier than any alternative databases. 

I have integrated other SAP tools with the solution and the process was quite effortless due to the CPIC communication protocol.  

I mainly use it for finance activities like FICO, SD, etc.

Compared to other systems, it is more customer-friendly and time-efficient. It is easy to operate and understand. The reports and solutions provided by SAP HANA are excellent. I have worked with different software, but SAP HANA stands out due to its quality and functionality. It also offers extensive customization options for reports, making it user-friendly for partners, customers, and stakeholders at all levels.

As a finance professional, I appreciate the user-friendly interface and time-saving features. We can easily access reports and other information. So, it reduces the need for manual work. 

If I input data correctly, everything is available in the system, which allows me to generate reports effortlessly and present them to management. This saves a lot of time.

As an end-user, I find that working in SAP is efficient and resolves issues. We can easily access reports and information, reducing manual work. This is a major change in SAP.

SAP S/4HANA's Fiori UI: 

I've been working with Fiori for years. We have thousands of users at the front-end level, including stores and distribution points. Many of these people lack technical knowledge or experience with SAP. Introducing Fiori with its tiles made their lives easier and simplified SAP for many. With Fiori tiles, there's no need to memorize key codes or complex procedures.

Since employees keep changing in any company, especially front-end. So, SAP made it easier for new employees to learn and be trained quickly. There's no rocket science in Fiori; everything is user-friendly. With minimal training, we can teach them what's available in Fiori. Everything is accessible through tiles. Fiori is especially beneficial for front-end and average-level employees due to its ease of access. Just one day for training, and they could work with it.

There are areas for improvement. SAP needs to consider both global and regional requirements. For example, India has unique tax implications and regulations. They shouldn't have to rely on extensive customization for basic things because the standard features don't align with India's needs. 

More standardized features tailored to India or Indian customers and partners would be helpful, especially concerning tax regulations.

For example, India has different income tax rules [GST], but many things are not standardized in SAP. SAP broadly focuses on the global requirements of the top ten countries and may not prioritize India's specific rules and regulations. If they consider these and include them as standard features, it would be easier for customers in India to implement SAP quickly.

So SAP should consider tax parameters for India.

I have around seven years of experience with this product. 

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. 

Currently, we rely on two or three tools to get things done. By moving to S/4HANA, we plan to consolidate these into one tool, that will increase efficiency and eliminate the need to depend on multiple tools. This is a major improvement we see in SAP. 

So, the management made the decision to switch to SAP. This was a brilliant move for the system, finance, and all departments. It will resolve at least 50% of our current technical issues.

Personal experience: 

I personally have experience with Oracle Financials and Microsoft Navision. I have almost 18 years of experience working in different software areas, primarily with SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft.

I worked with an initial version of SAP in 2008. It was less user-friendly than the current version. S/4HANA has many customizations and new features that make it easier for front-end users.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with ten being easy. 

Deloitte is the partner integrating SAP in the current company. The process is ongoing. It is yet to go live in the production environment. 

The deployment is a lengthy process. It normally takes a week.

There is a ROI. 

Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

My recommendation: Consider the size of the organization, its requirements, and future plans before deciding to use SAP S/4HANA.

The tool has improved our company's financial processes as it gives us a systematic way to look at data. Based on the analytics offered by the tool, users can judge if they want to spend money on something or not. Based on data or analytical data from ERP, you can easily make judgments, like whether you want to purchase something commercially or not. With the tool, we can see the transactions and everything in one place.

SAP offers very good ERP software. As ECC is into SAP HANA, SAP has already improved it, and now SAP is in the process of going with RISE with SAP. Everything has already been captured in the tool, and everything is as per the worldwide industry standard process, and the ERP solution is something that is based on it.

The tool's high cost is an area of concern where improvements are required.

I have experience with SAP S/4HANA.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

It is a scalable solution.

Around 200 to 500 people use the tool.

If you divide the workload between the projects and clients, then it can definitely be very costly. If your organization is not more than 10,00,00,00,000, I would say it is not okay to go with SAP S4/HANA.

For technical support, we are dependent on the consultants only.

I cannot say whether the product's deployment process is complex or straightforward, as it depends on the company where it is being deployed.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

A minimum of ten to fifteen people are needed to deploy and maintain the tool.

The solution can be deployed in five to six months.

A company's resources can't deploy the tool. You need specific people to deploy the tool. It's not a person but a team you require to deploy the tool. Consultants are needed to help one deploy the tool.

The ROI part cannot be judged, and it is something that is based on how much a person uses the tool. If your company is small, but when it comes to process orientation, the ROI is always good. ROI is not dependent upon the size of a company.

The tool is expensive.

SAP S/4HANA is a very decent product for our main business. My company is into mining and production. The tool is a process-oriented product. If you train people, then the product is very likely to be used, and it is defined as a tool that offers a systematic industry standard process.

Speaking of whether the tool has significantly increased our company's operational efficiency, I would say that it would be an injustice in areas like manufacturing, material movement, HR, production planning or quality assurance since each and every part is connected with each other.

The real-time analytics capability impacts our decision-making process and can be very quick if you have the right data. With just a few clicks, you can get everything.

The tool's Fiori UX has improved user suggestions, productivity, processes, and real-time data in our company.

I recommend the product to those companies that have a capital of 10,00,00,00,000.

SAP S/4HANA is a good product, provided it is used in a proper and realistic manner. Training is also required for the tool's users. You may go for SAP S/4HANA, but you need to decide if, as per your company's costs, you don't mind spending too much money or if you are capable of spending some money. You can take any ERP solution since there are many solutions available nowadays. SAP is very expensive, I feel.

To those who want to buy the product, I would say that they need to prepare a plan and should ensure that they have the right people to deploy the tool and create a strategic planning process, after which the process of choosing the right consultants should be carried out. The right consultants are the people who feed with the fact that the deployment processes carried out are done for life long. It is not possible to stop anything midway.

I rate the tool a ten out of ten.