SAP S/4HANA Reviews

SAP S/4HANA is the predominant solution from SAP, replacing the earlier SAP ECC. It's widely used for overall enterprise resource planning, including running banking operations and other enterprise functions.

My client's organization uses SAP S/4HANA for real-time analytics and decision-making by leveraging embedded analytics that are part of S/4HANA. Some organizations integrate specialized BW layers or their own data house layers for analytics, using SCC or BI for visualization. Others extract data from SAP S/4HANA to other hyperscalers or providers to create visualizations.

SAP S/4HANA supports my client's business processes in finance, procurement, and supply chain management through end-to-end management. This is often done with other IT specialists or independently for smaller customers using SAP S/4HANA.

SAP S/4HANA has been an excellent integrated solution for my clients, technically much easier to manage than the ECC solution. The embedded AI layer helps adopt intelligent AI directly within business scenarios, which has been very beneficial. These features enhance operations and efficiency for my clients.

Extensions to SAP S/4HANA have room for improvement, especially in integration with low-code/no-code platforms. Creating these extensions through Fiori transactions is more tedious than customers would like. Although the SAP build process has become more linear, further improvements could provide a huge benefit.

I have been using SAP S/4HANA since 2013.

It's a very stable system overall, but with new attacks targeting customers' SAP landscapes, the latest patches and versions must be applied. I would rate the stability an eight. 

The scalability of SAP S/4HANA is high, around nine. Typically, my clients are medium or enterprise businesses.

They are not excellent, but they are not bad either.

Positive

I would rate the initial setup of SAP S/4HANA as one because it is challenging. Implementing SAP S/4HANA involves integrating an organisation's processes, including different departments, geographical locations, and compliance requirements. Given the scale of these businesses, such as operations in multiple countries, it's complex and not meant to be simple.The physical deployment of SAP S/4HANA is not a challenge.

The deployment itself might happen within a day or even a few hours, given the accessible hardware. The time-consuming part is identifying the needed components, areas, services, and software. The actual deployment process is simple, but adjusting the software to meet your needs is complex. It's not the physical deployment of the application that is the problem.

SAP S/4HANA is usually deployed on the cloud through its own SAP
mechanism. This allows for deployment on both public and private cloud options.

Regarding pricing, I don't regularly deal with the financial aspects, but it is not a cheap solution.

When migrating to SAP S/4HANA, productivity initially dipped as organizations adjusted to the previous system. This is due to the need for change management and adapting to the new software. However, once the transition is complete, productivity significantly improves due to faster response times, a more mobile-centric approach, and better data handling. Overall, SAP S/4HANA helps users perform their tasks more efficiently.

SAP S/4HANA might not be able to address all business challenges directly, but other products can be integrated to fill these gaps. For example, difficulties like sustainability or energy rating do not have a direct solution within SAP S/4HANA. Similarly, areas like contact centre or customer call centre management are not directly part of SAP S/4HANA, but partner solutions are available to address these needs. 

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

Most of our customers have their applications hosted on SAP. Therefore, they have stored the data on SAP S/4HANA database.

SAP S/4HANA is the preferred database because of its scalability, faster accessibility, compatibility, and other well-suited features for large data sets.

The product’s pricing could be improved. It needs a high CPU and memory to analyze and compute that data. Thus, it should be natively supported from the cloud platform. We should get the bundled image so installation and configurations are not done manually. All those should come as a bundle learning package. A virtual machine could exist to make everything available on a single deployment. That will save some time for any project timelines.

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

The product is stable.

SAP S/4HANA is scalable. We have enterprise-level clients.

The initial setup is fine since we have good documentation for reference. The deployment requires four hours to complete.

The product is not that cheap, not that expensive. It is costly in computing because these VMs have a huge CPU and utilization. We have a monthly billing, and there are extra costs for the license.

As for the interface, it always depends on the individual. However, there are some recommendations. Ultimately, it is up to the developer to decide how to implement the interface in the back end.

SAP S/4HANA is a good product, but anyone who plans to use it for their application should have the core skills required. It is not something that ordinary people can do, as it requires some expertise. When hosting it on the cloud, such as Azure, Amazon, or Google, it is important to take care of security policies, government regulations, and disaster recovery strategies. You need to plan your design and architecture accordingly.

Overall, I rate it a nine out of ten.

I have implemented many different versions of SAP S/4HANA (since 1511) with the latest version being S/4HANA 2021

Led Transformation Projects covering core processes such as P2P, O2C, R2R, A2R, D2O,H2R, etc.

SAP S4HANA could improve by having a more seamless easier integration, faster integration. The overall implementation timelines can be reduced by leveraging Agile methodology

I have been implementing SAP S4HANA for more than a decade now

SAP S4HANA is stable.

S/4HANA offers one of the best scalability options. It is one of the largest ERP solution globally supporting all Industry verticals.

The technical support could be improved.

Positive

None of the large-scale implementations of SAP S4HANA are straightforward. The ecosystem can be made a little better, to drive faster and simpler implementations, and reduce complexity.

I have been a consultant and an integrator, and I have hired and onboarded consultants and integrators. The number of consultants that are needed depends on the project, size, and scope of the project. It could be anywhere as low as seven or eight consultants and the number can increase to as much as 25.

The licensing models for On-Prem as well as Public Cloud versions are based on no. of users charged Annually. Apart from the Licence cost there is a component of approx 20% Annual Maintenance Costs.

Apart from Licensing costs there is a cost of implementation and associated hardware (in case of On Prem)

I rate SAP S4HANA an eight out of ten.

We use the solution to import master data. We use classic resolution to collect local US company material masters and align HQ material masters' numbers. We import FI/CO/MM/PP/SD IMG and opening posting accounts and stock. 

We use it to import transactional data. We collect purchase orders and sales orders into S4H 

We also use it to import security. We collect user roles and permission objects.

We provide training requirements for logistic modules for sales orders to intercompany purchase orders and make production orders for goods issued and goods received. Finally, we run production order confirmations for cost variants. 

We removed gaps for MRP planning, forecast data, and PIR purchase orders. We integrated overall sales commission collections and sales profits management. 

It's helped with business aspects and improved material planning and RMA processes.

It's helped with service aspects and improved customer service and spare parts management.

It's good for HQ FICO aspects. We consolidated P/L statements, cash flows, and income statements.

For supply chain aspects, we integrated the last puzzle piece for material control.

We found the solution integrated with HQ and local material number for batch orders to split several partial orders. 

For customer service and RMA views, material alignment or aggregate is evolving. The US can assign sales forecasts to distribute Asia-built finished parts. This business model can accumulate mass stocks for replacing parts and labor maintenance services. If sales order to shipment can align with the ERP platform, the materials to order can support visibility across Asia/the US/the EU. The integration not only speeds up order processes but also controls solid stocks and costs.

During parallel preparation of go-live processes, SAP B1 and S4H transactional data alignment can be difficult to track. The approach is to have the same sales order amount and quantity to compare the correctness so both sides are matched, according to FI concerns. For project purposes, we need to figure out if there is any solution or approach when considering data migration for sales orders and purchase order imports. Any resolution for an add-on program to validate reports can be useful. 

I spent six months in a S4H project implementation, including SAP business - one migrated into an S4H 1809.

We did not previously use a different solution.

We did not evaluate other options. 

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.

We use it for the internal SAP database, for the information, multiple portfolios of products of SAP. It addresses the issue of managing extensive data resources.

Its analytics capabilities are valuable as they enhance data analysis and insights.

It could be improved by focusing on user-related challenges, as end users might face certain difficulties.

I worked with SAP S4HANA for two years.

The stability can be rated as eight out of ten.

The scalability is also rated at eight out of ten, indicating good scalability.

The quality of technical support from SAP can be rated as eight out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup was difficult, presenting challenges for users.

The implementation was handled by a third party, and we did not perform it in-house.

We have observed a good return on investment, with calculations based on a five-year ROI plan. Most cases have shown positive returns.

The pricing of SAP S4HANA is high, however, it's higher compared to similar peer solutions.

I would recommend SAP S4HANA because it is a known solution that is stable and widely used by customers, thus making it reliable.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

We've integrated SAP S/4HANA into our implementation projects for customers, not internally. We use SAP S/4HANA for real-time analytics and decision-making. 

It helps us provide customers with better visibility, forecasting, and smart data for decision-making. This streamlines our business processes, enhancing operational efficiency, saving costs, and providing a 360-degree view of our business processes.

We leverage the finance and add-on modules of SAP S/4HANA, including Alibaba integration, CRM integration, and production planning. These features are highly configurable and provide excellent visibility into our systems. While I appreciate the introduction of in-memory computing as a feature, I haven't had the opportunity to delve deep into this feature. 

It would be beneficial if the pricing structure could be made more flexible and adaptable to suit the needs of different organizations. Besides this, the scalability also needs improvement.

I believe support could be improved by providing more specific and detailed answers rather than generic responses.

I have been using SAP S/4HANA for the past six years. 

It is stable.

The scalability could be made easier. While it's theoretically scalable, there are practical challenges and complexities that could be addressed for better flexibility and scalability.

The technical support needs to improve. 

Neutral

The installation is not very simple, rather complex and dependent on the systems. The maintenance can be challenging due to frequent product changes and a lack of subject matter experts for quality support. It's essential to have a strategic approach to understand product changes before implementing them to ensure stability.

SAP S/4HANA has its pros and cons like any other product. It offers a lot of features, particularly the robust finance module and supply chain capabilities. However, there are areas like HR processes that could use improvement. Overall, it's a good product that competes well based on factors such as pricing, flexibility, scalability, and configuration options. I will rate it seven out of ten.

I am a lead in a consulting company, and we are working with Integration Suite for a couple of customers.

Many prebuilt scenarios are included. This provides the most value for our customers. When discussing SAP, if any customer decides to implement S/4HANA in our environment, some key advantages include the standardization of their processes, which is language-independent. There is a very wide range to bring processes forward with experienced consultants, and this aids in the return on investment.

We are consulting in Turkey, where there are a lot of regulations in finance that should be implemented in S/4HANA. SAP has packages in countries like Poland, Spain, and Italy for these regulations, such as e-invoicing. However, we are missing these standard packages here in Turkey. 

Every customer has to build their own solutions for regulatory needs, such as sending invoices to the authority. This should normally be included in S/4HANA.

I have been using the solution for approximately four to five years.

This solution is scalable, although challenging.

I have been in the market for more than 20 years, and I am happy with the support.

Positive

When we talk about Turkey, for example, here SAP is adopted by a significant majority—perhaps 80% to 85%. It is very popular in Turkey, including in the government sector. Trust is high with SAP. We also had an Oracle partnership for a couple of years, but there were noticeable issues when comparing it with SAP.

We are currently around 120 people, with approximately 100 working in the SAP area. Team members focus on various aspects such as house management, app or field recording, integration, and regulation topics like invoicing. All 100 work with SAP tools.

When discussing cloud solutions from SAP, like Integration Suite, There's a standard price for the first 10,000 messages. Beyond that, extra costs arise. The cloud strategy is a bit different, which we understand.

When it comes to Turkey, SAP is particularly trusted with usage by a large majority including the government. While we had an Oracle partnership for a couple of years, the absence of features was frustrating when compared to SAP.

In Turkey, circumstances differ compared to other places. Sometimes, licenses are 90% cheaper due to different contracts or customers like medical sectors having extensive product licenses with SAP. 

Overall product rating: ten out of ten.