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.

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.

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 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.

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 use the solution in my company to pay for procurement, finance, and asset management, and we use all its modules across the board for everything.

I think the tool is very good for large organizations, and to handle large volumes of data that is used while being user-friendly. The documentation and storage procedures and other things are clearly defined for end users.

There is a need to improve the migration process.

I think that clearer guidelines on implementation for faster data migration need to be improved a little bit, as transforming the legacies to SAP S/4HANA is complex. When there are business requirements, the business needs to work closely and understand that data migration and cutover activities need to be improved to meet the production goal.

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

Sometimes we have issues with the performance and other things, especially when you don't do proper testing and other things, or when you basically miss some of the cutover guidelines or steps in implementation and deployment, but we get good support from SAP.

It is a scalable solution.

I think if you go for public cloud, the solution's technical support is not great and I would rate it as a five out of ten. If you have a private cloud, I would rate the solution's technical support as a seven or eight out of ten.

Neutral

The product's initial setup phase's complexity or easiness is something that depends on many factors. If you have a very good SI and, you don't need to look at the setup process. With ClamSAP and SAP Cloud ALM, things are a lot easier now. Compared to old days when we used to use SAP Solution Manager 7.2, things have become a lot easier now with SAP S/4HANA and every year it is being improved.

Deployment is like a thorough cutover activity that needs to be studied. Data migration, configuration, code, and everything need to be cross-checked or double-checked, and some kind of production verification or technical verification needs to be done at every stage before moving to the next one, making it fairly complex and there are a lot of people involved in it. The aforementioned areas can be considered as the downsides of the tool when compared to Salesforce and other applications. SAP S/4HANA handles large volumes of data when compared to other applications.

The solution is deployed on private cloud, public cloud, and on-premises.

With ClamSAP and fast-track implementation guides, you can implement the tool in three months.

The tool's ROI is pretty good, but it takes a long time to see any returns on the investment. SAP systems are implemented to last, like, maybe twenty, thirty years. The ROI will come back, but you won't see any benefits in the near future after its purchase. It is a long-term solution that you implement and move forward for twenty or thirty years, and I think the return on investment is good. If you're going into SAP S/4HANA, it is not like there is a need to bring in the whole suite for your whole business and more on to SAP S/4HANA. The ROI is good.

It is an expensive solution. The tool's price can be reasonable for large organizations, but it might not be suitable for small organizations with a small number of users.

In supply chain management, my company looks into MRP, forecasting, stock forecasting, and everything, and then the management, specifically invoice management, for processing payments.

In the finance and accounting aspect, the tool does end-to-end accounting, budget planning, and forecasting. The tool also does postings, Cl. balance, reconciliation, and all that sort of stuff.

The tool has improved the efficiency of the business processes, and I think it provides the best in-built practices as a solution, readily available, and it can be easily customized to suit your business. Everything, like the end-to-end processes, are all predefined, and the best practice for the solution is available in the product during the setup, which is really useful.

With the tool, you have real-time data and time reports. It is not like it was in the past when it was in-memory, as it used to take longer to generate the reports. Now, it provides reports in real-time, so it is really good.

Real-time insights have impacted the decision-making processes since, I think, we will know when customer orders are coming in, and we can see the demand go up pretty quickly. In real-time, the management can make decisions about reordering, manufacturing, and production planning, which is a lot on a dashboard where it is tightly integrated and helpful in many areas.

For the migration process, there is a learning curve. The end users may have to be trained. The migration process has a lot of paperwork and manual activity that has become redundant, which is good and bad since the learning curve is now a bit high. People who are near to the system need to be trained, which is a bit of a downside, but in the long run, it is okay.

I suggest the tool to large organizations, complex businesses, multiple companies, or entities with hundreds and thousands of users and employees, as it would be good in such environments. In small organizations, I wouldn't suggest SAP S/4HANA.

As maintaining and changing the tool is very costly, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.