SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management
Use Fiori in comparison to t-codes
SAP has introduced new user experience for its softwares and applications, called SAP Fiori. Fiori is an Italian word and means flowers, therefore, SAP Fiori homepage always shows pictures of flowers. It gives out multiple applications which are part of regular business operations such as approvals, financials, calculations and other self-service applications. It is designed to cater to more than three hundred applications for various roles which include but are not limited to Human Resources, Manufacturing, Finance and supply chain. SAP Fiori caters to all business processes on a real time basis on all the devices compatible with this interface. It boasts of easy to use functionality, along with quick responsiveness which is unmatched across all platforms such as desktops, tablets and smart phones. It also enables users to follow up on multiple devices, which means, any process can be started on a desktop and carried on in a smart phone or in a tablet. Fiori Apps developed by SAP are based on UI5.
The combination of SAP Fiori with the power of platform SAP HANA, results in an unparalleled application response time and query-execution time. This makes SAP Fiori one of the best user experience (UX) which can be personalized the purpose of various role-based user experience for enterprise-wide engagement needed across multiple lines of business (Fiori, nd).
On the other hand, a t-code (transaction code) is a set of letters or numbers or both and is used on as a command at the top of any SAP graphic user interface screen to access various functions. Every function in the ERP module of SAP has a unique SAP t-code attached to it. These codes act as a short cut to access programs that are running or functions more rapidly. The advantage it brings is that by using t-codes, both navigation as well as execution is combined in a single step (in a similar way as shortcuts work in Windows OS). These codes therefore bypass the step which needs opening SAP menu, and is more preferred since it saves time. Navigating through the menus is a time consuming process and when multiple functions need to be accessed, going through the menu again and again can waste a lot of time. This makes the transaction codes more useful and likeable by the users (NA, 2014).
For example FD01 is the simple transaction code to access master records. SAP menu path could be: SAP Menu>Accounting>Financial Accounting>Accounts Receivable> Master record>FD01
As we can see, some of the examples of transaction codes include FB60 Accounts Payable Invoice Entry, MB21 – Create Reservation, MB22 – Change Reservation, and MB23 – Display Reservation
Changes in S4 (Simple Finance) that is different to SAP FICO ECC version
SAP FICO is the module which is used for Financial Accounting and Controlling (hence the name FICO). It is an important module in the ERP framework from SAP and works on the ECC model. It is used for external reporting such including financial statements such as balance sheet, profit and loss etc. For the control part, it integrates with other modules such as material management (MM), production planning (PP) and sales and distribution (SD). SAP S4 HANA, on the other hand, exists on S/4 HANA cloud, and comes with a mandatory Fiori interface. SAP Simple Finance was the initially rewritten as a module for Business suite to adapt to the SAP’s new superfast in-memory HANA database. This has new GL features with different type of extension ledgers and other comprehensive Management Accounting solutions.
The primary difference between the two is that SAP S/4HANA functionality is only compatible with HANA database, however, SAP ECC compatibility spans across Oracle, IBM DB2 etc. Since HANA is an in-memory database, it can be read faster as compared to traditional databases which take time in reading data from the hard disk.
A primary feature that has made SAP S/4HANA unique is the introduction of Universal Journal. This feature combines all the data structures from various components which include FI, CO, AA, ML and CO-PA. These are constructed as a single line item table called ACDOCA. The main advantage of this is that it removes the need to aggregate and index multiple tables, making it simpler. The data will now be fed into a single table in place of various tables which can reduce data redundancy very significantly and also create more efficient data processes. Because of this, GL accounts in SAP ECC FI were mapped to CO primary cost elements, are now using one field in the universal journal to save both GL accounts as well as the cost elements. This new system eliminates the need for reconciliation (required from CO to FI earlier) (P, 2020).
There are other additions in SAP S/4HANA core, for instance, the SAP extended warehouse management and SAP transportation management, which earlier existed as standalone solutions offered by SAP.
In addition to this, the new line item for inventory management, the MATDOC, has made 26+ tables redundant. MATDOC is now used to store material documents rather than MKPF or MSEG tables. The change here is that there is an optional feature to extend the characters in material number; it can have 40 characters in SAP S/4HANA as compared to 18 characters in SAP ECC.
Another new feature is the SAP S/4HANA credit management system which is called FSCM-CR. It supports the credit management function of financial supply chain management. It comes as a replacement of FI-AR-CR by SAP ECC. The former is built on a setup of distributed architecture, which makes it interface connected with the external credit rating agencies. In the SAP ECC’s module, there were many credit controls setting which required significant manual effort. In the SAP S/4 HANA version, there are automated features for credit limit calculations, risk score calculations, updating master data as credit limit is approved, credit events workflow. This makes the SAP S/4HANA tool more efficient and handy for users.
The foreign trade functionality present in SAP ECC is replaced by GTS (Global trade services) in SAP S/4HANA. This also has many automated features which were done manually in SAP ECC. These include and automated embargo check, license check and declaration (import/export) checks.
SAP S/4HANA as also updated its revenue function into Revenue Accounting and Reporting (RAR) from previous SD Revenue Recognition in SAP ECC. These are in line with the new accounting standards released by FASB and IASB. It has taken into account the changes in IFRS 15 and also meets the requirements for cost recognition and parallel accounting. Finally, the customer rebates are settled as Condition Contracts in SAP S/4HANA, upgrading the previous system in SAP ECC which used SD rebate processing (A, 2019).
With all these updates, the business world has welcomed the new SAP package as it has made business processes execution more efficient and productive.
References
SAP Fiori – Introduction – Tutorialspoint. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2020, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sap_fiori/sap_fiori_introduction.htm#:%7E:text=SAP%20Fiori%20is%20a%20new,and%20various%20self%2Dservice%20apps.https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sap_fiori/sap_fiori_introduction.htm#:%7E:text=SAP%20Fiori%20is%20a%20new,and%20various%20self%2Dservice%20apps.
P. (2020, April 30). Difference Between SAP FICO and S4 HANA Finance. Retrieved June 4, 2020, from https://skillstek.com/difference-between-sap-fico-and-s4-hana/#sapfico
A. (2019, August 9). What is the difference between SAP S/4HANA and SAP ECC ERP? (SAP S/4HANA vs SAP ECC). Retrieved June 4, 2020, from http://www.kaartech.com/blog/2018/08/10/sap-s4hana-sap-ecc-erp-differences/
What is Transaction Code (T Code) in SAP. (2014, April 3). Retrieved June 4, 2020, from https://www.saponlinetutorials.com/what-is-transaction-code-t-code-in-sap/
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