Innovations and Supply Chain evolutions on S/4 HANA

SAP focusses on digital transformation

Most people still consider that “digital ecosystem” is the privilege of a few insiders: SAP has thrown away these outdated prejudices in the recent years, by refocusing its strategy on digital transformation. SAP offers are the concrete materialization of this ambition. With the S/4 HANA Digital Platform as a base, it is now possible to use  IoT, cloud via HANA Cloud Platform (HCP) or mobile applications.

VISEO and S/4 Hana

As a first mover, VISEO has declined its logistics and Supply Chain priorities along S/4 HANA and the connected world. By finding a strong echo amidst our customers we have implemented many innovative projects to assist them in the conversion of their system and economic landscape.

The HANA S/4 innovations concerning Logistics & Supply Chain are organized around the following triptych:

- The first one responds to the desire to reinstall the peripheral functions like APO in the heart of the solution SAP S / 4 HANA.

- The second tends to focus on the core of the solution by redesigning functions and look & feel, from a logic of design thinking.

- The third allows the opening on the connected world.

S/4 Hana highlights planning functions 

The advanced scheduling functions were only reserved for APO, which is a dedicated machine that is connected to the SAP back-end. S/4 HANA has integrated some of the APO functions into the core of the system, avoiding the costs of setting up and monitoring a third-party system, while adding value to the SAP base.

An example is the capacity-to-promise which means the ability to determine a delivery date, not only based on actual or future inventory quantities but also considering the production capacities related to production orders. These functions are linked to other APO functions such as AATP (Advanced ATP), allowing the use of a global inventory-oriented stock with the addition of improved product allocation.

EWM (Extended Warehouse Management) is also natively reintegrated in S/4 HANA and no longer works in stand alone. It replaces WM (Warehouse Management) and allows optimized management of the warehouse through the management of resources, tasks, vehicles, spatial organization and steering. It also allows a better approach to cross-docking and customization of shipments operations such as kitting.

A logistics solution focused on UX 

The whole core of the logistic solution has been redesigned, using user experience as a backbone, by simplifying screens with UX web technology (Fiori type) and redesigning the function and look and feel of the MRP. It also highlights the function of the user, by organizing a work space dedicated to the screen that is specific to its function. Decision-making is also facilitated via decision-making cockpits. From the MRP graphic cockpit it is possible to start and record the MRP simulation that is to be carried on an article, then ask the supplier to confirm the feasibility of this new supply plan, in order to reinforce the simulation. There are also more reporting possibilities with the native integration of datamining cubes -dedicated to sales orders, invoices, stocks… without any resort to Business Intelligence.

In addition to switching to the Business Partner concept instead of the customer / supplier, S/4 HANA offers new management possibilities with Settlement Management.  It allows the management of financial charges and offsets between several entities or third parties. This opens wide possibilities for Agency business, financial compensation with third parties, the management of commissions in the world of retail, or management of discounts - a function whose solution has been completely redesigned through the Settlement Management.

Opening to IoT

The third part enables a meaningful opening to the connected world by using UX technology. It allows us to manage connected & disconnected purchase applications. Buyers can enter a purchase order in a showroom directly into the application, and create new purchase orders & items online or offline. Other applications can be used to manage / replace radiofrequency in a warehouse via mobile devices.

S/4 HANA  allows as well to efficiently manage the connection to SAP ARIBA supplier’s platforms, but also to integrate online supplier baskets from a supplier catalog (Punch out). Openness to the connected world is also fulfilled via the internet of objects linked to the cloud. For example, you can produce sensors for the maintenance of production tools. Once installed and when the tolerance threshold is exceeded, they can be used to initiate maintenance or replenishment orders for components directly in SAP.

The innovations provided by S/4 HANA at the Supply Chain level, throughout these different axis of development, are mapping the right digitization turn, but also open up new management possibilities to the different actors of economic life. SAP intends to take advantage of this wave of innovation. It enhances the functionality of the HANA S/4 Digital Platform by re-integrating, in an upcoming release, into the core of the TM (Transport Management) solution, as it was done for EWM. SAP does not stop there and offers the development of industry solutions on S/4 HANA.