What is SAP (Systems Applications Products)?
The
following articles guide you on everything about SAP ERP Systems. The
first question which arises in our mind is “what
is SAP” ? and what is SAP ERP software?,
which is the best SAP module, and which module has the
best scope for a bright future ??
What does SAP stand for – SAP stands
for Systems, Applications, and Products in the data processing.
·
SAP is the fourth largest software company in the world –
www.sap.com
·
The SAP R/3 system is a business software package
designed to integrate all areas of a business.
·
It provides end-to-end solutions for financials, manufacturing,
logistics, distribution, etc.
·
All business processes are executed in one SAP system and
share common information with everyone.
SAP is
an Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) system by SAP AG, a company based out of Walldorf in
Germany. AG is derived from the German word Aktiengesellschaft. According to
German Language SAP Stands for Systeme, Anwendungen und Produkte in Der
Datenverarbeitung. An SAP software suite that is being
implemented as part of re-engineering and Provides end-to-end solutions for financial, logistics, distribution, and
inventories. Present scenario large number of companies are using sap
software for their day-to-day business activities.
After
the hugely successful R/3, SAP created more and more
niche software like Customer Relationship Management (CRM), SRM, and XI (now
called Process Integration or PI) and once again lived up to the standards of
SAP by maintaining tight integration with their core ECC software.
The newest version of the suite is SAP ECC 6.0.
SAP
History
SAP
Founded in and around 1972 by five IBM engineers Hopp, Wellenreuther, Hector,
Tschira and Plattner.
SAP
R/1:– The first version of SAP software was launched in and around
1972 known as the “R/1 system. R” stands for real-time data processing. it is
one tier architecture in which three layers Presentation, Application, and
Database are installed in one system/server
(One
– Presentation + Application + Database)
SAP
R/2:– In 1979 second version of SAP R/2 was released. with IBM’s
database and a dialogue-oriented business application. SAP R/2 to handle
different languages and currencies. R/2 is 2 tier architecture in which three
layers of Presentation, Application, and Database are installed in two separate
servers.
(Server
one – Presentation, Server two – Application + Database
SAP
R/3:– SAP upgraded R/2 to R/3. SAP R/3 is the client/server
version of the software and it is 3 tier architecture in which three layers of
Presentation, Application, and database are installed in three servers/systems.
Server
one – Presentation, Server Two – Application, server Three – Database
SAP S/4Hana –
In the year 2010, a new version of SAP Hana has
been released. SAP Hana (High-Performance Analytic Application) is a memory
computing database. The latest version of Hana is SAP S4 Hana 2021.
Products
of SAP
·
SAP R/3 and R/3 Enterprise
·
My SAP Business Suite
·
SAP ERP
·
SAP Industry Solutions
·
SAP X Apps
·
SAP Solution Manager
Industry
Solutions of SAP
SAP
R/3 – Modules & Integration
SAP
Functional Modules
·
FICO – Finance & Control
·
PP – Production Planning
·
MM – Material Management
·
SD – Sales & Distribution
·
WM – Warehouse Management
·
QM – Quality Management
·
HR – Human Resources
·
CRM –
Customer Relationship Management
SAP
Technical Modules
·
ABAP – Advanced business applications programming
·
XI – Exchange Infrastructure
·
Net viewer
·
Basis
·
BIW – Business Information Warehousing
What
is SAP FICO?
SAP
FICO Stands for FI (Financial Accounting) and CO (Controlling). SAP FICO is the
imp module of ERP and both Finance and Controlling modules stores the financial
transactions data. The ‘FI (Financial Accounting)’ records,
collects and processes financial transactions or information on a real-time
basis to provide the necessary inputs for external (statutory) reporting
purposes. SAP CO plays an important role in the management decision-making
purpose and for the internal reporting purpose. Read More for SAP FICO
FICO
contains the following sub-modules.
|
FI |
CO |
|
General Ledger accounting |
Cost Element Accounting |
|
Accounts Receivables |
Cost Center Accounting |
|
Accounts Payable |
Profit Center Accounting |
|
Asset Accounting |
Internal Orders |
|
Bank Accounting |
Product Cost Controlling |
|
Consolidation |
Profitability Analysis |
|
Special Purpose Ledger |
|
|
Travel Management |
SAP
MM (Material Management) is one of the imp modules in SAP ERP software and
it supports the procurement and inventory functions occurring in day-to-day
business operations. This MM module contains many aspects such as purchasing,
goods receiving, material storage, consumption-based planning, and inventory.
SAP MM module is fully integrated with other modules in the SAP R/3 System such
as FICO, SD, QM, PM, PP, and WM. Read More for SAP MM
SAP PP
The
Production Planning application module is used to plan and control the
manufacturing activities of a company. consists of all system configuration,
master data, and complete solutions to the Produce process. Read more for SAP PP Training
SAP SD ?
SAP
SD ( Sales and Distribution ) is an important module of SAP and
it is a part of logistics. The main activities of SD are sales order handling,
distribution of shipments to customers, the billing process, customer invoice,
and delivery. SD module is fully integrated with other modules in the SAP R/3
System such as Finance, Purchasing(MM), and Production Planning(PP). Read More for SAP SD
What
is SAP HR?
SAP
Human Resources manages the complete employee life cycle and payroll. All
aspects are covered from training to appraisal. Read more for SAP Human Capital management
Advantages
of SAP:-
·
SAP software manages these business
management tasks in modules that all work together in one system by sharing
information.
·
Promoting consistent practice across an entire division
·
No duplicate data
·
Automate Project Monitoring and Multidimensional and flexible
reporting
·
Standardization of business processes
·
Make Planning, Scheduling, Tracking, and Management easier leaving
more time for you to perform value-added work
·
Ability to provide clear-cut job roles with authorizations
·
Enabling integration with e-commerce
·
Cost Savings on overheads such as Stationery, File Storage, etc.
Why
– SAP R/3 software has been successful
·
Multi-Lingual
·
Secure Information
·
Multi-Currency
·
Best Business Practice
·
Enterprise-Wide
·
Real-time processing with an integrated suite of client/server
applications
SAP R/3 Architecture
SAP Systems contains three layers such as Presentation Layer,
Application Layer, and Database Layer.
·
Presentation: – It
is a layer where the user works with SAP GUI. It interacts with the database
layer via the Application layer.
·
Application: – It
interacts between the presentation and database layer
·
Database: – It is a central
database that stores all the data of ERP SAP Systems.
SAP System Landscape
Every SAP Implementation project goes through deployment phases.
The SAP system landscape included the following environments
1. Development
System
2. Test
and Quality Assurance System
3. Production
System
SAP Business Suites
SAP offers various applications along with the ERP SAP to meet
customer requirement. The important applications of SAP are as follows.
·
SAP Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM)
·
SAP Customer Relationship Management
(SAP CRM)
·
SAP Product Life Cycle Management (SAP PLM)
·
SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM)
·
SAP Advanced Planning and
Optimization (SAP APO)
Phases
of SAP Implementation project
The following are the phases of the SAP ECC implementation
project.
·
Phase 1 – Project Preparation,
·
Phase 2 – Business Blueprint,
·
Phase 3 – Realization,
·
Phase 4 – Final Preparation,
·
Phase 5 – Go Live and support
In S/4HANA, the implementation of projects can be called an
Activate Methodology.
Activate New
General Ledger Accounting in SAP
The activation of new general
ledger (G/L) accounting in the SAP ERP SAP system enables the activation of new
general ledger accounting functionality in SAP system.
New General Ledger Accounting in SAP – Scenarios
·
When you activate the new G/L accounting, it replaces financial
accounting with Financial Accounting (New).
·
If you are already using classic financial accounting, you need
to migrate all production data before the activation of new general ledger
accounting in SAP system.
·
After activation of the new G/L, all the classic general ledger
table details will be automatically updated to new general ledger accounting
tables.
How to
activate new general ledger accounting in SAP
You can activate new G/L
accounting in SAP by using one of the following navigation methods
·
Transaction code: FAGL Activation
·
Menu Path: SAP
IMG -> Financial Accounting -> Financial Accounting global settings ->
Activate new general ledger accounting.
Step 1: Enter the sap transaction code
“FAGL_Activation” in the SAP command field and press enter.
Step 2: Now on the change view activation of new
general ledger accounting screen, choose the checkbox of (New General Ledger
Accounting is Active). By checking this field enables to activate the new
general ledger accounting in ERP SAP system.
Click on save button and save the
configured details in SAP system.
On display SAP IMG screen, the
options Financial Accounting (New), General ledger accounting {New} will
be enabled as shown below image.
