ERPfixers Blog Series
ERPfixers
The Impact of AI on SAP Analytics: Enhancing ...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping how businesses operate and gain insights from their data. Within the world of SAP analytics, AI is a toolbox of technologies that enable faster, smarter, and more predictive decision-making. From streamlining operations to personalizing customer experiences, SAP Business AI unlocks the hidden potential within your organization's vast data stores.

In this blog post, we'll dive into how AI is integrated throughout SAP's analytics suite, providing practical guidance on how you can leverage these tools to drive better business outcomes.

The Impact of AI on SAP Analytics: Enhancing Insights and Decision-Making in SAP Analytics
Webcast
ERPfixers
The Top Trends in Management Accounting

Dawn Watts is an experienced SAP consultant and founder of Guided Tech Solutions: An SAP consulting company specializing in SAP Finance & Controlling. Dawn has led SAP project implementations and support teams in Finance & Controlling for 2 decades. She has experience working with financial, customer service, and manufacturing teams in the telecommunications, medical devices, flooring, industrial, life sciences, and energy industries.

ERPfixers Blog Series
Dr. Ravi Surya
Scoping Your SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud Solution

The Digital Discovery Assessment (DDA) is used in the sales cycle to assess a customer's requirements and match them with the best SAP S/4HANA Cloud solution to fit their needs. This occurs in the Discover phase of the SAP Activate Methodology.

Scoping Your SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud Solution
ERPfixers Blog Series
Dr. Ravi Surya
Conducting Fit-to-Standard Workshop with Cloud ...

To make an SAP S/4HANA Cloud implementation successful, we need to move away from the traditional "Fit-Gap" on-premise mindset to the Fit-to-Standard Cloud mindset. The purpose of the Fit-to-Standard Analysis workshops is to confirm the scope identified in the Digital Discovery Assessment and gather configuration and customization requirements. To do this, implementation consultants demonstrate the SAP S/4HANA Cloud business processes to customer experts from each line of business.

Conducting Fit-to-Standard Workshop with Cloud Mindset – Mindset Shift to Cloud
Webcast
ERPfixers
Material Ledger Actual Costing in SAP S/4 HANA ...

Dawn Watts is an experienced SAP consultant and founder of Guided Tech Solutions: An SAP consulting company specializing in SAP Finance & Controlling. Dawn has led SAP project implementations and support teams in Finance & Controlling for 2 decades. She has experience working with financial, customer service, and manufacturing teams in the telecommunications, medical devices, flooring, industrial, life sciences, and energy industries.

ERPfixers Blog Series

The Impact of AI on SAP Analytics: Enhancing Insights and Decision-Making in SAP Analytics

The Impact of AI on SAP Analytics: Enhancing Insights and Decision-Making in SAP Analytics

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping how businesses operate and gain insights from their data. Within the world of SAP analytics, AI is a toolbox of technologies that enable faster, smarter, and more predictive decision-making. From streamlining operations to personalizing customer experiences, SAP Business AI unlocks the hidden potential within your organization's vast data stores.

In this blog post, we'll dive into how AI is integrated throughout SAP's analytics suite, providing practical guidance on how you can leverage these tools to drive better business outcomes.

Conducting Fit-to-Standard Workshop with Cloud Mindset – Mindset Shift to Cloud

Conducting Fit-to-Standard Workshop with Cloud Mindset – Mindset Shift to Cloud

To make an SAP S/4HANA Cloud implementation successful, we need to move away from the traditional "Fit-Gap" on-premise mindset to the Fit-to-Standard Cloud mindset. The purpose of the Fit-to-Standard Analysis workshops is to confirm the scope identified in the Digital Discovery Assessment and gather configuration and customization requirements. To do this, implementation consultants demonstrate the SAP S/4HANA Cloud business processes to customer experts from each line of business.

Configure SAP Public Cloud with Central Business Configuration

Configure SAP Public Cloud with Central Business Configuration

SAP Central Business Configuration (SAP CBC) is a new tool that is used to configure a business process spanning different SAP cloud solutions from one central place. SAP CBC allows you to manage your configurations for SAP cloud implementations and ongoing operations centrally through Project Experience. We  can initiate change anytime to make additions to your scope and organizational structure or make changes to existing  configuration settings. 

The Future OF SAP BOBJ

The Future OF SAP BOBJ

In a recent survey conducted by APOS, a prominent SAP partner, 80% of BusinessObjects (BOBJ) customers participating in a BOBJ regroup webinar indicated that they were in the process of migrating from their current BOBJ version or at least had migration plans within the next few months.

From trending YouTube videos discussing the future of SAP BOBJ developers to SAP's latest Business Intelligence (BI) statement of direction released in April, it's only natural to have concerns about the current state of SAP BOBJ.

SAP ECC Classic GL to SAP S/4HANA – Direct Conversion Without Requiring a New GL Migration First

SAP ECC Classic GL to SAP S/4HANA – Direct Conversion Without Requiring a New GL Migration First

The new General Ledger on SAP S/4HANA or ECC has certain advantages over Class GL. Examples: usage of parallel ledgers, Document splitting, Profit Center Financial statements, Segment' reporting that is required for segment reporting according to IAS and U.S. GAAP, etc. In addition, Customers can enhance the new General Ledger flexibly, that is, they can enter user-defined fields and update the relevant totals. Many standard reports can evaluate the information from the user-defined fields. Customers can use the 'Document Splitting' functionality to create financial statements at the company code level and, if required, for entities, such as the segment. As a result, we no longer have to carry out time-consuming reconciliation tasks between FI and CO for the end of the period since cross-entity processes are transferred in real-time to the new General Ledger in Controlling.

Starting from 1709, In new installations of SAP S/4HANA, the new General Ledger Accounting is activated by default. The existing ECC customers moving from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA will also get new GL automatically. As a result, ECC customers will also move to New GL on SAP S/4HANA Conversion. However, they cannot implement document splitting or a further accounting principle/ledger during the conversion project. The architecture of the accounting module in SAP S/4HANA from the 1709 version is based on the concept of the former "New GL". The concept of the Subsequent Implementation of Document Splitting in SAP S/4HANA differs from the Migration Scenario 6 of the "New GL".

How to Find the Best SAP Resources Online: A Beginner's Guide

How to Find the Best SAP Resources Online: A Beginner's Guide

If you are new to SAP, you might feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available online. How do you know which sites are reliable, up-to-date, and relevant to your needs? As an SAP Consultant myself, this is one issue, I myself have been plagued with. After years of skimming the web, I decided to compile a list of helpful sites I would recommend as go-to for SAP resources. Whether you are searching for tutorials, blogs, forums, podcasts, or courses, these sites will help you learn SAP faster and easier.

An Overview on Rise with SAP

An Overview on Rise with SAP

Customers moving to SAP S/4HANA come from different backgrounds and have different end goals.  RISE with SAP is designed to address unique customer scenarios. RISE is not a system upgrade, it's a redesigned method of working that allows customers to change not only once, but to continuously transform. Rise with SAP simplifies a customer's move to the cloud and helps throughout their business transformation journey. RISE with SAP delivers seamlessly with SAP partners, Hyperscaler partners, the Reseller community, and Software partners.  RISE with SAP is designed to help SAP customers.

10 Skills You Should Master as an SAP Consultant

In our last article, we defined SAP Consulting as the activities, processes, and tasks SAP consultants undertake to help SAP customers manage and optimize their business operations. While SAP consulting comes in various forms and flavors, a successful SAP consultant typically excels in certain aspects and qualities, irrespective of his or her domain. In this article, we will cover ten basic skills every SAP consultant needs to be successful and why.

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Basics of SAP for Young Professionals

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Written By: Ndz Anthony Business Intelligence Expert

SAP, commonly pronounced as 'sæp' or S-A-P (System, Application, and Products In Data Processing), is a software company that offers transformative enterprise management solutions to businesses around the globe. 

The SAP company is a leader in ERP technology and business solutions.

SAP ranks amongst the Fortune 500 as the third-largest publicly-traded company(by revenue) globally. 

One reason for these statistics is their top-tier customer base. SAP solutions are frequently expensive, closed source, and require professionals to implement.

Here at ERP Fixers, we know too well how challenging implementing SAP software can be, hence the need for trained SAP experts, typically known as SAP consultants in the SAP Ecosystem.

This article will discuss SAP Consulting, the types of SAP Consulting, how to become an SAP consultant, and finally, the prospects of SAP consulting.

What is SAP Consulting?

We can define SAP Consulting as the activities, processes, and tasks. SAP consultants undertake to help SAP customers manage and optimize their business operations.

Types of SAP Consulting

There are numerous SAP consultant types; as a matter of fact, there are as many SAP Consultants as SAP Products.

However, we can group sap consultants into two main categories, functional consultants and technical consultants.

Who is a Functional SAP Consultant? 

This category of SAP consultants works closely with the domain experts and developers to set up and enable the use of functional SAP modules deployed within user departments. 

The Key roles & Duties of a Functional SAP Consultant include:

  • Liaising with Heads of Departments during business process design and implementation phases.

  • Liaising extensively with heads of departments and "super users" to understand their SAP requirements and provide solutions to business needs. Enforcement of internal controls within SAP and other business systems.

  • Provide user manuals and training to users of enterprise systems.

  • Provide operational and periodic ad-hoc reports to administration to aid decision-making on SAP and SAP-related Systems.

Examples of functional SAP consultant roles are SAP MM Consultant, SAP PaPm Consultant, SAP HCM consultant, etc.

Technical Consultants:

These categories of SAP consultants are more tech-savvy and work closely with the functional consultants to implement, modify or enhance the existing SAP system.

Their Key roles & Responsibilities include:

  • Based on approval, work together with functional consultants to proactively implement new features, introduce new systems and modify existing business processes to improve efficiency.

  • Oversee and manage projects to modify, enhance, or implement new functionality on SAP and other related products.

  •  Support users on change control and management.

Examples of technical SAP consultant roles are SAP ABAP Developer, SAP BW Consultant, SAP Basis consultant, etc.

How to Become An SAP Consultant

We have found two significant routes to commence your career as an SAP Consultant.

1. The SAP YPP Program

The SAP Young Professional Program is an initiative by SAP Digital Skills Center created to bridge the digital gap existing in today's workforce.

The program is designed to:

  • Sieve top graduates and subsequently equip them with soft skills, accredited SAP certifications, and a sense of belonging within the SAP Community.

  • Set a stage for career growth within the SAP Ecosystem as potential SAP consultants.

  • Balance the demand for SAP consultants across the SAP Ecosystem.

If you are interested in an SAP career and a B.s.c in  Business Administration, Management Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, you should consider applying.

2. SAP Certification and Training

Suppose you already have some experience working with SAP, maybe as a superuser in your company. In that case, you might want to consider this path.

  • Pick your preferred SAP module.

  • Invest in the training course for that module

  • Write certification exam

  • Intern or Volunteer to join up with an SAP Consulting firm to gain experience.

With this route, your credibility and experience will be evident to potential employers. You stand a higher chance of being considered for SAP Consultant roles.

Prospects of SAP Consulting

SAP is an in-demand profession, and there are many possibilities within the sap consulting space.

In this section, I will outline a few prospects for sap consulting.

1. High Earnings

SAP software is to the ERP ecosystem what Apple products are to the tech-gadget industry. SAP software is relatively expensive and usually deployed by enterprises with high budgets and large-scale businesses. Hence, the reason for top-notch earnings in the industry. The compensation for SAP consultants ranks among the highest, with opportunities for job growth prospects, salary, quality of life, and other benefits. PayScale estimates an average SAP Consultant salary at $89,129k per year.

2. In-demand Profession

According to most recent articles and employment agencies, jobs in SAP consulting are high in demand. Due to the increased demand for technology solutions, they will continually rise.

3. Top-Tier Firm

According to Glassdoor, SAP ranks as the "best places to work in 2022". Due to its success as an international brand, SAP consultants are highly regarded and respected in the corporate world.

An Overview on SAP Analytics Cloud Planning

An Overview on SAP Analytics Cloud Planning

Companies might experience challenges in Planning as the economy has been transitioning towards Digitalization. Enterprises face new challenges with the latest changes and developments. Top and middle-level management across organizations have questions about leveraging the ever-growing data available to enable quick and fast decision-making. Accounting and Finance officers have planning, budgeting & forecasting at the top of their priority list of initiatives for improving performance. Well-integrated financial planning is necessary for their initiatives. Companies with these capabilities grow faster and can better serve their customers to seize new opportunities than their competitors.

An Overview on “Performing GR/IR Account Maintenance in SAP S/4HANA 2020”.

An Overview on “Performing GR/IR Account Maintenance in SAP S/4HANA 2020”.

The GR/IR clearing account is used for clearing GRs and invoices. In case of quantity differences between GRs and IRs, some items remain open in the GR/IR clearing account. If further deliveries, return deliveries, invoices, or credit memos do not clear a quantity difference for a purchase order item, you must maintain the GR/IR clearing account for that item. In this article, I would like to provide an overview on GR/IR account maintenance & How to perform GR/IR clearing account maintenance.

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Using CASE expressions and Substring function in SELECT statements- A Short Guide for ABAP and ABAP on HANA Developers

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Using CASE expressions and Substring function in SELECT statements- A Short Guide for ABAP and ABAP on HANA Developers

Within newer versions of Open SQL, you can now add both simple and complex conditions using the CASE.. ENDCASE expression. In addition, you may use the SUBSTRING function in order to extract part of a character field. In this article, we will see the two topics, along with coding examples and output illustrations.

What happened to the Controlling Module in S/4HANA?

What happened to the Controlling Module in S/4HANA?

By now, everyone has heard about some of the major changes that occur in S/4HANA Finance, such as the Universal Journal, New Asset Accounting, mandatory Material Ledger, and so on. A huge difference between S/4HANA Finance and ECC, is the merging of the Financial Accounting (FI) and Controlling (CO) modules (the proverbial “Single Source of Truth”), and most of the Controlling functionalities are now subsumed into the Universal Journal.

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How Funds Management (PSM/FM) Interacts with Material Management (MM) Lifecycle

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How Funds Management (PSM/FM) Interacts with Material Management (MM) Lifecycle

Some public sector companies must control the annual budget to certify that its expenses are below the budget provided for each cost center and cost element. The primary objective of the SAP Funds Management (FM) module is to address this.

When this module is activated, it interacts with several other SAP modules, especially MM, which controls all acquisitions made by the company. This interaction begins from Purchase Requisition to Invoice Verification.

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Absorption Costing-Accounting of Activities

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Absorption Costing-Accounting of Activities

SAP Controlling practitioners who have used activity types for absorption costing, have often asked about the integration of SAP Production Planning and SAP Controlling and how this setup works behind-the-scenes. This blog post is an attempt to explain the mechanics of activity types, their configuration, master data and transactional data setup. I hope this write-up is useful to SAP Controlling practitioners.

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“Professionalized Business Case” is the first step of SAP S/4HANA Journey!

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“Professionalized Business Case” is the first step of SAP S/4HANA Journey!

SAP provides mainstream maintenance for core applications of SAP Business Suite 7 software including SAP ERP 6.0, SAP Customer Relationship Management 7.0, SAP Supply Chain Management 7.0, and SAP Supplier Relationship Management 7.0 applications and SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA on the respective latest three Enhancement Packages (EhPs) until December 31, 2027. From January 1, 2028, all SAP Business Suite 7 core applications and respective SAP Business Suite 7 add-on products will enter the customer-specific maintenance (CSM) phase. SAP offers an optional extended maintenance phase from January 1, 2028, until December 31, 2030. This three-year phase comes at an additional fee on top of the maintenance fee. Details outlined in SAP Note 2881788.