SAP ERP

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ERP

Developer(s) SAP SE

Written in C, C++, ABAP/4[1]

Type ERP

Website www.sap.com/products/erp.html

SAP ERP[2] is an enterprise resource planning software developed by the German company SAP SE.
SAP ERP incorporates the key business functions of an organization. The latest version (SAP ERP 6.0)
was made available in 2006. The most recent Enhancement Package (EHP8) for SAP ERP 6.0 was
released in 2016.[3]

Business Processes included in SAP ERP are Operations (Sales & Distribution, Materials
Management, Production Planning, Logistics Execution, and Quality Management), Financials
(Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Financial Supply Chain Management), Human
Capital Management (Training, Payroll, e-Recruiting) and Corporate Services (Travel Management,
Environment, Health and Safety, and Real-Estate Management).[4]

Contents

1 Development

2 Implementation

3 Deployment and maintenance costs

4 SAP Transport Management System

5 ERP advantages and disadvantages

6 Releases

6.1 SAP Enhancement Packages for SAP ERP 6.0 (SAP EhPs)

7 See also

8 References
9 External links

Development

An ERP was built based on the former SAP R/3 software. SAP R/3, which was officially launched on 6
July 1992, consisted of various applications on top of SAP Basis, SAP's set of middleware programs
and tools. All applications were built on top of the SAP Web Application Server. Extension sets were
used to deliver new features and keep the core as stable as possible. The Web Application Server
contained all the capabilities of SAP Basis.

A complete architecture change took place with the introduction of mySAP ERP in 2004. R/3
Enterprise was replaced with the introduction of ERP Central Component (SAP ECC). The SAP
Business Warehouse, SAP Strategic Enterprise Management and Internet Transaction Server were
also merged into SAP ECC, allowing users to run them under one instance. The SAP Web Application
Server was wrapped into SAP NetWeaver, which was introduced in 2003. Architectural changes were
also made to support an enterprise service architecture to transition customers to a Service-oriented
architecture.[5]

The latest version, SAP ERP 6.0, was released in 2006. SAP ERP 6.0 has since then been updated
through SAP enhancement packs, the most recent: SAP enhancement package 8 for SAP ERP 6.0 in
2016...

Implementation

SAP ERP consists of several modules, including Financial Accounting (FI), Controlling (CO), Asset
Accounting (AA), Sales & Distribution (SD), Material Management (MM), Product Planning (PP),
Quality Management (QM), Project System (PS), Planned Maintenance (PM), Human Resources
(HR).[6] SAP ERP collects and combines data from the separate modules to provide the company or
organization with enterprise resource planning.

Typical implementation phases:[7]

Phase 1 – Project Preparation

Phase 2 – Business Blueprint

Phase 3 – Realization

Phase 4 – Final Preparation

Phase 5 – Golive Support

Companies planning to implement or upgrade an SAP ERP system should pay strict attention to
system integration to save their SAP ERP implementation from failure. With system integration in
place, data flows move completely and correctly among various SAP ERP components, thereby not
only streamlining business processes but also eliminating or minimizing redundant data entry
efforts.[8]

Analyst firm Gartner estimates that 55% to 75% of all ERP projects fail to meet their objectives ... Of
the top 10 barriers to a successful ERP journey, 5 can be addressed by developing and implementing
a structured change management program.[9]

Deployment and maintenance costs

It is estimated that "for a Fortune 500 company, software, hardware, and consulting costs can easily
exceed $100 million (around $50 million to $500 million). Large companies can also spend $50
million to $100 million on upgrades. Full implementation of all modules can take years",[attribution
needed] which also adds to the end price. Midsized companies (fewer than 1,000 employees) are
more likely to spend around $10 million to $20 million at most, and small companies are not likely to
have the need for a fully integrated SAP ERP system unless they have the likelihood of becoming
midsized and then the same data applies as would a midsized company.[10] Independent studies
have shown that deployment and maintenance costs of a SAP solution can vary depending on the
organization. For example, some point out that because of the rigid model imposed by SAP tools, a
lot of customization code to adapt to the business process may have to be developed and
maintained.[11] Some others pointed out that a return on investment could only be obtained when
there was both a sufficient number of users and sufficient frequency of use.[12][13]

SAP Transport Management System

SAP Transport Management System (TMS) is a tool within SAP ERP systems to manage software
updates, termed transports, on one or more connected SAP systems. This should not be confused
with SAP Transportation Management, a stand-alone module for facilitating logistics and supply
chain management in the transportation of goods and materials.

ERP advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

Allows easier global integration (barriers of currency exchange rates, language, and culture can be
bridged automatically)

Updates only need to be done once to be implemented company-wide

Provides real-time information, reducing the possibility of redundancy errors

May create a more efficient work environment for employees[10]

Vendors have past knowledge and expertise on how to best build and implement a system

User interface is completely customizable allowing end users to dictate the operational structure of
the product
Disadvantages

Locked into relationship by contract and manageability with vendor – a contract can hold a company
to the vendor until it expires and it can be unprofitable to switch vendors if switching costs are too
high

Inflexibility – vendor packages may not fit a company's business model well and customization can
be expensive and/or lead to version lock-in, since customized code may not fit future versions and
would then need to be redeveloped at great expense

Return on Investment may take too long to be profitable

Implementations have a risk of project failure[10]

Releases

SAP R/1 System RF: 1973

SAP R/2 Mainframe System: 1979

SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 1.0 A: July 1992

SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 3.0B (SAP R/3 4.0B): 6 April 1998

SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 3.1l (SAP R/3 3.1I): 11 May 1998

SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.3 (SAP R/3 4.3): June 1998

SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.5B (SAP R/3 4.5B): 29 March 1999

SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.6B (SAP R/3 4.6B): 6 December 1999

SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.6C (SAP R/3 4.6C): 3 April 2000

SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.6F

SAP R/3 ENTERPRISE 47X110: 15 July 2002

SAP R/3 ENTERPRISE 47X200: 22 September 2003

SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) 5.0: 21 June 2004

SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) 6.0: 24 October 2005

SAP S/4HANA Finance 1503: March 2015

SAP S/4HANA 1511: November 2015

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1603: March 2016

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1605: May 2016

SAP S/4HANA Finance 1605: May 2016

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1608: August 2016

SAP S/4HANA 1610: October 2016

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1702: February 2017

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1705: May 2017

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1708: August 2017

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1709: 15 September 2017 [14]

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1711: 7 November 2017 [15]

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1802: 5 February 2018[16]

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1805: May 2018

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1808: August 2018

SAP S/4HANA 1809: September 2018

SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1811: November 2018

SAP Enhancement Packages for SAP ERP 6.0 (SAP EhPs)

The latest version (SAP ERP 6.0) was made available in 2006. Since then, additional functionality for
SAP ERP 6.0 has been delivered through SAP Enhancement Packages (EhP).[17] These Enhancement
Packages allow SAP ERP customers to manage and deploy new software functionality.[18]
Enhancement Packages are optional; customers choose which new capabilities to implement.[19]

SAP EhPs do not require a classic system upgrade.[20] The installation process of Enhancement
Packages consists of two different steps:

Technical installation of an Enhancement Package

Activation of new functions

The technical installation of business functions does not change the system behavior. The
installation of new functionalities is decoupled from its activation and companies can choose which
business functions they want to activate. This means that even after installing a new business
function, there is no change to existing functionality before activation. Activating a business function
for one process will have no effect on users working with other functionalities.[21] The most recent
SAP Enhancement Package for SAP ERP 6.0 was EhP8, which was released in 2016. EhP8 delivers
innovations and serves as a foundation to transition to SAP’s new business suite: SAP S/4HANA.[22]

SAP EhP Releases

SAP enhancement package 1 for SAP ERP 6.0 (EHP1 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 21 December 2006

SAP enhancement package 2 for SAP ERP 6.0 (EHP2 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 27 July 2007

SAP enhancement package 3 for SAP ERP 6.0 (EHP3 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 7 December 2007
SAP enhancement package 4 for SAP ERP 6.0 (EHP4 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 21 November 2008

SAP enhancement package 4 for SAP ERP 6.0 on SAP enhancement package for SAP NetWeaver 7.0
(EHP4 FOR SAP ERP 6.0 / NW7.01): 21 November 2008

SAP enhancement package 5 for SAP ERP 6.0 (EHP5 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 12 July 2010

SAP enhancement package 6 for SAP ERP 6.0 (EHP6 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 24 August 2011

SAP enhancement package 7 for SAP ERP 6.0 (EHP7 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 13 August 2013

SAP Fiori 1.0 for SAP ERP (UI FOR EHP7 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 29 November 2013

SAP enhancement package 8 for SAP ERP 6.0 (EHP8 FOR SAP ERP 6.0): 20 January 2016