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LeonardoAraujo
Active Contributor

If you aren’t yet leveraging SAP’s translation tools, you might be wasting valuable time and money. In my mind, using these tools is really common sense. Allow me to explain why.

SAP built in its ABAP foundation a set of tools that allow customers to perform proper translation of custom SAP content. Here I mean CUSTOM CONFIG and CUSTOM ABAP. (I mean CUSTOM because generally all standard content is delivered translated already). These tools are so good that they are actually used by SAP itself to translate all of its standard content.

Yet, customers are often not aware of them…

ABAP developers and functional analysts performing the translation. That is not bad, it is TERRIBLE. Unless you don’t care about the following:

  1. QUALITY - ABAP Developers and Functional Analysts are FAR from being the most qualified people to perform this job. Good quality translation requires trained people that know the language very well, understand and know SAP and customer terminology and who are rigorous in their job. Many developers and functional consultants are not perfectly fluent in English, and possibly less in both target and source languages (English and French, for example).
  2. SPEED – Translating this content manually, object by object is very labor-intensive. Repetitions happen very often. Different objects could be forgotten. It is required different transactions to translate each object type, Tcodes, data elements, domains, tables, structures, screen elements, program texts, messages… The list is very long. Using SAP Translation tools, one can leverage the following:
    • All objects to translate are SCANNED by the system and put together in one unified WORKLIST; Manual approach induces missing objects in a translation pass, requiring VERY LONG troubleshooting and fix. Very inefficient…
    • PROPOSAL POOL (translation Memory) allow you to propagate repetitions, greatly increasing the speed of translation. This can be done periodically to make sure that new definitions are used ASAP;
  3. COST – Your return on the investment of a professional translator will without a doubt be impressive not only on the time saved for the translation being done by an expert, but also the cost saved by allowing developers and analysts do what they do best: code and configure!
  4. SECURITY – With the use of the right technology, only the text changes in the translation process so there is no need to transport of new versions. This ensures the codes are always consistent and accurate.


In a nutshell, you can obtain translations of SAP solutions MUCH QUICKER and MUCH CHEAPER with more SECURITY and QUALITY. So why not use it TODAY?!?!?!

So, the burning question is: Why aren’t more people leveraging these tools?


Over the years, it has come to my attention that many customers are not aware of the translation tools available to them. This is unfortunately cause it means money wasted, poorly translated systems, or, in many cases, both.

But the good news is: Translation tools do exist to make your life easier!

So, knowing all this now, why do you think people are still not using SAP translation services?

I will be publishing additional BLOGs in this area. Next one will present the tool.

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