SAP ByD: Localization Toolkit and Language Adaptation Tool services. Set new subsidiaries anywhere in the world.

Let me give you the latest information on localization for our ecosystem, which might be valuable for extending your business.

The reason is simple, the subject is demanded broadly from several customers, partners and market units, aiming to execute some additional roll out or sales projects. In addition, Localization at ByD delivers the content to plan any project and…it plays a strategic role in SAP ByD advantages. The presentation is available on pdf at PartnerEdge. The recorded webinar can be found as well on this blog

Find the most relevant messages shared with the audience at our webinar earlier announced. First, let remind on some basic concepts for those who just started to discover SAP ByD:

1. When SAP provides a country version, we support customers to run business with SAP Business ByDesign according to international standards and local requirements. It includes functional localization (e.g. adapting the solution to common legal requirements), internationalization (e.g. Unicode, currencies, time zone, etc.) and translation (e.g. local language). Today 19 countries are under this category.
2. For the rest of the non-localized countries – Pre-localized and Tax Basic Countries (as we call them in ByD terminology) which provide extended or basic tax calculation respectively. On these options, the Localization Tool Kit, a set of development tools, questionnaire and instructions, enable partners and customers to extend or adapt ByD capabilities to provide a locally-compliant solution. About 89 countries currently have customers running operations on any of these options.

What is Localization Toolkit and where to find it? Customers and Partner can get details in our wiki

With the Cloud Applications Studio we give guidance to our customers and partners on how to create new country with several guides to set up the local requirements as collected. A simple and common scenario demo shows the necessary steps with the example of Ghana enabling Withholding Tax Configuration and then submitting Supplier invoices (as it can be seen at minute 10.29)

1. Download the relevant version of the Cloud Application Studio.
2. Create the new country in the Customer Specific Localization (CSL) add-on. This will be available for scoping in the customer tenant after the add-on solution is deployed.
3. As per the business process need, set up the accounting Principle, Chart of Accounts, Financial Reporting Structures, Account determination group, Withholding tax etc. Check the guides developed for each of this requirements available at the localization wiki
4. Withholding tax scenario is the most commonly used use case in any non-localized country.

What’s the Language Adaptation tool and when to expect it?

The tool provision of non-SAP languages to provide additional value-add / services to customers. It also supports the context of “subsidiary” scenario for companies (e.g. sales-focused subsidiary with limited functional scope and language skills of employees).

Customer Language Adaptation tool will be released 1702 for beta-version testing by selected pilots. Expected General Availability planned during the second half of 2017 after completing stability and performance Tests, have been delayed to summer 2018 due to priorities changes in our planning. On this, SAP is also considering to enhance the tool with Translation HUB Services and new Features.

From a technology perspective in SAP ByD, this customer Language Adaptation is a Key User tool that allows ByD customers among others to set their system for specific language. The demo part of the tool starts at minute 37:05 in the video attached below and features the following content.

• Translate ByD Work Centers such as Purchase Requests and Orders, Sales Orders, Supplier Invoice etc. into languages that are not supported by SAP. Interesting to remind the fact that some of the Work Center like Sales contains more than 40.000 words!
• Adaptation on distinct texts so that they fit into the customer domain industry expertise and terminology.
• Text-pool creation per target language via resolution of UI elements connected to a work center, adapt not only static UI texts, such as Work Centers and Views, but also application-specific texts such as codes values (value help, e.g. payment methods, currencies, tax codes etc); Message texts or Analytical report texts
• Translations / Text Adaptations may be created by the following methods
  • On-line adaptation in tool UI
  • Off-line processing / translation of texts via MS Excel-based export ( import feature)
  • On-line text proposal retrieval from SAP Translation Hub (contractual framing conditions to be defined)
  • In addition, we want to share some conditions and some limitations which shall be documented in a preliminary user guideline to be published in Q1 2017 by the accountable team.

• Text pools and translations are tenant specific, requirements for language logistics for multiple tenants are being defined
• Multiple new target languages may be implemented in parallel based on existing “Communication Languages” and a specific customer reserve language key
• Creation of in-house SAP language transports or packs is not possible
• Customer-specific texts created via e.g. PDI connected to a WoC / WoC view are collected
• Help documents and Adobe Forms not in scope
• Selected technical limitations (status beta release 1702)

As we are still in the beta release of this tool and pilot customer were already identified, we advise for those with specific question to interact on SAP JAM for Localization

Stay tune for next blogs about localization services announced on this blog which will continue our effort to make localization a strong capability on SAP ByD.