Welcome to our monthly SAP ALM Blog. For information on SAP’s ALM training please click on 2018 EGI Training Schedule for March and April. These are free with SAP Enterprise Support.

The next phase is Project Preparation. This can start well in advance of the actual project kick-off. As in the planning phase, plenty of preparation will help reduce effort in the delivery phase. The four key value drivers in the preparation phase are:

	Reduce custom code testing by eliminating obsolete code with Custom Code Management
	Save on license cost and cut-over time by reducing database size with Data Volume Management
	Increase ROI through quick wins identified via Business Process Monitoring & Improvement
	Rapid system deployment with Landscape Management

Custom Code Management

Custom code could be considered the bane of SAP management’s existence. Most of us have been on projects that began with a policy of minimal custom code only to wind up with 15,000 plus custom objects.

When you consider code development is only 20% of the lifecycle cost, 80% being maintenance, this becomes a very large unplanned cost. With the transition to S/4HANA, all the custom code will need to be tested and over time optimized.

SAP has recognized this challenge and has built the Custom Code Life-cycle Manager or CCLM to expedite the reduction of code by removing redundant objects and identifying opportunities to revert to SAP standard functionality. CCLM also manages the maintenance of code going forward to help significantly reduce costs.

SAP training: Preparing for S/4HANA EGI’s & Value Map

• Custom Code Life-cycle Management: Make Your Custom Code Efficient
• SAP S/4HANA: Custom Code Impact Analysis
• SAP Solution Manager Value Map – ALM

Data Volume Management – DVM

AP Data Volume Management describes a process and provides tools (and the Data Volume Management Workcenter – Solution Manager 7.2) and services to ensure that all aspects in the life-cycle for managing and controlling data are covered.

With the introduction of HANA (in-memory database), excess data being created and retained in the live database will increase the IT costs due to requiring additional expensive RAM. Excess data also leads to complex system management and decelerated system performance. It is best practice to run your database as slim as possible by getting rid of waste and keeping the relevant data for your business processes. We are all inundated with a proliferation of data on a daily basis. Be it structured or unstructured (such as SAP Documents, records and logs or email, video, social media data etc.).

It can become a battle to stay in control of this data and know what data is really important. To manage this upsurge in data we need an established Process based on Tools. Tools that will provide Transparency on the data in the whole Landscape, not just in single systems or applications. Tools that will provide Guidance on the options for managing the data and that impart knowledge. We need a well-defined process to ensure that based on this knowledge a strategy is formulated and implemented that defines how the life-cycle (cradle to grave) of data is managed.

SAP training: Preparing for S/4HANA EGI’s & Value Map

• Data Volume Management (DVM)
• SAP Solution Manager Value Map – ALM

Business Process Improvement

S/4HANA Specific process simplification

When moving from the SAP Business Suite to SAP S/4HANA it is also a good opportunity to reduce the complexity that was built up over time.

• Review how many document types are customized (in sales, finance, manufacturing etc.) and how many of those are really (intensively) used. Get rid of un-used document types, i.e. process variants.
• Review how many material masters are maintained and how many of those are (still) intensively used in sales, procurement or manufacturing. Get rid of un-used material master data.
• Review how many customers/vendors are maintained and how many of those are (still) intensively used in sales or procurement. Get rid of un-used customer/vendor master data.
• Review how many routings/master recipes/task lists, bill of materials are maintained and how many of those are (still) intensively used in manufacturing or maintenance. Get rid of un-used master data.

Business Process Improvement areas by LOB

Finance

• Reduce costs in Period End Closing & Shared Service Center
• Reduce DSO & improve DPO

Sales & Services

• Ship (the right) goods to a customer
• At the customer required date
• As early as possible
• With the right quantity (to avoid returns)

Sourcing & Procurement

• Increase degree of process automation
• Receive goods/services at the right time
• Avoid maverick buying
• Ensure that required outline agreements with current validity exist

Manufacturing

• Increase degree of process automation
• Keep time to produce to minimum
• Reduce scrap & confirmation failures

Supply Chain

• Improve forecast accuracy
• Reduce Days In Inventory (DII) & stock-levels
• Avoid stock-outs in sales/manufacturing

Asset Management

• Increase degree of process automation
• Keep time to repair/maintain to minimum
• Avoid machine break-downs

SAP training: Preparing for S/4HANA EGI’s & Value Map

• Business Process Analytics & Improvement
• Business Process Monitoring & Stabilization
• Business Decision Maker Value Map – BPMON

Landscape Management

Landscape Management, or what used to be known as LVM, enables rapid system provisioning and post copy automation. See how Landscape Management helped Discovery Communications reduce system refreshes from 4 days to 6 hours.

• Simplify the management of SAP hybrid landscapes and standardize your SAP operations
• Automate repetitive, time-intensive administration tasks and orchestrate to your specific needs
• Centralize landscape operations and gain landscape-wide visibility via single pane of glass

Typical use cases for rapid system deployment and management:

SAP system clone

Create a duplicate of an existing system with an identical system ID including network isolation

Use case example: create isolated testing, demo or training systems

SAP system copy

Create a duplicate of an existing SAP system with a different hostname and a unique system ID including, automation of post-copy processing steps

Use case example: create new test/development systems

SAP system refresh

Refresh a system, to overwrite an existing target system with the latest data from a source system while maintaining the configuration.

Use case example: update test and development systems with latest business data

Note: Landscape Management requires additional Licencing

Summary

Planning and preparation are always key to ensuring a successful Project. With all the dependencies and tools SAP provides for a S/4HANA Transition including Solution Manager 7.2, it is a good idea to kick off planning 12 months ahead of the actual project start.