Cutover highlights for SAP S/4HANA New implementation

The process of transitioning from any ERP system to an SAP S/4HANA system requires a deliverable called Cutover. This deliverable  includes the Cutover Plan document which covers all the activities related to planning, preparing and executing the tasks, describing how to lock down the system from a technical perspective, preparing the system for operation and release it for end users. Important to say that the plan should be based on previous migrations that the client has already performed in QAS environment.

A cutover plan describes all required tasks that must be performed before the go-live and needs to cover the following tracks:

• Infrastructure – Production Environment Preparation
• System Design – Transaction Data Migration
• Security – Security access enabled
• Data – Master Data Migration
• Training – Business Readiness
• Organizational – Business Preparation
• Deployment – Go Live Support

And includes the key areas: Technical, Functional, Development , Authorizations; Data Cleansing & Data migration; Organization Change Management and Project Management.

Highlighted below there are some examples to be considered in cutover plan from Infrastructure; System Design, Security Roles & Data perspective:

• A technical and functional checklist of productive environment vs. quality environment must be done by technical and functional consultants:
  • Technical
    • Validate that SAP S/4HANA and SAP HANA Licenses have been installed in the system. Verify the Disaster Recovery environment as well
    • Validate and schedule standard mandatory jobs
    • Validate the Client Settings, Logical system and so on
    • Validate SSL and SSO configuration
    • Validate the Logon Groups and Operation Modes
    • Validate TMS configuration
    • Check and create RFC Server Groups
    • Validate the RFC Connections between systems
    • Activate Embedded Analytics queries and CDS views
    • Verify that the operational team is ready to receive support request
    • Check all the backups are scheduled
    • If any high availability is configured, make sure you have done failover tests
    • Enable SAP support connections for SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA and HTML (launchpad URL)
    • Document all manual steps to be executed during the transport request import activities
    • Verify the Installed Add-ons in the system
    • Ensure that security roles (including Fiori) are built appropriately assigned and tested
    • Assign BP role accordingly especially if SAP HCM/ SFSF is in use, because employee BPs are created in SAP S/4HANA
    • Implement the identified system parameters tuning
    • If required, verify that all SCOT settings are configured
    • If required, verify ADS Configuration and setup
    • If there are additional steps regarding extensions/integrations validate as well
  • Functional
    • Schedule and validate the required jobs
    • Validate Transport Requests content
    • Validate Organizational Structure customizing (Controlling Area, Credit Control Area, Company Codes, Chart of Accounts, Cost centers, Profit centers, Plants, Storage Location)
    • Make sure all relevant settings for apps Manage House Banks & Manage Bank Accounts are done
    • Number Range Creation for Business Partner, Customer, Vendor, Material, FI, CO, MM, SD, QM, PM, PP Documents, Bank Accounts (Sequence Numbers, Requests)
    • Validate Document Types
    • Check and maintain posting periods for GL, AA, CO, MM
    • Create condition records for MM, SD, and others required
    • Validate Tax Configuration and Pricing Procedures
    • Make sure that the business relevant movement types are updated
    • Validate output messages for Procurement and Sales
    • Spot validation to adjacent systems

• A Master Data checklist must be performed:
  • Pre and Post Data load verification
    • Master data load verification – Controlling Area, Company Codes, Chart of Accounts, Fixed Assets, Business Partner, Material, Cost Centers, Profit Centers, Banks, House Banks, Bank Accounts, Inventory, Production Version

• The Initial Upload must be planned and executed:
  • Authorizations to upload and download files from/to the server
  • Verify user system profiles to execute initial uploads (date format, decimal, point)
  • Upload relevant historical Exchange rates (including those for initial uploads)
  • Initial Balances upload – Consistency Verification
  • Open items upload – Verification: Special attention on Asset Accounting: Fixed Asset Values (Useful Life, Depreciation), Accounts Payables, Accounts Receivables, Banks and so on
  • Open documents from Sales, Procurement, Production, Plant Maintenance and so on

The SAP Fiori also must be considered inside the plan:

• • Ensure the following reports are run and corresponding jobs are set:
    1. Reports to synch backend catalogs
       • /UI2/GET_APP_DESCR_REMOTE_ALL
       • /UI2/GET_APP_DESCR_REMOTE_DEV
    2. Report /UI5/APP_INDEX_CALCULATE
    3. Report /UI2/INVALIDATE_CLIENT_CACHES
    4. Report /UI2/INVALIDATE_GLOBAL_CACHES
    5. Ensure end-users clear browser cache so latest available version of the apps in your system is used in runtime.
  • For Embedded Analytics:
    • Ensure all required info objects are active or that task list SAP_BW_SETUP_INITIAL_S4HANA has been run
    • You should find all info objects (40 in total) in transaction RSD5 with status green/active.
  • For Enterprise Search:
    • Ensure task list SAP_ESH_INITIAL_SETUP_WRK_CLIENT has been run
    • Running the following steps is recommended:
      • Re-index connectors via task-list SAP_ESH_INDEX_USER_AUTHORITY.
      • Run task list SAP_ESH_CONSISTENCY_CHECK to identify issues in search connectors.
      • Run report ESH_REFRESH_RUNTIME_BUFFER

It is important to say that simulation of cutover activities is recommended to finally document sequences and estimated times. And all the steps, tasks and times must be validated with the business, execute sequenced migrations according to planning with control points:

• Perform Cut-Over Rehearsal
• Issue Financial statements
• Execute End User Training

You can also explore the Cutover Preparation from Roadmap Viewer.

The Focused Build for SAP Solution Manager also provides the “Cutover Checks and Post-Cutover Activities” to reduce the manual effort of cutover activities, please review: Focused Build for SAP Solution Manager

Please be aware that cutover approach is an organization specific strategy, and this blogs only spotlight some examples.

Hope this blog helps you

Thank you

Brought to you by the S/4HANA RIG