Release of SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511

In November 2015 (1511) updates have been released for both, SAP S/4HANA, on-premise and cloud edition. In November 2015, SAP delivered a massive wave of simplification and innovation in the core of SAP S/4HANA. With this delivery, enterprises can drive unprecedented business value with innovative use-cases - in core financial and operational areas such as in logistics – taking full advantage of a simplified data model and a responsive user experience.

Key simplifications and innovations include:

• Optimized working capital with new accounts payables and receivables cockpits
• Decreased stock buffers with simplified data model in inventory management for real-time, high-volume processing
• Increased visibility with real-time stock and material flow insight
• Reduced manufacturing cycle time with streamlined material flow for internal requirements (MRP)
• Augmented reactivity with real-time monitoring of production orders regarding flow and critical issues
• Improved operational decisions with easy simulation of supply alternatives
• Lower procurement costs with standard integration to the Ariba Business Network
• Better customer service with new sales order fulfillment cockpit for instantly identifying bottlenecks and issues

For more information see as well the SCN blog from Sven Denecken: Link

The System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511

Different transition paths are supported with SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511:

• New Implementation
  New installation of SAP S/4HANA e.g. for customers migrating a legacy system.
• System Conversion
  Customers who want to change their current system into a SAP S/4HANA system.
• Landscape Transformation
  Customers who want to consolidate their landscape or to selectively transform data into a SAP S/4HANA system.

The SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 system conversion supports one-step procedure (Database, SAP NetWeaver and application transition in one step) for SAP ERP 6.0 EHP x…7 systems. System Conversion requires a Unicode (UC) source system. Non-Unicode source systems will require a two-step approach (first move to Unicode then to SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511).

Basically it can be distinguished between technical and semantic tasks during the system conversion. The technical installation procedure is based on established lifecycle management tools (Maintenance Planner, Software Update Manager [SUM] and Database Migration Option [DMO]). Due to the fact that SAP S/4HANA is a new product line (and not the successor of SAP Business Suite) things are done differently in SAP S/4HANA.

• Many of the changes are technical in nature and have no or only limited impact on peoples work and thus do not trigger business change management. Such changes will be mandatory when converting a system to SAP S/4HANA.
• Other decisions are more of a strategic nature determining which version of functional support will evolve into the digital era and provide the capabilities demanded from the unstoppable business process innovation. Where those strategic directions demand change management through adoption, SAP at large keeps the traditional capabilities available as compatibility scope enabling a rather technical migration of these processes and leaving the time of change management at customer decision that may well happen when initially converting or at a later point in time.

To allow our customers a better planning and estimation of their way to SAP S/4HANA, we have created the “Simplification List for SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511”. In this list we are describing in detail on a functional level what happens in S/4HANA to individual transactions and solution capabilities. In some cases, we have merged certain functionality with other elements or reflected it within a new solution / architecture compared to the SAP Business Suite products.

The technical procedure – well established tooling

Maintenance Planner

The Maintenance Planner checks the system with regards to business functions, industry solutions, and add-ons. If there is no valid path for the conversion (for example, the add-on is not released yet), the Maintenance Planner prevents the conversion.

The Maintenance Planner is a pre-requisite for the system conversion to SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511. The Maintenance Optimizer (MOPZ) is not used

For more information regarding Maintenance Planner see SAP Help: http://help.sap.com/maintenanceplanner

Software Update Manager (SUM)

Software Update Manager (SUM) is the technical tool for system conversion to SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511.

Note:

• You must run the Maintenance Planner before the SUM.
• Ensure that the latest version of the Software Update Manager is used:

For all information about using the SUM, please see the document Conversion of SAP Systems to SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition Using Software Update Manager available at:

• service.sap.com/sltoolset (LINK)
  • Software Logistics Toolset 1.0
  • Section "Documentation"
  • System Maintenance

Database Migration Option (DMO)

DMO - the one-step-migration to SAP HANA database for SAP systems. It is called "database migration option (DMO) of Software Update Manager (SUM)". For SAP S/4HANA it combines the installation of the SAP S/4HANA, on-premise software and database migration to SAP HANA in one tool

See the following SCN Blog with helpful information regarding DMO - SCN LINK

Adoption Tasks – how SAP support the customer

Simplification List for SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511

To allow our customers a better planning and estimation of their way to SAP S/4HANA, we have created the “Simplification List for SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511”. In this list we are describing in detail on a functional level what happens in S/4HANA to individual transactions and solution capabilities. In some cases, we have merged certain functionality with other elements or reflected it within a new solution / architecture compared to the SAP Business Suite products.

For more information see Simplification List for SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 (FPS1): PDF

Conversion Pre-Checks

Pre-checks are shipped as SAP Notes to customers that want to convert to SAP S/4HANA. Customers can use these pre-checks to find out what mandatory steps they have to carry out before converting to S/4HANA. The results list the instances that need addressing before attempting the conversion process. The checks are run twice again during the conversion process: both times in the Software Update Manager (SUM). The conversion is stopped if errors persist.

Implement SAP Note 2182725, and all the related notes attached to it. Make sure to use latest version of this note and regularly check for updates of all attached notes. Implement and run these reports on every system (Sandbox, DEV, QA, PROD) you want to convert to SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511. Report R_S4_PRE_TRANSITION_CHECKS.

Custom Code Checks

These checks are based on the Simplification list concept. Before converting to SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition 1511 you need to check your custom code against the SAP S/4HANA simplifications. These simplifications are loaded into the Custom Code Check Tool. After you run the tool, you obtain a list of instances where your custom code does not comply with the scope and data structure of SAP S/4HANA 1511, on-premise edition

For more information about the Custom Code Check tool, see SAP Help Portal: Link and the following SCN blog: SAP S/4HANA Custom Code Migration Worklist.

Related information – at a glance