| Developer(s) | SAP SE |
|---|---|
| Written in | C, C++, ABAP/4 |
| Type | ERP |
| Website | www |
SAP ERP is enterprise resource planning software developed by the German company SAP SE. SAP ERP incorporates the key business functions of an organization. The latest version of SAP ERP (V.6.0) was made available in 2006. The most recent Enhancement Package (EHP8) for SAP ERP 6.0 was released in 2016.
Business Processes included in SAP ERP are Operations (Sales & Distribution, Materials Management, Production Planning, Logistics Execution, and Quality Management), Financials (Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Financial Supply Chain Management), Human Capital Management (Training, Payroll, e-Recruiting) and Corporate Services (Travel Management, Environment, Health and Safety, and Real-Estate Management).
Development
An ERP was built based on the former SAP R/3
software. SAP R/3, which was officially launched on 6 July 1992,
consisted of various applications on top of SAP Basis, SAP's set of middleware programs and tools. All applications were built on top of the SAP Web Application Server.
Extension sets were used to deliver new features and keep the core as
stable as possible. The Web Application Server contained all the
capabilities of SAP Basis.
A complete architecture change took place with the introduction
of mySAP ERP in 2004. R/3 Enterprise was replaced with the introduction
of ERP Central Component (SAP ECC). The SAP Business Warehouse, SAP
Strategic Enterprise Management and Internet Transaction Server were
also merged into SAP ECC, allowing users to run them under one instance.
The SAP Web Application Server was wrapped into SAP NetWeaver,
which was introduced in 2003. Architectural changes were also made to
support an enterprise service architecture to transition customers to a Service-oriented architecture.
The latest version, SAP ERP 6.0, was released in 2006. SAP ERP
6.0 has since then been updated through SAP enhancement packs, the most
recent: SAP enhancement package 8 for SAP ERP 6.0 in 2016.
Implementation
SAP
ERP consists of several modules, including Financial Accounting (FI),
Controlling (CO), Asset Accounting (AA), Sales & Distribution (SD),
Material Management (MM), Production Planning (PP), Quality Management
(QM), Project System (PS), Plant Maintenance (PM), Human Resources (HR),
Warehouse Management (WM).
- Phase 1 – Project Preparation
- Phase 2 – Business Blueprint
- Phase 3 – Realization
- Phase 4 – Final Preparation
- Phase 5 – Go Live Support
Deployment and maintenance costs
It
is estimated that "for a Fortune 500 company, software, hardware, and
consulting costs can easily exceed $100 million (around $50 million to
$500 million). Large companies can also spend $50 million to $100
million on upgrades. Full implementation of all modules can take years",
which also adds to the end price. Midsized companies (fewer than 1,000
employees) are more likely to spend around $10 million to $20 million at
most, and small companies are not likely to have the need for a fully
integrated SAP ERP system unless they have the likelihood of becoming
midsized and then the same data applies as would a midsized company.
Independent studies have shown that deployment and maintenance costs of a
SAP solution can vary depending on the organization. For example, some
point out that because of the rigid model imposed by SAP tools, a lot
of customization code to adapt to the business process may have to be
developed and maintained. Some others pointed out that a return on investment could only be obtained when there was both a sufficient number of users and sufficient frequency of use.
SAP Transport Management System
SAP Transport Management System (STMS) is a tool within SAP ERP systems to manage software updates, termed transports,
on one or more connected SAP systems. The tool can be accessed from
transaction code STMS. This should not be confused with SAP
Transportation Management, a stand-alone module for facilitating
logistics and supply chain management in the transportation of goods and
materials.
SAP Enhancement Packages for SAP ERP 6.0 (SAP EhPs)
The
latest version (SAP ERP 6.0) was made available in 2006. Since then,
additional functionality for SAP ERP 6.0 has been delivered through SAP
Enhancement Packages (EhP).
These Enhancement Packages allow SAP ERP customers to manage and deploy new software functionality. Enhancement Packages are optional; customers choose which new capabilities to implement.
SAP EhPs do not require a classic system upgrade.
The installation process of Enhancement Packages consists of two different steps:
- Technical installation of an Enhancement Package
- Activation of new functions
The technical installation of business functions does not change the
system behavior. The installation of new functionalities is decoupled
from its activation and companies can choose which business functions
they want to activate. This means that even after installing a new
business function, there is no change to existing functionality before
activation. Activating a business function for one process will have no
effect on users working with other functionalities.
The most recent SAP Enhancement Package for SAP ERP 6.0 was EhP8, which
was released in 2016. EhP8 delivers innovations and serves as a
foundation to transition to SAP's new business suite: SAP S/4HANA.
