The logistic section of SAP S/4 HANA Cloud has seen many enhancements over time, intending to enable businesses to facilitate seamless management of their logistics. Initially launched in 2016, the platform is equipped with features and functionalities from SAP ECC in an attempt to facilitate better distribution of functionalities and place similar processes together. However, there is a lot more to discuss SAP S/4 HANA Cloud logistics, so that we will discuss different components of SAP S/4 HANA Cloud logistics. Therefore, let us get started without wasting any further time.
But First, what is SAP S/4 HANA Cloud in Logistics?
SAP S/4 HANA Cloud logistics is also referred to as SAP S/4 HANA Enterprise Management that comprises different modules of SAP, including SAP MM, SAP SD, and even SAP Finance. But as we already know, now they are all made available to enterprises as an integral component of SAP S/4 HANA Cloud.
As we know, SAP S/4
HANA is a platform that enables enterprises to boost collaboration within the
organization and parties outside the organization, such as the customers and
suppliers. Hence SAP S/4 HANA logistics is just another component of this
platform that is used to diminish the barriers between different departments
within the organization. In addition, enterprises can leverage the platform's
user interface to carry out advanced simulations, enabling the business to get
accurate insights to make better and informed decisions.
SAP S/4 HANA Cloud Logistics Line of Business (LoB)
SAP S/4 HANA logistic offers businesses with four different yet functional Line of Business (LoB) that includes:
●
SAP
S/4 HANA Sourcing and Procurement
●
SAP
S/4 HANA Manufacturing
●
SAP
S/4 HANA Supply Chain
● SAP S/4 HANA Asset Management
Each of these LoBs
is equipped with the advanced capabilities of SAP S/4 HANA that helps
businesses facilitate enhanced management of their logistics. However, it is
essential to note that while some of these LoBs are able to run on the same
database, there are also others equipped with integrations with SAP S/4 HANA.
This enables businesses to leverage any of the LoBs based on their needs and
requirements. Hence let us take a look at all of these LoBs individually.
Sourcing and Procurement
The initial step in
every supply chain is to procure the materials required to fulfill the
customers' orders. Therefore, enterprises can leverage this LoB and combine
them with enhanced capabilities of SAP S/4 HANA to effectively determine and
purchase suitable materials. Enterprises can leverage operational purchasing,
supplier and contract management, extended procurement, and more to identify
the suitable materials and procure the same. Different SAP solutions, including
SAP Fireglass and SAP Ariba, are considered to be a component of this LoB.
Manufacturing
After the necessary materials are procured and transported to their designated destination, the next step is to turn them into finished products to be sold to the customers. This is where the manufacturing LoB steps in and combines its capabilities with those of SAP S/4 HANA to enable businesses to develop a product by leveraging different functionalities. These enhanced functionalities include production operations, delivery and scheduling planning, responsive manufacturing, effective quality management, and more.
In addition, the
legacy processes that were a part of the legacy SAP ECC solution, the
manufacturing extension is known as SAP Manufacturing Integration and
Intelligence commonly known as SAP MII, production planning and control,
quality and quality issue management are now all considered to be a component
of this LoB.
Supply Chain
The supply chain LoB is considered the most comprehensive of all the four LoBs, as it is the only LoB that enables businesses to carry out overall business planning and take care of the storage and dispatch operations of the products after being procured. On top of that, the supply chain LoB covers many other processes that include batch traceability, inventory management, planning of production, and even warehousing operations.
The other important
thing about the SAP S/4 HANA supply chain LoB is that different SAP solutions,
including SAP Extended Warehouse Management, SAP Integrated Business Planning
(SAP IBP), and even the SAP Transportation Management, are considered to be a
component of the supply chain LoB.
Asset Management
When it comes to managing a business, simply taking care of the business's products is not always enough. Especially when businesses based on products are equipped with their own manufacturing assets, including buildings, machines, and many other types of tools. Therefore, businesses can leverage the advanced capabilities of the SAP S/4 HANA asset management LoB to ensure that all these assets are effectively maintained and serviced to ensure one gets the most from them.
As we already know that SAP is equipped with many different solutions that help businesses facilitate effective management of different maintenance operations. These solutions include the Environment, Health, and Safety, commonly known as EHS, along with the SAP Enterprise Asset Management or SAP EAM, equipped with their own reporting and monitoring tools, which are also considered an integral component of the SAP S/4 HANA Asset Management LoB.
Different Reasons to opt for SAP S/4 HANA Cloud in Logistics
● Analysis and Reporting: The platform enables businesses to perform real-time analysis at a granular level on the entire chief transactional data while avoiding aggregates.
● User Experience: The enhanced user interface offered by the platform enables enterprises to boost their productivity. In addition, one can even leverage the role-based accessibility features for enhanced security.
● Scalable Infrastructure: The platform is equipped with a fully optimized landscape with reduced system counts that enables enterprises to perform better without any complications.
●
Increased Production: The platform helps businesses minimize data
footprint and get rid of data redundancies, which allows them to boost
production capacity.
Concluding Thoughts
Hence as we can see, there is a lot that SAP S/4 HANA Logistics has to offer to enterprises with different scales of operations. Therefore, it is highly recommended that businesses hasten their SAP HANA Migration and leverage the advanced abilities of SAP S/4 HANA Logistics to grow their business with minimum disruptions.