Mostly I have dealt with project-based manufacturing companies where they do custom product builds, like heavy equipment, compressors, steam turbines, and stuff like that.
SAP Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Strong financial and manufacturing integration
Pros and Cons
- "S4HANA is a completely integrated solution. It's an end-to-end ERP system with strong manufacturing and financial integration, which is not common among ERPs. And it's a solution that's driven by industry best practices."
- "Maybe its user interface and reporting can be improved across the board, but it is manageable."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
S4HANA is a completely integrated solution. It's an end-to-end ERP system with strong manufacturing and financial integration, which is not common among ERPs. And it's a solution that's driven by industry best practices.
What needs improvement?
Maybe its user interface and reporting can be improved across the board, but it is manageable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using S4HANA for about 16 years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
S4HANA's stability is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
S4HANA is pretty scalable. We normally plan three to five years ahead and scale up accordingly. So as long as your sizing is done properly, you're good.
How are customer service and support?
I don't have much experience with SAP's tech support, but I have used the online support system. It's okay for a company the size of SAP. But from a customer perspective, it can be time consuming to get help from them.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up S4HANA is straightforward if you have a little bit of expertise, especially on the S4HANA side. You need to understand the appliances and hardware so you can set requirements for RAM as opposed to storage. If you have some experience in server administration, it's not like climbing a mountain; it's a small trip.
What was our ROI?
Most of the time, I've been able to quantify the soft savings, like savings in terms of time spent on processes and efficiencies that you gain. FDA reductions are generally difficult to establish over a finite period, but your soft savings are far more rewarding, and it's also more compliance related.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I have not dealt with licensing directly because our head office manages that. We only pay SAP to perform maintenance on the solution instead of doing it in-house. Given the size of an ERP system, you need some extra labor to maintain it, but it's justified if you look at the cost-benefit analysis. Some companies go overboard with hiring many people, and then they say it's too expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate S4HANA 10 out of 10. It's a good solution. I think some companies are penny wise and pound foolish. They invest a lot in other ERPs, and when they start to grow those systems, they create a lot of inefficiencies in the process.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Lead Consultant at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
High performance, stable, and helpful customer support
Pros and Cons
- "SAP S4HANA has good performance and has allowed us to combine our systems."
- "The solution could be more user-friendly for regular users and developers."
How has it helped my organization?
The solution has helped our organization with planning and consolidating our data.
What is most valuable?
SAP S4HANA has good performance and has allowed us to combine our systems.
What needs improvement?
The solution could be more user-friendly for regular users and developers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAP S4HANA for approximately 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have been happy with the technical support from SAP.
How was the initial setup?
The installation and migration can take a lot of time but it is expected.
What about the implementation team?
We had assistance with the migration from SAP. They were very helpful.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend others to use the latest version of the solution to receive all the benefits.
I rate SAP S4HANA an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
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December 2025
Learn what your peers think about SAP S/4HANA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
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SAP Data and Analytics Leader - Technology Consulting and Advisory at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Beneficial in-memory database processing and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "One of the most valuable features is the in-memory database."
- "I have found the solution to be stable but it could improve."
What is our primary use case?
We have used SAP S4HANA as a complete enterprise resource planning solution for almost every use case you can think of.
What is most valuable?
One of the most valuable features is the in-memory database.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be stable but it could improve.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good.
What other advice do I have?
I rate SAP S4HANA a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
CTO at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Provides a better view of business operations but needs to improve user experience
Pros and Cons
- "I can verify and provide the overall financial aid report and also the management report."
- "You will not see convenient user experiences with SAP S4HANA's website or application."
What is our primary use case?
Most of the modules in our corporation is on the finance module. We also use it for HCM.
What is most valuable?
I can verify and provide the overall financial aid report and also the management report. It makes it better and easier to implement. Also, it provides a better view of business operations.
What needs improvement?
You will not see convenient user experiences with SAP S4HANA's website or application. It is not mobile-friendly either.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using it for about four years.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've been happy with the technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was quite straightforward because we started with finance.
What other advice do I have?
Depending on the industry and the nature of the business, I would recommend SAP S4HANA, especially if the company has a working model like ours.
On a scale from one to ten, I would rate SAP S4HANA at seven.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Works at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Interface suits all users, high database performance, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "I have found the most valuable features are the interface, which is very good for all users, and the database performance is good."
- "In an upcoming release, it would be beneficial to have more practical intelligence in the system, such as protective maintenance, or artificial intelligence."
What is our primary use case?
We are using SAP S4HANA for supply chain management, production planning, and material management. We have connected systems that have intelligent optimization for production planning outside of SAP S4HANA.
What is most valuable?
I have found the most valuable features are the interface, which is very good for all users, and the database performance is good. Additionally, we have more service APIs to communicate with third-party solutions or systems, such as cloud systems or other participants, than in our last ERP system.
What needs improvement?
In an upcoming release, it would be beneficial to have more practical intelligence in the system, such as protective maintenance, or artificial intelligence. This would not be too complicated to provide nowadays. If you have a mission learning or artificial intelligence, you have to have it in the cloud and have cooperation between the ERP and the cloud. It is not as good as it could be.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have had no problems with the stability of this solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of this solution depends on the hardware and the platform you use. If you have fixed hardware, then you need more effort to have scalability. If it is on the cloud, such as Azure, it is a lot easier to scale. The software itself is very practical and scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is very good between the service levels.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is expensive. There are many discussions surrounding the topic of third-party indirect usage of SAP solutions. If you have a third-party system and you have a connection to the SAP system, should this third-party usage qualify as a cost or not. It is very complicated to handle with the SAP organization.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend those wanting to implement this solution to make sure their internal IT departments are trained well to be able to educate the teams.
I rate SAP S4HANA an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
Lead Consultant at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Feature-rich and offers different deployment options, but the customization should be improved
Pros and Cons
- "The key modules that I find most valuable are material management (MM), financial accounting and controlling (FICO), and human resources (HR)."
- "The two things that need to be improved are price and customization."
What is our primary use case?
We are a pre-sales team and I have been working as a consultant for SAP S4HANA.
Most often, we deal with manufacturing CPG customers. We prefer the complete SAP S4HANA Suite, with all of the functionalities, and the use cases are typically everything that is offered from the processes in that suite.
What is most valuable?
The key modules that I find most valuable are material management (MM), financial accounting and controlling (FICO), and human resources (HR). I am not exposed to all of the core features, but these are the ones that we generally prefer and propose.
What needs improvement?
The two things that need to be improved are price and customization. These are two dynamic changes that every customer will want.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with SAP S4HANA for the past year and a half.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Our customers for this solution are mixed in size. We have small-scale, medium-scale, and large-scale customers. The number of users also varies. It can be hundreds or multiple thousands.
How are customer service and technical support?
I do not have experience with SAP technical support.
How was the initial setup?
We have enough competency in our company that the initial setup is straightforward and we don't face many issues. There may be some complexity but it depends on the configuration.
The deployment model is a mixture of offerings and this choice is based on customer requirements. Sometimes it is a cloud deployment, whereas others are on-premises, and yet in some cases, it is a hybrid model.
What about the implementation team?
We have an in-house team for deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of this product is an issue for some customers.
What other advice do I have?
I highly recommend this product for all SAP customers who want to digitize and have a core business suite of applications.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Technical Lead / Solution Architecture / Software Development - SAP at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy-to-use, but could benefit from some theory-based adjustments
Pros and Cons
- "The processes have been reduced from almost 10 steps to four or five steps. It's really been simplified."
- "The theory-side of the solution needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for our manufacturing processes, sales, finance, pretty much everything.
What is most valuable?
They recently restructured the database and changed the table structures, which has made it much easier to manage the processes. The processes have been reduced from almost 10 steps to four or five steps. It's really been simplified.
What needs improvement?
The theory-side of the solution needs to be improved. They need to come up with a simple way to explain to their customers how to properly use it and perform analysis and move on from there.
In the next release, I would like to see more integration scenarios with the cloud, straight out of the box.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for almost two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good. We noticed some areas, such as health and safety that were not very stable, but the other areas are quite stable and work fine.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support helped us on almost every front.
It depends on what kind of agreement you have with SAP. We have a maximum attention agreement, so it's all good. For a maximum attention agreement, there are some extra charges, but I'm not aware of how much.
How was the initial setup?
The simplicity of the initial setup varies from customer to customer. For us, it was quite complicated because we needed a lot of customization, but in the end, it was ok.
What about the implementation team?
We had a detailed implementation plan that we followed step by step.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of seven.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Offers good performance, has a user-friendly interface and is great for finance
Pros and Cons
- "The performance of the solution is excellent."
- "The cost of the solution is quite high. It needs to be adjusted."
What is most valuable?
Most of our customer base is particularly interested in the finance area. This aspect of the solution is great.
The most interesting features from the solution include the look and feel of the user interface. It's very user friendly and easy to navigate.
The performance of the solution is excellent.
What needs improvement?
The solution isn't lacking any features per se. Clients aren't coming to us and saying "we need this or that."
The cost of the solution is quite high. It needs to be adjusted.
The integration could be better. They have many different kinds of house platforms, and then it becomes complicated to have integration within all of these different systems.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for five years at this point. It's been a while.
How are customer service and technical support?
We provide technical support to our clients when they need our assistance.
How was the initial setup?
We have implementation projects that help the customers start from zero all the way up to the latest version that they can use on their own. If they need existing or ongoing help with SAP, we will provide some kind of support model. We support them in case they have any problems or in case they have some version they need to upgrade.
As we are implementing the solution for our clients, the process is pretty straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
Our company typically sets up the product. We implement the solution for our clients on their behalf.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of the solution is quite high.
What other advice do I have?
We are not the end customer. We are the implementation providers. We have customers and implement the solution for them and offer support to them while they are using SAP, which is an enterprise solution.
We will support any version from the previous version and also upgrade to the newest version, as per our client's needs. There are all kinds of versions of the solution that we support. We mainly work with the S/4, the core ERP solution, so the core S/4, and also the ECC, the previous version.
A company needs to be aware that it's much more helpful to be knowledgeable in the product before beginning an implementation. If a customer doesn't have experience with SAP, the implementation may be difficult. However, if they have some experience, it is a bit easier to set up everything. A company must also ensure they have in-depth business knowledge when doing a discussion in the booking.
Overall, we've been quite satisfied with the product. I'd rate it nine out of ten. If the solution offered better implementation capabilities and pricing, I'd give it full marks.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
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