SAP S/4HANA Reviews

We are using using almost all of SAP S4HANA's modules, from production and planning to finance and controlling.

In terms of its most valuable feature, I would say the finance module. This is the base. Right now we're working towards the other modules as well, for lineup opportunity operations.

The common issues being raised right now by the end-users are mostly related to the usability. Especially on the Fiori interface. I think they're a manufacturing company and they're implementing lean manufacturing. They are actually counting the number of clicks and screens that are being used by their end-users so they can have a more efficient and intuitive approach on the Fiori apps.

In terms of what features should be included in the next release, there would be too many to mention. I would probably say right now, as part of the planning session, they're going to go through the entire gamut of features where they can improve and where we're lacking in some parts. We're planning to implement a trial for support and warehouse management. But it's a big list right now and I can't think of anything specific. 

In terms of what could be improved, I would say the usability aspect of it for the users. Additionally, from the corporate perspective, some of the more stringent integrations across modules and also allowing integrations from third-party applications.

I have been using SAP S4HANA for three years.

I would not say it is a 100% stable. There still are some large issues here and there. But I guess over the course of using it for the last three years, and with some of the changes that have been put in place by our IT team, I would say it is around 70% stable.

In terms of scalability, I wouldn't count it as easy. I would probably say it's medium complex. 

We currently have around 100, 150 people using it.

In terms of support, there still are some places here and there for them to improve. But their support is mostly stable right now.

The initial setup was very complex.

During the initial setup we made use of an SI, solution integrator vendor, for the implementation. It was a combination of the SI and some internal resources.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate SAP S4HANA a seven.

Our company analyzes material inventory and then processes the financial accounting which is handled by the system we created using the product.  

The most valuable feature is that the reporting is fast. We can see the results from that in that our commissions come in fast. That is the main advantage.  

This is an integrated system so it is very complex. It is not like Windows or like Microsoft products where you can use Word or you use Excel and it is familiar and easy to use. The interface is something that is very confusing from my point of view. It can and should be simplified. It needs some work on the front end to be more user-friendly and customizable to the user's needs.  

It is not a very good product from the perspective of ease-of-use. Trying to implement it is like you want to prepare some food. You have raw materials like spices in a pile but there is no recipe as to how to mix them. It is a recipe missing the proportion to mix the spices in.  

In the case of S/4HANA, that recipe depends on how the organization requires it to operate. A better result depends upon the implementation partner's decisions in handling the wide range of choices offered by the product. If these decisions are not good, once the product is already developed, you may come to know after years of using it that it was not implemented optimally. Then you end up making customizations and work-arounds because of this initial implementation. That is bad practice. Customization and work-arounds will only lead to more complexity. It is a very big product that can not be understood in a short span of time and implemented quickly. Meticulous planning is ultimately important.  

A lot depends on the implementation partner and if they understand your needs. An implementation partner who rushes in too quickly with a solution can get it wrong and that can cause major problems in the long run.  

We started the implementation of S/4HANA in 2017.  

Any glitches and problems would all depend very strongly on the implementation, predominately. Our integration is very near perfect, but it needs a highly skilled team taking lots of time to understand and maintain it properly. Because implementation is less customized it is better than in most other industries. When it comes to our own industry and our own investment in our industry with our own company stressors, it has to be customized properly.  

One person will not be able to understand and manage all the processes of the modules. That is not practically possible to have that type of skill set. The product needs to be managed by a well-integrated team that can work together and separately with their own responsibility for maintenance and execution.  

Ultimately one person will need to have an in-depth knowledge of how the parts work together to orchestrate the result. All this has to come together at the time of designing. All of the team will be working with some lack of knowledge about the whole of the system or the in-depth knowledge of some other team member's roles. The integration of the team is as important as the integration of the product. 

The scalability of S/4HANA is as good as it can be. The reason that we moved from our old ERP was a lack of scalability. That is exactly the reason. We moved to S/4HANA because we knew the scalability was good.  

We use it company-wide on a daily basis and across multiple websites now. If we need to it is possible to scale up from there in whatever way we need to.  

Our specialized support team does sometimes work with SAP support. The support is good but it may depend on what you can provide. Sometimes we can trace volumes ourselves and we can get the solutions from that. It can often minimize the time it takes to get a solution. Using SAP to provide the solution takes more time. But sometimes we need them to keep moving ahead.  

We were having trouble with our other ERP solution which is a product that has not been very successful outside of Arab countries. That learning experience is why we are in a good position to implement S/4HANA as a better solution.  

The installation setup requires specific knowledge of the system and how it works. I am not from the technical side myself but I know a lot of configuration is required. It is more-or-less complex depending on the scope of how the product will be modeled for use.  

For the installation, we appointed a separate SAP IT partner. Along with that, our entire company was involved with implementing this project.  

It definitely requires maintenance from SAP support as well as our own specialized teams.  

This is an expensive product.  

My recommendation to people considering S/4HANA as an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is to invest in it if they can afford it and need it. But, I strongly recommend that the implementation should be considered very carefully. SAP software is a very capable solution but it is only worth it if you approach it knowing that you will be spending three, four, or five years just to be able to understand it fully. It is not just an investment in capital, it is an investment in learning and time.  

It is definitely a good product. It is costly and needs a quality team for maintaining and integrating the product.  

On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would have a hard time making a rating of SAP S/4HANA that is useful for every user. If someone already has some expertise in ERP expertise, it is different than if they have none. The solution itself can be a ten for one aspect of its function and it can be a three or four in other aspects depending on what the user needs and understands. Cost-wise it can be anything from one to ten depending on the value it provides to the organization investing in it.  

Personally, from the functionality point, I think it is one of the best products. The integration is good and the SAP team helps with their continuous support to help users reap the fruit of their investment in the software system. We took the time to have the knowledge of business and how the product could work for us to make adopting this product a success. In our case, I think the solution is around a seven-and-a-half out of ten.  

S/4HANA BASIS administration and technical architect solutions.

We have implemented for one of the customers and gone live recently, and its greenfield implementation. The customer was very happy as the implementation time took less than 6-8 months.

Easy integration with other tools.

• S/4HANA 1610: We found very less Fiori apps — a few apps not working.
• All module Fiori apps need to be tuned.

SAP S/4 HANA has cloud facilities. Also, it has Fiori apps. This tool helps us to manage business in a faster and smarter way. 

The new functionality helps people. Employees have become more efficient and skilled. It manages the business in a faster way than before we had the solution installed. 

Business partner functionality helps us to manage vendors and customers from a single screen. Another one is product costing. Product CO-PA implementation is easier than before.

MRP repost area should be improved. The production information report also needs to be improved. 

Planned Order List needs a change of screen.

Yes, we encountered stability issues.

No scalability issues.

No previous solution was used.

Two years.

The cost is $5000.

No.

SAP S/4HANA is a comprehensive ERP solution that provides better performance.

Introducing better functions to our customers with the Fiori app is not easy for consultants. There are too many apps, and it takes time to understand their functions. You cannot know all the functions when you implement them, which is a big challenge. The solution should include a comprehensive migration tool for implementation.

I have been using SAP S/4HANA for almost seven years.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.