If your questions are raised since you think what process will be most beneficial to automate, I’d recommend you to run process mining on the ERP your company currently using, and based on the results you will be able to learn and find the most beneficial process to automate.
We have used RPA successfully for AP Invoice Automation which is one of the most common uses of RPA.
In some cases of trading companies, using a drop shipment scenario, this can extend to the billing clients after the supplier invoice triggers this process.
In one case (our client) where the supplier requires them to download the invoice from a portal, the Bot is configured to log in a 5 pm every day to retrieve the latest invoices which are then processed with the AP Automation process mentioned above.
The client achieved good savings on FTE.
There are others that have already been stated by the community in this thread.
Hello community,
I work for a large manufacturing company and am researching ERP solutions.
Now, our company uses SAP-ERP ECC6 and needs to upgrade or reimplement to a new ERP. I would like to compare the functions/features and non-functional features. Our company is in the telco industry. Which topic or item should be of concern? Do you possibly have any Excel templates which you use to com...
Hey Mr. Panjahong - there are many templates and scoresheets to compare software available, but most are not focused on where you need to be. At this point, you need business analysts to examine the business process at your company. Yes, Telcos have some similarities, but more often, each has different ways of doing business. For example, with B2B we might see 1,000 transactions daily whereas B2C might be working with 40,000 transactions hourly - and whether or not this describes your facility or not is not consequential as long as you understand that the microseconds of difference between how one software performs versus the next could be millions in value over the years. Doing business process analysis, especially if your analysts have ERP backgrounds, will highlight the areas of key concern for your company. And start the software architecture best suited to addressing those concerns. Then, your evaluation is focused on these key metrics and becomes manageable. I could send you past clients' requirements ranging from a 20-page spreadsheet with nearly 100 questions per tab, to a retailer that thought they had a comprehensive 25-requirements list (in an hour we had it up to 125). But the reality is, probably neither of those templates would be of any real value. Go build your business case - it's the first step to succeeding in a very complex, yet critical situation.
Hi Wanlaya, We are SAP consulting company based in Mumbai, India you can visit our website www.inteliwaves.com.
Just to answer your question please find herewith document i have may be helpful to you and will help you in your decision making process.
SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud: Clash of the Titans
When considering new enterprise technologies, many of our clients consider SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud in their ERP software evaluation process. In fact, our upper mid-market and larger enterprise clients choose between these two systems on an extremely frequent basis.
In the most recent rankings of the top ERP systems, it’s not surprising that both solutions did well. S/4HANA ranked #6 and Oracle ERP Cloud landed at #3, although they both finished in the top two in terms of market share. While some might argue they should have finished higher in our rankings, below are some independent analysis of how these two leading industry titans compare to one another.
The common strengths of SAP S/4HANA and Oracle ERP Cloud
For some organizations, S/4HANA and Oracle ERP are the best options because of their common strengths. For example, both products are capable of scaling to meet the needs of larger, complex, and more diverse organizations. Companies that operate internationally, have diverse product lines, and manage supply chains are naturally going to gravitate to these two solutions. This is why SAP and Oracle have historically had such a strong foothold in the Fortune 500 space.
The common weaknesses of SAP S/4HANA and Oracle ERP Cloud
For some organizations, SAP and Oracle are a natural best fit for their needs. However, it is important to also be aware of their weaknesses. Both products are knee deep in their transitions from well-established legacy products to these newer flagship products, which is why both products suffer from a relative lack of functional maturity.
This is true not only related to their own legacy products such as ECC and eBusiness Suite, but also when compared to more established products, such as Oracle NetSuite, Plex Systems, and others that have a jumpstart on migration to the cloud. We see this relative lack of maturity wreaking havoc on their customers’ ERP implementations as they navigate the holes and deficiencies in their products. Best of breed ERP solutions are a common solution to address this problem.
Standardization and harmonization of business processes
SAP is the gold standard when it comes to standardizing and harmonizing business processes. It has an advantage over Oracle ERP in that it drives a certain amount of structure and rigidity – for better or for worse. This is part of what appeals to larger organizations that are trying to drive a certain amount of commonality throughout their global operations.
The downside of this advantage, however, is that it makes organizational change very difficult and painful. Anytime you are forced to accept someone else’s business processes – whether internally or because it’s just the way the software works – employees are going to resist the changes in some way. This is why an effective organizational change management plan is so important for SAP S/4HANA implementations – even more so than for those implementing Oracle ERP Cloud.
Functional flexibility
On the slip side, Oracle ERP Cloud has the advantage if it is flexibility that you value. Whether you are a decentralized company with independent operations or a company that values speed and nimbleness over structure and standardization, Oracle ERP is going to have the slight edge.
Just as S/4HANA requires effective organizational change management to mitigate the pains of rigidity, Oracle ERP Cloud implementations requires effective change management as well – albeit for different reasons. We often times see the solution’s flexibility mask a deeper issue: resistance to change. The risk of Oracle ERP implementations is that even though you can change the software more easily than with S/4HANA, it doesn’t mean you should.
Deployment flexibility
While most ERP vendors are trying to force its customers to the cloud – including Oracle – SAP still offers multiple deployment models with S/4HANA. Rather than requiring a pure cloud or SaaS delivery, SAP allows customers to choose on-premise, cloud, or SaaS. We find that Oracle on the other hand rarely offers on-premise options – except where there are deficiencies in its product and only a legacy on-premise solution will address those needs.
While SAP may have the advantage in this category, it also has some liabilities. The company may not require customers to move to the cloud before they are ready, but they are certainly forcing existing customers to migrate to S/4HANA before they are ready. SAP’s 2025 deadline is one of the more aggressive mandates that we have seen in the industry in recent years.
Ease of employee adoption
Feedback from our clients indicate that Oracle ERP Cloud has the advantage when it comes to ease of employee adoption. The product’s user interface and flexibility generally make it easier for employees to learn and use than S/4HANA’s more rigid interface and general structure. This is also true when it comes to the initial implementation of the software.
Even though Oracle may have the advantage when it comes to ease of employee adoption, organizational change is still a very critical requirement for success. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, Oracle ERP and S/4HANA require a greater level of discipline, integration, and general process changes – all which require an intense focus on organizational change.
Data and analytics
The ability to translate data into information that can be used for better decision-making is becoming a hot commodity in the enterprise technology space. For decades, companies have been adapting ERP systems to gather more intelligence and data, but few have mastered the craft of knowing how to find value in all that data. This is becoming even more true in today’s age of internet of things, artificial intelligence, and shop floor automation and data capture.
With this in mind, Oracle has historically been very strong in data and analytics, especially since its acquisition of Hyperion years ago. Its Enterprise Performance Management offering is a strong complement to the core ERP system, making for more effective reporting, analytics, and business intelligence capabilities than with S/4HANA.
Alternatives to SAP and Oracle
With this comparison in mind, it is also important to note that there are many viable alternatives to the SAP vs. Oracle debate. Many leading ERP systems have become more viable over the years, and there are more established cloud ERP systems that may be better fits for your organization.
For example, here are a few other product comparisons that are commonly of interest with our clients, along with a link to each:
SAP S/4HANA vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365
Oracle ERP Cloud vs. Oracle NetSuite
Microsoft Dynamics 365 vs. Oracle NetSuite
Overview of the Top 10 ERP Systems
These and other resources on our website and my YouTube channel will help you navigate the plethora of options available to you.
SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud: Which is better?
As you may have gathered from the above analysis, there is no clear “winner” in the SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud discussion. We have many clients where S/4HANA is clearly more aligned with their longer-term vision and strategy, while we find that Oracle ERP Cloud is a better fit for others. It all comes down to unique needs, strategies, and goals of your organization.
Please feel free to contact me to pick my brain on the pros and cons of these and other ERP systems available in the market. I am happy to be a sounding board as you continue your digital transformation journey!
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SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud
Oracle Cloud ERP
Why this matters
True cloud SaaS applications
Not SaaS, hosted legacy
SaaS
SaaS
True SaaS is essential for the continuous digital innovation necessary for today’s business environment—without end-of life issues and implementation disruption.
Complete suite of modular applications
ERP-centric but comprehensive set of modules.
Limited financials and manufacturing capabilities.
Full suite of flexible modular SaaS applications.
When all modules are built on unified data, you can optimize processes and analyze data across departments. Modularity allows for diverse business models and priority-focused implementation.
Continuous innovation across all applications
Traditional complex and costly upgrades
Quarterly SaaS updates
Quarterly SaaS updates
Quarterly updates allow continuous innovation based on the latest technologies.
Budgeting and forecasting across lines of business and data sources
Only traditional budgeting and forecasting. Business planning & consolidation (BPC) will not be supported starting in 2027.
Only traditional budgeting and forecasting. Will not be supported starting in 2027.
Supports connected enterprise planning and multiple planning approaches.
Planning and forecasting across functions leverages all enterprise data and gives you a holistic view of the business.
Ability to anticipate and react to market conditions and disruptions with scenario modeling
Limited capabilities to anticipate and react to market conditions and limited capabilities for scenario modeling.
Limited capabilities to anticipate and react to market conditions and limited capabilities for scenario modeling.
Supports multiple scenario planning approaches.
Scenario planning prepares organizations for disruption and unforeseen events.
Embedded risk management across functions
Fragmented across multiple application and technology layers.
Fragmented across multiple application and technology layers.
Pervasive risk management with embedded data science across the applications and platform.
Built-in risk management and data science strengthens financial controls, stops cash leaks, streamlines audit, and detects emerging risks.
Flexible ledger structures
Thick ledger
Thick ledger
Choice of thick ledger, thin ledger, or structured federated ledger (subledger accounting).
A flexible ledger lets users decide how much data flows into the general ledger based on their business and reporting needs.
One source of truth for finance and HR data to improve decision-making
Legacy application connected to cloud. HR data is in silos.
SaaS with multiple acquired disparate HR modules.
SaaS solution with a single data model for HR, finance and other lines of business.
Unified data avoids overly complex reporting and analysis. No need for IT to normalize data.
Configurable, not customizable applications
Customizable
Configurable
Configurable
Rule-driven configurations and workflow changes don't require IT support. They also drive security and continuous optimization without business disruption.
One solution for small, midsize, and large companies
SAP positions different solutions based on company size. SAP Business ByDesign for small/midsize and the S/4 HANA products for large enterprises.
SAP positions different solutions based on company size. SAP Business ByDesign for small/midsize and the S/4 HANA products for large enterprises.
Single solution to support small, midsize, and large companies. Capabilities can be deployed as needed.
A single solution means no need to migrate if the company grows or requirements evolve. You can deploy the same applications across HQ, subsidiaries, and business units regardless of size.
Hello community,
I am a Manager at a small tech consulting company. I am currently researching ERP solutions.
Which ERP solution is best for steel manufacturing?
Thank you for your help.
I would do a gap analysis and determine what is required by your company. Then look at the software depending on what the gap analysis tells you. It could be NetSuite, Epicor, or JD Edwards. All have their strengths and weaknesses. It depends on what is the best fit for your company. One other point, this should not be an IT project.
If your questions are raised since you think what process will be most beneficial to automate, I’d recommend you to run process mining on the ERP your company currently using, and based on the results you will be able to learn and find the most beneficial process to automate.
As per my experience below are the frequently used use cases in the ERP space:
1. Sales Automation
2. Invoice Automation
3.3-way matching
4. OCR and document data processing
Hi @Evgeny Belenky
We have used RPA successfully for AP Invoice Automation which is one of the most common uses of RPA.
In some cases of trading companies, using a drop shipment scenario, this can extend to the billing clients after the supplier invoice triggers this process.
In one case (our client) where the supplier requires them to download the invoice from a portal, the Bot is configured to log in a 5 pm every day to retrieve the latest invoices which are then processed with the AP Automation process mentioned above.
The client achieved good savings on FTE.
There are others that have already been stated by the community in this thread.
@Dominic-Gopal, thank you for your answer!
RPA can be used for ERP in the following scenarios:
1. Receipts creation - vendor Invoice booking & passing.
2. Sale order creation from Field officers.
3. Invoice processing from Sales order or sales scheduling agreement (as per plan).
Hi @Evgeny Belenky ,
Most common use cases where organizations can use RPA for ERP:
@Shibu Babuchandran thank you very much for the answer.
Hi,
In our company the most frequent and useful use cases are:
1. Processing the Invoices and Credit Invoices form our vendors
2. Creating and updating the exchange rates.