SAP Configuration


What Is SAP Configuration?

Installing and configuring an SAP system, particularly an ERP system, can be a complex and time-consuming task. While SAP Basis teams manage the installation itself, SAP systems are standard software that has nothing in place that is developed specifically for your organization. This is where SAP Configuration becomes important to the process since every company has its own specific way of posting and creating purchase orders, sales orders, or any of their other day-to-day tasks.

What Is SAP Configuration?

Installing and configuring an SAP system, particularly an ERP system, can be a complex and time-consuming task. While SAP Basis teams manage the installation itself, SAP systems are standard software that has nothing in place that is developed specifically for your organization. This is where SAP Configuration becomes important to the process since every company has its own specific way of posting and creating purchase orders, sales orders, or any of their other day-to-day tasks.

Configuration is not coding, nor is it customization which involves changing standard features. It is a part of the implementation of a system that allows you to specify information like currency, language, organizational structure, function, and processes. SAP software is designed in such an open way to let you configure it the way your organization needs it to be set up. You can define how your company runs, since it’s your processes. While SAP introduced the concept of the SAP Model Company in 2019, which included preconfigured end-to-end processes, business content, and industry specific accelerators to streamline the implementation of SAP S/4HANA and SAP SuccessFactors, organizations still have the capability to configure an SAP system exactly how they want it to look.

Key Considerations for SAPinsiders

  • You can use tools like SAP Solution Manager to accelerate and manage the configuration of your SAP systems. Rather than having to use different transactions or configuration files to go in and make configuration changes to your SAP systems, a tool that SAP supplies in order to readily manage configurations across multiple systems is SAP Solution Manager. Managing a configuration from SAP Solution Manager allows you to control access to the configuration as well as document the process. It also allows you to preserve configuration states, support testing, and manage delivery of configuration to different systems around the organization.
  • The SAP Model Company can help accelerate your configuration when it comes to the move to SAP S/4HANA. While organizations have always had the ability to configure their SAP systems so that they support the way their individual organization works, there has always been a debate between those who prefer fit to standard, using a standard out-of-the-box solution with as few changes as possible, to a fit-to-requirement model which involves a highly customized solution that very much fits the specific needs of a given organization. Leveraging the SAP Model Company provides a pre-configured reference example of a fit-to-standard implementation that can both streamline and accelerate an SAP S/4HANA deployment, while making SAP configuration considerably easier.

968 results

  1. Nine Tips for Dealing with Zero Decimal Place Currencies

    Published: 15/February/2004

    Reading time: 54 mins

    The U.S. dollar, like many of the world’s currencies including the euro, uses two decimal places, which – not surprisingly – is the default setting for R/3. When you roll out your SAP functionality across geographies, however, you may run in trouble coping with currencies with other decimal-place demands. The author provides tips to help...…

  2. Use Shelf-Life Planning to Lower Stockouts For Inventory With Expiration Dates

    Published: 11/March/2011

    Reading time: 14 mins

    Most inventories used in the supply network planning run have expiration dates. You can use information relative to inventory expiration dates and future demand needs to reduce future stock-outs via additional replenishment orders. Although shelf-life propagation and associated alerts are fully described in SAP’s standard documentation, you can also incorporate shelf-life information into your standard...…

  3. Meeting Resistance to Implementing SAP Solution Manager? Here’s What to Do

    Published: 12/March/2010

    Reading time: 19 mins

    Manager/Project ManagementHere are five tips on how to explain why SAP Solution Manager should be considered an advantage to an organization, not a burden or the source of additional project cost. Also, learn how to structure the implementation of SAP Solution Manager once you have received approval. Key Concept SAP Solution Manager is a tool...…

  4. ERMS Under the Hood: Configuration Tasks and the Service Manager Profile

    Published: 15/January/2007

    Reading time: 11 mins

    See how E-Mail Response Management System (ERMS), a standard mySAP CRM tool, allows you to route your incoming emails using Rule Modeler and Category Modeler. By using predefined rules with ERMS, you can set up your system to handle these emails without using ABAP coding. Also learn how ERMS can reply to certain types of...…

  5. A Better Way to Manage User Exits: The Flexible Approach

    Published: 01/February/2009

    Reading time: 15 mins

    The SAP NetWeaver BI environment involves many developers in many different areas (such as finance, logistics, and HR). In the traditional approach, all developers share the same user exit. Discover another way to handle this work — the flexible approach — that can save you time (and money), while reducing the potential problems of sharing...…

  6. Customize Your Screen Layout Easily with GuiXT

    Published: 15/November/2007

    Reading time: 14 mins

    The GuiXT user interface extension allows you to modify your screen layouts. Learn how to add buttons on the screen, delete unused fields and menu links, and alter text to accommodate your SCM business preferences. Key Concept GuiXT is a standard R/3 tool used to personalize SAP screens using scripts, without changing the underlying ABAP...…

  7. Seamlessly Execute Vendor-Managed Inventory Using SAP APO 7.0 and SAP ECC 6.0

    Published: 15/September/2010

    Reading time: 10 mins

    Companies who have vendors manage the inventory in their stores for specific stock keeping units often opt to use Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI). VMI improves customer service, reduces inventory requirements, and improves customer retention. Discover how to seamlessly execute VMI across demand planning, Supply Network Planning, and sales and distribution. Key Concept Vendor-Managed Inventory is an...…

  8. RF-Enable Logistics Transactions for Automated Data Collection in Real Time

    Published: 01/December/2003

    Reading time: 18 mins

    When you implement bar-coding and radio-frequency (RF) technology in your warehouse or plant, you must modify a number of commonly used SAP transactions so that they recognize RF devices. The author of this article lists the transactions you will likely have to modify and provide advice for doing so. However, users have been demanding transactions...…

  9. Safety Stock: Which Method Is Right for You?

    Published: 02/September/2009

    Reading time: 141 mins

    Learn about various methods of safety stock supported by standard SAP Advanced Planning & Optimization (SAP APO), including a new method that provides a more cost-effective way of managing safety stocks in a supply chain. Key Concept Supply chains are exposed to multiple uncertain influencing factors, such as demand upsurges or production disruptions. Safety stock...…

  10. The Newest SAPexperts Hub Offers HANA Best Practices You Can Trust

    Published: 14/May/2013

    Reading time: 3 mins

    – Let our brand new resource be your trusted provider of HANA guidance. Get a quick rundown of how the SAPexperts HANA hub offers peer-reviewed content unavailable anywhere else. On behalf of everyone at SAPexperts, I’d like to welcome you to our newest resource: the HANA hub. The HANA hub is an independent, online knowledgebase...…