An Introduction to SAP

SAP was founded in 1972 in Walldorf, Germany. It stands for Systems, Applications and
Products in Data Processing. Over the years, it has grown and evolved to become the world
premier provider of client/server business solutions for which it is so well known today. The
SAP R/3 enterprise application suite for open client/server systems has established a new
standards for providing business information management solutions.
SAP product are consider excellent but not perfect. The main problems with software product is
that it can never be perfect.
The main advantage of using SAP as your company ERP system is that SAP have a very high
level of integration among its individual applications which guarantee consistency of data
throughout the system and the company itself.
In a standard SAP project system, it is divided into three environments, Development, Quality
Assurance and Production.
The development system is where most of the implementation work takes place. The quality
assurance system is where all the final testing is conducted before moving the transports to the
production environment. The production system is where all the daily business activities occur.
It is also the client that all the end users use to perform their daily job functions.
To all company, the production system should only contains transport that have passed all the
tests.
SAP is a table drive customization software. It allows businesses to make rapid changes in their
business requirements with a common set of programs. User-exits are provided for business to
add in additional source code. Tools such as screen variants are provided to let you set fields
attributes whether to hide, display and make them mandatory fields.
This is what makes ERP system and SAP in particular so flexible. The table driven
customization are driving the program functionality instead of those old fashioned hard-coded
programs. Therefore, new and changed business requirements can be quickly implemented and
tested in the system.
Many other business application software have seen this table driven customization advantage
and are now changing their application software based on this table customizing concept.
In order to minimized your upgrading costs, the standard programs and tables should not be
changed as far as possible. The main purpose of using a standard business application software
like SAP is to reduced the amount of time and money spend on developing and testing all the
programs. Therefore, most companies will try to utilized the available tools provided by SAP.

What is Client? What is the difference between Customization and

Configuration?
The difference between cutomizing and configuration is:
- CONFIGURATION: we will configure the system to meet the needs of your business by using
the existing data.
- CUSTOMIZING: we will customise or adapt the system to your business requirements, which
is the process of mapping SAP to your business process.
- CLIENT: A client is a unique one in organizational structure, can have one or more company
codes. Each company code is its own legal entity in finance.
Configuration vs. Customization
When considering enterprise software of any type, it is important to understand the difference
between configuration and customization.The crux of the difference is complexity. Configuration
uses the inherent flexibility of the enterprise software to add fields, change field names,modify
drop-down lists, or add buttons. Configurations are made using powerful built-in tool sets.
Customization involves code changes to create functionality that is not available through
configuration. Customization can be costly and can complicate future upgrades to the software
because the code changes may not easily migrate to the new version.Wherever possible,
governments should avoid customization by using configuration to meet their
goals.Governments also should understand their vendor's particular terminology with regard to
this issue since words like "modifications" or "extensions" often mean different things to
different vendors.
*-- Sivaprasad, Sonali Sardesai
What is SAP R3?
We know that SAP R/3 is software, it particular it is client-server software. This means that the
groups/layers
that make up a R/3 System are designed to run simultaneously across several separate computer
systems.
When you install Microsoft Excel on your PC, each component of Excel (printing components,
graphing components, word processing components, and etc.) is stored, managed, and processed
via the hardware of your PC. When a company installs SAPs software each component (or
"layer in R/3s case) is stored, managed, and processed via the hardware of separate and
specialized computer systems. Each of the various layers is capable of calling upon the specialty
of any of the other installed layers in order to complete a given task.
Those components/layers that are requesting services are called clients, those
components/layers that are providing services are called servers. Thus the term client/server.
*-- Shailesh Kumar (shailesh_das@yahoo.com)

What is meant by SAP ECC?

SAP is an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) module, ECC is the version of SAP, like 4.6, 4.6c
and 4.7 in that series new version is ECC-6. Its known as Enterprise core component.

Revision Questions
1) The goal of Enjoy SAP initiative was to:
a) Expand market segments across the globe.
b) Make SAP software easier to learn, tailor and use.
c) Install entertainment features into SAP R/3.
d) Extending the reach for SAP by bringing more role specific scenarios.
e) None of the above.

2) What is the kind of System architecture SAP R/3 system is using:

a) It uses a 3 Tier Architecture
b) It uses a 2 Tier Architecture
c) It separates the application from Presentation (Front End) and the Database.
d) It combines the Front End and Database in a single Application Server.
e) None of the above

Right Answers
1) b, d
2) a, c

Advantages Of SAP ERP

SAP (system applications and products in data processing), is a package which allows
more:
1. Flexibility.
2. Customized solutions to suit your business.
3. Highly integrated with other modules.
4. Industry specific modules with a deep insight.
5. Continuous support.
The major advantages of sap erp, is the HIGHLY INTEGRATION WITH OTHER MODULES
OF BUSINESS, which is not there in other SOFT WARES.
In other software, you need to have different software's for different module.
e.g. BAAN, ORACLE MANUFACTURING, etc.
There, integration becomes the issue, not all software support some integration's except for SAP,
so SAP is clear WINNER .

Further Advantages Of SAP ERP

1. Reduction in sales order processing costs.
2. Reduced time to calculate selling price.
3. Increased Cash Flow (one-time event).
a. Savings result due to access to real-time transaction information by all authorized users
(visibility),
b. Reduced request-to-quote time.
c. Reduced order-to-delivery time.
d. Reduced delivery-to-invoice time.
4. Reducing the number of days sales outstanding (DSO) by freeing-up capital (I.e., reduced
working capital; free cash flow).

a. Reduce the amount of borrowed funds required.

b. Increase investment potential.
c. Reduction (of DSO) achieved through faster order-to-cash time.
d. Accurate & timely information leads to reduced reconciliation's and better management of the
billing process leading to quicker payment and a reduction in accounts receivable (DSO),
number of disputes per order.
5. Increased revenues due to less stock outages (reduction in lost sales).
a. Reduced loss of revenue due to items being out-of-stock.
b. Fewer stock outages occur because there are more reliable materials buying
processes/procedures in place.
c. Increases customer satisfaction due to the higher availability of products.
6. Reduction in distribution costs.
7. Reduction in freight costs.

Additional Advantages Of SAP ERP

1. Vast array of modules, with huge spectrum of functionalities which ARE NOT PROVIDED
by other ERP applications.
2. Specific functionalities which are core competencies of SAP while they are not available in
other ERP applications, makes it an obvious choice for some specific industries. E.g. Variant
configuration and Automobile industry.
3. SAP knowing the demand for special processes for each industry has come up with industry
specific solutions which are unheard of from other applications.
4. Not only on the functionality side, but also on the system architecture and landscape SAP is
innovating day by day from R2 to R3 to ECC to SOA, to adopt to the business needs, thus
adding immense value to the customers.
5. SAP also gets complimented by most ubiquitous office applications of MS namely MSWord.
6. Also SAP's market share gives some certainty of business and hence it is much better than any
other smaller ERP applications in terms of career prospects.
Owing to all these advantages of sap erp which are not prevalent in other applications, SAP will

obviously become the hot choice for every client who is willing to have a robust and efficient
system.

What is the Purpose of R/3?

The sole purpose of an R/3 system is to provide a suite of tightly integrated, largescale business applications.
The standard set of applications delivered with each R/3 system are the following:

PP (Production Planning)
MM (Materials Management)
SD (Sales and Distribution)
FI (Financial Accounting)
CO (Controlling)
AM (Fixed Assets Management)
PS (Project System)
WF (Workflow)
IS (Industry Solutions)
HR (Human Resources)
PM (Plant Maintenance)
QM (Quality Management)
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

These applications are called the functional areas, or application areas, or at times the
functional modules of R/3. All of these terms are synonymous with each other.
Traditionally, businesses assemble a suite of data processing applications by
evaluating individual products and buying these separate products from multiple
software vendors. Interfaces are then needed between them. For example, the
materials management system will need links to the sales and distribution and to the
financial systems, and the workflow system will need a feed from the HR system. A
significant amount of IS time and money is spent in the implementation and
maintenance of these interfaces.
R/3 comes prepackaged with the core business applications needed by most large
corporations. These applications coexist in one homogenous environment. They are
designed from the ground up to run using a single database and one (very large) set of
tables. Current production database sizes range from 12 gigabytes to near 3 terabytes.
Around 8,000 database tables are shipped with the standard delivery R/3 product.

Successfully Implementing SAP

Implementing SAP package can be a traumatic affair for both the customer and the vendor. Get
it wrong and the vendor may get paid late or have to resort to lawyers to get paid and tarnish
their reputation. For the company the new package may not work the way they expected, be late
or cost a more than budgeted for and take management will take their eye off running their
business.
Recently a client asked me what I would consider to be the five most important things one
should consider before embarking on an implementation. This isn't a simple question, although
there are many factors to think about after some consideration for me the top five are way ahead
of the others.
My top five factors to consider as SAP implementation success factors would be:
1. Set up a Project Board,
2. Secure the resources,
3. Complete the GAP Analysis,
4. Have detailed Cut Over Plans,
5. Train the users.

Taking the SAP implementation success factors, each one in turn :

The Project Board
The correct set up and operation of the Project Board in my view is major factor in the success
failure of the project. The Project Board will consist of the stake holders, key users and the
vendor. The Project Board is part of the governance of the project. The Project Board will
meet regularly to ensure that the project plans are created and being executed as planned, moves
from stage to stage with all the deliverables being signed off is researched properly.
The Resources
Three types of resources are absolutely necessary -- end users, change team and technicians.
Early involvement by the end users is absolutely necessary, as they will be the ones living with
the system for hopefully many years to come. They will want to feel involved in its
implementation. Buy in from the end users of the system is absolutely essential if the system is
to have a long and stable life in any organisation.
The Change Team will identify the gaps between the package and the business requirements, reengineer some of the businesses process to cope with the package, train the users to ensure
implementations is smooth as possible into the business.
The Technical Team will prepare the systems environment for the package, apply any software
fixes from the vendor, implement the software in the best way possible for the organisation set

up and tune the software for the particular technical environment.

GAP Analysis
A through gap analysis will identify the gaps between how the business operates ad its needs
against what the package can can't do. For each gap there will be one of three outcomes which
must be recorded and actioned, GAP must be closed and customised software can be developed
close the gap, GAP must be closed but software cannot be written therefore a workaround is
required, GAP does not need to be closed.
In simple terms: Gap means small cracks. In SAP world. In information technology, gap
analysis is the study of the differences between two different information systems or
applications( ex; existing system or legacy system with Client and new is SAP), often for the
purpose of determining how to get from one state to a new state. A gap is sometimes spoken of
as "the space between where we are and where we want to be." Gap analysis is undertaken as a
means of bridging that space.
Actual gap analysis is time consuming and it plays vital role in blue print stage.
Cut Over Plans
Detailed plans need to be developed for cutting over from the old system(s) to the new. Parallel
runs of what will happen over the conversion period using test data, convert and watch for a
period after wards to ensure nothing unexpected happens.
Train Users
Well trained users will support and defend the system on site. Unsupportive users will
continually undermine the system and eventually it will be replaced. Therefore the more effort
you put into helping the users master the system early the better.

Explain Cut over Activities/Strategies in SAP FICO as example.

Cut over Activities or Master Data Uploading Strategies Depending upon the when we are going
live. As per that, you have to give the information to your core team. If you going live at the
middle you have to upload the all P&L Account items and B/S Items. If you going live at the
financial year start, you have to only Upload the B/S Items. Activities for Golive:
1. G/L Master Upload through BDC or LSMW (TC-Fs00 and extended one co code to another
company code Fs01)
2. Vendor Master Upload Thru BDC Or LSMW (Will be Taken Care By MM)
3. Customer Master Upload Thru BDC or LSMW (Will be Taken Care By SD)
4. Asset Master Upload(Thru As90)
5. Cost Element Master Upload
6. Cost Center Master Upload
7. Profit Center Master Upload
8. G/L Balances Thru F-02
10. Vendor Balances thru F-43
11. Customer Balances thru F-22

12. Customer Advances thru f-29

13. Vendor Advances thru F-48
Before uploading Vendor Balances you have to take care of WHT (TDS) Information.
Satynarayana

*--

Difference between the User Exit & Gap analysis.

Both are quiet a different and has a small relation.
User exits are standard gate ways provided by SAP to exit the standard code and we can write
our own code with the help of ABAP workbench. its not new functionality which we are trying
to build in sap but its slight enhancement within the same code.
Gap analysis is start point of Realization and once blue print is finished we have to find the
realization of sap system for client requirement and there will be certain gaps when compared to
system fit. Those gaps can be closed either by re-engineering of business process to fit with SAP
or we have to use USER exits in case of small deviations or complete enhancements with the
help of ABAP to fit with the SAP system. *-- V. Sridhar
What is roll out of SAP Project?
As per dictionary, Roll out means Inauguration or initial exhibition of a new product.
As per SAP specific definition, rollout is the strategy for international SAP implementation. Roll
out strategy normally include the following
- Whether to implement SAP simultaneously (also known as big-bang) in all the countries, or
- Go live in sequence of phased manner
- Or to go for the combination of both (phased manner implementation for some of the countries
and big-bang for others).
Roll out strategy is the most important decision that a client can make during SAP
implementation. Normally, steering committee decides the rollout strategy.

Basic Knowledge and System Navigation Question

What SPRO stands for?

SPRO stands for SAP Project Reference Object
.
It is used to configure the setting as per your client requirement by using the standard setting
present in the system. This where you can do all the SAP configuration work. It is also known
as the Configuration Menu.
What is full form IMG and SPRO? How are they different from each other?
IMG :- Implementation Guide.
SPRO :- SAP Project Reference Object.
SPRO------>IMG.
Type in the T-Code SPRO under That got to Main Menu which is IMG.
SPRO is basically used to organize the consultant customizing during the SAP Project Phrase.
Tcode For SPRO IMG Reference Node

How to close a window?

If we want to stop a transaction in the middle, Right click on the end button (X) on the top right
corner of the window. Then select "stop transaction".
As we dont have STOP icon as we have in WINDOWS, this will help in the same way.
Its a very small tip, but will help a lot.

Name two ways to start a transaction.

- Dynamic Menu
- Command Field

Why do you create user-specific parameters?

They supply defaults to R/3 fields. If a field is indicated, the system automatically fills in default
value. Depending on the field definition, the entry can also be replaced with a value entered by
the user. (Concept of PARAMETER ID)

Name the three different kinds of messages in the R/3 system. What is the difference
between them?
A message can have five different types. These message types have the following effects during

list processing:
A (=Abend):
The system displays a message of this message type in a dialog window. After the user confirms
the message using ENTER, the system terminates the entire transaction (for example SE38).
E (=Error) or W (=Warning):
The system displays a message of this message type in the status line. After the user chooses
ENTER, the system acts as follows:
While creating the basic list, the system terminates the report.
While creating a secondary list, the system terminates the corresponding processing block and
keeps displaying the previous list level.
I (=Information):
The system displays a message of this message type in a dialog window. After the user chooses
ENTER , the system resumes processing at the current program position.
S (=Success):
The system displays a message of this message type on the output screen in the status line of the
currently created list.

What is a data dictionary or repository?

Central catalog that contains the descriptions of an organization's data and provides information
about the relationships between the data and its use in programs and screens.
The data descriptions in a Data Dictionary is also called metadata, i.e., data that describes other
data.
The ABAP/4 Dictionary stores system-wide data definitions. When you create a new data
definition, the Dictionary tool does all the processing necessary to create the definition. You can
use the Dictionary tool to look up the "definition" of objects in your R/3 System.

What is a matchcode?
Comparsion key. A matchcode allows you to locate the key of a particular database record (e.g.
account number) by entering any field value contained in the record. The system then displays a
list of records matching the specifications.

If you want an end user to see a specific menu after logging on the R/3 system, how could
you do that?
User maintenance transactions allow the system administrator to create and maintain user master
records. This includes the generation and assignment of authorizations and authorization
profiles.

Which of the following are valid entries in the command field? (more than one answer can
be correct)
A. SU3
B. SM04
C. /nsm04
D. /nend
E. /nex
F. /nexit
G. search_sap_menu

Answer: A, B, C, D, E, G

SCAT - What Is It And How To Used It

SAP ERP ==> SAP CATT

How to Create SCAT program for any mass upload purpose?
SCAT is similar to LSMW/BDC to upload/updated data in SAP from legacy system.
The differences between SCAT and LSMW :LSMW and SCAT has different functionalities and different advantages, but common
thing is they are used for data upload.
SCAT is mainly used as a testing tool for follow-on transactions i.e. Purchase
Requisition, Purchase order, Goods Receipt etc.
Whereas LSMW is used for Master data (Materials, Customer, Vendor, BOM, Info
record etc) and some of the transactions data (Purchase order, purchase requisition)
There are many standard objects are available in LSMW so most of the consultants
use LSMW, but again depends on the requirement.
Writing a CAT script to create user:1 Recording a test case
1.1 To record a test case, call Transaction SCAT and enter test case Zuser_creat.
- Do not choose Enter.
- Choose Test Case ? Record Transaction. Enter Transaction SU01, and choose
Record/Enter.
- The system runs Transaction SU01.
- Enter the user name TESTZ and choose Create.
- Enter the users title first name ZEBRA and the last name TEST.
- Select the Logon data tab, enter init as the initial password, and repeat the password,
profile select sap_all then choose Save.
- Go back a screen and in the dialog box displayed, select End recording.
- A message is displayed stating that the recording has ended.
- Enter the test case title User maintenance.
- In the field Component, enter BC-SEC-USR.
- Save the test case.
- In the field package class, enter $TMP.
- Choose Save to save the attributes.
- To save the test case functions, go back.

2 Entering parameters for a test case

2.1 To define parameters for a test case, call Transaction SCAT.
- Enter the test case name Zuser_creat.
- Select Functions and choose Change.
- Double-click on TCD.
- Then double-click on program SAPLSUU5 screen 0050. (first appearance of this
program)
- The first screen of Transaction SU01 is displayed. (If you backed out, enter the
procedure name again and double-click on TCD.)
- Double-click on the user name field. In the field Param. name, enter an "&", and
choose Copy/Enter.
- Choose Next screen and double-click the last name. In the field Param. name, enter
an "&" and choose Copy/Enter.
- Go back until the Save folder appears, and choose Save.
3 Creating and using an external variant for the test case
3.1 To export the default parameters into a frontend file, in the test case, select Goto?
Variants ? Export Default.
Note: The default file name is <the name of your test case>.txt. Do not change the
default values.
3.2 Open the file, with excel and edit and add another couple of user, and save the text
file
3.3 To execute the test case using the external variant from file, from the initial CATT
screen, enter the test case name and choose Execute.
In the field Variants, select External from file and choose Choose. Select the file
created above, and choose Open. Under Processing mode, select Errors, and choose
Execute.
Note: When you use this method, the file must be imported each time the test case is
executed (file remains only on PC).