Order capture and order fulfillment are the core responsibilities of an internal sales representative. In today’s world, where increasing order volumes and, at the same time, tight control of sales operations costs are key contributions to a company’s margins, efficiency and effectiveness are the ingredients to a modern order and contract management process. Today, unlike 20 years ago, the person responsible cannot manually capture all incoming sales orders and keep track of the statuses of open sales orders. Therefore, automatic sales order capture, low- to no-touch order management, integrated compliance with export and product regulations, managing credits and financial risks, and exception-based working models are all essential.
With this new release, we continue our journey to increase these key differentiators, and this blog provides an overview of innovations delivered with the SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 for Sales.
To name just a few highlights:
- Handling of multiple addresses in sales documents using SAP Business Partner
- Triggering of mass changes to sales documents across document categories
- Creation of sales scheduling agreements through spreadsheet upload
- Enhancement of monitoring of sales scheduling agreement delivery schedules – Demand Deviation
- … and more.
In case you do not need all the information below and just briefly want to get an overview of the release highlights, please watch this video with the top key innovations:
Release video: SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 for Sales: Top 2 key innovations
Handling of multiple addresses in sales documents using SAP Business Partner
In SAP S/4HANA, the Business Partner (BP) is the leading object to maintain Customer and Supplier data. The Business Partner data model enables you to maintain multiple, time-dependent addresses for each Business Partner master record and to assign these addresses to address usages.
But until SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202, the Order-to-Cash documents can only use the customer’s standard address, and you need to maintain multiple BPs just because your customer has asked you to deliver your goods to different addresses.
SAP S/4HANACloud 2202 is now able to consume multiple addresses of a Business Partner that has a customer role. With this multiple address handling, you can increase the flexibility and efficiency with which the system handles business partner (BP) addresses in apps and documents (for example, sales orders, outbound deliveries, and billing documents) across sales, shipping, and some other parts of the system (for example, settlement management).
When you have activated the additional system capabilities in your configuration environment, sales and shipping apps can model and process the relationships between BPs (for example, companies) and their addresses in a way that more closely reflects the real-world legal and physical realities. Apps and documents across sales and shipping can then consume N addresses of the same BP master record that are assigned to one customer master record.
Demo 1: Introduction of multiple and time-dependent addresses from the business partner into the order-to-cash scenario (including audio).
Prerequisites
The SAP Business Partner model allows you to maintain multiple addresses per business partner per default. To be able to maintain address-dependent data, and to enable SD documents to consume both the addresses and their address-dependent data, you, as a configuration expert, must activate these capabilities in the following two configuration activities:
- Activate Multiple Address Handling for Customer Master Data in SAP BP
- Activate Multiple Address Handling in SD Documents Using SAP BP
Effects on Existing Data
Please be aware that the activation of multiple address handling is irreversible and, once activated, cannot be deactivated.
However, activation should not have any disruptive effects.
- Changing the switch state to ON in the Activate Multiple Address Handling for Customer Master Data in SAP BP configuration activity provides the prerequisites for consolidating existing master data and enriching it with address-dependent data. All business processes remain as they are. No existing master data records are changed automatically.
- Changing the switch state to ON in the Activate Multiple Address Handling in SD Documents Using SAP BP configuration activity causes partner functions in newly created SD documents to reference addresses maintained in BP master data records, instead of the standard addresses maintained in customer master data records.
No business data is changed, and the system will still be able to process SD documents that were created before the activation and therefore reference customer master data records.
Additional Information
- For an overview of the most important features of multiple address handling, see Feature Overview for Multiple Address Handling
- For technical guides (for example, Master Data Guide and Configuration Guide) and important restrictions, see SAP Note 3119364. Please pay particular attention to the restrictions for specific countries or regions.
Triggering of mass changes to sales documents across document categories
This innovation continues to rise our journey to this low-touch sales order by automating as many steps possible in the sales order processing without impacting the flexibility or speed of the process.
Background
A perfect sales order is one that is delivered:
- Exactly as expected by customers (100% on-time delivery)
- With the right amount (100% file rate)
- In the correct condition and packaging (100% correct quality)
- With the correct corresponding documentation.
To meet these challenges, the low-touch sales order process concept brings several advantages:
- It leaves more room for spending time on “high-value” tasks by employees, instead of repetitive tasks with little added value
- It reduces or eliminates the need for input moments in the system, reducing or eliminating human error
- At the bottom line, a no-touch order can reduce human labor hours and streamline the tasks of those employees.
Key Features
With SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2105 release, we introduced the mass changes for sales documents.
Typically, updating sales orders in SAP S/4HANA Cloud requires the user to manually open and make changes to the correspondent Sales Orders Header Data or Sales Orders Items Data, one after the other. Maybe this is a possible process for a very small list of orders, but it becomes time-consuming for larger ones.
With this release, you can now use the Mass Change of Sales Documents SAP Fiori app to access and make changes across all types of sales documents in one step. For example, you can make changes to multiple sales orders and sales quotations at the same time.
Remark: The Mass Change of Sales Documents app now supports the consumption of multiple addresses for a customer for all the sales document categories.
Demo 2: Ability to trigger mass changes at a header and item level across multiple sales document categories (including audio).
Monitor Mass Changes of Sales Documents
With this SAP Fiori app, you can search for all the jobs created in the Mass Change of Sales Documents app.
You can use the Monitor Mass Changes of Sales Documents app to do the following:
- Search for jobs by various criteria, such as job status, the user who created the job, start date, and so on.
- View job details.
- Reschedule failed jobs. After rescheduling a failed job, the current failed job is set to be completed and the new job is in process.
- Mark failed jobs as completed. You can no longer change the job status or any other details after marking the job as completed.
Situation Template: Mass Change of Sales Docs: Jobs Complete
You want the user who triggered the mass change or specific members of your sales organization to be informed when a mass change job is finished. For this, you can use this standard template, users can be notified automatically about the status of finished jobs.
End users will then be informed about the situations they’re responsible for by notifications on the SAP Fiori launchpad. They can also choose to get additional emails.
For background information about the Situation Handling framework, see the Product Assistance for Situation Handling.
Creation of sales scheduling agreements through spreadsheet upload
This is the second innovation in the low-touch sales orders process, and with the SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2005 release, we improved the process with a new option to create sales orders by uploading spreadsheets with the required data. You can use this process when creating sales orders as a result of mass upload capabilities.
Business Background
You regularly receive orders maintained in Microsoft Excel files. You have now to create sales orders based on the data maintained in these Microsoft Excel files, and you need to manually enter the order data and create them – one by one – in the Create Sales Orders SAP Fiori app.
With the SAP Fiori app Import Sales Orders, you can batch-create sales orders directly from Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files. After an order data file is uploaded, the system automatically creates sales orders, reducing manual workload.
The function to upload sales documents from Microsoft excel spreadsheet files has been very popular with our customers. They are now asking to enable the function for additional document types.
With the SAP Fiori app Import Sales Documents in SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202, you as an internal sales representative can now import
- for sales documents and
- for Sales Scheduling Agreements.
Demo 3: Create sales scheduling agreements by uploading spreadsheets with the required data using the SAP Fiori app Import Sales Documents (including audio).
In the same way, you have a new landing page for the mass creation of sales Documents from spreadsheets. We have now a similar look and feel compared to the mass change of sales documents SAP Fiori app.
Key Features
- In the new SAP Fiori app, you have a holistic overview of import logs of all document categories in one screen, and you have quick access to the import log detail page to check log details and fix errors.
- After uploading your file, you can preview the order data, including header and item details.
- In the next step, you can verify the data integrity and validity of the file, you then import sales orders from your preview page. In the end, you navigate to the import history to query the order creation status.
Remark: We recommend also that you download the standard template before an import. This template provides a list of fields that are required or optional for importing sales documents.
Enhancement of monitoring of sales scheduling agreement delivery schedules – Demand Deviation
This innovation is located in the area of Digital Age User Experience with instant insights delivering value-adding experiences.
With the SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2111 release, we deliver a new SAP Fiori app Delivery Schedules – Demand Deviation, and you, as an internal sales representative, can monitor product demand and how it fluctuates in delivery schedules.
The business background here is that the customer constantly adjusts the request by increasing or decreasing the quantity ordered for a delivery date in new versions of the delivery schedule.
The app Delivery Schedules – Demand Deviation gives you an overview of quantity changes in delivery schedules and details of the increases and decreases in customer requests for a given period. Such information offers valuable insights into how product demand changes over time and may unfold in the future.
Demo 4: Get quick insights into the call-off behavior of your customer in order to verify contract fulfillment and help ensure stable requirements planning (no audio).
Keys Features
With this SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 release, you can perform the following in the Delivery Schedules – Demand Deviation app:
- Search for JIT delivery schedules in a sales scheduling agreement item and compare order quantities in them.
- Export the analysis result, based on the Time Scale and Type of Quantity parameters, from the table to a spreadsheet.
- Hide empty columns when you display deviation in order quantities in the table view.
- Apply your deviation profile as an optional parameter in the analysis.
Additional Details
You have also the option of applying the analysis parameter Deviation Profile.
A deviation profile contains percentage thresholds. When a valid deviation profile is applied, the system uses it to calculate the absolute thresholds and determines the ranges of deviation levels (acceptable, warning, and alert). If a deviation falls into an alert or warning level, the system displays the quantity (either an order quantity or a differing quantity) in color plus an icon accordingly.
For additional information about the deviation profile, see SAP Help here.
Hierarchical process flow on the sales contracts object page
With this feature, you can view the process flow on the Sales Contract object page. The process flow provides you with an overview of the connected business documents in a table. For example, you can see the status of your sales contract and whether a sales order was created with reference to it. Furthermore, you can navigate to the object pages of the relevant business objects, as well as the related apps that you’re authorized for.
Demo 5: Increase efficiency in sales contract management through a user-friendly and transparent view of all sales documents related to a sales contract (including audio).
SAP Sales Order Tracking
With the app Sales Order Tracking internal sales representatives are enabled to monitor the fulfillment status of sales orders over the whole process chain of the order-to-cash process.
The app perfectly supports sales employees if a customer calls, asking for information on their order or if a colleague or superior asks for information on all sales orders belonging to a specific customer.
Issues can be recognized instantly, and appropriate actions can be triggered.
User Interface Improvements in SAP Fiori app Track Sales Order Details
- The tabs have been replaced by an anchor bar – all sections (for example, general information, items, contacts, and so on) are now displayed on one page (see slide 18).
- Change to fulfillment top node: Due to the introduction of an anchor bar, both sections (that is, process flow and items) of the top node of the fulfillment process are now displayed on one page. (see slide 17)
- Contacts are now available for all nodes (that is, business object details and issue details) within the anchor bar (see slide 19).
- The customer details section has been removed.
As a result, sold-to party, ship-to party, and bill-to party have been moved to header level for the corresponding business objects and issues (see slide 19). - Sub-sections have been introduced under general information (for example, “invoice and payment”)
- Sales document data: a sales document data section has been introduced in the anchor bar for sales order details and sales order-related issues.
- Delivery data: a delivery data section has been introduced in the anchor bar for delivery details and delivery-related issues.
Picture 1: Track the fulfillment status of sales orders and get a quick overview if the sales orders are on track or if they contain issues.
Product Marketability: Integrated sales order check for ship-to customer compliance
This innovation is located in the area of Product Compliance, but here we have integrated marketability checks into sales and order processes (Scope Item 31J). With this SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 release, we introduce a new compliance check “World-first order check”.
This means, if your customer orders your chemical product for the first time, the customer of your product must be informed about the risk level of the product via instructions and safety information regarding the product, in a language easily understood by consumers and other end-users. The goal is to prevent the illegal use of the product and incidents caused by the mishandling of the product
Key Features
The product stewardship specialist specifies the risk level of an unpackaged chemical product. Using this information, the system checks if the customer ship-to-party is allowed to receive the product.
Demo 6: Improve go-to-market compliance for chemical products (including audio).
Background about Product Compliance
SAP S/4HANA Cloud for Product Compliance helps ensure product compliance throughout the entire product lifecycle and enables seamless integration of product compliance information and assessment results into business processes for example in sales. The application automatically checks in sales documents such as contracts that the included products comply with all marketability, dangerous goods, and safety data sheet requirements. In case of missing information, the system automatically blocks the document and informs the product steward about missing information. After the product steward has provided missing information and has released the product for sales, the blocks are automatically removed.
Additional Details
To learn more about Product Compliance, see my post blogs for this area here
Thanks for reading this blog post. Stay tuned!
If you want to learn more and actively engage with SAP subject matter experts on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, join our SAP S/4HANA Cloud Customer Community. This platform which is available to SAP S/4HANA Cloud customers and partners has a clear mission: deliver an interactive community to engage with one another about best practices and product solutions.
For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, check out the following links:
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud release info here
- Sven Denecken’s SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2202 Release Blog
- The Link Collection for Sales here
- Latest SAP S/4HANA Cloud Release Blog Posts here and previous release highlights here
- Product videos on our SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP S/4HANA YouTube playlist
- SAP S/4HANA PSCC Digital Enablement Wheel here
- Early Release Webinar Series here
- Inside SAP S/4HANA Podcast here
- openSAP Microlearning for SAP S/4HANA here
- Best practices for SAP S/4HANA Cloud here
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud Community: here
- Feature Scope Description here
- What’s New here
- Help Portal Product Page here
- Implementation Portal here
