By observing in detail the above functionality and configurations look like the ERP Sales order in CRM on premise, such order types and Item categories types’ determination. This functionality call the same function modules that are called in the RFC connection in the CRM On premise versión, such SLS_LORD*. Although, it provides a single user interface for sales processes and services this is limited for sales and does not provide full functionality or features that SD provide in other context.
Pre-sales processes (ERP Sales order in S/4HANA)
A key feature on CM 1809 sales is a seamless document flow by combining business transactions such as opportunity or quote, so we can see where Customer Management (CM) business transaction was generated from; however, certain issues such as display an opportunity from SD side must be improved, despite the solution keeps them linked but it is not possible to visualized whole document in SD, SD spot this as “external documents” since they are different data structures and tables, simply put S/4HANA continue seeing CM as external solution and not as native module within it. In addition VBFA still is the central repository of documents flow relationships.
To my mind SAP is addressing the backoffice interaction to whole Web UI interface, but need to push even more on moving parts of current functionalities and features to UI, whereas it will continue being a mask for creating and updating Sales Order, however we count with Fiori apps to be launched from CM and provide a tightly user experience.
To those colleagues whom like technical issues we still have function modules to find the document flow in SD (SD_DOCUMENT_FLOW_GET) and similar one exist for CM documents flow (CRM_ORDER_READ – ET_DOC_FLOW), here is where the links between CM and S4HANA are found; in short, CM and S4HANA structures are updated separately each one by using their own function modules and tables. Going back to the Sales functional topics in more detail, they are tightly similar to those provided in the CRM On premise.
From now you can create activities such as follow-up from quotations and orders, but these are not reflected in the documents flow associated to SD order, they work over the UI framework.
Features:
1. Search for quotes and SD orders in the Web UI
2. Enhanced features for pricing calculation, so that, validate accesses sequences and conditions.
3. Configurable fast entry to make the end-user experience easy
4. Now SD sales Order creation from CM opportunities is available
5. Creation of the follow up activity from Sales Order/Quotation
Features restricted or not supported (2692826 and 2691609):
◈ Forecast and Visit List (now this is part of C/4HANA – Sales cloud)
◈ Sales assistant
◈ Opportunity Plan
◈ Buying center: It is not possible to define a buying center on account level and default it in the opportunity, the graphical representation of the buying center is no longer supported.
◈ Pipeline Performance Management (PPM)
◈ Restrictions for competitor product relations
◈ Maintenance of e-mail activities
◈ Not supported: activity journal, activity items
◈ Not supported: activity scheduling, visit plans
◈ Not supported: Integration of activities in Business Workplace
Key question, how SAP plans to deliver the sales pipeline in S/4HANA?, is SAP planning an integration with sales planning and forecast in C4C or will be part of BW/4HANA?
Organizational Structure and Sales areas:
From the master data point of view the Organizational Structure is one of the CRM´s objects adopted for S4HANA (already in 1709), here the sales and services areas are merging, however this merge in SD is not complete, since Organizational units continue being mapping by using the SD sales area set in IMG, but they are not used in SD documents, on summary they just are used in CM so far.
PPOMA_CRM transaction is deprecated by setting it in the blacklist transactions, alternative PPOCA can be used instead if you want to set the Org Structure in GUI, but of course, the mandatory recommendation for end-users is to do through Web UI business role.
Some changes apply in new release:
1. Stand-alone sales units, as organizational units which are flagged as sales organization, sales group or sales office, but without assignment of a corresponding unit in SD, cannot be used in transactions.
2. Sales division and header division are always active in S4CRM.
One main characteristic not present in S4CRM 2.0 is the multiple assignment of sales office/group to sales organization unit by activating the enhanced the organizational model, this is not supported in GUI transaction neither Web UI.
Service contracts
At yet, there is not news about the third CM release supposed to be on March 19, SAP for sure is working hard to release a more complete bundle of service functionalities, one of them is Contract services, nevertheless weeks ago I checked out a video related to Service management features delivered on S/4HANA Cloud 1905, this video shows some features built on S/4HANA but doesn´t explain if this is part of CM, anyway this approach provide ability to create and manage service contracts for specified objects, billing plan with tailored pricing can be set up, either you can carry out your service operations based on the contract, using the service contract determination and transfer information from service contract to service order. Service Management 1905: https://youtu.be/ZizFHZeLtvk
Technical Objects
Functional Location as a referenced object in a service request is an improvement on this release because of some scenarios require a reference location or site instead of one specific object installed on, that is standard feature in C4C Service where the installation point or registered product are associated together an a ticket.
C4C Services
Service order in CM:
Solution Quotation
Product bundle is a new concept in CM for grouping different products and services in a same product bundle, this a similar concept of product packages in SAP CRM where independent products are grouped together for marketing and price reasons, finally sell them together in a business transaction.
That object allow to have the following items:
◈ Service item (SRQP)
◈ Service part item (SRQM)
◈ Sales item (SRQS)
◈ Sales item external configurator (SRES)
◈ Expense item (SRQE)
Solution quotation make use of the product bundle to sell different products/service in one package, this functionality is provided for the leading business transaction category BUS2000116 (Service Process). This is quite similar package quotation de CRM on premise where different products are meet in order to provide several products.
Product Bundle
Two configuration are required, first one is select the material type to be used as bundle like HAWA, ROH, etc., however the material type BUND is delivered as default, second one is to group services, tangible materials, spare, etc. Product bundle is enhanced by using BRF+ for business rules generation to set sales conditions between components.
SAP SD and CM field mapping for pricing
SAP CRM services process is closely integrated with SD by creating sales order documents to be billed afterward, such integration keeps equal in CM, however in terms of pricing calculation it gets tighter than before. By the implementation of CRM in S4HANA a set of specific fields used in service processes needs to be determinate in sales order, an example when you want determinate a specific price by using fields that are relevant in service or there are some fields in service transaction that are mapped in different structures and fields in SD, thus an mapping is implemented in S4HANA CM in order to be used in SD pricing calculation.
It is good mention that the customizing is already present in 1709 but is being improved continuously, even for this release SAP delivers an editor for pricing enhancement by condition procedure, from there any changes to those routines and formulas used in price procedure can be done in order to populate fields with data from the customer process execution.
Basically sales and services business transaction documents work on a different business contexts, services documents look at in S/4HANA as external objects still as happen in CRM On premise, of course, it is an add-on therefore some process flows are not smooth such as pricing and billing.
IS-Utilities and Public Sector
Utilities (1709) along with Public Sector (1809) are so far the unique industries solutions delivered into Customer Management, both integrating with FICA through the web UI as promises to pay, installment plans, balance and credit overview, etc. S4HANA ISU for CM became the new standard for back office customer service with IS-U for those key-operational utilities´ core processes instead to use GUI transactions; at the same time enable ISU capabilities in C/4HANA, offering a quite comprehensive utilities capabilities front-office on call center, that is a highlight change on the ISU architecture, going from CIC0, going by CRM Web UI until S4CRM and C/4HANA.
Since 1709 and now 1809 there are some FICA functionalities available, additional features related to bill correction in S4CRM 1809 also.
S4HANA ISU for CM
C4HANA for utilities
As you can see in the above screen S/4HANA ISU for CM and C/4HANA ISU both provide a set of utilities functionalities, so the question would be what of them we must choose at the time?, the answer is not simple because it depends on many factors like budget, legal reason or CRM OP investment for example, in my opinion SAP is betting in Cloud solutions and the first criteria will be look at cloud solution, then evaluate what functionalities you need and the GAP mapping to be in account on each, remember the cloud middleware between C/4HANA and S/4HANA this is a key factor for performance more if you use C/4HANA for call center process, the more developments you incorporate the more these impact the performance. Perhaps for those customer that already has CRM OP as the front office would be recommendable to migrate to S4CRM in order to retain investment and keep the service process on the ISU core solution. Also a mix of both can be either useful, on one side have c4HANA ISU as a front office for customer and sales interaction, and on the other hand S4CRM as a back office to first level support.
As an additional but not part of this article SAP delivered the first Marketing Cloud integration with S4HANA IS-U, through it is possible replicate IS-U data to Marketing cloud thereby can be used the segmentation application. IS-U data like contract account, contract, premise and general BP utility data as average billing amount, average annual consumption and others. The solution delivery a basic IS-U data on this release and for sure as is expected in IS-U process it will require a custom objects or custom fields to be mapped into the service interface like contract account, premise and so on, and enabling them in the segmentation application.
Hybris C4C Sales/Service and CM
There is not integration between Hybris C4C and CM yet, so an integration for the sales business object delivered on 1809 (lead, opportunities and activities) is needed, thereby a similar communication existing with CRM on premise would be nice to have in next releases, bit a bit provide the same integration with CRM. On the service side would be great functionality to create a Service Order in CM from a C4C ticket (service request type) for those scenarios where *in-house repair is required by example.
* Keeping in mind In-house repair will be deliver in the near future
Employee and BP
Business Partner for the role employee are restricted in S/4HANA, they must be created by a function module in HHRR or SSFF, a central persons must exist, that is a personal master data with the info types 105 and 002 for communication and personal data respectively; also some configuration needs to be done in the table T77S0 to activate integration, thus run the report /SHCM/RH_SYNC_BUPA_EMPL_SINGLE to create a BP sync from CP. Some question come to my mind whether HCM module is not in the landscape for the customer, do we need create a basic record for central person?
CM Web UI features
Questionnaires in activities: CRM_SURVEY_SUITE transaction is also available
Multilevel categorization: Current release of CRM on premise allow to set up categories and sub- categories on the Web IU, even version manage and transport between client-systems can be done by copying them at the UI layer, on this release approach it is done in customizing or IMG.
Straightforward and fast creation of services/sales order from product list query through the web UI.
Toggling between business roles by using work center links without abandon the current session is a very useful feature, see role selection:
SAP is pushing to have a unique user experience by setting up an unique user interface and is doing that providing a similar views in different environment, the example below show a transaction/object Summary view in web UI, this is quite similar to C4C:
Forwarding Service Order to an employee and service team can be done on CM (1709 or 1809) this is a functionality already present in SAP CRM EHP 7.1, now is in CM. This functionality enable a dispatch button that uses rule-policies to forward a service order to a specific employee for processing. It is available for the following service transaction types:
◆ Service order
◆ Service order quotation
◆ Service confirmation
There are other features that can be useful for S4HANA and S4CRM approach like event management to trigger function modules over business objects when an event (edited or saved) occurs over another business object. It is possible to create or modify the standard delivery according to your needs, so you can make massive change over transaction when a master data fields value has changed, like sales organization or new banking data added. It is good mention this functionality is part of CRM71 and now is in S4CRM. Interaction records was simplificated by defining an unique transaction type to be used for such proposal, it must be of object type “Business activity”, also interaction record history has been replaced by using the BP account history, avoiding redundancy data in tables.
Integration
If your implementation required to integrated C/4HANA process with S4CRM, surprisingly there is no out-of-the-box Web services and Odata services in S4CRM as you can find with CRM on premise, being so web services or odata must be developed by soamanager services. As alternative we count with CRM Middleware still to achieve data exchange between S4CRM external system, that is by using XIF Adapters. For sure many of you will wonder why CRM middleware exist in S4HANA, simple put, data migration. SAP is planning to delivery an migration tool and CRM middleware will part of it.
New on services, Billing Plan:
The billing plan enables you to bill for a product or service, independently of a delivery. You can bill the same amount at regular intervals (periodic billing plan).
The billing plan is a detailed billing schedule that can either be valid for all the items in the business transaction or for each item in the business transaction.; this is very useful functionality quite used in Contract Service.
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