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What is the SAP S/4HANA Readiness Check?
The S/4HANA Readiness Check is a tool from a package of various basic assessments, all of which serve to determine whether an SAP system is ready for migration to S/4HANA and how much effort (in terms of time and money) this will take.
In detail, the Readiness Check includes the following assessments:
The individual assessments that make up the SAP Readiness Check for migration to SAP S/4HANA
Simplification Item Relevance Check and Compatibility Scope Analysis (including effort ranking categories)
The Simplification Item Relevance Check, along with the extension Compatibility Scope Analysis, forms the bridge from the old to the new world. A fundamental question to answer is the extent to which functionalities used under SAP ERP are still available under S/4HANA. So far, there has been the Simplification Item Check, which provides an overview of simplification items that need to be adjusted immediately or at the latest within the framework of an S/4HANA Conversion and S/4HANA Upgrade project. Additionally, the Simplification Item Check offers the option (separate activation required) to present the identified Simplification Items in three effort ranking categories (low, medium, high) to provide a better overview of the associated efforts.
Furthermore, the Simplification Item Relevance Check is extended with the Compatibility Scope Analysis, which examines which non-strategic Simplification Items are present. In addition, the appropriate Compatibility Packages for these Simplification Items are listed. Since these are non-strategic Simplification Items, they can be scheduled for a period after the actual migration.
Compatibility of Add-ons and Business Functions
Before an S/4HANA conversion can be initiated, an evaluation of the compatibility of existing add-ons and business functions with the S/4HANA target system is essential, as otherwise the conversion process may be hindered by non-compatible add-ons.
The evaluation is conducted using the so-called Maintenance Planner. In the results, the Maintenance Planner lists the existing add-ons in the following categories:
- Compatible
- Non-compatible
- Not installable
- Unknown
Additionally, information is provided regarding whether it is an SAP add-on or a third-party tool.
S/4HANA Sizing Analysis
With the S/4HANA Sizing Module of the Readiness Check, a size simulation for the future S/4HANA system can be performed, taking into account potential data clean-ups or future data growth due to new business requirements, for example. Additionally, the possible impact on sizing due to data archiving is also taken into consideration.
Financial Data Quality Check
Since data quality in finance can significantly drive effort during an S/4HANA migration, it’s advisable to counteract this with an automated test. The Financial Data Quality Check can be conducted and evaluated during the Prepare Phase on the productive system. The results are provided in the form of a Heat Map, which indicates where the greatest need for action lies and what level of effort can be expected. The identified error types are divided into four categories, from which the respective efforts for error correction can be derived:
A: Error type with automatic correction possibility
B: Error type with manual correction possibility
C: Error type requiring support from SAP Support
D: Error type requiring customer-specific correction.
Customer Vendor Integration Analysis (successor to the Business Partner/CVI Checks)
Mapping customers and vendors to business partners is also an important step in preparing for an S/4HANA migration. The analysis provides an overview of the following scenarios:
- Business Partner not used and CVI inactive:
No Business Partner records were found in your system. CVI is inactive. - Business Partner used and CVI inactive:
There are Business Partner records in your system, but CVI is inactive. - Business Partner used, CVI active, and synchronization issues found:
CVI is activated in your system. All links between customers, vendors, contact persons, and Business Partner entities are established. However, there are synchronization issues for customers, vendors, and/or contact persons with the corresponding Business Partner entities. - Business Partner used, CVI active, and no synchronization issues:
CVI is activated in your system. All links between customers, vendors, contact persons, and Business Partner entities are established. No synchronization issues have been identified.
Integration Analysis
The integration analysis includes:
- A list of the identified interfaces,
- Analysis of the data sources,
- Identification of interfaces that will no longer function after the migration.
The following interfaces are supported:
- SAP BW extractors,
- IDOC interfaces,
- WebService interfaces,
- RFC/BAPI interfaces.
Process Discovery Analysis
Even during an S/4HANA conversion, it is advisable not to lose sight of process optimization. The Process Discovery Analysis provides good approaches for this. The following features are available:
- Process Automation: This category measures the degree of process automation in back-office processes by making the level of automation in the creation of business documents transparent.
- Transactional Backlog: Provides an overview of old, open, and overdue business documents that need to be processed before they can be archived or migrated. If these documents are unnecessarily migrated, it can impact S/4HANA processes such as Fast Close or MRP run.
- Non-Standard Order Types: Offers an overview of custom document types and their frequency of use in various business processes. This makes it clear how much optimization potential exists in standardization.
The last point highlights that the Readiness Check includes both must-have elements, which can identify potential show-stoppers for the S/4HANA conversion, and nice-to-have elements. In addition to Process Discovery, this also includes elements like:
- App Availability
- Recommended SAP FIORI Apps
- SAP Innovative Business Solutions
- Innovation Potential
These elements will not be further discussed here.
How can I use the Readiness Check?
Support for the evaluation
The Readiness Check in its entirety provides comprehensive insights into the current state of my SAP ERP system in the context of an upcoming S/4HANA conversion (migration using the Brownfield approach). Our consultants are capable of assessing and evaluating these results regarding their impact on the scope of a conversion. Additionally, at PIKON, we have extended the Readiness Check to include the organisation of the enterprise and use our Change Readiness Check to determine how prepared your organisation is for the S/4HANA conversion.
Survey Questionnaire
Survey "Change Readiness Check" for self-completion
Is your organisation ready for S/4HANA? The “Change Readiness Check” helps project managers and executives to optimally prepare the organisation for an SAP S/4HANA implementation. Identify potential stumbling blocks at an early stage and minimise risks in order to successfully implement your SAP project.
As a step-by-step guide for your migration project using the brownfield approach we recommend our white paper:
Whitepaper
S/4HANA Converion Guide
Learn about the most important aspects of a migration to SAP S/4HANA using the brownfield approach. Following a structured approach based on SAP’s Activate method, we guide you through all project phases in the white paper, from project planning to go-live.