Key Learning Outcomes

A typical SAP S/4HANA Sales and Distribution course will cover these key areas:

• Understanding the S/4HANA Sales Landscape: Learn the fundamental concepts, data model simplifications, and innovations in SAP S/4HANA Sales. This often includes an overview of the SAP Fiori user interface and how it’s used for sales processes.
• Master Data Management: Gain proficiency in managing and configuring essential master data, such as Business Partners (which replaces the separate customer and vendor master data in the older SAP ECC system), material master records, and pricing conditions.
• Core Sales Processes: Master the complete order-to-cash cycle. This involves understanding and executing pre-sales activities like inquiries and quotations, creating and processing sales orders, and handling delivery and shipping processes.
• Pricing and Billing: Learn how to define and manage complex pricing structures, including discounts, surcharges, and taxes. You’ll also learn to create and control billing documents and understand the revenue recognition process.
• Special Business Transactions: Explore and configure specialized sales processes like rush orders, cash sales, consignment sales, and contracts and scheduling agreements.
• Integration with Other Modules: Understand how the SAP SD module seamlessly integrates with other key SAP S/4HANA modules like Materials Management (MM) for inventory checks and Finance and Controlling (FICO) for financial posting and credit management.
• Advanced Features and Analytics: Get hands-on experience with new S/4HANA features such as Advanced Available-to-Promise (aATP) for real-time inventory checks and powerful embedded analytics to monitor and report on sales performance.
• Configuration and Customization: Learn the necessary configuration steps and customizing settings to adapt the SAP S/4HANA Sales module to a company’s specific business requirements.In essence, the course aims to turn a participant into a proficient user and consultant for the SAP S/4HANA Sales and Distribution module.

• Roles and Responsibilities of an SAP S/4HANA SD Consultant

  The role of an SAP S/4HANA Sales and Distribution (SD) consultant is to act as a bridge between a company’s sales business processes and the technical capabilities of the SAP S/4HANA system. They are responsible for implementing, configuring, and maintaining the SD module to meet specific business needs. This role requires a deep understanding of sales processes and the technical skills to translate those requirements into a functioning SAP solution.

  Key Responsibilities:

  • Requirement Gathering and Analysis: Meet with business stakeholders to understand their sales, distribution, and customer management processes. Identify gaps and recommend solutions using SAP’s best practices.
  • System Configuration and Customization: Configure the SAP SD module’s various functionalities, such as sales order processing, pricing procedures, delivery and shipping, billing, and credit management. This includes setting up the Organizational Structure, Master Data, and Document Types.
  • Integration: Ensure seamless integration with other SAP modules like Materials Management (MM), Finance and Controlling (FICO), and Logistics Execution (LE).
  • Testing: Develop and execute test cases for unit testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT) to ensure the system works as expected.
  • Training and Support: Provide training to end-users on the new system and offer ongoing support to resolve any issues or queries.
  • Documentation: Create and maintain detailed documentation for system configurations, business processes, and technical specifications.
  • Continuous Improvement: Stay updated on the latest SAP S/4HANA advancements and industry trends, recommending and implementing improvements to optimize sales and distribution processes.

  ---

  Implementation Methodology: SAP Activate

  The standard methodology for implementing SAP S/4HANA, including the SD module, is SAP Activate. This approach provides a structured and guided framework to ensure a successful project from start to finish. It is flexible and can be adapted for various deployment scenarios (on-premise, cloud, or hybrid) and project types (new implementation or system conversion).

  The methodology is broken down into six distinct phases:

  1. Discover: In this phase, the project team explores the benefits and capabilities of SAP S/4HANA. They conduct a preliminary assessment of potential solution options and get familiar with the system. This often involves a trial or a demo.
  2. Prepare: This is the planning phase. The project team sets up the project charter, defines the project scope, establishes the project governance structure, and prepares the system landscape for the next phases.
  3. Explore: The core of this phase is the Fit-to-Standard analysis. The team conducts workshops with business users to map their existing processes to SAP’s pre-configured Best Practices for S/4HANA. The goal is to minimize customizations and adopt standard SAP processes whenever possible.
  4. Realize: This is an iterative and agile phase. The project team configures and customizes the system based on the decisions made in the Explore phase. The team develops, tests, and validates the solution in a series of sprints.
  5. Deploy: Once the solution is fully developed and tested, this phase involves final preparation for go-live. This includes migrating data, finalizing end-user training, and performing a cutover to the new system.
  6. Run: This is the post-go-live phase. The focus shifts to providing continuous support to end-users, monitoring the system’s performance, and implementing ongoing improvements as business needs evolve.

Functional Skills

These skills relate directly to the sales and distribution business processes and how they are executed within SAP. You will be able to:

• Master the Order-to-Cash Cycle: Learn to execute and manage the end-to-end sales process, from handling customer inquiries and quotations to creating sales orders, managing deliveries, and processing billing.
• Configure Sales & Pricing Procedures: Understand how to set up complex pricing conditions, including discounts, surcharges, and taxes, to accurately reflect business requirements.
• Manage Master Data: Gain expertise in creating and maintaining essential master data, such as Business Partners (replacing the old customer and vendor master data), material master records, and condition records.
• Handle Special Business Processes: Learn to configure and manage specific sales scenarios like rush orders, cash sales, consignment processes, and returns.

Technical & System Skills

These skills involve the hands-on configuration and system-level knowledge required to implement and support the module. You will learn how to:

• Navigate the SAP S/4HANA System: Become proficient with the modern SAP Fiori user interface, understanding how to use its apps and tiles to perform various sales functions.
• Configure the Organizational Structure: Set up and customize the sales organization, distribution channels, and divisions to mirror a company’s real-world structure.
• Integrate with Other Modules: Understand and configure the integration points between SD and other key modules like Materials Management (MM) for stock availability and Finance (FI) for accounting and credit management.
• Use the Implementation Guide (IMG): Learn to use the SAP customizing tool to make the necessary configuration settings for the SD module.

Analytical & Modern SAP Skills

This course also introduces you to the advanced capabilities of SAP S/4HANA, which are critical for modern businesses. You will develop skills in:

• Advanced Available-to-Promise (aATP): Learn how to use the new, real-time inventory checking capabilities to provide accurate delivery dates to customers.
• Embedded Analytics: Use the powerful built-in analytical tools to create reports and dashboards, gaining real-time insights into sales performance, customer data, and profitability.
• Understanding S/4HANA Innovations: Grasp the key architectural changes and simplifications in the S/4HANA data model, which are essential for any professional working in the new SAP environment.

• Business Knowledge: A solid grasp of sales and distribution processes is essential.
• Logical Mindset: You need strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• No Coding Required: It is a functional module, so no programming experience is needed.
• No Prior SAP Experience: The course is suitable for beginners with no previous SAP knowledge.
• Basic Computer Skills: You must be comfortable with standard computer and software operations.

• SAP In-Memory Strategy
• Architecture Overview

• S/4 HANA Roadmap
• Benefits of S/4HANA from a business perspective
• Ways from Business Suite to S/4 HANA
• Deployment Options (On-Premise, Cloud and Hybrid)

• System Conversion
• Landscape transformation
• New implementation

• Business Partner
• Order Management Billing
• Credit Management
• Inventory Management
• Material Requirement Planning
• Architectural Changes/Configurations related to Sales

• Overview of SAP Fiori Apps related to Logistics/Supply Chain

• Organizational structures
• Sales and distribution aspect
• Materials management aspect

• Working with Business Partners
• Working with Material Master Record
• Customer Account groups
• Working with Customer Info Records

• Inquiries
• Quotations

• Item Categories Determination
• Schedule lines Categories Determination
• Copy Control
• Log of incomplete items
• Creation of sales order with reference

• Condition Technique
• Condition Type
• Access Sequence
• Condition Record
• Condition Table
• Price determination
• Definition and maintenance of prices, surcharges and discounts

• Rush order
• Cash Sales
• Free of charge deliveries

• Consignments
• Bill of material

• Overview of shipping
• Shipping point and route determination
• Creating and controlling outbound delivery
• Delivery processing
• Picking
• Picking conformation
• Goods issue

• Billing document types
• Creation of billing documents
• Overview of billing methods
• Billing plan
• Revenue account determination
• Posting billing document to Accounts

• Purpose of Credit Management
• Types of Credit Management
• Configuration

• Text determination
• Output determination

• Description
• Normal Sales
• Return Sales
• Third Party Sales
• Free Goods
• Text Item
• Consignment fill & issue, Consignment pick & return sales using sales BOM

1. Importance of SAP SD ON S/4 HANA Project

Crucial for a company’s revenue and customer operations, as it manages the end-to-end “Order-to-Cash” process, improving efficiency, customer satisfaction, and integrating key business functions.

2. Types of SAP SD ON S/4 HANA Projects

• Implementation: New, from-scratch setup.
• Rollout: Adapting a global template to a new location.
• Upgrade: Migrating from an older system (ECC) to S/4HANA.
• Support: Ongoing maintenance, bug fixes, and user issue resolution.

3. Role of SD Consultant

Acts as a bridge between business requirements and the SAP system, responsible for configuration, customization, testing, and training in each project phase.

4. Naming & Coding Standards

Strict conventions (e.g., using Z or Y prefixes) are used for all custom configuration and development to ensure system consistency and maintainability.

5. Project Documents

• FS (Functional Specification): Describes the business requirement for a custom solution.
• TS (Technical Specification): Translates the FS into a technical development plan.
• UTP (Unit Test Plan): Outlines test cases to verify the solution.
• Issue Logs: Tracks all bugs and defects throughout the project.

6. Code & Quality Tools

• Code Inspector/EPC: Tools to check custom code for performance, security, and quality.
• Code Review: A manual process to ensure code meets project standards.

7. SD Objects & Concepts

An SD consultant analyzes business needs to determine the correct technical approach, from basic reports and BDC for data entry to advanced BAPIs, User Exits, and IDocs for system integration and enhancements.

8. Ticket Resolution

In support, consultants analyze, troubleshoot, and resolve end-user issues (“tickets”) to meet service level agreements (SLAs), ensuring business continuity.

9. Resume Preparation

A good resume should highlight SAP SD ON S/4 HANA skills, project experience (with quantifiable achievements), and certifications, tailored to the specific job description.