19.07.2022
Insights

S/4HANA: a major challenge?

Transition of SAP Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) and Product Compliance solutions to S/4HANA

SAP’s release of S/4HANA is the biggest platform innovation since decades – maybe since SAP R/3 in 1992. It is faster, more flexible, easier to use, just to name some of its benefits. But the transition to S/4HANA also confronts the discrete and processing industry with big organizational and technical challenges. So, let’s have a closer look.

Conversion to SAP EHS and Product Compliance

Overall, the implementation of S/4HANA is not just a simple release change or upgrade. Due to the major changes, e. g. the radical simplification of the data model, you need to convert your ERP ECC solutions to S/4HANA. And as SAP follows a progressive approach, with sometimes changing decisions on the continuation of existing solutions (e.g. Waste Management), this does not always make things easier. This is even more true for the current solutions for Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), Product Stewardship and Compliance and related processes: They come with a completely new structure of two functionally separated areas: S/4HANA Environment, Health and Safety and S/4HANA Product Compliance. And they are still in gradual development.

History of SAP EHS and Product Compliance

The following graphic provides an historical overview of SAP’s various solutions for Environment, Health and Safety and Product Compliance. Starting with solutions, that handled processes directly in the specification database, then the “classic” solutions as part of SAP ECC, further the web-based component extensions named “EHSM” and recently the new S/4HANA.

Why the effort is worth it

SAP S/4HANA supports the digital transformation of the business functions in your company. Some of its highlights:

Increased performance: State-of-the-art in-memory technology and radically simplified data model (only HANA-DB) enable transaction processing and reporting on the fly.
On-premise or in public or private cloud.
Ease of Use: Role-based SAP Fiori user interface for new user experience, access from any mobile device
Real-time reporting: Integrated processes get data directly from the SAP system.
Inherent artificial intelligence: robotic process automation
Technical improvements: significant reduction of data volume, simplification of data model and programs, reduction of backup and restore processes etc.

Roadmap

SAP announced to end its regular support for SAP ECC in 2027.

We support your way to S/4HANA

The S/4HANA suite has already achieved a high level of product maturity and we at HELASOFT have successfully converted classic EHS applications to S/4HANA (“brownfield”) as well as implemented and customized them from scratch (greenfield). Based on our best practices, we can support you with business consulting, proper design to set up a well-performing system, technical support and custom development for all systems. Our services apply to the classical side running on ECC6 or in compatibility mode or to the fully transformed S/4HANA system.