Author: Paul Gendreau

Archive SAP Retail Site and Business Partner

Posted on October 7, 2020 by - Business Partner, Site Master

Archiving is a tedious task! And so infrequently done, who can remember the steps? I’ve carefully documented it here so that you and I never forget again!

The steps for archiving Site Business Partner also apply to plain old Business Partners and dependent objects. So now you’ve got that in your bag of tricks too!.

Archiving is a seldom-executed process in the course of implementing SAP Retail. And archiving of Site Master is even less likely to occur, unless as a necessary corrective for mistakenly created data. That’s a less-than-ideal occasion for dusting off old or never-practiced archiving skills.

Worry not! You’ll be prepared for success with this detailed guide to archiving Retail Site, Business Partner, and dependent objects.

SAP Retail Text?

Posted on October 4, 2020 by - Article Master, SAP Retail, Site Master

The SAP lexicon is fun. Similar or same words commonly describe different things, and different words describe the same or similar thing. As such, speaking precisely requires effort, if not blind faith.

This is particularly true in SAP Retail, where a so-called “Retail Text” was historically applied to rename business objects. Materials became Articles, Plants became Sites, and more.

With S/4HANA, Retail Text is no more. The standard labels Material and Plant appear on screens, not Article and Site. But not consistently.

SAP Number Range Shenanigans

Posted on October 2, 2020 by - SAP ERP

The shenanigans of alphanumeric SAP Number Ranges are a surprise even to seasoned experts.

You’re likely well aquatinted with the mundane task of maintaining numeric number ranges for most business objects. The behavior is easily understood because the SAP system straightforwardly considers them as, well … numbers. Adding alpha characters to the mix is less common, and the resultant behavior is significantly less intuitive.

Commodity Code Conundrum

Posted on September 8, 2020 by - Article Master, Material Master

Commodity Code data in SAP S/4HANA are completely different than in ECC 6.0; what you knew to be true in ECC 6.0 is no longer true.

There’s a new data model and new Fiori apps for managing Commodity Codes. The upshot is that your master data processes for Commodity Code require redesign, and master data processes for Material Master require redesign, including inbound interfaces that assign Commodity Codes.

Commodity codes in S/4HANA are now time-dependent, and valid for a material and a country or multiple countries.

3 Paths to S/4HANA, not 2!

Posted on September 4, 2020 by - Architecture, Data Migration

You’ll hear “greenfield” and “brownfield” used in common conversation about transitioning from ECC 6.0 ERP to S/4HANA. These two words — and too few words — cause more confusion than clarity.

To be clear, there are three scenarios for moving to SAP S/4HANA:

  • New Implementation
  • System Conversion
  • Selective Data Transition

The first two receive wide attention, but the last is thought provoking.

SAP Retail for SAP (non-Retail) Experts

Posted on August 30, 2020 by - SAP Retail

SAP (non-Retail) experts often encounter skepticism when joining an SAP Retail project.

If that’s you, then you’re likely thinking:  Hey, I’m an expert in FI, IM, MM, SD, or whatever. How much different could “Retail” be?

You got this, right? Well, maybe. Maybe not.

This quick read is first aid for mitigating healthy skepticism.

And it applies for both SAP S/4HANA Retail for Merchandise Management and SAP S/4HANA for Fashion and Vertical Business. I use SAP Retail as shorthand to mean both applications. Activating either Business Function brings foundational master data differences into play, and that’s where the skepticism begins.

The Secret of SAP Retail Master Data

Posted on August 25, 2020 by - Article Master, SAP Retail, Site Master

The Essence of SAP Retail Master Data — my recent blog post — was all about massively creating product data, location data, and product data that’s location specific. This video goes to the next level.

After you’ve brilliantly orchestrated master data to create master data — perhaps billion of rows — how do you maintain this over time … with least effort?

For that, you need to understand a concept called Reference Handling.

Sharing is Caring

Posted on August 23, 2020 by - Notes and Asides

Red Green, Man of Wisdom

One of my seven granddaughters — Charlotte, the three-year-old — cheerfully reminded me of this truth. As they say, out of the mouths of babes!

Through example and repetition, her mother — my daughter — is teaching her daughter a foundational lesson. One that most humans learn to their unending profit. But, oddly, without an explanation rooted in self-interest (We never explained it quite that way to our children).