SAP has become an important tool for businesses in this tech-driven world where product delivery agility, quality, and efficiency are prioritized. The various SAP modules provide unique features and procedures tailored to meet the needs of multiple stakeholders.
SAP is among the leading global providers of business management software. The company’s most famous product is its enterprise resource planning; ERP software. The most recent version of the software, SAP S/4HANA, supports machine learning and artificial intelligence and processes large amounts of data using cutting-edge technology, such as in-memory computing.
Its integrated applications support every business function, including supply chain and human resources management. Within the context of enterprise resource planning, SAP functional modules form the backbone of the SAP software ecosystem. These modules offer specialized components that facilitate, optimize, and manage crucial business processes and all-inclusive solutions for companies in a range of industries.
Without a doubt, it can be complex and confusing to choose the best-suited SAP modules in the portfolio. This post will give you an overview of the various SAP systems and a list of modules for technical and functional users. To find out more, keep reading!
What is SAP?
When it was first established in 1972, the business was known as System Analysis Program Development, which was eventually shortened to SAP. The name is an acronym for Systemanalyse Programmentwicklung, which is the translation of the company’s original German name.
Today, the company’s legal corporate name is SAP SE, which stands for Societas Europaea, a public company registered under European Union corporate law. Subsequently, it expanded from a small five-person business to a multinational corporation with over 105,000 employees worldwide. Its headquarters are located in Walldorf, Germany.
Every business function stores operational data in a different database, decentralizing data management in many traditional business models. As a result, employees from various business functions find accessing each other’s data challenging. Additionally, the risk of data errors and the expense of IT storage are increased when data is duplicated across departments.
SAP software centralizes data management, providing multiple business functions with a single version of reality. This helps businesses better manage complex business processes by offering employees from various departments real-time insights across the enterprise. Consequently, companies can speed up workflows, improve operational efficiency, boost productivity, improve customer experiences, and ultimately increase profits.
SAP set the global standard for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software with the release of its original SAP R/2 and SAP R/3 software. Nowadays, SAP S/4HANA elevates ERP by processing enormous volumes of data and supporting cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning through the power of in-memory computing.
The process-driven, legacy platform is replaced by the company’s integrated applications, which link every aspect of an organization into an intelligent suite on a fully digital platform. SAP boasts the most extensive cloud portfolio of over 230 million cloud users and over 100 solutions encompassing all business functions.
What are SAP Modules?
Modules in SAP are business management software used to gather, organize, handle, and analyze data from various functional domains. These software modules are stand-alone entities that deal with particular business operations or procedures.
SAP modules cover numerous business functions, such as customer relationship management, finance, logistics, and human resources. Every module is designed to fulfill a particular function and falls into one of two categories: functional or technical.
- Business functions like order processing, business intelligence, and human resources are accessed through functional modules.
- You can manage your environment, development, and updates using technical modules on the SAP back end.
Functional Modules
- Financial Accounting (FI)
- Financial Supply Chain Management (FSCM)
- Controlling (CO)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Materials Management (MM)
- Business Intelligence (BI)
- Sales and Distribution (SD)
- Logistics Execution (LE)
- Production Planning (PP)
- Quality Management (QM)
- Plant Maintenance (PM)
- Project System (PS)
- Human Capital Management (HCM)/Human Resources (HR)
Technical Modules
- Basis
- Security
- Workflow
- Solution Manager
- NetWeaver
- Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI)
- Advanced Business Application Programming (SAP ABAP)
- Enterprise Portal
What is ERP?
SAP was the company that first introduced digital enterprise resource planning (ERP). It is a platform designed for organizations of all sizes and strengths from various industries.
ERP systems typically perform the following functions:
- Modular business processes
- Capital planning, budgeting, and execution
Advantages of SAP Implementation
To ensure smooth operations and profitability, organizations must coordinate multiple functions.
However, achieving synergy among an organization’s various departments is challenging. As the processes in multiple parts become more complex, the overall enterprise’s efficiency may suffer. This may result in reduced efficacy.
As a result, your company must maintain a centralized node where information can flow to and from all other parts of the organization. An ERP module does this. Each department achieves peak performance by sharing information and coordinating work with others.
Employing SAP and its modules has many advantages for businesses. By integrating various departments, it permits streamlined procedures, lowers manual labor, and gets rid of data silos.
Organizations can increase customer satisfaction, boost productivity, and make data-driven decisions with real-time visibility into operations.
The software automates workflows, can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise, and includes mobile-based applications, making it versatile and accessible from anywhere at any time.
SAP’s features offer a comprehensive view of operations, making it easier to assess issues. An organization’s overall revenue and profits grow due to these optimized operations.
Functional Modules Explained
Financial Accounting (FI)
With the SAP Financial Accounting module, you can track the flow of financial data throughout the company, analyze the market and the organization’s finances, and integrate all the data you need to make better financial decisions.
A few crucial business tasks associated with SAP FI are as follows:
- General ledger and asset accounting
- Receivables management and the development of customer master data
- Master data governance and management for customers and vendors
- Vendor master data creation and accounts payable
- Global settings for financial accounting
- Tax structure and establishment of the House of Banks
- Management of financial statements and tax accounting
- Linking SAP MM and SD modules together
- Creation of organizational structure
Controlling (CO)
All organizational processes can be coordinated, tracked, and optimized with the help of the SAP CO module. It manages an organization’s business operations. This module facilitates the planning of business strategies and the analysis of actual figures with planned data.
CO manages two types of elements: revenue elements and cost elements.
A few crucial business operations carried out by SAP CO are as follows:
- Accounting for Cost Elements
- Accounting for Cost Centers
- Activity-based-accounting
- Internal orders
- Product cost control
- Profitability analysis
- Accounting for Profit Centers
Production Planning (PP)
SAP PP handles production planning and management. Businesses can use the production planning module to plan the production, sale, and distribution of their products, using master data, system configuration, and transactions.
A few of the main tasks in the SAP PP module are as follows:
- Material requirement planning (MRP)
- Demand management
- Production orders
- Planning and determining capacity levels
- Bill of materials
- Managing material master data
- Product routing
- Management of work centers
Sales and Distribution (SD)
Organizations use SAP SD to support the sales and distribution of products and services, from inquiry to order to delivery. SAP SD can monitor an organization’s wide range of activities, including product inquiries, quotations (pre-sales activities), order placement, pricing, delivery scheduling (sales activity), picking, packing, goods issuing, product shipment to customers, product delivery, and billing.
A few essential tasks in SAP SD are as follows:
- Establishing an organizational structure
- Assigning organizational units
- Defining pricing components
- Creating sales documents, billing types, and tax-related components
- Configuring and creating customer master data records
Logistic Execution (LE)
The SAP LE module manages all aspects of the supply chain management process, like vendors, warehouses, production and distribution, and customers. The Logistics Execution module facilitates more effective delivery creation, picking and packing, and goods issue posting throughout the entire organization, which helps businesses better manage their merchandising operations.
The two sub-modules of logistical execution are warehouse management and the shipment of goods (the purchase-to-procurement process). These two modules are linked to sales, distribution, material management, production, and planning.
Financial Supply Chain Management (FSCM)
This module assists in managing the financial aspects of the supply chain, such as credit management, collections management, and dispute resolution. It facilitates better decision-making and enhanced cash flow management by providing real-time information on credit risk, cash flow, and other financial metrics.
Using the FSCM module, businesses can enhance the flow of financial and business data between business partners and within internal teams. This improves efficiency throughout the economic value chain and provides real-time insights into crucial financial data and workflows.
A few essential tasks in SAP FSCM are as follows:
- Credit management
- In-house cash
- Conflict resolution
- Risk control and treasury management
- Biller Direct
- Collections management
- Liquidity and cash management
Project System (PS)
SAP PS is a core module for project and portfolio management. It helps you oversee the entire project life cycle, from planning and execution to project completion and structuring. It supports an organization’s project planning, execution, and monitoring and includes several sub-modules, including project execution, costing, and planning.
With PS, you can keep a close eye on every facet of your project. This covers the project’s technical and business aspects.
You set up your project from the following perspectives:
- Structured, utilizing a work breakdown structure (WBS).
- Processes involving individual activities (work packages)
Human Capital Management (HCM)/ HR
SAP HCM is a crucial SAP module. It is also referred to as SAP Human Resource Management System (SAP HRMS) or SAP Human Resource (HR). With SAP HR software, record-keeping tasks can be automated. The SAP HCM module manages data and processes in the HR department, such as hiring, payroll management, learning solutions, and performance management.
The HR department can use it as an excellent basis for payroll and administration documents.
The SAP HR module facilitates the human resources department’s management of all employee facets, including hiring, onboarding, professional development, and offboarding.
The HR system has excellent integration points (where data is passed to and fro without human intervention) with nearly all of the other SAP modules. In addition, the HR sub-modules are tightly integrated.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM handles all customer-related processes from start to finish. CRM is intended to centralize data relating to all customers associated with an organization. It is concerned with customer processes from beginning to end.
The following are some of the main tasks associated with SAP CRM:
- Keeping up sales and services
- Creating marketing plans based on consumer data research and market needs.
- Enhancing services and sales
- Fortifying connections with clients
- Continuing to put its clients first
- Analyzing information to discover more about customers
Materials Management (MM)
The SAP MM module is critical to the manufacturer’s supply chain. This module manages procurement and inventory functions essential for supply chain management and operational efficiency. It assists businesses with inventory, warehouse, and material management.
This module tracks everything from the initial quote to the pricing comparison, purchase orders, receipts for goods, billing and invoice validation, and the actual material issue. Additionally, it offers pre-built integrations with other modules, such as logistics, warehouse management, and supply chain management, to increase overall efficiency and connectivity.
Here are some of the main tasks that fall under SAP MM:
- Management of vendor orders and purchases
- Inventory control
- Planning for material requirements
- Transportation of goods and warehouse administration
Business Intelligence (BI)
SAP BI has a user-facing component in which data analysts and business users interact with data using various technologies. This involves taking raw data, processing it so that it can be stored, and granting users access via an end-user interface.
For thorough data handling and analysis, SAP supports both on-premise and cloud deployments with its database services (SAP HANA, Data Warehousing), data management tools (Enterprise Information Management, Cybersecurity Governance), and analytics solutions (SAP Analytics Cloud, Collaborative Enterprise Planning, Predictive Analytics, SAP Business Intelligence).
A few essential tasks associated with SAP BI are as follows:
- On-premise deployment
- Real-time business intelligence
- Improved user autonomy
- Simplified, personalized, and dynamic information consumption
Production Planning (PP)
SAP PP is an important SAP module. It monitors and records the manufacturing process flows, including planned and actual costs. Additionally, goods move from raw materials to semi-finished goods. It integrates with SD, MM, QM, FICO, and PM, among other SAP modules.
Activities related to SAP PP include capacity planning, bill of materials, routings, and material requirements planning. Everything in SAP PP is based on master data, stored and manipulated in centralized master data tables. Work center, BOM, routing, and materials master are examples of master data types. In SAP ECC, the master data is utilized to generate transactional data, such as production orders in PP, sales orders in SD, and purchase orders in MM.
Quality Management (QM)
QM is a feature of SAP S/4HANA that helps companies set up and manage quality control procedures. It is intended to create long-lasting quality control programs, facilitate ongoing process improvement, and prevent errors. The organization may experience reduced operating expenses, increased customer satisfaction, and compliance with manufacturing quality regulations.
QM is already integrated with various SAP application components, including Human Resources, Finance, Control, Sales and Distribution, Plant Maintenance, Materials Management, and Production Planning. This integration allows QM tasks to be embedded in tasks within these integrated application components.
A few of the main tasks in SAP QM are as follows:
- Setting QM relevance for the segmentation characteristics
- Incorporating segmentation into inspection plans
- Enabling segmentation in inspection lots
- Determining the right inspection plan considering the segmentation value
- Enhancing the segmentation value in the quality certificate and quality inspection report
- Enhancing inspection lot selection transactions with generic article and segmentation.
- Using segmentation in batch when making usage decision
- Enhancing the SAP GUI transactions in QM with segmentation
- Assigning inspection type based on the combination of material and segment value
Plant Maintenance (PM)
SAP PM is industrial software that can represent all important tasks related to technical system maintenance, including upkeep, real repair, and inspection.
Some ECC components that SAP PM integrates with are Human Resources (HR), Production Planning (PP), Sales and Distribution (SD), Finance (FI), Controlling (CO), and Materials Management (MM).
The following are a few tasks related to SAP PM:
- Inspection determines the actual state of the machinery or systems
- Preventive maintenance helps keep the system or equipment operating at optimal levels.
- Repair is to bring back the equipment or systems
Technical Modules Explained
Basis
SAP Basis is the technical building block that allows SAP applications to function. It entails middleware programs and tools that facilitate the portability and interoperability of the SAP modules across systems and databases.
SAP Basis is the system administration platform for SAP environments running SAP R/3 through SAP S/4HANA. Its goal is to guarantee the consistent and seamless operation of all SAP systems within the environment.
SAP Basis manages the following tasks:
- Ensuring every user has proper access rights and can rapidly utilize the features they require
- Setting up and customizing every SAP application and system
- Data backup and restoration
- Optimizing efficiency and resolving issues
- Overseeing batch tasks
- Setting up the transportation management system (TMS) for SAP
- Managing transportation
- Managing and running background jobs.
- Setting up printers and other devices
- Setting up operation modes.
Security
SAP security consists of three major areas of cyber security: access control, data security, and application security. To be secure, an SAP landscape must adhere to strict access controls, and system data should be protected as much as possible. Finally, robust security measures should be in place for the application itself.
Applying the best security practices and tools to the SAP landscape is necessary to make all three security concepts work together. For instance, if the company grants permission for network access to mobile external users through Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), that control should be extended to anyone else who wants to access the SAP systems.
Then, SAP should enforce limitations on data access by role through a data security policy. To guarantee that no unauthorized person can gain administrative access to the SAP back end, patch management and stringent Privileged Access Management (PAM) controls are used to secure the application.
Workflow
SAP Workflow is a software solution that automates and optimizes business processes within an organization. It allows users to create, carry out, and monitor workflows that specify the order in which certain jobs, actions, and approvals must be completed to complete a business process. These workflows can be extended to several departments, roles, and platforms, guaranteeing efficient communication and data exchange.
Users can create or establish business processes in the SAP R/3 system. Through the workflow, users can effectively manage business operations and ensure compliance.
Solution Manager
SAP Solution Manager 7.2 covers the entire application lifecycle of your IT solution, whether it is on-premise, hybrid, or cloud-based.
The highly integrated system supports the implementation, maintenance, and adoption of all enterprise solutions, including non-SAP software. It also promotes business innovation, business continuity, and effective operations.
The following are some tasks associated with SAP Solution Manager:
- Application operations
- Business process monitoring
- Business process operations
- Change control management
- Custom code management
- IT service management
- Job scheduling management
- Landscape management
- Maintenance planner
- Process management
- Test suite
NetWeaver
With SAP NetWeaver, businesses can create unified SAP environments by integrating data, business processes, elements, and more from multiple sources. Many SAP application landscapes rely on SAP NetWeaver as their technological backbone.
SAP NetWeaver is an open application server platform mostly used by SAP developers, administrators, and consultants. The SAP landscape is complex, with numerous business applications, such as Finance, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Human Capital Management (HCM), all of which must communicate with one another.
Additionally, these apps must communicate with other apps and systems not part of the SAP business suite. Users can control the expenses and complexity of integrating these applications, systems, and services in their SAP environments with SAP NetWeaver.
Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI)
SAP XI stands for SAP Exchange Infrastructure, a platform and technology for integration. By default, XI connects apps using an extended SOAP protocol. In addition to offering communication services like message routing and format mapping, XI has a cross-component business process management (ccBPM) component. This component enables the modeling and execution of business processes on XI.
SAP XI allows you to run cross-system processes and link systems implemented in various programming languages (such as Java, ABAP, and others) and from different vendors (SAP and non-SAP).
It has an open architecture, uses open standards, especially those from the Java and XML environments, and provides the services necessary in a complex and diverse system environment.
Advanced Business Application Programming (SAP ABAP)
ABAP is SAP’s proprietary fourth-generation programming language. It was explicitly designed to handle large amounts of data in SAP business applications.
Businesses leveraging SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA can tailor their systems by utilizing ABAP in SAP NetWeaver to suit their requirements. Since ABAP is a multi-paradigm programming language, programmers can use procedural, object-oriented, and other concepts.
Another name for ABAP is ABAP/4. The “4” in ABAP/4 represents “Fourth Generation Language,” or 4GL.
Enterprise Portal
SAP Enterprise Portal enables you to create visually appealing corporate portals that use the responsive SAP Fiori launchpad experience.
The portal serves as the Web front-end part of SAP NetWeaver, the all-inclusive application and integration platform that makes it easier to align people, data, and business processes across technological and organizational barriers. It is perfect for large user bases that need to access various services and applications across multiple system landscapes, particularly ABAP—and Java-based.
The portal provides a single point of access to databases, services, enterprise apps, information repositories, SAP, and non-SAP information sources inside and outside your company.
Its tools allow you to share, work with, manage, and analyze its information resources. The portal’s role-based content and personalization tools let users—from partners and suppliers to employees and customers—focus solely on information vital to their everyday decision-making processes.
Also Read: What Are The Top Benefits Of SAP Training?
Final Words
SAP is a leader in technology innovation, providing businesses worldwide with unmatched efficiency and integration. SAP redefines how businesses operate and thrive in the digital age, from its foundational ERP systems to cutting-edge analytics and AI capabilities.
Choosing SAP means embracing a future-ready platform that drives growth, improves decision-making, and ensures long-term success in today’s dynamic business landscape.
No matter how much experience you have, you can fully utilize the enormous potential of this industry-leading software if you follow the instructions in this article. SAP’s ability to seamlessly integrate across departments and functionalities paves the way for a brilliant and interconnected business ecosystem.
FAQs
What are the 25 modules in SAP?
Here’s a list of all the SAP modules:
- Financial Accounting (FI)
- Controlling (CO)
- Enterprise Controlling (EC)
- Sales and Distribution (SD)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Customer Service (CS)
- C/4HANA
- Materials Management (MM)
- Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)
- Ariba
- Production Planning (PP)
- Human Resources (HR)
- SuccessFactors
- Supply Chain Management (SCM)
- Warehouse Management (WM)
- Transportation Management (TM)
- Extended Warehouse Management (EWM)
- Project System (PS)
- Plant Maintenance (PM)
- Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)
- Business Intelligence (BI)
- Analytics Cloud
- Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
- Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS)
Which SAP module is best?
Here are a few popular options and their benefits:
- Finance (FI, CO) provides a solid foundation for financial analysis and accounting tasks.
- Sales & Distribution (SD) is essential for managing customer orders and deliveries.
- Human Resources (HR) is responsible for payroll, benefits, and recruitment.
- Supply Chain Management (SCM) improves inventory management and logistics.
- SAP S/4HANA is the latest ERP system that provides real-time data analysis and improved performance.
Is SAP Hana a module?
SAP HANA (High-performance Analytic Appliance) is a multimodel database that stores data in memory. With a single system, you can conduct sophisticated analytics in addition to fast transactions thanks to the column-oriented in-memory database architecture.
What is SAP, why it is used?
SAP makes data processing and flow of information easier for every aspect of your company. SAP modules are available for multiple business functions, such as supply chain management and finance. In other words, SAP clients are diverse, ranging from local businesses to multinational corporations.
