SAP S/4HANA Cloud review

SAP S/4HANA Cloud is the choice for enterprises that already standardize on SAP. SAP's training material for the Public Edition describes a direct-materials process that starts with a purchase requisition, created by hand or generated automatically, which goes through approval when a workflow is defined. The flexible workflow supports automatic, one-step and multi-step approvals, reviewers can send requisitions back for rework, and email notifications fire when a deadline is reached or a request is approved or rejected. Conditions can route approvals for purchase requisitions, purchase orders and supplier invoices, which gives procurement and finance one approval model. SAP positions the core as extended by cloud apps for guided buying, supplier management, a business network and central invoice management. The tradeoffs are cost and complexity. SAP does not publish a price, the best requester and supplier experiences sit in separate SAP products, and SAP's own training notes that requisitions created by MRP are not routed through approval, which planners should know before go-live.

Who it is for

Large and global enterprises that standardize on SAP and need condition-based approvals across requisitions, orders and supplier invoices.

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Purchase requisitions created manually or automatically from planning
• Flexible workflow with automatic, one-step or multi-step approval of requisitions
• Condition-based approval workflows for requisitions, purchase orders and supplier invoices
• Email notifications when an approval deadline is reached or a request is approved or rejected
• Extensions for guided buying, supplier management, business network and central invoice management

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Condition-based approvals across the main procurement documents
• Strength: Scales to global, multi-entity purchasing
• Strength: Extends into SAP's wider spend management portfolio
• Weakness: No public price; quoted by SAP or partners
• Weakness: Guided buying and supplier management are separate cloud apps
• Weakness: Requisitions created by MRP skip the approval process, according to SAP's training

Key facts

• Approval types: Automatic, one-step or multi-step
• Documents with workflows: Requisitions, purchase orders, supplier invoices
• Extensions: Guided buying, supplier management, business network
• Pricing: Quote based

Where it ranks

SAP S/4HANA Cloud is No. 7 in our Best ERP for Procurement verdict.