SAP first major offering was SAP R/1, a Financial Accounting system. This software morphed into the SAP R/2, mainframe-based, real-time business application software suite, a major player in the 1980s and early 1990s. This widely sold software handled multiple currencies and languages, an important factor for the huge European multinational companies who made up a large part of its user base. SAP R/3 was a client-server version that worked across multiple platforms and operating systems, including Microsoft Windows and UNIX since 1999. SAP most recent major software application is SAP ERP (enterprise resource planning) said to coordinate all activities, information and resources necessary for completing business processes such as billing or replenishing inventory.
The remainder of this article is devoted to SAP R/3.
The remainder of this article is devoted to SAP R/3.
SAP R/3 is arranged into distinct functional modules, which correspond to important functions in a business or other organization. Typical modules include Financials and Controlling (FICO), Human Resources (HR), Materials Management (MM), Production Planning (PP), and Sales & Distribution (SD). Each module is responsible for its own processes and communicates with other selected modules. SAP R/3 is a 3-tiered client/server based application. The user interacts with the client or presentation layer. The application layer contains the business-specific processing rules. The database layer records and stores the business data.
SAP R/3 relies on its own proprietary fourth-generation language called ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming). As always, the promise is an easy-to-use language that creates effective, efficient programs. Developers and users interact with the database via Open SQL. ABAP Objects give developers the toolkit for creating object-oriented programs.
No two organizations ever use SAP R/3 in the same way. Integrating SAP system upon business merger or take over is a major undertaking. Sometimes two separate SAP systems will be maintained for an indeterminate period of time.
The SAP R/3 methodology defines an Implementation Roadmap composed of five phases. Each phase has its own documentation and planning tools. These phases are: Preparation, Business Blueprint, Realization, Final Preparation, and Roll-Out. In the Preparation phase, the project team is built and the system is designed. The Business Blueprint presents the business functioning for the implemented system. Realization configures the ERP system and develops connections to the legacy system. Final Preparation tests the new system, migrates data and trains users. In the Roll-Out Phase the new system goes live and monitoring starts.
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