12.4 Company Code Transfer
The second landscape transformation scenario involves transferring an organizational unit, more precisely a company code, according to SAP S/4HANA. Gradually introducing SAP S/4HANA to your enterprise may well begin with a single business area. Often, individual subsidiaries are mapped in company codes. Therefore, you can, for example, only transfer one subsidiary (for example, Germany) to SAP S/4HANA from a European system in which multiple countries are mapped as one company code.
The simplest approach to implementing a company code migration is the Company Code Deletion function. This standard scenario within SAP LT can be carried out by any IT organization without incurring additional consulting costs. Figure 12.7 shows an overview of the package and its implementation phases.
Figure 12.7 Overview of the Company Code Deletion Function in SAP LT
After deleting the company code, a system conversion of the newly set-up system is carried out.
SAP LT consistently deletes all relevant data from one or more selected company codes from the system. If all company codes for an associated controlling area are selected, the entire controlling area is deleted. Such a project is usually carried out in two phases and involves several steps. The first phase is known as the deletion, while the second phase is called the counter-deletion. The organizational structure of your enterprise is therefore cleanly separated after both phases.
In the first phase, the following steps are carried out:
- You’ll create a full system copy of the system from which the company code will be deleted.
- Select the delete function in SAP LT and prepare for this technically, as described further in this section.
- The deletion is carried out.
- A test cycle is carried out in which the newly created system is tested after the deletion.
- Depending on the results of the tests, steps 1 to 4 are repeated in order to make adjustments if necessary.
Finally, the counter-deletion is carried out:
- You’ll prepare the counter-deletion in the production source system from which the company code has been deleted. Because this process takes place in your SAP ERP production system, you must allow for a corresponding downtime and inform your end users.
- A final system copy is created. The relevant real data is deleted from the copy and from the source system. The result is an additional production system that only contains the selected company code.
- Now, you’ll set up the development and quality assurance systems for the newly established production system.
The whole procedure is usually fully executed in at least two cycles with a current copy of the existing production system. The deletion is executed on this system copy, which has no impact on the existing system landscape. Key findings from this test run include the total runtime of the deletion as well as the identification of potential errors.
The organization derivation in SAP LT is used to determine what data should be deleted for all SAP applications. Technically, the SAP organizational structure is analyzed via the Customizing, and all of the company code-dependent organizational units are identified. Figure 12.8 shows a detailed view of the individual phase steps.
SAP LT creates a worklist from this containing the master data, transaction data, and documents that are to be deleted. These items are then removed from SAP application tables during the actual deletion. Data in Controlling (CO) and Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) can be deleted consistently using this method even if you start with one company code first. Figure 12.9 shows a complete organization with company codes selected for transfer.
Figure 12.8 Individual Steps in the Company Code Deletion Procedure
Figure 12.9 Example of an Organization with Selected Company Code
In test cycles, the primary objective is to troubleshoot and determine if too much or too little data was deleted. If some processes are managed across company codes, either situation could be the case. Possible examples include processes that are used both by sales and procurement.
To prepare for company code deletion, 1 week is usually scheduled. However, this timeframe does not account for a subsequent system conversion, only the SAP LT Company Code Deletion function. In this first week of preparation, SAP LT is configured and test cases are prepared. Depending on requirements, these test cases include two areas:
- Simple lists of the dataset prior to the deletion to compare volume
- Separate postings that identify whether all business processes still function fully after the deletion
Because the source system is still used in production, the counter-deletion is usually carried out on a weekend. Copies set up for test purposes usually have no time limit, which is also technically justified because the hardware used for testing is usually cheaper (but has a lower performance). Therefore, test processes simply take longer by comparison. However, the test system must be available exclusively for testing purposes, and no other projects should be run on the test system in parallel. Further, the copy must be complete in order to work on the entire database and not be a significantly reduced system. As a result, the deletions of the complementary company codes can be executed properly. If, for example, company code 1000 is migrated to SAP S/4HANA, only this company code will remain in the new system after the system copy and deletion. All other company codes will be removed using SAP LT, as shown in Figure 12.10.
Figure 12.10 A New System with an Isolated Company Code
If the new production system has been fully set up, usually simple system copy procedures are carried out to create new development and quality assurance systems. You’ll again have a three-tier system landscape but only with the relevant data for the individual company code. What is important here is when and how the system conversion is performed. Depending on your requirements, you can initially set the new system to live in the current release and operate it for a while before you then carry out a system conversion. Due to the high level of standardization of the deletion procedure and the relatively short runtime, you can also combine the two processes into a single project, of course.
When the company code has been copied to the new system, this particular company code is deleted from the previous source system in the second phase. You could also simply lock this company code from postings. However, often reasons exist in favor of deleting company codes: For instance, lower data volumes will result in less strain on the system. Deletion may also provide a clean break from the old system. Figure 12.11 shows the structure of a legacy system after the counter-deletion.
Figure 12.11 Legacy System after Cleansing via Counter-Deletion
In this second phase, two test cycles are also usually carried out. After the production counter-deletion has been performed over a weekend, the remaining system landscape, such as your test and quality assurance systems, is cleansed. This cleansing is not time-critical and can also be carried out during normal business hours. You can also consider rebuilding your quality assurance systems using a full system copy, similar to the procedure in the case of the new system.
Next, a deletion is usually also carried out because the delete procedure is so simple and because parallel projects may be running in the old system landscape. A further reason for the deletion may be that you are unsure whether the dataset in your nonproduction systems is complete. If all delete procedures are complete, you can begin to convert the system on the newly created system with the isolated company code, thus giving you a separate but fully functional company code on SAP S/4HANA.