4.5    Future Outlook

In this section, we’ll describe the functionalities by LoB that are scheduled to be released in future release packs and/or SAP ERP functionality that will be replaced by SAP S/4HANA functionalities.

4.5.1    Manufacturing

Table 4.5 describes the key areas in manufacturing that are planned for future innovation: SAP IBP (as the long-term product replacing SAP APO), digital manufacturing, and SAP PLM.

Area	Current Planned Innovation
SAP IBP	SAP IBP will replace the current SAP APO in the long term. SAP IBP is delivered as an additional product only available on SAP S/4HANA Cloud and can be interfaced with on-premise deployments of SAP S/4HANA.
Digital manufacturing	Engineering change management. Manufacturing engineering: visual enterprise, manufacturing planning, visual work instructions, and variant configuration. 3-D printing and collaboration on design and documents via SAP HANA Cloud Platform.
SAP PLM	Visual Enterprise Manufacturing Planner to hand over the engineering bill of materials (EBOM) to manufacturing bill of materials (MBOM); interface between them. Classification reuse of UI components. Management of change records. Versioning for bill of materials (BOM), BOM where-used list, and BOM comparison.

Table 4.5    Outlook for Manufacturing with SAP S/4HANA

4.5.2    Supply Chain

Table 4.6 provides the high-level overview of planned innovation for the supply chain area. The major planned improvements for the near future are in the area of embedded SAP EWM and SAP TM in SAP S/4HANA.

Area	Current Planned Innovation
IM	Optimized performance for goods movement.
UX	Analytical SAP Fiori app for inventory managers. Enhancements to SAP Fiori app for material document. New SAP Fiori apps for physical inventory.
QM	Advanced search for quality objects. Improved efficiencies in QA execution processes.
TM	SAP TM will be embedded in SAP S/4HANA and will continue to run side by side until all functionalities are met by SAP S/4HANA.

Table 4.6    Outlook for Supply Chain Management with SAP S/4HANA

4.5.3    Sales

Table 4.7 provides the overview of planned future innovation for the sales area. The main area for improvement is in development of the UX (SAP Fiori apps).

Area	Current Planned Innovation
UX	Enhanced data migration from SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA. SAP Fiori apps for order-to-cash, returns and refunds, and sales KPIs. Improvements to SAP Fiori app for billing clerks: Display of contextual information about billing documents. Ability to create billing documents from a billing due list. Ability to search and display a document, release a document to accounting, and send the output to customer.
SAP Hybris Billing	FI-CA connection to SAP HANA Cloud Platform Digital Payment Hub. Billing plans, UI invoicing. Intercompany bills. Revenue accounting. SAP Fiori app to analyze credit, plans, volumes, and more.

Table 4.7    Outlook for Sales with SAP S/4HANA

4.5.4    Sourcing and Procurement

Table 4.8 shows the overview of key planned innovations for the sourcing and procurement area. Future developments are in the area of SAP Fiori apps and the integration of SAP SRM functionalities either to SAP Ariba Network or to SAP S/4HANA.

Area	Current Planned Innovation
Operational procurement	Process simplification for the service procurement process, including the service entry data sheet.
UX	Central page overview with procure-to-pay support on the SAP Fiori app. Manage professional requisition. Existing SAP Fiori apps enhanced: Purchase Requisition Purchase Order Contract Processing
UX (Cont.)	New SAP Fiori apps for the following: Managing Scheduling Agreements Quota Arrangements Source Lists Advanced search and navigation for scheduling agreements.
SAP SRM	SAP SRM functionalities will move to SAP S/4HANA or to SAP Ariba. Customers can continue to use SAP SRM side by side, but should not expect any new features.
Invoice processing	OpenText integration for supplier invoice processing.

Table 4.8    Outlook for Sourcing and Procurement with SAP S/4HANA