| Status |
| |
| Owner | McCarteny
| |
| StakeholdersPeter Rusnak |
Issue
This document aims to evaluate the potential benefits and drawbacks of copying over custom units of measure (ie no SAP Standard ones) that have been created over time by Qyensqo for use with Supplier integration, Ordering and Invoicing.
Decision
Decide whether to bring over the custom UoMs created for stopping vendor issues at invoicing stage into the S4 Hana System or to start with just the standard ones.
Background & Context
In the past suppliers who did not send in a standard ISO or SAP Unit of Measure on an acknowledgement, or an invoice would get an error at the point of the data being entered (manually or by interface) on SAP.
This means that the transaction has to be checked and the Unit of Measure corrected by the supplier causing delays – or for the UoM to be added to the SAP UoM list as a custom unit and mapped to the existing standard to avoid recurrences.
The ERP Rebuild will mean a switch to SAP standard as a default. This could result in going through the same UoM errors that were found in the past and having to correct the supplier or add the custom UoMs to SAP again.
Alternatively, the custom UoMs that have been used to bypass the issue in ECC could also be ported to S4 HANA (and Ariba) to avoid repeating the same errors.
Syensqo has close to 700 non-standard/custom units of measure created in the system.
- These non-standard units of measure might cause data consistency issues as the definitions and the conversions are not standardised
- These custom units of measure cause issues with integrations with other SAP modules or 3rd party systems that do not recognise these units
Recommendation
Based on the evaluation of the solution options, it is recommended to Use SAP / ISO Standard UoMs and conversions. This follows the Simplification/Standardisation approach of the project and ensures consistency and ease of integration across the landscape.
Any legacy data using non-standard UoMs will be mapped to standard UoMs during data migration.
Background & Context
Syensqo has close to 700 non-standard/custom units of measure created in the system. These units are historically created to cater to UoM's published by suppliers in various catalogs and also as a workaround to support certain business processes. Below are some of the issues faced currently
- Incorrect Conversion Factors - Missing or incorrect conversion factors between non-standard UoM's sometimes cause calculation errors e.g., in pricing, inventory etc.
- Reporting and Analysis Errors - Non-standard UoM's create issues in reporting and analytics, leading to miscalculations or inaccurate data representation and aggregations
- Incompatibility with SAP Standard Functions - Some SAP standard functions (e.g., MRP, ATP checks) do not fully support non-standard UoM's, or require additional customisation
- User Confusion and Data Entry Mistakes - Non-standard UoM's sometimes lead to user confusion and result in data entry mistakes, especially when the same unit of measure is shared across multiple business units
Scale of Issue
Below table provides the statistics of non-standard UoM's in the system along with the usage of the same.
| System | Non-Standard UoM's | POs in past 5 years | PO's with non-Standard UoM | % | UoM's used in affected POs | Materials changed in 10 Years | Materials with Non-Standard UoM | % | UoM's used in Material Masters |
| QF2 | 404 | 4,642,346 | 184,587 | 4% | 66 | 613,651 | 27,648* | 5% | 32 |
| WQ2 | 357 | 2,877,450 | 82,007 | 3% | 73 | 567,413 | 5,995 | 1% | 51 |
As a part of the above analysis, though there are ~700 non-standard UoM's that are existing in the system, there are only ~200 of them are currently active and being used in material master and Purchase Orders.
Assumptions
- Business processes are simplified and standardised and will not have any requirements for non-standard units of measure
- Punch-out catalogs used by Syensqo will have standard ISO units of measure - In case of any exceptions, the unit of measure in the catalog will be mapped to a standard unit of measure in SAP
Constraints
N/A
Impacts
Data Migration
- All dependent master data ex: Material master, BOM's etc.. will be updated with the standard unit of measure (All the quantities in these data objects ex: BOM Header quantity, MOQ in material master will be updated based on the conversion factors)
- Stock quantities ex: Inventory, Stock in transit etc.. will adjusted based on the standard UoM before migrating to the new system
- Prices ex: Info records, pricing conditions etc.. will be adjusted based on the standard UOM before migrating to the new system
Downstream systems
- Any downstream system using the master data with non-standard UoM will be updated with new UoM and conversions. Mapping table will be used in case the UoM updates are not possible
Communication
- Communication along with the mapping for non-standard to Standard UoM's will be sent to the relevant customers / Vendors / 3rd party systems
Business Rules
All the master data and Business processes use only Standard SAP / ISO Units of Measure
Options considered
Following are the options considered.
Option 1: Use SAP / ISO Standard UoMs and conversions
As a part of this option, all the master data and business processes use only the standard SAP/ISO unit of measures available in the system. Non-standard UoM's are not permitted to be created / used. Mapping activity will be carried out when the master data / transactional data is migrated from the legacy systems to the new S/4 HANA system.
Advantages:
- UoM's and conversions are standardised across all the master data objects and business processes
- No additional effort / customisations required to enable the standard SAP functionality
- Uniform and Simplified reporting as the UoM's and conversion factors are standardised
- Standard integrations without any additional data mappings with other modules of SAP, SAAS systems and any other 3rd party applications
Disadvantages:
- One time data conversion effort to map the master and transactional data with standard UoM
- One time data conversion / mapping of the non-standard UoM's in the downstream systems
- Business processes that require creation of the non-standard UoM needs to be remediated
Option 2: Allow the use of non-standard UoM's
As a part of this option, the existing As-Is active non-standard UoM's are migrated to the new S/4 Hana system.
Advantages:
- The existing processes can continue without any changes
- No data migration/mapping effort except when there is de-duplication of master data
Disadvantages:
- No standardisation of the UoM's across master and transactional data
- Complex governance process to govern the non-standard UoM's and the conversion factors
- User errors due to confusion and unfamiliarity of the non-standard UoM's
- Customisations and data mappings required for integrations to any SAAS or 3rd party applications
- Not all standard functionalities will be able to support the non-standard UoM's
- Potential incorrect reporting and aggregations
Assumptions
Not all suppliers adhere to the SAP standard or ISO Units of Measure and will send non standard ones on Acknowledgements or Invoices
Constraints
Impacts
However, it is important to consider potential drawbacks or challenges associated with adding in custom UoMs
- UoMs and mapping will have to be carried over from the legacy system either manually or by some extraction process.
- There is unlikely to be a standard SAP tool to do this copy over as the assumption with SAP is that the SAP and ISO UoMs are enough
- If custom UoMs are present in the system then they could be used by Syensqo staff when creating transactions and master data, rather than using htem to map suppliers own UoMs to SAP standards. This could cause confusion downstream and so a review of how these are currently handled by the system should be carried out.
- If all suppliers are no longer using non-SAP or non ISO UoMs then this may not be a live issue. Review of UoMs currently received on invoices should be carried out.
- Accepting nonstandard UoMs without proper and complete mapping can cause confusion in standard reports, blocking global analysis.
- There may be legacy data to be transferred that uses these custom UoMs
- UoM mismatches can occur in other streams – eg O2C where customers send in non standard UoMs causing similar issues to procurement.
Business Rules
Any Custom UoM needs to be manually added to the new system and transported through as config.
Options considered
It would be painful to go through the same UoM errors that Syensqo has already solved by adding in custom UoMs. However, the impact needs to be analysed across the system in order to see how big an issue it is and any downstream or reporting impacts.
Option 1: Do not transfer over the custom UoMs
The organisation simply starts with the standard SAP offering
Advantages:
- No effort required to develop a process to transfer the UoMs
- No issue with non-standard UoMs impacting reports
- No potential confusion due to unexpected downstream use of non-standard UoMs
- Ensures that only standardized data is used in the new system, which can simplify future upgrades and integrations.
- Reduces the long-term maintenance burden as there are fewer custom elements to manage.
Disadvantages:
- May hit the same issues that have already been solved when receiving transactions from suppliers
- May invalidate legacy data that uses custom UoMs – e.g. Supplier Invoices and that would need to be altered
- If plan is only to use SAP standards, then another way of fixing the suppliers who send in non-standard UoMs need to be applied
Option 2: Carry over the custom UoMs As Is
Take over the current custom UoMs as they are, including any mapping
Advantages:
- UoM Problems that are already solved / mapped do not re-occur
- No issue with legacy data that use custom UoMs (if any)
Disadvantages:
- Any pre-existing issues (e.g. in reports due to unexpected UoMs) will also re-occur
- May have an impact on other standard tools or integrations
- Complexity: Increases the complexity of the migration process, potentially leading to more errors and requiring more time and resources.
- Maintenance burden as custom UoMs will need to be supported and managed in the new system.
- Risk of conflicts with standard UoMs and future upgrades or integrations with other systems.
Option 3: Review current situation, size the problem and move any UoMs that are required
Assess how many non standard UoMs are currently being received, volume of legacy data that would carry them and any issues with reports. Bring over any non standard UoM where the impact is such it cannot be avoided.
Advantages:
- Balanced Approach: Combines the benefits of both full migration and non-migration by ensuring critical UoMs are maintained while unnecessary ones are discarded.
- Risk Mitigation: Reduces the risk of data discrepancies and supplier issues by retaining only essential custom UoMs.
- Resource Optimization: Optimizes resource usage by focusing efforts on critical data, making the migration process more efficient. Can review any suppliers that still send in non standard UoMs and see if we can realign on a standard
- Can review any reports that are affected by non standard UoMs or would be affected by a switch back to standard
- Get a company wide view of any UoM issues across other streams to assess impact of stopping custom UoMs
Disadvantages:
- Analysis Effort: Requires additional effort and time to conduct the impact analysis, which can delay the migration process.
- Decision Complexity: Decisions on which UoMs to migrate can be complex and might require significant stakeholder involvement.
- Partial Continuity: Might still lead to some data consistency issues for less frequently used custom UoMs that are not migrated. Will take time to carry out review and contact suppliers
Evaluation
Based on the evaluation of the solution options, it Option 1: Use SAP / ISO Standard UoM's and conversions is recommended that the Review approach is used to size and scale the nature of the problem.
To successfully carry out the review approach, the following Requirements should be taken:
- Review of impact of issue: Conduct a thorough analysis of the custom UoMs to understand their usage, importance, and impact on business processes and supplier relationships.
- Stakeholder Consultation: Engage with key users, suppliers and customers(?), to understand their requirements and preferences regarding UoMs.
- Migration Strategy: Based on the impact analysis, decide on a balanced approach that ensures critical custom UoMs are retained while minimizing the overall complexity and maintenance burden.
Review data :
. This follows the Simplification/Standardisation approach of the project and minimises any maintenance burden going forward.
| Criteria | Option 1: Use SAP / ISO Standard UoM's and conversions | Option 2: Allow the use of non-standard UoM's |
|---|---|---|
| Alignment with project charter - Standardization and Simplification |
|
|
| Integration |
|  Data mappings or customisations required for integrating with other SAP modules are 3rd party applications which doesn't support the non-standard UoM |
| Data Migration |
|  No mapping required. However where there is de-duplication of materials with a standard and non-standard UoM, additional mapping effort is required |
| Reporting |
|
|
See also
| Attachments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Change log
| Change History |
|---|
Workflow history
| ||||||
| Workflow Report | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|