Issue

The number of system languages implemented in a SAP system significantly adds to the complexity of the initial system design, implementation, testing and continued maintenance with respect to master data, system configuration, development (reports, forms, system interfaces, etc.), process documentation, employee user interface, shared service functions and IT support.

There are currently 21 languages (logon languages) implemented in Syensqo. As a part of the ERP rebuild project there is an opportunity to simplify and standardize the language implementation.

Recommendation

Option A – Implementing 4 Core Languages (English, French, Italian and Mandarin) is recommended for its alignment with the principles of simplicity and standardization and cost-effectiveness. By supporting 4 languages, initial translation and maintenance costs/time are lowered, allowing for a quicker deployment and efficient use of resources.

With 92.5% employee language coverage, Option A provides substantial support while remaining within budget constraints, making it a suitable choice for organizations that need effective language coverage without the added complexity and higher costs associated with implementing Option B. To mitigate any risks in critical functions, Option A includes additional language support (Brazilian Portuguese, German and Spanish) for manufacturing and maintenance which will bring the employee language coverage up to 97%. Although this option may offer slightly less comprehensive localization, it effectively balances user accessibility with operational efficiency. This balanced approach ensures substantial language coverage for the majority of employees while managing costs effectively and maintaining operational efficiency.

Background & Context

Implementing multiple system languages in an SAP environment introduces substantial complexity across various stages of the system lifecycle. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

• System Design and Implementation: Incorporating multiple languages into an SAP system involves complex initial design and setup, including installing and configuring language packs and adapting custom developments to support various languages.

• Testing and Quality Assurance: Extensive testing is required across all supported languages to ensure functionality, data accuracy, and user interface consistency, which adds to the overall complexity and effort.

• Master Data and Configuration: Managing master data and system configurations in multiple languages requires careful translation and consistency, impacting data integrity and the configuration process.

• Development and Documentation: Custom reports, forms, and system interfaces need to be multilingual, and process documentation and training materials must be translated and maintained in all supported languages.

• Ongoing Support and Maintenance: Multilingual support impacts IT and shared services functions, requiring additional resources for support and regular updates in all supported languages.

Syensqo currently has around 23 languages installed in ECC: 21 logon languages and 2 languages without logon capability. Following are all the languages implemented in the As-Is system. 

Noteworthy is the presence of custom language codes Z8 and Z9, which are not delivered by SAP as part of its software delivery. 

Assumptions

• The Language assignment per each country in the section Employee Counts
• The SaaS systems will support the recommended languages
• Any additional language requirements for SucessFactors will be incorporated as part of the SucessFactors project 
• English language referenced in this paper equals American English and not British English
• French language referenced in this paper equals mainland French (spoken in France) and not Canadian French
• In case additional instances are proposed as part of the instance strategy, the instance will have English by default and the subset of the recommended languages which are applicable, e.g. a separate instance for China would have English and Chinese as languages
• The majority of Syensqo staff in Japan and Korea are white-collar workers able to use a system in English.

Constraints

The employee counts are based on SuccessFactors data obtained in August 2024. The evaluation is done based on these employee counts and if there are any significant discrepancies, the evaluation needs to be repeated. See the Employee Counts section for the actual employee counts considered

Impacts

Organisational change: Reducing language coverage to 4 core languages means that some employees who previously used the system in other languages will need to be upskilled to use the system in English or the remaining core languages. This transition may involve additional training and support to be planned and conducted by the Business to help these employees adapt to the new language requirements.

Regulatory validation: Regulatory and audit teams will need to review and sign off on the proposed language coverage to ensure that it meets all local legal and regulatory requirements. This validation process ensures that the system remains compliant with relevant regulations and that any language limitations are documented and approved.

Change Management and training: Training material and comms to be translated to the 4 core languages. Training material relevant for manufacturing and maintenance to be translated to 8 languages

Data Migration: Data migration team to take into account the language considerations for cleansing

User Experience for users with language preference of Brazilian Portuguese, German or Spanish: SAP-standard UIs and custom UIs related to manufacturing and maintenance are displayed in their preferred language. UIs outside of this limited scope will be displayed in English. Supplementation will occur using English for these languages inside the SAP systems. 

Business Rules

Following are some of the Business Rules determined as part of this document. More rules to be defined during the detailed design

• Employee language is determined based on the default language from SuccessFactors HR data
• In case the preferred language is missing from the employee profile, the default logon language is English
• All master data content must be maintained in English language. This is to carry out the duplication checks 

Options considered

Rationale for choosing the below options

The rationale for selecting the below options is outlined in the section below: Rationale for Options selection

Option A: Implement 4 Core Languages (English, French, Italian and Mandarin)

4 core languages English, French, Italian and Mandarin are fully implemented across the system, including for User Interfaces and data.

The additional languages Brazilian Portuguese, German and Spanish will be made available as logon languages but fully supported only for functionality pertaining to Manufacturing and Maintenance operations.

This gives about a coverage of 92.5% of employees (97.15% with additional languages). This option also covers 66 / 67 manufacturing plants across the globe. 

Option B: Implement 7 Core Languages (English, French, Italian, Mandarin, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Spanish)

Fully implement 7 core languages across the system, including for standard and custom UIs and all data. This gives about a coverage of  97.15% of employees and covers 66/67 manufacturing plants

Detailed Definition

As this is a complex area, the table below depicts the commonalities and differences between these two Options. 

Evaluation

	Option A - Implement 4 core languages	Option B - Implement 8 Core languages
Alignment to Design Principles	Adheres to Simplification and Standardization principle	Additional four languages increase complexity of system design, build and maintenance
Employee Language Coverage	92.5% of the employee's primary language is covered by implementing this option. However, it goes up to 97% as the manufacturing and maintenance transactions are supported in 7 languages	97% of the employees' primary language is covered by implementing this option
Ongoing Language Support Costs - Internal	Medium - Costs are moderate as the system supports 4 core languages, with additional support for a few transactions in the remaining languages. Maintenance and support efforts are relatively lower compared to Option B.	High - Supporting 7 languages increases the complexity and cost of ongoing maintenance and support. This includes higher expenses for managing and updating multiple language packs and ensuring consistent performance across all languages.
Ongoing Language Support Costs – shared service / IT helpdesk	Medium - Comparatively lower costs than Option B as the shared service and IT helpdesk support 4 languages	High - Significant costs are associated with shared services and IT helpdesk support for 7 languages. The helpdesk must handle more complex language-related issues, leading to higher operational costs and resource requirements.
SAP S/4 Hana languages coverage for User Interface	All the languages proposed are available as part of Standard SAP offering	All the languages proposed are available as part of Standard SAP offering
Translation Cost	High - Translation costs are substantial as data, configuration settings, and labels need to be converted into 4 core languages. This includes initial translation and ongoing updates.	Very High - Translation costs are significantly higher with 7 languages, covering extensive data, configuration settings, and labels. The increased number of languages leads to higher initial translation expenses and ongoing costs for updates and maintenance.

Rationale for Options selection

A detailed evaluation is done based on the following parameters to identify the language options that are considered in the document

• Employee count (Including the contingent workers)
• Manufacturing plants and Distribution centers
• Revenue
• Official Languages
• Regulatory requirements

A detailed table of the actual analysis can be found below

Aggregating the number of employees by language yields the following distribution. Languages recommended in this document as primary system languages are highlighted in green, while languages recommended for Manufacturing and Maintenance use cases are shown in pale green. 

*) Note: Despite the greater number of native speakers for these languages, the relevant populations are predominantly white-collar workers and thus more likely to be able to work in English. 

Mapping various enterprise structure elements to the main language used in the respective country reveals that Syensqo's ECC systems support a number of languages which are no longer operationally relevant to the company, or which have only a vary small number of operations conducted in this language. This provides a large opportunity to simplify the future S/4HANA deployment. The most significant location where native language support will be removed is Japan, which hosts no manufacturing but a significant Distribution Center network. 

*) The majority of these appear to be not true Distribution Centre's but "port plants". These will most likely be represented by other enterprise structure elements in the future S/4HANA solution. 

See also

Change log

Workflow history