A Quick Tour of SAP

 

While many of you have experience with ERP products, the point of this little exercise is to give everyone a chance to see a few of the functions of SAP, and to get some sense for the navigation through these systems.

 

To give you this experience, I have arranged for you to have an account on a training system located at UW Milwaukee.  You will access the system through the World Wide Web.

 

Important navigation points before we start:

 

1.      Once in SAP, do NOT use any of your web browser buttons (the BACK button will be especially problematic).  Use the SAP buttons.

 

2.      These are the key icons in SAP:

 

·        Checkmark in a green circle – execute.  Click on it to have an action performed

 

·        Triangle in a menu – means there are submenus.  Click on the triangle to see them.

 

·        Binoculars - this is the find icon for looking through lists of customers or products.

 

·        Two boxes on the right of an entry field – means a list of entries is available.  Click on the boxes.

 

    3.  Watch for a row of buttons across the top of the screen (especially "system"), since they will help you navigate through SAP.

 

Most people get really annoyed the first couple times they use SAP because they are used to other interfaces.  Have some patience, follow my directions slowly and carefully, and call me or email me if you get lost.  Our main goal is not to become SAP experts, but to get some sense of the range of data that is collected and stored in an ERP system.


 

 

The SAP Log on process

 

Initial web site:  http://sbasap61.sba.uwm.edu:8000/sap/bc/gui/sap/its/webgui/

 

You will see this screen:

 

 

Enter this field:

 

Client – 325

 

Click on Log on to begin.  You will be taken to another screen and asked for a userid and password.

 

User -  (Get this from me via email)

Initial password – (I will give you an initial password.   You will be required to create a new

 password. )

 

 

You will see this Screen:

 

 

 


 

 

SAP Tour – Part 1  - Customer Data

Purpose – All businesses keep information about their customers.  What may have happened in the past is that each department (marketing, accounting, shipping) may have had different records – maybe even different databases.  In an ERP all that data is connected, so customer records look a bit different.  We will review a few customer records to get a sense for the amount of data that might be contained in an ERP.

 

The following instruction sequence will get you to detailed information about all customers in the database:

 

 

Menu path

Open up this sequence of menus:

Logistics – sales and distribution- master data – business partners – customer – display – complete

 

When you get to Complete double click on the cube to begin the program

 

This customer screen will appear:

The key field is customer number.  Since you don’t know any customer numbers, here is how you get a listing:

 

  1. Double click on the binoculars – (the icon near the top - for FIND).
  2. The selection screen will appear (it helps you determine the search process you wish to use)
  3. Put the cursor in the Country box.  A LIST icon will appear on the right
  4. Click the LIST icon to see a list of all countries.
  5. Scroll down and Select CA to get a list of Canadian customers
  6. Click on the GREEN CHECKMARK (execute) to have SAP show you all Canadian customers.

 

 

 

 

Copy down the numbers and names the Canadian companies: 

 

 

Individual Customer Data

 

Exit search help (Use the X to close the box showing customer numbers (a very small blue X in the upper right corner of the box)).  This takes you back to the Customer Display screen.

 

  1. Enter customer number 1000.
  2. Click on the green Checkmark.  It will execute your lookup. A screen like this will appear:

 

 

Review the customer data to see the kinds of information that can be retained on customers.

 

 

 

 

SAP Tour Assignment Part 1:

Create a Word document that includes the following:

 

1. The numbers and names the Canadian companies: 

 

2 . Customer 1000:

Company Name –

Company address -

Annual sales of the company-

How many employees do they have?

What time will they accept a delivery on Saturday?

Who should be contacted in the Finance Department?

Do they buy military equipment? 

 

(NOTE: At the end of each of these activities you can click on the BACK Box (near the top of the screen) 2 times to return to the main menu, or log out of SAP by following the command under the SYSTEM box on the top menu.)


 

 

SAP Tour – Part 2

Viewing a Customer Order

 

Purpose - In this segment we will view customer order information.  This is the sequence we might look at if we were responding to a customer call about an order. 

 

Use this menu sequence to get to the order display screen:

 

Logistics -> Sales and Distribution ->  Sales ->  Order -> Display

 

You should see this screen:

 

 

Enter an Order number of 5000020.  Then click the Search bar.

 

You should see this screen:

 

Click on each of the tabs and familiarize yourself with the information that is kept about each order.

 

SAP Tour assignment part 2 –

 

Find answers to these questions:

 

What item is being sold (material number)?

Who is buying it?

What is its net price?

How much does it weigh?

What is the required delivery date?

What plant will be shipping it?

What is the delivery status?

What are the payment terms?

 

[Enter your answers in a Word document as part of SAP Assignment #2]


 

 

SAP Tour – 3

Product Information

 

Purpose - While customers might want to know about orders, our manufacturing and accounting folks might want to know about what products we have in inventory and how they are valued.  These screens will show you how that information might be accessed.

 

 

Logistics -> Material Management –> Material Master -> Material -> Display -> Display current

 

You should see this screen:

 

Enter a Material number of 1300-550. 

 

Hit ENTER (execute)

 

You will see a table with Select Views

 

Select Purchasing and Accounting1

 

Click on the Green check mark.

 

A dialog box will ask for a Plant number. Use 1000.

 

Click on the Green Check mark

 

You will see the material description.  Look through the various tabs to see all the information kept on this product. (NOTE: there is a funny looking icon just under the words "Organizational Levels" that will give you a pull-down menu to see all the data kept on this product.)

 

SAP Tour Assignment 3

 

Open a Word document.  List each of these pieces of data for material 1300-550:

 

Description:

Base Unit of Measure:

Material Group:

Purchasing Group:

Standard Price:

Valuation Class:

Price Control:

Currency:


 

 

SAP Tour – Part 4

Human Resources

 

Purpose – While much of HR systems need to be segregated for privacy reasons, cost accounting couple a great deal easier if we could connect particular employees to particular job so we could better estimate our labor costs.  So as we review the data contained in SAP’s HR section, notice also how this data can be connected to other parts of the system.

 

We will review employee records, update them, and then review management reports available in SAP.  Use this menu stream:

 

Human Resources -> Personnel Management -> Administration-> HR Master data -> Personnel File

 

You should see this screen:

 

 

Use the pull down (double boxes) to see a search screen.  Enter a last name -- "Smith" works.  Then Click on the Start Search bar.

 

Select one of the employee numbers, and then click on the Green Check Mark in the upper left corner to get the employee’s personnel record.

 

To see the full record, click on the icon at the far right - "Assignment Details" (the icon looks like a person standing in front of a list).

 

You should see a record like this:

 

 

Open up the files for payroll information and benefit information to learn more about this employee.  (NOTE: if the left column is too narrow for you to read the folder names, move the line to the right with your cursor)

 

SAP Tour Assignment Part 4a

 

Open a Word document and fill in this information for your employee. (Note – not all employees have data in all these fields.  If the information is not available for the employee you choose, just note that.

 

Name

Position number and title

Hiring date

Organizational data

Payroll data

Benefits

US Benefits (if a US employee)

 

 

 

 

External HR Reports

 

SAP has a number of built-in reports for managers outside of HR. The idea is that ALL managers need some information about employees they supervise, yet there is no reason to give any manager complete access to the HR database.  So the Manager’s Desktop was created to give managers limited access to information about their own employees.

 

To see these external reports, select Human Resources -> Manager’s Desktop.

 

You should see this screen:

 

Since you are not logged on as a manager, you will not be able to see the data on particular employees through this view.  But you should be able to see the kinds of HR information that are made available to managers using SAP.

 

The menu structures on the left and at the top of the screen show the report options available to an HR manager.

 

SAP Tour Assignment 4b:

 

  1. What kind of education and training information is available?

 

Log out of SAP by finding the Log Off option under SYSTEM (one of the top menus).