Effective project management is critical for organizations across various industries to improve baseline planning, project status tracking, and project workspace management in today’s dynamic and highly competitive business environment.

SAP Commercial Project Management (CPM) offers a comprehensive suite of tools and capabilities to help businesses streamline project execution, enhance collaboration, improve project-related procurement contract control, and optimize financial management.

In this article, we’ll discuss the key components and capabilities of the SAP CPM module, how it empowers organizations to effectively plan, execute, and control their commercial projects and improve project visibility, and where our team of SAP consultants can come in to help.

What is SAP CPM?

SAP Commercial Project Management (CPM) is a part of SAP’s comprehensive portfolio of enterprise software solutions designed to help organizations manage and execute commercial projects, streamline critical project-related processes, and improve visibility into project status and risk management.

The CPM module is particularly valuable for companies that engage in projects that cover multiple processes for end-to-end project lifecycle management, including construction, engineering, professional services, manufacturing, and more.

With Commercial Project Management in SAP, users can:

  • Plan, execute, monitor, and optimize projects and support various project types and structures
  • Improve collaboration, communication, and document sharing between project teams
  • Support tailored resource planning, allocation, and utilization across the entire project system
  • Identify, manage, and proactively address risks that may impact project success
  • Improve financial management for tasks like billing, revenue recognition, forecasting, and reporting
  • Gain better insights into project performance and make more data-driven decisions
  • Enhance engagement management for customer-specific project requirements and relationships

Understanding How SAP CPM Extends SAP S/4HANA Capabilities

The SAP CPM module extends the capabilities of S/4HANA in the following scenarios:

Project revenue, cost, and quantity planning

From the bid and proposal phase to baseline planning, subsequent planning, master project forecasting, and final project completion, the SAP CPM module covers multiple processes that enable companies to gain a cross-project view and enhance project success.

Project management

Project management capabilities in the SAP CPM module enhance the availability of the project manager in the project workspace, including critical capabilities like embedded reporting, project status and risk management, and integration with project-related procurement processes.

Contract and engagement management

Commercial Project Management in SAP offers enhanced functions to execute, manage, and track billing and account receivables for completed projects and improve the management of work in progress (WIP) across the entire SAP ERP system.

Change management

Commercial Project Management in SAP extends the capabilities of SAP S/4HANA by offering advanced project issue and change management functionality that addresses the core business requirements of companies that offer project-based services for their customers.

This functionality enables companies that sell projects to address specific requirements related to logging system issues, assigning the right people to the right tasks, and managing each task to process the change requests.

Key Features of SAP Commercial Project Management

Here’s a closer look at the main capabilities of Commerical Project Management in SAP:

Project Workspace

The Project Workspace component enables project managers to connect all aspects of a project in one place, including project risks, schedules, statuses, resources, budgets, and more.

With this functionality, users can leverage a single-user interface to integrate diverse business objects and systems into the same location and simplify project management in a real-world project setup.

Project Issue and Change Management

This component enables users to process issues and change requests related to different business objects, including sales orders, purchase requisitions, financial plans, CRM opportunities, SAP Portfolio and Project Management objects, and other project management documents.

The Project Issues and Change Management component also provides pre-built integrations with application components in the SAP S/4HANA system to improve data exchange and post updates to the connected system.

Project Cost and Revenue Planning

The Project Cost and Revenue Planning component allows users to navigate project planning scenarios and support critical planning activities like cost and material cost planning, expense management, and third-party cost planning.

Users can also leverage this component to harmonize input data and support the integration of critical planning processes and other downstream operations, improving cost and revenue calculations, commercial project planning assumptions, and data transfer across systems.

Embedded Reporting and Analytics

Commercial Project Management in SAP offers advanced embedded reporting and analytics functions based on critical business intelligence (BI) queries to report on project cost statuses, project revenues, WIP reporting, issue and change processes, and more.

Top 5 Advantages of the SAP CPM Module

SAP Commercial Project Management empowers users to effectively manage commercial projects, streamline project-related processes, and collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders. SAP CPM can ultimately lead to better project outcomes and increased overall efficiency for organizations in project-centered industries.

Here’s a list of the main advantages of SAP CPM for business users:

Efficient Project Execution: SAP CPM provides a structured approach to project management, making it easier for users to plan, execute, and monitor projects, define project structures, schedules, and milestones, and stay on track to meet critical project objectives.

Enhanced Collaboration: CPM SAP functionality fosters collaboration among project teams by providing communication tools, document sharing, and task management features, further improving communication, collaboration, and visibility into project progress.

Streamlined Financial Management: With SAP CPM, users can effectively manage project finances, including tracking project costs, revenues, and profitability and supporting revenue recognition, billing, and financial forecasting.

Integrated Data and Processes: The SAP CPM module seamlessly integrates with other SAP and non-SAP systems, enabling users to access and share data across teams and synchronize project-related data with other business functions

Improved Decision-Making: SAP CPM offers robust reporting and analytics tools, allowing users to gain insights into project performance and make data-driven decisions to improve project management and optimize project outcomes.

How Can We Help?

Whether you need help implementing new SAP solutions for the first time, additional support navigating complex integrations between the SAP CPM module and other SAP modules, or just an extra hand getting started on your SAP journey, Surety Systems is here to help.

Our senior-level, US-based SAP consultant team has the knowledge, skills, and resources to manage your most critical SAP project needs and help you achieve long-term success.

Partnering with the Best

Interested in learning how SAP CPM can help you navigate and address core business process requirements and improve project forecasting across your organization? Ready to get started on a project with our team of expert SAP consultants?

Contact us today for more information!