SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) provides a comprehensive suite of applications designed to help organizations manage their business processes effectively and efficiently, including a wide range of core components that enable businesses to integrate and automate various business functions. The main components of SAP ECC include…
- Financial Accounting
- Controlling
- Sales and Distribution
- Production Planning
- Project System
- Material Management
- Quality Management
- Plant Maintenance
- Customer Service
- Human Capital Management
This article will take a closer look at the core capabilities of each SAP ECC component and outline how SAP ECC can provide a robust and scalable ERP solution for all companies, as well as where our team of SAP consultants can come in to help.
Read on to learn more!
What is SAP ECC?
SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) is an on-premise enterprise resource planning (ERP) system designed to help SAP customers integrate business data across multiple different areas of their organization in real time and make the most of their SAP software in the long run.
With SAP ECC, companies can gain a more holistic view of their key business processes, optimize data management, and facilitate more informed decision making across the board.
Core Components of SAP ERP Central Component
Here are the 10 main components included in the ECC layer of the SAP Business Suite…
1) Financial Accounting (FI)
The SAP Financial Accounting module offers tools and resources intended to help companies keep better track of their accounting data, simplify key accounting practices, and optimize core financial accounting activities.
SAP FI provides a few key sub-modules, including Asset Accounting, General Ledger Accounting, and Funds Management, to facilitate more accurate financial management and ensure proper master data governance across the organization.
2) Controlling (CO)
SAP Controlling is designed to help companies configure their master data and build organizational plans in a way that helps improve data comparison, identify system variances, and control essential cost accounting workflows.
The SAP CO module includes related sub-modules, like Cost Element Accounting, Profit Center Accounting, and Profitability Analysis, to help SAP ECC users evaluate areas of profit and loss and review current and future costs and revenues for better financial planning.
3) Sales and Distribution (SD)
SAP Sales and Distribution provides tools that help companies manage sales and customer distribution data and complete sales transactions more efficiently.
With the SAP SD module, users are enabled to leverage performance insights and improved sales metrics to manage sales documents, automate product distribution processes, and integrate with other SAP applications to facilitate seamless selling, shipping, and billing processes across the board.
4) Production Planning (PP)
SAP Production Planning is a module created to manage and monitor manufacturing processes more efficiently across an organization’s full supply chain. SAP PP includes three core components for production planning and optimization, including Processing Industry, Discrete Manufacturing, and Repetitive Manufacturing.
With integrations between core SAP PP processes and other SAP applications, including Material Management, FICO, and Sales and Distribution, companies are enabled to optimize their production planning and control activities.
5) Project System (PS)
The SAP Project System module provides the tools needed to help companies manage project tasks across the entire project lifecycle and optimize project management tasks for efficient and effective project completion.
SAP PS comes pre-built with integrations to SAP’s Finance and Logistics modules, making it easier for project teams to define project objectives, classify projects, outline specific project tasks, and ensure projects are completed on time and within budget.
6) Materials Management (MM)
SAP Material Management is a module designed to help organizations optimize their procure-to-pay processes by minimizing deviations between planned and actual inventories, monitoring warehouse and inventory management processes, and ensuring the right materials are available in the right place at the right time.
With SAP MM, companies are enabled to support the entire procurement cycle and develop stronger relationships with suppliers to improve supply quality over time. SAP MM also comes pre-built with integration capabilities that connect it to other SAP applications, including Sales and Distribution and Production Planning, for enhanced supply chain management.
7) Quality Management (QM)
SAP Quality Management helps companies manage quality across production, including core procurement, sales, planning, and control activities.
SAP QM is designed to help companies enable continuous process improvement, prevent product issues and defects, and create sustainable quality control programs to improve customer satisfaction in the long run.
8) Plant Maintenance (PM)
SAP Plant Maintenance comprises preventative maintenance, inspection, and repair activities in a single solution to ensure technical systems are maintained properly over time. With this, SAP business users can plan and automate maintenance tasks and manage technical objects and maintenance workflows more efficiently.
SAP PM provides core integrations with other SAP systems, including Materials Management, Production, and Personnel Management, to streamline and automate Plant Maintenance and Customer Service processes across the entire enterprise.
9) Customer Services (CS)
The SAP Customer Services solution supports business users as they represent, manage, and process all services provided to customers.
From creating service requests to planning and executing requested services, monitoring calls, and structuring technical objects around their related services, SAP CS simplifies customer services across organizations.
10) Human Capital Management (HCM)
SAP Human Resource Management functions provide intuitive, employee-focused solutions that help companies address critical workforce needs and improve employee productivity, performance, and engagement across the board.
With SAP HCM capabilities, users are enabled to manage their core human resources processes, including time and attendance management, payroll, benefits, and talent and performance management, in one place to improve efficiency and optimize operations.
Where Does SAP HANA Come Into Play?
The SAP HANA database collects, analyzes, and oversees transactional data, and it helps companies in any industry improve process management functions, including customer relationship management (CRM), financial supply chain management (FSCM), and more, for optimized business processes across the board.
SAP HANA can be used to maximize the productivity and performance of core operations across SAP enterprise resource planning software.
And, while users can operate their Business Suite applications on any database, most companies typically leverage SAP HANA for ease-of-use and simplified software development and performance over time.
What’s the Difference Between SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA?
Let’s take a closer look at a few key differences between SAP’s ECC and S/4HANA solutions…
SAP ECC
- Modular design and enhanced customization capabilities
- Configurations to build and manage operations to meet unique business needs
- Integrations with third-party or custom applications for streamlined business processes
- Interactions between components offers increased operational flexibility
- Upgrades and add-ons provide advanced functionality, but must be monitored to prevent disruption to important business functions
SAP S/4HANA
- Flexible design built to operate on-premise and in the cloud
- Integrations with AI, machine learning, and automation tools for enhanced productivity
- Well-defined data management capabilities to analyze large amounts of data in real time
- Personalized insights and integrated processes for streamlined ERP operations
- Embedded cybersecurity to keep important company and employee data safe over time
- Operations are only compatible with the SAP HANA in-memory database
- Unsupported add-ons must be removed if converting to SAP S/4HANA solution
How Can We Help?
Whether you need help unlocking the potential of SAP’s ERP suite through efficient implementation and integration processes, additional support leveraging SAP CRM and SCM operations to improve efficiency, or just an extra hand making the most of your SAP enterprise software, Surety Systems is here to help.
Our team of senior-level SAP consultants has the technical skills and functional expertise needed to improve the functionality of your SAP solutions and help you maximize your technological investments in the long run.
Getting Started with Us
Interested in learning where our team of expert SAP consultants can fit in your organization?
Ready to start optimizing core business operations across your ERP software, but don’t know who to turn to for help?
Contact us today for more information!
