SAP System Add-on Development (ABAP) and Offshore Development

What is SAP?

SAP (Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing) is an integrated enterprise resource management (ERP) software developed and offered by the German software company SAP SE.

SAP software provides tools and applications that enable companies to efficiently manage and optimize a wide variety of business processes. These include purchasing, manufacturing, sales, inventory management, finance, human resources, and customer relationship management (CRM). SAP’s solutions have been applied to companies of various sizes, from small and medium-sized businesses to large enterprises, and across a variety of industries.

SAP’s main products are SAP ERP (including SAP S/4HANA), SAP HANA (in-memory database platform), SAP Business One (ERP solution for SMBs), SAP SuccessFactors (HR management software), SAP Ariba (supply chain management software), and many other products and services.

SAP’s products and services are designed to improve business processes and increase the efficiency and productivity of companies. To this end, SAP also offers a wide range of support services, including consulting, training, and customer support. These services help companies implement, operate, and get the most out of their SAP solutions.

In recent years, SAP has been actively using cloud computing technology. Through the SAP Cloud Platform, SAP helps companies develop and operate business applications on the SAP Cloud Platform.

SAP is also committed to industry innovation and promotes the adoption and integration of the latest technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT). This enables companies to make data-driven decisions and maintain or improve their competitiveness.

The SAP ecosystem is made up of many stakeholders, including partners, consultants, developers, and user communities. This allows companies to receive support in implementing and customizing SAP solutions to best meet the needs of their industry and region.

Specific Applications

SAP is widely used in many industries and companies to optimize and streamline various business processes.

1. Supply Chain Management (SCM): SAP provides functions to streamline the entire supply chain, including production planning, inventory management, procurement, logistics, and quality control. This allows companies to optimize inventory, reduce lead times, and improve customer satisfaction.
2. Sales and Distribution (SD): SAP supports the entire sales process, including quote generation, order processing, shipping, and billing. This enables companies to process orders efficiently and strengthen customer relationships.
3. Human Resource Management (HR): SAP provides functions related to employee management, including human resource management, payroll, talent management, and time and attendance. This allows companies to optimize their workforce and improve employee satisfaction.
4. Financial (FI) and Managerial Accounting (CO): SAP provides financial and managerial accounting functions such as general accounting, asset management, financial reporting, and cost control. This enables companies to understand their financial situation in real-time and make effective decisions.
5. Production Management (PP): SAP provides functions for production management, including production planning, production scheduling, production execution, and quality control. This allows companies to improve production efficiency and maintain product quality.
6. Customer Relationship Management (CRM): SAP provides functionality for customer relationship management, including marketing, sales, and service. This allows companies to enhance customer engagement and increase sales.
7. Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC): SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) is an application that optimizes financial planning, budgeting, financial consolidation, and management reporting processes. Companies can use BPC to improve planning and forecasting accuracy and make more efficient decisions.
8. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM): SAP EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) is a solution for managing asset maintenance, repair, and replacement. It enables companies to extend the useful life of operational assets and ensure efficient asset management.
9. Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Management: SAP EHS (Environment, Health, and Safety) is a solution for managing environmental impact, employee health and safety, and regulatory compliance. Companies can use EHS to mitigate risk and operate in compliance with laws, regulations, and industry standards.
10. Supply Network Collaboration (SNC): SAP SNC (Supply Network Collaboration) is a solution for facilitating collaboration with suppliers, customers, and transporters. It enables companies to improve efficiency throughout the supply chain through real-time information sharing.
11. Big Data and Analytics: SAP HANA is an in-memory database platform that enables fast data processing and real-time analytics. This allows companies to quickly process large volumes of data and gain insights.

In this way, SAP provides integrated solutions for many business processes and industries, laying the groundwork for companies to improve operational efficiency and enhance competitiveness.

What is ABAP?

To effectively utilize SAP systems, it is necessary to customize and extend SAP systems, develop new applications, and maintain existing applications. To do this, we need to use a dedicated language, ABAP.

ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming) is a programming language for the SAP system, developed by SAP in the 1980s and used to develop customizations and extensions that run on SAP’s application servers. ABAP is designed to work with SAP systems to build efficient business applications and is used in many of SAP’s products.

Key features of ABAP:

High-level language: ABAP supports object-oriented programming and procedural programming. This allows developers to use the most appropriate approach depending on the situation. ABAP is designed to be easily readable and maintainable, which is essential for creating efficient and scalable applications.

Integration with SAP systems: ABAP is designed specifically for SAP systems, allowing for seamless integration with SAP’s applications and data. This enables developers to create custom applications and extensions that fully utilize the features and functionality of the SAP system.

Performance and scalability: ABAP is optimized for performance and scalability, ensuring that custom applications and extensions can handle high levels of data processing and user traffic. This is essential for companies that rely on SAP systems to manage their critical business processes.

In conclusion, SAP offers a wide range of integrated solutions for various business processes and industries, enabling companies to improve operational efficiency and competitiveness. ABAP, as a programming language tailored for SAP systems, allows for the effective customization and extension of these systems to better suit each company’s unique needs.

SAP ERP to End Support in 2027

SAP has announced that it will extend mainstream support for its previous generation ERP software, SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC), through 2027. SAP ECC is an ERP system that enables companies to centrally manage their business processes and has been widely adopted over the years.

However, SAP is now focusing on a new ERP solution called SAP S/4HANA and encourages customers to migrate from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA, which enables business process optimization and real-time analytics.

The end of mainstream support for SAP ECC in 2027 indicates SAP’s intention to accelerate the migration to SAP S/4HANA. After this date, SAP ECC users will continue to receive support, but new features and updates will no longer be available, and support may gradually become limited.

As a result, many companies will need to consider and implement a migration plan from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA within the next few years. This migration may require rethinking business processes and customizing systems, so adequate planning and preparation are critical.

The “current situation” and “challenges faced” by SAP development partners may specifically be as follows:

Current Situation:

1. SAP system must be upgraded by the end of maintenance support in FY2025 (FY2027).
2. The company is in the procurement stage for SAP system add-on development (ABAP) and operation and maintenance support.
3. A large number of personnel must be secured to handle the project, but procurement is not yet in sight.
4. The company is in the process of securing (including hiring) its own development staff while simultaneously selecting a partner company.

Challenges facing the company:

1. Chronic shortage of SAP engineers and partners (mainly in China).
2. Slow progress in securing reliable partner companies and engineers in terms of quality.
3. Need to plan for securing a development, operation, and maintenance system after a large-scale add-on program modification.
4. The timing of the supply of add-on program modification personnel in the market overlaps, which poses the risk of securing personnel and increasing procurement costs.

Leave SAP to us!

We can consult with you on everything from planning for securing personnel to planning for operation and maintenance. For the past 20 years since our founding, we have been working with Japanese SIers to optimize their development systems by aligning their plans with ours. We have a proven track record of strategically utilizing our Vietnam offshore development team to fit the market as quickly as possible, in line with the SIer’s business plan.

For example, during a period of high demand for VB migration, we had a dedicated team of 60 people and handled projects for many companies.

Commitment to SAP:

1. We have a development team dedicated to SAP development, which is still rare in Vietnam, consisting of our own staff.
2. We have already trained in SAP development (we have already established a training system) and have participated in actual projects in preparation for 2027.
3. We have about 20 engineers with expertise in our company, so you can trust us with your project.

Since we have established our own training system, we are also planning to increase the number of SAP personnel for horizontal expansion to meet demand in the future. We are also promoting strategic expansion into inland areas through industry-academia collaboration. We promise to provide our services at a lower cost than Chinese companies and the largest Vietnamese companies.

SAP add-on (addon) development:

To implement additional functions or customizations to the SAP system, add-on development must be done. Add-ons are developed to address specific business requirements or industry-specific needs that standard SAP solutions do not provide. Add-ons are typically developed using an SAP-specific programming language called ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming).

AP add-on development involves the following steps:

1. Requirements Definition: Developers and consultants clearly define the add-on’s purpose, functionality, and performance requirements. During this phase, it is important to understand the business process and ensure alignment with standard SAP functionality.
2. Design: Design the add-on architecture, data model, and interfaces. Proper object-oriented design and modularization will facilitate add-on maintenance and extensions.
3. Implementation: Using the ABAP language, the add-on code is written to implement features such as integration with the SAP system, database access, and user interface.
4. Testing: Unit tests, integration tests, and system tests are conducted to verify the functionality and performance of the add-on. If any problems are found at this stage, they are corrected and tested again.
5. Documentation: We create documentation that clearly describes the add-on specifications, design, and operation methods. This ensures that other developers and users understand the add-on and can operate it properly.
6. Deployment: The add-on is installed on the SAP system and made operational in the production environment. We also provide support for the operation and maintenance of the add-on.

SAP add-on development requires a deep understanding of the SAP system and the ABAP language. It is also important to ensure that add-ons do not conflict with standard functionality and that they continue to function properly when the SAP system is upgraded or new functionality is added.

We have a team that can handle these issues, so you can rest assured that we will be there for you.

We have experience in the following areas:

1. ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming)
2. SCP (SAP Cloud Platform)
3. CPI (SAP Cloud Platform Integration)

Please contact us first to discuss your company’s plans.

Company Overview

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Can Tho Office

Nha Trang Office

Hanoi Office

Company Overview – Japan Head Office

Tokyo Office

Suppliers

• NTT DATA WAVE Corporation
• NTT DATA Kansai Corporation
• STNet Corporation
• OMRON Healthcare Co., Ltd.
• Keyware Solutions Corporation
• Cleo Co., Ltd.
• Kobelco Systems Corporation
• DTS Corporation
• Focus Systems Corporation
• Mitsubishi Electric Software Corporation
• NTT Communications Vietnam
• KDDI Vietnam
• Cybozu, Inc.
• Keyence Corporation
• SoftBank Telecom Vietnam
• Nidec Corporation
• FamilyMart Co., Ltd.
• NEC Vietnam
• Chatwork Co., Ltd.