In the first part of the Q&A, you can read the most important questions and answers about the switch to S/4 Hana, our SSP Forms product and the form conversion at our customer Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.
On 31.03.2022, our expert talk on the topic “SAPscript and Smartforms are obsolete models and need to be modernized” took place together with Helge Sanden. During and after the expert talk, you as viewers had the opportunity to ask us your questions. As we unfortunately did not have time to answer all the questions in detail during the expert talk, you can read the first part of the most important questions and answers below.
Softway: Adobe is the default technology under S/4 HANA. There is no obligation to implement it. However, there is a very clear recommendation to switch to Adobe Forms. Take the opportunity to start in your new SAP® system with a tidy, optimized and transparent world of forms.
Softway: The coding in the print programs or external performs are of course included in the custom code check. Depending on the situation, this can result in additional work. As a rule, however, this effort is not earth-shattering. Nevertheless, our recommendation is to change over before the S/4 migration. An S/4 conversion causes enormous effort. In the foreseeable future, you will have even less time for a forms project. It is therefore best to switch to the latest Adobe Forms technology beforehand and bring your forms system up to date.
And the basic recommendation must be: switch to Adobe Forms. SAPscript and Smartforms are simply a bit outdated and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find experts.
Softway: As of today, the ADS server is available on-premise and, according to our information, will continue to be available. As far as we know today, Adobe forms (non-interactive) on-premise will remain free of license costs. Unfortunately, we are unable to make any statements about SAP’s future plans. You should contact your SAP colleagues directly regarding this and licensing issues.
Softway: By using our SSP Forms product, it is possible to store graphics with SE78, but it is also possible to use graphics that are stored on an application server, for example. The only important thing here is that this can be accessed from SAP. Different formats are also possible.
Softway: The SAP standard transaction TAANA can be used to conveniently evaluate the NAST table (message status). This evaluation must be carried out in the production system. We are happy to do this in our projects and analysis workshops with our customers in advance in order to determine the scope of the changeover and to be able to carry out a cost estimate. The evaluation can be conveniently saved as an XLS file so that pivot evaluations can then be carried out in Excel.
Softway: AdobeForms has a version management function. Of course, this provides a certain level of security in terms of being able to revert to an older version. In our SSP Forms solution, we have even more features and options that prevent or greatly reduce the impact of changes.
Softway: The Heidelberg project involved a rollout for four countries in Eastern Europe where SAP was being introduced. This was the so-called first wave. Through close cooperation between the IT and business departments, a standardized layout (CI) was developed and a Heidelberg template was built for each application (e.g. order, invoice, delivery bill). These templates are now the standard for new organizational units and countries. Special logics were encapsulated so that we could also use them for the Adobe Forms output. We have always implemented sample documents. In the second wave, a further five countries in Eastern Europe were converted to Adobe Forms. The same templates were used and selectively extended by customizing country-specific features, e.g. texts. This second wave was implemented almost exclusively by Heidelberger employees. Softway was only on board for questions.
Softway: “The Heidelberger project roughly involved the following forms: SD (order, delivery bill, invoice), MM (order in various forms), FI (reminder, payment advice, account statement, cash receipt), CS (service notification and order) and FSCM (clarification case). Especially in SD and MM, complex logics with their own tables, such as down payments or variant configuration, had to be implemented. The first wave took about 1.5 years. We were heavily involved in this as Softway. We’re talking about around 150-200 man-days to convert to Adobe Forms and customizable forms. The second wave was much shorter. The effort involved was around 30-40 man-days.”
Did you miss the Expert Talk on “SAPscript and Smartforms are obsolete models and need to be modernized“?
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