Written by: Dr. Ravi Surya Subrahmanyam
Introduction
SAP Consultant with the necessary authorization will begin the DDA by opening the Supply Chain of Selling app to create a new customer opportunity.
Figure showing “Supply Chain of Selling app” on DDA URL
The initial information results in a Quick Qualification automated recommendation of either the public or private cloud solution. The guided workflow then directs you to complete the Detailed Discovery in the Digital Discovery Assessment app to capture specific project scope information. The completed Discovery Assessment is reviewed by an SAP Brand Guardian to provide the final solution result.
Digital Discovery Assessment - Quick Qualification
Customer information entered in the initial Quick Qualification form will result in an automated recommendation of the public or private cloud solution.
The initial form captures high-level information, such as if the customer is net new or existing (installed base), if the implementation will be new or a conversion of an existing SAP ERP system, countries where the solution will be deployed, and industry of the customer, among other characteristics. In some cases, the tool will not provide an automated recommendation and instead the completed Discovery Assessment will be reviewed by SAP industry experts to determine the best fit solution.
Figure showing Creation of DDA- quick qualification
If the customer already has SAP ERP software and requires a system conversion, the only suitable solution is SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, as only this solution allows a system conversion.
Scope
There are two Scopes you can see in DDA tool:
Finance-led ERP
Operational ERP
Finance-led ERP
Finance-led ERP is when the customer intends to use SAP S/4HANA Cloud as the commercial backbone of a company. This is often found in service industries who need capabilities of accounting and financial close, revenue management, operational procurement, receivables/ invoice management, project management, expense management, and time management.
Operational ERP
Operational ERP covers all the finance-led ERP capabilities in addition to functionality that covers operational value chain processes with a focus on product/asset-centric industries. These additional capabilities can include enterprise asset management, manufacturing engineering and execution, digital manufacturing, quality management, product design and lifecycle management, production planning, supplier management, transportation management, warehouse management, and others.
Two-Tier ERP Scenario
SAP S/4HANA Cloud can also be deployed in a Two-Tier ERP scenario, where two or more ERP systems are used to address the needs of an organization with a diversified business portfolio, and/or operating in multiple locations either directly or through subsidiaries.
DDA for New Implementations
DDA for new implementations is to identify the business processes, localizations, known integrations, and additional needs required for the customer.
For SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, the option to start with a preconfigured solution package called Enterprise Management Layer is available. The Enterprise Management Layer provides a large set of generic business capabilities based on SAP Best Practices in a multi-country or single country setup. The number of legal entities per country can be entered, and individual scope items can be selected. For each scope item, the priority and rollout phase can be selected, and questions or notes can be added.
Digital Discovery Assessment - Detailed Discovery in System Conversions
For system conversions, the focus is on gathering information related to the customer's current solution scope and ensuring all required functionality is addressed with the private cloud solution.
Discovery Assessment Report
The completed Discovery Assessment (DDA) will be reviewed by an SAP Brand Guardian to ensure the automated solution proposal from the Quick Qualification is correct. If the Brand Guardian determines the automated recommendation is incorrect, they will change the solution proposal to ensure the customer receives the right solution to best fit their needs.
The Discovery Assessment can then be exported to a PDF report and used to define the project scope when the implementation begins in the Prepare phase of the SAP Activate Methodology
When Real time SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud project starts, the generated Discovery Assessment Report is used as a basis for setting the project scope, in the Prepare phase of the SAP Activate Methodology
The report provides the following information:
Integration and extension requirements
Localizations and legal entities
Scope items selected in each functional line of business
Individual business scenarios selected
Selection of priority and which implementation phase the business scenario will be rolled out
Questions and notes raised by a customer regarding specific scenarios and the corresponding answers from the account team
Additional business process-related requirements
Project-related questions
Note: Access to the DDA is restricted to partners who are either fully SALES or SERVICE authorized for either SAP S/4HANA Cloud or SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition.