As part of the overall innovations of S/4HANA, a simplified data model with new table structures will soon be available – and that is very good news indeed. SAP ECC 6.0 users who have previously been frustrated by data latency will be pleasantly surprised (maybe amazed) by there fast system response times. Add in the real time analytical tools, now part of the SAP S/4HANA system landscape, and you can see that the new tables represent a significant change.
First, ECC 6.0 users need to get up to speed on the changes – and there are many. The reason is that the new S/4HANA suite of applications are designed to run solely on the SAP HANA (Performance Analytical Appliance) database platform. SAP developed this database platform as an in-memory database solution designed to process large volumes of data quickly and efficiently. Once you understand what tables are being impacted, you will be able to gain direct access to detailed real-time data and analytics.
At the end of the day, this is a good thing. One major development within the S/4HANA solution, engineered to improve system performance, is table simplification. It is a welcomed change from the SAP ECC 6.0 environment, where data was replicated across multiple tables, leading to redundancy and time delay.
Keep in mind that the focal point of the new simplified S/4 data structures is the Universal Journal, which integrates various business processes into a single table. This consolidation of data helps eliminate redundant data storage and improves data retrieval and processing performance.
Every business transaction in the following application components generates a journal entry which is now consolidated into the Universal Journal: General Ledger Accounting, Controlling, Profitability Analysis, and Material Ledger.
With that in mind, let’s take a deeper dive:
The ACDOCA (Universal Journal) entry is the central data table that stores all financial and controlling data. This ACDOA table contains line-item details for accounting documents. In doing so, it brings together data from different modules such as General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Asset Accounting, Controlling, and more.
- SINGLE SOURCE OF FINANCIAL DATA: (ACDOCA) in S/4HANA replaces several tables that were present in SAP ERP (ECC) for financial accounting (FI) and controlling (CO) data.
- COMBINED FINANCIAL AND CONTROLLING DATA: S/4HANA table simplification combines financial and controlling data into a single line-j tem table (ACDOCA) eliminating the need for reconciliation between different tables and streamlining financial reporting.
- SINGLE TABLE EFFICIENCY: The Material Ledger from SAP ERP ECC 6.0 has been merged into a single table (ACDOCA) in S/4HANA to store inventory valuation data. In previous ECC systems the Material Ledger required several tables to store inventory valuation data.In SAP S/4HANA, multiple Material Ledger tables are merged into a single table (ACDOCA) to reduce data duplication.
With those three benefits in mind, let’s view specifically what tables are being impacted for the better by the Universal Journal.
Financial Accounting (FI) Tables
- BSEG (Accounting Document Segment) is replaced by the Universal Journal (ACDOCA).
- FAGLFLEXA (General Ledger: Actual Line Items) is now redundant as ACDOCA contains actual line-item data.
- FAGLFLEXT(General Ledger: Totals) is replaced by the Universal Journal (ACDOCA).
Controlling (CO) Table
- COEP (CO Object: Line Items): Replaced by the Universal Journal (ACDOCA).
- OSP (CO Object: Cost Totals for External Postings): Redundant, as ACDOCA contains cost totals.
- COSS (CO Object: Cost Totals for Internal Postings): Redundant, as ACDOCA contains cost totals.
Material Management (MM) Tables
- MSEG (Material Document Segment): Material movements data is captured in the Universal Journal (ACDOCA).
- MKPF (Material Document Header): Replaced by the material document header information in the Universal Journal (ACDOCA).
Sales and Distribution (SD) Tables
- VBRK (Billing Document: Header Data): Redundant, as billing document header data is now part of the Universal Journal (ACDOCA).
- VBRP (Billing Document: Item Data): Redundant, as billing document item data is now part of the Universal Journal (ACDOCA).
Purchasing (MM-PUR) Tables
- EKPO (Purchase Document Item): Purchase document item data is part of the Universal Journal (ACDOCA).
As you can see, the new S/4HANA tables are not only good news for users who are already familiar with the data model, but they are also a significant shift in approach for those who need to make the transition. For example, if you have been doing business on the ECC (Executive Data Catalog) system and now have to move to the S/4HANA suite, you will have to switch to the new S/4HANA data model, which is much different than the ECC data model. With this solution, you can put data in context and gain insights that can help your business make better decisions.
