SAP Best Practice in maintenance 

SAP Best Practices are integrated into the SAP S/4HANA ERP suite, offering preconfigured process definitions, test scripts, and sample data that help companies use SAP S/4HANA efficiently while minimizing implementation risks.

The Cambridge dictionary defines the term “best practice” as “a working method or set of working methods that is officially accepted as being the best to use in a particular business or industry, usually described formally and in detail. Companies are particularly interested in such tried-and-tested processes – after all, they offer a proven shortcut to success. Providers who have best practices in their portfolio directly increase the value of their services.

SAP Best Practices in SAP S/4HANA 

SAP leverages this principle by integrating the SAP S/4HANA ERP suite with SAP Best Practices. These are among the three core components of SAP Activate, the framework for implementing SAP S/4HANA. 

SAP Best Practices include: 

• preconfigured process definitions 
• test scripts 
• sample data 

These tools demonstrate how business processes can be mapped within SAP S/4HANA, enabling companies to better understand standard functions and expedite the testing phase. The ultimate goal is to achieve optimal results with SAP S/4HANA, minimizing the implementation risk. In navigating the complex landscape of SAP’s offers, Best Practices are indispensable. 

Top 10 Best Practice processes for maintenance 

SAP provides ten Best Practice processes for maintenance, all centered on operational maintenance. However, only five of these are up to date and utilize the current capabilities of SAP S/4HANA. The remaining processes are still based on SAP ERP (SAP ECC 6.0) and do not reflect the current user interface. 

Companies implementing or already using SAP S/4HANA should focus on these five processes: 

• Maintenance Resource Scheduling 
• Proactive Maintenance 
• Reactive Maintenance 
• Improvement Maintenance 
• Operational and Overhead Maintenance 

These processes are supported by SAP S/4HANA Maintenance Management and Asset Management for Resource Scheduling, benefiting from the latest updates available since the 2021 Q3 release. 

The 9-phase model for maintenance 

These five best-practice processes are structured into a 9-phase model that defines the entire maintenance workflow: 

1. Initiate by creating a maintenance requirement 

2. Review the maintenance requirements 

3. Create an order and plan its execution 

4. Approve the planned order 

5. Prepare for execution 

6. Assign personnel and schedule tasks 

7. Execute maintenance and gather feedback 

8. Conduct follow-up activities 

9. Complete technical and financial closure 

Fiori apps for efficient implementation 

SAP offers Fiori-based applications via Best Practice to manage the nine phases and execute the five processes. These apps are designed for various roles, like maintenance technicians or maintenance planners, and can be run on mobile devices. This functionality delivers a user-friendly interface for controlling all aspects of operational maintenance and integrates logistics and external service providers. 

Additional features in the best practice processes include: 

• capacity and resource utilization planning with RSH 
• planning folders for mapping maintenance intervals 
• execution phase to differentiate between main activities and ancillary tasks 
• lean service processes for commissioning and managing external services 

SAP Best Practices as a starting point – customization with valantic

Organizations that decide to use SAP Best Practices have two primary options:

1. Configure and test independently using SAP’s provided documentation. 

2. Directly import Best Practice content into the system, which includes basic customization and testing data. 

Speaking from experience, it’s best to view these preconfigured processes only as a starting point. Best Practices are generally based on a standard model that fits a typical company with typical maintenance requirements. Therefore, companies often need to adjust details to suit their specific needs. 

Moreover, Best Practices do not integrate all of SAP S/4HANA’s useful features, such as checklists, work clearance management, maintenance collaboration, and medium- to long-term maintenance planning.

To truly optimize maintenance with SAP S/4HANA, businesses should look beyond Best Practices and seek the expertise of a knowledgeable partner like valantic. Our experts have extensive experience with both maintenance and SAP S/4HANA solutions. They understand the technical requirements as well as the potential and constraints of SAP services.