As described in previous blogposts, SAP is discontinuing support for Business Suite 7 (ERP 6.0, CRM 7.0, SCM 7.0, SRM 7.0) until 2027. This period can be extended until 2030 for a fee, but this means that a changeover from an "old" to a "new" CRM world is unavoidable. But what is the "old" world and what is the "new" world? As the "old" CRM world we mainly refer to the SAP CRM module, as the "new" world we refer to SAP S/4HANA Service as the back office, as well as SAP Sales and SAP Service Cloud (SAP C4C) as the front office solutions.
A question that is inevitably important for all customers and prospects: How does the migration from the "old" to the "new" CRM world work? This is the question we want to explore in this blog post.
Before approaching the topic, however, it is important to briefly outline the starting position. In this blog post, we assume the migration of an SAP CRM 7.0 on-premise to an SAP S/4HANA Service Cloud/On-Premise as a back-office solution, with an SAP C4C as the front office. This system architecture is recommended by both us and SAP. You can read more about this topic in Thomas Prekel's blog post
Migration from SAP CRM to SAP S/4HANA Service
Before looking at the actual migration process, it must be said that the S/4HANA Service is part of the S/4HANA Core and is therefore based on the same database. Therefore, there is no need for an interface from CRM to ERP. This is an enormous relief for the migration process compared to SAP CRM. Furthermore, an existing CRM can continue to be used in the form of a hybrid approach. This approach is also recommended by SAP during the transformation, but in our experience it is not absolutely necessary. In this case, the synchronization of both systems takes place via S/4HANA. It should be noted here that it is recommended to adapt the CRM processes to the S/4HANA service processes. The CRM is thus somewhat streamlined.
If an S/4 system is available, S/4HANA Service is present in the core and the CRM processes - if still present in the S/4HANA Service - can be migrated step by step.
To migrate ECC and SAP CRM to S/4HANA, the master data must first be replicated, then the organizational structure is built. This can involve mapping between the organizational structures of ECC and CRM and the new S/4HANA. The result must be a combination of both organizational structures. Finally, customizing etc. can be replicated.
Integration of the SAP C4C
SAP Cloud for Customer (SAP Sales and SAP Service Cloud) is now to be connected to S/4HANA as a front office solution. In this example, we consider the integration of an S/4HANA on-premise. However, the procedure for integration with the cloud variant of S/4HANA is largely identical.
After the integration and the communication scenarios have been added in the scoping of the C4C, communication agreements can now be created, here the C4C offers some replication models by default.
Afterwards, the codes from the respective systems have to be mapped and iFlows have to be deployed in the CPI. This completes the integration of the systems.
The master data exchange then takes place as follows:
In summary, the "new" CRM system landscape looks like this:
You can get more info in Thomas' blogpost.
Integration of SAP FSM into the service process
As a final point in this blog post, we would like to take a closer look at SAP's field service solution: SAP Field Service Management (FSM). FSM is a field service solution that can be used completely mobile and offline. Service calls can be created in the system and dispatched to technicians. They receive the service call on their mobile device, can process it there and send their times, material used, expenses and, if necessary, checklists and the service call report signed by the customer on the device back to the system. There they can now be checked and approved or rejected. This solution can be seamlessly integrated into the service process. There are several possible system landscapes for integrating the FSM. The FSM can be integrated with the S/4HANA Cloud and On-Premise solutions, with an SAP ECC CS/PM as well as with a Service Cloud (Cloud for Customer). With the C4C or the SAP Service Cloud, the integrated ticket system can be used as a trigger to initiate the service process. Otherwise, the process in S/4HANA starts with a service request (SRVQ), which becomes a service order (SRVO) in the subsequent process. This is replicated as a service call in FSM, where the process just described is triggered. After the dispatcher has released times and materials, a service confirmation (SRVC) is created in S/4HANA and the business process in S/4HANA begins.
