SAP Glossary.

A

ABAP

Advanced Business Application Programming. SAP's proprietary programming language, used for customizations, custom developments and internal integrations. The historical foundation of most SAP software.

ALV

ABAP List Viewer. Standard SAP tool for displaying interactive tabular reports (sorting, filtering, Excel export) without having to build a UI from scratch.

Ariba

SAP's cloud platform for procurement: supplier management, sourcing, contracts, purchase orders, e-invoicing. Often integrated with SAP S/4HANA.

ATP

Available to Promise. SAP capability that checks in real time the ability to promise customer deliveries, considering on-hand stock, incoming orders, reservations and planned production.

B

BAdI

Business Add-In. Object-oriented enhancement point to inject custom logic at predefined locations in standard SAP, without modifying the original code. Modern successor to User Exits.

BAPI

Business Application Programming Interface. Standard SAP API that exposes business functionality (create an order, post a goods movement, etc.) in a controlled way for integration with other systems.

Blueprint

Design document describing how the to-be processes will be implemented in the target SAP system. Output of the analysis phase, input to the build phase.

BPC

Business Planning and Consolidation. SAP solution for financial planning, budgeting, forecasting and group consolidation. Typically integrated with CO and BW/4HANA.

Brownfield

Migration approach to S/4HANA where the existing system is technically converted, preserving configurations, data and customizations. A faster approach when the current system is "clean".

BTP

SAP Business Technology Platform. SAP's cloud platform to extend standard applications, build integrations, develop custom apps and use analytics, AI and HANA-as-a-service services.

BW / BW/4HANA

Business Warehouse. SAP's data warehouse. BW/4HANA is the modern version on the HANA database, optimized for in-memory analytics.

C

CDS Views

Core Data Services. SAP technology to define semantic data views directly in the HANA database. Foundation of Fiori, embedded analytics and modern S/4HANA applications.

CO

Controlling. SAP module for management accounting: cost centers, profit centers, internal orders, product cost calculation, profitability analysis.

CO-PA

Profitability Analysis. Sub-module of CO to analyze margins by business dimension: customer, product, geography, sales channel.

CPI

SAP Cloud Platform Integration (now part of Integration Suite on BTP). Cloud tool to orchestrate integrations between SAP and external systems. The modern successor to on-premise PI/PO.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management. Legacy SAP system (now largely replaced by SAP CX / Sales Cloud / Service Cloud) for managing sales, marketing and customer service.

Customizing

Standard SAP configuration through the IMG parameter tables, without writing code. Not to be confused with custom ABAP development.

D

Data Migration

Process of transferring master and transactional data from the legacy system to SAP. Includes extraction, cleansing, mapping, loading and reconciliation.

DDIC

Data Dictionary. Central repository of SAP data objects: tables, views, structures, data types. Single source-of-truth for ABAP development and database schema generation.

E

ECC

ERP Central Component. The most widespread generation of SAP ERP in Italian companies, in use since the mid-2000s. Standard SAP support ends on December 31, 2027 — hence the push toward S/4HANA.

EDI

Electronic Data Interchange. Electronic exchange of business documents (orders, invoices, confirmations) between companies under recognized standards such as EDIFACT or ANSI X12. In SAP often routed via IDOC.

Embedded Analytics

Native analytics inside S/4HANA, based on CDS Views and Fiori. Allow analysis of operational data in real time without moving it to a separate data warehouse.

ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning. Software category that integrates the management of all core business processes into a single suite. SAP is the world's leading vendor.

EWM

Extended Warehouse Management. Advanced SAP warehouse solution: handling, picking, packing, complex warehouse layout management. Modern successor to SAP WM.

F

FI

Financial Accounting. SAP module for general ledger: accounts receivable, accounts payable, asset accounting, banking, balance sheet and statutory/fiscal compliance.

FI-CA

Contract Accounting. Extension of FI for accounts receivable on mass volumes: utilities, telco, public services. Handles millions of customers and recurring billing.

FICO

Informal abbreviation for FI + CO together. Standard reference in the skill matrix of SAP consultants who work both on general accounting (FI) and controlling (CO).

Fiori

SAP's design language and library of modern, role-based, mobile-friendly apps. Progressively replaces the old SAP GUI in end-user activities.

G

Go-live

The moment when the new SAP system goes into production and users start using it for real operations. Typically preceded by a freeze period and followed by hypercare.

GRC

Governance, Risk, Compliance. SAP suite to manage roles and authorizations, segregation of duties, audit, internal controls and regulatory compliance.

Greenfield

Migration approach to S/4HANA where the new system is implemented from scratch, leveraging the most modern SAP standard processes. Ideal when the current system has many obsolete customizations.

H

HANA

SAP's in-memory database, foundation of S/4HANA. Combines transactional and analytical processing in the same system, with much higher performance than traditional databases.

HCM

Human Capital Management. SAP module for HR, payroll and personnel management on-premise. The cloud version is SuccessFactors.

HR

Human Resources. General term for the HR area; in SAP it historically coincides with HCM. Modern HR functions are covered by SuccessFactors (cloud).

Hypercare

Period of intensive support (typically 4–8 weeks) after go-live, during which the project team stays close to users to stabilize the system.

I

IBP

Integrated Business Planning. SAP cloud solution for integrated supply chain planning: demand, inventory, production, sales & operations planning.

IDOC

Intermediate Document. Standard SAP format for exchanging structured data between systems (e.g. orders, invoices, master data). Typically routed via PI/PO or CPI.

IS-U

Industry Solution Utilities. SAP vertical solution for utilities (electricity, gas, water): customer master, supply contracts, device management, mass billing.

K

KPI

Key Performance Indicator. Measurable indicator used both to monitor SAP projects (budget adherence, go-live timing, hit rate) and business processes (DSO, OTIF, fill-rate, OEE).

L

LE

Logistics Execution. SAP area covering execution-level logistics: shipping, transportation, goods receipt, delivery management. Builds on MM, SD, WM/EWM.

LSMW

Legacy System Migration Workbench. Historical SAP tool for loading master data from legacy files. In S/4HANA projects it is progressively replaced by LTMC and Migration Cockpit.

M

MDG

Master Data Governance. SAP solution to centrally manage master data (customers, vendors, materials, financial) with approval workflows and data quality rules.

MES (integration)

Manufacturing Execution System. Production execution system, external to SAP but frequently integrated with PP/QM modules to exchange production orders, completion confirmations and quality data.

MM

Materials Management. SAP module for purchasing, materials management, vendor master, purchase orders, goods receipts, accounts payable invoicing.

MRP

Material Requirements Planning. SAP algorithm that computes material requirements based on demand, stock and lead time. Generates planned purchase and production orders.

N

NetWeaver

Historical SAP technology platform, foundation of ECC, BW and PI/PO. Includes the ABAP and Java application server, workflow engine, security framework. Progressively complemented by BTP.

OSS Notes / SAP Notes

Official SAP publications describing bugs, fixes, recommendations and patch instructions. Distributed through the SAP support portal.

O

OData

Open Data Protocol. REST standard to expose structured data. SAP uses it to serve data to Fiori apps and modern API-based integrations.

OLAP

Online Analytical Processing. Technology for multi-dimensional analytical queries. In SAP it's the domain of BW, BW/4HANA and SAC.

OTC

Order to Cash. End-to-end process from order receipt to cash collection. Spans SD, FI, credit management, billing and collection. Typical KPI for order-to-cash efficiency.

P

P2P

Procure to Pay. End-to-end process from purchase request to vendor payment. Spans MM, FI and Ariba for sourcing. Typical KPI for procure-to-pay efficiency.

PI / PO

Process Integration / Process Orchestration. On-premise SAP middleware to integrate systems (legacy, MES, CRM, etc.) with SAP. Successor: SAP CPI / Integration Suite.

Plant

SAP plant code (typically 4 characters). Fundamental organizational entity: a physical production or distribution unit driving valuations, material master and warehouse handling.

PM

Plant Maintenance. SAP module for plant and equipment maintenance: asset master, preventive maintenance plans, work orders, field service management.

PP

Production Planning. SAP module for production planning and execution: bills of material, routings, MRP, production orders.

Q

QM

Quality Management. SAP module for quality management: inspection plans, certificates, non-conformance handling, audits. Typically integrated with MM (goods receipt) and PP (in-process quality control).

R

R/3

Historical generation of SAP ERP, direct ancestor of ECC. The "R" stands for Real-time, "3" for the three-tier architecture (presentation/application/database). Hugely deployed in the 1990s and 2000s.

RFC

Remote Function Call. SAP protocol to invoke ABAP functions from an external system or another SAP system. Foundation of many internal integrations.

RICEFW

Reports / Interfaces / Conversions / Enhancements / Forms / Workflows. Classic taxonomy to classify custom developments in an SAP project, useful for effort estimation and governance.

RISE with SAP

SAP commercial offering bundling S/4HANA Cloud, infrastructure, transformation services and Business Network in a single contract. The "GROW with SAP" version targets SMEs.

Rollout

Extension of an SAP template to a new country, business unit or legal entity, after an initial template go-live. Typical in multi-country projects and multinational groups.

S

S/4HANA

The current generation of SAP ERP, based on the HANA in-memory database. Available in on-premise, private cloud (RISE) and public cloud editions. Successor to ECC.

SAC

SAP Analytics Cloud. Cloud solution for business intelligence, planning and predictive analytics. Progressively replacing tools like BusinessObjects and Lumira.

SAP GUI

SAP Graphical User Interface. SAP's "classic" desktop interface (Windows, Java, web). Historically the primary interface; progressively replaced by Fiori on end-user processes.

SCM

Supply Chain Management. Historical SAP suite (APO, EWM, TM) for supply chain management. Today partially absorbed in S/4HANA, partially offered as separate cloud products (IBP, EWM, TM).

SD

Sales & Distribution. SAP module for the order-to-cash cycle: customer master, quotations, sales orders, deliveries, billing.

SDT

Selective Data Transition. Hybrid migration approach to S/4HANA: choose which data and processes to bring into the new system and what to redesign. A compromise between Greenfield and Brownfield.

SLA

Service Level Agreement. Contract that defines guaranteed service levels (response time, resolution time, uptime), typically in AMS contracts.

Solution Manager

SolMan. SAP platform to manage the entire lifecycle of an SAP system: change management, monitoring, test management, documentation, OSS notes application.

SuccessFactors

SAP cloud suite for modern HR: recruiting, performance, learning, compensation, employee experience. Cloud successor to on-premise SAP HCM.

T

T-code

Transaction Code. Alphanumeric code identifying an SAP transaction (e.g. VA01 = create sales order, FB60 = post vendor invoice).

TM

SAP Transportation Management. Solution for planning, execution and management of transportation: load optimization, freight cost, carrier integration. Modern version of the old LE-TRA.

Transport Request

Package collecting customizing or development changes. It is "transported" from the development environment to test and then production, ensuring consistency across SAP environments.

U

UI5 / SAPUI5

SAP's JavaScript framework for building responsive web apps (Fiori is built on UI5). The SAP equivalent of React or Angular.

User Exit

Classic enhancement points in standard SAP, predecessors of BAdIs. Allow injecting custom ABAP code at specific places in standard programs. Now superseded by BAdIs and the enhancement framework.

V

Variant Configuration (VC)

SAP module for handling configurable products (e.g. an industrial machine with N optional variants): defines rules, constraints and automatic BOM generation at sales-order time.

W

WBS

Work Breakdown Structure. Hierarchical decomposition of a project into elements (WBS Elements). In SAP it is the heart of module PS (Project System) for project management.

WM

Warehouse Management. SAP's "classic" warehouse module. For more advanced needs it has been superseded by EWM.

Workflow

SAP engine for automating processes that require approvals and manual steps (e.g. order authorization, invoice approval, escalation).

Z

Z-tables / Z-objects

SAP naming convention for custom objects: anything starting with "Z" (or "Y") lives in the customer namespace and is not overwritten by standard SAP upgrades. A ZTABLE_INVOICES is a custom table; a report ZREPORT_001 is a custom program.