SAP Retail and SAP for Retail

At this point I find useful to explain the terms "SAP for Retail" and "SAP Retail", and to mention the different solutions that SAP offers to retailers. This will provide you with more context to understand better future posts.

SAP uses the terms "SAP for Retail" and "SAP Retail" with different meanings. "SAP for Retail" covers the entire SAP solution offering for the retail sector. According to SAP, "SAP for Retail" is an end-to-end set of solutions that supports merchandise management and planning, workforce management, point-of-sale data management, demand forecasting and replenishment, merchandise and assortment planning, master data management, and even radio frequency identification (RFID).

"SAP Retail" in contrast, which relates specifically to SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, is one of several solutions that is included in SAP's industry solution "SAP for Retail".

The solutions included in "SAP for Retail" are:

• SAP MDM (Master Data Management)
• SAP MAP (Merchandise and Assortment Planning): comprises Strategic Planning, Store and Merchandise Planning, Assortment Planning, Slow Seller Management, OTB (Open to Buy) Planning
• SAP Demand Management: is made of SAP Price Optimization, SAP Promotion Optimization and SAP Markdown Optimization. It was developed by a company called Khimetrics, acquired by SAP in 2006
• SAP Retail (SAP Enterprise Resource Planning -ERP- system): this is basically a SAP ECC system with enhancements for the retail industry
• SAP Global Trade Services
• SAP EWM (Extended Warehouse Management)
• SAP Forecast and Replenishment: was developed by a company called SAF AG which is currently being acquired by SAP
• SAP POS / SAP Enterprise POS: was developed by a company called Triversity, acquired by SAP in 2005
• SAP Retail Store
• SAP Workforce Management
• SAP CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Other SAP SCM (Supply Chaing Management) solutions that are useful for the retail sector are the following:

• SAP Transportation Management
• SAP Event Management
• SAP Supply Network Collaboration

SAP for Retail Certification

So I have just started preparing myself for the SAP for Retail certification exam. I decided not to enroll in an academy but to prepare myself for the exam. For SD/MM consultants I don’t think the academy is necessary.

So what’s my plan? Get the books, buy access to a SAP Retail system and start studying and testing the concepts in the system!.

The SAP for Retail academy is made of 6 modules which correspond to following 6 books:

SAPIRT - Overview of Functions in SAP for Retail: is a prerequisite for all further SAP for Retail courses (621 pages, 45% weighting).

IRT310 - Master Data in SAP for Retail: covers the specific master data in SAP for Retail. This course is a prerequisite for all other detailed courses for SAP for Retail (405 pages, 18% weighting).

IRT320 - Prices, Promotions and Markdowns: explains how prices and promotions can be maintained and configured in SAP for Retail (543 pages, 19% weighting).

IRT330 - Planning, Purchasing and Warehouse Distribution: covers merchandise procurement and the settings of the related parameters (641 pages, 16% weighting).

IRT360 - Store Connection: covers the processes involved in supplying stores with data, and processing the data sent from a store to a central SAP retailing system (261 pages, 2% weighting).

IRT370 - SAP Retail Store: explains the configuration options and functions of SAP Retail Store (197 pages, 2% weighting).

The weighting % is a rough calculation based on information from this SAP site.

Course SAPIRT replaced course IRT100. There are 2 other courses related to SAP for Retail that are not part of the academy/certification exam:

IRT340 – Supply Chain Execution
IRT350 – Merchandise and Assortment Planning

Now I’m studying the first book, "SAPIRT - Overview of Functions in SAP for Retail", it’s a huge one, 621 pages, but a big part are exercises that can be tested on an IDES system. My next post will be about it.