SAP S/4HANA for Product Compliance: Deep concern regarding Regulatory Content Update (OnPrem)

[Paulo_Pinto]

Dear Community

I was convinced, as is/was my customer, that SAP provides regular Regulatory Content Updates, compliance requirements (legal aspects) and listed substance content, as well as suitable data content and regulatory graphics, outside version upgrades: see note 3055767 - Configuration of the SAP Regulatory Content Service for Product Compliance and Environment, Health,...

This is an especially critical feature regarding OnPrem installations, which only upgrade every two years, risking serious threats to business due to lagging contents.

I just attended the webinar "Ensure Product Compliance with SAP S/4HANA for Product Compliance", with Product Marketing Manager for Product Compliance, Dr. Rüdiger Kreuzholz. At the end he stated that only listed substances, phrases and graphics substances can be updated outside version upgrades. 

Now I'm confused and deeply concerned as without the option of updating compliance requirements, the solution is basically worthless? 

An important note: It's my first implementation of this product - in this case, OnPrem, version 2023 - and the note cited above (as well as its "companion" note 3344198) has not yet been implemented (as of the writing of this post, "we" are waiting for the reply from the "API Business Hub Enterprise").

Thank you for your help in advance.

[ruediger_kreuzholz]

Dear Paulo,

the support of compliance requirement updates via a regulatory content service so that customers can update compliance requirements without having to wait for the next release is on the roadmap. SAP plans to support the update of dangerous goods compliance requirements in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition by the end of this year, see the entry in the roadmap explorer: https://roadmaps.sap.com/board?BA=40F2E9281A631ED892E96ED086EE20DC&range=CURRENT-LAST#;INNO=D5DC4756.... The support of the update of other compliance requirements is planned for future releases. We also intend to provide these update features with the next SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition and SAP S/4HANA on-premise releases in 2025. So with that release customers will be able to keep the provided content and compliance requirements up-to-date without having to upgrade to the next release. Please note that these statements are plans and subject to change.

Best regards,

Rüdiger Kreuzholz

[christoph_bergemann]

Hello Paulo

from my point of view: you expect to much by using on Prem  2023 S/4 HAna Product Compliance version...

Regarding:

Now I'm confused and deeply concerned as without the option of updating compliance requirements, the solution is basically worthless? 

1.) as you have statet.. with this version of software you will get updates of "content" (refer to your list); this is the positive piece/story

2.) but according to best knowledge on my side: the software is currently not able to handle the "Requirement" update part; this will come... i am pretty sure

3.) as a consequence: Option 1: check deep the roadmap of Product Compliance and try to understand: at which point of time you will get the missing functionality; Option 2: get in touch with SAP direct to get insight in the roadmap (this option is the best you can do now; this would be my preferred option); option 3: check if the missing functionality will be delivered (somehow) with "cloud" version in the next months; this will not help you as you use "on premise"... but whatever is delivered in the next weeks/months via Cloud Version will come with very high probability with on prem version 2025.

Assumption on my side: the missing functionality will NOT come in the next days/weeks by a "Feature pack" for "on prem" version 2023.

Wish you the best

C.B.

PS: regarding

This is an especially critical feature regarding OnPrem installations, which only upgrade every two years, risking serious threats to business due to lagging contents.

You will get with 2023 on prem: update of "phrases" and "list content" and "graphics" (at any point in time whih you wish (if update is needed) according to my understanding of on prem 2023 capabilities; if you consider in the word "content": the requirement topic: this you will not get.. 

[Paulo_Pinto]

Hello Christoph

[andrea_giessmann]

Hello Paulo,

Thank you for sharing your candid thoughts and experiences. Your perspective on the importance of regular updates to regulatory content is spot on and speaks from my heart.

In fact, already today we deliver updates to embedded regulatory content with every cloud and on-premises release. But of course, as you perfectly summarized, we are aiming for a continuous delivery of embedded regulatory content via the regulatory content service (3055767 - Configuration of the SAP Regulatory Content Service for Product Compliance and Environment, Health, and Safety Management).

Connecting on-premises systems to the regulatory content service allows consuming new and updated embedded regulatory content as follows:

• Starting from SAP S/4HANA OP2021 release, the system consumes new and updated regulatory phrases for SAP S/4HANA for Product Compliance.
• Starting from SAP S/4HANA OP2023 release, the system also consumes listed substance content via Regulatory Content Service.
• It is on our roadmap to deliver dangerous goods regulations via regulatory content service in the near future.  

While we continue working on continuous delivery of embedded regulatory content for on-premise, it is important to understand, that we already provide regular updates to regulatory content in the cloud edition. Meaning, we ship regulatory content twice a year with every cloud release, plus on top for especially important regulations we ship regulatory content via micro deliveries in between cloud releases. Given these advantages, you and your customers might want to consider using our public cloud edition to benefit from the most timely and seamless updates.

I hope these insights increases transparency and gives you more confidence in our solution.

Thank you for your dedication and for bringing this important topic to light.

Best wishes,

Andrea Giessmann

[Paulo_Pinto]

Hello

All I can say is that I'm deeply disappointed at this stage. 

Maybe I expect too much from and OnPrem versions of PC, but these high expectations were literally sold to my client and then, by proxy (so to say), to me - I work at an SAP Partner and we were hired to implement both PC and EHS solutions for S/4HANA the client had already bought. 

Mind you, I think the solutions work fine and have a great potential (even if still a bit buggy). But regulatory/legal content is the backbone of this solution; I'll risk trying a new expression: regulatory/legal content is the "meta" master data around which everything works. Without a regular update of this content, the solution, I'll say it again, is basically useless. 

Alas, there's always a solution and I'll take this as an opportunity for growth and (business) expansion! As Nobel Laureate ( Physiology or Medicine) Craig Mello said, "If it were easy, it wouldn't be as fun".

@christoph_bergemann , @ruediger_kreuzholz thank you for your kind replies and I'd like to apologize for some bitterness in my words, please try and understand them from my point of view.

Regards,

Paulo Pinto.

[christoph_bergemann]

Hello Paulo

myself and partially Rüdiger tried to provide hints as: if you would like to use Product Compliance NOW.. it is better to select the "Cloud" variant as you wil get much faster updates regarding the functionality: Regarding on prem version: you need now to wait until roughly november 2025 to get new functionalities.

The concepts in the new Product Compliance are not easy to understand (coming from EHS classic). BUt as you stated correctly... if you take time in understanding the concepts etc. you will realize that the business is more "guided" in maintaining data and we can expect to gain speed

One of the core Apps is e.g. "Request from logistic".... the SAP idea is quite niece. (Hint: Please use the "SAP Learning Hub" to get more insight in this software)

Example: if we have purchase order and the materials inside are "relevant" for PC: you get a "request from logistic" If you have set up the system very clever... then you know: which requirement to fulfill and then you "assess" only the needed data. After assessment is done: the material can be purchased "in principle" at any point in time (with sime buts.. but this is a long story).

So the new SAP design tries to use the "user perspective" and the "legal perspective". You need only to enter and maintain the data for the respectiv context.

Step by step the amount of data as maintained will grow etc.

In the "old" days (using EHS Classic) most of the companies used the EHS Classic process different. They tried to prepare ALL the data for ANY scenario you can think of from "start of the life of the material/REAL_SUB" combination.

Step by step  SAP will provde new features and at the end we will have really powerful solution.

KEEP IN MIND: in EHS Classic it is not so easy to analyse "what happens if".. this is much better supported (on long term) in the new software. And still you have a very good control regarding the data etc.

Wish you the best

C.B.