SAP provides several tools to facilitate the maintenance of SAP S/4HANA Cloud systems following a release upgrade, ensuring that customers can smoothly transition to the latest functionalities and improvements:

What's New Viewer Tool: This tool is invaluable for understanding the changes and new features introduced with each SAP S/4HANA Cloud release. It provides detailed descriptions of new functionalities, improvements, and changes in the system, helping customers to adapt their processes and leverage new capabilities effectively. It serves as a guide to explore and understand the enhancements that come with each upgrade.

Test Automation Tool: Post-upgrade, it's crucial to ensure that existing functionalities continue to work as expected and new features are correctly implemented. The Test Automation Tool allows customers to automate testing of business processes, significantly reducing the time and effort required for testing after a release upgrade. This tool helps in identifying any issues arising from the upgrade early in the process, ensuring a smooth transition to the new release.

These tools are designed to assist customers in navigating the complexities of system upgrades, ensuring that they can make the most out of new features while maintaining their existing system's stability and performance.

The release code for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition follows the format YYYY.MM.X, where YYYY is the year, MM is the month, and X is the feature delivery number. The first feature delivery is always in February, and the second feature delivery is always in May. Therefore, the release code for the second feature delivery in February 2025 is 2502.2.Reference=Navigating Release Upgrades,SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition 2308 Release

The organizational entities that are required in SAP Central Business Configuration are defined by the selected deployment target and the selected scope. The deployment target specifies which SAP cloud solutions are included in the project, such as SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition. The scope specifies which business processes and countries/regions are included in the project, such as sales or professional services. These choices determine which organizational units are required to run the underlying processes, such as company, business residence, sales organization, or project unit. Added partner content and system consistency checks do not define the organizational entities, but rather enhance or validate the configuration.Reference=SAP Central Business Configuration -- Overview, page 5;Introducing SAP Central Business Configuration

In SAP Central Business Configuration, the organizational entities that need to be defined for an SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition implementation are influenced by two primary factors: the selected deployment target and the selected scope. The deployment target refers to the specific environment or system where SAP S/4HANA Cloud will be implemented. This choice can affect which organizational entities are necessary based on the technical and business requirements of that environment. The selected scope, on the other hand, pertains to the business processes and functions that the company intends to use within SAP S/4HANA Cloud. This determines the organizational structures, such as company codes, sales organizations, and purchasing organizations, that need to be set up to support the scoped processes. Both factors are integral to ensuring that the configuration supports the business's operational needs and strategic objectives.

Based on the SAP Activate methodology, the Explore phase is where consultants configure business processes based on the information gathered in the Fit-to-Standard workshops. The Fit-to-Standard analysis is conducted in a series of workshops and allows for validation of predefined scenarios agreed upon and to make room for enhancements or additional configuration required. To prepare for this workshop, it is recommended that teams get familiar with the SAP Best Practices content, including the process flows, test scripts with sample data, and other documentation available in SAP Best Practices Explorer. Consultants should also use the Test system to demonstrate SAP Best Practice processes and enable business users to run the end-to-end processes and identify any gaps. The other two activities, conducting the Digital Discovery Assessment and defining the organizational structure and chart of accounts, are part of the Prepare phase, not the Explore phase.Reference=SAP Activate -- Explore Phase: Use Fit-to-Standard to confirm business process fit and identify gaps in your SAP S/4HANA Cloud Implementation,SAP Explore Phase Activities: Define Target BP and Architecture,SAP Activate Elements and Phases,Explaining the Explore Phase

In the Product-Specific Configuration Phase within SAP Central Business Configuration, several key activities can be performed to tailor the SAP S/4HANA Cloud system to meet specific business needs:

Add new sales organizations: This activity involves setting up new sales organizations within the system, defining the structure of the sales department, and aligning it with the company's sales strategies and territories. This setup is crucial for managing sales processes, customer relationships, and sales reporting.

Change approval thresholds: Modifying approval thresholds is an essential configuration activity that adjusts the approval limits for various transactions, ensuring that the approval process aligns with the company's internal control and governance policies. This can involve setting different thresholds for purchase orders, expense approvals, and other financial transactions.

Add blocking reasons for billing: This configuration activity allows the company to define specific reasons for blocking billing documents, ensuring that billing does not proceed under certain conditions until the issues are resolved. This is critical for maintaining accurate and compliant billing processes.

These activities are part of the detailed configuration work that tailors the SAP S/4HANA Cloud system to the specific operational needs of the business, ensuring that the software supports the company's unique processes and policies.