Localization as a Self-Service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition FAQ

Here is a compilation of the most frequently asked questions about localization as a self-service for the public edition of SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

Localization in SAP S/4HANA Cloud

What is ‘Localization’ in SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

Localization plays a pivotal role in supporting your cloud journey. It supports business compliance and caters to adjusting the product’s functional properties, characteristics, and content to accommodate the language and legal differences. A dedicated team of localization experts working across the globe help deliver legal changes in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

SAP currently provides out of the box localization for 59 countries/regions.

What is a local version?

Customers need business solutions that are localized to meet the ever-changing regulatory requirements of the countries and regions they do business in. SAP currently provides localized solutions for 59 countries/regions. These country/region-specific localized solutions are called local versions.

SAP-delivered local versions provide business configuration content, features, and country/region-specific functions to help you meet the local business and legal requirements.

Localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud

What is localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

Localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud provides extensibility options to help you realize your business-specific localization requirements on top of the available localized functions for the SAP-delivered local versions. 

It includes key user extensibility and developer extensibility options for in-built localized features such as SAP Document and Reporting Compliance and tools such as Payment Medium Workbench, and other generic extensibility features such as APIs, custom fields, custom logic, UI, and CDS Views.

The SAP Help Portal provides detailed information about the available extensibility options and how you can use them to extend the localized functions in your SAP S/4HANA Cloud system.

You can always refer to field guidance to get the latest information about localization, such as the roadmap.

You can learn more about localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition on our community page. 

Who can use localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

All customers of SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition and their implementation partners can use localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Do I have to pay for localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

No, the offering is not priced. Certain features are delivered as extensions; for example, some advanced features of SAP Document and Reporting Compliance, and might need additional licensing or may be priced based on the usage.

Where can I find information about localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

The SAP Help Portal provides detailed information about localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud. It also provides information on the extensibility capabilities available for different solution areas.

Our Community page provides detailed information on localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud. It lists several blogs that explain how you can extend your solution to meet your business-specific requirements using different extensibility options such as key user extensibility and developer extensibility.

Most blogs describe a sample business scenario and dive further into details such as the prerequisites, authorizations required, and implementation steps with code snippets. 

If you have any questions or comments, you can post them right beneath the individual blogs. 

Extensibility Capabilities

What are the typical areas one could extend?

You can build extensions across key areas such as tax management, accounting, reporting, payments, and forms, to name a few.

The SAP Help Portal provides a list of localized functions that you can extend.

Can I reuse the localization artifacts I have built?

In terms of in-app extensibility, please have a look at the extensibility template that enables reuse of localization artifacts. You will find more information on the extensibility template here.

How can I convey a new extensibility requirement?

If your business has a very specific requirement for a localized feature or for a generic extensibility option, you can convey it using the Customer Influence portal. However, if you have a request for a new API, please convey it using the Customer Influence portal for APIs.  

It is vital that we receive regular feedback from you on where you see a need. We would then analyze the request for feasibility and work towards including additional extensibility options wherever possible. 

How can I request a new API or an extensibility option?

Please refer to SAP API HUB for an overview of available APIs for SAP S/4HANA Cloud. You can also check the extensibility patterns in SAP S/4HANA Cloud via the Extensibility Explorer. If you have a request for a new API or an extensibility option, please convey it using the Customer Influence portal.

How do SaaS services on SAP BTP relate to localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

Several SaaS services have been deployed on SAP BTP to deliver extensions for fast evolving regulations. These extensions or services act as a single source of truth and can be consumed by SAP applications as well as custom apps or partner apps, thus reducing maintenance costs.

We have partners offering services in their areas of expertise, for example for tax calculations. On our community page, you will find blogs that describe how external tax engines can be integrated to easily calculate taxes in business transactions in your SAP S/4HANA Cloud system.

Where can I find more information about the extensibility capabilities available for localization; for example, information on whether I can extend and reuse a country-specific statutory report for another country?

The different ways in which you can extend standard features to meet your localization requirements are listed on the SAP Help Portal in the Localization Extensibility Capabilities list. You can refer to this list and the country/region-specific documentation to know whether a localized feature can be extended.

Engagement and Support

Are there partner engagements related to localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

Yes, we are engaging with SAP S/4HANA Cloud implementation partners to understand how we can extend our support and increase our offerings. We encourage you to provide feedback and request additional scenarios. If you would like to engage with us and explore potential new scenarios, please feel free to reach out by posting a comment or registering for customer engagement initiative programs. Watch the customer influence portal for registration details.

What is the partner enablement plan for this year?

We have multiple partner enablement webinars and summits planned this year, in which we plan to share detailed information about the capabilities of localization as a self-service for SAP S/4HANA Cloud. To know the events’ details and schedule, please contact your SAP S/4HANA specialist in the PSA organization. 

Our community page provides expert content and a variety of how-to guides. We are exploring different modes of delivery, for instance video tutorials. We would appreciate your feedback on what is more convenient for you so that we can design our expert content accordingly. 

Will the partners/customers be supported during the implementation of a last-mile localization?

Yes, you can seek guidance from our product experts while extending existing localizations. To check if an available localization extensibility option can cover your legal requirements, please leave a comment on our community page or the relevant blog and our experts will get back to you.