1.

SAP ERP implementation & maintenance

2. HANA database, process orchestration & dashboards and SAP licensing.
3. Should have experience of Post Go-live maintenance and enhancements/ upgradations
4. Should have experience in UI5 configuration, developing/ redeveloping of SAP webdynpro
applications, and developing Fiori apps on the SAP HANA platform.
5. Should have independent design & configuration skills in respective landscapes including DC
& DR.
6. Compliance with the statutory requirements and IT/ ERP systems audits.
7. Should have knowledge of basics of ABAP coding in respective modules so as to understand/
prepare FS & TS independently.
1. What is SAP?

SAP(System, Application, and Products in Data Processing) is the leading ERP(Enterprise Resource
Planning) software package that is useful in efficiently managing the resources of a company. SAP
is pronounced as individual letters(S-A-P), not as a word (“SAP”).

SAP combines different departments altogether and collects their data in a unified way to help
manage all coordination and workflow. The SAP Software portfolio provides edge-to-edge
solutions and covers the majority of business requirements of its clients, whether it is an
operational, human resources, financial, or e-commerce concern.

2. What is ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning)?

• ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning) is a software or an integrated computer-based system

that is effectively used by a business for planning and managing daily activities such as
manufacturing, supply chain, financials, services, and other processes. It ensures smooth
information flow and manages workflows within different departments in a company or an
enterprise. In the beginning, the main purpose of ERP was to plan and manage core business
such as production and financial market. Now it is useful in integrating information across
the entire organization.
• SAP was one of the first companies to provide industry-leading ERP solutions and develop
standard software for business solutions purpose. Microsoft Dynamics, JD Edwards, Siebel,
PeopleSoft, Baan are other examples of ERP available in the market.
• ERP software consists of all core business areas such as production, procurement, finance,
marketing, sales, materials management, human resources(HR), etc. The below figure
represents the business area covered by ERP.

3. Why does the SAP used for?

• SAP helps organizations and companies of all sizes and enables the industries to profitably
run their businesses, continuously receiving the modifications, and growing sustainably.
• The company will develop SAP software solutions that can be used by larger corporations,
mid-sized companies, and also by smaller businesses. Each business process can be mapped
and designed with the help of standard applications, platforms, industry solutions, and
technologies. The SAP software will collect and process the data on a single platform, data
can be related to raw material purchasing, production, customer satisfaction, etc.
• SAP solutions can be used from the cloud or can be installed “on-premise” at a user’s place,
helping companies for analysing and design the entire value chain efficiently.
• In addition, SAP solutions are useful in the creation of forecasts, such as how revenue is
going to develop in the next half-year or when a machine needs repairing.
• Also, SAP helps customers to link operational data flawlessly on business processes with
experimental data on emotional factors like customer feedback or purchase experience. This
allows companies to understand and respond to the customers in a better way.

4. What is NetWeaver? what is the advantage of using NetWeaver?

• NetWeaver is an integrated technology platform that allows running various products

from mySAP suite on a single instance called SAP Web Application Server(SAP WEBAs).
• The advantage of NetWeaver usage is you will be able to access SAP data using the
web(HTTP protocol) or even from a mobile device. This will save the costs involved in
training clients on SAP Client-side GUI.
5. What are Metadata, Master data, and Transaction data?

• Meta Data: Meta Data represents data about Data. It provides information about the
structure of data, database table objects, etc. For example, ABAP Dictionary will provide
information about the data within RDBMS.
• Master Data: Master Data is comprised of whatever an organization does and how it is
differently defined over business units or competitors. It helps to establish a 360-degree
business view.
It consists of key business information such as Customer information, Materials,
Employee, etc. This is similar to reference data. For example, if a customer orders 5 units
of your product, rather than 5 times asking the customer for shipping address, it can be
referenced from the Customer Master Data.
• Transaction Data: Transaction data consists of data related to day-to-day transactions. For
example, the daily production details related to material, getting of materials, daily
transactions, etc.

6. Differentiate between OLAP and Data Mining.

OLAP(Online Analytical Processing) Data Mining

OLAP is a reporting tool used for understanding the database Data mining is an analytic process
schema, dimensions, and composition facts(values and that is useful for data analysis for
attributes). finding out consistent patterns.
It is used to analyze past data. It is used for future prediction.
It deals with detailed transaction-level data. It deals with data summary.
A bottom-up data analysis approach
A top-down data analysis approach is used where insight is
is used where insights are obtained
obtained by analyzing the big picture.
by analyzing data.

What are pooled tables in SAP?

A pooled table is a special type of table that is present in the SAP ABAP(Advanced
Business Application Programming) dictionary that is used to store control data. The
pooled table is an SAP proprietary creation. It has a many-to-one relationship with tables
within the SAP database. This implies that, for a provided pooled table in the database, the
SAP data dictionary can have multiple smaller tables. SAP will make use of pooled tables to
integrate and hold a huge number of small tables. This will help in reducing the space and
resources required at the database level. SAP will mainly use pooled tables for system data
maintenance.

8. What is BEx in SAP?

• BEx(Business Explorer) is a tool provided by an SAP SE software company that supports for
entry of data in BW(Business Warehouse) Integrated Planning and the creation of planning
applications.
• BEx permits the end-user to locate reports, execute the query, analyze the information, and
view the reports. If an employee has authorization access, he can evaluate current or
historical data at different levels of detail and from various perspectives; both on the Web,
in Microsoft Excel, and the portal.
• BEx has the components like BEx Map, BEx analyzer, and BEx Web. The queries present in
the workbook can be saved to their corresponding roles within the BEx browser.
 • BEx Information Broadcasting will help to distribute the created objects with Business
Explorer via e-mail, either as document files with historical data that are previously
calculated or as a link with live data. You are allowed to publish this content to the portal (in
collaboration rooms or Knowledge Management folders).

9. What is AWB? What are the functions of AWB?

AWB(Administrator Workbench) is a tool useful in controlling, maintaining, and monitoring each

and every process that is in link with staging and processing of data in SAP business information
warehousing. Also, it can be used to create, modify and customize all types of metadata objects of
Business Warehouse.

Administration Workbench(AWB) functions in SAP BW are:

1. Modeling: It is used for creating and maintaining metadata objects related to the staging
and processing of data within SAP Business Warehouse(SAP BW). These objects will be
displayed in a tree structure format, in which the objects are ordered based on hierarchical
criteria. You can make use of the context menu for accessing the relevant maintenance
dialogs for every object in the object tree. You need to choose transaction RSA1 for
accessing the Modeling functions area.
2. Monitoring: It is helpful in monitoring and controlling the process of data loading and
additional data process in SAP BW.
3. Reporting Agent: With the help of this reporting agent tool you will be able to schedule and
execute the reporting functions in the background.
4. Transport Connection: This function area is useful for transferring the newly created or
modified objects that are present in BW systems. For example, transporting objects from the
development server to the testing server and then to production systems.
5. Documents: This function area is used for inserting, searching, creating links for one or more
documents according to the needed format, languages, and versions for SAP BW objects.
6. Business Content: It provides preconfigured data models based on metadata. We can say
that business content is a collection of SAP-defined objects available in the delivery version.
7. Translation: You can perform translation of texts for SAP BW objects.
8. Metadata Repository: In the metadata repository of HTML, SAP BW metadata objects and
related links to other objects are centrally managed together with the help of an integrated
metadata repository browser.

10. Differentiate Salesforce and SAP.

Salesforce SAP
Salesforce offers a comprehensive CRM(Customer SAP CRM is the most popular ERP software
Relationship Management) tool with all features that offers tools that can be used by
included in a single plan and provides different businesses in a large range of industries and
products and software solutions to the developers and allows users to select the required
users. functions.
Salesforce uses the Cloud-based deployment model SAP uses a cloud-based deployment model
and does not support On-premise deployment. and supports On-premise deployment.
Any additional charges are not required for
For using Salesforce CRM’s premium features, an
SAP, we need to pay for the perceptual
additional amount has to be paid.
licenses yearly maintenance and support.
Salesforce provides the “Get Started” guide to the In SAP, the user needs to purchase the
Salesforce SAP
customers, which is included in the subscription fee. online training module and certification.
The user has to purchase the different guides or
customization training.

11. What is SAP R/3?

• SAP R/3 is a 3rd generation set of extremely integrated software modules. It is one of the
major products in SAP, where R represents RealTime and the number 3 represents three-tier
application architecture.
• It is an organization-wide information system that is mainly designed for coordinating all the
resources, information, and activities required to complete common business processes
such as human resource management, billing, order fulfilment, and production planning.
• It can be used by any organization however different it is in its operations, or anywhere in
the world.
• SAP R/3 has three main layers. They are:
o Presentation Layer: It consists of the software components that are made of
SAPgui(graphical user interface). This layer is responsible for sending the user’s input
to the application server, and for receiving the data for display from it.
o Application Layer: It consists of single or multiple application servers and a message
server. The message server transmits the request from one application server to
another application server within the system. Also, it holds application server groups
related information and the current load balancing within them. It will make use of
this information for assigning a suitable server when a user logs onto the system.
o Database Layer: It contains a central database system that has all of the data in the
R/3 System. SAP has developed its own database named HANA, but it is compatible
with many databases like Oracle.

12. What is SAP PI/PO(Process Integration/Process Orchestration)?

• SAP PI/PO is a tool that permits you for integrating the solutions from SAP systems to other
SAP or non-SAP systems. Using this, data between various systems can be easily
synchronized. For example, consider that the SAP ERP system is used by you, and you want
to integrate it with the CRM system. It can be done using PI, which allows the user to easily
perform the integrations, with the help of a standard tool that permits you to maintain
various connections in a single place.
• Using SAP PI/PO, synchronizing data to a warehouse system is also possible. For example,
consider the case where you wish to send all the orders related information like how they
are used, which of them are being produced, and when they need to be shipped.
• Work becomes easier and more trouble-free with the help of SAP PI/PO. Because developers
and organizations are having a single tool that can be used for various integrations varieties,
instead of using multiple divergent tools for smaller tasks.

13. Define LUW(Logical Unit of Work).

• An LUW(Logical Unit of Work) is a series of database operations that should be either

completely executed(followed by commit) or not at all(followed by rollback).
• It helps to guarantee the integrity of the database. The database is said to be in a correct
state when an LUW has been successfully concluded. However, if any error occurs within an
LUW, all the modifications made to the database from the beginning of the LUW will be
canceled and the database will be returned to the previous state as before the LUW started.
 For example, in financial accounting, while transferring some amount of money, you must
deduct that amount from account A and it must be added to account B. Before and after the
transfer process, the data must be consistent, but in between these two steps, data can be
inconsistent. If the amount transfer by LUW becomes successful, then the amount will be
deducted from account A and added into account B. If any error occurs in between database
must be returned to its previous state before LUW started.
• An LUW will begin:
o Each time when you start a transaction.
o When the changes made to the database using the previous LUW has been
confirmed(database commit).
o When the changes made to the database using the previous LUW has been
canceled(database rollback).
• An LUW will end:
o When the changes made to the database has been confirmed(database commit).
o When the changes made to the database has been canceled(database rollback).

14. What are variables in SAP?

• Variables are query parameters that are set in the definition of parameter query and values
will be assigned only after the query has been entered into the workbooks.
• There are various types of variables that can be used in different applications. Some
commonly used variables are text, formulas, replacement path, user entry/default type,
hierarchies, hierarchy nodes, characteristics variable, processing types, etc.

15. What are the two types of services used for dealing with communication in SAP?

The two types of services used to deal with communication:

• Gateway Service: This service permits communication between SAP R/3 and external
applications using the CPI-C protocol.
• Message Service: This service is used by the application servers for exchanging short internal
messages.

16. Explain the standard stages of the SAP Payment Run?

The standard stages of SAP on SAP Payment Run execution will include:

• Entering of parameters: It will include entering company codes, methods of payments,

vendor accounts, etc.
• Proposal Scheduling: The system offers a list of invoices to be paid
• Payment booking: It includes booking of the actual payment into the ledger
• Printing of Payment forms: It includes payment forms printing.

17. What is BDC(Batch Data Communication)? How many methods of BDC are present?

BDC(Batch Data Communication) is used for data transfer from the Non-SAP system to the SAP
R/3 system. A huge amount of data can be added into the database of the sap tables instead of
manual entry of the data. Use SHDB(transaction code used for transaction recording in SAP)
transaction for recording and the cursor movement. This cursor movement is noticeable by the
SAP software and according to our excel or flat file, the data will be sent or stored in the proper
position.
There are 3 methods you can use for transferring the data. The methods of BDC are:

• Batch Input Session Method: This method is mainly used in ABAP programming when no
other method exists. The online transaction process is simulated and the data transfer will
be done in the way it is done online. A batch input session will be created using SHDB that
has all the data and screens and then processed. If you have made any changes to the screen
then you need to add these screens to the program, otherwise, the BDC will be failed.
• Direct Input Method: In this method, the input file data will be transferred directly to the
SAP database. The involvement of screens is not required. This method will make use of
function modules to complete the task.
• Call Transaction Method: It does asynchronous processing of data and transfers only a small
amount of data. Here, data will be automatically updated and it is having faster processing.
If you are using this method, errors must be handled explicitly.

18. Differentiate between Open SQL and Native SQL?

Open SQL Native SQL

It has ABAP specific(Cross-database) SQL
It has database-specific SQL statements
statements
It can operate only on tables that were created It can be used on the database tables that are not
in the ABAP dictionary(SE11) being administered by ABAP dictionary
It supports for buffering of tables in an SAP It does not support for buffering of tables in the
Application server SAP Application server
It supports conjunction with ABAP constructions It does not support conjunction with ABAP
that simplify or speed up access constructions that simplify or speed up access

19. Explain the significance of ODS(Operational Data Store) in BIW(Business Warehouse

Information).

An ODS(Operational Data Store) Object supports consolidated and debugged transaction data
storage on a document level. It defines a combined dataset from single or multiple InfoSources.
Analysis of this dataset can be done with an InfoSet Query or BEx Query. We can update the ODS
Object data with a delta update into InfoCubes and other ODS Objects that belongs to the same
system or across other systems. The data in ODS Objects will be stored in transparent, flat
database tables.

20. Explain about SAP services.

Some of the SAP services are:

• SAP Application Management Services: It includes development of application,

implementation, integration, testing, monitoring, help desk services, maintenance and
support(technical and functional), backup and recovery.
• SAP Platform Modernization: The modernization approach will convert SAP into a
dynamic, agile, and capable digital core ready to fit into frequently changing market
conditions and requirements of the customers.
• SAP S/4 HANA Migration and Transition Services: Integrated business planning and
strategies of digital transition for S/4 HANA migrations will be provided. Our aim is to
migrate the useful features while implementing technology that supports the current and
future requirements of a business.
 • SAP S/4 HANA Implementation Services: It allows businesses to fulfill the digital
economy-related demands.
• SAP Technology Platform & Infrastructure Services: This service will make sure that your
ERP platforms are robust and secure, whether it is an existing SAP platform or part of S/4
HANA or cloud migration/implementation.

SAP Interview Questions for Experienced

1. What is code pushdown in SAP?

Code pushdown means transferring data-intense calculations to the database layer. ALL
calculations will not be pushed into the database, only required calculations will be considered.
For example, if you wish to do the calculation for finding the amount of all positions of invoices, it
is not mandatory to select all positions of those invoices and perform the calculation of sum using
a loop. By using an aggregation function(SUM()) on the database you can easily do this.

2. What is SAP S/4HANA?

SAP S/4HANA(SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA) is an ERP software package based on the SAP
HANA(in-memory database) and it permits companies for doing ERP transactions and analyzing
the business data in real-time. S/4HANA can be easily used and administered during complex
problem solving and handling a huge quantity of data than its predecessors. It is provided in on-
premises, cloud and hybrid deployment models along with SAP is forcing its customers for opting
the cloud. SAP S/4HANA is used by organizations mainly for integrating and managing business
functions like sales, finance, procurement, human resources, service, and manufacturing in real-
time.

3. Differentiate between S/4HANA On-premise and S/4HANA Cloud in SAP.

Characteristics S/4HANA On-premise S/4HANA Cloud

Licencing model It has a Traditional licensing model
It has a Subscription licensing model
where a preliminary price will be paid
where subscription price per month or
by an entity for obtaining the software
quarterly will be paid by an entity.
with an annual maintenance charge.
Infrastructure and With the help of dedicated own IT staff, SAP provides the system and also it is
Maintenance the customer is in control of responsible for the system
model deployment and maintenance. maintenance.
Implementation Highly individual requirements
Pre-defined best-practice configuration
approach regarding business processes and
with limited specialization.
customization
Functional scope Embedded ERP scenarios, key
scenarios, SAP fieldglass, integration
Full ERP Scope, SAP JAM and SAP Ariba
with SAP SuccessFactors Employee
network, integration with SAP Hybris
Central, SAP JAM and SAP Ariba
Marketing.
network, integration with SAP Hybris
Marketing.
Speed of Customer has complete control over
Innovation the speed of innovation, planned Customers automatically participate in
downtimes, changes within the system, quarterly innovation upgrades.
etc.
4. List the different SAP modules.

The different Modules available in SAP are:

• FI (Financial Accounting)
• CO (Controlling)
• EC (Enterprise Controlling)
• TR(Treasury)
• MM (Materials Management)
• PP (Production Planning)
• IM (Investment Management)
• QM (Quality Management)
• EAM (Enterprise Asset Management)
• HR (Human Resource)
• SD (Sales and Distribution)
• BW (Business Warehousing)

Apart from this, there are various other industry-specific solutions provided by the SAP.

5. Explain about SAP portal.

• SAP Enterprise Portal(SAP EP) provides users with web-based, role-specific, and also
provides secure access to all the services, information, and applications in SAP
environments. Employees require only a desktop and a Web Browser, and can start with
work immediately after authentication in the portal has been completed. It contains the
NetWeaver components Portal, Collaboration, and Knowledge Management. Pre-defined
content is also provided by the SAP. Currently, the portfolio is having more than 100
business packages, which can be shipped in many languages.
• The major advantage of using this portal is that you are allowed to use multiple JSP(Java
Server Pages) pages at a time. Here you can have separate views and each view can be a
JSP page or a web page that supports interaction with the J2EE server so that multiple
works can be handled on the same page.
• It can also be used with platform-independent applications. You can execute and
implement it for maintaining many applications like Microsoft outlook etc.

6. Explain about SAP launchpad.

SAP launchpad simplifies access to business applications with a personalized as well as role-based
launchpad site. This service will allow an organization for establishing a central point of access to
SAP(Example: SAP S/4HANA), custom-built, third-party applications, etc., both on the on-premise
and the cloud.

The SAP Launchpad service provides the following features:

• Application Integration: It provides a central point of access for tasks and applications,
with limitless integration to different UI technologies and third-party applications.
• Intuitive and Engaging User Experience: It gives a personalized and role-based launchpad
along with a content structure(flexible)that follows the SAP Fiori 3 design guidelines.
• Integrations: It has an integration with central SAP BTP(Business Technology Platform)
services like inbox and cloud identity services.
 • Extensibility: It is considered an extensible framework for customizations with the help of
shell plugins and custom branding.

7. How can we create an OLAP(Online Analytical Processing) connection in CMC(Central

Management Console)?

From SAP BO 4.0(SAP Business Objects 4.0) onwards it is allowed to connect BEx query through
BICS(Business Intelligence Consumer Services) connection which is also called OLAP connection.
With the help of CMC(Central Management Console) or IDT(Information Design Tool), it is possible
to create and save the OLAP connection. This OLAP connection can be created for connection with
the Multi-provider, BI(Business Intelligence) server, InfoCube, and BEx query. If the connection is
specific for a particular Cube, Query, or Multi-provider then the connection will be created in
query or cube base. Otherwise, the connection will be created on the BI server using which
connection to any BEx query is possible. The advantage of Connection creation on the BI server is
only a single OLAP connection is required for all BO reports.

Steps for creating OLAP connection to connect with BI server:

• Login to CMC with the right of Administrator authorization and go for the OLAP
Connection option.
• Then select the option new connection.

8. What is the posting key?

The posting key is a two-digit numeric key used for determining the type of transaction which is
entered in the line item. It determines account types(A–>Assets, D–>Customers, K–>Vendors, M–
>Materials, S–>General Ledger Account), the layout of entry screens, and types of posting(Debit or
Credit). Special posting keys are useful in posting special General ledger transactions.

Posting keys scenarios are:

• The standard SAP system is responsible to deliver the standard posting key, and you will be
enabled for using the standard posting and change or modify it as per the business
organization requirement.
• Posting keys provided in the SAP will control the entries in a line item of document entries.
• It decides about the account type to post, that is, whether the amount is supposed to be
posted on the credit side or debit side.

9. What is the Information model?

Information model consists of Analytic, Attribute, and Calculation views and it is mainly used for
hiding the technicalities of data selection so that it becomes easier for the business users to model
their data who are having only functional knowledge about a database and doesn’t have any
technical knowledge. So we can say that the information model hides the complexity and
overcomes a few setbacks with the queries.

Information models are:

• Used for converting the linear structure into a multi-dimension structure without having
technical knowledge.
• Process of source data(in tables) conversion into the format that is business understandable.
 • Make use of Hardware advancements available in HANA.
• It is possible to reduce the data transfer between the database and application layer by
defining information models inside HANA DB.
• Having Complex logic and also transformation executed in DB layer.

10. What do you mean by transactional RFC?

Transactional RFC(Transactional Remote Function Call) allows giving out of the sent request for a
mistake in the system for a once. This is done after the allocation of an ID for the transaction
procedure which is also called TID(Transaction ID). The remote system access is not necessary
during the present moment in the Transaction RFC.

11. What are the advantages of SQL script?

• SQL scripts are easier to use because they can be saved and loaded whenever it is needed.
• It reduces the number of errors as there are no manually entered commands that are prone
to human errors.
• We can schedule the SQL script to run at a convenient time, or when a human is not present.
• For holding the interim result, a local variable can be declared in a SQL script.
• SQL Script Procedure can return more than one result with the help of the “OUTPUT
Parameter”, while the Normal SQL Procedure can return only one result.
• You are permitted to define local or global tables types that can be used as parameters in a
SQL script.

12. What are the common transport errors?

The common transport errors will include:

• Return code 4: It is imported with warnings, program generation, row or column missing.
• Return code 8: It is imported with a program generation-related error, syntax-related error,
dictionary activation-related error, etc.
• Return code 12: It indicates import canceled because of object missing, inactive object, etc.
• Return code 18: It indicates import canceled because of user expired or system down during
import, and limited roles or authorization.

13. What are .sca files?

.sca(SAP component Archive) files are useful in the deployment of the components, Java patches,
as well as other java developments in the form of .jar, .sda, .war, and .sca.

14. What are different SAP products?

SAP has a huge number of various products under different categories. Few SAP products are:

• Ariba: It is a cloud-based innovative solution and it permits for connection establishment

between buyers and suppliers so that they can do business on a single platform. It has
improved the organization’s overall vendor management system by providing cheaper ways
of procurement and thus making business simple. Ariba will digitally transform your
procurement, supply chain, and contract management process.
• SuccessFactors: It is a cloud-based HR solution that helps organizations easily manage
different HR operations. SuccessFactors is based on the Software as a Service(SaaS) model. It
is mainly designed for fulfilling the needs of enterprise-class organizations.
• Fieldglass: It is cloud-based and has an open Vendor Management System(VMS) that helps
organizations to manage, find, pay, engage, etc. SAP Fieldglass has limitless integration with
SAP on-premise solutions through SAP Cloud Platform Integration, SAP PI, or web services.
• Concur: SAP Concur solutions will help you to connect all your travel, expense, and vendor
invoice spend in a single system, by providing a single way to obtain higher transaction
visibility, manage to spend from end-to-end, compliance improvement, and process
simplification for everyone.
• Fiori: It is a new user experience(UX) for SAP software and applications. It has a set of
applications that are used in regular business functions such as financial applications,
workflow approvals, information lookups, calculation applications, and self-service
applications. They provide simple and also easy-to-use access across tablets, smartphones,
and desktops.