<s>
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
is	O
an	O
enterprise	O
resource	O
planning	O
software	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
German	O
company	O
SAP	B-Application
SE	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
incorporates	O
the	O
key	O
business	O
functions	O
of	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
version	O
of	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
(	O
V.6.0	O
)	O
was	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
recent	O
SAP	B-Application
enhancement	O
package	O
8	O
for	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
6.0	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
now	O
considered	O
legacy	B-Device
technology	I-Device
,	O
having	O
been	O
superseded	O
by	O
SAP	B-Application
S/4HANA	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	O
Processes	O
included	O
in	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
ERP	O
was	O
built	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
former	O
SAP	B-Application
R/3	I-Application
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
R/3	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
officially	O
launched	O
on	O
6	O
July	O
1992	O
,	O
consisted	O
of	O
various	O
applications	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
SAP	B-Application
Basis	I-Application
,	O
SAP	B-Application
's	O
set	O
of	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
programs	O
and	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
applications	O
were	O
built	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
SAP	B-Language
Web	I-Language
Application	I-Language
Server	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Web	O
Application	O
Server	O
contained	O
all	O
the	O
capabilities	O
of	O
SAP	B-Application
Basis	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
architecture	O
change	O
took	O
place	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
mySAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
in	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
R/3	O
Enterprise	O
was	O
replaced	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
ERP	O
Central	O
Component	O
(	O
SAP	B-Application
ECC	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SAP	B-Application
Business	O
Warehouse	O
,	O
SAP	B-Application
Strategic	O
Enterprise	O
Management	O
and	O
Internet	O
Transaction	O
Server	O
were	O
also	O
merged	O
into	O
SAP	B-Application
ECC	I-Application
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
run	O
them	O
under	O
one	O
instance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SAP	B-Language
Web	I-Language
Application	I-Language
Server	I-Language
was	O
wrapped	O
into	O
SAP	B-Application
NetWeaver	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
version	O
,	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
6.0	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
6.0	O
has	O
since	O
then	O
been	O
updated	O
through	O
SAP	B-Application
enhancement	O
packs	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
recent	O
:	O
SAP	B-Application
enhancement	O
package	O
8	O
for	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
6.0	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
consists	O
of	O
several	O
modules	O
,	O
including	O
Financial	O
Accounting	O
(	O
FI	O
)	O
,	O
Controlling	O
(	O
CO	O
)	O
,	O
Asset	O
Accounting	O
(	O
AA	O
)	O
,	O
Sales	O
&	O
Distribution	O
(	O
SD	O
)	O
,	O
SAP	B-Application
Customer	O
Relationship	O
Management	O
(	O
SAP	B-Application
CRM	O
)	O
,	O
Material	O
Management	O
(	O
MM	O
)	O
,	O
Production	O
Planning	O
(	O
PP	O
)	O
,	O
Quality	O
Management	O
(	O
QM	O
)	O
,	O
Project	O
System	O
(	O
PS	O
)	O
,	O
Plant	O
Maintenance	O
(	O
PM	O
)	O
,	O
Human	O
Resources	O
(	O
HR	O
)	O
,	O
Warehouse	O
Management	O
(	O
WM	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Midsized	O
companies	O
(	O
fewer	O
than	O
1,000	O
employees	O
)	O
are	O
more	O
likely	O
to	O
spend	O
around	O
$10	O
million	O
to	O
$20	O
million	O
at	O
most	O
,	O
and	O
small	O
companies	O
are	O
not	O
likely	O
to	O
have	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
a	O
fully	O
integrated	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
system	O
unless	O
they	O
have	O
the	O
likelihood	O
of	O
becoming	O
midsized	O
and	O
then	O
the	O
same	O
data	O
applies	O
as	O
would	O
a	O
midsized	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Independent	O
studies	O
have	O
shown	O
that	O
deployment	O
and	O
maintenance	O
costs	O
of	O
a	O
SAP	B-Application
solution	O
can	O
vary	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
some	O
point	O
out	O
that	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
rigid	O
model	O
imposed	O
by	O
SAP	B-Application
tools	O
,	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
customization	O
code	O
to	O
adapt	O
to	O
the	O
business	O
process	O
may	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
and	O
maintained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
Transport	I-Application
Management	I-Application
System	I-Application
(	O
STMS	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
tool	O
within	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
systems	O
to	O
manage	O
software	O
updates	O
,	O
termed	O
transports	B-Application
,	O
on	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
connected	O
SAP	B-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
should	O
not	O
be	O
confused	O
with	O
SAP	B-Application
Transportation	O
Management	O
,	O
a	O
stand-alone	O
module	O
for	O
facilitating	O
logistics	O
and	O
supply	O
chain	O
management	O
in	O
the	O
transportation	O
of	O
goods	O
and	O
materials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
version	O
(	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
6.0	O
)	O
was	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
,	O
additional	O
functionality	O
for	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
6.0	O
has	O
been	O
delivered	O
through	O
SAP	B-Application
Enhancement	O
Packages	O
(	O
EhP	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
Enhancement	O
Packages	O
allow	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
customers	O
to	O
manage	O
and	O
deploy	O
new	O
software	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
EhPs	O
do	O
not	O
require	O
a	O
classic	O
system	O
upgrade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
installation	B-Application
process	O
of	O
Enhancement	O
Packages	O
consists	O
of	O
two	O
different	O
steps	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
technical	O
installation	B-Application
of	O
business	O
functions	O
does	O
not	O
change	O
the	O
system	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
installation	B-Application
of	O
new	O
functionalities	O
is	O
decoupled	O
from	O
its	O
activation	O
and	O
companies	O
can	O
choose	O
which	O
business	O
functions	O
they	O
want	O
to	O
activate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EhP8	O
served	O
as	O
a	O
foundation	O
to	O
transition	O
to	O
SAP	B-Application
's	O
new	O
business	O
suite	O
:	O
SAP	B-Application
S/4HANA	I-Application
.	O
</s>
