Preface

Welcome to the world of SAP! You are now embarking on a journey into the workings and use of SAP R/3, the leading business enterprise software in the world.^[1]

^[1] SAP stands for Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing; R/3 stands for Runtime System 3in other words, the third release of the software.

This book is written for the nontechnical end user of SAP R/3; that is, an average person in a company who has perhaps had some experience with desk-top applications like MS Word and Excel but little or no experience with more complex enterprise software. This book provides these users with detailed instructions for working with this outstanding and versatile software product.

These instructions do not address any specific purpose, such as working with budget and cost data or managing the inventory of a warehouse. Rather, they describe general or universal procedures for working with any part of the software for any purpose. We firmly believe that a solid grasp of these general procedures and the development of the skills for executing them are the real secret for learning and managing SAP R/3 and using it effectively at your job.

In addition, this book is not intended to be comprehensive. SAP R/3 is very complex in its design and operation, and a comprehensive description of this software would require a much largernot to mention more expensive"bible" of a book that most people could not lift. Rather, this book describes the techniques and procedures that are most frequently employed by nontechnical end users when they work with SAP R/3. We decided on its contents after years of using this software, after consulting with other experienced users (the so-called superusers) like ourselves, and after many hours in the classroom teaching it to people like you.

Finally, this book is not intended to be a technical treatise about SAP R/3. If you were looking for instructions about programming, developing, or implementing the software at your workplace, you bought the wrong book. We do not describe the inner workings or architecture of the SAP software (except very briefly in the following pages), because we have found that such information does not help the typical end user work with the software any more effectively. We also avoid the use of technical jargon throughout this book, and instead say our piece in plain, simple English. We do not use a 25-cent word when a 5-cent word will do.

Before we describe the contents of this book, we must devote some words to the origin, design, and operation of SAP R/3.