In the world of SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), maintaining a well-structured and efficiently managed system landscape is crucial for ensuring smooth operations, consistent data quality, and reliable service delivery. The SRM system landscape typically comprises three main environments: Development (DEV), Quality Assurance (QAS), and Production (PRD). Each plays a distinct role in the lifecycle of SAP SRM applications and processes.
This article explains the purpose and structure of the SAP SRM system landscape, highlighting the importance of each environment and best practices for managing them effectively.
SAP SRM is designed to facilitate procurement processes and manage supplier relationships. To guarantee changes and enhancements are properly tested and deployed without affecting live business operations, organizations use a three-tier system landscape model:
This structured approach ensures that new configurations, custom developments, and process changes are first created and tested before being transported to the live environment.
The Development system is the environment where SAP SRM consultants, developers, and functional analysts configure the system, develop enhancements, custom workflows, and other custom code. It is the playground for innovation and customization.
The Quality Assurance system acts as the testing ground to validate all changes made in the Development system. It is the environment where functional testing, integration testing, regression testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT) take place.
The Production system is the live SAP SRM environment where all procurement transactions and supplier interactions take place. It supports day-to-day business operations and must be highly stable, secure, and available.
Transporting changes from DEV → QAS → PRD is a controlled and structured process using SAP’s Transport Management System (TMS). This ensures that:
The three-tier SRM system landscape of Development, Quality Assurance, and Production is foundational for effective SAP SRM management. By clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each environment, organizations can deliver robust procurement solutions while minimizing risks and maintaining system integrity.
Proper governance, transport management, and regular system refresh cycles are essential best practices to maximize the benefits of this landscape approach. With this structure in place, SAP SRM can effectively support supplier collaboration, strategic sourcing, and procurement excellence.