Decoding SAP FUE: A Comprehensive Guide to Full Usage Equivalents

Definition of SAP FUE

SAP Full Use Equivalent (FUE) is a unit of measurement utilized by SAP to grant licenses for its S/4 HANA Cloud applications. It signifies the permission given to users to access certain solution features within the S/4HANA Cloud. SAP FUE establishes a consistent framework for licensing, assuring that companies have the appropriate level of access for their users, tailored to their unique requirements. In today's context, gaining a solid understanding of FUE is essential as this is the favored metric for SAP, particularly with S/4 HANA.

Different Types of FUEs:

SAP FUE encompasses distinct types that cater to varying user requirements:

SAP S/4HANA for Advanced Use: This FUE type grants users full access to the S/4HANA Cloud application, enabling them to create and modify data, run reports, and utilize its complete range of business processes. It is typically assigned to users who require extensive functionality and plays a key role in managing critical business operations. One user is equal to one SAP FUE. This category has the lowest compliance risk but the highest over-allocation risk.

The table below represents the S/4HANA cloud roles & responsibilities for Advanced Use.

SAP FUE Roles & Responsibilities for Advanced Use
Goods Movement (S/4 CLD)	Inspection Planning (S/4 CLD)	Classification and Segmentation (S/4 CLD)
Inventory Analytics and Control (S/4 CLD)	Sales Billing (S/4 CLD)	Supplier Evaluation (S/4 CLD)
Warehouse Management (S/4 CLD)	Service Monitoring and Analytics (S/4 CLD)	Purchase Contract Management (S/4 CLD)
Transportation management (S/4 CLD)	Service Order Management (S/4 CLD)	Source Assignment (S/4 CLD)
Available to Promise (S/4 CLD)	Sales Order Management and Processing (S/4 CLD)	Spend Visibility (S/4 CLD)
Delivery Management (S/4 CLD)	Sales Master Data Management (S/4 CLD)	Real-Time Reporting and Monitoring (S/4 CLD)
Material Requirements Planning (S/4 CLD)	Sales Contract Management (S/4 CLD)	Invoice Processing (S/4 CLD)
External Processing (S/4 CLD)	Claims, Returns, and Refund Management (S/4 CLD)	Invoice Collaboration (S/4 CLD)
Production Execution (S/4 CLD)	Sales Monitoring and Analytics (S/4 CLD)	Financial Accounting (S/4 CLD)
Subcontracting (S/4 CLD)	Sales Rebate Management (S/4 CLD)	Entity Close (S/4 CLD)
Just-in-time Processing (S/4 CLD)	Solution Billing (S/4 CLD)	Financial Reporting (S/4 CLD)
Kanban (S/4 CLD)	Price Management (S/4 CLD)	Accounts Payable (S/4 CLD)
Production Control (S/4 CLD)	Quotation Management (S/4 CLD)	Accounts Receivable (S/4 CLD)
Quality Engineering (S/4 CLD)	Time Sheet (S/4 CLD)	Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (S/4 CLD)
Quality Improvement (S/4 CLD)	Self-Service Requisitioning (S/4 CLD)	Profitability Analysis (S/4 CLD)
Quality Inspection (S/4 CLD)	Requirements Processing (S/4 CLD)	Product Costing (S/4 CLD)
Maintenance Planning (S/4 CLD)	Purchase Order Collaboration (S/4 CLD)	Overhead Cost Management (S/4 CLD)
Maintenance Execution (S/4 CLD)	Purchase Order Processing (S/4 CLD)	International Trade Management (S/4 CLD)
Maintenance Demand Processing (S/4 CLD)	Service Purchasing and Recording (S/4 CLD)	Master Data Maintenance (S/4 CLD)
Project Financials Control (S/4 CLD)	Purchasing Rebate Management (S/4 CLD)	Capacity Planning (S/4 CLD)

Source: https://assets.cdn.sap.com/agreements/product-policy/css/service-specifications/sap-s4hana-cloud-service-use-descriptions-english-v1-2021.pdf

SAP S/4HANA for Core Use: This FUE type is intended for users who require limited access to the S/4HANA Cloud application, allowing them to view data, run reports, and engage in basic business processes. It is suitable for users needing access to specific information or who perform routine tasks without the need for extensive functionality. Five core users make up one FUE. This category has a medium compliance risk and medium over-allocation risk.

The table below represents the S/4HANA cloud roles & responsibilities for Core Use.

SAP FUE Roles & Responsibilities for Core Use
Available to Promise (S/4 CLD)	Production Execution (S/4 CLD)
Delivery Management (S/4 CLD)	Project Financials Control (S/4 CLD)
External Processing (S/4 CLD)	Quality Engineering (S/4 CLD)
Goods Movement (S/4 CLD)	Quality Improvement (S/4 CLD)
Inventory Analytics and Control (S/4 CLD)	Quality Inspection (S/4 CLD)
Just-in-time Processing (S/4 CLD)	Self-Service Requisitioning (S/4 CLD)
Kanban (S/4 CLD)	Service Order Management (S/4 CLD)
Maintenance Execution (S/4 CLD)	Subcontracting (S/4 CLD)
Maintenance Demand Processing (S/4 CLD)	Time Sheet (S/4 CLD)
Sales Order Management and Processing (S/4 CLD)	Transportation Management (S/4 CLD)
Service Monitoring and Analytics (S/4 CLD)	Warehouse Management (S/4 CLD)
Master Data Maintenance (S/4 CLD)	Maintenance Planning (S/4 CLD)
Material Requirements Planning (S/4 CLD)	Capacity Planning (S/4 CLD)
Production Control (S/4 CLD)	Quotation Management (S/4 CLD)

Source: https://assets.cdn.sap.com/agreements/product-policy/css/service-specifications/sap-s4hana-cloud-service-use-descriptions-english-v1-2021.pdf

SAP S/4HANA for Self-Service Use: This FUE type is designed for those using the S/4HANA Cloud application through self-service portals, offering access to data viewing, report generation, and basic business processes. It caters to users who primarily consume information or interact with the application through predefined self-service capabilities. It is also used to display and approve use rights. 30 Self-Service Users make up one FUE. This category has the highest compliance risk but the lowest over-allocation risk. Customers should carry out internal audits or hire a third party like LDS to regularly check for risk with this allocation. The table below represents the S/4HANA cloud roles & responsibilities for Self-Service Use.

The table below represents the S/4HANA cloud roles & responsibilities for Self-Service Use.

SAP FUE Roles & Responsibilities for Self-Service Use
Available to Promise (S/4 CLD)
Delivery Management (S/4 CLD)
Goods Movement (S/4 CLD)
Maintenance Execution (S/4 CLD)
Material Requirements Planning (S/4 CLD)
Production Control (S/4 CLD)
Self-Service Requisitioning (S/4 CLD)
Time Sheet (S/4 CLD)
Transportation Management (S/4 CLD)
Warehouse Management (S/4 CLD)
Maintenance Demand Processing (S/4 CLD)

Source: https://assets.cdn.sap.com/agreements/product-policy/css/service-specifications/sap-s4hana-cloud-service-use-descriptions-english-v1-2021.pdf

How to Calculate SAP FUEs (Full Usage Equivalents)?

The calculation of SAP FUE uses a weights mechanism with specific ratios assigned to each FUE type. These ratios provide a standardized approach to determine the number of FUEs required for licensing:

1 FUE- 0.5 SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Developer Access

1 FUE = 1 SAP S/4HANA for Advanced Use

1 FUE = 5 SAP S/4HANA for Core Use

1 FUE = 30 SAP S/4HANA for Self-Service Use

Here is an example of the SAP FUEs calculation:

For example, if an organization has 100 users who require advanced use, it will need 100 FUEs. However, if the organization has 100 users who require core use, it will need 20 FUEs (100 users/5 users per core FUE).


Types of SAP FUEs	Number of Users	FUEs	Rate
S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Advanced Use	100	100	1:1
S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Core use	50	10	1:5
S/4HANA Enterprise Management for Self-Service Use	30	1	1:30

Total number of users = 180

Total FUEs required = 111

Minimum Requirements and Applicable Products

SAP imposes minimum purchase requirements on FUEs. These requirements vary depending on the specific product and licensing agreement. Organizations should review their agreements to determine the minimum FUE count applicable to their S/4HANA Cloud products.

The table below gives a clear indication of the minimum purchase value for the SAP S/4HANA Cloud products

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Products	Minimum Purchase Values
RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud	35 FUEs
RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud + Experience Management	500 FUEs
RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, the private edition	40 FUEs
SAP ERP Private Cloud	40 FUEs

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using SAP FUE:

Advantages:

Adaptability in Reallocation Minimizes Shelfware: SAP FUE facilitates the reallocation of licenses throughout the contract period, empowering businesses to maximize their license use, consequently minimizing shelfware.

Uniform User Access Measurement: SAP FUE introduces a uniform strategy to quantify user access, eliminating the need for tracking individual user categories.

Disadvantages:

Constraints on User Reduction: One of the downsides of SAP FUE is its inability to lower the user count beneath the minimum purchase required for the contract period, particularly during economic downturns where a company may need to decrease the number of users. As such, organizations must prudently plan and project usage and negotiate appropriate contract terms.

Increased Risk of Non-compliance: This introduces an extra layer of complexity in the calculation for end users and SAP administrators who generally are not experts in license counting. The pre-defined FUE types might not align perfectly with certain users' specific access needs. Users may mistakenly believe certain user populations fall under lower use rights and count them as such, only to discover in an audit that they need full user rights.

Possible Over assignment due to This "Novel" Weightage System: Many SAP end-user administrators have a mindset centered around users, not weightages. Moreover, since this system is relatively new, many are unaware of its existence. As a result, we've observed customers struggling to understand the concept of differing weightages and simplifying it to a one-to-one correspondence of one FUE to one user. This misinterpretation leads to an unnecessary overallocation of licenses.

In conclusion, understanding and managing SAP Full Use Equivalents (FUE) can significantly enhance an organization's ability to utilize SAP S/4HANA Cloud applications effectively. By identifying the distinct types of FUEs, determining user needs, and calculating the appropriate licensing requirements, businesses can ensure that they have the precise access levels they need. Nevertheless, SAP FUE does present certain challenges, including risks of non-compliance and overallocation due to the misunderstanding of its weightage system. Therefore, it's crucial to proceed with an informed and strategic approach. By partnering with Licensing Data Solutions, organizations can navigate these complexities with ease, achieve optimal SAP licensing, reduce costs, and maintain compliance. Most importantly, they can maximize the value derived from their S/4HANA Cloud investments. For any assistance in this regard, feel free to reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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