{"id":7634,"date":"2026-04-15T12:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/glossary\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T15:00:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T13:00:39","slug":"glossary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/glossary\/","title":{"rendered":"Glossary"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"7634\" class=\"elementor elementor-7634 elementor-2829\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2bbb423 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2bbb423\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c290e01 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c290e01\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-87a7cd6 elementor-widget__width-inherit text-extrabold  elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"87a7cd6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Glossary.<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d68453 elementor-widget__width-inherit text-light elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9d68453\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Key terms explained.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b1439e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3b1439e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The glossary provides an overview of key technical terms and concepts relating to SAP, processes and system landscapes, and helps you to better understand the content and connections on this page.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-204db99 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"204db99\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"614\" height=\"622\" src=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/glossar.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7635\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/glossar.png 614w, https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/glossar-296x300.png 296w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b120c06 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b120c06\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-97f29a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"97f29a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"glossar\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><div class=\"glossar-wrap\">\n  <nav class=\"glossar-alpha-nav\" id=\"glossar-alpha-nav\"><\/nav>\n  <div id=\"glossar-container\"><\/div>\n  \n\n\n<div id=\"wpv-view-layout-2860\" class=\"js-wpv-view-layout js-wpv-layout-responsive js-wpv-view-layout-2860\" data-viewnumber=\"2860\" 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data-permalink=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7634?wpv_view_count=2860\">\n\n\t\n\t\n     \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Add-on solutions\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;Add-ons are extensions written for a specific piece of software but which are not part of the product by default. Add-ons extend the usability of the software with further functions, but they cannot be used on their own without the main application.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"ALE technology\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Application Link Enabling&lt;\/strong&gt; (ALE) is a middleware technology used in SAP systems, more specifically in ABAP systems such as SAP R\/3 and its successors. A distribution model defines which data is to be sent from which sender system to which receiver system using which message type. Through their structure, message types specify which data segments can be transferred with them.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Message types can be extended, reduced or created individually. By using filters, field conversions (customising) or custom program modules (user exits) in ALE processing, you can influence the volume and content of the data written into the IDoc (Intermediate Document) of a message type.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"BDF Collaboration Center (BDF BCC)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;The&lt;strong&gt; BDF Collaboration Center (BDF BCC) &lt;\/strong&gt;is a web-based collaboration platform for internal (behind the firewall) and external recipients, used to exchange documents and information on the basis of an SAP ERP system.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Bills of material\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;Bills of materials provide an overview of all the components of a product and list them. They additionally contain data about the material such as quantity and hierarchy order. Besides materials, bills of materials may also contain documents and equipment.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;They serve as an organisational aid, since they give an overview of all the individual parts of a product needed for manufacturing. Bills of materials can be designed according to production or design requirements.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Brownfield approach (SAP S\/4HANA Brownfield approach)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;When switching to S\/4HANA, a company must decide which migration strategy to pursue.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;With the brownfield approach, the old ERP system is migrated into the new S\/4HANA system without functional change. This is a 1:1 transformation of the business processes. The switch to the new S\/4HANA database tables happens automatically and requires no further data migration activities.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;One advantage of this approach is that the old processes can continue to be used unchanged and new S\/4HANA functionalities can be activated step by step.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;However, the possibilities and opportunities offered by an SAP S\/4HANA greenfield approach, with a completely new design and the associated data cleansing, go unused. There is even a risk that the IT efficiency of the processes may actually decline after switching to S\/4HANA, because the new system&#8217;s requirements for data modelling are not met 100 percent.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Cash Visibility\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;Cash Visibility is a customer service designed to provide greater insight into the finance department and an optimal overview of current liquidity buffers and liquidity requirements.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;In the short term, a confluence of one or more of these factors can place a strain on working capital and require higher liquidity buffers to cushion the impact. Given the worsening liquidity situation, customers and suppliers, particularly strategic ones or those with weaker financing capacities, may also seek to renegotiate contract terms.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;This reinforces the need for corporate treasury to focus on working capital. Achieving a revenue target under these circumstances can lead to longer credit terms and increased credit risks for customers and suppliers.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;It is also very important that Cash Visibility pursues the goal of ensuring the ability to pay. Beyond the challenges in the physical value chain, uncertainties in the financial value chain also have an impact on financing.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Checksum verification\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;In a checksum verification, the hash value is determined using an algorithm and this value is stored. If the content of the file is changed or manipulated, the hash value changes. Differences can therefore be detected.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Clearing obligation\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;\u201e&lt;em&gt;Clearing&lt;\/em&gt;\u201c is a collective term in business that stands for various netting and offsetting procedures between economic actors.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Clearing procedures arise wherever many payment transactions take place. This is particularly the case within groups of companies and in the banking sector.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The clearing obligation applies to trading participants from the financial sector (\u201efinancial counterparties\u201c) who are subject to financial supervision in the European Union.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;This particularly includes credit institutions, insurance companies, reinsurance companies, securities traders, investment funds, pension funds and alternative investment funds in accordance with the AIFM Directive.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Non-financial counterparties are covered by the clearing obligation if they use derivatives (e.g. shares, bonds, etc.) on a larger scale that do not serve to hedge the economic risks of their business activities, and provided that defined clearing thresholds are exceeded.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Colourfield approach\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;The BDF EXPERTS Colouredfield approach combines the best of the Greenfield and Brownfield approaches.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;First, processes are optimised on the old system with a view to the new possibilities under SAP S\/4HANA. By building on the existing processes, process knowledge is not lost but continues to be used. Thanks to the step-by-step optimisation, you feel the first successes, such as higher process efficiency or lower time expenditure, while the project is still running. The technical data migration then takes place flexibly at any time, once all your processes have been optimised.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Configure to Order (CTO)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Configure to Order (CTO)&lt;\/strong&gt; is a technical term from made-to-order production, which falls under logistics. The customer can configure and order a product, a machine or a computer to their own wishes by choosing from predefined elements.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Example:&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Probably the best-known example of this kind is ordering a notebook or PC through an online provider: within and during the ordering process, you can select the capacity of the hard drive, the memory, the processor, software and other details.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Cost component Structure\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;The cost component structure determines how the results of the material costing are updated. The cost component structure groups the costs for each material by cost element (e.g. material costs, in-house activities, external activities and overheads).&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Data Warehouse\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;A data warehouse is a central database system used for analyses.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Information is brought together from several heterogeneous data sources, analysed and centralised.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Drill-Down\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;Drill-down describes a process of data presentation. Data is displayed step by step in ever greater precision and detail.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"EBICS channel\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;The &lt;strong&gt;Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard&lt;\/strong&gt; (&lt;strong&gt;EBICS&lt;\/strong&gt; for short) refers to a new, multi-bank-capable standard for transmitting payment transaction data over the internet. After a transition period, EBICS replaces the previous standard BCS-FTAM, for which there is no internet protocol.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;All data is embedded in an XML container and sent via HTTP with TLS encryption to guarantee secure transmission. The data is transmitted block by block and each block is secured with an electronic signature. In the event of transmission errors, a recovery function allows the transfer to be resumed from the last successfully transmitted block.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"End-to-end processes\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;End-to-end processes are processes made up of all the sub-processes in the value chain.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;To meet specific customer needs, horizontally seamless views of the processes are considered.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The process extends from the customer requirement through to the delivery of the service.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Engineer to Order (ETO)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Engineer to Order (ETO)&lt;\/strong&gt;, or Design to Order (DTO), is an approach in production in which the individual parts are specially designed and manufactured for each customer order. Even if the end product contains standard parts, the product requires its own production sequence with a specific bill of material. This approach is typical in the construction sector, in the building of large plants and in the classic manufacturing of one-off items.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Equipment\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;An SAP equipment represents a physical object that is to be maintained independently. Different items can be managed as equipment.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Examples of equipment: technical systems, transport aids, measuring instruments, PC systems, machine spare parts, etc.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Each piece of equipment is defined and managed in its own master record in the &#8220;Plant Maintenance (PM)&#8221; component.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Exposure risk management\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;In banking, &lt;strong&gt;exposure&lt;\/strong&gt; is an anglicism for open risk positions of financial instruments and underlyings within the business volume.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The term exposure was first established among non-banks to refer to open foreign-currency positions.&lt;sup id=&quot;cite_ref-1&quot; class=&quot;reference&quot;&gt;&lt;\/sup&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Within a company&#8217;s financial and liquidity planning, exposure should generally be determined as an open daily position per currency.&lt;sup id=&quot;cite_ref-2&quot; class=&quot;reference&quot;&gt;&lt;\/sup&gt; To determine the exposure, all cash flows expected up to the planning horizon must be forecast.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"FAT in-house functional test\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) means commissioning individual components or whole machines within your own production facility, before installation on site.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Filesharing services\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;File sharing&lt;\/strong&gt; is the direct transfer of files between users of the internet (usually) using a file-sharing network (this offering is also referred to as a file-sharing service). The files are normally located on the computers of the individual participants or on servers, from which they are distributed to interested users.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Greenfield approach (SAP S\/4HANA)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;When switching to S\/4HANA, a company must decide which migration strategy to pursue.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The Greenfield approach is a brand-new implementation. The ERP system is rethought entirely from an S\/4HANA perspective. This means that all of the company&#8217;s processes are newly defined and implemented.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;One advantage: it can be designed and planned from the ground up.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;This is unaffected by historical processes and can be planned without impairing current business processes during the project. However, the data from the old system has to be transformed into the new system at considerable effort.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Inhouse Banking\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;In-house banking is responsible for providing banking services for internal use by non-banks, particularly in the financial management of multinational groups. As no banking transactions are carried out to meet third-party requirements, the executing company is not subject to the German Banking Act.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;In-house banking comprises: cash management systems, portfolio management including the management of financial investments and of transactions on the capital and money markets.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;As well as the administration and settlement of intercompany payments and external (non-group) payments.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The development of financing instruments such as Euronote facilities and floating rate notes has done much to reinforce the importance of in-house banking. In-house banking is often run beyond internal requirements in order to generate additional income. When institutionally established as a separate entity, corporate banks (corporate banking) emerge.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Integrated Product and Process Engineering (iPPE)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;Integrated product and process engineering offers the ability to collect all product lifecycle data in an integrated model, specifically for variant-rich products.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Even in the early phases of the product creation process, data can be documented with integrated product and process engineering and later reused and extended.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Because integrated product and process engineering enables the master data for the bill of materials, the routing and the line design to be maintained in a single model, a complete production model can be mapped. It is particularly suited to series production, but also to ETO (Engineer to Order) and CTO (Configure to Order) processes.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Intercompany Payments\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;Intercompany payments record financial transactions between different legal entities within the same parent company.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Intrastat declaration\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;a reporting obligation prescribed in all EU member states for collecting statistics on intra-community movements of goods involving \u201ecommunity goods\u201c.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The Intrastat declarations are used by the Federal Statistical Office to statistically record the actual movement of community goods between member states of the European Community (dispatches and arrivals).&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"iPPE node\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;An iPPE node is a node within the iPPE. It represents general components or functions of a product. Alongside the variant, the alternative and the relationship, the node is one of the main building blocks of integrated Product and Process Engineering. These nodes can be typed in different ways. Through this typing, various aspects and attributes of the iPPE nodes are controlled.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Make to Order (MTO)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Make to Order (MTO)&lt;\/strong&gt;, often also called Build to Order (BTO), stands for classic made-to-order production. In other words: goods are produced as soon as a specific customer order is in place.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;This type of order usually involves production to individual customer specifications, where the production department cannot plan before the order is placed, the configuration is defined or the quantity is announced.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;MTO therefore describes an approach in which frequently used materials and components are indeed kept in stock, but processing into higher-value goods only takes place once a customer has placed an order.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Make to Stock (MTS)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Make-to-Stock&lt;\/strong&gt; means that companies produce goods on the basis of plans or forecasts, even though there is no specific customer order.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;This works best with standardised mass-produced goods that are sold continuously in large quantities to many or large customers. Most consumer goods are manufactured this way.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Example:&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;A confectionery manufacturer produces chocolate to stock. When a supermarket chain places an order with the manufacturer, it can be supplied within a short time. The counterpart would be Make-to-Order.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Material master\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;The material master holds information on every good or product that is sold, purchased or manufactured in the company. Each material has its own material master number so that it can always be identified. Beyond that, a wide range of data on material type, size, weight, etc. is stored in the material master. &lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The material master serves as a central place for storing and retrieving all of a material&#8217;s data.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Middleware\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Middleware&lt;\/strong&gt;&lt;\/em&gt; (from the English, intermediary application or services layer) refers in computer science to application-neutral programs that mediate between applications in such a way that the complexity of these applications and their infrastructure is hidden.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Middleware\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Middleware&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;\/em&gt;(from English, &lt;em&gt;intermediate application&lt;\/em&gt; or &lt;em&gt;services layer&lt;\/em&gt;) refers in computer science to application-neutral programs that mediate between applications in such a way that the complexity of these applications and their infrastructure is hidden.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Multi-Level BOM &#8211; multi-level bill of materials\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;A &lt;strong&gt;bill of materials&lt;\/strong&gt; (also BOM) is a list of the individual parts or raw materials and their quantities required to manufacture, assemble or repair a product.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;A bill of materials provides a compact, inventory-oriented representation of the requirements for a finished product.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;They are often found in enterprise software such as ERP or MRP systems and are used to automate repetitive tasks.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Components or parts of the finished product can also have bills of materials. This leads to multi-level bills of materials.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Net Debt Report\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;Net debt (&lt;em&gt;Engl&lt;\/em&gt;.: &lt;strong&gt;Net Debt&lt;\/strong&gt;) is a financial liquidity metric used to measure a company&#8217;s ability to meet its obligations by comparing its total debt with its liquid assets. This calculation therefore shows how much debt a company has in relation to its liquid assets.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"On Premises\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;On-premises refers to the use of server-based computer programs. &lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Order to Cash (OTC)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;Order to Cash refers to the process in a company from the placing of an order through to receipt of payment. This process includes numerous sub-processes such as order intake, availability checking, the entry and approval of orders, order fulfilment and invoicing, goods issue and the monitoring of incoming payments.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Product structure\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;A product structure is a hierarchical arrangement of the individual objects of a product or a product group. In SAP, this makes complex products clear and easy to manage. In addition, variant-rich product structures can be created flexibly without having to maintain material masters.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"SAP Customer Service (SC)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;SAP CS stands for Customer Service, an SAP ERP tool that provides basic functions for handling customer-specific tasks and is regarded as an extension of the SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) module. The CS module offers the ability to resolve customer issues quickly and to deliver highly personalised customer service with improved customer satisfaction.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The SAP CS module is a collection of tools for improving customer service. SAP CS is a user-friendly application for creating payments for customers and managing other details relating to customer orders.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"SAP Plant Maintenance (PM)\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;SAP PM is a comprehensive maintenance module. It covers inspection, servicing and repair. It also enables integration into other modules such as materials management, production, sales, etc.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;SAP PM has since been renamed SAP EAM (Enterprise Asset Management).&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"SAP S\/4HANA explained simply\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;SAP S\/4HANA is an integrated ERP system. It is the successor to SAP&#8217;s previous core product, R\/3. The \u201eS\u201c stands for &lt;strong&gt;simple usability&lt;\/strong&gt; and the simplified data model. The 4 stands for the &lt;strong&gt;fourth product generation&lt;\/strong&gt;. HANA stands for the underlying &lt;strong&gt;in-memory database&lt;\/strong&gt;, which makes it possible to process large volumes of data in real time. SAP S\/4HANA helps to avoid data redundancies and enables faster and better decision-making.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;You can choose between cloud or on-premise as the operating mode. For the implementation of S\/4HANA, SAP distinguishes between two approaches. The system can be implemented completely from scratch (Greenfield approach) or the existing SAP system can be migrated technically (Brownfield approach). &lt;strong&gt;BDF EXPERTS&lt;\/strong&gt; has developed a further approach: the Colouredfield approach. It combines the &lt;strong&gt;best&lt;\/strong&gt; of both approaches.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n      <div class=\"glossar-item-raw\" \n           data-title=\"Workaround\" \n           data-letter=\"\" \n           data-text=\"&lt;p&gt;A &lt;strong&gt;workaround&lt;\/strong&gt; (a way of working around something) is a means of avoiding a known faulty behaviour in a technical system.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;It is a contingency or alternative plan that does not fix the actual problem, but instead circumvents its symptoms at additional effort. A workaround therefore serves as an interim solution to limit the scope of the risk.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\">\n      <\/div>\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0bb7bee e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0bb7bee\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f1a7989 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"f1a7989\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9fe7ea9 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"9fe7ea9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f051ce7 elementor-widget__width-auto text-extrabold text-uppercase elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f051ce7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">TECHNOLOGY BASE<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2385793 text-extrabold elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2385793\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Future-proof<br>\nprocesses on S\/4HANA.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-538e389 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"538e389\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Our solutions are designed for SAP S\/4HANA and are complemented by our own products that make processes stable and scalable directly in the system.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3efaeea text-medium elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"3efaeea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/produkte\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Our products<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbc6e1d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cbc6e1d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cedde1a elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"cedde1a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"547\" height=\"813\" src=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/s4-hana.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7636\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/s4-hana.png 547w, https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/s4-hana-202x300.png 202w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 547px) 100vw, 547px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-df3e908 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"df3e908\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aac7f0f elementor-widget__width-initial text-bold text-uppercase elementor-widget-mobile__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"aac7f0f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Our partners <br>and clients<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aa3c2d4 elementor-widget__width-initial partner-carousel elementor-widget-mobile__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-image-carousel\" data-id=\"aa3c2d4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;slides_to_show&quot;:&quot;6&quot;,&quot;slides_to_scroll&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;navigation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;image_spacing_custom&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:40,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;slides_to_show_tablet&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;slides_to_show_mobile&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;pause_on_hover&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;pause_on_interaction&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;autoplay_speed&quot;:5000,&quot;speed&quot;:500,&quot;image_spacing_custom_laptop&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;image_spacing_custom_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;image_spacing_custom_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"image-carousel.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-carousel-wrapper swiper\" role=\"region\" aria-roledescription=\"carousel\" aria-label=\"Image Carousel\" dir=\"ltr\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-carousel swiper-wrapper\" aria-live=\"off\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"1 of 6\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Logo-HILTI.png\" alt=\"Logo HILTI\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"2 of 6\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Schuco.png\" alt=\"Sch\u00fcco\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"3 of 6\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CGN-Airport.png\" alt=\"CGN Airport\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"4 of 6\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SAP.png\" alt=\"SAP\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"5 of 6\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MAN.png\" alt=\"MAN\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"6 of 6\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/KRUPP.png\" alt=\"KRUPP\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The BDF EXPERTS Glossary explains key terms from SAP, Digital Supply Chain, Corporate Finance, Treasury and process management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7634","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7634"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7637,"href":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7634\/revisions\/7637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bdfexperts.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}