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SuccessFactors and Its Integration With SAP: Complete Guide

What is SAP SuccessFactors?

SAP SuccessFactors is a cloud-based SaaS HCM (Human Capital Management) solution that offers solutions and functions that facilitate the HR processes of businesses. It can be used to manage employee information, including records of attendance and training, as well as performance reviews. The tool also provides analytics reports to help you identify trends in productivity, employee satisfaction and other key metrics.

SuccessFactors, founded in 2001, was acquired by SAP in 2011. It consists of several modules, each designed to help a business in its particular area of concern: Talent, Learning & Development, Compensation & Benefits, Engagement, Health & Wellness, Performance & Goals Management and Recruiting.

SAP SuccessFactors is widely recognized as one of the top recruitment solutions in the industry. It vastly simplifies the management of numerous HR functions, including job compliance, employee performance, recruitment activities and educational events for organizations of all sizes spanning more than 60 industries. SAP SuccessFactors is integrated with other SAP products such as SAP ERP HCM and SAP Business One, enabling it to provide a unified view of all company employees across different lines of business.

What is Human Capital Management?

Human Capital Management is the scope of a series of applications related to human resources management. Human capital refers to the skills, knowledge and experience that individuals have that enable them to deliver value to an organization. These practices are mainly: workforce acquisition, workforce management, and workforce optimization.

What Functions do HCM Applications Provide?

  • Recruitment transactions
  • Interview Scheduling
  • Applicant Tracking
  • Candidate Applications and Job Posting
  • Performance Reporting
  • User, Role and Access Management
  • Timesheet Recording
  • Sourcing and Candidate Identification

Key Features of SAP SuccessFactors

SAP SuccessFactors enables you to manage your business' HR functions in the cloud. This cloud solution can be integrated into your SAP ERP system by using SAP PI/PO or SAP CPI. The main features provided by SAP SuccessFactors are:

  • Recruitment management and applicant tracking
  • Interview scheduling and job posting
  • Performance reporting and goal management
  • User, role and access management
  • Timesheet recording and sourcing

SAP SuccessFactors Integration

Our out-of-the-box SAP HCM plug-in for SuccessFactors enables you to link Recruitment Data, Employee Data, Organizational Data, Salary Data, Assessment Data and Qualifications Data with your organization's relevant business domains. Integrate the SuccessFactors Recruiting module with third-party career web sites and automate advertising for your organization's available positions. The plug-in works via SAP PI/PO and SAP CPI. For a closer look at how SAP CPI compares to SAP PI/PO, see our guide on SAP PO and SAP CPI.

Feel free to contact us for detailed information on our SAP SuccessFactors integration plug-in.

Why Integrate SuccessFactors with SAP ERP?

Businesses running SAP ERP for finance, logistics and operations often maintain separate HR data in on-premise SAP HCM. Integrating SAP SuccessFactors with SAP ERP eliminates data silos by synchronizing organizational structures, employee master data, payroll information and qualifications across both systems in real time. This bidirectional data flow reduces manual entry, minimizes inconsistencies, and gives HR managers a single source of truth for workforce decisions.

According to SAP’s official product documentation, SuccessFactors supports over 4,500 customers across more than 60 industries worldwide. The integration with SAP ERP systems is typically orchestrated through SAP Integration Suite (formerly SAP CPI) or SAP Process Orchestration (SAP PO), both of which MDP Group specializes in.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between SAP HCM and SAP SuccessFactors?

SAP HCM (Human Capital Management) is an on-premise HR module that has been part of the SAP ERP suite for decades. SAP SuccessFactors is the cloud-based successor, offering a modern, mobile-first interface and regular updates through a SaaS model. SAP is actively encouraging customers to migrate from on-premise SAP HCM to SuccessFactors, and new HR functionality is increasingly being developed exclusively for the cloud platform.

How is SAP SuccessFactors integrated with SAP ERP?

SAP SuccessFactors integration with SAP ERP is typically achieved through SAP Integration Suite (SAP CPI) using pre-built integration packages available on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). These packages cover common scenarios such as employee data replication, organizational unit synchronization, and cost center mapping. For organizations still on SAP PI/PO, middleware-based integration is also supported, though migration to SAP Integration Suite is recommended for long-term sustainability.

Can SAP SuccessFactors work without SAP ERP?

Yes. SAP SuccessFactors is a standalone cloud solution that can be deployed independently of SAP ERP. Many organizations use it solely as an HR platform without any SAP ERP backend. In this scenario, it can integrate with non-SAP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, or third-party payroll providers through standard APIs or middleware platforms.

References

SAP SuccessFactors — Official SAP Product Page
SAP SuccessFactors Integration Solution — MDP Group
SAP PO and SAP CPI — MDP Group


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