Abstract:

• The client that has a global presence, operating from various time zones, and using a common SAP system, will have this scenario of system time and company code/plant time difference
• This document explains how time zones affect various business scenarios (Finance, Supply Chain, and Batch Jobs).

Business Scenarios in Scope for Analysis:

• User Profile Time Zone
• Finance Month-End Processes & External Auditing
• Supply Chain (MRP, ATP, Stock Transfer) and Process Orders
• Batch jobs scheduling/Daylight saving time change

Example for Analysis:

• S/4 HANA System time is set to Japan Standard Time (JST). JST doesn’t follow daylight savings.
• U.S. and Mexico plants operate in various time zones
• Time difference: 14 to 17 hours behind JST

User Profile Time Zone

• User time zone is the link for connecting the User to the time zone.
• Document posting date calculation is based on the User Time Zone.
• If the user’s time zone is not maintained in the user profile (SU01D/SU3), then the system would take system time for posting date calculation.
• User time zone is for viewing timestamps (e.g., delivery document creation time, etc.)
• Recommendation:
• Match the user’s time zone to the plant time zone to which they are responsible.

Finance Month-End and Auditing Process

Company Code Time Zone

• When the financial document is posted, the Document Date (BLDAT) is the Original document date (E.g., Invoice Date), and the Posting Date (BUDAT) is calculated based on the user's time zone.​

• This ensures that period-end closings, FI reports, and legal compliance align with the company’s local time.
• Document creation date and time is System time (In this case, Japan time). This is standard SAP.
• No impact of JST System time on the finance month-end and external auditing processes.
• Example: Company Code Time Zone (EST)

• A user in Denver, USA (MST) (UTC-7) posts an FI document on 10/31/2025 5:00 PM (MST).
• SAP automatically converts the time to 7:00 PM EST in finance documents, which are stored for the Company Code.
• The posting date and accounting period follow EST business day, not the server time zone.

• Recommendation:
• Maintain the correct time zone for each company code

Supply Chain and Process Order Processes

Plant Time Zone

• The Plant time zone affects logistics and production processes, where accurate timestamps are essential for:
  • Material movements
  • Production order scheduling
  • MRP (Material Requirements Planning)
  • Delivery scheduling
  • Batch time stamps and shelf-life calculation
• When a goods movement or production order confirmation occurs, the system records the material movement time based on the plant’s time zone.
• When MRP or ATP runs, SAP uses the plant’s time zone to:
  • Calculate requirement dates
  • Plan production start/finish times
  • Determine availability times for goods issues and receipts

MRP

• The MRP run is executed at 10:00 AM JST from the SAP system server in Japan.
• What Happens?
• For Plant 1230 (New York), it is 9:00 PM local time (EST) after working hours, the MRP batch job gets executed
• Impact
• Planned Orders and Scheduling
• MRP schedules start and finish times according to each plant’s local time zone.

• Procurement Proposal Timing

• Purchase requisitions are created based on local date/time, ensuring that planned receipts fall within business hours.

ATP

• The Plant time zone from which the goods will be issued.
• The transportation lead time between the plant and the customer location.

Stock Transfer Between Plants

         When MRP runs in the supplying plant

• It generates a planned order or stock transfer reservation that takes the supplying plant’s local time.
• Production or picking activities in the supplying plant are aligned to working hours in that time zone.

Batch Job Scheduling/Daylight Saving

• Batch jobs can be scheduled in any time zone in SAP (In this case, EST). You can specify a time zone other than the system time when scheduling a batch job.
• During batch job execution, application logic (like MRP, ATP, or posting) can still use plant/company code time zones for business transaction processing.

                Daylight Saving Time Changes:

• Japan does not use DST, while the U.S. does. Twice a year, the time difference shifts by 1 hour.
• If the batch jobs are scheduled using US time zones (e.g. EST), the system will automatically consider the daylight savings changes.
• Recommendation:
  • Identify all the batch jobs and schedule them in the correct time zones.

Conclusion:

Considering Finance, Supply Chain, Production, and Batch Job processes, each time zone setup is significant for the respective business processes, and a decision needs to be made based on time zone.