SAP Fiori: the modern interface
Fiori is the modern face of SAP: clean web apps, grouped by role, that gradually replace the dense screens of the classic SAP GUI. You come in through one entry point, the launchpad, then you open the app you need. Here is what Fiori does, how to read a screen, and where to start to train for it.
What exactly is SAP Fiori?
SAP Fiori is SAP's user experience layer: the set of modern web apps that gradually replace the dense screens of the classic SAP GUI. Where the old world asked you to know transaction codes, Fiori starts from the opposite: one clear app per task, reached from a single entry point called the launchpad. You open your launchpad, you see tiles grouped by theme, you click, you work. The design is built to get to the point, on desktop as on mobile.
In practice, Fiori rests on three ideas. First the business role: what you see depends on who you are in the company, not on a giant menu to dig through. Then the app types: transactional to act, analytical to track a figure, fact sheet to read a full record. Finally the quiet technology that runs it all, SAPUI5 to draw the screens and OData to bring the data. Announced by SAP in 2013, Fiori became the default interface of S/4HANA from the suite's release in 2015. SAP now reports more than 400,000 customers worldwide (source: SAP): on S/4HANA, a large share of them work through Fiori.
SAP Fiori versus SAP GUI
The SAP GUI, the historical interface, is organised around transaction codes you had to know, like VA01 for a sales order or SE38 on the technical side. Fiori flips the logic: you no longer type a code, you open a tile built for your task and filtered by your role. The two coexist on the same system: Fiori covers the most frequent scenarios, the GUI stays for configuration or expert transactions.
- Fiori is SAP's interface layer: web apps by role, not screens by transaction.
- Everything goes through one entry point, the launchpad, where your apps sit as tiles.
- Three app types: transactional to act, analytical for a figure, fact sheet for a 360 view.
- On the user side, no coding needed: Fiori development is a separate technical job.
What SAP Fiori covers
Four building blocks, one idea: give you the right app, at the right time, for your role.
The launchpad
Entry pointThe single entry point of Fiori: a home page where your apps sit as tiles, organised into spaces and pages around your work.
With no role properly assigned, the launchpad stays empty: you only see the apps your role allows.
The app types
Transactional, analytical, fact sheetThree families of apps: transactional to act (create, change), analytical to track a key figure, fact sheet to read the full record of an object.
Mixing up an analytical app (a figure to read) with a transactional one (an action) wastes time.
Business roles
Business roleThe business role decides which apps and tiles you see. Two people on the same system do not get the same launchpad.
A role too broad drowns the user in useless apps; too narrow, it blocks their work.
The technical layer
SAPUI5, ODataUnderneath, two bricks run the apps: SAPUI5, the technology that draws the screens, and OData, the pipe that brings the data from SAP.
Thinking Fiori is just design: with no OData and no roles, no app works.
Reading an SAP Fiori screen
Rather than a cycle, Fiori is best understood by looking at a screen. Here is a typical launchpad, annotated from one to seven, to spot at a glance what you are looking at.
- 1 Enterprise search find an app or a piece of data in one word.
- 2 Notifications work comes to you, you do not go hunting for it.
- 3 Business role what you see depends on your role, no menus to dig through.
- 4 Spaces and pages how the launchpad is organised, your apps grouped by theme.
- 5 Transactional app create or change, what a transaction used to do.
- 6 Analytical app a key figure, an indicator, readable live.
- 7 Fact sheet the 360 view of an object and its links.
One entry point, apps grouped by role: that is the whole spirit of Fiori.
SAP Fiori, the interface for every module
Fiori is the front through which you use the other modules. The transactions you know become Fiori apps.
Purchasing and stock
Purchase orders, goods receipts and stock tracking become Fiori apps that replace the MM transactions.
Sales
Entering a sales order, tracking a delivery or issuing an invoice all happen in dedicated sales apps.
Warehouse
The warehouse operator scans and confirms tasks from Fiori apps designed for the floor, often on mobile.
Production
Tracking production orders runs through analytical apps that show the shop floor status live.
Fiori and the bricks around it
Fiori is an interface layer, not a business module like MM or SD. Here are the bricks often linked to it, and what each one really does.
| Brick | What it is | Its boundary with Fiori |
|---|---|---|
| SAP GUI | The classic SAP interface, organised by transactions and codes. | The GUI stays for screens not covered by Fiori; the two live side by side on the same system. |
| SAPUI5 | The web development technology used to build the apps. | SAPUI5 builds the apps; Fiori is the experience and the design rules delivered. |
| OData / Gateway | The protocol and service that expose SAP data to the web. | OData feeds the apps with data; Fiori displays it and makes it usable. |
| SAP BTP | SAP's cloud platform for extension and integration. | BTP hosts and extends Fiori apps outside the core; Fiori stays the experience layer. |
Is SAP Fiori right for you?
Fiori speaks to some profiles more than others. See which side sounds like you.
Fiori is a natural fit if
- You are a key user or business user and you want to be truly comfortable on S/4HANA.
- User experience, screen clarity and ergonomics speak to you.
- You want to grasp SAP's modern logic, by role and by app, not by transaction.
- You bridge business and IT and you want to speak the same language as the project teams.
Fiori will speak to you less if
- You are after pure app development: head toward ABAP and SAPUI5.
- You want a specific business module to master: look at MM, SD or EWM instead.
- Only infrastructure and cloud appeal to you: the BTP platform is a better entry point.
Three myths about SAP Fiori
What people often say about the interface, and what it really looks like once you are at the controls.
Fiori is just a new design.
People think Fiori is just a more modern skin on the same screens.
You need to code to use Fiori.
People assume a web interface needs technical skills.
Fiori completely replaces the SAP GUI.
People think the classic GUI vanished with S/4HANA.
It is a change of logic.
Fiori does not repaint the GUI: it changes the way you work. You no longer start from a transaction to know by heart, but from an app built for a precise task and filtered by your role. The same screen does not serve everything; each app does one thing, well.
On the user side, no code.
Using Fiori means clicking tiles and filling in apps, like a website. The code is for those who build the apps with SAPUI5: a separate technical job. For a key user or a functional consultant, the point is to understand the apps and the roles, not to program.
The two live side by side.
Fiori covers the most frequent scenarios, but many configuration or expert transactions still run in SAP GUI. Both worlds coexist on the same system, and Screen Personas can even dress a GUI screen in Fiori colours. The GUI has not vanished, it fades out gradually.
Where to start with SAP Fiori
Four steps, from meaning to practice. You do not need to know everything before you touch the screen.
- 1Understand the logic
Apps by role, launchpad, app types: get the vocabulary before the screens.
- 2Explore a launchpad
Spot the search, the tiles, the spaces and pages, and open a few apps to feel the navigation.
- 3Train, from free to paid
Start with free resources, then structure things with a track that makes you practise.
- 4Connect Fiori to your module
See how the transactions in your field, MM, SD or another, become concrete Fiori apps.
The SAP modules at a glance
SAP is split into functional modules. Pick the one that matches your background.
Logistics
Technical
- ABAP Development language Custom programs and tweaks
- BTP Business Technology Platform Cloud platform, integration, AI
- Fiori User experience Modern apps and screens
- Build SAP Build No-code, apps and automation
- Sec SAP Security Roles, authorisations, access
- Basis SAP Basis System, transports, monitoring
Production and maintenance
Module guide available Coming soon
Continue your SAP exploration
Fiori is the interface; the meaning comes from the modules it dresses. Here is where to go next.
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01
SAP MM: purchasing and stock
One of the most widespread modules, seen daily in Fiori apps.
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02
SAP SD: sales
The sales cycle, from order to invoice, on the interface side.
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03
SAP EWM: the warehouse
Where Fiori shines on the floor, often on mobile.
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04
SAP PP: production
Shop floor tracking and planning in analytical apps.
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05
SAP PM: maintenance
Equipment maintenance, tracked in Fiori apps on the floor.
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06
The SAP guide: the module map
The pillar that places Fiori among all SAP modules.
Careers and opportunities
As S/4HANA rolls out everywhere, knowing your way around Fiori becomes an expected reflex, on both the business and the consulting side. For a key user or a functional consultant, the point is not to code, but to understand how apps, roles and tiles fit together, and to guide users discovering the new interface.
On the business side, the key user comfortable with Fiori becomes the natural relay for the team: they know where to find the app, how to use it and what to flag to IT. On the consulting side, the functional consultant brings Fiori into every project: choosing the right business roles, activating the right apps, supporting the interface change. It is a cross-cutting skill, useful whatever your core module.
There is also a purely technical path: the Fiori developer, who builds apps with SAPUI5 and exposes data through OData. It is a job in its own right, closer to development than to the functional side. If that is the path that appeals to you, it runs through ABAP and the development platform, not through this hub.
For a career change, Fiori is not a module to learn on its own: it is the interface you will use whatever your field. If you are weighing the move, the career-change track gets you practising on modern SAP processes; and to aim for the consultant role, see the SAP consultant training.
Frequently asked questions
What does Fiori mean in SAP?
Fiori is the name of SAP's modern user experience: a set of web apps, organised by role, reached from a single entry point called the launchpad. On S/4HANA, Fiori gradually replaces the dense screens of the classic SAP GUI with clear apps, each built for one task.
What is the difference between SAP Fiori and SAP GUI?
SAP GUI is the classic interface, organised by transactions and codes to know. Fiori starts from the opposite: one app per task, filtered by your role, with no code to memorise. The two live side by side on the same system: Fiori covers the most frequent scenarios, the GUI stays for the rest.
What are the Fiori app types?
There are three main families. The transactional app is for acting: creating or changing an object. The analytical app shows a key figure or an indicator live. The fact sheet presents the full record of an object and its links. Picking the right app means knowing whether your need is to act, to track a figure, or to look up a record.
Do you need to code to work with Fiori?
No, not to use it. On the user side, Fiori works like a website: you click tiles and fill in apps. Code is for those who build the apps with SAPUI5, a separate technical job. For a key user or a functional consultant, the key is to understand the apps and the roles.
Does Fiori completely replace SAP GUI?
Not completely. Fiori covers a large share of everyday scenarios, but many configuration or expert transactions still run in SAP GUI. Both worlds coexist on the same system, and Screen Personas can even dress a GUI screen in Fiori colours. The GUI fades out gradually rather than disappearing.
Does SAP Fiori work on ECC or only on S/4HANA?
Both, but not in the same way. Fiori appeared back in the ECC era and can be deployed there, added on top of the existing system. It is on S/4HANA that it makes full sense: the recent suite ships with Fiori as the default interface. If you train today, it is mostly Fiori on S/4HANA that you will meet in companies.
Is SAP Fiori useful for a career change?
Yes, but not as a module on its own. Fiori is the interface you will use whatever your SAP field, so being comfortable with it is a cross-cutting asset. For a career change, the best move is to learn a business module, MM, SD or another, practising directly in the modern Fiori apps.
Ready to train on SAP and Fiori?
The career-change track gets you practising on modern SAP processes, right inside the Fiori apps, from master data to the full cycle.