SAP Asset Manager or PM RUN: maintenance mobility on top of SAP PM
SAP Asset Manager is SAP's standard mobile app on SAP BTP. PM RUN takes the SAP PM order to technicians and planners, implemented and supported by PM RUN in Brazil, without relying on Mobile Services or MDK.
What SAP Asset Manager is and where PM RUN fits
SAP Asset Manager, renamed SAP Service and Asset Manager from release 2205 onward, is SAP's mobile app for maintenance, field service, inventory and safety. It runs on SAP BTP Mobile Services, is customized with the Mobile Development Kit and reads and writes to SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA through OData services. PM RUN is an execution and planning layer on top of SAP PM: an offline field app, a planning portal and SAP integration through SOAMANAGER, PI, CPI, RFC or integration platforms. Both keep SAP as the system of record.
When SAP Asset Manager is the natural choice
SAM is the consistent path for companies that want SAP's standard app, evolved and supported by SAP itself, and already use SAP BTP as their platform. It brings maintenance technician, field service technician, inventory clerk, safety technician, warehouse and field logistics personas into one app, runs on iOS, Android and Windows and supports 32 languages, including Portuguese and Spanish.
Companies that need several of these personas, have BTP and MDK skills in house and prefer to keep mobility on the SAP platform tend to find the best fit in SAM. For SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, SAP points to a different app, SAP Maintenance Assistant.
What a SAM project requires from the team
SAP's quick start guide splits the installation among an IT administrator, an SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA administrator, a security expert, an SAP BTP administrator, an MDK developer and a business expert. The project covers SAP BTP global account and subaccounts, Cloud Connector with principal propagation, the mobile add-on or MAIF with OData services on SAP Gateway, MDK metadata extensions and the offline data scope for each persona.
After go-live, each new release requires checking back-end compatibility, applying notes, activating the BC set, replicating customizations and merging metadata. In Brazil, professionals with SAM projects in production are a limited group, and there is no public statistic on their number. Companies that choose SAM should verify partner experience with evidence and plan ongoing support so they do not depend on a few people.
SAP Service and Asset Manager and PM RUN side by side
| Criterion | SAP Service and Asset Manager | PM RUN |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | SAP BTP Mobile Services, on Cloud Foundry | PM RUN environment in a data center in Brazil, with its own app and portal |
| Customization | Mobile Development Kit metadata | Product configuration and rules in the portal |
| SAP integration | OData through the mobile add-on or MAIF and Cloud Connector | SOAMANAGER, PI, CPI, RFC or integration platforms, with a dedicated SAP package |
| Back end | SAP ERP 6.0 EHP 7 or 8 and SAP S/4HANA on-premise or Private Edition | SAP PM on ECC or SAP S/4HANA, with compatibility assessed per project |
| Offline | Mobile Services offline OData service | Android and iOS app that works offline and syncs on reconnection |
| Scope | Maintenance, service, inventory, safety, warehouse and logistics personas | Field order execution and maintenance planning |
| Implementation | Implementation partner or in-house team | Carried out by PM RUN itself |
| Support | SAP for the standard product and a partner for extensions | PM RUN helpdesk with evidence history |
What PM RUN brings to the field and to planners
In the app, technicians receive the order, confirm each operation, create notifications with cause, damage and object part catalogs, record measurement documents by scanning a QR code, request material reservations and attach images and PDFs through DMS. Safety forms and checklists support execution, and work continues without signal until the next synchronization.
In the portal, planners manage capacity, shifts, absences and the skills matrix, schedule the backlog on a Gantt chart and can ask Manu, PM RUN's AI, to suggest an allocation by skill, capacity and availability. The proposal goes through human approval before anything is written to SAP. PM RUN has more than 12,000 users; at Citrosuco, the evaluated plant reached 95% order confirmation, and at Rivelli the time spent on manual tasks dropped by 50%.
How to compare both options in the same project
- 1
Define the personas you need
List who will use the app: maintenance technician, planner, inventory clerk, safety or customer service. The number of personas weighs in favor of a multi-persona app.
- 2
Confirm the platform IT will maintain
Check whether the company already runs SAP BTP and has Mobile Services and MDK skills, or prefers a direct integration with SAP PM.
- 3
Ask for evidence of projects in Brazil
Request projects in production, release, back end, people involved and a customer reference from the support phase.
- 4
Test the plant's real orders
In the pilot, execute orders with several operations, materials and attachments, online and offline, and check the result in SAP.
Frequently asked questions
Does PM RUN replace SAP Asset Manager?
They are different solutions for the same mobility need. SAM is SAP's standard app on SAP BTP; PM RUN is an execution and planning layer on top of SAP PM, implemented and supported by PM RUN. In both cases, SAP remains the system of record.
Does PM RUN require SAP BTP Mobile Services or MDK?
No. PM RUN integrates with SAP PM through SOAMANAGER, PI, CPI, RFC or integration platforms, depending on the landscape, with a dedicated package imported into SAP.
Does SAP Asset Manager work with SAP ECC?
Yes, with SAP ERP 6.0 enhancement package 7 or 8 and the SAP Mobile Add-On for ERP. Each SAM release requires a minimum support package of the add-on, listed in the upgrade guide.
Does PM RUN work without a connection?
Yes. The Android and iOS app keeps order execution running offline and syncs with SAP when the connection returns. The pilot should test sending, conflicts and the return of confirmations.
Who implements and supports PM RUN?
PM RUN itself, part of Grupo ITSS. Implementation is remote by default, with on-site presence when acceptance testing requires it, and support runs through a helpdesk with evidence history.
Related content
See an SAP PM order executed on mobile and checked in SAP
The order leaves the planner's schedule, is executed in the app online and offline and returns to SAP PM with each operation confirmed.