One of the main goals for implementing an enterprise system is to improve efficiency by removing major obstacles to sharing and accessing information across functional areas. SAP ERP is one of the most complex Enterprise Systems and focuses on operations that are performed within an organization.
In this presentation, we will explore how SharePoint can increase the visibility of critical, accurate, and real-time line-of-business data such as Master data in SAP. Learn some of the latest trends and technologies in the Microsoft-SAP ecosystem. Discover some of the challenges associated with creating and managing SAP Master data and how we can use SharePoint to solve these problems.
4. SAP data on
Microsoft Windows,
to run your
business better,
anytime, anywhere
Fast, efficient
SAP access
using familiar
Microsoft tools
Rapid, flexible, and
cost-effective
real-time SAP in the
Microsoft Azure cloud
Extend SAP
applications and
workloads to
Office 2013, and
Office 365 to enable
collaboration
5. SAP and Microsoft Focus on Co-Innovation
Over 20 years of partnership
75% of Enterprise customers
100% of global Sls
50% of global ISVs
60% of WW transactions are done with SAP
Biggest range of solutions
7. TOP SAP CUSTOMER CHALLENGES
High Total Cost Of
Ownership
Ease of Integration Low Employee Productivity
Lack of Agility and
Enterprise Productivity
Inconsistent and
Disparate Data
8. The average $1 billion company maintains
48 disparate financial systems and uses 2.7 ERP systems
THE CHALLENGE OF SILOED DATA
Enterprise
Resource
Planning
(ERP)
Retail
Management
Systems
Supply Chain
Management
(SCM)
Electronic
Medical
Records
(EMR)
Customer
Relationship
Management
(CRM)
Financial-
Services
Systems
Human
Resources
Information
Systems
Product
Lifecycle
Management
(PLM)
10. 7:30 am
Check emails
on Windows
Phone 8
8:30 am
Schedule CRM
appointment via
Outlook 2013
10:00 am
Review Sales
pipeline via
mobile device
11:30 am
Update Budget
via Excel 2013
12:00 pm
Approve team member’s
leave request workflow
using mobile device
12:30 pm
Collaborate with business
partners using Yammer
3:00 pm
Create CRM Lead using
SharePoint Online or
mobile device
5:30 pm
Record timesheet in SAP
via Outlook 2013 Web
(part of Office 365)
WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT
12. Human Resources
Complex UI or
Inflexible Business
Process.
Inefficient cross-
company business
processes (email,
phone, mail, etc.)?
Unsatisfactory
return on
investment (ROI)
and high IT total
cost of ownership
(TCO)?
Sales
IT
Business-critical
data stuck in
siloed systems
and end-users
with no direct
access?
Uninformed,
disjointed
business
decisions
Extend the value of your LOB systems
Connect SharePoint to
LOB/backend systems
Surface LOB data via SharePoint
Deliver business-critical
solutions
USE SHAREPOINT TO BECOME A CONNECTED ORGANIZATION
13. “From systems of record to systems of engagement”
USE SHAREPOINT TO BECOME A CONNECTED ORGANIZATION
14. Avoid costly business
interruptions.
Quality
Don’t delay critical
business activities.
Speed
Make
continuous
improvements.
Flexibility
Data Collection
Data Validation
Data Movement
Winshuttle
ACCELERATE AND IMPROVE MDM
15. DEPLOY GATEWAY FOR MICROSOFT
Empower Business Users
Simplified business processes;
seamless SAP integration with
Microsoft technologies; increased
business user productivity
Increase Developer Productivity
Leverage out-of-the-box
enterprise capabilities like SSO,
security logging and supportability
Optimize IT Performance
Apps for Office in cloud model,
non-disruptive to SAP Core
A flexible interoperability framework that enables IT to securely integrate SAP and Microsoft
technologies in a non-disruptive, scalable, and sustainable manner.
18. SharePoint/Office solutions provide:
Simplified UI/Improved Usability
Improved SAP Data Quality
Simplified SAP Business Process, Standardization, Governance and Tracking
ALLOW SIMPLIFIED ACCESS TO DATA
19. AUTOMATE WORKFLOW
Workflow solutions provide:
SharePoint-based solution that automates interactions among workflow
participants.
Full History and Audit Trail.
Extensive Administrative Capabilities
Powerful Assignment Reporting
20. SAP Lead-to-Cash Simplified solution encompasses the following scenarios:
Customer, Quotation, and Order Management.
SAP Business Workflow.
Inventory and Invoice Management
Accounts Receivables
IMPLEMENT FUNCTION- SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS
Sales
21. SAP HR Self-Service Simplified solution encompasses the following scenarios:
Employee Self Service (ESS).
Manager Self Service (MSS).
HR Generalist/Business Partner Portal
IMPLEMENT FUNCTION- SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS
HR
24. Challenge Solution Results
SAP & MASTER DATA SOLUTION
1
Long turnaround to
create similar (Like
Item) Material
2
Lack of audit trail for
material create
requests
3
Minor adjustments to
product characteristics
prompted the creation
of new material
master records
4
Master data
processes were
cumbersome and
time-consuming,
requiring multiple
steps on multiple
screens across
multiple departments
5
A single product
creation request
(PCR) took an
average of 28 days to
complete, resulting in
lost opportunities and
lost sales
25. Solution ResultsChallenge
Used complex transactions flow to deliver solution
Used transactions and queries to access existing material data
in SAP
Used SharePoint Lists for slowly changing Material attributes
Created collapsible sections in the form for better user
experience and data entry flow
Used advanced processing techniques such as looping
transactions
Analyze and improve the product create and change request process, focusing on speed, visibility and accuracy.
Target a 10 business day turn around for product creation and expedited changes.
SAP & MASTER DATA SOLUTION
26. Solution ResultsChallenge
Shortened the material master item setup from 28 days to two days
Enabled significant revenue gains by significantly reducing the time to
create new packaging products.
Realized productivity improvements amounting to 25,760 hours per
year, or $1.3 million in productivity savings costs
SAP & MASTER DATA SOLUTION
27. Vendor Master Key Data and Address
Data with Validation and Lookups.
Control Data, Accounting Data, and
Payment Transactions Data.
Purchasing Data, Bank Data, Contacts.
Live Lookups from SAP to simplify data
entry.
Workflow to allow collaboration between
various stakeholders.
VENDOR MASTER SOLUTION
28. CUSTOMER/SUPPLIER EXTRANET
Information was difficult to find
New customer/supplier setup was
time consuming
Inconsistent branding
Multiple logins for different portals
Orders require real-time inventory
and customer specific pricing
Existing Platform was difficult to
customize
Customers and vendors were
receiving information from
several sources:
Email
Public Sites
SAP Enterprise Portal
Order Entry Portal
Solution ResultsChallenge
29. CUSTOMER/SUPPLIER EXTRANET
A Single SharePoint 2013 Portal
Landing page for customers and vendors, with access to:
Online product catalog
User specific information (reports, order history, contacts) direct from SAP
User scoped content search
Single sign-on across all platforms
New user self-registration
Solution ResultsChallenge
30. CUSTOMER/SUPPLIER EXTRANET
Single Sign-on into all
systems/portals
Integrated with Internal Active
Directory, External Active
Directory, and SAP
Solution ResultsChallenge
32. CUSTOMER/SUPPLIER EXTRANET
Customer Specific News
Customer Specific
Sales/Customer Service Reps
Customer Specific Specials
Regional Mapping from
SAP Data
Solution ResultsChallenge
How Microsoft and SAP create a seamless experience
How Microsoft and SAP create a seamless experience
The cost of maintaining and
expanding on-premises SAP
capacity is much higher
than with virtual environment in
the cloud.
Using disparate IT technologies
hinders business efficiency,
collaboration, and agility.
Today’s workforce increasingly
work with mobile devices throughout
the day, but their Microsoft-SAP
infrastructure still ties them to the
desktop.
Inconsistent views of enterprise data
with unlike data formats require
copying, pasting, and reformatting
data, causing rework, redundancy,
and data-entry errors.
Many organization use at least one LOB system such as ERP, CRM, PLM, etc., on a regular basis
Most companies have different departments that use these systems, as you can see on the screen
LOB systems were created to help optimize every day jobs and for the most part, they do what we want them to do, yet they are focused on a specific function within the org (e.g. sales, HR, supply chain, etc.)
The business-critical data within these systems gets stuck in siloes more often than not – keep in mind the term business-critical can change from company to company. What we mean by that is a function that is essential to the core mission of your organization
This siloed data results in a lot of disconnect between departments
Here are some of the challenges customers are facing on a regular basis
These organizations face the challenge today that most of their users don’t have easy access to the business critical data hidden in their line-of-business (LOB) systems such as SAP ERP or Oracle Financials. Users are often presented with a complex user interface (UI) or inflexible business processes. This problem is enhanced by the fact that these systems are usually deployed to a limited number of users. The reality is that business users at every level of an organization need access to important data and related processes to enable them to support operations and make sound decisions.
Managers in these organizations are then faced with the challenge of how to get more value out of their LOB systems by extending the reach of important business data thus improving business processes. There is a growing trend to look for collaborative solutions such as using Microsoft SharePoint instead of the complex generic interface that the LOB system might provide
By connecting LOB systems to SharePoint, you can make sure that you surface the right subset of information to the right people at the right time
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The question now is, how do you improve the LOB systems that you’ve already invested in to make everyone in your organization more functional?
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To use SharePoint as a solution to bridge integration gaps, there are three key steps to take:
First, connect SharePoint to your LOB systems
Then, surface the LOB data in SharePoint
Finally, deliver those business-critical solutions
Once you’ve completed these steps you’ve accomplished two key things:
You’ve driven up the value of SharePoint within your organization by allowing users access to the data they need, which helps them do their jobs better
You’ve increased the value of your existing LOB systems because now you’re not only serving the specific discipline that each LOB system was designed to serve, but you’re sharing the data within those systems with those who need it
Once you surface the data from those LOB systems in SharePoint, you’re surfacing data on a platform that everyone already knows how to use, so you don’t have to worry about training employees on using a new system. Even if you do need to show someone how to use SharePoint for the first time, the learning curve is minimal.
Since SharePoint has been around for a while now and has a vast number of capabilities, creating the connections necessary to surface LOB data is not very technically challenging
So what’s the next step once you’ve surfaced your data in SharePoint?
There are various degrees by which you can extract value:
One way is simply by surfacing the data and allow visibility into the information stored in those LOB systems
The second way is to allow people to write back into your LOB systems
The biggest way to drive value is to enable the business processes to use the LOB data. This allows people visibility into other departments when they need to make an important business decision. At this point, business decisions are immediately easier, better, and faster because of increased insight into previously siloed organizational data.