Individual Process Quality aspects in SAP ERP (HCM )- Part 3
Test Procedures:
Continue reading " Individual Process Quality aspects in SAP ERP (HCM )- Part 3 " »
Discuss business intelligence, integration, compliance and a host of other SAP-related topics – implementation, best practices and resources to negotiate the world of SAP better!
December 25, 2011
December 11, 2011
Maintaining Quality in SAP Projects- Part 2
Cross -Process Quality aspects in SAP ERP (HCM ).
Quality in and of itself is a critical success factor for HCM Projects and any ERP projects. It should, however, be based on a clear concept and not simply be implemented for its own sake. Projects can also be needlessly stifled in the name in quality.
Structured Procedure: There are many process models for implementing standard software products. Quality problems arise for the following three reasons:
ü The selected process model is not used because it entails to great a workload.
ü The selected process model is not used because it cannot be applied to the actual situation
ü The process model focuses on implementation and requires clear and sensible definition of the requirement.
An "Off-the -rack" process model can only server as a rough guide. One of the first tasks of a project team is to create a project-specific model from a general process model. The team must not only consider company -specific factors, but also the special characteristics of SAP ERP(HCM). It is not enough for a technically oriented process to stipulate the definition of the most important structures. For a HCM project, the team must define the company and employee structure and use of the Organizational management.
A clear definition of requirements that clearly describes the planned processes is indispensable for Quality. The planned processes are, after all, the means for measuring the success and therefore the quality of Project .
Continue reading " Maintaining Quality in SAP Projects- Part 2 " »
November 27, 2011
Maintaining Quality in SAP Projects
Quality in Software Projects
Implementation projects for IT systems are often subject to extreme time and budget constraints. Even if the initial project planning is realistic, pressure can arise from the following factors :
ü Late or drawn out project start;
ü Use of capacity elsewhere (especially if the workload for ongoing everyday tasks has been underestimated);
ü Changes in the project team members during the project execution;
ü Constantly changing requirements during the project execution stage.
November 10, 2011
Architecture Plan for SAP Netweaver based Solution
Architecture for any IT based solution is a most important factor for aligning IT with business expectation. This also facilitates a transparent and manageable roadmap for most adaptable and efficient system landscape. An effective architectural design of a solution helps business to fulfill their target in an open, scalable and easy to handle infrastructure. This blog will focus on approach of an architecture design for SAP Netweaver based solution.
Continue reading " Architecture Plan for SAP Netweaver based Solution " »
November 1, 2011
Utilities can address Electric Vehicle Challenges with SAP Solutions
Continue reading " Utilities can address Electric Vehicle Challenges with SAP Solutions " »
September 17, 2011
Opportunity Maintenance- A point of view: Part 1
By Gopal Krishna
Opportunity Maintenance (OM) is the term we are using to describe an opportunity window of maintenance for the machines by virtue of breakdown with another machine(s). In this article let us discuss about the event for opportunity window, how maintenance tasks can be identified and execute within this time frame and finally look at the challenges posed for doing opportunity maintenance.
Continue reading " Opportunity Maintenance- A point of view: Part 1 " »
September 6, 2011
SAP Best Practices Approach - Part 2
by Siddharth Tavargeri and Abhishek Tare
In the previous blog we discussed about what are SAP Best Practices, why do we need SAP Best Practices and various approaches to use SAP Best Practices. In this part, we will discuss the approaches in details with pros and cons of each of them.
August 29, 2011
PERFORMANCE TESTING FOR THE SELF SERVICE APPLICATIONS - (METHODOLOGY,ISSUES, BEST PRACTICES )
The entire lifecycle and testing approach which should be adopted for conducting a performance testing approach for a newly implemented application which is highly critical in terms of determining the system behavior and performance for handling the user load and helps us determining the effectiveness of the application. It helps the team to baseline their user load and simulate the production scenarios in the test environment and fine tune the performance related glitch.Once the issues are resolved it helps us simulate the production load and thus enhance the overall performance of the system when it goes live.
August 22, 2011
ESS MSS An Implementation Approach (Part 3)
Implementation Testing Issues and Solutions in Self Services Applications .
The blog highlights the critical and typical issues faced during the testing phase and recommends the best practices to a good testing approach.Leveraging Testing Cycles to Train HR Service center and HR support team: Testing a system and being able to experience the resolution of issues has proven to be a powerful mechanism for getting the HR support/HRSC team trained and prepared to support the production system post Go-Live.HR Service center team can also participate in the testing cycles (UAT phase)so that the training time for them is reduced by 50%. By participating in testing cycles the support team will experience day to day real time scenarios that will soon become easy and familiar to handle the functionalities for the different self service applications and forms when they go live in production
Continue reading " ESS MSS An Implementation Approach (Part 3) " »
August 14, 2011
ESS MSS An Implementation Approach (Part2)
It will be very difficult to adopt the self service application when they are presented in an unstructured fashion. Making the relevant transactions available under a particular event or service delivers a better adaptability and user experience for the employee and reduces queries to HR service centers. Investigating the time spent up front in developing appropriate content which is suitable for the ESS transactions will be worthwhile.Process efficiencies can be improved if the processes checklists are used .Transactions associated to that event are grouped in logical steps. The content that accompanies the different workflows and transactions offers a flow of advice that traditional ESS cannot provide alone. The checklist should contain informational steps and be created from an employee's point of view. Checklist can be created for Employees, Managers and HR folks. The checklists should be created for different user groups considering their requirements will be different.
Continue reading " ESS MSS An Implementation Approach (Part2) " »
August 8, 2011
SAP Best Practices Approach - Part 1
by Siddharth Tavargeri and Abhishek Tare
SAP Best Practices are packages provided by SAP. They encompass SAP's 35+ years of experience, design, and input from companies of all sizes and development contributions from over 36 SAP Partners. Best Practices can help customers control costs, reduce risks and drive more value from their SAP Solutions. While it is important to use SAP Best Practices for its obvious advantages, it is all the more important to select the right approach for its implementation. This blog explains what SAP Best Practices are and roadmap to select, download and implement the same.
July 18, 2011
BRF based Pricing Decision-making - Concluding part
This is the concluding part of my previous blog:
http://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/2011/05/pricing_expert_system_-_blog_1.html#more
I will talk about the architecture and design elements of a decision-making pricing solution that meets the challenges highlighted in part 1.
Continue reading " BRF based Pricing Decision-making - Concluding part " »
July 10, 2011
ESS MSS An Implementation Approach
Self service applications continue as the main focus of HR Departments as these applications try to control the cost incurred by IT departments for HR services and deliver increased and efficient services, processes to both employees and customers. It also gives an enhanced productivity with minimal manpower for all organizational departments
The blog will be in four different Parts summarizing the companies can benefit with the overall service delivery strategies, change management process. It also explains the delivery approach highlighting some critical success factors. It also has pointers on testing strategies and issue resolutions during the self service implementations.
July 5, 2011
Deciding on SAP Supplier Collaboration solution dilemma - SAP SNC or SUS?
by Sanjeev Pandey
SAP SCM Practice
Deciding on supplier collaboration solution from SAP can be elaborate exercise as SAP provides multiple products in this area.
One is SAP SNC (Supply Network Collaboration) which is part of SAP SCM suite. The other product is SUS (Supplier Self Services) from SAP SRM suite. Though there is some noise about merging of these two similar products by SAP, still concrete information is yet to come on this front. So how do we decide which product to choose for supplier collaboration?
Continue reading " Deciding on SAP Supplier Collaboration solution dilemma - SAP SNC or SUS? " »
June 2, 2011
The clouds lifted a little at Sapphire
PAC US, Peter Russo - Managing Director
SAP's journey to offering Cloud solutions over the last couple of years has not been trouble-free, with the well-documented issues with Business ByDesign (now, it seems, largely resolved). The strategy was also progressing in two parallel directions, with a different strategy for large enterprises (Cloud-based add-ons like CRM OnDemand, originally to be based on its 'Frictionless' technology) to that for small organizations (the all-embracing SaaS solution of Business ByDesign). This strategy was overseen by John Wookey, who left SAP shortly before Sapphire. So there was much interest in SAP's SaaS strategy announcements.
Several things need to be highlighted from this.
Continue reading " The clouds lifted a little at Sapphire " »
May 17, 2011
BRF based Pricing Decision-making - Blog 1
Companies that deal with multiple products and prices and complicated price books often face the pangs of not having a comprehensive decision making modeling tool that helps in alleviating the price-leakage, accountability and traceability.
SAP business rules framework can be effectively utilized to provide a mechanism that helps in mitigating these challenges.
Continue reading " BRF based Pricing Decision-making - Blog 1 " »
May 11, 2011
The Search for Retail Intelligence
By
Naresh Ramamurti
Practice Leader - SAP RETAIL
Customer Centricity and Cross-Channel shopping have been the two greatest trends in RETAIL since 2010. With Apple and Google taking the world's number 1 and 2 spots for global brands this year, these trends have taken a whole new meaning. On the foundation of tomorrow's mobile applications, customers have dynamited the way they interact with retailers - redefining and rewriting the shopper experience from product to point of sale. While organizations around the world continue to grapple with the challenges of reducing their cost of business, Retailers have an exceptional opportunity to take control of the shopping experience - from embracing social networks to crunching core analytics in real time.
May 10, 2011
All eyes on SAPPHIRE NOW in 2011
2010 was a year of change, even turbulence, for SAP - particularly at the leadership level, with the replacement of CEO Leo Apotheker by co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hageman Snabe. The new leadership brought renewed confidence, which certainly showed in 2010 results. The bold acquisition of Sybase gave a position in mobility, the second largest business application growth topic behind SaaS.
April 8, 2011
Cloud Computing: Opening new markets for SAP ERP Service Providers
Continue reading " Cloud Computing: Opening new markets for SAP ERP Service Providers " »
Approach for SAP Talent Hiring
December 30, 2010
Implementing Vending Machine functionalities in SAP
Over the years, Vending machines have become a ubiquitous sales channel for Food and Beverage companies. Among their various benefits, they offer portability in terms of their set up, are low cost driven, and offer a wide reach due to less space constraints.
In this blog, we will discuss the key vending machine functionalities and how can they be mapped into SAP. The scope of this blog is restricted to the processes where the vending machines are owned by the company
Continue reading " Implementing Vending Machine functionalities in SAP " »
October 1, 2010
Software evaluation for activity based costing systems (Part 1 of 2)
I am back with the next blog on profitability analysis and activity based costing (ABC). For the benefit of new readers, I blog on profitability analysis and ABC and you can click here to view the previous blogs on related topics.
First of all, my sincere thanks for your comments on my previous blog - How can IT help in implementing Activity Based Costing? It's really good to get the views from practitioners. One common view in these comments is that the output of ABC system should be relevant and must assist in future decisions. I completely agree to this. It makes all the more important for the business to perform due diligence in identifying the right purpose and the right software for their ABC system. The other view is ABC hasn't translated from concept to practice for large number of companies. I believe this will change over time as the ABC software evolves further to deliver more value in terms of relevant and insightful information it provides at a lesser TCO.
Continue reading " Software evaluation for activity based costing systems (Part 1 of 2) " »
September 8, 2010
SAP Financial Supply Chain Management - An overview
Financial Supply Chain Management (FSCM) in simple terms means managing demand and supply of cash/cash equivalents. SAP has come out with SAP FSCM functionality or suite of applications to manage this more effectively and efficiently thus helping companies to manage the costs associated with this process better. In this posting we will look at what are the features and functionalities available in SAP FSCM and how it can be leveraged better for the benefit of business.
Continue reading " SAP Financial Supply Chain Management - An overview " »
August 27, 2010
SAP QM based CAPA framework
Across the globe, companies are under constant pressure to be compliant to regulation from various regulatory bodies, customers and governments. Managing non-conformities, process deviations and critical observations in accordance with Quality guidelines across business function in an organization is an integral part of being regulatory compliant.
August 11, 2010
Setting up SAP Support System - Are we following the right strategy?
Continue reading " Setting up SAP Support System - Are we following the right strategy? " »
July 1, 2010
Cloud Quotient of Life Sciences Enterprise - Part 2
Continue reading " Cloud Quotient of Life Sciences Enterprise - Part 2 " »
June 23, 2010
SAP projects: Common pitfalls to watch out for
My engagement till date with SAP implementation projects be it domestic or global, has exposed me to different approaches and philosophies being adopted by companies, during their SAP journey. And a critical point that I have realized is that when a company takes this strategic decision of implementing a package solution from a specialized vendor like SAP, it should consciously try and avoid combining custom developments to the extent possible.
Continue reading " SAP projects: Common pitfalls to watch out for " »
June 9, 2010
Cloud Quotient of Life Sciences Enterprise - Part 1
Continue reading " Cloud Quotient of Life Sciences Enterprise - Part 1 " »
June 1, 2010
Changing Expectations from Information Technology - From Simple Business Assistance to the Essential Business Ingredient: Part II
After the initial boost the IT environment gave to businesses, there was strong demand from industries for added ROI and realisation of more tangible benefits from IT, in line with the investments made. Talking of ERP packages, industries expected added advantages in terms of business process enhancement and improvements, as well as infrastructure flexibility, stability. It was not enough to have an IT system which merely did tasks otherwise done manually, but organizations wanted benefits in terms of more intelligence, efficient support in decision making and assurance of data sanity.
May 25, 2010
Changing Expectations from Information Technology - From Simple Business Assistance to the Essential Business Ingredient: Part I
Few decades back, Industries were managing all their basic as well as advanced functions manually. Apart from routine operations under sales, purchase, maintenance, manufacturing and financial function areas, even the gigantic work of planning, communication, data maintenance etc. were all handled through manual efforts. However, today, most of the conventional industries entrust all their daily operations to their IT setup and are extensively dependent on it, in one way or the other. In this 3 part blog series, I wish to share my views on the evolution of Information Technology, its changing role and the changing expectations from the Industrial world. The Part-I today talks of the beginning and early days of the IT era.
May 18, 2010
SAP + Sybase = more mobility and productivity
With SAP set to acquire Sybase, SAP customers, mainly in Finance, Media, Telecom and Retail sector will find newer innovative ways to deliver information and distribute data with merger of the two technologies. Other customers will have more innovative process transforming their ERP systems to bring in more productivity.
On the application development side in the IT arena, we can expect niche and newer applications in the mobile segment resulting in better reach of business to customers and prospects.
Continue reading " SAP + Sybase = more mobility and productivity " »
May 12, 2010
Minimize your Customization & Accelerate your Realization - Part III
Continue reading " Minimize your Customization & Accelerate your Realization - Part III " »
May 11, 2010
Minimize your Customization & Accelerate your Realization - Part II
Continue reading " Minimize your Customization & Accelerate your Realization - Part II " »
May 10, 2010
Don't rely on software alone to drive process transformation
Using package software solutions for Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions (ERP) or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for enterprise business transformation is very appealing. The reasons are many, not the least of which are:
• Speed: Accelerated implementation
• Knowledge: Built on industry best practices
• Simplicity: Pre-integrated application suite or "stack"
Companies often speak of "vanilla" implementations where there is a strong reliance on "out-of-the-Box" functionality to drive process and organizational change. However, it is a mistake to rely on software alone. Although fast implementation to achieve a target ROI is desirable, there are some risks that must be addressed.
Continue reading " Don't rely on software alone to drive process transformation " »
CIS Modernization and the Need for an Integrated Customer Care & Billing System: Part II
Package applications unleash a flexible and scalable platform where a utility can build and meet its requirements of the modern and changing era. These packages were created and are being continuously upgraded with the industry specific requirements in mind. For Utility Customer Care and Billing requirements, these packages in addition to focusing on the core utility retail functionality are also future ready to take on initiatives like AMI/Smart Metering.
May 9, 2010
IT Trends in Manufacturing
The recent global recession has forced many manufacturing companies to look into extreme cost cutting measures and liquidate their inventories. With the world now in a stage of economic recovery, consumers are opening their wallets again and are demanding more goods, leading to an increase in production output for manufacturing organizations. But rather than simply ramping up productivity, workforce and inventory levels to pre global recession levels, many manufacturers are first carefully investigating now how they can accommodate the increasing demand with their existing organization and production assets. After an era and years of industry wider restructuring, with increased globalization, mergers and acquisitions, many global organizations however now come to the rude awakening that their existing tools, structures, processes and data don't provide them the insights they are looking for to make sound strategic and operational decisions.
May 8, 2010
Outcome and value based pricing engagement models
Continue reading " Outcome and value based pricing engagement models " »
May 7, 2010
One size does not fit all: Deliver more shareholder value by embedding "customer value" into your solution design for front-office transformations
Organizations have increasingly sought new, innovative, and (often) expensive ways to get a 360° view of the customer - the reality is that the customer doesn't exist. Customers are many and varied, they have different needs, different motivations, different ways they want to interact with companies and different expectations from the you. Too often companies undergo well-intentioned transformations in pursuit of meeting the customer's needs, only to end the project in frustration having spent millions and never having achieved their goal. The problem is that the companies start out with a goal that is too poorly defined. And when the solution is being developed, it is swamped by trying to solve all the ills the company has let fester for years (or decades).
May 5, 2010
Embracing MDM in SOA and BPM implementation
Continue reading " Embracing MDM in SOA and BPM implementation " »
May 3, 2010
CIS Modernization and the Need for an Integrated Customer Care & Billing System: Part I
So what are the challenges of the old world CIS system? The challenges can be summed up in a single phrase: "inflexible and non-scalable".
April 27, 2010
Minimize your Customization & Accelerate your Realization - Part I
Part I of this 3 part series discusses about why Customer opt for customization in even in a matured package applications and how it can impact your cost of ownership.
When package applications were introduced, they brought about a revolution in the way Information Technology was consumed. Packaged applications redefined how applications were implemented by offering Industry best practices and hence focusing on process rather than on technology. These solutions had reduced the cycle time for implementation and hence the cost associated with it. The risk of going wrong with a packaged solution was very low when compared to the then prevalent custom-built-from-scratch applications. Theoretically, a package could be used by just configuring it.
Continue reading " Minimize your Customization & Accelerate your Realization - Part I " »
April 23, 2010
SAP AFS: An Overview
I have to admit that I have always been enthralled by SAP's industry specific solutions and it is this driving curiosity that lead me to recently take a peek into their highly promising business solution, tailor made for today's apparel and footwear industry. Yes, I am referring to SAP Apparel and Footwear (SAP AFS) solution.
March 23, 2010
Centralized Procurement through SAP SRM - the next great wave of savings - Part 1
Continually changing turbulent economic environment is forcing organizations to adopt innovative business strategies to stay competitive, efficient in order to achieve highest level of benefits to the stakeholders. Procurement function is playing an ever increasing role in this transformation journey and its importance is becoming increasingly visible.
March 18, 2010
How to use twitter with SAP for customer service
In the previous blogs I have talked about digital marketing, its tools and its impacts on company information systems.
(http://www.infosysblogs.com/sap/2010/01/how_could_digital_marketing_im.html#more)
Today instead I would like to focus on and to discuss how social tools like twitter can be used for customer services, highlighting possible uses as well as giving an example of a solution developed by SAP for the CRM suite.
Continue reading " How to use twitter with SAP for customer service " »
March 8, 2010
Healthcare Analytics- Enhancing performance
As the Hospital industry focuses to overcome the common challenges in terms of improving patient care and controlling operational costs, every hospital wants to enhance its performance. But, Hospitals sans intelligent tools cannot take informed decisions due to lack of an integrated repository of critical hospital information, intelligence reports and analytics tools.
IS-Healthcare provides integrated operational & analytical tools tailored to meet specific standards, processes and the challenges of healthcare industry, focusing on its key solution components
• Ambulatory care management
• Patient Management
• Patient Accounting and
• ISH-Clinical medical system
Tools like Operational Dashboards and Analytical Cockpits integrate transactional and analytical data across domains, departments and service lines of the hospital enterprise to provide enhanced operational control through easy-to-understand summary data, budget simulations for planning purposes, greater ability to meet compliance requirements and drive better operational excellence through information provided by cost and revenue analyses.
Continue reading " Healthcare Analytics- Enhancing performance " »
Business Value Articulation for Sustenance - Part 3
Having delved upon business value avenues in my prior posts (Part 1 and Part 2) in this series, let us visit the value articulation aspect. In case of SAP ERP steady state environment, it’s all about bringing out and quantifying the value augmented in the business processes as the business goals and objectives thrive on them.
Continue reading " Business Value Articulation for Sustenance - Part 3 " »
March 5, 2010
HRP – Home Resource Planning: An ERP Microcosm touching everyday life
While teaching ERP concepts, we always speak of islands of systems and processes with no major integration and leading to inefficiencies. On one such occasion I was forced to apply similar analogy towards the current generation professionals who are trying to meet increasingly contending demands between Professional and Personal aspects of life. Our lives are always inclusive of various such islands of partners, systems and processes such as Employer, Banks, Insurance, Schools, Service Providers, Hospitals, Doctors, Grocery & Retail stores, Government agencies etc., On the personal side we always try to play a major integration role between all these different entities and get stressed out in the process. Hence this thought process and blog.
Continue reading " HRP – Home Resource Planning: An ERP Microcosm touching everyday life " »
February 23, 2010
Business Value Articulation for Sustenance - Part 2
Upon visiting the basics of business value and continuing the thread of avenues of adding value to the business in my last blog - Business Value Articulation for Sustenance - let us now look at a few potential areas that can help to bring this activity in practice. In the subsequent post in this series I will elaborate on how business value can be articulated.
Continue reading " Business Value Articulation for Sustenance - Part 2 " »
Using BSP Element Expressions (BEEs) in HCM E-Recruiting
Using BSP Element Expressions (BEEs) in HCM E-Recruiting:
Introduction:
I got requirement to add custom fields for Standard HCM E-Recruiting Page, which is totally responsible for particular Infotype . Its can be easy to display custom fields in any standard BSP page, but updating the new custom field in the same Infotype and also to retrieve the same info in different portal BSP page is not a easy task. We should enhance several class methods to implement the same.
I got an idea to use BEE methods in Class CL_HRRCF_UI_SERVICES .
Instead of Enhancing class and Layouts we can use the BEEs to do the same with very less effort.
Benefit:
By using this approach we can save great coding and layout designing effort.
Getting Started:
I am going to add one Drop down BOX in my Candidate-Job Description Standard BSP page.
Continue reading " Using BSP Element Expressions (BEEs) in HCM E-Recruiting " »
February 19, 2010
Win the last mile battle by addressing Performance and Usability of SAP Netweaver based Web apps…PART I of IV- Browser Layer
Historically functional requirements have remained the key focus of organizations working with enterprise applications such as SAP. However, in their race to meet the functional requirements of business users, many times non-functional requirements (NFR) and usability may take back stage and are not updated.
Business demands for flexibility and responsiveness have always put pressure on IT departments to increase the speed at which new applications are created or changes are implemented. Newer tools (such as Portal, MDM, Composites etc.) and new way of architecting (SOA, Virtualization etc.) the solution are being used by IT for being quick and efficient to support business of the enterprise. Each of these new tools and architecture has their own demands for NFR (performance, availability and security) and usability.
From performance point of view, following four key layers play important role:
- Browser layer
- Network layer
- Application server layer
- Database layer
February 16, 2010
Business Value Articulation for Sustenance
The question of business value of IT is a haunting element of the evolution of IT as a business enabler. Be it implementation, maintenance or upgrade assignment, the first challenge remains demonstrating business value to the decision makers.
Continue reading " Business Value Articulation for Sustenance " »
January 28, 2010
How could digital marketing impact your company processes and systems? (part 2)
The increasing spending in digital marketing pushes the companies to re-view its organization, processes and systems in order to sustain the growth and manage effectively the digital marketing initiative together with traditional advertising.
In the previous blog I have highlighted the reasons why the spending in digital marketing is accelerating and the areas in which an extensive use of digital marketing channels could mainly impact the organization.
Now let’s look deeper at the impacts of digital marketing on the company information systems.
January 27, 2010
Professional Hair Care business: The “STYLE” side of CPG retailing – Part-I
Professional Hair Care - Retailing with style !
The first thought that always comes to mind whenever someone makes a mention of CPG industry - the traditional manufacturer-distributor-retailer business which works in tandem to deliver the goodies to the God in the entire chain - The Consumer! This traditional CPG-retailing is pretty well set over the ages and is perhaps one of the most revenue and employment generating businesses around the globe.
Continue reading " Professional Hair Care business: The “STYLE” side of CPG retailing – Part-I " »
December 24, 2009
Fast Close – Business Challenges
Fast close increases trust and provides competitive advantage. I discussed the business drivers behind fast close in my previous post “Fast Close – Business Drivers”. If fast close is so useful then why it isn’t the norm rather than exception? The answer to this question is in understanding the various business challenges that hinder the close process.
December 22, 2009
Food Safety and Traceability in CPG Industry (Part 2 of 2)
In my last post I outlined the various challenges faced by the CPG industry and specifically discussed the Food Safety and Traceability needs.
In this post I will explain how the Food Safety and Traceability needs can be addressed by SAP.
Continue reading " Food Safety and Traceability in CPG Industry (Part 2 of 2) " »
December 21, 2009
How could digital marketing impact your company processes and systems?
For the last months there have been huge debates regarding the use of digital communication channels for promoting products and services, and overall digital marketing seems to be in constant growth.
How this costant growth will impact your company in order to get best results?
Continue reading " How could digital marketing impact your company processes and systems? " »
December 17, 2009
Food Safety and Traceability in CPG Industry (Part 1 of 2)
These are challenging times for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. Food safety, traceability, health-conscious consumers, retailer power, new regulations and corporate social responsibility are some of the key challenges faced by the CPG industry. Fierce competition and industry consolidation are placing enormous pressure on food companies to cut costs. Meanwhile, increasingly sophisticated consumers are demanding greater levels of corporate accountability as well as constant product and service innovation. These forces are causing food companies to search for new ways to improve margins, increase asset efficiency, manage food safety risks, and grow revenues. This post outlines the Food Safety and Traceability needs of the CPG industry and in my next post I will explain how these needs can be addressed by SAP.
Continue reading " Food Safety and Traceability in CPG Industry (Part 1 of 2) " »
December 8, 2009
Apparel & Footwear Industry
Even during these troubled economic times, when most of the industries are falling by the side, Apparel and Footwear industry has managed to come up with positive growth numbers year after year (at a global level). With a global market volume of about EUR 300 billion and an annual growth rate of 4 % Apparel and Footwear industry is poised for an exciting journey. The athletic apparel and footwear market, which caters mainly to the sports industry, is about 25% of the overall apparel and footwear market volume.
November 30, 2009
Fast Close – Business Drivers
September 20, 2009
BCP in ERP Business Processes
August 31, 2009
Comparative Analysis between New GL and Classic GL
New GL and Classic GL are two ways to implement General Ledger functionality in SAP ECC5 and ECC6. New GL provides lot of benefits over classic GL. The New GL benefits
- Provide an extension to the existing functionality in classic GL, or
- Provide new functionality compared to classic GL, or
- Provide a technologically superior way to perform a functionality in Classic GL
Continue reading " Comparative Analysis between New GL and Classic GL " »
August 25, 2009
SAP MDM: Expectations v/s Reality
Master Data Management as a concept has existed as long as the ERP market or even before. The concept has been to help efficiently manage transactional and reporting functions within an application by having a separate repository for master data. The master data function gets called dynamically within the execution of a transaction.
This concept has evolved over the years, due to complexity of businesses and hence the IT Systems that are required to support it. In recent years the concept is gaining maturity by looking at Master data as a function to feed systems enterprise wide, not ERP alone. Hence MDM is now being viewed as a de-coupled application from the ERP applications.
Many vendors, some niche and other ERP vendors, have products to address this space. Though Gartner has reported the relative capability across various products in the ‘Magic Quadrant’, Consultants and Clients alike, are aware that none of the products have matured enough to warrant the name of ‘MDM Package Solution’. The products are still in the form of a tool/platform and a basic framework over which clients are expected to build a custom solution. Depending on what the client wants to achieve, the solution build up can be as expensive as a custom solution on any other platform.
SAP’s MDM product addresses master data across the enterprise like Material, Vendor and Customer. It also has certain content that is much suited for an SAP environment, hence there is good amount of data modeling effort that can be saved if the company has a SAP based landscape. These are some of the key differentiators for SAP MDM against other contemporaries.
The other features, like de-duplication, merging, harmonization etc are also part of the Product offerings.
However, the above alone does not make the offering a rich or a mature one. Today, the companies need to orchestrate and manage master data as a central application to the Enterprise. This needs a robust, user friendly and configurable package with a host of functionalities. The requirement from the Industry is the following:
- User friendly screens
- Complex validations that may need to be called from other applications
- Easy to configure and
- Manage workflows for data approval
What can SAP do to meet the above requirements with the current MDM package?
- SAP needs to bring the Key components of Enterprise Portal and MDM together. This would mean that the configuration of screens and fields should be in sync and should not appear as two disjoint applications.
- Since the companies preferring SAP MDM are predominantly SAP shops, SAP needs to have EP-MDM ready for an SAP landscape. The lead time to configure and set up a Central master data management should come down drastically. This will increase the adoption and usability of SAP MDM
- SAP has tried to merge BO with SAP MDM, but these again should not be viewed and communicated as two different components. This should be communicated and projected as one single component. Currently there is a lot of confusion on what is the ETL recommended, is it of BOBJ or SAP MDM? These confusions in messaging adds to the reluctance in adoption
- Workflow is a major component of central master data management. The workflow in some cases can be as complex as running across SAP MDM and SAP ECC or other SAP applications. This can be done using the new BPM, but this again needs to be offered as a part of the product.
SAP needs to work on maturing the product to make it a robust single unit, than expect customers to work on multiple components such as BPM, EP, Webdynpro and MDM to put up a MDM Solution. Essentially, the concept can be borrowed from ECC, where-in you have; Transactional processing UI; Configuration and Developer workbench. The skills required for the same are Functional and ABAP technical and it is easy to implement and use.
The skills required for setting up the current MDM solution –using number of SAP components- are too many and can act as a big entry barrier for larger customer adoption.
August 5, 2009
Is it time to move to New GL?
SAP introduced New General Ledger functionality with the Enterprise release (ECC 5). The SAP FI/CO components for Classic General Ledger, COS Ledger, Reconciliation Ledger, Special Purpose Ledger and Profit Center Accounting have been merged to provide an integrated solution known as New GL. New GL provides document splitting functionality that enables generation of financial statements for Segments (As per IAS 14 Accounting Standard, segment reporting is a legal reporting requirement for specific business or geographical segments). New GL supports multiple ledgers, hence, reducing the need to rely on Special Purpose Ledgers for parallel valuation. New GL facilitates real time FI-CO Integration resulting in real-time legal and management reporting. An integrated solution like New GL ensures better SOX compliance and Fast Period End Close resulting in reduced TCO.
May 11, 2009
IMPACT in a SAP World
SAP’s ASAP Implementation methodology is an industry leading approach to implementing the world’s most powerful ERP solution, so how can IMPACT ™ make it better? Designed to work together, IMPACT™ and ASAP jointly provide a laser like focus on customer and client value, a robust framework for identifying, valuing, and prioritizing all change opportunities, and a tried and true methodology for implementing SAP in the most cost and time efficient manner available today.
When looking at the interrelationship between IMPACT ™ and ASAP, IMPACT ™ takes the lead and then defers to ASAP during Phase 2 “Design the Details” (Blueprint), while still providing the overarching framework to achieve business results. IMPACT ™ helps a company explore the bigger picture issues around why they want and need to transform their business by putting client and company value as the metrics for success and failure, while never forgetting that free cash flow and unleashed value is the core objective.
The IMPACT ™ Value for Company (VRM thread) brings value into all facets of the transformation. Value that is found in Set Direction (the first phase) then becomes the anchor of all decision making from that point forward. All ideas or proposed changes need to account for the value proposition. Using optimized value as the core strategy for the business transformation makes the analysis and planning for the transformation relatively simple since we have clear guidelines – does it add value?
April 27, 2009
SHARED SERVICES: Capability in adversity
In today’s tough time, there is hardly any Organization which has remained unaffected from the jitters of market slow down. The companies are resorting to
· drastic reduction in budget
· aggressive business targets to achieve
· system overhauling for maximizing operational efficiency
Talking about Maintenance of existing IT operations, the companies are eagerly inclined to off-load and blunt in asking for
· a rock bottom price
· better quality of service
· visible value addition by the service provider
· flexible service offerings tailor made for their requirements
AND this is where Infosys’s SHARED SERVICES offering pitches-in as a classic rejoinder to all the above !!
Continue reading " SHARED SERVICES: Capability in adversity " »
February 27, 2009
What is your ILM strategy today? Is it more than archiving?
With the exponential growth rate of data in enterprise business systems, it becomes billion $ challenge to manage information to meet the legal and business mandates in the increased global economy threat today.
Continue reading " What is your ILM strategy today? Is it more than archiving? " »
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