CASE STUDY
workplace activities, the new system has
delivered amazing results in keeping us
connected and fully operational while
working remotely. We see that as the
ultimate test of our future proofing plans
– how well we operate facing maximum
disruption. A practical example of this
has been ERP approvals through mobile
devices, something new that came with SAP
S/4 HANA. This has come in very handy,
especially now that many team members
are working outside of their office networks.
THE SYSTEM, ALONG WITH ITS OUT OF
THE BOX DATA CAPABILITIES, IS READY
FOR INTEGRATION PROJECTS TO
CONNECT THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
requires a great ERP system, and there are
many systems that exist to provide those
basic requirements. What our investment
in S/4 HANA brings is the empowerment of
our management teams with data analytics,
both out of the box, and through integrated
BI platforms like Power BI in our case.
What we look forward to next is seeing the
strong data analytics capabilities of the
new system, as this is a key component of
our future proofing plans and part of our
technology roadmap.
Did the solution require any
additional training for staff?
Yes and no. As this was a SAP system
upgrade, users did not require training on the
original features that were part of the legacy
system. However, training was needed and
delivered on the new features such as the
suit of apps that come with SAP S/4 HANA.
This training will continue to take place
for some time until the full benefits of the
system are achieved.
How has the solution increased your
mobile capabilities?
As described above, a key benefit of the
system upgrade has been the switch to
approvals on mobile devices. This has
enabled better real-time decision making
and faster processing times to support our
operational needs. Ultimately our team
members become more responsive, which
leads to customer happiness.
What are the benefits of the
solution’s integration with the IoT,
Blockchain, AI and ML?
SAP has designed the latest generation S/4
HANA system to answer the needs of IoT,
Blockchain, AI and ML. The system, along
with its out of the box data capabilities, is
ready for integration projects to connect
these new technologies. We are currently
working on IoT projects that are related to
asset maintenance, which we hope to go live
with before the end of the year.
Can you explain how the solution will
facilitate your business to arrive at
better, more informed decisions?
Transaction processing and financial
accounting and reporting for an interrelated
group of companies is something that
Functional heads now have much more
powerful analytics at their fingertips –
for analysing work order volumes,
purchase order turnaround times, supplier
payment trends, etc. In short, better
data has led to better, faster, decision
making. Ultimately that leads to happier
customers, a key strategic objective in our
balanced scorecard.
Can you explain the benefits of SAP
S/4 HANA in allowing your teams to
work remotely?
Cloud access is essential for remote working
systems especially at these critical times
where our employees cannot really work
from the office due to the threats of
COVID-19 infection.
Having the access to enhanced process
automation, increased mobile capability,
productivity and flexibility, and real-time
analysis of business data enables our
employees to be more productive, saves
them time and provides better co-ordination.
How is the solution enabling you
to respond to new customer
demands faster?
The seamless feature of SAP S/4 HANA is
particularly commendable, which is a great
time-saver, thereby facilitating our efforts to
deliver quick solutions to our clients. The realtime
analytics are also value-adding factors
when it comes to decision-making. •
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