The stirring reality these days is that most of the large and medium-sized organizations have multi-facets of business operation, all of which must have an effective communication with each other to keep things moving in the right direction. Up until the launch of Systems, Applications and Products (SAP) systems in data processing industry, there were no such efficient or reliable modes of enabling this communication and data flow between the various facets of the business.
A lot has changed since its formulation in 1972 by a company headquartered in Germany. Back then, SAP systems were solely centered for large enterprises. Today, however, they have evolved with time to provide technical and software solutions for small businesses as well as Fortune 500 companies. It should come as no surprise that SAP is presently the primal provider of software solutions to businesses, of all scales and sizes, around the globe.
The far-reaching success of this innovation has grabbed the attention of organizations, and they are quickly realizing the voluminous benefits that they can reap from implementing SAP system.
Setting aside its wide range of benefits SAP implementation can be a tedious process for organizations due to its high cost in implementation, time-consuming processes, and challenging and risky outcomes. SAP is mostly adapted when organizations require a change management in their current system.
There isn’t a shred of doubt that SAP practices are highly challenging, but they are worth the risk for organizations to partake. It is imperative for organizations to ask and identify the answers to some critical questions before moving ahead with its implementation.
- Whether your organization and your team of professionals are ready and prepared to accept the upside down changes in your business processes?
- Whether your organization possesses the requisite turnover to provide support in buying SAP products, user licenses, and other requirements?
- Whether your organization is prepared to tackle the huge risks and bear losses in case of failure?
- Whether your organization has a ready and able backup plan in case your primary design doesn’t play out as planned?
- Whether your organization has the skilled consultants to implement the SAP software solutions?
Once organizations receive a favorable set of answers in response to the questions mentioned above, they will be more than likely to experience the many unparalleled advantages of SAP implementation in their routine business processes. The SAP implementation process primarily circles around three priorities:-
People – The professionals in the IT department involved with the thorough implementation process and the end-users must be able to comprehend and understand the system usage and the revised changes with ease.
Processes – The set of actions must be in an organized and categorized manner, such that the desired output is delivered. Every process must be inter-linked and made in such a way that they help in attaining larger benefits for the organization.
Technology– Various procedural activities including employee training, security in protecting customer or vendor data, bringing-forward innovation in business, etc., should be productive thus adding to the proficiency of both people and processes.
If and when all three of these primacies coordinate with each other, the probability of SAP implementation being a resounding success will be maximized and its benefits can be reaped.
Benefits of SAP Implementation for an Organization
Significantly Cuts-Down on Cost
One of the chief advantages that come with an effective implementation of SAP software into the business systems is that it can severely save businesses, both small and large, a huge load of money. Companies won’t be required to fret upon purchasing multiple pieces of software for miscellaneous departments within an organization, as SAP can single-handedly track all the data of a company and generate fruitful reports from the same. Thus, by owing reliance on a single form of software business cost gets cut down significantly. Additionally, SAP ensures a higher rate of efficiency and process standardization, which also results in minimized cost expenses.
Consistency in Business Operations
Proper implementation of SAP software enables businesses of all sizes to align their strategies and ensure all departments of the company are in complete synchronization. Managers can get a broad outlook on what’s ensuing within the company through consistent entering and reporting of numbers and report generations.
Reports generated through SAP software can then help the management to collaborate with the various departments within an organization effortlessly. This way, they can ensure whether everyone is working towards a similar vision and accessing the same information. Implementation of SAP allows a smoother and consistent business operation, thereby making it easier to work towards short and long term goals.
Enhanced Productivity Rate
Companies without an implemented SAP system rely on a diverse range of software programs and data-logging platforms to bring-forward numbers and generate reports, hence making it demanding for business management to see the complete picture. This dampens the productivity of the company; as a considerable chunk of time goes wasted in trying to combine data from every department to formulate a cohesive report. With SAP implemented in an organization, the issues mentioned above become nugatory and employees are able to pay more focus on the more important tasks.
If companies are able to identify favorable answers for the key questions mentioned above and ensure that the three prime areas function in a coordinated manner, with an effective strategy in place for the entire SAP implementation phase; they can reap dividends out of the same.
