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www.titanconsulting.net | 1
N E W SSpring 2017
The Ultimate HR Mobile App...pg 2
Reduce your Enterprise Risk with SAP IBP...pg 2
Special Report: 15 Proven Methods...pg 3
Do You Want to Put More Cash in Your Pocket...pg 3
BW and Financial Planning...pg 5
Calendar of Events...pg 6
- Warren Norris
Since the beginning of the New Year, we see a nice uptick in the SAP-Centric Software and Services Market. It is hard to say if the bounce is due to:• Pent-upbackloganddemand,• Post-electionBounce,• AdoptionofSAPHANAandCloud-basedStrategies.Or,alloftheabovearetriggeringtheincreasedactivity.
IfyouanalyzeSAP’srecent2016Financialresults,therearealotofpositivetakeawayswithHANAandtheirCloudstrategy.
Thereare5400S/4HANAcustomers,doublethe2015count.30%oftheseareNetNewCustomers,akeyindicatorforinvestors,analysts,andbuyers.Themixisspreadbetweenlargeandsmallbusinesses.
Formanylong-termSAPwatchers,sellinglicensesisonething,implementingSAPisacompletelydifferenttune.Ofthelistofnewcustomers,over550havegonelivewithS/4HANA,andbySAPPHIREinMay,another1000S/4HANACustomersareexpectedtobelive.
OneareaourclientsareaskingusforisexperiencedtalentinSuccessFactors(SF).SFischallengingandbeatingWorkdayandothersfortheirCloudHCMinvestment.TalentAcquisitionfunctionalityleadsallotherswhereintelligentmatchingofopenrequisitionstoresumesisgettingattention.
ManycustomersareconsideringahybridmodelforimplementingHCM.AhybridmodelconsistsofalegacybackendlikeSAPHRintegratedtocloud-basedTalentAcquisition,On-boarding,andBenefits.EmployeeCentral(EC)isthehubtointegratetheon-premise/cloudcommunications.
MobileHRAppsaregainingtraction.Employee’sfamiliaritywithsmartphonesimproveadoptionandreducesTCO.OneofourclientsisusingtheTitanSoftwareFrameworktoIntegrateMobileAppsinto
theirSAPHRsystem.PleasereviewthearticleinsidethiseditiontolearnhowtheyarestreamliningtheirHRDepartmentthatsupportsover8000employeesontheshopfloor.
Identifying,managingandreducingTCOwillremainafocusforourcustomersin2017andbeyond.WerecentlysponsoredanExecutive
Exchange,wheremanyexecutivesstatedmanagingTCOasapriority for their business and IT operations.
WealsoexperiencedthisbuzzatTheEventfulGroupsSAP-CentricFinancialsConference in Dallas.ManyofourTexasandOklahoma-basedclientsthatattendedweretreatedtosomeoutstanding presentations on reducing TCO in their operations.
Our own Mark Vasinda presented on ReducingtheTotalCostofOperationswithSAPFinancialsattheevent.Forourclients,wecompiledaSpecialReport:15ProvenMethods
toReduceCostofOwnershipinSAPFinancials.
TheSpecialReportpresents15processeswhereyoucan reduce the cost of operations and increase the
valueofyourSAPapplication.
IntheAParea,wehelpedaclientslashtheiroperatingcostsbyatleast40%byimplementingVendorInvoiceManagement(VIM).Thisno-handsprocessingofvendorinvoicesestablishesrulesandthedigitizedinvoicesareroutedandpostedtotheproperaccountsandpaid without being touched by AP.
LookinsideforotherareasofyourSAPFinancialswhereTitanhashelpedtheirclientsreducetheCostofOwnershipandincreasetheirROIontheirSAPapps.IfyouwantacopyoftheSpecialReport:15ProvenMethodstoReduceCostofOwnershipinSAPFinancials contact WarrenNorris,[email protected],972.679.5183;or,contactyourTitanConsultingDirector.Youcanseeadditionalinformationonour Advisory Services page at www.titanconsulting.net.
DEMAND FOR SAP SOFTWARE AND SERVICES ACCELERATING!
Has The HANA Bounce Finally Arrived?
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“Theeconomyisgettingbetter;weshouldseeourwrite-offsgodown!”,oneDirectorofARrecentlyexclaimed!
Itisunfortunatethattheeconomiccyclesinfluencewhenbrokenprocessesgetfixed.Aseasilyastheeconomyimproves,itcanswingintheotherdirection, and you are right back into a bad situation of increased disputes, collectionissues,andwrite-offs.
Howreliableareyourdisputesandcollectionsprocessesinyourbusiness?Thedisputesandcollectionsprocessisoftenoneofthemostfragmented,cumbersomeanddisjointedprocesses–itisthered-headedstepchildofreluctantfinancialbusinessprocesses–nodisrespect to red-heads.
Forsmallandmedium-sizedbusinesses,theprocessesarecostly,immature,manual,andcumbersome.Theinformationandrecordsaretrackedonspreadsheets,worddocuments,storedonadesktoporfileshare,anddisconnectedfromtheotherprocessesandsystems–creatingahugeriskfordelayedpaymentsandwrite-offs.
What are the goals and benefits of an integrated, mature Disputes and Collections function? Whathappensifweimproveourcollectionsandreducethenumberofdisputes: •Reducesthecash-on-cashconversion cycle–akeymeasureofhowquicklyweleverageassettoasset conversions. •Improvestheeffectivenessofworkingcapitalandinternalrates of return. •Supportsgrowthinsales.
Typically,thejustificationforimplementingtheDisputesandCollectionsprocessisarelativelyquickpayback.Ourexperienceshowsapaybackinthe1styear.
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Do You Want to Put More Cash in Your Pocket? SLASH THE COST OF DISPUTES AND COLLECTIONS WITH SAP FSCM
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The Ultimate HR Mobile AppIMPROVE THE HR EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES!
ServiceandsupportrequestswereburyingtheHRdepartment.Thebacklogwasamajorfrustrationforemployeesandmanagement.HRwasdesperatelytryingtokeepupwiththemanyrepetitiverequests,“howmanyvacationhoursdoIhave?”,“Iamgettingmarried,howdoIchangemybenefits?”
Likemanymanufacturers,theirHRdepartmentislean.Keepingtrackofover8,000employeesonmultipleshiftsisnotaneasytask.TheHRassociates were stretched responding to the thousands of recurring requestsanddoingsoonatimelybasis.
The idea of a kiosk was considered, but canned because it did not provideprivacyandtrainingwasafactor.Theportalhadtherightinformation,butitwasdesignedusingoldtechnologyandusersneeded to be on a PC to access the data.
How can HR effectively and economically support their employees?
Createaself-servicemobileenvironmentandempoweremployeestogettimelyanswerstotheirimportantquestions!
Titan’sHRmobileappdeliversinformationtotheiremployee’sfingertips.Itiseasyandsimpleforanyonewithasmartphone,tabletorPCtoaccessthemanyrecurringtaskssuchas:
•Howmanyvacationhoursdo I have accrued? • Ineedtovalidatemy timecardorpaystub. •CreateanHRIncidentifthe employeedoesn’tagree withtheTardyNotice!
TheVPofHRspearheadedtheinitiative.Theplantmanagersfromthevariouslocationswerekeystakeholdersintheproject.Akeymetricforsuccess–reducednumberof outstanding service requestsandtime-to-resolve.
TheVPwasadamantaboutthemissionandoutcomesforthemobileapp.Theywantedtoprovidea“robust, scalable and intuitive mobile application that enabled fast, secure and convenient access to personal data.”
“We got the phone call late one Friday afternoon! One of our manufacturing customers was slashing their quarterly and yearly orders due to a slowdown in their business.
Everyone was scrambling to figure out the impact on our revenue, inventory, and demand plan and supply chain.”
Theglobalbusinessmanagerwasonthehotseat!Thedemandplanningprocesseswerenotgearedtocalculatetheimpactofthishitquickly.ExecutiveswantedtheanswersNOW!
Could this happen to you?
WhetheryouareintheMake-to-Stock(MTS)orMake-to-Order(MTO)business,lackingvisibilityofyoursupplychainisahigh-riskadventure.
Thissituationdidhappentooneofourclients.Theyhaveamixedbusinessmodel;finishedgoodsareMTOwithlower-levelstockablesi.e.
Make-to-Stock.Theymanufacturelargeequipmentthattakesupalotoffloorspaceandconsumescostlyresourceswithlonglead-times.Theoutsideoftheequipmentmaylookalike,butthegutsofthemachine
canbedramaticallydifferent.
Thebusinesscasewasevident–monthlyupdatestotheforecastandplanswouldnotcutit!Toomanythingscanhappeninthreeweeks,andtoomuchmoneywasat risk.
The decision was to proceed with SAPIntegratedBusinessPlanning(IBP).IBPisSAP’scloudsolutionthatreplacesSAPAPO,theon-premisesupplychainoptimizersolution.
Themainrequirementswere:• Runtheforecastanddemand
planweekly, • AtoolthatthePlannerscould
use and trust, • Collaborateandcommunicate
therequirementstoour factories,suppliers,and
logisticspartners.
Reduce your Inventory Levels with SAP IBPAND IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCTION CAPACITY AND LONG-TERM PLANNING
SAP IBP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5...
TodownloadyourcopyoftheSpecialReport.https://www.titanconsulting.net/15-proven-methods-to-reduce-cost-of-ownership-in-your-sap-financials/
DownloadYour Copy of the Special Report.
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After35years,theheartandsouloftheglobalbudgetingandreportingprocesseswasretiring.IngridservedtheCFO,Finance, andcountrycontrollersgroupforthisCPGcosmeticsleader diligentlyandcompetently.
Howwassheevergoingtobereplaced?
Ingridwasresponsibleformaintainingtheglobaltransferpricingsystemthecompanyusedforbudgeting,reportingandmarginanalysis.
Howmanytimeshaveyouheardofawell-respectedproducer retiringorleavingthecompany?Theamountofknowledgeleavingwiththemisdevastating.Ingridisaperfectexample.
Sometimesthesesituationscreateopportunitiestoreinventtheprocess. The budgeting process for transfer pricing worked for
manyyears,butlackedinmanyareas–technology,simulation,and foreign exchange.
TheCFOwasmotivatedtoupgrade the processandonlyhadIngridforashorttime.Organizationally,thecountrycontrollershadtoowntheirnumbersandthetoolneededtobeuser-friendlyfordataentryandanalytics.
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Thecurrentplanningprocessiscommoninthisindustry;plannersgathertheSalesForecastfrommultiplesources.Thespreadsheetsareupdatedmonthlybecauseittakestheplannerssomuchtimetogather,consolidate,andgainapprovalfromthevariousstakeholders.
10criteriaweredevelopedformakingthedecision;wewilltalkaboutthe top three: 1. Time-to-Results 2. MSExcelInterface 3. WebInterfaceandDashboards
Time-to-Results:Theevaluationtookaboutthreemonths.Theimplementationandadoptionwilltakeaboutsixmonths.Thisisthetimetodesign,build,integrate,andstabilizethecurrentprocessesonIBP.Foracomplex,multi-sitesuppliernetwork,thisdurationisadvantageous.
Performingweeklychangestotheforecastwhichallowustocommunicatethesechangestoourpartners.Gettingourvarioususergroupsandpartnerssynchronizedisamajorbenefitofthisinitiative.Thisaspectalonejustifiestheinvestment.
Fromatechnologyperspective,usingSAPHCI,HANACloudIntegrator,simplifiesconnectingIBPtoupstreamanddownstreamsystems.PullingdatafrommultiplesystemssuchasECCdoesnotrequirethesetupandmaintenanceexperiencedwithAPO.
PushingtheresultstoourdownstreamfactoriesandpartnersisalsopartoftheHCIintegration.Ourplannersandpartnerscangetonthesamepagewiththeprioritiesoftheplan.Thishelpstoreduceourworkingcapitalthroughincreasedinventoryturns,reducedstockables,andresourcescheduling.
MS Excel Interface:TheplannersareaccustomedtoworkingwithExcel.TheExcelinterfacereducesourtrainingtimeandincreasestheinteractionandparticipationoftheplannerswiththestakeholders.
Additionally,theDIYnatureofthetoolandtheplanningprocesseswillencourageoursubjectmatterexperts,theplannersinmostcases,tocontributeimprovementsintheplanningprocess.
Web Interface and Dashboards:Animpressivecomponentthatexecutivesandplannersappreciatedisthewebinterfaceanddashboard.Ouroperationsteaminterpretsandrespondseffectivelytothedatavisualizationtriggersinthedashboard.Thedashboardpresentstheplan,impact,andexceptionsinavisuallyappealingandintuitivemanner.
WekeepreviewingtheAppstoreforupdatesandnewideas.SAPpublishes,throughtheAppstore,frequentupdatestotheinterface.TheAppstoreisalsoanexcellentsourceforcontinuousimprovementandinsights that users and partners are sharing.
Theanticipatedbenefitsinclude: 1. ReducedInventoryon-handbyasmuchas20%, 2. BetterCollaborationwithPlannersandPartners, 3. ImprovedForecasting,DemandPlanningandProductionPlanning accuracyandfrequency, 4. Forecastinghoursarespentonplanningandcollaborating,not updating spreadsheets.
So,whenthephoneringsonaFridayafternoon;noonepanics.TheIBPS&OPandDemandPlanningsystemwillprovidetheanswersforexecutives,planners,andpartners.
AreyouinterestedinlearningmoreaboutSAPIBP,APOorSupplyChain?OurAdvisoryServicesConsultantshavethebusinessprocessandtechnologyexperiencetostreamlineyourSupplyChain.ContactKentLamb,[email protected],214.632.5621;or,contactyourTitanConsultingDirector.YoucanseeadditionalinformationonourAdvisoryServicespageatwww.titanconsulting.net. www.titanconsulting.net.
BW and Financial PlanningFUNNY THINGS HAPPEN WHEN SOMEONE RETIRES!
4 |
Toensurethesuccessandacceptanceoftheapp,employeesfromalldepartmentsparticipatedinthedesignandprocessesincludedinthefirstrelease.Theshopfloor,wheremostoftheemployeesworked,werethemostheavilyrepresentedonthedesignteam.
Someofthefunctionalityandfeaturesoftheappinclude: •FAQ’sandSmartNavigation–wizardsthat walktheuserthroughthechangesi.e.life events,bankinginformation,etc.; •PayrollInformationincludingPaystubs andTimecards-currentandpriorperiods; •BenefitsInformation; •TardyManagement.
TheTitanMobileFrameworkallowstheintegrationofdatafrommultiplesources:SAPHR,ADPPayroll,andtheTardyManagement
system.Titan’smobileframeworkprovidessecure,easy-to-deploymobileapplications.ItenablesSAPandnon-SAPapplicationsfordataintegrityandmodeling.
Mostimportantly,theUserInterfaceandExperience(UI/UX)enhancesandencouragesself-empoweringapplicationsthatsupporttransactionprocessing,analyticsandreportingonsmartphones,tablets,andPCs.
Doyouwanttoempoweryouremployeeswithmobileapplications?ScheduleabriefcalltoseehowTitan’s
MobileFrameworkcansupportyourbusinessforHR,Sales,Finance,andOperations.TitanConsulting
is here to advise and guide you on the right mobilestrategyforyourcompany.Contact
DavidGeaslenat832.422.3251,[email protected].
Automatingtheprocessesshouldallowyoutoevaluateyourriskandcollectabilityofreceivables,handlecustomersituationswithpaymentremindersandpromise-to-payarrangementsbeforetheygettoapointwhereitislikelythatthereceivableswillbewrittenoff.Streamliningtheworkflowforusersandmanagersisessentialtotheprocess,andintegrationofthesourcedataiscritical.
Metrics and Objective for Disputes and Collections Process: •ReduceDSO–DaysSalesOutstanding–measuringhow quicklycashisreceivedafterasale; •AvoidWrite-offs; • Increaseon-timepayments.
Unlikeotherprocesses,improvementsinkeymetricslikeDSOprovidesanimmediatepaybacktothecompany.Forexample,earlyidentificationofanat-riskreceivablemayresultinavoidingsignificantwrite-offs,furtherimprovingtheROIforaprojectlikethis.
Thebiggestmistakesweseeinthisbusinessprocessare: •Processesanddataareisolatedandnotintegratedinto thesourcedata–offlinedata,containedonspreadsheets; •MetricsandanalyticstosupportFSCMdon’texistorare improperlymanaged; •ProcessesandWorkflowmanagementarenotintegrated intotheAR,FinanceandSales/Operationsorganizations.
Unfortunately,theremedyforthesebrokenprocessesrequiresadditionalresourcestoresolvetheissues.Or,tosweeptheseprocessesunderthecarpetandhopethattheeconomyimprovesandreducesthenumberofdisputes,collections,andwrite-offs.
AtatimewhencompaniesaredrivingCustomerEnablement,compilingacomprehensivepictureofbuyingandpaymentbehaviorisvital.DisputesandCollectionsenablesandsupportsbettercustomerandbusiness decisions.
Improve DSO-AsimpleexampletoshowhowimprovedDSOfundsthe business:AnnualCreditSales-$100MAverageAR-$12.5M
DSO=~45daysNote–Use360days/yearcalculation
ReducetheDSOfrom45to40daysislikeadding$150,000insalesperyear–aniceimprovementanywayyoumeasureit.Thissmallproductivitygainiscertainlybetterthantappingintoalineofcreditorotherworkingcapital.
Ina2015survey,approximately1/5thofallreceivablesintheUnitedStateswerebeyond90days.Toppercentilecompaniesarewithin10%oftheirstandardterms:Net30,makingtheaverageDSO33days.Inforeigncountries,thesepercentagesareworsethanintheUSA.
CreatingthebusinesscaseforDisputesandCollections,acomponentofSAPFinancialSupplyChainManagement(FSCM)isstraightforward.Simple,manageableimprovementshelpbusinessesofalltypes;manufacturers,serviceproviders,financialservices,andhealthcare,canallbenefitfromimprovements.
FSCMallowsyouto: •Actquicklyonagingandpast-duereceivables, •Establishearlyapromise-to-payplan, •ConsideralternativessuchaslockboxorACH, •Buildacompletecustomerprofile.
Otherkeymetricsweconsiderwithyourreceivables,disputesandcollectionscycleare: •AverageDaysDelinquent, •CEI–CollectionsEffectiveIndex, •Write-offsandAt-Risk, •PercentagesTrend–Current,Over30,Over91, •CustomerProfileandPaymentBehavior.
AttherecentSAP-CentricFinancialsConference(http://sapcentricfinancials.com/),wepresentedbusinesscasesonhowourcustomersareimprovingefficiencyintheirfinancialsandreducingtheircostofoperations.
DoyouwanttoseeourcasestudiesofhowtoreduceyourDSOandimproveyourDisputesandCollectionsprocesses?ContactMarkVasinda, [email protected],972.977.3100;oryourTitanConsultingSalesDirector.
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In15weeks,weimplementedthebudgetingprocessonSAPBWCloudthatduplicatedwhatIngriddidforsomanyyearsonspreadsheets.Toaddmorevaluetotheprocess,weenhancedthecapabilitiestoachievetheCFO’sobjectives.
Tocalculatethetransferprice,wereviewedthesourcesofdatathatmadeupherspreadsheets.ShewaspullingdatafromSAPECC,APOandotherdatasources.Now,thetransferpriceisavailableatcostcomponentlevelinformationbyproductandplantatthecountrylevel.
Thepilotprojectallowedustorefineandenhancetheprocess.Somestakeholderswereinitiallyresistanttochange,butwhentheysawtheycouldimprovetheprocesstheygotonboard.
Thefunctionalitythatlackedmostwasmultipleversionsandcontrol.Enablingversioncontrolallowedustotrackchangesinthebusiness,economy,andtheunderlyingassumptions.Forexample,iflaborcostswerehigherthanexpected,lookingbackatthedataandassumptionspromptedmeaningfulconversationsoncostdriverstoaccountforthechange–morelaborresources,higherlaborrates.
Previously,conversationsgotboggeddownaroundtheaccuracyofthenumbers.Accountantsspentmoretimejustifyingthenumbersandnotenoughtimediscussingoncorrectiveaction.
Gettingallstakeholderstoagreewasaprimaryoutcomeoftheproject.NowtheteamsinAsiaandEMEAwereaccountableandresponsiblefortheirsubmissionsandresults.
Ingridretiredandisnowenjoyinghertimewithgrandchildren.Thebudgetingprocessisimprovedandsupportingtheglobalbusinessinwaysthatwerealwayswantedandneeded.
Doyouhavebusinessprocessesthatareat-riskoflosingkeyownersorobsoleteandcostlytechnology?AtTitan,webelievethatourexpertiseinbusinessprocessesandtechnologywillhelpyougetmoreoutofyourSAPinvestmentandreduceyourTCO.
FormoreinformationonhowTitancanhelpyouunderstandyourITcostsandreduceyourTCO,contactJosephLamb,[email protected], 972.743.2872;orcontactyourTitanConsultingDirector.YoucanalsoseeadditionalinformationonourAdvisoryServicesatTitanConsulting,www.titanconsulting.net.
2017 C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T SFinancials 2017 Booth #315 March 21 - March 24 The Mirage Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, NV
ASUG Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter Meeting April 21 Plano Centre Plano, TX
SAPPHIRE 2017 May 16 - May 18 OrangeCountyConventionCenter Orlando, FL
ASUG Houston Chapter Meeting June 15 Norris Conference Centers – Houston/City Centre Houston, TX
Looking forward
to seeing you at:
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