Driving Alignment from StrAtegic objectiveS to operAtionAl

Driving Alignment from StrAtegic objectiveS to operAtionAl performAnce

SAp Solution in DetailSAp Strategy management

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contentS

Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

“Siloed” Business Intelligence Approaches Are Not Enough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Elements of a Successful Strategy Management Solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SAP Strategy Management: Driving Execution Across the Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6SolvingtheChallengesofStrategyManagementandExecution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6EmpowerBusinessUsers–andFreeUpITResources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Core Functions of SAP Strategy Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Home:PuttingInformationatEmployees’Fingertips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

IncreasingtheEfficiencyandEffectivenessofOperationalReviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Strategy:MakingItRelevanttoEmployeesatAllLevels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Initiatives:LinkingInitiativeswithDailyOperations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Scorecards:GivingDepartmentsGreaterControlandVisibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1�Dashboards:ProvidingFlexibilityandFastAccesstoSupportingOperationalData . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Reports:EmpoweringBusinessUserswithSelf-Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Administrative Automation Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16EntryandApprovalFunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16ConfigurationandModelingFunctions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Powered by SAP NetWeaver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

For More Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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Itisimportanttonotethatmostoftheseissuescannotbeaddressedbyprovidingyourorganizationwitheasieraccesstofinancialdata–orevenbasicscorecardanddashboardfunctionalityshow-ingkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)andothermetrics.Financialfiguresareusefultoshowwhetheryourcompanyismeetingorexceedingtargetrevenues,profitability,andcost-cuttinggoals,buttheyarenotforproactivelymanagingorganizationalperfor-mance.Sotoday’sfinancialdatacan’twarnyouaboutissuessuchasdecayingemployeemorale,decliningcustomersatisfaction,anddiminishingproductquality–allcriticalleadingindicatorsoffuturesuccessorfailure.Andtypically,thenumbershavenorealmeaningtoyouremployeesastheymakeday-to-daydeci-sions,prioritizework,andallocateresources.

Instead,yourexecutivesneedinformationtodevisetherightstrategiesanddeterminewheretodeploypersonnelandbudgets.Oncedeveloped,theymustcommunicatethesestrategiestoinformationworkersacrosstheenterprise–anddosoinwaysthattheycanrelatetowithinthecontextoftheirdepartmentandrole.Atthesametime,youremployeesneedthetoolstoexecuteproperlyonaday-to-daybasis,aswellasmakewell-informeddecisions.

ITcanplayacriticalroleinbridgingthisgulfbyhelpingthebusi-nessincreaseoperationalalignmentandagility.TheSAP®StrategyManagementapplicationcanhelpyoudothatwithasingle,integratedsolutionthat’seasytodeploy.Thesoftwareempowersbusinessusersatalllevelstomonitorandensureexecutiononstrategies–andgetsITdepartmentsoutofthedashboard,score-board,andreportingbusinessandfocusedonothervalue-addedinitiatives.

Tokeepupwiththepaceofbusinesstoday,successfulenterprisesareinconstantflux:refiningstrategies,introducingnewproductandserviceofferings,launchingnewmarketingcampaigns,intro-ducingnewtoolsforimprovedefficiency.Atthesametime,exec-utivesmaybefocusedonoptimizingsupplychains,improvingworkforceproductivity,andoutsourcingnoncoreprocesses.

Thequestionis–arethesetypesofstrategiesandplansbeingcarriedoutswiftlyandeffectivelyacrossyourorganization?Areexecutivesachievingtheresultstheyneed?Iftheanswerisunclear,you’renotalone.Mostbusinessesfaceasignificantgapbetweenstrategyandexecution,andthechallengeisbothprofoundandwidespread.

What’sthesourceoftheproblem?Themostcommonreasonsincludethefollowing:•Mostemployeesdon’tfullyunderstandtheorganizational

strategyandthereforedon’trecognizehowtheirdecisionsimpactotherpartsoftheorganization.

•Employeeincentivesystemsareseldomlinkedtoorganiza-tionalstrategy,soindividuals’personalgoalsarenotalignedwiththoseofthecompany.

•Managementsystemsdon’tempoweremployeestomakedecisionsindependently.

•Thereisnosystematicapproachortoolforlinkingstrategicobjectiveswiththeorganization’sbudgeting,planning,andreportingprocesses.

•Thereisnomechanismforcapturingorsharingbestpracticesacrossthecompany;thus,processesmustconstantlybereinvented.

executive SummAry

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Tryingtoexecuteonhigh-levelcorporatestrategieswithoutastrategymanagementsolutionisakintomanagingcomplex,long-term,andbusiness-criticalprojectswithoutcollaborativeprojectmanagementsoftware.Withoutit,howcanyourprojectmanagersstructureaprojectsothatactivitiesandtasksareclearlylinkedtothelargerobjective?Howcananyonereallyknowthetruestatusoftheproject,itscosttodate,andwherethepoten-tialroadblocksare?Andhowcantheyallocateresourcesmosteffectively?

Similarly,whenyourorganizationreliesexclusivelyon“siloed”dashboards,scorecards,andreportstomanageexecutionofcor-poratestrategies,C-levelexecutives,line-of-businessmanagers,andtheiremployeesareoftenataloss,unclearaboutanswerstosomeofthemostfundamentalquestions,suchasthefollowing:•Whatisourcompany’slong-andshort-termstrategy?•Whatplans,budgets,andinitiativesdoIneedtoundertaketo

feedthatstrategy?•Whichdepartmentsareresponsibleformakingsurethese

strategiesareexecuted?•Howdocorporatestrategiesimpactmyday-to-daydecisions

andactions?•Howaremydecisionsandactionsimpactingtheoverallgoals?•HowcanIreallocateresourcesandbudgetformaximum

impact?

Asthesequestionssuggest,managementandemployeesatalllevelsneedacomprehensivestrategymanagementsolutionthatenablestheirorganizationtoalignfromtoptobottom–linkingscorecardsanddashboardstostrategicinitiativesandplansathigherlevel.Withtherightsolutioninplace,employeesatalllevelscananswerthesequestions–andmakeday-to-daydecisionsthatmoveyourorganizationclosertoitsobjectives.

SAPStrategyManagementintegratesallthreepillarsofstrategymanagement:goals,initiatives,andmetrics.Onlywhentheseelementsarealignedcanyourorganizationhonedecisionmakingandachieveitsobjectives–bothshort-andlong-term.Here’swhy.

• GoalsWhilemostorganizationshavedevelopedgoalsandobjectives,andsomehaveformalizedthemintoastrategicplan,toooftenonlyaselectfewindividualsunderstandexactlywhatthegoalsmeanandhowtheyshouldaffectwhattheydo.Toimproveperformance,goalsettingmustinvolvemorestakeholders,bemoreinteractive,beupdatedmorefrequently,andtieexplic-itlytoorganizationaloperationsandinitiatives.

• InitiativesToooften,managersandemployeesareassignedtoaproject–buttheyhavenorealunderstandingofwhytheprojectisimportantinthegreaterschemeofthings.Consequently,theytendtoprioritizeprojectswiththemostpoliticalcapitalorthosethatarefurthestbehindschedule.Projectparticipantsneedbetterinsightintothestrategicrelevanceofprojectssothattheycanmakeinformedchoicesaboutwhichprojectsshouldtakeprecedenceoverothers.

• MetricsWiththerecentproliferationofdashboardsandscorecards,organizationshavegonefromdrowningindatatodrowninginmetrics.Mostendupwithhundredsorthousandsofstaticmetricsthatareupdatedmonthly,weekly,orevendaily.Besidestheresourcedrain,themetricsareoftenviewedas“unreliable”andlargelymeaninglessbecauseonlyexpertsunderstandwhattheymeanandhowtousethem.Organizationsneedmetricsthateveryonetrusts,completewithdrill-downfunctionsandtheabilitytocreatepersonalized,reconfigurableviewsthatarerelevanttoeachuser.

SAPStrategyManagementconnectsthesecornerstonesofstrategymanagementtohelpdriveexecutionefficiently.

“SiloeD” buSineSS intelligence ApproAcheS Are not enough

elementS of A SucceSSful StrAtegy mAnAgement Solution

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SAp StrAtegy mAnAgement: Driving execution AcroSS the enterpriSe

TheSAPStrategyManagementapplicationisasingle,compre-hensivesolutionthatallowsyourorganizationtovisiblylinkstrategicplanstotasks,budgets,measures,performancegoals,andpeople.Itistheonlyoperationalperformancemanagementsolutiontoaddressboththeneedsoftheorganizationandindi-vidualusers.Itprovidesexecutiveswiththetoolstocommuni-cateandmanagegoals,initiatives,andmetrics–frominitialdefi-nitiontocompletedexecution.Andbecausethesoftwareenablesmanagementtodistillstrategiesdowntoinitiativesandtasks,itprovidesallemployeeswithactionableplansthattheycanunderstand.Theyareempoweredtoleveragetheircollectiveintelligence;makeinformed,day-to-daydecisionsthatsupportstrategies;workcollaborativelytomeetgoals;andunderstandexactlyhowtheyarebringingvaluetothebusiness.Asaresult,C-levelexecutivescanbeconfidentthatthestrategiesdefinedinSAPStrategyManagementaretranslatedintoexecutionbytheirline-of-businessheadsandinformationworkers.

Solving the challenges of Strategy management and

execution

SAPStrategyManagementhelpsyousolvetheunderlyingchal-lengesofstrategymanagementandexecutionbybridgingthegulfbetweenoperationalalignmentandagility,asfollows:

• Giving business users accurate, contextual dashboards, scorecards, and reports LeveragingtheSAPNetWeaver®platform,SAPStrategyManagementconsolidatesdatafromSAPandnon-SAPsystemssoyoucaninteractwithperformance-relevantinformationregardlessofthesource.Now,businessuserscangetaccesstothedatatheyneedincontextuallyappropriate,personalizedways–withoutinvolvingIT.Andbecausethesoftwareofferstransparencyacrossallperformance-relateddatafromacrosstheenterprise,stakeholderscantrustthedatabehindthereportingtoolsandevendrilldownforadditionallevelsofdetail.

• Linking strategies, goals, initiatives, metrics, and tasks to drive execution at all levelsSAPStrategyManagementenhancestraditionalbusinessintel-ligencereportingfunctionsbysurroundingthemwithguidedcollaboration;strategy,initiative,andresourceplanning;linkstobudgetingandprogressreportingfunctions;andmore.Theseadditionalfunctionslinkstrategiestospecificgoalsandinitiatives–andprovidemuch-neededstructureandvisibilityaroundtheirexecution.Forexample,foragiveninitiative,alloftheroles,underlyingmetrics,andfactorsfeedingintothegoalsandtacticsforaninitiativearecapturedinSAPStrategyManagement.Thisallowsmanagementtostayontopofprogressandroadblocks–anddifferentdepartmentstostayabreastofotherinitiativesunderwayacrosstheenterprise.

• Enabling flexibility and self-service for business usersSAPStrategyManagementisanopensystem.ITsimplyprovidesdirectaccesstostructureddataviaaone-timeconnectiontocoreoperationalsystems.Businessuserscanemployself-servicefunctionstoimportoraddunstructureddatamanuallyasneeded.

• Taking the work – and inconsistency – out of operational review preparationWithSAPStrategyManagement,everythingrequiredtoprepareforanytypeofoperationalreviewiscentralized,certifiedasaccurate,andinstantlyavailableforpublication.Thisnotonlysavesvaluable–andcostly–preparationtimeforinformationworkersacrosstheorganization,butalsoallowsmanagementtodefineamorestructured,consistentoperationalreviewpreparationprocess.

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• Fostering greater collaboration and teamwork SAPStrategyManagementhelpsbuildanactivecommunityofperformancemanagementusersbypromotingnotjustone-waycommunication,butalsocollaboration.Forexample,yourvicepresidentofsalescangivethedirectorofmarketingdirectaccesstopipelinedatasotheycanworktogetheroninitiativestomeetrevenuegoals.Atthesametime,thesoftwareincreasestransparencyacrosstheenterprise–whichpreventssalesfromclaiming,forexample,thattheyhavenoknowledgeofcurrentmarketinginitiatives.Userscanchoosetosubscribetonotifica-tionsaboutinitiativeswithinotherdepartmentstohelpthemcollaboratemoreeffectively.

Theresultisanend-to-endstrategyperformancemanagementsolutionthathelpsyourorganizationachieveitsgoalsswiftlyandconfidently.

empower business users – and free up it resources

SAPStrategyManagementgetsyourITdepartmentoutofthedashboard,scoreboard,andreportingbusiness,whichfreesstafftofocusonothervalue-addedinitiatives.Atthesametime,itallowsyoutoprovideyourexecutives,departments,andbusinessunitswithaflexible,long-termsolutionformonitoring,tracking,managing,andreportingonoperationalperformance.SAPStrategyManagementiseasytodeployandallowsyoutolever-ageyourorganization’scurrentinvestmentsinSAPsolutionsforevengreaterbusinessvalue.It’stightlyintegratedwithcoreSAPbusinessapplicationssuchasenterpriseresourceplanning,customerrelationshipmanagement,andsupplychainmanage-ment.Equallyimportant,it’seasytoadministrateviaasinglemanagementconsole.

SAPStrategyManagementdeliversamodularsetoffunctionsthataddresstheneedsofexecutives,line-of-businessmanagers,andinformationworkersacrossyourenterprise.Keyfunctionsaregroupedintothefollowingcategories:•Home(includesfunctionssupportingoperationalreviews)•Strategy•Initiatives•Scorecards•Dashboards•Reports

Acrossallofthesefunctionalareas,thesoftwareprovidesthefollowinguniversalfeaturesthathelpinformationworkersstayinformed,collaboratemoreeffectively,andworkmoreefficiently:

• Threaded and searchable comments Threadedandsearchablecommentsfacilitateeffectivediscussionsandcollaboration,timelynotificationsandproblemresolution,andefficientsharingof“bestpractices”throughoutyourorganization.

• Archivable notification and subscriptionsArchivablenotificationandsubscriptionsnotifyusersofchangestogoals,initiatives,andmetricsorwhenspecificactionisrequired,ensuringthateveryoneisawareofthelatestperfor-manceinformation.

• Distributed entry, approval, and publishingDistributedentry,approval,andpublishingstreamlinestheprocessforgettingperformancemanagement-relateddata–includingobjectives,targets,metrics,KPIs,andinitiatives–intoSAPStrategyManagement.

• Print-quality formatting Print-qualityformattingtakestheguessworkandmanuallaboroutofcreatingdocumentsthatareconsistentlyformattedandeasytoread.

core functionS of SAp StrAtegy mAnAgement

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home: putting information at employees’

fingertips

TheSAPStrategyManagementapplicationprovidesafamiliar,user-friendlyinterfacethatencouragesadoptionandminimizesramp-uptime(seeFigure1).TheHomescreengivesemployeesapersonalizedexperiencewithaccesstotheirownviewintoSAPStrategyManagement.FromHomeusersaccesstheirin-boxestoviewalerts(whicharetriggeredautomaticallywhenpredeter-minedthresholdsarereached),aswellasinstantlyseewhatper-formanceinformationhasrecentlychanged.Andeverythingtheyneedtoprepareforoperationsreviewsisattheirfingertips.

Thefollowingkeyfeaturesenablethisfunctionality:

• Personalized performance summariesSAPStrategyManagementallowsemployeestotracktheobjectives,initiatives,andKPIsimportanttothem.

• Personalized bookmarksThesoftwareenablesemployeestohighlightanypageintheapplicationforquickaccesstotheirhomepage.

• Subscription-based alerts Employeescan“subscribe”towireless-enabledalertstoreceiveinstantnotificationsregardingchangestotherelevantgoals,initiatives,andmetrics.Forexample,acallcentermanagercansubscribetoalertsregardinganynewmarketingcampaignsthatwillgenerateincreasedcalls–informationthemanagerneedstostaffupappropriately.Thesoftwarealsoarchivesthesealertsinacomprehensiverepository,whicheliminatesconcernsoverlostormisfilede-mails.

• Integrated operational reviews SAPStrategyManagementprovidesone-clickaccesstopublishedoperationalreviews–functionalitythatcantransformopera-tionalreviewsfromanoccasionaleventtoanongoingprocess.

Figure1:Condensed,PersonalizedPerformanceSummaries

Increasing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Operational

Reviews

Operationalreviewsareavitalpartoftheperformancemanage-mentprocess.Ideally,yourexecutiveswouldliketohaveweekly,monthly,andquarterlyreviews.Thechallengeisthatemployeesoftenneedmonthstoorganizethedata,sothefrequencyisusu-allydeterminedbythefeasibilityratherthanthebusinessneed.Withouttherighttoolsinplace,employeestypicallyrelyonMicrosoftExcelspreadsheets,MicrosoftAccessdatabases,andotherthird-partyintelligencequeriestogatherdatafromdisparatesystemsandprocessitforreporting.Complicatingmattersfurtheristhefactthatanalyststypicallyneedtomakearbitrarydecisionsaboutwhatdatatoinclude,resultinginconflictingreports.Monthlyreportscantakeseveralweekstoprepareandtieupdozensofpeopleacrossdifferentbusinessareas.Andintheend,thereisnosingleversionofcorporatetruth.

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SAPStrategyManagementsimplifiesandformalizestheprocessofprocessing,gathering,anddistributinginformationforopera-tionalreviews.Becauseuserscanlinkstrategiestospecificgoalsandinitiatives–andthenlinkthosetoallofthemetrics,activities,people,budget,andotherdatarelatedtoaninitiative–allrelevantdatacanberolledupintohigh-levelreportswithdrill-downcapabilities(seeFigure�).Everythingiscapturedinonesystemofrecord,sopreparingforoperationsreviewsissimplyamatterofcreatingAdobePDFsoftherelevantscreenswithinSAPStrategyManagement.ThereisnoneedtobotherITwithreportrequests,asevencustomreportscanbehandledbybusinessusers.

Bysimplifyingandstandardizingtheoperationalreviewpreparationprocess,SAPStrategyManagementcansaveyourbusinessthou-sandsofworkinghourseachyearindatagatheringandreporting.Italsoallowsexecutivestoestablishclearexpectationsforreportingduringoperationsreviews.Andbecausealloperationsreviewreportingcomesfromthesametrustedsource–SAPStrategyManagementratherthansomeone’sspreadsheet–concernsoverdataaccuracyandvalidityareminimized.Keyfeaturesthatenablethisfunctionalityincludethefollowing:

• User-driven publishing Employeesatalllevelscancapturecontext-specificinforma-

tionwithinSAPStrategyManagementandinstantlypublish“briefingbooks”tailoredfordifferentaudiences.Forexample,whileexecutivesmayonlywanttoseepagesoninitiatives,goals,resources,andteamsummaries,projectmanagersmayrequirepagesthatprovideadditionallayersofdetailsothatteammemberscandiscusscontingencies,dependencies,andmore.

• Instant access to support the operational review Duringaliveoperationalreview,employeescangobeyondthe

datapublishedinabriefingbookbyinstantlyaccessingthelatestperformancedata.

• Annotations Employeescanaddannotationsthroughoutanoperational

reviewtohighlightkeypointsandensurethatthoselessfamiliarwithresultsknowtherealstorybehindtheperfor-mancedata.

• Export to Adobe PDF Thesoftwareallowsemployeestosaveoperationalreview

materialsasanAdobePDF,givingthemflexibilitytodistributetootherconstituentsbesidesusersofSAPStrategyManagement.Operationalreviewscaneasilybeprinted,e-mailed,viewedon-screenasaslideshow,orpublishedtoaWebsite.

Figure�:LinkActivities,Goals,andProcessesThatImpactthePerformanceObjective

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Strategy: making it relevant to employees at All

levels

Managinggoalsrequiresmorethansimplydisplayingcurrentobjectives;itrequiresthatyoumotivatepeopletoexecute.Ifyoufailtogetstakeholdersinterestedintheirrolesandmindfuloftheimportanceoftheircontribution,youwillhaveanarmyofemployeesoperatingwithdisparateagendasanddoinglittletoadvanceorganizationalobjectives.

Animportantaspectofmotivationispresentingstakeholderswiththebigpictureofyourorganization’skeylong-andshort-termgoals.Forexample,theapplication’s“pathways”and“strategyplans”cangoalongwaytowardhelpingstakeholderspiecetogethertheentirepuzzleofhowyourorganizationseekstoachieveitsvision.Pathwaysprovideahigh-levelroadmapfortheorganization,illustratingasystematicpathtoachievingit.Strategyplansshowtherelationshipbetweenvariousstrategicobjectivesandtellthestoryofhowtheyenabletheorganizationtoachieveitsoverallmission–asteptowardyourcompany’svision.

SAPStrategyManagementsupportsthestrategydevelopmentprocessbytransformingwrittenplansdevelopedbyexecutives–whicharetypicallystatic,impenetrabledocuments–intolivingstrategydocumentsthatemployeescanusetodiscuss,share,andupdategoals.Thesedocumentscanalsoincluderich,con-textualvisualizationsthatdrivegreaterunderstandingofstrategicobjectivesacrossyourorganization(seeFigures3and4).

Thefollowingfeaturesmakethisfunctionalitypossible:

• PathwaysThepathwaysfeature,thefirstofitskindinthesoftwareindustry,graphicallydepictstheprogressivestagesinrealizingyourorganization’slong-termvisionandhelpseveryoneunder-standthephasesinwhichparticularobjectivesplayprimary,contributoryroles.

• Interactive goal diagrams with optional scoring Ratherthanrelyingonstaticdiagrams,SAPStrategyManage-mentallowsyouruserstocreateinteractivegoaldiagramsthatprovideone-clickaccesstoricherinformationsuchasdetaileddescriptionsandsupportinginitiatives.Asaresult,employeesgainagreaterunderstandingofyourorganization’sgoals.Thesoftwarealsoallowsuserstoaddscorestoindividualelementsofagoaldiagramsothattheycanconvertitintoatraditionalperformancescorecard.

• Software-generated and user-created goal diagramsSAPStrategyManagementprovidescountlesswaystovisualizeoperationaldata–fromstrategymapsandprocessdiagramstogoalsummaries.Thisflexibilityallowsyouruserstotrydifferentapproachesandselecttheformatthatismostintuitivetothemoreasilyunderstoodbytheirtargetaudience.Astheyswitchfromoneformattoanother,thesediagramsneverloseinter-activity(suchasdrill-downfunctionality)orsupportingdocu-mentation(suchasrelateddocuments).Userscanalsoimportexistinggraphicsanduseadiagrammanagertoeasilycreatenewone-pagevisualizations.

• Cause and effectWithSAPStrategyManagement,userscangainabetterunder-standingofwhichobjectivesplayprimary,secondary,ortertiaryrolesinmeetingotherobjectives.

Figure3:VisualizingProgressonStrategicObjectivesandVision

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Figure4:Rich,ContextualVisualizationsforGreaterUnderstandingandAccountability

initiatives: linking initiatives with Daily operations

Typically,seniorexecutivesdefinethelargerstrategicobjectivesfortheirorganization(forexample,increasingsalesinSouthAmerica).Executivesmaydefinespecificbenchmarkstomeasureperformanceagainstthatobjective(suchas“doublerevenuebytheendofthefirstquarterandtriplerevenuebythethirdquarter”).Initiativesaretheoperationalprogramsorganizationsundertaketoachievelargerstrategicobjectives(forexample,hiremoresalesrepsinLatinAmericainthefirstquarter,andlaunchanadvertisingcampaigninthesecondandthirdquarters).

SAPStrategyManagementprovidesaclearlinkbetweenyouroperationalprocessesandtheobjectivesimpactedbyagiveninitia-tive.Thesoftwareprovidessimplesummaryviewsofinitiativessupportingoverallobjectives,aswellasfunctionsforviewingthemilestonessupportingeachinitiative,theinterdependenciesbetweenthem,andscheduleandbudgetstatus.Thisvisibilityfacilitatescollaboration,helpsidentifybottlenecks,andenablesproactivecorrectiveaction.Inaddition,thesoftwaregoesbeyondsimplytrackingprojectresourcesandactivitiesbyhelpingyourstakeholdersprioritizeandfocusresourcesappropriately–eveninthefaceofconflictingtasks–sothatresourcesalwayssupportthemostcriticalmilestones.


• Initiative summariesSAPStrategyManagementprovidesyouruserswithanat-a-glancesummaryofthestatusofmultipleinitiativesacrossyourbusiness,providinginsightintohowtheyimpactgoalsandobjectives.

• Fishbone visualizationsThesoftwaresupports“fishbone”visualizations,anintuitiveviewofthelinksbetweeneachstrategy,goal,initiative,resource,andotherelementsofaplan.Thesevisualizationshighlightcriticalinterdependenciesbetweenmilestonessothatemployeescanidentifyandresolvebottleneckswithinaninitiative.

• Initiative prioritizationSAPStrategyManagementincludesaninnovativeprioritiza-tionmatrixthatprovidesanat-a-glanceviewofinitiatives’relativeimportanceandurgency,aswellasthedependenciesbetweenindividualinitiativesandmilestones(seeFigure5).Thisinsighthelpsensurethatbothmanagementandinforma-tionworkersacrossyourorganizationarefocusedontherightworkandmakingtherightdecisionstosupportstrategicobjectives.Theyalwaysknowwhatisexpectedofthemandwhen,aswellashowtheirchoicesandactionsimpactotheraspectsofinitiative.

• Initiative filteringBylimitingthedisplayofinitiativesbyspecificpropertiessuchasowner,budgetorschedulestatus,andrelatedobjective,SAPStrategyManagementmakesiteasyforindividualinfor-mationworkerstofocustheirattentiononexactlywhattheyneedtogettheirworkdone.Thisfiltering,ornarrowingoffocus,preventsemployeesfromfeelingoverwhelmedandensuresthattheyalwaysknowwhattoprioritize,fromataskperspective.

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• Automatic notification SAPStrategyManagementprovidesnotifications,oralerts,

toappropriateemployeeswhenmilestonesareabouttoslip,initiativeshavechanged,commentshavebeenadded,orownersareassignednewtasks.Employeesreceivethesealertsthroughtheir“home”portals.

• Distributed ownershipSAPStrategyManagementletsyoudistributeownershipofoverallinitiativesandindividualmilestonesacrossdifferentpeople.Thisfunctionalitypromoteseffectivecollaborationandensuresemployeeaccountability.

Figure5:PrioritizationMatrixShowingRelativeImportance,Urgency,andDependenciesofInitiatives

Scorecards: giving Departments greater control

and visibility

Onceyourorganizationhasdefineditsstrategyandstartedtoexecutespecificinitiativestoachieveit,youneedawaytomoni-torprogressonaregularbasis.Thisrequiresthatmechanismsareinplacetosystematicallytrackimplementationprogressandalertstakeholdersnotonlytoissues,problems,andfailures,buttobrightspotsandsuccessesaswell.Stakeholderscanthenreactquicklytoproblems,identifywherethingsarebroken,andcorrectissuesinatimelymanner.Theycanalsoidentifywhat’sworkingwellsothatitcanbesharedwithothergroups.

Implementingtrackingfunctionssuchasscorecardshastradi-tionallyinvolvedthecreationofmultipledepartmentallyfocused,disconnectedreportinginitiatives,eachmanagedbyITasseparateprojects.Often,IThasnocontextastowhythebusi-nessneedsaccesstooperationaldataorhowitwillbeused.Con-sequently,departmentsendupwithinadequatelevelsofdetailandinadequatefunctionality.Intheend,ITisfrustratedandovertaxedbynewrequestsforinformation.Andbecausedepart-mentstendtobasereportsondifferentdatasourcesandviews,theygeneratereportswithconflictingfigures–arealfrustrationforexecutives.WhileITdepartmentscanaddresssomeoftheseissuesbyforcingstandardizationonasetofscorecards–aswellasreportsanddashboards–italsomeansthatITisperceivedpoorlybecausedepartmentscan’tpersonalizetheirviews.

Atthesametime,thesetypesoftraditional,“narrow”scorecardapproachescanbeaone-offanswertosolvingalargerbusinessproblemarounddecisionmakingoralignment.Scorecardscancreateorganizationaltensionbyhighlightingproblemsthatonegroupdenies(lackingfullunderstandingofthedatasource,howitisscored,andsoon)orbecausethescorecardtakesintoaccountonlyoneviewofthebusiness.Norarescorecardsusuallylinkedtogoalsetting,theplanningprocess,orresourceplan-ning.Asaresult,theyarerarelytrustedbyanyoneotherthanthefewpeoplewhocreatedthem.

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WithSAPStrategyManagement,scorecardsareviewedasjustoneofseveraloptionsformonitoringandtrackingprogress(seeFigure6).Theyprovideuserswithapersonalizedviewofprog-resstowardspecificoutcomes,aswellasdrill-downfunctionalitytoaccesssupportingdetail.SincealloftheunderlyingdatacomesdirectlyfromcoreoperationalsystemsandisusedbySAPStrategyManagementtopopulateKPIsandenableplanningandotheractivities,stakeholdersknowwherethescorecardresultsarecomingfromandhowtheresultsweregenerated.Theycanalsodrilldownintofigurestoaccesssupportingdata(seeFigure7).


• Readiness scorecardsThesoftwareprovidesnearlyunlimitedviewsofperformance,includingareadinessscorecardthathelpsyoudeterminewhentomovetothenextphaseofyourperformancemanagementimplementation,anobjectivescorecardtomonitorperfor-mancetowardgoals,andaKPIscorecardtoconsolidatekeyfinancialandoperationalindicators.Toensurebuy-in,keystakeholdersareformallyengagedintheprocessofsettingthemup.

• Flexibility to combine and weight KPI typesDashboardswithinSAPStrategyManagementgiveyouruserstheflexibilitytotrackvarioustypesofmeasures,includingqualitativeandquantitative,leadingandlagging,andfinancialandoperationalmeasures.Thesoftwarealsoallowsthemtomonitorsubjectiveorintangibleobjectives,suchasanalystreviews,customeraffinity,brandeffectiveness,employeesatis-faction,andfieldfeedback.UserscanalsoweightmultipleKPIstoreflecttheirrelativeimportance,givingthemamoremean-ingfulviewofperformancestatus.

• Support for multiple targetsThesoftwaresupportsmultipletargets–includingbudget,forecasts,andbenchmarks–allowingyouruserstocompareactualperformanceagainstdifferentsetsofexpectations,bothinternalandexternal.

• Flexible scoringYouruserscanscoreperformanceusingmultiplegradingsys-tems,suchastrafficlight(red,green,yellow),gradeschool(A,B,C),orgladiator(thumbsup,down)approaches.Usingthemostappropriatesystemforyourbusinessandcommunica-tionobjectivescanincreaseemployeeunderstandingofresultsandimproveadoptionofthesoftware.

Figure6:ObjectiveScorecardsMonitoringtheHealthofObjectivesandRelatedInitiativesandKPIs

Figure7:Drill-DownScorecardFunctionsProvideInsightintoChangesandTrends

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Dashboards: providing flexibility and fast Access to

Supporting operational Data

Mostcompanieslackthemechanismsrequiredtotrackimple-mentationprogresssystematicallyandalertstakeholdersnotonlytoissues,problems,andfailures,butalsotosuccesses.SAPStrategyManagementempowersdepartmentstocreatedashboardsthatsuittheirparticularneeds.Plus,thedataisallbasedoncentralized,accurate,real-timeoperationaldata–oneversionofthecorporatetruththatallstakeholderscanagreeupon.Theselive,role-baseddashboardsallowuserstomonitorcriticalinputandoutputmetricsforagivenfunction,organiza-tion,orrole.Forexample,amarketingdirector’sdashboardmightincludesummaryinformationaboutadvertisingcostsperlead,whileasalesmanager’smightincludenewopportunitiescreated,dealsstuckinthepipeline,andsalesperformancebyregion.

Unlikestaticdashboardsthatprovideonlysummaryinformation,SAPStrategyManagementcanbelinkedtounderlyinganalyses,allowingfordeeperinvestigationtoisolateandunderstandthedriversofperformance(seeFigure8).Dashboardsalsocanbeexpandedbeyondfunctionalgroupsandmadepublic(foreveryonetoview)orkeptprivate(tobeviewedonlybytheindividualwhocreatedit).


• Live dashboards with drill-down functionsDashboardsareautomaticallyrefreshedtoensurethatthemostup-to-dateperformanceisalwaysavailable.Integrateddrill-downfunctionsenabledeeperprobingintoareasofinterest.Forexample,youcangodirectlyfromdashboardsintorelatedreportstoisolateandunderstandperformancedriversandroadblockstoprogress.

• Role-based dashboardsThesoftwaresupportsthecreationofanunlimitednumberofdashboardsbyvariousdepartmentsorbusinessunits.Asaresult,dashboardscanbetailoredforspecificusers,objectives,orgroups.Dashboardscanalsobesharedwithallusers,limitedtoagroup,orkeptprivate.

• Packaged dashboard templatesSAPStrategyManagementsimplifiestheprocessofcreatingdashboardsbyincludingawidevarietyofdashboardssuchasbenchmarking,trending,ranking,andcontributions.Userscanbuildadashboardfromscratchorpersonalizeanexistingonetobetterfittheirneeds.

• Multiple-model dashboardsDashboardscanincludeuptofourdifferentpanels,andeachcanpulldatafromdifferentdatasources.Asaresult,yougetabroaderviewofperformance.

• Scorecard filteringUserscanlimitthedisplayofscorecardsbyspecificpropertiessuchasorganization,region,timeperiod,orscoretofocusattentiononissuesthatdemandimmediateattention.

• Automatic notificationsSAPStrategyManagementautomaticallygeneratesnotifica-tions–intheformofannotations–whenobjectiveslookfineonthesurface,butmayactuallybeindangeroffailing.

• KPI summariesThesoftwaremakesiteasiertomonitorthehealthofKPIsbyprovidingsupportingdetailsuchasKPIdescriptions,gapsbetweenactualandtargetfigures,trends,andcomments.ThesesummariesprovidecontextforKPIssothateveryoneunderstandshowchangingnumbersactuallyimpactperfor-mance.TrendingofKPIsovertimealsohelpsemployeesatalllevelsunderstandnotonlyhowtheydidlastweek,month,orquarter,buthowtheyhavebeendoingoveranextendedperiodoftime.

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Figure8:Live,ActionableDashboardsShowingResultsinContext

reports: empowering business users with Self-

Service

SAPStrategyManagementgetsIToutofthereportgenerationbusiness–andempowersexecutives,line-of-businessmanagers,analysts,andinformationworkerstorunstandardreportsbythemselvesusingthemostup-to-datecorporatedata.Thesoftwareincludesaneasy-to-useinterfaceenablingbusinessusersfromdifferentfunctionalareastoquicklymeasureongoingprogresstowardobjectives.Anduniquefeatures,suchas“timeintelligence”functionality,makeiteasytomanipulateattributesandcreateuser-definedhierarchiesforcustomizedanalysis–withoutplacingadditionaldemandonIT.

Foranalystsseekingmorein-depthanalysistoaiddecisionmak-ing,adhocanalysisfunctionsprovidevirtuallyboundlessoptionstomeasureanduncovertherootofperformanceissues(seeFigure9).Integratedforecastingfunctionshelpanalystsprojectfutureperformanceandplanaheadbasedoncurrentdata.


• Dynamic reports with ad hoc analysisSAPStrategyManagementenablesthecreationofdynamicreports,ratherthantraditionalstaticreports.Integratedbusinessintelligenceenablesyoutodrilldeeperintoareasofinterestandsavereportsasabookmarkforlaterreview.

• Packaged analysis templatesThesoftwareprovidesawidevarietyofanalytictemplatesthatuserscanchoosefromtoanalyzeinformation,includingranking,trending,andforecastingtemplates.

• Flexible chartingSAPStrategyManagementgivesusersmultiplewaystocharttheirdata.Theycanselectthevisualizationoptionandcolorsmostappropriatefordisplayingdatainreportsandsavethesefiguresforfutureuse.

• Performance comparison versus previous periodsThesoftwaremakesiteasyforuserstoexamineprogressversushistoricalperformance.Theycanviewperformancecomparingspecificdates(asdefinedbytheuser);relativedates(forexample,latestday,previousday,lastsevendays,andpreviousmonth),andthelatestdateversuspreviousequivalent(forexample,currentmonthversussamemonthprioryear).

• Report descriptionsYourdomainexpertscanwritereportdescriptionsthatprovidecontexttootherreaders;forexample,theymayincludeastatementofthereporttopicanditsinformationsource.

Figure9:AdHocAnalysiswithDrill-DownFunctionsShowingSourceDataandMetrics

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ADminiStrAtive AutomAtion functionS

SAPStrategyManagementlightenstheburdensofinformationworkersandITstaffbyprovidinguniversalfeaturesthatstream-linedataentryandapprovalprocessesandsupportself-servicefunctionsforconfigurationandmodeling.

entry and Approval functions

SAPStrategyManagementincludesadistributedanddelegatedentry,approval,andpublishingcomponent,uniqueintheindus-try,thatstreamlinestheprocessofpopulatingmetricsintoaperformancemanagementsystem.Aneasy-to-followworkflowsystemprovidesstructurearoundatraditionallylabor-intensiveprocess,alleviatingcostlyerrorsandsignificantlyreducingthetimespentonmetricscollectionandapproval.Additionally,thisapproachallowsyourorganizationtocollectmetricsquicklywithouttheneedtointegratetransactionalsystemsorestablishadatawarehousejustforoneortwometrics.


• Distributed entry and approvalDepartmentscandivideandassignworkacrossdifferentemployeestolightentheworkloadofanyoneperson.Lighteningworkloadsalsoencouragesemployeestomakemorefrequentupdatesofperformanceinformation,whichresultsinmoreup-to-dateandaccuratereporting.

• Automatic notificationsThesoftwareautomaticallynotifiesemployees(throughtheir“home”portal)whentheyneedtoenter,approve,orpublishmetrics.Asaresult,therearefewerbottlenecksinperformancemanagementprocesses.

• Web forms or Microsoft Excel templatesEmployeescanentermetricsvaluesusingformsbuiltintothesoftwareorviaMicrosoftExcel.DatacanbeimportedfromMicrosoftExcelspreadsheetsorenteredviaaMicrosoftExcel–basedtemplate.Datacanalsobemanuallyenteredusingthesoftware’sWeb-basedentryandapprovalmethodforenteringdata.

• Flexible collection methodsYoucanautomatetheentryofsomevalues(forexample,actualsfromsourcesystemssuchastheSAPERPapplication),whilestillallowingemployeestomanuallyenterothervalues,suchastargets,forecasts,andsurveydata.Thisflexibilityencouragesmoreregularandaccurateupdatesofperformanceinformation.

• Audit trailsThesoftwareautomaticallygeneratesanaudittrailthatcapturesuserinteractions,includingtimestampsforapproval,rejections,submissions,notes,andotherrelatedinformation.Theseaudittrailsincreasecomplianceandprovideinsightintowhyactionsweretaken.

• Notes Employeescanaddnotestocaptureinformationdirectlyintothesoftwareforfuturereferenceortosharebestpractices–ratherthanmakingcallsandsendinge-mails.

• Progress monitorsSAPStrategyManagementmonitorsthedataentryapprovalandpublishingprocesstoprovidevisibilityintobottlenecks.Italsoprovidesastructuredworkflowforentry,notifications,andapprovalstohelpalleviategaps,risks,andtimerequiredtomanageKPIs.

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configuration and modeling functions

SAPStrategyManagementlightenstheburdenofalreadyover-loadedITstaffbysupportingthedistributionofadministrativetaskstomultiplepeoplethroughoutyourorganization.Unlikesoftwarethatreliesonexpertadministrators,SAPStrategyManage-mentpromotesself-service,allowingeveryusertoconfiguretheapplication.Similarly,unlikemostbusinessintelligencetools,SAPStrategyManagementallowsbusinessuserstodesignandcustomizeperformanceprocesses,models,andvisualizationmethodsbasedontheirrequirements.AndbecauseitisbuiltonopenstandardssuchasJava�Platform,EnterpriseEdition,SAPStrategyManagementeasilyfitsintoyourexistingITenviron-mentandcomplementsyourorganization’scurrentsystems.


• Distributed administrationYoucanassignspecificpermissionsandroles,suchasusersetup,metricsupdates,andinitiativecreation,totheappropriateemployeesinotherdepartments.

• SchedulingBuilt-inschedulingallowsyoutoautomatecertainmanualtaskssuchashostingbusinessreviews,gatheringstakeholderfeedback,andsubmittingreports,ensuringconsistencyandrepeatability.

• Role-based securityThesoftwaresupportsrole-basedsecuritysothatusersreceiveaccesstoperformanceinformationappropriatefortheirrole.

• Model builderYoucancreateastandardizedperformancemanagementdatarepository;whenusingthesoftware’smodelingfunctionality,aconsistentsetofmetricsalignsoperationalexecutionwithstrategy.

• Active directory/Lightweight Directory Access Protocol integrationThesoftwareminimizesduplicationofinformationandsupportssinglesign-onaccessbyimportinguserinformationfromyourorganization’sownauthenticationsystems.

• Audit trails and loggingThesoftwareenhancessystemintegritybykeepingtrackofwhodidwhatandwhen.

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powereD by SAp netweaver

SAPStrategyManagementispoweredbytheSAPNetWeaverplatform.SAPNetWeaverunifiestechnologycomponentsintoasingleplatform,allowingorganizationstoreduceITcomplexityandobtainmorebusinessvaluefromtheirITinvestments.Itpro-videsthebestwaytointegrateallsystemsrunningSAPornon-SAPsoftware.

SAPNetWeaveralsohelpsorganizationsalignITwiththeirbusiness.WithSAPNetWeaver,organizationscancomposeandenhancebusinessapplicationsrapidlyusingenterpriseservices.Asthefoundationforenterpriseservice-orientedarchitecture(enter-priseSOA),SAPNetWeaverallowsorganizationstoevolvetheircurrentITlandscapesintoastrategicenvironmentthatdrivesbusinesschange.

for more informAtion

ThecomprehensivefunctionalityofSAPStrategyManagementaddressestheunderlyingbarriersholdingyourorganizationbackfromunderstandingoperationaleffectivenessandachievingitsstrategicobjectives.Formoreinformation,pleasevisitwww.sap.com.

www.sap.com

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www.sap.com/contactsap

50 084 168 (07/04)