With the SAP Model Company to the rollout template

In last article I reported on how we started the greenfield implementation project at odelo, how we used SAP Activate as the implementation methodology, how the project was organized and what challenges we faced in terms of infrastructure and building up the team’s knowledge. I have also already briefly discussed the technical implementation of the SAP Model Company for automotive. In this article, I would like to discuss the procedure for adapting SAP Best Practices and Model Company processes to odelo.
The aim was to develop a rollout-capable template that can later be rolled out in the locations in Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Bulgaria, China and Mexico. The template consists of process documentation as well as an S/4HANA system in which the processes are customized and can be booked through with sample data. Test scripts were created to match this.

But what exactly does the Model Company involve? In terms of processes, the Model Company builds on the activated Best Practices processes of the respective release. The specific Model Company processes then make up the added value. In the case of SAP Model Company for Automotive Suppliers 1.0, these were 28 preconfigured automotive supplier-specific processes from the areas of “Order to Cash”, “Plan to product”, “Procure to Pay” and “Extended Warehousing”. Examples of these are

• O2C: Sequence call-off in sales with forwarding from distribution warehouse to production plant, EDI clearing and credit note procedure
• P2P: purchase scheduling agreement with JIT call-off
• Plan to product: Co-product manufacturing
• Extended Warehousing: Goods receipt with storage in storage bin and QM inspection

In addition to the preconfigured end-to-end processes (including master data), the Model Company provides business process diagrams for each process. Furthermore, business process descriptions are supplied in such a detailed form that it is possible to post through the processes in the system. In addition, configuration guides are supplied in which the customizing settings required for the process and, if necessary, minor programming are described in detail.

Value add services” are supplied in a bundle with the SAP Model Company. These are hand-over workshops on the part of SAP in which the specific processes of the Model Company are explained and booked through on the system. A rough fit/gap assessment is also carried out.

Following the joint definition of the organizational structures and the harmonized master data, the Baan processes were first compared with the Model Company and best practice processes in fit-gap workshops. In the second step, the SAP ECC processes were then compared. Once the GAPS had been identified and classified, the solutions were designed and implemented. This was done iteratively, i.e. once an area had been set up, it was tested together with the Keyuser team and adjustments were made if necessary.

The template was set up in a separate client of the development system, which was supplied with the customizing from the customizing client in the development system. At the same time, the processes were documented on the basis of the model company’s business process descriptions so that the template processes could be posted with odelo-specific data.

The testing and release of the harmonized processes marked the end of the template phase. odelo now had a customized template system with corresponding documentation and could start the rollouts.