DocFlow for SAP EFFICIENCY IN ALL COMPANY AREAS
Integrating transaction data, documents and processes
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DocFlow X SAP WHICH APPLICATION SCENARIOS?
FINANCE
HUMAN RESOURCES
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PRODUCTION
Issuing PO requests Issuing purchase orders Tender offer documentation Complete management of the purchasing order file Supplier qualification
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Technical documentation attached to products/equipment Management of order documents and authorisation processes Management of SAP PLM documentation
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Archiving of data and archival SAP documents (Application Data Archiving) Management of ICT asset life cycle Management of software orders
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Failure reports and service requests
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IT SYSTEMS
Archiving of sales‐cycle documents (from proposal through to payment) Supply contract management Management of customer documentation with SAP CRM
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PURCHASING
Distribution of payslips online and via email Complete management of the Employee Personnel File Electronic management of requests for leave and schedule changes Electronic management of business trips and expense reports
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SALES
Checking and approval of supplier invoices Electronic storage of tax documents Real‐Time Finance Dashboard
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INTEGRATING SAP WITH ECM
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recent years, organisations have focused their attention on ERP systems to manage transaction data rapidly and effectively. But over and above the data, business processes are based on the documents underlying the transactions and on collaborative processes between the various different corporate functions involved. ERP is the optimal solution for managing data, but because it is a closed system, it cannot support organisational processes. While it is actually possible to manage document processes through SAP without using a separate document system, it involves high costs and major complexity during the implementation and management phases. WHILE IT IS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE TO MANAGE DOCUMENT PROCESSES THROUGH SAP WITHOUT USING A SEPARATE DOCUMENT SYSTEM, IT INVOLVES HIGH COSTS AND MAJOR COMPLEXITY DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT PHASES
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Few businesses can afford projects of this type, and consequently transactions and documents are in completely separate worlds. This is why, if a document is needed to manage a transactional process, users have to locate the document and manage it manually, which often causes bottlenecks and hidden costs. For example, think of the procedures for registering an invoice: when the document arrives, the data is manually entered into the ERP system by the user and becomes part of the transactional data. But what happens if the supplier that issued the invoice is not in the system, and therefore the associated order is not in the system either? The invoice is usually copied and handed to the person who enters data for new suppliers and to the person who handles orders. While these activities are taking place, the entire process is held up. The same problems are found in other company areas where activities are based on transactional data: administration (invoice data, accounting records etc.), human resources (payslip data, requests for leave etc.), sales (sales cycle data), purchasing (supplier data, purchase order data, etc.) and production (data from the technical documentation attached to products).
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For companies, concentrating on the data alone is restrictive and the gap that still exists between transactions and documents needs to be filled by integrating data, documents and processes.
SPEED AND EFFICIENCY IN ALL COMPANY AREAS DocFlow has developed an Enterprise Content Management solution that has a direct, certified interface with SAP, one of the most popular ERP packages in the world, and connects transactions to documents and information (structured and otherwise) In a subsequent step, DocFlow automates management of the associated processes.
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DOCFLOW HAS DEVELOPED AN ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION THAT HAS A DIRECT, CERTIFIED INTERFACE WITH SAP, ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR ERP PACKAGES IN THE WORLD, AND CONNECTS TRANSACTIONS TO DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION (STRUCTURED AND OTHERWISE) IN A SUBSEQUENT STEP, DOCFLOW AUTOMATES MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATED PROCESSES.
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With this integration, all company areas where activities are based on transactional data contained in the management system can save time and resources. The SAP/DocFlow combination leverages the investments that businesses have already made in their management systems, enhancing and optimising them. The integration occurs both at server level, facilitating the acquisition of documents coming from different channels, and at client level, so that users can manage documents and processes directly from SAP's screens. So a single interface gives users everything they need: the transaction, the associated document, and the process that is being executed. In practice, the DocFlow solution acquires documents from different channels and classifies and links them to the specific business process so that they are ready to enter the workflow. At this point the business user is notified, and this user registers the document in SAP.
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Whenever users manage a SAP‐generated event, the system automatically provides the documents and associated information and allows them to start the approval process, after which a message is sent to the management system to notify the user that the process is finished. An additional step is Electronic Storage, which is implemented by the DocFlow solution.
DOCFLOW DOES NOT IMPOSE A PRESET MODEL: RATHER, STARTING FROM BEST PRACTICES DEVELOPED OVER YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, IT OFFERS TAILORED APPLICATIONS CREATED TO MEET SPECIFIC NEEDS
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With SAP/DocFlow integration, documents associated with SAP can go directly to electronic storage. DocFlow introduces innovations to managing organisational processes associated with document management. Despite advances in IT, such organisational models have not substantially evolved in businesses in recent years, at the cost of efficiency and effectiveness. This solution is the result of DocFlow's in‐ depth knowledge, not only of technologies and legal requirements but also of the specificity of business processes. DocFlow does not impose a preset model: rather, starting from best practices developed over years of experience, it offers tailored applications created to meet specific needs.
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APPLICATION SCENARIOS
FINANCE CHECKING AND APPROVAL OF SUPPLIER INVOICES The processes of checking (VeFa) and approval of payment of supplier invoices are the most costly in terms of resources, due to their importance and sensitivity. In fact, VeFa is often the only real process for controlling job order expenses, and managing it correctly makes it possible to align the administrative path from order right through to payment. The process of automation can be broken down into three steps: • pre‐booking: preventive check of the invoice, data recovery and correction, and sending to SAP's registration transactions • post‐booking: payment (total or partial) approval flow, by level of procurement, serial or in parallel. • payment: cross‐check of the payment due dates indicated by SAP with the invoice's actual approval level.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE •
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Simplify and speed‐up checking and approval of invoices from their arrival time in the company, without circulating paper Efficiently involve the buyers for authorisations Make the process transparent and auditable
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Automatic reading of content of invoices (OCR) Integration with SAP Business Workplace for automatic registration by SAP Workflow via web/email/mobile phone with “intelligent” notifications and work codes
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Efficiency: fewer resources for the check, approve and archive cycle Effectiveness: accounting person‐ nel can concentrate on that part of their work with a higher value return Compliance: an automated process is a controlled and measurable process Competitiveness: improves the image the company presents to the outside world Opportunities: freed from paper, the process can be outsourced
THE WORK PROCESS
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APPLICATION SCENARIOS
HUMAN RESOURCES ELECTRONIC MANAGEMENT OF REQUESTS FOR LEAVE AND SCHEDULE CHANGES The complete automation of managing employee leave is just one of the many examples of “distributed” HR processes that can be converted to an electronic system with significant advantages for the company. A natural candidate for this type of automation is any process where requests from employees involve: • Filling out a paper form • Approval by a manager or by HR personnel • Entering the reference SAP transaction The automation made possible by DocFlow allows everyone involved in this company process to be more efficient and free up resources. And the advantages increase with the number of employees and the complexity of the company.
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Speed up and simplify the request process without circulating paper Never miss payroll dates Archive and consult the documents produced
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Automatic reading of paper forms via OCR Workflow via web/email/‐ mobile phone with “intel‐ ligent” notifications and work codes Automatic registration of HR SAP transactions
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Efficiency: fewer resources needed to collect forms, plus automatic registration Effectiveness: reports and early indicators of progress in the process Compliance: total transpa‐ rency and complete moni‐ toring of the process
THE WORK PROCESS
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APPLICATION SCENARIOS
SALES DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT FOR CUSTOMERS WITH SAP CRM AND SIEBEL When implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, it is essential not to forget the importance of efficient and effective management of documents (and their associated processes) that are not strictly linked to CRM. There are document‐related activities, commonly performed by CRM, that lend themselves well to automation: • Registration and archiving of incoming documents • Putting communications and contracts into envelopes and mailing them • Bringing order to the company’s archives DocFlow's CRMDocs solution offers a broad array of functions for improving a company’s CRM processes.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE •
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Speed up and simplify the request process without circulating paper Never miss payroll dates Archive and consult the documents produced
BUSINESS SOLUTION • • • •
Centralised archiving of all customer documents Paperwork processing history Automatic dispatching Bidirectional integration with the principal CRM systems
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Efficiency: fewer resources needed to manage docu‐ mentation Effectiveness: documents are not lost and can be immediately accessed by the Contact Centre Compliance: immediate calcu‐ lation of KPIs and service SLAs for conformance to internal and external regulations and sector standards.
THE WORK PROCESS
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APPLICATION SCENARIOS
PURCHASING COMPLETE MANAGEMENT OF THE PURCHASING ORDER FILE Procurement is one of the main factors in a company’s competitiveness. For this reason, this process needs effective procedures and efficient systems that apply criteria in order to streamline the various operational steps, each of which produces a precise type of document that is, to a greater or lesser extent, unstructured. One characteristic of the purchasing process is that it cuts horizontally across the organisational chart: not all of the persons involved can have access to SAP, and the life cycle of a purchase order requires the management of “push” feedback and synchronisation. SAP supports the transactional part of the purchase order’s life cycle but, by their very nature, the remaining unstructured content‐ enabled parts are overlooked. The growing need for compliance and audit support justifies the introduction of a system that is specialised and integrated with SAP for managing every single document associated with the purchase order. The automation functions that DocFlow adds to the procurement process are an effective response to this need.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE • • •
Manage a highly complex and widespread process Increase the transparency of authorisation processes Archive purchase order history documents and make them “always available” for consultation
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Centralised archiving of all documents, categorised by “supplier purchase order” Paperwork processing history Automatic dispatching to the supplier Integration with SAP procurement business processes
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Efficiency: fewer resources are needed to manage documentation Effectiveness: buyers are focused on the process and not on shuffling documents Compliance: the adherence of authorisation processes to internal and external regulations and sector standards can be documented
THE WORK PROCESS
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APPLICATION SCENARIOS
PRODUCTION MANAGING DOCUMENTATION ATTACHED TO PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT In SAP, the documentation attached to product codes, tools, machinery and equipment in general is a truly huge subject. Any “element” entered in SAP is accompanied by a more or less significant volume of corresponding documents relating to quality, production data, operations management, repair, and much more. As regards sources, this documentation can come from inside, it may be automatically generated by production systems, or it might originate from suppliers. To all this we can add “legacy” documentation that already exists on various types of media, on disk or even in hardcopy form. DocFlow manages these “attachments” with a document system integrated with SAP that archives all the documentation and makes it available in a simple, secure way via the web.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE •
Organise, and keep a history for, all production documentation
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Automatisms for archiving the previous documentation
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Integration with SAP business processes
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Share the documentation with other business units
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Efficiency: fewer resources needed to manage documentation Effectiveness: documents are not lost and are easily accessible from the web and SAP Compliance: the system satisfies internal and external regulations and sector standards linked to the archiving of the documents
THE WORK PROCESS
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APPLICATION SCENARIOS
IT SYSTEMS ARCHIVING UNSTRUCTURED CONTENT: FILES, EMAIL AND SAP AND SHAREPOINT DOCUMENTS AND DATA The need for space to archive unstructured digital content is continuously expanding, and large companies are struggling to manage, rationalise and keep up with requests. The level of growth is such that companies need a management system that is effective and, especially, cost‐effective. Projects to archive unstructured content should start with the areas that are the most problematic in terms of information management, archiving costs, and legal aspects. That said, most IT managers agree on the following order of importance of unstructured content: documents and images, emails, files, SAP documents and reports, and everything else. It is well‐known that SAP does not delete master data in real‐time, and consequently the size of its database grows with the number of transactions generated until the client decides to remove closed transactions. Data Archiving stores all old content in the form of files, freeing up space in the database and permitting its repopulation. With DocFlow's “Integrated Content Archive” it is possible to implement an integrated solution for the main platforms that “generate content” in companies today.
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Save storage space Preserve the history of everything produced in the company
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A single solution for archiving any content produced in the company Internal management of security, backup and disaster recovery A solution with a lifetime of over 10 years Integration with SAP procurement business processes
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Efficiency: lower costs for system management and migration Effectiveness: SAP and other systems run faster Compliance: single access point for the company's archived documents and data
THE WORK PROCESS
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CASE HISTORY
GALILEO AVIONICA DocFlow Synergy for dematerialising the payables cycle and improving the governance of documents supporting business processes managed by SAP. The company Galileo Avionica is a Finmeccanica Group company that gathers together all the Italian and UK activities in defence electronics. The company was founded in 2001 through the aggregation of Finmeccanica Group companies spread throughout Italy, each with its own IT system. Later a shared system was introduced, followed by the implementation of a single SAP system to support all business processes.
The need The company needed to dematerialise its Accounts Payable (approximately 60,000 invoices per year) to improve the efficiency and governance of the documents supporting business processes managed by SAP. Activities relating to the payables cycle were unstructured and distributed over six offices, with no effective correspondence between personnel and workloads. It was therefore necessary to improve the methods for distributing these workloads, irrespective of the site where the document was registered.
The solution Galileo Avionica implemented DocFlow Synergy, which archives all invoice images in a single repository. They can then be registered and processed by anyone, from any location, without
needing to handle a paper document. Now the processes of work and approval are unified, and the documents can be accessed directly from the SAP client. Other advantages include: elimination of document exchanges between accounting offices and operational offices for approvals and problems, simplification of processes, the ability to be immediately notified of various events, and elimination of paper archives with Electronic Storage.
The project Begun in 2006, consulting was an important part of the project in designing the organisational process cycle with the objective of adapting the software to the specific needs. After an initial analysis phase, the documents were acquired at the various sites, and acquisition was then centralised at a single collection centre. DocFlow support was also important for change‐ management activities. The project is still being developed and now also includes activities, not necessarily administrative, which before were managed manually (for example, the process to authorise and pay invoices for services). Subsequent steps deal with acquisition of documents exchanged via email and management of the Accounts Receivable cycle. The value of the DocFlow approach is that it is incremental, which allows for immediate resolution of any problems, be they technical or organisational, while also transferring know‐how from the partner to the customer company.
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CASE HISTORY
SOLVAY ITALIA DocFlow to improve the workflow of invoices and accounting documents, thanks in part to automated processes for connecting to SAP.
The company
The solution
Founded in Belgium in 1863 by Ernest Solvay, the Solvay Group is a multinational company operating in three sectors: chemicals, pharmaceuticals and plastics. Production is highly diversified with a very complex product portfolio of more than 1,500 registered trademarks in the various sectors. Such a rich and complex offering requires the Group to conduct constant research in order to correct and improve its products, in addition to seeking out new applications.
The DocFlow solution optimised document flows by leaving the internal document‐scanning process (which was performed with the previous system) unchanged. In the Italian office, the folders of documents that arrived from Lisbon every month disappeared, and there was no longer any need to archive them in paper form, with everything that follows on from this in terms of efficiency and savings. The documents are archived on a server at the Bollate site and an automated process extracts them and uploads them to SAP during the night. Documents are extracted once every twenty‐four hours and the company checks that everything takes place correctly, including by means of sample checks, before giving the green light to perform a secure transfer to DocFlow and Electronic Storage.
The need Document management has deep roots at Solvay, and began over 15 years ago with the implementation of a solution for optically scanning and loading documents into the SAP management system, which was adopted internationally, and a workflow system towards which various types of documents were routed. More recently, following a European‐level administrative reorganisation, Solvay Italia needed to optimise its document management system to contain costs and reduce the negative impact on process efficiency. In particular, attention was focused on the workflow of invoices and accounting documents. Following the creation of a service centre in Lisbon, Portugal – which brought together a good part of the Group's accounting processes, with the addition of accounting closures – a major exchange of hardcopy documents was engineered between this centre and Italy, to undergo the checking and calculation processes that precede archiving. In addition to optimising this flow, an important project driver was compliance for the preservation of documents over time (for Italy, this period is ten years).
The project To implement the project, which had a strong commitment from the company's top management, fifteen suppliers were initially considered and this number was then reduced to two. The abilities demonstrated by DocFlow in the area of taxes, and its capacity to make a precise assessment of the starting situation in order to identify possible areas for improvement without overturning the existing system, were fundamental for its inclusion in both the first selection and in the final choice. The DocFlow supplier was appointed the Electronic Storage Manager, with a commitment to guarantee the availability of a legally‐compliant archive for ten years, together with its constant adjustment to legal changes. Having resolved the invoice problem, Solvay Italia turned its attention to managing shipping documents and payslips with DocFlow.
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CASE HISTORY
WOLTERS KLUWER ITALIA DocFlow to create a single access point for SAP-integrated management of customer communications, documents and administrative processes.
The company Wolters Kluwer is an international publishing group operating in 26 countries. It is present in Italy through Wolters Kluwer Italia (WKI), which includes ten of the most authoritative and accredited brands producing publishing and software products and services: Artel, CEDAM, Indicitalia, Mitos, OA Sistemi, OSRA, Pragma Software, De Agostini Professionale, Utet Professionale and Ipsoa Editore.
The need At Wolters Kluwer Italia, technological choices in the administrative area have always been driven by the need to standardise and integrate the company's activities and the associated management systems. For this reason the SAP system was implemented in all acquired companies, and it has provided an excellent level of integration. But some administrative processes were still not optimal, because they were too paper‐based. Additional measures became necessary, especially in two areas that displayed a variety of critical issues owing to the number of functions involved and the volumes of documents handled. The first area was communications and documents coming from customers (particularly in the Accounts Receivable process) and the second was Accounts Payable.
The solution DocFlow was adopted for both processes and it created a single point for managing and archiving documents and uniformly managing all processes, and all integrated with the management system. In the first area of intervention (customer communications), DocFlow optimised all CRM activities by directly connecting the telephone number of the customer calling Customer Service to the associated customer master‐file record in SAP and to the customer’s updated situation. By integrating CRM‐SAP with the DocFlow Synergy document system, Wolters Kluwer Italia is now able to keep track of its document flows. Among the principal benefits of a document system integrated with SAP are: greater ability to respond to customers, greater simplicity in finding information, and the ability to enter any type of document (orders, invoices etc.). In the second area of intervention (Accounts Payable), one of the objectives was to improve workflows and authorisation flows. When a supplier invoice arrives, it is electronically archived and routed, which involves separating invoices with orders from invoices without orders. Once entered into the document system, the invoices are ready for a triangular check (order/packing list/invoice) which is then followed by authorisation and management of payment to the supplier. The main benefits include: reduction in handling times for invoices, greater efficiency and reliability of processes, and reduction in storage costs and their management.
The project Before introducing the document system, a preliminary analysis and internal audit of the processes had to be carried out. In the receivables cycle, for example, this initial phase mapped 38‐40 document processes involving ten different offices. The initial process analysis phase was then followed by a phase in which the interventions were planned and implemented. In all these phases, a determining role was played by DocFlow, which was able to develop a project that met all of the effective needs.
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WHO IS DOCFLOW
A partner for innovation
The activities of all organisations are based on documents, information and collaborative processes that ERP, by its very nature, is not able to support. But DocFlow can, by providing technological and organisational innovation to businesses that want to improve their efficiency and agility, starting with their processes. The solutions, which are also available through outsourcing, and the consulting/design services that the company offers are the result of many years of experience. This experience has created specific skills, best practices and an in‐depth knowledge of the technologies, laws and business processes that are unique to the various different corporate areas and merchandise sectors.
INTEGRATED DOCUMENT PROCESSES DocFlow's objective is to “wire‐up” company processes, by formalising them in such a way that there is integration between these processes, the documents in the document system, and the data in the ERP. DocFlow has been a SAP Technology Partner with a DM‐certified interface since 2002 and with a SAP Netweaver‐certified interface since 2004, guaranteeing the integration of document processes with management systems. DocFlow does not impose a standard model for this integration, but instead offers projects and then “moulds” the applications to the specificities of the business. Everything starts with an analysis of the “as is” situation in order to understand the needs, the business requirements and the possible areas for improvement. This is done with synergistic action between DocFlow and the customer company, with intense involvement from the key users. After this we begin with a pilot project that is then expanded to embrace all areas of interest. But DocFlow's contribution does not end with the solution roll‐out: the relationship continues in a virtuous cycle of partnership with the customer, constantly tuning the project to achieve ongoing improvements. This is why Gartner mentions DocFlow among the “ECM Vendor” companies for the EMEA region. The areas that can be improved with DocFlow include: administrative documents and processes, collaborative processes in regulated environments, sales cycle, personnel documents, job order life cycle documents, management of corporate records, and management of content‐enabled processes in a customer‐care environment. In all of these areas, DocFlow fills the gap between transactional management of the management system and the real need for managing the collaborative process.
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DocFlow is a registered trademark of DocFlow Italia; SAP is a registered trademark of SAP AG; SIEBEL is a registered trademark of Oracle ® Corporation; Microsoft SharePoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation
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