Category: SAP

Boosting ROI with CLM Software: The Strategic Advantage for Growing Businesses

In today’s highly competitive business environment, effective contract management can make the difference between staying still and experiencing substantial expansion. Contracts are more than just legal documents; they represent the backbone of business relationships, revenue, and compliance. Nonetheless, managing contracts manually or with inefficient systems can drain resources, lead to delays, and result in compliance issues.

Below listed are a few reasons why businesses find it difficult to manage contracts –

Contracts management take significant time to copy, file and store which businesses fail to give and thus the process becomes difficult for them.
There’s no streamlined process to keep a track of price and payments which creates revenue loopholes.
Lot of time consumption in approval process from various ends can put a wrong impression on the customers and can also make you less valuable in their eyes
If working without a proper CLM software, split management can result in incorrect and incomplete information or even overlook policy compliance.

Introducing SAP Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software, an advanced solution created to simplify and automate the entire contract management process. Choosing SAP CLM can be very helpful in overcoming all the problems that you might face and can also be helpful in improving cost savings and efficiency of your business. Businesses that adopt SAP CLM not only achieve greater oversight of their contracts but also significantly enhance their Return on Investment (ROI). In this blog, we will delve into how SAP CLM can function as a strategic instrument for growing businesses and how it helps organizations in optimizing their resources.

Benefits of Using CLM (contract lifecycle management) for your business

Here are certain ways through which you can understand the use of automation software and how it can benefit your business with contract lifecycle management (CLM):

1. Standardized and managed process right from start to end

Many businesses struggle with inconsistent handling of contracts, as they often go through different departments and systems from initial requests to approvals, negotiations, and post-execution. You need to first properly understand how the complete process of customer lifecycle management works. We can take an example of following steps that a CLM could involve:

The first step is ‘generating a quote’ with the help of CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) that you might be using.
Next, you will be sending over an e-sign document to bind the contract.
Further, you might have to carry out the operation of making the sale and supplying the product
Once all this is done, you will store your contract in a database
And at the last, you will book the contract using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and keep track of your contracts from there.

CLM, instead streamlines all contracts based on the business’s operations thus helping you in managing multiple applications like separate CRM and ERP software from the same place. By doing this, you will be able to manage all steps of all contracts in one single program, where the collaborating with your partner or client becomes faster and you can also easily manage and track different tasks.

CLM minimises your chances of missing any deadlines and also provides access to required information from any part of the process just with a few clicks.

Additionally, the transparency of a standardized process enables businesses to assess performance and identify bottlenecks in their contract management workflow.

2. Minimizes the Requirement and Dependency on Manual Tasks

Managing contracts manually consumes a lot of time, is prone to errors, and can result in expensive mistakes. Whether it involves keeping track of contract renewals, handling approvals, or staying compliant with regulations, manual processes place a heavy burden on legal and procurement teams. SAP CLM reduces the need for human involvement by automating routine tasks.

CLM is the best solution to automate the complete manual process and streamline it in the following ways:

An auto-generated contract sent to the customer to sign based on the quote that has been selected
Approval and renewal notifications are sent to the appropriate people and applications in charge of moving the contract along once the task is complete
Contract is automatically updated and stored in the database once it has been signed by the customer.

Automating activities like generating documents, approving contracts, and sending reminders for renewals or obligations not only cuts down the time spent on administrative work but also reduces the risks of human error. By shifting the focus from manual, repetitive tasks to more valuable activities such as negotiation and building relationships, businesses can boost productivity and improve the quality of contracts.

3. Automate everything between and after first and last step of the contract

The above two steps clearly signify how CLM can imitate the contract procedure and manage it smartly for you. Though, these steps are covering up the entire process of managing a contract, there are many businesses that need to be smart enough while taking care of a few little details that they might come across before and after the first and the last step of the contract.

For instance, the setup of workflows can automatically initiate contract approvals when specific conditions are fulfilled. Likewise, stakeholders can receive notifications as important contract milestones are nearing, guaranteeing that no crucial deadlines are overlooked. Automating post-execution tasks like performance tracking and contract audits also improves the effectiveness of contract management.

This degree of automation not only accelerates contract processing but also ensures that all tasks are completed on time, decreasing the chances of non-compliance and missed opportunities.

4. Streamlined Process of Personalizing Contracts

Customizing contracts to meet the distinct needs of the parties involved is crucial. However, manual customization of contracts can be burdensome, particularly for businesses managing a high volume of contracts. SAP CLM provides a simplified method for customizing contracts, allowing businesses to effortlessly adjust contract templates to match specific requirements.

Contract Lifecycle management software along with easy tracking options also offers advantages like:

Transparency: When using CLM, you don’t have to worry about where and by whom the contract has been drafted. The details of the contract will always remain easy to track so there is no pressure on manager of going back and forth to manage the contract.

Effectiveness: Using CLM increases efficiency as you and your customer will get alert notification about the latest drafts that are being used so that both the parties are not wasting time on the incorrect draft.

Accuracy: Stay more accurate as any manual or automatic change is always being tracked, documented and automatically stored along with all the previous versions.

5. Measure and stay updated about the Success of your contract

SAP CLM that you can use for the Contract Lifecycle management of your business comes with an analytics tool which will help you in having a 360-degree view of your success. It is very important to keep a track of how your contract is moving and how is the progress and this can be easily done with the help of SAP CLM Software. Here are a few ways how CLM software with the help of already installed analytical tool can help you in managing and tracking the whole process of contract signing or renewing:

The software can easily find out steps in the process that are taking too long for the approval and get them wrapped up quickly.
You can also check for step that require permanent changes in a pricing model.
You can also remain updated about any change that customer might want to make in the e-sign document that needs your attention.

The CLM software keeps you ahead in the race so that there is no delay from your end when it comes to signing the agreements of making very important changes in contract’s lifecycle early on. This makes it easy to verify whether or not that particular contract is helping your business to reach the planned goal. By this it will be easy for you to determine if there is any serious change that you have to make in the process or even you have to continue working on the project. This is very helpful at the time when your business is dealing with a large number of complicated contracts.

Reasons to Implement Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Software for your Business

Saves money and Time: When you choose good CLM, there are less chances that your business will have to deal with issues like penalties for non-compliance, missing important opportunities from special terms and rebates, missed payments or other payment errors, incurring fees and other penalties. This is all handled in the right manner because of good contract administration thus saving a lot of money and valuable time for you. CLM helps in simplifying processes in the contract administration and thus saves a lot of time and cost.
Prevent any legal process from contract non-compliance: There are many contracts that deal with a major of compliance. If contractual commitments remain incomplete, the potential for legal action can be higher. Good CLM software prevents you from any such situation.
Deliver best to your customers: Being a business, what else would you need than fulfilling and exceeding your customer demands and expectations. This is only possible through a planned contract performance that can enhance any organization’s value and lead to better customer relationship.
Justifies the difference between the functionalities of contract managers contract administrators: Contract managers and contract administrators are different and are assigned to do different tasks. CLM software helps in letting them do their tasks the best, thus saving time and it also avoids any confusion that might occur.

How Acuiti Labs can help?

From contract drafting, it’s management, to its completion, SAP CLM software that we provide at Acuiti Labs is capable of supporting businesses to simplify their entire process of Contract Lifecycle. So, choose SAP CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management) for your business today and see how it plays an important role in closing deals faster and growing your business. Contact us for more details about CLM and Acuiti Labs.

Our team works closely with you to tailor SAP CLM according to your workflows, ensuring that all aspects of your contract lifecycle are optimized for maximum ROI. We focus on automating manual processes and providing support to ensure that you can fully leverage the potential of SAP CLM software.

Why Choose Acuiti Labs?

Proven expertise in SAP solutions.
Tailored CLM implementations designed for your business.
Comprehensive support and training throughout your SAP CLM journey.
Focus on delivering measurable results and boosting ROI.

If you’re ready to take your contract management to the next level, reach out to Acuiti Labs today and discover how SAP CLM can transform your business operations.

27 AugBusinessSAP

Master SAP Subscription Billing & Revenue Management for Maximum Profitability

The subscription economy is booming. According to a report by Zuora, the subscription economy has grown by over 435% in the last decade. Businesses across various industries are shifting from traditional sales models to subscription-based offerings to build recurring revenue streams and foster long-term customer relationships. This shift is evident in the success stories of industries like media, telco, port, postal, who have revolutionized their industries with subscription models. The word subscription is not a new term when it comes to ease the business flow and offer your customers an option of recurring payment for any service or product could be taken with right combination of subscriptions, one-time fees, and usage-based charges.

Today, numerous industries have adopted the subscription-based model, while many others are considering offering their products and services through recurring payment plans.

However, with this shift comes the challenge of managing complex billing processes. Companies must navigate a labyrinth of pricing models, usage metrics, and compliance requirements. This is where SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management come into play.

Subscription Based Billing – Win-win for Customers and Business

The SAP Subscription Billing model benefits both businesses and customers. Customers gain the flexibility to select and purchase only what they need, while businesses enjoy a steady cash flow and the opportunity to build stronger, lasting relationships with their customers.

As growth persists, such companies have already started realizing that to maintain and support new and more creative subscription-based offerings, a stronger, more efficient, and flexible billing solution is required. Traditional ERP and CRM systems will not be enough. These systems lack the capability to manage diverse requirements, such as fulfilling recurring billing demands for customers or managing large volumes and real-time competencies linked with the hyper-connected world.

Although the internet can provide information on subscription billing, it is essential to have a proper understanding of the important features of subscription billing to benefit as a business.

Essential Features of a Subscription Billing System

Flexibility : The subscription billing model should be flexible and capable of being easily deployed in the cloud, on-premise, or in a hybrid manner to meet the varying requirements of customers.

Responsiveness :Given the rapidly changing billing requirements, agility is a crucial feature of any billing solution. Businesses require a responsive and powerful system capable of creating any imaginable type of pricing rules within hours or days, not months. The best subscription billing systems are those management.

Real-time and Centralised Pricing Model :An ideal billing system features a real-time and centralized pricing model. It should easily integrate with all systems that require access to pricing and customer information, typically in real-time. Additionally, it must be capable of supporting all subscription products and services offered by a company.

Scalability :In the early stages of adopting a subscription billing model for your business, managing the process may be straightforward due to a smaller customer base. However, as your business expands, the customer count will surge, necessitating a system that can accommodate a vast number of subscribers and handle billions of transactions in a single day. Therefore, scalability is a critical feature of any subscription billing system.

Usage metering :It’s important to recognize that the most basic subscription models typically rely on flat, recurring fees. However, numerous businesses require the ability to track customer usage to effectively manage pricing, discounts, and additional strategies such as upselling. Moreover, usage metering offers the benefits of improved reporting and revenue recognition.

Financials and reporting :  An effective billing solution offers comprehensive management of customer finances and integrates seamlessly with the Backend Accounting Module. Reporting and Business Intelligence should be utilized at real-time speed to monitor the company’s health and growth rate.

When managing the subscription billing process for your business to maximize benefits and growth, it’s essential to have a billing system that is fast, agile, flexible, convergent, scalable, and powerful. Selecting a billing system with these key features will not only guarantee that your business maximizes the benefits from this investment but will also enable you to offer your customers exciting new products and services, enhancing their experience.

Benefits of choosing SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (SAP BRIM)

Selecting the SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (SAP BRIM) solution for your business offers the benefit of agile monetization of subscription and usage-based business models. Enhanced with advanced features such as revenue management and recurring billing, SAP BRIM elevates business adaptability. It also improves transparency across the entire revenue management process, thanks to its dedicated, scalable, agile, and flexible software. The high level of automation provided by SAP BRIM streamlines billing, invoicing, and revenue management operations.

Here are the key benefits of using SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management:

1.   Facilitates High-Volume Transactions and Business Scaling : SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management enhances support for the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices, enabling high-volume, automated, and transparent handling of usage event and financial transactions.

2.    Simplifies the Transition from Product-Centric to Service-Oriented Offerings : Seamlessly shift from selling standalone products to offering comprehensive services, including outcomes-based subscriptions and real-time usage-based services that accommodate revenue-sharing models within your broader ecosystem.

3.    Offers Greater Flexibility in Executing Your Business Model : With SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management, you gain the versatility to implement various business models, from prepaid to pay-as-you-go arrangements, employing rules-based automation for precise invoicing and accounting operations.

4. Enables Efficient Partner Revenue Sharing : The SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management’s Partner Revenue Sharing feature aids partners in establishing a successful cloud operation with reduced liabilities and risks, ensuring maximum benefits.

Statistics Highlighting the Impact of SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management

According to a Gartner report, companies that implement automated billing solutions like SAP Subscription Billing can reduce billing errors by up to 90%.
Businesses using SAP’s revenue management tools have reported a 30% increase in operational efficiency and a 25% reduction in time spent on billing-related tasks.
A study by Forrester Consulting found that organizations leveraging SAP Subscription Billing experienced a 15% improvement in customer retention rates.

How SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management Supports Subscription-Based Order Management Management

Here are several key points that illustrate how SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management can assist companies seeking an efficient solution for managing their subscription billing processes:

The Automated Approach Guarantees Precision in Delivery and Billing: By systematically capturing and monitoring subscription orders, the automation within SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management assures accuracy in both delivery and billing processes.
Streamlines Management of Contract Modifications and Billing Cycles: The system swiftly and autonomously manages contract alterations, renewals, extensions, and billing cycles, thereby reducing the possibility of errors.
Simplifies Oversight of Master Agreements: SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management facilitates the management of master agreements, including invoicing hierarchies, bespoke catalogs, and collective credit arrangements.
Enhances Payment Processing Across All Channels: It offers an automated payment system that works seamlessly across diverse channels, coupled with an integrated framework for credit, collections, and dispute management.

Conclusion

In an era where subscription-based services are increasingly prevalent, companies require strong tools to efficiently handle their payment and income management. SAP Subscription Billing and Revenue Management provide an effective platform that not only makes billing easier but also improves customer satisfaction and boosts income. Through the use of this solution, companies can tackle the intricacies of the subscription market and secure their future prosperity.

07 AugBusinessSAP

Boost Your Bottom Line: 9 Proven Quote-to-Cash Strategies for Business Success

If you think about the most important business processes today, ‘Quote-to-Cash’ is certainly at the top because it is through the quote to cash process only that you can make driving revenue for your organization easy.

This end-to-end business process encompasses everything from creating a quote for a customer to collecting cash after the sale. You would never want to miss your potential customers by leaving any minor faults in the sales process as being a business, converting a prospect into a satisfied and happy customer is what really matters and this is followed by strong partnership and ongoing trust between you and your customers, right from sales to service. Implementing a robust QTC process can significantly improve various aspects of your business.

Here are the 9 aspects that can change the way you look at the business –

1. Pricing:

Pricing in ‘Quote-to-cash’ terminology, is understood as a set of rules that decides the most appropriate and suitable price of a deal. Not only the price, but this also includes deciding the right incentives to attract the customers. In today’s time, you cannot just limit to only deciding the correct price, but to drive revenue and win customers, you also have to identify the appropriate discounts, promotions and incentives. Once you understand that what pricing and promotion strategy is working right for your business, you can apply the same strategy for the future deals to win customers and maximise deal size.

Example: A software company adopts a subscription-based pricing model, adjusting rates based on user engagement and market trends. This approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also increases recurring revenue.

2. Configuration:

When you create the most appropriate combination of products and services, it is termed as configuration. Already with the increased product and deal complexity, it has become very difficult to identify the right combination of products and services to recommend to the customers in order to win deals. Automatically provide recommendations of best configuration to your sales reps to ensure that all your sales reps are now configuration experts – and can crack the best deals!

3. Quoting:

Once done with configuration and pricing, next comes Quoting. Based on the pricing and configuration, a quote is generated and approved which is further sent to the end customer. Quote is the first impression that you share with your customers and is considered as one of the most important stages of your sales cycle. Winning or losing a customer depends on the way you are presenting the quote. Presenting a precise, simple yet quick quote increases your chance to win a deal, while delayed, riddled and complicated quotes often end up losing your customers. So, its very important that the quote you present is error-free and is presented in no time. This creates great impression on your customers and increases your chance to have them onboard.

Example: A telecommunications company uses automated quoting software to provide instant quotes for various service packages. This efficiency leads to higher conversion rates and a better customer experience.

4. Contract Creation and Negotiation:

Without an agreement on the right set of terms and conditions, no deal can be closed. To avoid any situation that might impact your revenue streams, you have to be very careful about the agreement. These agreements usually come with hidden risks and thus to protect your business you should have even the minute details of the agreement. To ensure the security, you need to have experts who are well aware of the built-in clauses like renewal clause or termination clause during the time when contract is created.

After this comes contract negotiation where the terms and conditions can be redefined and altered based on the negotiations. As the agreement document undergoes through multiple iterations, it becomes difficult to keep a track the on-going changes.

5. Executing the Contract

The deal is considered final after it is approved and signed. It is recommended to enable an e-signing tool which is very helpful in reducing the time spent in finalising contracts. This tool also can also be a guideline for any existing roadblocks and parties that have yet to sign.

6. Order Accomplishment:

This process includes the complete order cycle; starting from receiving the order, its processing to the successful delivery. After the deal is done and the contract has been signed, the processing starts, and it’s taken into priority that the products are delivered on time and to the appropriate customers. The advantage of having a Quote to cash solution ensures that the end customer is has agreed on the quotes, pricing and other terms and conditions.

7. Billing and Invoicing:

Accurate billing is done where calculations of final charges is done, and a copy of invoice is sent to the customer. The otherwise critical billing process is made easy with the help of integrated Quote-to-Cash process. The ‘Quote-to-cash’ solutions ensure that the exact quotation and contract details are provided to the finance team so that the customer gets accurate billing.

Example: A subscription-based service provider uses automated invoicing to bill customers monthly. This reduces manual errors and ensures timely payments.

8. Revenue Recognition:

Revenue recognition helps in understanding that the cash from the customer’s end has been received. Here, you cannot afford to go wrong and thus the correct details of the contracting terms like quotes, pricing, payment modes, net payment terms and delivery calendars etc. is passed on to your finance team. ‘Quote-to-cash’ solution is the best way to recognise the revenue correctly.

9. Renewal:

While the revenue recognition is done, your next focus should be on the renewals. This helps in managing customers retention and also the recurring income. If it is the SaaS model, its sure that a huge percentage of revenue is derived in the form of repeated, already existing and subscribed customers. Quote-to-cash is the most important part of your business and will also help you in getting advances in big data and machine learning so that the sales reps are happy, and you can deliver more intelligent sales!

In conclusion, the Quote to Cash process is a powerful tool that can transform multiple facets of your business. By streamlining operations, enhancing customer experiences, ensuring accuracy, and providing valuable insights, Quote to Cash can help you drive efficiency, boost revenue, and maintain a competitive edge in the market. Embracing this holistic approach is not just about improving sales; it’s about creating a seamless, efficient, and agile business environment that is poised for sustainable growth.

At Acuiti Labs, we specialize in optimizing the Quote-to-Cash (Q2C) process to empower your business with seamless efficiency and enhanced revenue growth. By leveraging our advanced solutions, we streamline every stage—from dynamic pricing and precise configuration to automated quoting, contract management, and beyond. Our expertise ensures accurate billing, timely revenue recognition, and proactive renewals, all tailored to your unique needs. Partner with Acuiti Labs to transform your Q2C process, reduce operational complexities, and achieve a competitive edge in the market.

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Quote-to-Cash Summit 2024

24th October, 2024 | The Shard, London

12 MarSAP

Unlocking Efficiency and Flexibility: New Features of SAP Subscription Billing

In the ever-evolving landscape of enterprise software solutions, SAP continues to stand at the forefront, consistently enhancing its offerings to meet the dynamic needs of businesses worldwide. As we have already entered the year 2024, SAP S/4HANA Cloud has unveiled its latest release – the 2402 version, which promises to optimize subscription billing processes for businesses of all sizes. This new release entails many notable enhancements, with the primary ones being the ability to forecast with unprecedented accuracy and the flexibility to discard usage records selectively. One can also associate specific subscriptions with profit centers to refine internal cost allocations. Additionally, we can now access customer data easily from within the app interface and leverage enhanced billing forecast capabilities to develop more accurate revenue projections. With SAP’s continued dedication to innovation and value delivery, the 2402 release empowers businesses with unprecedented flexibility and operational excellence.

Introduction to the 2402 Release

The 2402 release of SAP S/4HANA Cloud introduces several noteworthy updates, promising to streamline subscription billing operations for businesses of all sizes. One of the key highlights of this release is the enhanced forecast horizon options, allowing organizations to plan their billing strategies with unprecedented precision. Additionally, users now can discard usage records selectively, further refining the accuracy of their billing processes.

Let’s delve into the exciting new features that this release brings to the table.

Profit Centers for Subscriptions

A significant advancement in the 2402 release is the support for-profit center in subscriptions created through solution orders. This enhancement enables organizations to allocate internal costs more effectively by associating subscriptions with specific profit center. By leveraging this feature, businesses can gain deeper insights into their financial performance and optimize resource allocation across different departments or business units.

Navigation to Customer Data

Another noteworthy addition to SAP S/4HANA Cloud is the seamless navigation to customer data from within the Customer Overview app. This enhancement simplifies the user experience by providing quick access to relevant customer information directly within the subscription billing interface. With just a few clicks, users can now gain comprehensive insights into customer profiles, enabling them to make informed decisions and deliver superior customer experiences.

Restructuring of Integration Flow

In the 2402 release, SAP Subscription Billing introduces a revamped integration flow between billing data and the Subscription-Based Data Retrieval (SBDR) module in S/4HANA Cloud. This restructuring enhances data synchronization capabilities, ensuring real-time visibility into billing activities across the organization. By optimizing integration processes, SAP empowers businesses to drive operational efficiency and accelerate decision-making processes.

Billing Forecasts

Flexibility is paramount in today’s fast-paced business environment, and SAP recognizes this by introducing enhanced billing forecast capabilities in the 2402 release. Organizations now have the flexibility to define forecast horizons in months or years, catering to diverse business needs and scenarios. Whether projecting short-term revenue targets or long-term growth trajectories, users can leverage this feature to develop more accurate and actionable billing forecasts.

Discard Usage Records

Finally, the 2402 release introduces a valuable feature that allows users to discard usage records as needed, with appropriate role requirements. This capability empowers organizations from various industries to maintain data integrity and accuracy within their billing systems by selectively removing redundant or irrelevant usage records. By providing users with greater control over data management processes, SAP enables organizations to uphold compliance standards and drive operational excellence.

The 2402 release of SAP S/4HANA Cloud marks another milestone in the evolution of subscription billing solutions. With a diverse array of enhancements ranging from enhanced forecast options to streamlined integration flows, SAP continues to empower organizations with the tools they need to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. As businesses navigate the complexities of subscription-based revenue models, SAP and Acuiti Labs remain a trusted partners, driving innovation and delivering tangible value for Quote-to-Cash process transformation at every step of the way.

At Acuiti Labs, we fully understand the importance of optimizing subscription-based billing processes to drive business growth. Our team of experts specializes in implementing and customizing SAP solutions, including SAP Subscription Billing. We offer comprehensive consulting services to help businesses streamline their billing operations, improve accuracy, and drive operational efficiency. With Acuiti Labs as your trusted partner, you can leverage the power of SAP Subscription Billing to unlock untapped potential, enhance customer experiences, and propel your business forward in the competitive landscape. Contact us today to learn how we can tailor our services to meet your specific needs and accelerate your journey towards business success.

Thank you for taking the time to read today’s blog post! If you would like more information on the exciting features and updates discussed, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can find further details and contact information at www.acuitilabs.com/contact-us

We encourage you to stay tuned for upcoming updates and innovations from SAP. As we constantly push the boundaries to offer you the best of SAP solutions, we are committed to redefining what’s possible for businesses worldwide. Trust us to keep you informed and empowered with the latest advancements in the Quote-to-Cash world.

Stay tuned for future updates and innovations from SAP as we continue to redefine the possibilities of enterprise software.

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15 FebBusinessSAP

Accelerating Business Growth and Revenue: The Impact of Digital Transformation and SAP BRIM Services

To fully appreciate digital transformation and why is it important for your business today, you need to understand how it is influencing & transforming your industry! Whether it’s about engaging with your customers smartly or innovating the workforce with new opportunities, digital transformation is being considered the best investment, for long-term business value.

As per recent studies – worldwide spending on the technologies and services that empower digital transformation will cross $2 trillion by the year 2022, with companies allocating 10% of their total revenue to enhance their digital strategies. This clearly signifies that digital transformation is becoming a fundamental aspect in growing a business. It is estimated that this year, hardware and services will account for more than 75% of all digital transformation spend.

Irrespective of what a company’s vision for future is, digital transformation has become an integral part of all the growing businesses today. An effective strategy can create new competencies by take advantage of existing and upcoming opportunities in latest technologies and also speed up the entire process.

What is Digital Transformation?

Integrating digital technology in all the areas of your business to mostly change the way you deal with your customers in terms of delivery, operations, experience, business models etc. is what digital transformation is all about. It helps you in finding new ways to deliver desired outcomes, generate revenue and increase the efficiency by using innovative and advanced technologies.

Catalyst for Growth: How Digital Transformation Propels Business Success

Learn how you can digitally transform your business models, processes, and the way your company deal with digital economy.

Innovative business models – Whether big or small, working on innovative business model and digitally transforming it should be a priority for every business owner.
New ways of working – With digital transformation you get a lot to explore and a lot to learn, as it offers several new methods and technologies on which you can directly work and experience the difference.
Redesign business processes – The latest digital processes improve customers experience, offerings and increases productivity by working on real-time and predictive insights.

The Critical Importance of Embracing Digital Transformation for Every Business

It is perfectly said by Myles Leach – “The digitalisation of business processes has proven to bring competitive advantage to the organisations who exploit them. Significant productivity gains arise when users can seamlessly communicate with colleagues, customers and business partners anytime, via multiple channels, from anywhere in the world. What was once considered futuristic thinking is part of the mainstream today”

Digitally transforming your company can help your business in moving at a faster pace and can take you towards total transformation of your business. With this you can reach and gain customers from all horizons.

A few reasons why to opt digital transformation –

1. Security for your business –

Being a business owner, it must be a real task for you to manage and secure all data. This is not only complicated, but also requires severe enforcement around access, data compliance and protection from cyber-attacks. Sometimes, even the strictest security measures turn out to be useless if a disappointing network force you to leave for flexibility or faster speeds and choose some other place. Let your business be adaptive towards the digital transformative approach and you can easily achieve the business goals to keep your data secured.

2. Increases employee’s participation and makes them more effective –

Choosing Digital transformation functionalities can provide a valued opportunity for core business roles, like in finance and HR departments. You can now drop working on manual processes and automate key areas like payroll and focus wider business opportunities.

3. Reinforce business partnerships –

Digital transformation is one of the easiest ways to create and strengthen business relationships. As the demand from customer side is increasing, the competition among the industries has also increased. This has led companies to work in collaboration with suppliers and distributors, sub-contractors and specialised consultants, so that the productivity can be increased, and the demands and interest of the customers can be fulfilled. Digital transformation is very important to manage these partners which otherwise could be exhausting. The early you opt for a digital process for your company, the easy it would to handle the entire process.

Essentials of a successful Digital Transformation –

Be ready to accept new technologies

If you think in practical terms, you might have to face technological concerns in digital transformation if your team is not updated with the latest technologies.

Be open to experiment and
expand

While you carry out several operations, you will have several new doors opening to digitally transform your business. You should always be ready to grab any opportunity to experiment and expand your business.

Lead smartly

A vision being executed under strong leadership will surely bring success for any organisation.

Strategies wisely before you choose technology

After leadership, another important aspect is to put the best strategy in place and execute it through digital transformation.

Why exactly do companies need digital transformation, and how can SAP BRIM services help them navigate this transformative journey?

Staying Competitive in the Digital Age: Companies that embrace digital transformation gain a competitive edge by leveraging technology to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and enhance customer experiences. With SAP BRIM services, companies can optimize their revenue management processes, accelerate time-to-market for new products and services, and gain valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences.

Meeting Evolving Customer Expectations: Today’s customers expect seamless and personalized experiences across every touchpoint, from initial engagement to post-sale support. Digital transformation allows companies to meet these expectations by leveraging data and analytics to understand customer needs and preferences better. SAP BRIM solutions enable companies to deliver personalized pricing and packaging options, flexible billing and invoicing solutions, and real-time customer engagement capabilities, helping them build stronger and more loyal customer relationships.

Unlocking New Revenue Streams: Digital transformation opens up a world of opportunities for companies to explore new revenue streams and business models. SAP BRIM provide the flexibility and scalability companies need to monetize their digital offerings effectively, whether through subscription-based pricing models, usage-based billing, or value-added services.

Driving Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings: Manual and outdated processes can hinder a company’s ability to adapt to changing market conditions and customer demands. Digital transformation allows companies to automate repetitive tasks, streamline workflows, and eliminate inefficiencies, leading to significant cost savings and operational improvements. BRIM offer end-to-end revenue management solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems and processes, enabling companies to optimize their operations and drive sustainable growth.

Navigating Regulatory and Compliance Challenges: In today’s increasingly complex regulatory environment, companies must ensure compliance with a wide range of laws and regulations, from data privacy and security to taxation and accounting standards. BRIM offer robust compliance management features, including built-in controls, audit trails, and reporting capabilities, helping companies stay compliant and mitigate risk.

Based on a survey done on digital transformation by Constellation Research, 64% of respondents agreed to the fact that a great digital transformation strategy is essential to bring in profits for the organization. Going with the idea that only using latest technology would be enough to achieve the business goal for your organisation is not going to work. For or this, any business would need to have a well-planned strategy carried out by strong team. This will let you make the most out of this digital era by changing the way you deal with big and small challenges in the industry and allow you to think differently to bring out digital transformation into action.

While you have already chose to go on the path of digital transformation, you have to be ready for a few minor challenges including increased cost which is not going to be as high as you are thinking and will be worth each penny. With digital transformation you can fundamentally change the way your organisation work, and get things done more precisely and accurately!

Digital Transformation is no longer a choice but a necessity for companies looking to thrive in the digital age. By embracing SAP BRIM solutions by Acuiti Labs, companies can unlock new opportunities for growth, enhance customer experiences, drive operational efficiency, and stay ahead of the competition. With Acuiti Labs – right strategy and technology partner, your business can navigate the complexities of digital transformation and emerge stronger and more resilient than ever before.

231

05 FebBusinessSAP

Major Challenges faced by Postal Industries and how AcuitiPostal can help

Digitalization and technological advancements have led the Postal industry to change their traditional practices and adapt to the competition. The reasons for this shift are primarily extensive growth in the E-commerce industry & preference of the customers towards digital communication and paperless billing and invoices. Inevitably, the shift, along with its solutions, brought new challenges to the Postal Industry and we at Acuiti Labs have developed a one stop solution to tackle them- AcuitiPostal

Major Disruptions in the Postal Industry:

E-Substitution and Digital Disruption: The rise of electronic alternatives to traditional mail, such as electronic billing and online communication, leads to e-substitution. Postal services must adapt their billing processes to account for the shift to digital platforms.
Parcel Pricing Complexity: The growth of e-commerce has increased parcel volumes, requiring postal services to manage complex pricing structures based on factors like size, weight, destination, and delivery speed.
Diverse Service Offerings: Postal services offer a variety of services beyond traditional mail, including parcel delivery, express services, and logistics solutions. Billing for these diverse services with different pricing models can be complex.
Technology Integration: The integration of new billing technologies, such as electronic invoicing systems, automated billing processes, and secure payment gateways, requires significant investment and adaptability from postal services.
Customer Billing Preferences: Addressing the diverse preferences of customers regarding billing methods (e.g., paper vs. electronic invoices) and payment options requires flexibility and customization in billing systems.
Customer Communication and Education: Communicating billing changes effectively and educating customers about new billing methods or pricing structures is essential to maintain customer satisfaction and transparency.

In the agile market today, it has become crucial for the postal industry to move past these hurdles to ensure market sustainability. These problems can be addressed by enabling digitalization and adopting technological expertise. Practices such as E-billing, subscription offers, efficient pricing mechanics, etc. could prove to be the game changers for the postal industries. Tackling these disruptions will help the businesses adapt to the new trends and streamline their business practice in a way that favors the business and customers.

Here is when AcuitPostal- a BRIM accelerator designed by AcuitiLabs comes into action.

AcuitiPostal- At a Glance:

Built on BRIM technology, AcuitiPostal is a product dedicated solely for the Postal Industry to cater to its various necessities may it be operational excellence, launching new services or enhancing the customer experience. AcuitiPostal helps the businesses in the Postal industry to deal with disruptions that they are facing currently.

Transforming postal ops with AcuitPostal for business growth and customer delight:

Capitalize on evolving market opportunities by instantly changing client prices and partner revenue sharing models: It’s evident for the client prices to change with respect to the changing operational costs. AcuitiPostal enables the businesses to swiftly adapt to the situation and change the price while also being competitive in the market.

Introduce customer-focused subscription offers that set you apart from your competitors. With AcuitiPostal, businesses can enable subscription offers that are structured according to the customers’ needs and demands.

Increase efficiency to integrate the quote-to-cash process and offer low TCO (total cost of ownership).
Increase visibility from customer management to revenue recognition.
Electronic documentation: Since AcuitiPostal is a BRIM accelerator, it provides paperless solutions and enables the postal industry businesses to provide E-billing solutions hence enabling a practice of electronic documentation. Electronic documentation has become very useful for the businesses in the postal industry due to the ease of customs clearance.

BRIM Capabilities:

The billing software, BRIM effectively maps usage-based or recurring pricing modules for personalized offers and the possibility of real-time pricing. With BRIM at its core, AcuitiPostal can help the business of the postal industry to reduce underbilling and adapt to the way customers use the services. The business can be assisted in being at the forefront of the competition by offering prices that are attractive and reach the customers faster. BRIM also helps businesses in transforming the business model as a result of its flexible invoicing process.

At Acuiti Labs, we strive to make business practices faster, simpler and more efficient. We help you achieve the competitive advantage you need for your business to set yourself apart with our various industry specific efforts. AcuitiPostal is one such effort with an intent to revolutionize the Postal Industry.

Make the best of AcuitiPostal– A BRIM accelerator by Acuiti Labs now!

238

10 OctSAP

IFRS-15 Compliance: SAP Revenue Accounting and Reporting Integration with SAP BRIM

SAP Revenue Accounting and Reporting supports compliance with IFRS-15 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers) standards for multiple component contracts or contracts for revenue recognition fulfilled on a time and/or event basis. Revenue Accounting and Reporting (RAR) enables you to manage revenue recognition in a process that involves the following high-level steps:

Identify contracts: In this step, you create revenue accounting contracts corresponding to operational documents that are created on a back-end operational system.
Identify performance obligations: In this step, you identify the performance obligations included in each contract. You create performance obligations for items in the operational document and manage their relationships with one another.
Determine transaction price: In this step, you determine the total price by aggregating the pricing conditions passed from the back-end operational system.
Allocate the transaction price: In this step, you allocate the total price (determined in the previous step) among the performance obligations based on the allocation method, such as standalone selling price-weighted, standalone selling price tolerances, residual price allocation, etc.
Recognize Revenue: In this step, you recognize revenue for fulfilled performance obligations and make appropriate postings to the general ledger regularly to reflect revenue-related transactions.

Revenue Accounting and Reporting (RAR) can easily integrate with other SAP components (such as Sales & Distribution; Billing and Revenue Innovation Management; SAP Customer Relationship Management; SAP S/4 HANA Service) and/or non-SAP components (such as Oracle, etc.).

In this blog, I want to focus on the SAP Revenue Accounting and Reporting (RAR) integration with SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM) installed and activated in the same system. With SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management, SAP provides an integrated solution for the entire order-to-cash process that comprises Subscription Order Management, Convergent Mediation by DigitalRoute, Convergent Charging, Convergent Invoicing, Contract accounting, and Customer Financial Management. It covers the entire process chain, starting with product and subscription modeling that enables the customer to manage subscription and usage-based data as well as pricing and charging processes. It also integrates with high-volume billing and financial customer care powered by SAP S/4 HANA.

IFRS compliance is ensured by using integration with Revenue Accounting and the Offer-to-Cash end-to-end process as part of Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM). The prerequisites for this integration are:

You are using Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable (FI-CA), Convergent Invoicing, and provider contracts.
You have activated the business function FICA_EHP7_RA (Integration with Revenue Accounting) in SAP S/4 HANA.

Within the end-to-end process, integration with Revenue Accounting (FI-RA) exclusively uses Convergent Invoicing in the S/4HANA system. Convergent Invoicing sends all required data to Revenue Accounting. This ensures IFRS 15 compliance.

In the Offer-to-Cash process, Convergent Invoicing records transfer records for Revenue Accounting. Based on these transfer records, Convergent Invoicing creates revenue accounting items in the inbound processing of Revenue Accounting. Order items, fulfilment items, and invoice items are created.

Data changes made by functions and processes outside Convergent Invoicing do not result in an update to Revenue Accounting. This includes, for example, all processes in Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable, such as the following:

Manual posting of documents
Write-Offs
Document reversal
Transfer of items
Value adjustments

The following graphical presentation illustrates the process flow of transactional data depicting a bundle product consisting of hardware, subscription software, and installation charges.

In S/4HANA Subscription Order Management (SOM), you create a subscription order for the sale of product bundles (subscription packages) consisting of cloud selection service, Office 365, installation charges, and hardware. Based on the subscription order, the system automatically creates subscription contract documents in SOM and provider contracts in Convergent Invoicing for the subscription products such as cloud selection service and Office 365, as shown above in the figure. For the installation charges (shown above in the figure), the system automatically creates billable items. Hardware (a tangible product) is transferred to S/4HANA Sales and Distribution directly from SOM Order to execute the delivery of the product to the client site for installation, as shown in the figure above.

In SAP BRIM, provider contracts represent customer contracts. The contract management system transfers the required provider contract data to SAP Convergent Charging (CC) and Convergent Invoicing (CI). Convergent Invoicing passes on to Revenue Accounting the information relevant for creating order items. In the above figure, you can see the provider contracts (#77492 and #77493) are passed on to Revenue Accounting with all the relevant information for creating revenue accounting contracts and performance obligations. Installation charges (One-Off charges) for which the customer is invoiced once are transferred as billable items from SOM to CI and finally to revenue accounting. The following graphical presentation illustrates the data flow from Convergent Invoicing to Revenue Accounting for a bundle product consisting of subscription software and installation charges.

In Revenue Accounting, data is updated using revenue accounting items (RAI). In general, revenue accounting supports the following types of revenue accounting items: order items, fulfilment items, and invoice items. The graphic above shows how convergent invoicing creates transfer records in different processes (depending on the service type assignment to a provider contract item, billable item, or invoicing document), from which transaction FP_RAI_TRANSF creates the following revenue accounting items:

Order items from provider contracts (#77492 and #77493) and from installation charges that are transferred to the system as billable items.
Fulfillment items during the transfer of billable items to rated consumption.
Invoicing items from Invoicing.

Hardware items are transferred to S/4HANA Sales and Distribution for delivery and billing using the exchange in service feature in SAP S/4HANA. The sales order (having the same order ID and position) creates and transfers order RAI to the revenue accounting system as shown in the figure below.

Upon the successful delivery of the hardware to the client site for installation, the system automatically creates and transfers fulfilment RAI to the revenue accounting system, as shown above in the figure.

In Revenue Accounting and Reporting (RAR), the system automatically creates revenue contracts and performance obligations based on the configuration (i.e., POB type). Standalone selling prices are assigned to performance obligations using BRF+ settings. The transaction price of the revenue accounting contract is assigned to the performance obligations in accordance with the relative selling prices. Costs are likewise allocated to performance obligations. The revenues and costs from fulfilled performance obligations are recognized and posted in the general ledger.

241

28 JulSAP

Next Level SAP Innovations for Industries: Paving the Way for Future Growth

Describing SAP as one of the most intelligent and simplified technologies of the decade would not be incorrect, as it is a cutting-edge technology of the new age. From digitally transforming a lot of businesses to giving them an entirely new face for their customers, SAP has truly been a technology that has changed the business game for many in the past years.

Many businesses involved in big data spaces are eager to understand and grab upon the next set of SAP Innovations and the latest technology trends. Measures to achieve the organisation’s bigger goals, transforming and redefining business strategies to offer significantly better customer experience, and focusing on the latest trends to remain ahead of the competitors are a few points that every business promises to follow. When it comes to improving their business and keeping up with the latest technology trends, businesses are doing the same

Another thing that remains static, is the focus on innovation. These innovations could be in the form of anything like launching a new product, or a solution, or it could also be a service. When businesses prioritize innovation, they can flourish, grow, and evolve rapidly. This is where SAP’s latest technology trends can be of great assistance.

Role of SAP Innovations to Fulfill Customer Demands

As customers’ expectations continue to evolve, businesses find themselves in a highly competitive virtual world. To solve complex business problems and bring your company’s vision to life, SAP’s innovative solutions can be of great help. Many businesses have already achieved significant goals through unique and cutting-edge software innovations from SAP. Now, it’s your turn to collaborate with SAP to provide a unique experience to your customers, from discovery to delivery.

Industries that have been benefited with SAP innovations.

SAP’s latest tech trends and innovations had already helped many organizations in bringing their vision to life and transformed the way they use to deal with their business problems.

1. Health Care

The American Society of Clinical Oncology is shaping the future of cancer care by providing individualised solution. With the help of big data stored in the cloud, people can easily access it and use it to create personalised evidence-based treatment plans which will further result in better patient care.

2. Agriculture

In agriculture, ‘Stara’ – which is a farm equipment manufacturer is reimagining its ecosystem and fundamentally changing its business models with the exceptional solutions by SAP that are helping to digitally connect ‘the internet of things across people, plants and machines. These innovations are helping the company realise its goals in a better way.

3. Transportation

Trenitalia, a high-speed rail company is using a tailored, dynamic magnets management SAP solution that harnesses the internet of things to analyse censored data from trains in real-time. Now customers enjoy better service and the company is saving 8-10% cost annually

4. Retail

A retailer company, Tata CLiQ launched the first of its kind ‘phygital’ marketplace with SAP Hybris Solution to combine the Physical and Digital world. Now, the customers are enjoying seamless omnichannel shopping experience that is personalized so that they feel special every time they visit or buy from here.

5. Entertainment:

Cirque du Soleil, has revolutionized its fan experience by investing in an interactive mobile app. This app is creating a more impressive fan experience.

Make your innovations real with SAP innovative solutions. Now, it is your turn to best utilize these and let your business bloom. Bring your concepts to life with high value, individualised solutions built by SAP experts.

SAP Tech Trends that you should know about

1. Big Data

Big Data is the huge collaborated data that we deal with almost every day in our lives. This data keeps flowing and moving from one computer to another computer or devices like mobile or machine sensors. With the use of the right big data tools, your organization can easily manage, store, and analyse this data and get valuable insights that were earlier impossible to imagine.

Big Data can play a vital role in transforming the decision-making ability of you your business with the help of technologies like in-memory data management, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning. Big data solutions for SAP can easily manage your various data landscape – across data warehouses, data lakes, and databases – with perfect to use on-premise and Big Data cloud solutions.

With the use of SAP HANA, you can easily transform the way you deal with the business challenges and get the responsiveness and processing power to make the most out of new opportunities.

2. Machine Learning

Machine learning is a smart technology that educates the computers to perform tasks in a desired way through learning from data – instead of getting it done to explicit programming.

Through the collaboration done with top universities in the world, SAP is all set to explore the more futuristic choices of machine learning and expand the technology for businesses. This collaboration will help SAP in focusing on a lot of different machine learning research topics and work on resolving open AI challenges in various industries.

3. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing can be simply defined as the process of delivering the applications, platforms, data storage, operating systems, and other computing resources over the Internet instead of doing it over on-premise infrastructure.

Businesses like yours can be benefited by choosing the cloud solution as by doing so you don’t need to make direct investments in hardware or IT staff, but get a subscription to the computing resource based on your requirement and pay the amount only for what you use.

These are three main SAP innovations cloud deployment options from which you can choose the best fit for your business requirement – public, private, or hybrid cloud. SAP promises to provide the most secure cloud platform that is maintained with the highest quality standards so that your data is safest.

4. Internet of Things

The Internet of Things can be defined as a network of physical objects like vehicles, objects, machines, home appliances etc. that use sensors & APIs to connect and exchange data over the Internet.

5. Blockchain

Unlock the potential to revolutionize the way your business currently operates with Blockchain technology. Blockchain is based on distributed ledger technology, which securely records information across a peer-to-peer network. Join SAP Blockchain group and stay ahead of the competition. Easy communicating and networking with peers, staying updated with the latest industry trends and knowledge from speakers and SAP experts are a few best advantages that any business will be able to take while using Blockchain.

6. Digital Transformation

A fundamental rethinking of customer experience, business models, and operations is what digital transformation is all about. Any business that chooses digital transformation automatically chooses new ways to deliver value to the customers, generate better revenue, and improve efficiency.

Now or later, every business will eventually have to opt for digital transformation. A few businesses are under pressure to go for digital transformation and built a strong clientele, while there are others that are looking forward to it and moving ahead slowly. Are you among those businesses that are looking for business transformation?

Customer Satisfaction should always be the primary goal for businesses -

For businesses that prioritize growth and refuse to compromise on the quality of their services or products, customer satisfaction will always remain the primary focus. The market will be dominated by businesses that will understand the customer requirements better than ever before and offer them exactly what they need, even before they know they need that.

232

09 JunBusinessSAP

Driving growth with SAP subscription based business models

In today’s digital economy, many businesses are shifting towards subscription-based models to offer their products and services. Whether you sell products or services, subscription billing makes it feasible for your customers to make choices based on their convenience and budget thus allowing them to utilize your services in a much better way. One of the greatest benefits of choosing Subscription billing for your business is the ease that it gives to the customers so that they do not have any trouble in coming to a decision of what to buy when to buy and how are they going to manage the budget for it. Well, when your customer buys any of your service or product and go for a subscription-based plan, they will have a choice of paying through a recurring payment method which is the most feasible and budgeted way to own anything that they are looking for.

With its robust features and capabilities, SAP Subscription Billing Services helps businesses streamline their billing processes, enhance customer experience, and drive revenue growth.

Why SAP Subscription Billing?

One of the greatest advantages of choosing SAP Subscription Billing solution for your business is the effectiveness with which it handles the entire billing and invoicing process for your customers. This billing solution is crafted to grow your business in all directions and provide a simplified, automated approach to billing and ordering processes. It can successfully handle your customer’s end-to-end subscription billing life cycle which makes it the most commonly used subscription billing platform today that is transparent, effective, customer-friendly, and economical all at the same time.

Following are a few reasons why you should get rid of the traditional way of creating and sending manual bills and invoices to your customers and opt for the innovative way through SAP Subscription billing:

Meet the needs of the outcome economy with the advanced subscription billing solution likes the one offered by SAP that allows you to plan, innovate, and adapt your business model with speed and agility.

The market is constantly evolving, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends is crucial to remaining competitive. Here are the top 5 benefits of SAP subscription billing that make it the perfect solution for businesses:

Deliver Exceptional and Accurate Results to your customers

Most customers prioritize accuracy and perfection when deciding to purchase a product or service. By utilizing SAP subscription billing, your business can enhance customer satisfaction and retention through the implementation of a dependable and automated order-to-cash process.

Give your business the capability to deliver superior results to your valuable end customers by choosing the SAP Subscription Billing option and integrating it into your current billing and invoicing system. Most businesses have already integrated this into their existing billing system and are significantly delivering better and more accurate results along with great customer satisfaction.

Helps in creating new business model

Subscription billing is all about offering the flexibility of getting a service or product on a subscription basis and to pay for it accordingly. As technology is growing and evolving at a faster pace, most customers are inclined towards taking the subscription for the required time instead of completely owning it and this is only going to increase in the coming years.

Streamline Sales and Billing

Faster delivery and more effective experience for your customers with SAP subscription Billing! It simplifies and harmonizes sales and payment processes in a way that the entire flow turns out to be seamless and time-saving. Automation and streamlining of the billing and invoicing process not only saves your customers time but also gives them the flexibility to understand the complete flow. Preciseness, accuracy, and timely delivery are a few attributes every customer looks for in the product or service they are buying.

The desire of customers for personalized experiences is rapidly increasing over time. In the upcoming years, it will be crucial for businesses to thoroughly analyze customer requirements and develop a plan that is fully aligned with their needs.

Rapid Innovations and Continuous Evolution

Change the way you deal with the billing and invoicing process in your organization and start enhancing your business with one of the most efficient and fastest-growing business models – ‘The SAP Subscription-based Billing Model’. Get the privilege of delivering the right mix of subscriptions, charge based on the usage and periodic fees and enable product bundling and service bundling to create personalised offers for your customers.

SAP Subscription billing allows your business to remain upgraded with the latest billing tools and tactics and provides your customers with the most updated version of the billing system. This not only retains your old customers for your business but also builds trust for the new customers to come on board and experience the best billing and invoicing that you are going to offer to them.

Simple yet effective order-to-cash cycles for consistent growth

Get the feasibility of creating and editing orders instantly as and when required with the right mix of subscription services and products. Also, you can easily automate order fulfilment processes throughout the different systems. Easily monitor all the order arrangements, right from the initial stage to the activation of the subscriptions. Customers have become too smart and are continually evolving with every passing year.

In current times, customers believe and follow the mantra – “The simpler, the better.” Businesses are looking for simple yet very effective systems to deal with their billing requirements. And this is the reason a lot of emphasis is being given to the SAP Subscription Billing system. This is the complete package for modern-day billing and will surely be the best choice to deliver complete customer satisfaction efficiently.

Agile billing system – An added advantage to Enhance customer experiences

SAP Subscription billing is an agile billing system that gives an added advantage of improving the overall experience of your customers. We cannot ignore the fact that the billing solution of any business is highly responsible to provide a rich opportunity in delivering a positive customer experience and gather valuable insight. According to a new Forrester study, billing and revenue management solutions are the basic requirements to project digital transformation and superior customer experience. In its report “Transform Your Business To Deliver Superior Customer Outcomes With An Agile Billing Solution, an October 2018 commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of SAP,” Forrester has clearly explained how most of the organizations are planning to move away from highly customized, on-premise billing systems to modern SaaS billing and revenue management platforms. This study provides invaluable insight into:

Why the market is tipping towards Subscription billing solutions
How Subscription billing solutions help you build better customer connections and deliver superior outcomes.
Why billing needs to be a part of your overall customer experience strategy

Why Choose Acuiti Labs for SAP Subscription Billing?

Acuiti Labs is a UK-based organization and an SAP Silver partner offering a wide range of SAP solutions to its clients from around the Globe. Among these solutions is the SAP subscription billing solution, which is designed to help businesses streamline their billing processes and improve customer satisfaction. By leveraging this solution, businesses can automate their billing processes, reduce errors, and gain greater visibility into their revenue streams. Acuiti Labs is committed to helping businesses achieve their goals by providing them with the latest SAP solutions and exceptional service.

Industry Experience: We have vast experience working with clients from various industries including telecommunications, media, utilities, and more. Our industry-specific knowledge and customizable products allow us to tailor SAP Subscription Billing Services to meet your business’s unique needs and requirements.

Proven Track Record: Acuiti Labs has an impressive history of delivering successful implementations and satisfying clients. Our expertise and the positive outcomes we have achieved for other organizations can be demonstrated through references and case studies.

End-to-End Solution: The SAP Subscription Billing solution offered at Acuiti Labs is flexible and can meet changing business needs with speed, and agility.

Customization and Flexibility: No matter how big or small your business is, Acuiti Labs can provide a complete billing solution based on your requirement. The solutions offered here are personalized for individual user, enabling companies to successfully build, maintain and promote customer loyalty.

By choosing Acuiti Labs as your partner for SAP Subscription Billing Services, you can be assured that you are collaborating with a proficient and well-experienced team. We can assist you in efficiently implementing and optimizing SAP BRIM solutions to simplify your subscription billing processes

Contact us to learn more about one of the most scalable solutions for a subscription-based business model that can easily be integrated with other Cloud solutions such as SAP Sales Cloud. Acuiti Labs can also help your business by providing other sap solutions like SAP BRIM, SAP Sales Cloud, SAP Commissions and more. Explore the website to have a proper understanding of the services and solutions offered here.

281

11 MaySAP

Streamlining Credit Management with SAP BRIM Integration

Credit management enables companies to operate centralised credit management. The credit worthiness and payment behaviour of your business partners has an immediate impact on the business results of your company. Efficient receivables and credit management reduce the risk of financial losses and help you optimise business relationships with your business partners. SAP Credit Management (FIN-FSCM-CR) supports your company in determining the risk of losses on receivables from your business partners early and in making credit decisions efficiently and, in some cases, automatically. It also supports you in a heterogeneous and distributed system landscape: by using system-independent XML interfaces, you can also connect external non-SAP systems.

SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM) can integrate with SAP Credit Management using XML. The applications connected (such as Subscription Order Management, Sales and Distribution, and Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable) report the commitment of a business partner to SAP Credit Management. These reports are then consolidated into the credit exposure in SAP Credit Management and checked against the current credit limit for the business partner. In addition to the credit limit check, you can also carry out other checks, such as the oldest open item, maximum dunning level, or last payment.

The following graphic illustrates the process of transactional data flow for credit checks and exposure updates between S/4 HANA BRIM and Credit Management.

When a customer signs a subscription with a service provider, the service provider must ensure the creditworthiness of this customer. To do so, a credit check is executed during the order (or quotation) capture process. In a subscription order or solution quotation, subscription items are enabled to run credit management functionalities, such as credit check, credit exposure, or documented credit decision. If an item is relevant for integration, by default, the item’s gross value is used to execute the credit check and create the credit exposure. The gross value is calculated using the contract end date or the end of the contract term (if the contract end date is unavailable).

In the business scenario, the initial check is executed in a subscription order or solution quotation, either if the item is released manually and the order or quotation is saved or released or when the order or quotation is submitted or accepted. After a credit check is executed the first time, it will always be triggered when the order or quote is saved or released. The credit check is always executed at the payer level. If there are different payers in a document, the amount per payer is calculated across all relevant items and sent as a single amount to SAP Credit Management.

If the credit check is successful, the credit exposure is created in the order or quote with exposure category 120 (Subscription Order & Solution Quotation). On contract activation, it is copied over to the contract with exposure category 130 (subscription contract). During billing of billable items, the exposure is transferred to one of the billing categories, 220 (unbilled BIT), 210 (billed BIT), or 200 (open item), depending on the BIT status when data is uploaded to SAP Credit Management. When the open item is paid, the credit exposure is finally cleared.

The subscription-specific credit exposure is created on an item or contract level with the following object keys in credit management:

If the credit check fails, a Documented Credit Decision (DCD) is created in SAP Credit Management for the corresponding payer, and the order or quote is blocked for further processing. The order or quote can be submitted or accepted only if all items pass the credit check successfully, and only then will the subscription contract be created. A credit manager can check such a DCD and either release it manually or do a recheck. Items that are sent to a credit check are updated with the system status Credit Check Ok or Credit Check Not Ok, depending on the result of the credit check. A cumulative status across all items is displayed at the header level. Completed items are not considered in this header status. Order or quote cannot be submitted or accepted if even a single item has a failed credit check.

If a BIT that is relevant for integration with SAP Credit Management is created (a one-off BIT, a BIT from a billing plan, or a recurring BIT from SAP CC), the field CM_OBJECT_KEY is filled with an indicator so that the corresponding contract exposure can be reduced when billable items are loaded to SAP Credit Management. It is assumed that a credit check is executed for all relevant BITs if a credit exposure exists for the corresponding BIT. For example, if you have a billing plan for the contract main and sub-items, it is assumed that both items are sent for a credit check. If this is not the case and for some reason only the main item was credit checked, you must implement a corresponding check in the BADI BADI_FKK_SOM_CM_BIT so that BITs from the sub-item are not considered relevant when reducing contract exposure.

If a BIT is reversed or excepted, this is also reflected in the contract exposure. If a BIT that already reduced the contract exposure is reversed or excepted, the contract exposure is increased again.

Once the BITs are billed and invoiced, the open items are created in FI-CA. To ensure credit decisions are based on a current dataset, you must therefore transfer the credit exposure (the total of open items) to SAP Credit Management at regular intervals. In the credit exposure update from Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable, the total of all current open items for the business partner is always transferred to SAP Credit Management.

In FI-CA, there are mass activities for the following functions:

Sending the credit exposure of a business partner to SAP Credit Management
Sending the payment behaviour summary to SAP Credit Management
Replicating the rating values between Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable and SAP Credit Management

Further, FI-CA supports the following features, such as

Commitment Query: In SAP Credit Management, you can specify whether the current credit exposure is queried in the connected components for a credit check.
Partner Messages: Partner messages enable the credit exposure to be updated in SAP Credit Management for a business transaction across module and system boundaries, with no chronological gaps.
Credit Information Display: You can display the credit information from SAP Credit Management, for example, in the Interaction Center.
Credit Check: In Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable, you can also carry out a credit check for a business partner in SAP Credit Management.

Limitations

SAP Credit Management must run in the same SAP S/4HANA system as Subscription Order Management. A distributed landscape is not supported.
Only subscription items are enabled. Service and sales items are not supported in a solution quote or subscription order.
Integration with billing is only supported for Convergent Invoicing/FI-CA on a BIT level.
You can release or trigger a recheck on a documented credit decision only from the Manage Documented Credit Decisions Fiori app.
You can change neither the document currency nor the payer once a credit exposure is triggered for an item.
Phased contracts are not supported.
The pricing procedure must be in sync between the solution quote/subscription order and subscription contract. That is, the price calculation must always return the same value for all objects, otherwise, there will be inconsistencies in credit exposure and during delta calculation in a change order.
The credit check cannot be triggered manually from the subscription order/solution quote.
FI-CA does not support DCD case creation as an out-of-the-box functionality. No DCD case will be created when a credit check is performed from FI-CA using the function module.
There are also certain limitations when using APIs:
No credit check is executed on a change quote. It is executed during change processing in the change order.
If a solution quotation is created and accepted in a batch process and the credit check fails, only an error is returned. No DCD can be created because no quote is created in this case.

Why choose Acuiti Labs?

Acuiti Labs is an SAP Partner and a Business Consulting company that specializes in providing services and solutions for SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM). BRIM is an end-to-end solution that helps businesses manage their billing, revenue, and customer engagement processes. Acuiti Labs can help streamline credit management processes and enhance the customer experience by integrating BRIM with other SAP modules.

Here are some potential benefits of working with us for SAP BRIM integration:

Expertise: Acuiti Labs has a team of experienced consultants who are knowledgeable in SAP BRIM and related technologies. We can help you identify the best solutions for your business needs and implement them effectively.
Customization: Acuiti Labs can customize SAP BRIM to meet your specific business requirements, such as credit management, invoicing, subscription billing, and more.
Integration: We have the capability to integrate SAP BRIM with other SAP modules and third-party applications, such as CRM, ERP, and payment gateways. This can help streamline your business processes and enhance the customer experience.
Support: We provide ongoing support and maintenance for SAP BRIM to ensure your systems run smoothly and efficiently.

If you are looking to streamline your credit management processes and enhance your customer experience, contact us today! Acuiti Labs – a specialised technology company in SAP BRIM could potentially provide significant benefits. For more details on SAP BRIM, visit – https://www.acuitilabs.com/sap-brim/

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