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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.

22 NovTechnology

An introduction to Equipment Integration (Device-as-a-Service)

In the S/4HANA release of 2020, SAP introduced a new feature called as ‘Equipment Integration (Device-as-a-Service)’ in response to changing customer behaviour and evolution in the subscription business models.

Service providers offer their customers bundles of hardware devices (such as laptops, desktops, tablets, printers, or mobile phones), software, and services for a monthly subscription fee as part of a single contract (such offerings have come into the picture due to change in customer behaviour and technological advancement and commonly referred as Device-as-a-Service model). Solution quotations combine hardware and services.

To support such models where the subscription is for the hardware or the subscription(s) are dependent on the hardware, this feature of integration between the equipment master and the subscription contract has been provided. The ability to bundle different kinds of products (hardware, service, and subscription) already existed and hardware products resulted in the creation of SD Sales Orders from which downstream processes such as Delivery, Goods Issue etc. could be carried out. This has been taken further now, where if the hardware resulted in the creation of Equipment, then such Equipment can be linked back to the related Subscription Contract. With this integration, dependent processes such as those below can be built.

Activation of subscription and start of billing only after the hardware is delivered to the customer and installed
Cancellation of subscription if the related hardware is deactivated

The following graphic illustrates the process of transactional data flow for Equipment Integration between S/4 HANA SOM and S/4 HANA SD.

In a business scenario, where the equipment ID is not known before a hardware device is delivered to the customer, the activation of the subscription contract depends on the equipment delivery status. SAP provides the following example implementation where the physical device is a sales sub-item of the contract’s main item. The sales item is processed for delivery where the equipment ID, linked to the serial number of the sales product, is assigned in the delivery document. On the POST GOODS ISSUE of the delivery document, the equipment status is updated to ECUS.

The subscription contract will not be distributed and activated until the equipment ID’s are maintained and the relevant status (e.g. At Customer, Ready for Use) is set on the equipment.

This is achieved by using the ODI framework. A standard example schema EQUI has been provided with steps:

Step ID	Description	Use
EQUM	Equipment data maintained	This step will be executed only if the equipment ID’s are maintained on the subscription contract.
EQUA	Are all Equipment active	This step will be executed only if the linked equipment has a status of ECUS (At Customer).
PCEA	Call FICA Message contract activation	This step will trigger the creation of FICA and CC contracts which will be executed only once the above two steps are successful.

Features

The equipment integration provides the following features to support the Device-as-a-Service business model.

Maintenance of equipment IDs on subscription contract – Equipment IDs for a subscription item in subscription order or solution quotation can be maintained under the object List. The maintained equipment IDs are copied to the subscription contract item on submit/accept. Additionally, you can search for equipment based on their Equipment ID, Serial Number, Reference Product ID and so on.
Auto-update of equipment IDs based on serial number assignment – SAP has delivered an example implementation of how equipment ID’s can be automatically maintained on a subscription contract based on serial number assignment during the delivery of the sales item. If the equipment master is created and activated when serial numbers for a product are created, then during the delivery it is possible to identify the relevant equipment ID’s. By tracking back from the delivery, it should be possible to identify the relevant sales item in the subscription order or solution quotation. If the products are structured in such a way that the sales item is a sub-item of a subscription item or vice versa then that subscription item is the one on which maintenance of equipment ID’s is required. By leveraging the still open-for-change subscription order or the ‘Maintain Equipment IDs’ change process, equipment ID’s can be maintained on the relevant subscription contract. This system-based auto-update is achieved by using Event Type Linkages.
Trigger subscription contract activation on equipment activation – Like above, an example implementation of how subscription contract distribution and activation can be triggered based on the status of the equipment has been provided by SAP as an out-of-box functionality.
Billing start date based on equipment activation – Generally, with a subscription contract, the date from which the recurring charges are applicable is the same as the contract start date. When equipment is in the picture, we have scenarios where the recurring charges are applicable only once the relevant equipment is activated. Additionally, it could also be ‘once the equipment is activated’ or ‘X number of days after contract start’ whichever is earlier. To support such scenarios a Date Type CONTBILS (Start of Billing) has been provided.
Equipment ID as a technical resource – The ID associated with the hardware (Serial Number or Equipment ID) might be relevant in the calculation of usage-based charges in CC. To facilitate this, equipment IDs maintained in the object list are copied to technical resources and distributed to the CC Contract.
Early distribution when equipment activation is delayed – Typically, early distribution of subscription contracts is applicable only when the start date is in the future. With equipment, we have the scenario where the contract start date might be immediate, but the actual activation and distribution should happen only once the related equipment is activated which could be in the future. With Revenue Accounting and Reporting in the picture, an early view into such a contract might be required even though it is not yet active. To support this, a feature has been provided that allows for the execution of early distribution even when the start date is immediate, but the actual distribution is to be deferred.
Distribution and activation of the subscription contract
Changes process (BTMF) – Scale up/down equipment and Replace equipment

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06 DecBusinessSAPTechnology

Benefits of Switching from Manual Billing to Automated Billing. Why Choose SAP BRIM for Billing Automation?

Automated billing software not only helps businesses in streamlining their invoicing process, but it eliminates errors that manual billing causes and helps in deriving valuable business insights that you can leverage for your overall growth.

Handling larger volumes of recurring customers through a manual billing process can be tedious, time-consuming, and might require extra resources. The manual billing process is also susceptible to inaccuracies and is not quite recommended for businesses handling a large volume of data to avoid errors. When a business offers subscription-based services, the processes including billing, invoicing, payments, and revenue recognition are almost impossible if are being carried out manually.

Businesses that offer usage-based or subscription-based services should definitely choose to go with recurring billing software to update and automate their billing systems. This will not only streamline the complete billing procedure but will also fully eradicate the probability of manual errors.

A lot of subscription-based businesses are already leveraging the benefits of their shift from manual billing to fully automated billing software. And it is certainly important and recommended for all the businesses dealing with a large volume of customer data that are still using the conventional billing software.

The points below may help you to clearly understand the importance of automated billing software –

1. Saves additional time and effort:

You lose a lot of time and effort if you look at each customer manually to determine its subscription plan and deploy its bill accordingly. Manual billing can further complicate the process for you and your customers when there is some change in the existing plans where you will have to track each new add-on, product removal, and customer update manually. In simple terms, working with more customers and continuing to use the manual invoicing system is not practical.

An automated billing software saves you precious time that you spend needlessly sending bills to customers and collecting payments on a recurring basis. Billing automation is the best option to go within these modern times. When you use this, you put instructions in place in advance and save your billing team a great deal of time and effort.

When you opt for an automated, self-serve system for your company’s billing requirements, you provide your customers the freedom of altering their preferences whenever they wish to. They can review their bills and make the payments themselves, saving your team time and effort.

2. Improve accuracy and eliminate errors

Recurring manual billing and invoicing processes increase the risk of human error and can result in several errors and inaccuracies in customers’ invoices. The more repetitive the manual activities are, the greater will be the risk of inaccuracies in the end results. Aside from the fact that errors are expensive, there are also long-term costs associated with declined customer satisfaction.

With the billing automation process, customer information or subscription plans are required to be entered into the system only once. This means that any time you update a new subscription, the information will always be accurate every time a customer is billed, no matter what number of customers you are serving.

Automation is about being able to drive and grow your business with confidence.

3. Improved understanding of the Major Subscription measures.

Each business must have a complete understanding of what is going on behind the scenes and what the data suggests. For SaaS (Software as a Service) and other subscription-based businesses, access to relevant reports is a critical component in monitoring business health.

The reporting features offered in the automated billing system can provide you with significant business information to project future revenues. You get to access reports that allow you to see what’s working and what isn’t and quickly fix it. This will assist businesses in making informed strategic decisions going forward.

4. Automated billing system can simplify the way payment collection is done.

Payment collection is easy when you use a modern recurring billing software like SAP BRIM. This is because it automates the entire invoicing and collections process for your business. It also helps small and large businesses in identifying and flagging customers that have due payments and sends out past due notices automatically. Once you start using a system that automates these processes, you will immediately get an idea about the customers’ payments that have not been received, so you can easily identify which clients you need to pay attention to.

Using traditional billing solutions can make it difficult for your company in handling partial payments and payments in various currencies. Tracking partially outstanding payments and converting international payments to your local currency will take up your time and energy if the number of customers you are handling is huge. Automated billing software like SAP BRIM can automate similar activities, saving your significant time and efforts and making payment collection a hassle-free task for you.

5. Improved relationships with customers.

Easy access to client accounts resulted in a better understanding of client behaviour, which resulted in the identification of turnover risks.

Recurring or r automated billing software is much more advanced, sending automated email notifications to the customers once payments are received, which is yet another way to that adds to your relationship with your customer.

No matter how much money a bill is for customers still enjoy receiving this little thank you from your company. As a matter of fact, a simple ‘Thank you’ note can increase your chances of being paid more.

6. Offers Improved security

Automated billing adds an extra layer of security and where certain tasks could only be allowed to certain people within the organization. When an automated billing system is used, it gives you total control over who can do what on your billing platform.

Most businesses have security as one of the major concern when looking for an automated billing system. SAP BRIM solution for Billing automation assures safety for its customers and is the best choice to go with if looking for an automated invoicing billing system.

SAP BRIM for Billing Automation:

Below are SAP BRIM advantages of the on-premise solution –

Conclusion –

Manual billing processes are comparatively slow, inaccurate, and prone to errors, and they do not offer the agility needed to innovate and compete. In order to position your large-scale business that offers subscription or usage-based services and succeed in this increasingly competitive landscape, having an automated billing system is crucial. Automated billing software is an often-overlooked component of a complete digital transformation. And unfortunately, a lot of businesses do not think of improving their billing procedure until some of their pain points have already appeared. But, as a business, it is important for you to maintain a healthy cash flow and keep your business performing at its best in terms of efficiency, security, and customer satisfaction. Go for SAP BRIM automated invoicing system as it is an essential development for your organisation to grow.

Acuiti Labs can help you Switch from Manual Billing to Automated Billing

Automated billing increases accuracy and reduces costs. With an automated billing system, you can save time and streamline your billing process. Acuiti Labs’ team of experts can help you make the transition from manual billing to automated billing with ease, providing direct support for all questions and issues as well as recommendations for upgrades or new systems.

How can we help?

Assessment and Analysis: Acuiti Labs can conduct a thorough assessment of your current billing process to identify areas for improvement and determine the best approach for automating your billing process. We customize the process to fit your business needs, implementing any necessary changes to ensure high-quality oversight throughout the process.
Implementation: Let Acuiti Labs implement a comprehensive, automated billing system that is tailored to your specific business needs. It can include configuring the software, integrating it with other systems, and training your staff on how to use it.
Customization: Acuiti Labs can customize the automated billing system to meet your unique business requirements. This can include customizing the user interface, adding new features and functionalities, and integrating with other systems.
Integration: Acuiti Labs can help to integrate the automated billing system with other systems, such as SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics, and integrate with third-party systems. This can help to ensure that your billing process is seamlessly integrated with your other business processes and systems.
Ongoing Support: Once you have your automated billing system in place, Acuiti Labs can provide ongoing support and maintenance for your automated billing system, helping to ensure that it runs smoothly and that any issues are quickly resolved when they do emerge. Our team of experts is available to discuss options and answer questions, so you can be sure you’re getting the most out of your billing system.

Overall, Acuiti Labs can make the transition from manual to automated billing smooth and efficient, and with minimal disruptions to your business. With its expertise in billing automation, Acuiti Labs can ensure that your new billing system is effective, and it is tailored to fit your specific needs.

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22 NovBusinessSAPTechnology

SAP BRIM Application Management Services for your business, just the way you want it!

Acuiti Labs’ full Implementation and Management support for your BRIM system allows your team to leverage the maximum potential of your SAP solutions.

Let your team focus more on strategic and essential activities. Give your IT team the advantage of accessing on-demand SAP support in different functional and technical areas depending on your requirements. Services are easy to work with, easy to access, and always available.

Why Choose a Dedicated SAP AMS Service Provider for your Business?

Enables businesses to be more Strategic and Focused

Get benefits from strategic & focused methods that can drive more value from your existing SAP system. Customized SAP BRIM Application Management Services can free up your internal IT resources and allow your team and business to leverage the full potential of your SAP system.

Helps in meeting business goals with custom AMS Solutions

AMS Partners, help you remain updated with changing IT needs. They can work together in describing right-sized and right-shored delivery models based on the specific requirement of your business.

Continuous Assistance for Your SAP Applications

Businesses that choose a dedicated SAP AMS partner get expert SAP assistance on-demand, in any functional or technical area, without extra effort. Services are easy to access, easy to work with, and always available.

Advantages of Exclusive SAP BRIM AMS Services

Below listed are some of the major advantages that are offered to you when you choose SAP BRIM Application Management Services from Acuiti Labs:

Allows your employees to focus on internal projects and take care of other priority tasks.
Reduces cost of operation with the help of a hybrid delivery model and flexible support model.
The benefit of leveraging best-practice methodologies designed by SAP BRIM knowledgeable experts.
You do not have to worry about resource availability while you use SAP Application Management Services.
SAP AMS gives your business the flexibility to scale up and down as it grows. Avoid hiring delays and the charges associated with the frequent shift in the workforce.
Strategic SAP consulting and operational SAP application management from a single source.
Use resources as and when you need them without paying anything extra.
Help businesses in cutting the infrastructural cost for the team.
Complete support with high resource requirements to ensure 24/7 in-house operation

Why SAP BRIM AMS Services is unique and offer a world-class experience?

Acuiti Labs’ team of SAP Experts comes with vast industry knowledge and experience providing complete assurance of utilizing your SAP Landscape in the best and most optimized manner.

Our SAP BRIM Based Administration Services include:

Monitoring and maintenance of your SAP Landscape.
Storage space monitoring and Expansion as required.
User management.
Managing safety and security of Apps.
Upgrade and Migration to SAP S/4 HANA.

Below are a few reasons you should right away go with our AMS Services

We offer AMS Support irrespective of location, industry, and size of the organization.
We are flexible and utilize different support models (shared or dedicated).
We have the expertise to offer the best in market support for CC, CI, FICA, SOM, etc. with the help of our knowledgeable and experienced team of SAP Experts.
Our flexible pricing models fit both small and large enterprises.
Right from development, to upgrade, to maintenance, of your SAP Landscape, we do it all.

Our SAP AMS Support Models

Dedicated support model

This support model can help your business with an effective transition of SAP business systems into a competent managed services model, letting your business focus on what really matters for your growth and success. Our agenda takes full responsibility of your application life cycle with the flexibility and affordability you would want from your AMS partner.

Shared support model

There could be times when businesses might struggle with the availability of skilled and adequate number resources or do not have a sufficient budget. Acuiti Labs’ AMS Shared support model brings predictable value that leverages best-in-class strategies, processes, templates, and reporting framework. Our shared support model features a centralized pool of talented, experienced, and knowledgeable SAP Experts who can help you in maintaining, enhancing, and managing your SAP BRIM system with complete flexibility.

Why Choose Acuiti Labs?

Choose us for SAP Application Management Services for your BRIM System, because our SAP BRIM AMS Services offers a full range of industry-leading services with complete transparency and reduced costs. We have a proven methodology designed to take care of your business’ application management services.

Our models cover application, technical and functional support for Application Maintenance and other support services. Our highly knowledgeable SAP Certified experts make us the perfect partner when it comes to delivering maintenance and support services for your business.

Conclusion

Our process allows business to combine all their different data and processes into a single tool. This eliminates extra work which is associated with manual data entry, multiple database usage, and other unwanted and time-consuming aspects that help keep your BRIM system up and running.

For more details, visit now – https://www.acuitilabs.com/application-management-services-for-brim/

406

04 AugBusinessSAPTechnology

Usage-Based Billing: What Businesses need to know

The marketplace is evolving rapidly, and businesses are leaving no stone unturned to remain ahead of their competition. Usage-based billing is playing a key role in transforming many businesses that have already started leveraging its benefits. Offering precise, customized, and responsive services to your customers can be a game-changer especially when it comes to the pricing and billing options you are offering to your customers.

A lot of companies are rapidly moving towards adopting and utilizing the usage/ consumption-based billing model to meet the demand of their customers. It introduces a pricing model that can attract a wide range of customers, irrespective of their product line or where a business stands in terms of its growth.

Why Usage-based Billing?

Why is usage-based billing becoming imperative, and why are SaaS companies increasingly adopting a usage-based revenue model? The honest answer to this question is – the benefits it offers to its customers. It opens a wider customer base for business and is a sort of win-win for both customers and the companies. SAP BRIM is a new-age solution to choose usage-billing option for your business.

In simple words, it allows your customers to enjoy the much-needed flexibility when it comes to their budgets; and at the same time, you are also holding themselves responsible for how much they end up using your product.

Business benefits of choosing Usage-based Billing

Usage-based pricing does not have straightforward and accurate price offerings for its customers like flat-rate billing, etc., but it does come with a lot of business benefits. Here is the list –

1. Allows the customer to start at a low cost, minimizing friction.

2. Directly links the price paid with the value received.

3. Allows more users to access the product within an account, making the software more ubiquitous and seeding new use cases.

4. Provides businesses with the agility to anticipate, in the future, the requirements of their customers.

5. While the usage is being metered, businesses can easily track and analyze usage data for the product or service.

6. Provide the customers with options/choices that are aligned with their perceived value of any product or service.

7. On-demand product availability that attracts more potential customers

8. Get the flexibility to offer different combinations of services to increase revenue streams.

9. Overall, it is flexible, easy to use, and comes with several customer benefits.

Why Usage-based billing is even better than a One-time sales or Subscription Model?

There are three types of monetization models that businesses generally follow –

one-time
subscription
consumption/usage

Out of the three models mentioned above, the consumption or usage-based model comes with the widest range of monetization options. The one-time sale option provides exactly what the name says (a one-time purchase/transaction), on the other hand, the subscription model offers a fixed recurring rate irrespective of what is or is not used. But the consumption model or usage-based billing model is the most feasible of all the options and can work for a variety of different options, thus significantly increasing the number of offerings available for the customers and helping businesses in reaching maximum revenue numbers.

When the fixed-rate subscriptions are combined with flexible usage-based pricing, it results in the form of a consumption or usage-based model. This model allows the business to take advantage of a recurring fee and provides them a special ability with the help which they can charge for overages and increase revenue while any product or service is being used or consumed.

Minimize Business challenges with a usage-based model

To take full benefits of the usage-based model, it is important to work on the most common roadblocks that businesses might face in strategizing, GTM, and finance. Here are a few questions in each category that any business should understand to fully leverage the advantage of the usage-based model –

Strategy & Pricing:

– Is usage-based pricing the right revenue model for us?

– Did we pick the right usage-based value metric?

– What if customers do not like paying based on usage?

– How do we handle overages?

GTM Strategy

– What should be the role of self-service, sales, and customer success?

– How do we navigate sales comp?

– How do we grow adoption and usage?

Finance & Operations

– Is usage revenue valued differently than subscription?

– How do we handle billing?

– How do we handle financial planning with volatile revenue?

– How do we handle cash management and rev rec?

Choose a usage-based metric that meets the following criteria:

1. Value-based – Aligns with how customers derive value from your product and how they see success. Helps you communicate your unique product value.

2. Flexible – This allows the customer to choose and pay for their exact scope of usage. Helps overcome buying constraints and budget thresholds.

3. Scalable – Generates more, spends from a customer over time as they use more of the product. Revenue scales naturally with customer growth

4. Predictable – Provides billing and budget predictability for customers large and small.

5. Feasible – Possible for you to monitor, administer, and police with your customers. Tracks with your COGS so that you do not have consistently unprofitable customers.

What are the 5 Financial Metrics that businesses should mainly focus on –

Revenue
Remaining performance obligations (RPO)
Billings
Dollar-based net expansion
Active customer accounts

Major challenges of shifting to a usage-based billing model –

Shifting your business to usage-based billing comes with its own set of risks and difficulties – from how you execute it in your business subscription plans, to whether your customer is taking the change kindly or not. Here are a few major challenges that you as a business need to overcome to move successfully to a usage-based pricing model –

Picking the right pricing model for your business:

A simple way to understand whether the usage-based pricing is the correct model for your business is to contemplate your company costs; if this remains static irrespective of the number of customers using the service, then the usage-based billing model may not be the right fit for your business.

Therefore, usage-based billing is most suitable for businesses working on SaaS, cloud, and data. This is because of the higher costs generated by increased usage, and the comfort of metering such digital services.

Convincing your customers

While moving to a usage-based billing model, you might face some challenges from your customers, especially when you have started to charge them for a service that you once offered for free.

Now it is up to you, that’s how you convince your customers in understanding that this change is worthwhile, and they will be offered a lot of its benefits once they start using it. If you as a business fail to effectively articulate this, then your customers might not be okay with the shift. Your business might also experience an increase in customer churn. At this stage only you will be able to identify how effective your customer communications strategies are and also who are your loyal and trustworthy customers.

Predicting your revenues

You must be prepared for unpredictable revenues at the time you bill your customers if you are looking forward to implementing usage-based billing.

A lot of subscription-based businesses forecast their revenues on the basis of Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) but forecasting your revenue with a usage-based pricing model is a little more difficult. One thing that further complicates this is the variable cost of delivering the service; if your expenditure is bound to customer usage, then your associated costs will fluctuate with that usage too.

Billing your customers

Businesses need to have the best recurring billing system for collecting user consumption data and then further charging them timely and most importantly in a transparent way. Subscription businesses must be able to map and collate usage data from many different systems and sources, irrespective of their format, to track usage and apply the right pricing. This is where executing and integrating a robust charging and billing system is important. It helps in streamlining the payment processes and producing itemised invoices.

Conclusion

Usage-based pricing/business model is a very effective way to improve business performance. However, billing for a usage-based pricing model comes with a lot of difficulties too. This is where Acuiti Labs with its vast experience in ‘consume to cash’ can help the companies in transforming their business model.

449

28 JulBusinessSAPTechnology

Yet another success, yet another solution on SAP Store by Acuiti Labs – AcuitiPay

After successfully launching AcuitiMobi – A mobility-as-a-service app for public transport published on SAP Store, Acuiti Labs’ another SAP BRIM/Billing based application is now available on SAP Store. AcuitiPay a connected vehicle billing service– An application based on BRIM technology for connected vehicles is successfully published on SAP Store and available for businesses to download. This app provides world’s first end-to-end payment, billing, subscription, and data management platform for the connected vehicle. This is a new technology app capable of working with partners from the automotive, telecom, and insurance industries (among others) designed to assist the drivers and brings together a wide range of potentially useful functions into one easy-to-use platform. AcuitiPay brings together all the services that drivers need into one easy-to-use platform such as:

Fuel and charging
Roadside / accidents
Parking and Tolls
Insurance
Vehicle Accessories
Maintenance and repairs
Wi-Fi and streaming media
Food and Beverages
Vehicle Financing & Leasing

Key Features of the AcuitiPay –

Enterprise-grade, worldwide, cross-industry solution
Able to support B2C and B2B transaction volumes & complexities
Future-Proof monetization capabilities of subscription and usage-based business models with agility
Real-time consumer Data Management with GDPR
Configuration based enablement not coding
Industry-leading rating and charging engine
Billing and Invoicing, Outcome-based, Event-based or recurring subscriptions
Track every change to any of the customer’s subscriptions at any period of time during the usage
Overcharging or underpayment is eliminated with precise billing processes
Customers can buy or contract any service from anywhere, at any time with the best possible terms

Customer benefits of using AcuitiPay –

Enable quick, convenient, one-click payment for services, making driver’s life easier
Single Sign-on “Market-place” experience
Multi-national, multi-currency, taxation, and languages capability

AcuitiPay uses SAP BRIM backend –

SAP BRIM (Billing and Revenue Innovation Management) helps users/customers in replacing and revolutionizing the entire traditional billing process. The automated billing solution enables the business to manage the billing process flexibly and efficiently. The entire offer-to-cash business process can be mapped along with the usage-based or recurring price models – keeping a track of entire quotations to the billing and evaluation of the services used, right from consumption, billing, invoicing, and receivables management.

AcuitiPay revs up the ease and convenience of its connected vehicle billing service platform by using SAP Technology in the following way:

Customer requirements can be implemented better and faster, reducing the overall processing time and cost.
High volume and usage-based data can be processed with high performance efficiently.
Pricing, billing, and invoicing of a wide variety of services.
Reduce deployment time to introduce new services for connected cars.
Integrate efficiently innovative services from third-party providers.
Flexible handling of revenue-sharing models
High transparency/traceability of the entire billing process
Monitor numerous recurring subscriptions/recurring revenue metrics with ease
Manage multiple subscription orders in real-time
Enable various billing schedules (monthly, quarterly, annually)
Drivers can make use of the variety of services under one single platform.
Pay-per-use and auto-renewal services with minimal investment.
Enable quick, convenient, one-click payment for services
Collate billable items accurately and avoid missed consumed items.
Onboard partners’ existing services, offerings, and loyalty programs seamlessly.

Now count on your driving experience with AcuitiPay. While drivers get choose AcuitiPay, they get numerous services that they might need during their journey.

Get ready for the Hassle-free ride with AcuitiPay.

Contact us today! Check out more details about AcuitiPay on SAP Store –

437

22 JunBusinessSAPTechnology

The wait is over! AcuitiMobi is now available on SAP Store

The much-awaited Mobility as a Service (MaaS) application which will enable account-based travel instead of old school ticket-based travel – AcuitiMobi is now available on SAP Store!

Acuiti Labs is proud to announce the launch of its very new application AcuitiMobi. The primary aim of this new age, mobility as a service application is to enable account-based travel and to resolve critical challenges that commuters face while using public transport. Customers can register and easily plan and execute their journeys with this sophisticated application. It integrates various means of transport that an induvial use while travelling like train, car, bus, taxi, bike sharing, tram etc.

This is an on-demand solution for public transport users which works in real-time and offers complete flexibility to its customers. Being an account-based, customer-centric platform, it brings in a lot of options to make the entire journey hassle-free and allow commuters to plan and use the multi-modal transport seamlessly. It offers on-demand capability for individuals to buy entitlements, subscriptions and passes. Basically, providing complete support to a user while they choose different combination of transport to reach to their destination.

AcuitiMobi – Transforming public transport.

Change the way commuters use public transport with AcuitiMobi! There are several ways in which AcuitiMobi is transforming public transport for commuters.

Provide your commuters with an innovative way to use Public Transport while they use AcuitiMobi. The app comes with very simple navigation choices which can guide its users to choose the required multi-modal transport options as per their convenience and make their journeys efficient and enjoyable. It has everything that a user needs for an effortless & stress-free traveling experience. Right from the user’s travel plan to easy payment options, all this is included in AcuitiMobi app.

The primary purpose of this mobility as a service application by Acuiti Labs is to offer its customers account-based travel, with complete flexibility and payment options. This app will change the way people consume mobility by integrating all forms of transport, like taxi, trains, bike, etc. with the unique feature “pay-as-you-go” option!

Unique Combination of Mobility as a Service and SAP BRIM

While you choose AcuitiMobi, you get the freedom of choosing subscription-based or consumptions based billing options, hassle-free travelling experience and a comfortable journey while using public transportation. The combination of MaaS and SAP BRIM at Acuiti Labs opens several options for its customers. Acuiti Labs is an SAP Certified Silver Partner and offers accelerated implementation services for SAP BRIM, Subscription Billing, Entitlement management, and more. Our experience and competency in ‘mobility as a service’ market can help businesses that are looking for transformation and adoption of a new way of mobility by providing clear view and a complete road map to move ahead in the same direction.

Customer benefits of using AcuitiMobi –

Account based travel rather than ticket based travel
Easy pre-book, subscription or consumption based ‘pay-as-you-go’ model
Provide smarter and efficient platform to use city transport.
Inbuilt features like smart route planning, personalized user-experience, flexible payment choices, and QR code integration.
It is based on S/4HANA BRIM technology, thus offering innovative way to use public transportation.

Checkout all the details about the app on SAP STORE

467

23 NovBusinessSAPTechnology

Looking for a Debt Management Solution? How SAP is the right choice?

Are you looking for a debt management solution? ‘Bad Debt’ is a term used by organisations when the user or customers do not or cannot pay their bills. It is difficult to ignore the fact that with the current economic slowdown and rising unemployment, household incomes around the world have seen a downfall, increasing the possibility of delinquency and an upsurge in bad debt charges. The ambiguities arising from global shocks such as Brexit, trade wars, and a possible recession also pose risks for utilities & similar organisations. At the same time, liberalization and intensifying competition in many markets are resulting in higher levels of switching among customers, sometimes accompanied by bad debt when final bills are not paid.

In liberalized retail markets, utilities bear full responsibility for debt collection, but their manoeuvring room in recovering the bad debt is limited by regulatory and political constraints. The focus on maintaining the best customer experience, together with service obligations and provisions such as long grace periods, protection for vulnerable groups, and winter moratoriums, makes it difficult to suspend the service even as a last resort. Public opinion and political pressure act as a further deterrent, and utility companies need to reconfirm to the public time and again that their processes are fully compliant and adhere to the highest professional standards when it comes to debt collections.

Loss of income is becoming a burden on businesses and inhibiting growth, and the situation shows no signs of improving. Sectors like Utilities, Telecom can ill afford to ignore such waste and eliminating it can generate resources to invest in future growth. In a tight economic and regulatory context, utilities need to work harder to prevent and manage bad debt if they want to stay competitive and improve their resilience. Experience shows that companies are better at weathering downturns if they have already cleaned up their credit processes and minimized overdue debt because they are able to move fast to cut costs, protect profitability, and reserve growth capacity. Thus utilities will have to take matters into their own hands. By reshaping their credit and collections processes, they can improve their ability to predict risk, reduce bad-debt charges by, and provide a better experience for customers.

Barriers & Opportunities

Data Analytics & Customer Engagement

Data Analytics isn’t all new for organisations with large customer base like Utilities, Telecom – it’s actually been around for quite some time. there are numerous utilities using – basic behavioural scoring. Analytics is a continuous improvement process to identify ever changing customer behaviour and other collections related trend. Best-practice collections strategies should use emerging trends to segment customers, targeted collection campaigns & quick adjustments to the treatment path.

Continuously improving process requires the ability to monitor the effectiveness of the strategies, performance of customer segment & other relevant KPIs. In addition, advanced data analysis using metrics and trend displays, and collection control dashboards that illustrate KPIs such as status of overdue receivables and corresponding collections actions, will provide the necessary business intelligence to adapt and extend collections activities.

Various trends where Analytics can support Debt Management –

Reactive Collection vs Proactive Measures
Customer Segmentation: Can’t pay, won’t pay….forgot to pay
Customer Behaviour: Payment pattern, preferred mode of payment, initiative customer reacts to
Predictive Analysis
Identifying right strategy, right action for customer
Insight for the next strategy iteration

SAP Analytics Cloud is one simple cloud solution connecting your people, information, and ideas to enable fast and confident decision making. Machine learning technology and embedded artificial intelligence help you to discover deep insights, simplify access to critical information, and empower informed decision making for all.

Developed for real-time BI, planning and predictive analytics that natively integrates to SAP, the solution can predict when proactive action is required, something typically difficult for companies to do. The accelerated value is in enhancing organization’s ability to collect cash and improving its insight into profitability indicators. It also leverages SAC content to seamlessly integrate with SAP data and SAP S/4HANA^®. Advanced predictive analytics becomes the quiet driver behind dynamic operational, tactical and strategic dashboards that have been designed with SAP Fiori for a uniform and modern user experience.

Removing system Barrier

There is a basic understanding in industries like Utility, Telecom on the concepts of collections best practices, but almost all organisation lack the technology to be able to adopt best practices. Traditionally, collections have been the technology domain of the Organisation’s customer information system (CIS). Many companies struggle with weak and restrictive collections functionality in an aging CIS. Others may have a relatively new CIS in place that boasts adequate collections support but is missing key features to support today’s best-practice collections processes.

Collection managers, dependent upon the CIS platform & team to manage collections processes to implement improved collection processes. Debt is not going away. There will always be customers who default on payment. But technology has caught up with the problem, and companies now have the option to implement specialist collection software products that enable best-practice approaches.

Some of the best practices followed across the globe are –

Rapid change cycles executed by domain experts: Analyse, Optimize, Implement
Strategy changes no more an IT change request
Scalable & Flexible when it comes to including new changes/attributes that are based on analytical trends
Design transparency, improved performance & integration with 3^rd party DCAs
Offers tailored treatment based on customer segmentation
Allows Champion – Challenger strategy and success valuation

SAP BRIM – Financial Customer Care with Debt Management using BRF+

Business Rule Framework plus (BRFplus) provides a comprehensive application programming interface (API) and user interface (UI) for defining and processing business rules. It allows you to model rules in an intuitive way and to reuse these rules in different applications.

Flexibility in changing Business rules in Collection process enables Revenue Management team to –

Make their collections rules progressively more targeted, as they become more and more sophisticated with their analytics and customer segmentation
Add more sophisticated customer characteristics (e.g. components of credit risk scores, payment behaviour) as the data becomes more readily available
Adapt their rules to changing macro-economic conditions (e.g. recessions, political climates, etc) or changing customer behaviours (e.g. greater mobile use, email use)
Respond rapidly to unforeseen events

Leveraging BRF+ features to improve Debt Management

Scenario 1: Business running on SAP with Debt Management using legacy Dunning procedure

Debt Management using SAP’s Legacy Dunning Procedure was limited to few attributes like

Days in Arrear
Amount of Debt
Creditworthiness score

Combinations of these parameters were used to define levels and activities where defined as per Business need.

Debt Management with BRF+ is robust, scalable, and way ahead in its offering compared to its predecessor. It is a framework of Business rules which can use a wide range of attributes to determine the correct path for a customer.

Master Data
Transactional data
Derived values using formula e.g. oldest item, energy/non-energy debt
Function Module (data from external system/other modules/calculation of attributes not possible through formula)

Advantage of moving to Debt Management using BRF+

No additional licenses required
Whole loads of attributes to define strategy
Simplifies the process of identifying the right collection path, sequence for a customer based on changing payment behaviors, credit history, Debt parameter, etc.
Web based UI enabling Business User to control the strategy changes
Supports multiple strategies and at run time identifies the strategy or path to be executed on a customer
Supports Champion Challenger concept and reports on Success valuation of the strategies

Scenario 2: Business running on SAP but Collection strategy on 3^rd Party Solutions

Because of limited functionalities offered by the Dunning procedure, many companies moved their Debt Management solution to other 3^rd parties offerings. SAP too understood the need of the Businesses and introduced BRF+ for managing Debt. This has been a game changer for various organisations especially in the utilities, telecom sector who had no option but to move to 3^rd party offerings.

SAP may lag on jazzy screens compared to the 3^rd party solutions but on functionality offerings, it’s no less. GUI look and feel also now has been taken care through FIORI.

The real value what Business gets using SAP Debt Management using BRF+ are

Simulation in system before actual batch run controlling unforeseen scenarios
No additional license cost
Huge saving on TCO as the solution is in the same SAP system.
- Transactional
- Data Storage
- Annual Maintenance
No hassle of managing multiple real time interfaces to keep data up to date in the Debt management system
Improved Customer Service and savings on AVHT as Business User will have to refer to only one system for all the customer relevant information

What comes along with BRF+

BRF+ is like a container for the complete business rules and provides out of box integration with various other processes along with Debt Management. Power of BRF+ can be leveraged in

Billing and Revenue Innovation Management

Product
Discount/Charge Activation
Charge Plan Activation
Charge Plan Parameter Value Determination

Sales and Distribution

Output Determination

Revenue Account Reporting

Integration with Source System (SD, Hybris Billing, CRM, etc.)
Account Determination (POB Attributes, Contract Asset, Contract Liability, Recognized revenue, Deferred Cost)

Industry Solution – Utilities

Advanced Metering Infrastructure Event Management

Why Choose Acuiti Labs for your Debt Management Transformation?

Acuiti Labs is an SAP Silver partner and a digital firm that delivers business and technology consulting services, transforming businesses with pioneering and latest solutions. We have proven expertise in delivering successful SAP BRIM based transformation, thus offering complete support for your Business objective on Debt management.

When it comes to Debt Management transformation, we have collaborated with several clients across industries like Utilities, Telcom, Postal, Port and supported them in containing their Debt position not only by technology implementation but also by offering Industry best practices.

Our professional SAP experts have Big 4 consulting experience and strong technology capability in the area of SAP BRIM, Analytics, AI, Big Data, Mobile & other Cloud technology. We are best placed to understand your Business objective and co-create the required solution.

344

27 JulBusinessSAPStartupsTechnology

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – How is it changing the future of Transportation?

Time is not so far when customer-centric options like self-driving cars, carpooling, people opting for greener options and choosing public transport, etc. will take over, and owning a car will be rare. This is what the future of transportation certainly looks like. The concept of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) makes it even more clear and certain.

In the past few years, a huge shift from using personally owned cars to choosing public transportation or using mobility as a service has been noticed. The current way of traveling from let us say point A to point B has changed and is transforming and shaping up the whole ecosystem of individual mobility. Not only will be the entire transportation industry will be affected by it, but other sectors including health care, energy, media, insurance etc. will have the impact. These industries should reevaluate and opt for more advanced solutions to create value in this emerging environment.

What is Mobility as a Service (MaaS)?

Mobility as a Service also commonly referred to as MaaS is a customer-centric platform for individuals to use as a mode of transportation. This is an on-demand, real-time platform which basically includes a different combination of transport methods like a car and bike sharing, taxis, and car rentals/leases, and it offers its customers everything that is essential for an effortless traveling experience. Right from the user’s travel plan to payments, all this is included in MaaS.

To choose this service, all you have to do is to take a subscription of the application and you will have the access to available vehicles like car, bike, any public transport pass for the chosen time period depending on your convenience. If we talk about further details, it has smart mobility options including various modes of transportation for the ecological and social benefit are also playing a huge role in reducing harmful emissions, cleaning the air pollution, and proving better road safety.

Benefits of Mobility as a Service?

New age service Maas offers various advantages including –

Effortless and smart route planning — Maas offers real-time route planning for the users. it helps them in planning their journeys which might require using multiple transport methods based on the route they choose, with the help of smart suggestions drawn from their particular preferences.
Personalisation for best user-experience – MaaS is known for being offered as a completely personalized service. This creates a unique bonding between the users and the transport service provider. With the help of big data, it provides two-way communication and frequent customer feedback because of which MaaS systems have become the greatest customer-focused transportation platform of today
Easy payment choices — There are various different methods through which the MaaS users can pay for transportation which includes phones, smartwatches, and bank cards, flexibly before or after their journey, or also on a subscription basis.

What were the typical city transport billing platform challenges?

Multiple Booking Platforms – Leading to difficulty in creating bundles, limited integrated view of the customer, poor adaptability to multiple business models and not easy to grow partner ecosystem
Revenue Leakage – Manual processes, no single view of the customer, no streamlined order to cash process, limited Automation of business processes, higher Days of Outstanding.
Customer Experience – Needs to be enhanced, consistence and contextual
Limited Scalability – Bundles as well as combining various billing stream will lead to a massive increase in transaction volumes as well as business rules complexity
Visibility – Limited visibility (for business) of customer booking various commute options

How MaaS -Mobility as a Service and SAP BRIM together can be a game-changer?

The digital economy has completely changed the way how customers use to buy and engaged in the same service earlier. The subscription-based model has opened several options for the customers thus making the complete process hassle-free.

The Digital Economy has enabled new services … and changed the way customers buy

Iteration is based on customer behavior that includes price per month, per use, volume tiers, minimum commits, freemium, per outcome, etc.

SAP BRIM – Advanced Billing Platform for City Transport

Account Registration
- Register customer account
- Add credit card details

Journey Planning (Purchase)
- Check routes and possible legs of the journey
- Buy rides/journeys in advance

Journey: Tap-In & Tap-Out
- Every journey start and end are recorded by NFC, Proximity Sensor Bluetooth devices using the phone
- Separate events are clubbed together to record the journeys for charging
- Digital Presentment

- Responsive and Integrated Reporting / Customer-Centric Statements and Forms
- The customer receives a statement on mail for monthly usage

PayG Payment –Fair Price Promise
- Flexible Billing/Invoicing and Payment process
- End of the day all PayG charges are collated and payment run deducted the total from Credit card Service Charging

- Flexible Business Logic for Services Charging
- If the ride is already purchased that entitlement is used otherwise the charge is calculated for Pay

How Acuiti Labs can help?

Acuiti Labs is transforming the travel industry via the use of SAP BRIM and excellent customer experience-driven mobile apps.

We have innovated the travel of an individual who is using their own vehicle or using public transport to make it account-based pay rather than individual transactions.

These apps and BRIM platforms are designed to operate in any country or city with minor changes. This will significantly accelerate the adoption of account and relationship-based travel.

Acuiti Labs is an SAP Silver Partner offering an accelerated implementation service for SAP BRIM, Subscription Billing, Entitlement management, and more. Our experience and competency in ‘mobility as a service’ market could provide a complete road map for the businesses that are looking for transformation and adoption of a new way of mobility. Our billing and other SAP Services can help you in changing the way you consume mobility by integrating all forms of transport, including local bicycle services, ride-hailing, car-sharing, and a lot more. Contact us for more details.

290

02 JulBusinessSAPTechnology

Role of SAP Billing / SAP BRIM in Transforming Tolling Business

Transformation of tolling business with SAP Billing / SAP BRIM Solutions – Tolling is generally an amount, or a fee paid to access any road, bridge, or tunnel and the revenue generated by this is utilized for maintenance, construction, and/or other such operations

Toll Business can be simply understood as a way to deal with transportation challenges and provides a positive impact on freight transport in several ways. The toll in many ways has been benefiting society without placing an excruciating financial burden on the entire transport system. The advantages the toll business offer include improved transport efficiency increased revenue for the public budget and reduced external costs of road vehicles.

There is numerous research that has time and again proved that tolls can positively impact transportation in several ways. Below are a few examples –

Improved Transport Efficiency – With the road tolls being introduced, empty headings have been seen to decline. Additionally, tolls are also helping in reducing the vehicle km required for transportation as trucks are improving loading rates because of the pricing pressure.
An affordable choice, without impacting consumers’ prices – In most of the industries the range of transportation cost is between 1% to 5% of the total production cost which is comparatively low, and the accumulated statistics will not show any significant effect.
Significant contributions to transport sector funding comes from the toll revenue – This is true that money that comes from toll revenue is one of the major sources of funding that the transport sector earns.

How Tolling business can help in reducing the worldwide challenge of traffic Congestion?

The increased number of vehicles on road is certainly the cause of massive traffic jams during peak hours in many parts of the world. Managing the traffic congestion problem on a high scale would not only be a sign of relief to the economies of various countries across the globe but, this would also be helpful for sustained productivity and competitiveness.

A report by the UK government suggests that congestion may cost the economy of England £22 B a year in lost time by 2015. The U.S Transportation Institute said in 2011 that the cost of congestion is more than $120 billion, nearly $820 for every commuter in the U.S. World’s record traffic jam in China, Hebei province, was 110 km long during 12 days in August 2010.

There are three main purposes of road pricing and tolling among these tolling is utilized to generate revenues. The other two important reasons include congestion or value pricing which helps in managing demand and environmental pricing to reduce environmental impacts.

E-Tolling System – What is E-tolling and what are its advantages:

E-tolling or Electronic tolling collection (ETC) is a wireless means of automatically collecting the usage fee or toll charges from the vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels, etc. without requiring any action or stopping by the driver. This not only is time-saving but also keeps the entire process of toll collection transparent. Electronic tolling is also cheaper when compared to a staffed toll booth as it does not require manual processing and it helps in reducing transaction costs for both government and private road owners.

Advantages of E-Tolling –

No stopping of vehicles at a toll booth
Time-saving
The reduced traffic congestion problem
Can save gallons of gasoline every year
Efficient, safe, and secure

Evolution of Business Models and Non-toll Revenue. Transformation of tolling business with SAP Billing –

Toll pricing models have been evolved the most in the past few years. With the evolution and several new innovations, it has become more complex with customers demanding loyalty benefits, discounts, and vouchers. Especially the customers who own a large number of vehicles, deal with a lot of such task forces, and have to take similar journeys several times.

Tolling charges vary depending on what time of the day the trip was taken. How many travelers are there in a car, total distance covered, or even customer’s residence? The payment itself could be prepaid (wallet based), postpaid (Bank settlement) or hybrid model. Also, taxes could depend on the type of vehicles to subsidize electrical vehicles.

Besides the pricing and billing complexities in Toll itself, tolling companies have a lot of avenues to grow the non-toll business and get additional revenue. The same vehicle cards which are being used for Toll could be used for paying for fuel, parking, E-vehicle charging, hiring bikes, and car wash services.

Challenges Faced by Tolling Business

Road transport accounts for around 16% of global man-made CO2 emissions. Also, the number of crashes subsequently increases due to congested roads.
Tolling business deals with a lot of administrative tasks and paperwork which becomes quite a headache if not managed with the help of proper dedicated solution
Juggling between too many transponders and navigating the customer service maze

Role of SAP BRIM Solution in Toll Collecting –

Transformation of tolling business with SAP Billing is super easy with Acuiti Labs!

Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM) solution under the hood comprises of various different solution components that are pre-integrated in a suite. The Customer, Products Master and Order, Contract Management is handled in the Subscription Order Management (SOM) component that allows new customers to register, along with their e-tag information. On the tolling plaza where the vehicle information is actually captured by tolling operational systems which will then pass that on to Convergent Mediation which allows data massaging and validation.

SAP BRIM Platform can orchestrate information to downstream systems or can couple separate events together like vehicle entry and exist events received from two different toll points on the same route. Convergent charging takes care of the complex rating and charging logic and find out whom to charge and how much to charge for the journey. Finally, Convergent Invoicing can handle billing, invoicing, and settlement processes with banks and postings to subledgers.

Tolling Systems – Open versus Closed

In the closed tolling system, the vehicle is tracked both at entry and exit points. While in the open system toll plazas or charging booths are charging points for the applicable road section.

Customer Journey

The customer journey begins right from the moment when he/she either purchases a card or e-tag from the store and registers it along with the vehicle registration details. Customers can then top-up their card/e-tag using banking services like bank mobile app or ATM. Now when the customer makes a toll-applicable journey, based on a closed or open toll system the toll plaza will record the details or his card/e-tag verifying them against the vehicle plate number to detect any fraud.

These details will then be fed through Convergent Mediation where there will be further validations like multiple journeys on the same path in very short amount of time or improbable time difference between entry and exit timestamps recorded. Once the event data is validated it is rated by the Charging system to create billing items (records) of transactions. These transaction records/items are aggregated to be shared with the customer and the bank for any applicable settlements later. To minimize credit exposure it may very well happen that the entry point registers the vehicle entry and reserves or block some amount on customers’ e-tag accounts and at the exit point the charges are calculated and the e-tag balance is either deducted immediately or send to the bank for settlements.

Advantages of Using SAP BRIM –

Simplified Customer interactions
Meeting real-time expectations
Real-time insight for true customer 360-degree view
Increase Transparency and efficiency
Real-time Execution for context-sensitive offerings
Improved Customer engagement
Innovative pricing and Bundles
Consolidated Billing to manage credit and collection efficiently
Handles hybrid payments

While now you already know what role SAP BRIM plays in managing toll business efficiently than ever, it also important to get a holistic view of some other advancements offered by SAP solutions to its customers and how Acuiti Labs could be the most suitable choice for you –

Business Responsiveness – SAP BRIM offers Innovative pricing model, charging and billing models and also opens up a smart revenue stream that are personalized for your B2B offerings and you get a chance to know your customers better and thus can offer customized solutions to them.

Efficient Revenue Management – SAP Solutions could be the best choice when you are looking forward to increasing customer satisfaction and improve financial performance with a converged view of a customer account, receivables, payables, and disputes.

The flexibility of Deployment – Get the flexibility of deploying complete, integrated customer care and next-gen billing system with SAP Billing Solutions or choose to deploy in smaller implantable steps for targeted incremental value. You get the freedom of doing it the way you wish to choose!

How Acuiti Labs can be the right digital partner for the transformation of tolling business with SAP Billing?

Acuiti Labs’ can help in the transformation of the tolling business with SAP Billing solution and efficiently handles the issues that toll businesses are currently facing. We can manage the toll Industry pain points and also support potential future growth avenues. Contact us for the digital transformation of your tolling industry today!

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Category: Technology

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

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

1. Standardized and managed process right from start to end

2. Minimizes the Requirement and Dependency on Manual Tasks

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

4. Streamlined Process of Personalizing Contracts

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

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

How Acuiti Labs can help?

Why Choose Acuiti Labs?

Features

Why Choose a Dedicated SAP AMS Service Provider for your Business?

Why SAP BRIM AMS Services is unique and offer a world-class experience?

Below are a few reasons you should right away go with our AMS Services

Why Usage-based Billing?

AcuitiMobi – Transforming public transport.

Unique Combination of Mobility as a Service and SAP BRIM

Barriers & Opportunities

Data Analytics & Customer Engagement

Various trends where Analytics can support Debt Management –

Removing system Barrier

Some of the best practices followed across the globe are –

SAP BRIM – Financial Customer Care with Debt Management using BRF+

Flexibility in changing Business rules in Collection process enables Revenue Management team to –

Leveraging BRF+ features to improve Debt Management

Why Choose Acuiti Labs for your Debt Management Transformation?

What is Mobility as a Service (MaaS)?

Benefits of Mobility as a Service?

What were the typical city transport billing platform challenges?

How MaaS -Mobility as a Service and SAP BRIM together can be a game-changer?

SAP BRIM – Advanced Billing Platform for City Transport

How Acuiti Labs can help?

How Tolling business can help in reducing the worldwide challenge of traffic Congestion?

E-Tolling System – What is E-tolling and what are its advantages:

Advantages of E-Tolling –

Evolution of Business Models and Non-toll Revenue. Transformation of tolling business with SAP Billing –

Role of SAP BRIM Solution in Toll Collecting –

Tolling Systems – Open versus Closed

Customer Journey

Advantages of Using SAP BRIM –

How Acuiti Labs can be the right digital partner for the transformation of tolling business with SAP Billing?

Most Awaited BRIM Event 2022

Acuiti Labs is the PLATINUM SPONSOR for the BRIM International Conference, happening in Chicago

26 - 27 October 2022

REQUEST A DEMO