Newsletter - IBIS Prof. Thome

Newsletter
Version: 2012/02
Dear Vordenker reader,
It’s time for summer, sun, vacation and the new issue of our newsletter.
Wherever you happen to be reading this, in an air-conditioned
office or on the beach, you’re sure to catch up on the latest
news and innovations.
Thinking Ahead features an article by Dr. Andreas Hufgard, titled
RBE Plus Benchmarking 2.0: user activities in business processes.
On these pages, Hufgard points out areas of intense system usage
in a number of organizations, and groups these into specific user
types.
Discover the five standardized scenarios SAP now offers for its
ByDesign solution, that integrate remote sites into the central SAP
ERP environment. Dr. Christian Bätz gives you the facts in Looking
Ahead.
We compared the SAP Business ByDesign app for Apple (iOS) and
for Google (Android) to see which functions each platform had to
offer. Read the results and weigh the pros and cons for yourself.
Content
Thinking Ahead 1, 3
RBE Plus Benchmarking 2.0:
user activities in business processes
Looking Ahead 2, 8
SAP Business ByDesign for major
corporations with multiple remote
sites – standardized scenarios
promote potential
Answering Back 2, 10
Access the SAP system from your
smartphone: mobile business app for
SAP Business ByDesign
Planning Ahead 2, 13
September 25 – 27, 2012
13th Annual DSAG (German SAP
user association) Conference
Contact Details 2
Planning Ahead gives you a heads up on the next high-profile event
in the SAP world. Don’t miss the 13th Annual DSAG (German SAP
user group) Conference in Bremen at the end of September. We
look forward to seeing you.
Have a relaxing, sunny late summer and enjoy our latest Vordenker issue.
Your IBIS-Team
P.S.: In August 2012 IBIS Prof. Thome received the internationally-recognized ISO 27001 certification for its
information security management system (ISMS).
Thinking Ahead
Out take on...
Benchmarking
RBE Plus Benchmarking 2.0: user activities in business processes
by Dr. Andreas Hufgard
Exactly how many transactions do SAP system users execute? Which processes has
SAP ERP software virtually automated? Now, RBE Plus Benchmarking 2.0 has the
power to answer these questions objectively – based on data culled from RBE Plus
usage analyses, from more than 250,000 users. The solution ferrets out areas of
intense usage and categorizes concrete user types. Companies can rely on these
findings to pinpoint specific sub-processes that can benefit from improvement...
Continue on page 3

Page 2 Of 13
Looking Ahead
Our focus on...
SAP Business ByDesign for major corporations with multiple remote sites
– standardized scenarios promote potential
by Dr. Christian Bätz
SAP Business ByDesign integrates remote sites into the central SAP ERP environment.
The on-demand solution delivers pre-configured scenarios, opening up a
world of opportunities for SAP user organizations...
Continue on page 8
Answering Back
Our field report...
Access the SAP system from your smartphone: mobile business app for SAP Business ByDesign
by Stefanie Krüger, Julia Auernhammer and Jörg Hofmann
SAP Business ByDesign’s cloud strategy provides a solid basis for work on the go. The ByDesign app takes
mobility a step further, packing the end-to-end solution for midsize companies into mobile devices, like tablet
PCs and smartphones. The app is available for Apple (iOS) and Google (Android) platforms. IBIS put both apps
to the test to see which functions benefit which users...
Continue on page 10
Planning Ahead
Our events
September 25 – 27, 2012
13th Annual DSAG (German SAP user association) Conference
Bremen Exhibition and Congress Center
Continue on page 13
Contact Details
IBIS Prof. THome AG
IBIS Prof. Thome AG
Mergentheimer Str. 76a
97082 Wuerzburg
Phone: +49 931 79686-0
Fax: +49 931 79686-10
E-Mail: info@ibis-thome.de
More info at: www.ibis-thome.com
or contact our IBIS Support
from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (CET) +49 931 79686-77
Should you no longer wish to receive our free newsletter,
you can cancel at any time:
Unsubscribe
Visit us here, too:
www.twitter.com/ibisness
www.facebook.com/ibisthomeag
www.youtube.com/user/ibisthomeag

Page 3 Of 13
Thinking Ahead
Our take on...
Benchmarking
RBE Plus Benchmarking 2.0: user activities in business processes
by Dr. Andreas Hufgard
Exactly how many transactions do SAP system users execute? Which processes
has SAP ERP software virtually automated? Now, RBE Plus Benchmarking
2.0 has the power to answer these questions objectively – based
on data culled from RBE Plus usage analyses, from more than 250,000
users. The solution ferrets out areas of intense usage and categorizes concrete
user types. Companies can rely on these findings to pinpoint specific
sub-processes that can benefit from improvement.
RBE Plus Benchmarking 2.0
SAP ERP software has penetrated much of the corporate world, and is used more extensively than ever before.
In turn, methods of company organization have taken on representative value and gained significance. Assuming
that in the 90’s, numerous business processes and data were handled without the help of ERP solutions,
the relative degree of coverage in many organizations has greatly increased in the past decade. This conclusion
is also apparent in the RBE Plus usage analysis data 1 gathered over the past ten years, and is especially
true for Germany and the U.S.A. During this time, the number of SAP users who work with end-to-end solutions
has grown considerably in German DAX corporations.
The 70 data sets 2 from the new RBE plus Benchmarking 2.0 3 database have been extracted from current RBE
Plus analyses (2011-2012), because they capture the necessary usage indicators. Each set consists of about
4,000 separate metrics, primarily from industrial corporations that use end-to-end solutions for Financial Accounting
and Logistics.
In the interest of confidentiality, we have made all data two-fold anonymous. We present user data as aggregated
key figures only, and have eliminated all descriptive information, rendering identification of any specific
company impossible.
In addition, we have either rounded maximum and minimum figures in Table 1 or shown them as intervals. All
other statistics – such as the mean and standard deviations – have been left unchanged.
Tab. 1 Deskriptive Statistik der untersuchten Unternehmen und Cluster
Active dialog
users
Cluster N Minimum Maximum Mean Standard
deviation
Normal 45 > 100 < 3.250 907 756
companies
Complex 25 > 600 < 27.000 8.010 7.336
companies
1
Since 2000, IBIS Prof. Thome has examined more than 1,000 SAP systems with its RBE Plus Usage Analysis. For more
details go to: http://www.ibis-thome.de/en/loesungen/rbe-plus-analysen.html
2
Updated May 2012. By the end of 2012, an estimated 120-150 data sets will be stored in the Benchmark database 2.0.
3
Development of the RBE Plus Benchmark 1.0 database began in 2006 and includes quantity structures and SAP transactions
from nearly 500 corporations.

Page 4 Of 13
Complexity
The six indicators of complexity include the number of active users, the SAP modules used, enhancements deployed,
interfaces implemented, the number of active organizational units, and the number of countries where
financial statements must be submitted. When corporations are clustered by normal and complex systems, all
international corporations in Diagram 1 are placed in the Complex Companies group. These reveal a high degree
of individualization, a large number of activities per user and hundreds of organizations that do different
things. They also have a mean of 8,010 active users. The larger midsize companies and corporate subgroups
all have upwards of 907 users. These make up the Normal Companies group, whose usage focuses primarily
on a country or a division.
Diagram 1: User activity
Diagram 1 shows the mean +/- the standard deviation. Findings concerning user activity are explained in the
section below.
User activity
User activity can be determined by counting the number of different transactions 4 a user executes. This includes
ERP transactions executed by dialog users, such as SAP and customer transactions.
Tab. 2 Descriptive statistics: user activity
Transactions
per user
Cluster N Mean Median
Normal company 45 20,9 16,8
Complex company 25 21,2 18,5
4
The number of transaction calls per user, and other attributes can be viewed in depth in individual analyses. Duration and
location of users in the system were determined by CPU and database times and other usage parameters. Thresholds and
intervals for differentiated evaluation can be used to rule out inadvertent transaction calls.

Page 5 Of 13
The mean for both clusters equals 21 separate transactions that a user must execute and be familiar with.
Diagram 1 shows distribution, i.e. how many separate transactions users execute, grouped into four intervals.
The mean forms the divide between the second and third groups.
1. The proportion of users who execute only one transaction is approximately 10 % in both groups. But here
the standard deviation is very high. It is important to check whether dialog users who have executed only
one transaction over a long period are needed. If so, this user type probably has a very specific task assignment.
These may be call center employees responding to inquiries or entering feedback.
2. The largest group – nearly 60% – are users whose spectrum includes between two and 20 transactions.
Either their access is very limited, or they do not use the transactions to the extent that they could.
3. The third group – approx. 22% – consists of specialist users, who have knowledge of and are familiar with
the system along one process chain, or have in-depth knowledge of one user department.
4. The last group –10% – are super users, who execute more than 50 transactions, and include mainly IT
specialists. The primary issue here is whether this type of usage is desirable or efficient.
Assuming these figures are correct, the 70% of users who execute fewer than 21 transactions need only a
simple introduction to the SAP system. The specialist users, with over 21 transactions, make up no more than
30% of the total sample. Since the values are nearly the same for both clusters, this result appears to be
equal, regardless of company size.
Degree of automation
The single most important result at business process level is the degree of automation. We’ll examine the areas
of document entry in which users are involved to a greater or lesser degree, and establish whether fears of
rationalization are founded. Table 3 defines this metric.
Table 3 Degree of automation (Hufgard 2010, p. 138)
Degree of automation – document entry
Definition
Differentiation
Comparability
Cost-benefit analysis
Time of measurement
Interfering factors
Documents created by automated processes.
By sub-processes and process documents along the business process chain or by
organizations.
Fewer manual processes over time. This can also indicate reorganization, in which
certain processes have shifted from one area to another.
Efficiency and processing time, process costs, resources and capacity.
Quarterly, before and after reorganization.
Transfer of documents has shifted. Entered into upstream system. Change rates
must also be incorporated, as these may indicate inadequate automation.
Diagram 2 shows ideal automation for the creation of purchase requisitions from an MRP run or an internal
catalog. However, it is shocking to see how much “elbow grease” the remaining purchase order requires. Its
creation, release and transfer to the vendor are automated in only slightly more than 20% processes.
It is not clear why the two clusters differ so considerably with respect to the automation of all other documents.
The vendor invoices show the greatest difference, indicating that complex organizations use far more
automated document parking systems, vendor portals and electronic data exchange.

Page 6 Of 13
Diagram 2: Degree of automation – Procurement
High priority should be given to the examination of the degree of automation for material documents because
of the high number of users. It is essential to track the development of workload and workload distribution,
since all changes – for the better or the worse – heavily impact productivity.
The broad picture shows that entry tasks in the Materials Management sub-processes are still necessary –
even with advanced ERP systems.
The defined metric enables the CIO to assess automation, workload distribution and productivity across user
departments at a glance. There is an interesting contradiction between employee productivity and the degree
of automation: The higher the degree of automation, the lower employee productivity for processing the remaining
documents. This is because the remaining documents deal only with complicated and special cases.
Conclusion
The conclusions drawn from these usage analyses reveal a few key concepts that can be put to positive use.
To increase the degree of automation, it is vital to focus on users’ entry activities when considering the deployment
of new technologies or the introduction of skills training for employees. For infrequently used processes
and functions, it is important to consider each case separately. More automation is not always better.
The results presented provide a basis, and show that fears of losing one’s job due to increased automation are
unfounded. Procurement still requires employees to enter nearly all documents. The introduction of mobile devices
and intelligent entry support could increase productivity, but the people who do this work will not simply
lose their employment.

Page 7 Of 13
Furthermore, there is the question of whether users really need to perform certain tasks. As established in
section three, there is a group – 30% of the employees – who perform 21 tasks. The remaining 70% do not.
The first approach to intensifying user activity is to pinpoint those who perform few activities. A solution must
be found for these users, because they incur costs without using the system in its intended scope and intensity.
There are two alternatives:
1. Encourage more intense usage of the SAP system by providing training that enables them to make better
use of the system. Or make improvements to the SAP system itself.
2. If it is not a good idea to assign users to the specialist user group, then centralize certain tasks. This enables
activities to be limited to specific components, country activities or individual user departments, and
saves costs.
Assigning appropriate tasks to specialist users entails reviewing user activities, as RBE Plus does.
The challenge of usage analytics lies in leveraging the insight gained to promote and secure improvements to
the greatest extent possible.
This information is also available at: www.ibis-thome.de
Back

Page 8 Of 13
Looking Ahead
Our Focus...
SAP Business ByDesign for major corporations with multiple remote sites –
standardized scenarios promote potential
by Dr. Christian Bätz
SAP Business ByDesign integrates remote sites into the central SAP ERP environment.
The on-demand solution delivers pre-configured scenarios, opening up a world of opportunities
for SAP user organizations.
Standardized scenarios
The latest SAP Business ByDesign release, FP3.5, offers SAP a bigger slice of the market for its on-demand
solution. Major corporations can now integrate remote sites into central SAP ERP environments. The software
giant is currently focusing on five specific types:
Type 1: Local sales site, centralized delivery
The local sales site has direct contact with the customer. It sells and bills for goods itself. The central warehouse
delivers directly to customers as part of a third-party deal.
Type 2: Local sales and logistics site
The sales site sells to its customers and delivers the goods directly from its local warehouse. The central
warehouse does not send goods directly to customers – it sends them to the sales sites.
Type 3: Remote site as a local service unit
This site acts as a local contact, supporting customers in after-sales services. It is responsible for repairs,
maintenance and consultation.
Type 4: Remote site as an internal service unit
This site specializes in internal services such as Procurement, Human Resources or IT Support. It provides
these services to central units or other remote sites belonging to the corporation.
Type 5: Remote site as an internal and external service unit
This site provides services within the corporation and for local customers. These services are rendered in
the form of projects, and employees from corporate headquarters or from other remote sites can be involved.
This typology lets remote sites go live with SAP Business ByDesign as quickly as possible, enabling exchange
with the central SAP ERP system. If a remote site has not used any SAP software to date, Business ByDesign
must be implemented locally and additional activities performed in the central system. Technical implementation
of data exchange depends on the SAP system release at corporate headquarters.
Spotting potential
The combined on-premises/on-demand solution lets corporations scale centralization of their SAP landscape.
To make the best use of this potential, the first step is to take stock of the system. The second step is to
model workload distribution between corporate headquarters and remote sites. It serves the interest of the
central ERP system to take a closer look at the degree of complexity, time needed for customization and the
amount of support anticipated.
If the system is too complex, transparency is impaired and additional maintenance is required. To reduce this
risk, do not model any requirements or exotic process variants specific only to local sites.

Page 9 Of 13
As for customization time, too many peripheral changes can overload respective departments, and diminish
flexibility. Organizing remote sites independently of corporate headquarters alleviates some of the pressure.
Customization requirements can be minimized by letting remote sites deal with country-specific cases locally.
The burden can be removed from central administration and support when remote sites use the local support
infrastructure provided by the on-demand solution.
Remote sites prioritize assessment of their competitiveness and mobility. A weak competitive edge can be
made stronger by allowing sites to customize their own systems without having to pass through the same approval
process as for the central system. And as to mobility: If local sales reps are not able to access the system
from mobile devices, mobility can be increased by letting remote sites implement a cloud-based solution.
Improving the system landscape
Based on the initial analysis, the first step is to decide whether action is needed. The second step consists in
taking concrete action to improve the current system. It’s important to weigh the capabilities and restrictions
of on-premises and on-demand solutions. For SAP Business ByDesign, we recommend using the pre-configured
integration scenarios and starting with the remote sites whose local country and language versions the
solution supports.
The opportunities discussed above offer large corporations and corporate groups amazing potential. What’s
more, SAP has announced its intention to develop further integration scenarios. Large user corporations would
be well advised to look into this issue.
Back

Page 10 Of 13
Answering Back
Our field report...
Access the SAP system from your smartphone:
mobile business app for SAP Business ByDesign
by Stefanie Krüger, Julia Auernhammer and Jörg Hofmann
SAP Business ByDesign’s cloud strategy provides a solid basis for work on the go. The ByDesign
app takes mobility a step further, packing the end-to-end solution for midsize companies into
mobile devices, like tablet PCs and smartphones. The app is available for Apple (iOS) and Google
(Android) platforms. IBIS put both apps to the test to see which functions benefit which users.
The mobile business app for SAP Business ByDesign version 3.0.2, is now available for the iPhone. It can be
downloaded at no cost from the App Store and is compatible with SAP Business ByDesign, version FP 2.6
and higher. The iPhone app also runs on the iPad, where it fits to the larger screen size, making the graphics
seem out of focus. But the retina display on the iPad 3 and later devices deliver a clear picture, thanks to the
tablet’s higher resolution. Google’s operating system, Android, offers its own version of the SAP Business By-
Design app. Available for version FP 3.5 and higher, it too can be obtained free of charge, at Google Play.
Functions of the iOS app
The iOS app lets you edit leads in Customer Management, convert them to opportunities and maintain them.
One major shortcoming is the lack of a follow-up activity for changing an opportunity into an actual sales
order. Users can create sales orders without reference to a follow-up document and can trigger an availability
check (see Diagram 1). But opportunities are not equal to those in the original application, as they contain
only one default amount that bears no relation to the corresponding sales products.
The app lets you create new customers, but not generate a sales order from the customer. To do this, you
need to maintain more customer data in the system. But there are many follow-up actions you can perform
in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), such as making phone calls. Plus, you can enter appointments
and tasks as they crop up. The iOS app features functions that let you call or email customers directly from
the customer account. The iPhone has the call function, but the iPad does not.
Department managers or other decision-makers will benefit from the approval function that offers an overview
of all activities that require their consent, such as purchase orders (see Diagram 1).
Diagram 1: iPhone: sales order and user-friendly approval function

Page 11 Of 13
The available reports do not enable any specific analyses. In general, the SAP Business ByDesign app lets you
access only a couple of reports, as SAP offers a special Business ByDesign Dashboard app that contains several
reports. Major drawback: the app is currently available for iPad users only. By and large, all reports initially
contain only the standard variables. If you want other combinations, you must first personalize and save them
in the system. Another function that should appeal to sales reps lets them enter expenses and project times,
so they can post expenses to projects while on the go.
Diagram 2: Android: overview of all app functions, approval, create new customer
Functions for the Android app
At first, handling of the Android app is less intuitive than for the iPhone app. Test persons overlooked some of
the functions the first time around because they had to use the phone’s standard function key to access them
(see Diagram 2). This was true, for example, when creating a new customer.
The latest version 1.0, does not yet offer all the functions of the iPhone app, which has been around longer.
So far, the Google variant includes none of the following: Project Time Recording, Expense Reporting, Sales
Orders, Collection Management, KPIs and Tests.
Mobile apps – just fun and games, or added value?
Both mobile solutions add value in specific user departments, but do not fully replace the PC application. For
instance, reports can only be modified in the original application. Sales reps benefit most from the app, as the
mobile solution enables extensive functionality in their area. On the down side, they have to endure a few limitations,
like being unable to create a sales order as a follow-up document for an opportunity. Managers also
stand to gain, as they can now work through approvals while on the go. Other staff members will find that
the time recording and expense reporting functions come in handy, but right now these are only available on
iPhone. Bottom line: The app functions tested improve efficiency, especially while on the run. But, we’d like to
see smartphones enabled for push notifications, so that, say, urgent requests for approval could be responded
to right away.

Page 12 Of 13
Comparing functions: SAP Business ByDesign apps, Apple vs. Google
Apple (iOS)
Google (Android)
General information
App version 3.0.2 1.0.6
ByD integration FP 2.6 and higher FP 3.5 and higher
Price free (App Store) free (Google Play)
Customers
Create customers X X
Edit customers X X
Send emails, phone X X
View contacts and activities X X
Edit contacts X X
Follow-up activities:
X
X
Contact, appointment, tasks, email,
phone, letter, fax
Activities
Create activities X X
Edit activities X X
Today’s appointments
View today’s appointments X X
Approvals
Approve, reject, forward X X
Leads
View leads X X
Accept assigned lead X X
Opportunities
Create opportunities X X
Edit opportunities X X
Sales orders
Create sales orders
X
View sales orders
X (must be in “open” or “in
preparation” status)
Collection management
View overdue items
X
My Area KPIs
Monitor created KPIs
X
Performance – KPIs
Add an available KPI report from the catalog X
for monitoring
Tests
reate tests, e.g. goods receipt or
production test
X (incl. photo upload)

Page 13 Of 13
Apple (iOS)
Google (Android)
Expense report
Enter expenses
X
Project time recording
Report project time
X
Reports
View personalized reports X X
Back
Planning Ahead
Our events
September 25 – 27, 2012
13th Annual DSAG (German SAP user association) Conference
Bremen Exhibition and Congress Center
Again this year we’ll have a booth at the DSAG Annual Conference 2012, from September
25 – 27, at the Exhibition and Congress Center in Bremen.
The slogan: Back to the future – focus on integrated ERP systems. Stop by our booth for a visit and get the
facts on our latest developments in this environment.
This information is also available at: DSAG
Back