Sap Srm

My SAP SRM

In an age of intense competition, supply chain efficiency and adaptability are not just requirements for success, but they are necessities for survival. Companies are under constant pressure reducing cost while increasing innovation, adaptability, and speed. The challenge is reducing purchasing costs for greater profitability while at the same time working with suppliers in a collaborative way that is everyone's advantage. To meet the challenge, approximately 3000 companies worldwide have used my SAP SRM (System Application Program Supplier Relationship Management) which reduces procurement costs, shorten lead time and improve sourcing strategy to improve their business and operations processes (Meier 30).

Many companies believe that SAP is the world's leading provider of business software solutions. SAP was started in 1972 by five former IBM employees. SAP application that was built around their latest R/3 system provides the capability to manage financial, operations, and materials (71). Today, more than 22.600 customers in over 120 countries run more than 76,100 installation of SAP software. SAP added new business applications such as: customer relationship management (CRM) and supply relationship management (SRM) (107). It helps them optimize supplier selection, compress cycle times, and build sustainable supplier relationship. The supplier collaboration of my SAP SRM offers a completely web-based scenario to provide companies with one unified view on design object, forecasts, inventory, and procurement shipments. My SAP SRM is the only supply chain application that integrates collaboration, planning, execution, and coordination of the entire supply chain cycle network (150).

The major managerial capabilities of my SAP SRM in a company are contact management, strategy sourcing, and employee and supplier integration It provides employees controlled access to the supplier base through an easy to use, web based user interface. This enables all employees and suppliers throughout and organization to be directly integrated into the business processes. My SAP SRM also has a tool that is necessary to develop the business technology in spending analysis, electronic bids, and live auctions. However, there are some concerns about the limitations of my SAP SRM. For example, SRM as an add-on to my SAP ERP does not support hub deployment and upgrade or migrate from a separately-installed SRM system to SAP ERP with SRM as an add-on. The benefit of My SAP SRM will out weight the drawback in the long term.

SAP Asia Pacific nowadays announced my SAP Supplier Relationship Management installations have grown more than 25 percent last year to date compared to 2004. The impressive growth of SAP has been forecasted to take the leadership position in the SRM applications in 2005 - 2009. For instance, Ericsson with my SAP SRM has experienced an improvement and reduction approximately 90% of its local vendor base and has gained the ability to control spending through improved automatic authorization routines. Nowadays, they have implemented the My SAP SRM solution in about 50 countries, including Canada, Asia, Australia, and Africa. It has developed throughout the world.

By improving supply related efficiency and enhancing the value of supplier relationships, my SAP SRM delivers significant business benefits. The optimization of my SAP SRM will engage the long term supplier relationship. It provides the means to conduct business effectively with connected trading partners. The information required for each transaction is now immediately and seamlessly available thorough on-line technology. My SAP SRM monitors and benchmarks supplier performance automatically and continuously. As a result, people can easily recognize and reward solid performers while as the same time identify and weed out underperforming supplier. Overall, my SAP SRM facilitates relationship that become more valuable over time.

My SAP SRM implementation at Steelcase can also bring strong advantage on cost savings. Target market of my SAP SRM include a 1% to 10% savings from improved workflow efficiencies; 15% savings from compliance with strategically sourced on contracts; 5% to 10% reduction from electronic price negotiations; 1% of benefit from leveraging knowledge of enterprise wide sourcing trends and reduction in inventory and carrying cost. SAP had many disconnected purchasing silos in the past. However, my SAP SRM will help to eliminate them. Cost savings will follow through reduced purchase processing costs, increased compliance to contracts, and increase pricing secured on bidding.

SAP has the experience and knows how leading organizations rely on them to achieve their business objectives. My SAP SRM has succeed to manage procurement and sourcing activities, optimize spend, and maximize cost savings in more than 200 companies. To illustrate, South African Breweries Ltd (SAB Ltd.) whose brands include Pilsner Urquell, Miller Genuine Draft, Amstel Lager, among many others has succeed implementing My SAP SRM. SAB Ltd. Used My SAP SRM to eliminate maverick buying and improve spend visibility. My SAP SRM supports catalogue based buying capabilities that enforce compliance to negotiate purchasing contracts. It also provides greater visibility across 140 indirect suppliers and 17000 SKUs. This has helped SAB Ltd to reduce non-production spend by some Ђ5.3 million which is 20% more than was originally anticipated. Today, my SAP SRM is helping SAB Ltd. to enforce governance, lower costs, and drive efficiency.

Steelcase is one of the many companies' examples that are using My SAP SRM. It is the world's largest office furniture manufacturer with approximately 14,000 employees, 2.6 billion annual sales, and 30 manufacturing facilities around the world. With the vastly expanding product offerings, a raw material to finished good process contained within the confines of the company-owned manufacturing facilities was no longer practical or cost effective. As technology in the workplace advances and ways of conducting business changing, contract furniture systems and their components must also adapt to create more efficient and comfortable work environments. My SAP SRM has become a critical component of this strategy to connect Steelcase with its suppliers for close collaboration and improved data communication.

The marketing and finance at Steelcase are also important.The Steelcase marketing department determined that the design and the look of the new furniture line were well received by their customer base. They used a technique called Process Qualification, a standardized method developed by Steelcase, to evaluate their products and to qualify their processes. Financial services Steelcase's segment provides leasing services to customers. North America accounted