SAP puts a Web 2.0 spin on CRM upgrade

CRM 7 will feature an easy-to-use Web 2.0-style interface that SAP hopes will help increase usage rates in the enterprise

SAP on Tuesday announced an update to its customer relationship management software with a Web 2.0-style interface that could help to increase usage rates among workers.

Companies often report that usage levels for their business software is lower than they would like, with salespeople managing accounts in Microsoft Outlook instead of their more expensive CRM software, for example. SAP hopes to address that with CRM 7, an update to its CRM (customer relationship management) product that will be widely available early next year.

People accustomed to using easy-to-use Web applications in their personal life are starting to expect that same ease of use in their business software, said Stefan Haenisch, SAP’s vice president of CRM product management.

“We’re trying to bridge the gap between a cool, user-driven Web application, and an enterprise software application,” he said.

CRM 7 has a portal-like interface that workers can customize with information from within the CRM system, such as reports, or from external sources, such as publically available newsfeeds and maps. They can change the color and “theme” of the interface by clicking through different designs, or skins.

The idea is to make the software more appealing to work with, but also to provide information that might increase productivity. A salesperson might add a feed showing news about companies he plans to visit that week, Haenisch said.

The software also looks different inside. The content is laid out in task windows that users can drag and drop to rearrange. The interface is built on SAP’s NetWeaver and uses AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML), a popular interface technology on the Web.

There are also new CRM tools, including a pipeline management tool that can run “what if” scenarios on upcoming deals. A salesperson can view quarterly sales in a bar chart, and then move deals from one quarter to the next, or push expected targets up or down, to see the effect on the quarterly totals, Haenisch said.

CRM 7 will also include telephony software that uses Internet Protocol, a technology SAP acquired when it bought Wicom Communications last May. The software lets companies set up a virtual call center that could include workers in remote locations, without having to invest in specialized telephony hardware, Haenisch said.

There is also an updated trade promotions management tool, which can help marketing departments manage hundreds of concurrent programs with retail stores.

The global CRM market is growing quickly, according to Datamonitor, pushed along by organizations that recognize the benefits of creating a positive experience for their customers. The analyst company expects worldwide CRM sales to hit $6.6 billion in 2012, up from $3.6 billion in 2006, with a compound growth rate of 10.5 percent per year.

SAP and RIM team to bring native CRM to BlackBerry

SAP AG and Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) today revealed a partnership to run SAP’s CRM application natively on the BlackBerry and eventually to bring the full SAP suite to the device.

“In 2004, RIM and SAP announced a strategic partnership around SAP CRM where a sales professional could access CRM by using the BlackBerry device as a browser,” said Bill McDermott, president and CEO, SAP Americas and Asia Pacific/Japan. “Today’s a different day, a very different solution. Today we’re talking about CRM natively integrated into the BlackBerry device itself.”

For example, with the new partnership, mobile sales professionals can have leads and opportunities pushed to their BlackBerrys directly from SAP CRM. Similarly, when a mobile user clicks on a contact, the BlackBerry can access up-to-date service or sales orders.

Source – http://searchcrm.techtarget.com

Hottinger Baldwin Messtechnik Implements SAP CRM 2007

Hottinger Baldwin Messtechnik (HBM) now handles its customer relationships with SAP Customer Relationship Management 2007 (SAP CRM 2007).

The company is now implementing SAP components for marketing, sales, and analytics at a total of 18 locations worldwide. SAP CRM 2007 is already integrated into HBM’s British subsidiary, which is the global leader in high-tech measurement and testing products. The company is also currently rolling out the application in Scandinavia and the Benelux countries; overseeing the implementation of this project is the SAP partner Sybit. SAP CRM 2007 is to replace the Siebel system HBM has been using for CRM.
According to Frank Hölscher, manager of sales applications at HBM, the company’s users have warmed in particular to SAP CRM 2007’s intuitive interface. In addition to the application’s ease of use, HBM is looking forward to major advantages based on its integration in SAP ERP: Hölscher cites the software’s ability to design end-to-end quotation processes – including product configuration – and eliminate redundant entries of quotations and orders.

Source – http://sap.info/en

BP – Introduction

BUSINESS PARTNER CONCEPTS

BUSINESS PARTNER CATEGORY

BP GROUPING

BP ROLE

DATA SET

BP RELATIONSHIP

BUSINESS PARTNER CATEGORY

The business partner category denotes whether a business partner is a natural person (private individual), organization (legal person/entity or part of a legal entity, such as a department), or a group.

The standard business partner categories are:

· Natural person (private individual)

· Organization (e.g. company, department in a company, club, association)

· Group (e.g. married couple, shared living arrangement)

It is not possible to create any other business partner categories. You cannot alter the business partner category at a later stage.

By launching the transaction code “BP” you will see the following screen. Note the BP Category – People, Organization & Group.

Input fields will differ depending on the BP Category chosen

BP Category – Organization

BP Category – Person

 

BP – GROUPING

Grouping is the container that holds the Number Range settings that is assigned to the BP Role. When creating a BP internal number assignment is the default. Alternatively if you want to use external number assignment, you must choose the relevant grouping and enter the external number.

Whenever a business partner is created it needs to be assigned to a grouping. Grouping controls the number range which is either Internal or External number range

§ A BP must be assigned to a Group

§ The grouping controls the number range

§ Internal and external number assignment is possible

A Number Range is a range of numbers that you can assign to business objects such as business partners, orders, products etc., Each number range has a number range intervals and a number assignment type (Internal / External).

Internal Number Range
When storing a data record, the CRM System assigns a sequential number, which lies in the relevant number range interval.

External Number Range -
The number is assigned by the user or by an external system, both of which must ensure that the number lies in the relevant number range interval.
For example:
Domestic business partners -
Number range 01, number range interval 100,000 – 199,999, internal assignment
Foreign business partners -
Number range 02, number range interval 200,000 – 299,999, external assignment

To define number range for BP go to the following path in SAP CRM IMG Menu:
IMG->Cross-Application Components->SAP Business Partner->Business Partner->Number Ranges and Grouping->Define Number Ranges

Choose – .

 

BP – ROLES

A business partner role can be used to classify a business partner in business terms. You can choose one of the many SAP provides roles –or- you can define your own Role/s

IMG > Cross-Application Components ® SAP Business Partner ® Business Partner ® Basic Settings ® Business Partner Roles. ­­ à Define BP Roles:

If you need to make custom changes, just copy the existing role that matches your requirement and then copy it and rename with an prefix ‘Y’ or ‘Z’.

NEVER make changes to the standard roles.

Following is the BP Role structure. The example shown here is for the BP Role – Contact Person.

All Roles have 2 factors that are important – Role Category and Role View

Role Category

Role category settings (as shown below) determines the BP category that this role is valid for

Role View

View determines that Data Sets that are valid for the assigned Roles. TCODE – BUSD will take you to the View area:

Assign the required data sets to the View and then Assign this view to your BP Role. The BP created for this role will have the following Data sets

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Differentiation Types

Application data is generally dependent on the primary key of the application object. For a business partner, the primary key is the partner number. However, there can also be other attributes that must be differentiated according to other criteria. If data for an instance is only ever entered as a way of describing it as a criterion, then it would be called a differentiation type. Differentiation types are usually entered on the initial screen.

Configure the input screens so that the value of the differentiation type is visible in the header data if the underlying data is dependent on it

Application objects

Each master data/transaction data object that uses BDT must be known. The maintenance of application objects is subdivided into the following points:

· Defining application objects

· Assigning application objects à differentiation types

· Settings transactions, task menu

Menu path: BUPT > BDT GENERAL > APPLICATION OBJECTS (BUS0)