Digital Transformation for Research and Development with SAP powered by Approyo

The market is experiencing a disruptive shift in customer demand for new, extensive, smart, and personalized products. The journey of a new product initiates from the research and development (R&D) department, where significant difference can be made to improve features and reduce cost. A successful R&D department brings new formulations and designs to life with speed and accuracy based on inputs from the marketplace, customers, and latest technologies. R&D integrates with downstream departments to manufacture, sell, and service products with higher quality and lower cost while continuously iterating formulations and designs to create more profitable, desirable, and reliable products.

SAP's industry-leading portfolio of cloud and industry-specific solutions is uniquely positioned to enable our customers’ digital transformation across all key aspects of their business value chain. SAP Leonardo capabilities combined with SAP S/4HANA as the digital core provide an intelligent, integrated, fast, and visual product innovation platform with built-in compliance. The SAP S/4HANA R&D/Engineering solution enables informed decision-making in ideation and concept development, portfolio and project management, product development, and compliance management. Smarter products are brought to the market faster and with full compliance.

With the new Industry 4.0 capabilities, customers can now personalize the product design in real time to meet their needs through the variant configuration engine. The production order moves with minimal human intervention through downstream processes such as product engineering, production engineering, and manufacturing to serve a “lot size of one” to the customers. Another paradigm shift is the capability to deliver consumer-centric business models so that you can “uberize” your business before someone else does.

SAP solutions powered by Approyo enable companies to substantially enhance, simplify, and visualize the entire R&D process from idea to product.

Increase revenue from new products by offering wider variants and personalized and smart products  - Run design and development processes on live insights into product performance and customer needs. Enable individualized products with flexible and high-performing configuration, formulation, and classification capabilities.

Accelerate time to market with real-time project control, informed product decisions, and streamlined compliance - Analyze live performance of the project portfolio with predictive insights at any stage of the innovation process. Reuse designs and recipes, work in an integrated development environment, handover to manufacturing seamlessly, and leverage embedded compliance to launch new products faster.

Reduce R&D expense by informed product decisions, integration of formulation and design tools, and efficient supplier collaboration
For discrete industries: Design and simulate in an integrated development environment (supporting mechanical, electrical, electronics, and software disciplines). Synchronize all downstream processes internally and externally with harmonized and consistent integration of different design tools.

For process industries: Streamline development of recipes with full process support from first trials to definition-of-process parameters, efficient reuse of existing formulations and specifications, and synchronization of all downstream product development needs internally and externally.

Improve profitability by having insights on cost of new products early on and across the lifecycle - Reduce existing product cost and launch new products with competitive pricing by simulating the impact of design decisions. Calculate cost and other dimensions for new products in the early stage of the product lifecycle to quickly identify cost drivers and compare alternatives.

Improve profitability of customer projects, such as engineer to order - Detailed project cost controlling and forecasting, including issue and change management.

Reduce compliance costs and recalls through embedded compliance in the R&D processes - Compliance checks are embedded in the system for R&D processes. The coverage extends to markets, industry, materials, and downstream processes.

Read the full blog post on www.approyo.com

Data Powers Digital Business

The digital economy is driving a massive increase in the volume of data created by devices, business networks, organizations, and individuals. This tidal wave of data is driving demand for capabilities like machine learning and AI, and dramatically impacting economic productivity.

But core to all of this opportunity, is data.

In the new digital economy, data is essential in powering digital business. Data is the currency that provides the foundation for business insight, action, and innovation across the extended enterprise, from partners and customers, to assets and employees, all driven by the digital core. 

Companies will need to capture and exploit data in increasingly creative and complex ways.  And the ability to digitize business events across customer touch points, partner interactions, asset states and employee activities, and to create meaningful insight, will allow businesses to be more agile and responsive than their competitors, and to open up new sources of value.

On average, companies today use only a fraction of the data they collect and store, and if a company is already struggling to store and analyze its own data, it will be drowning in data in the next few years.  Future success will depend on a company’s ability to:

• Transform Data into Insight – Data without insight is meaningless, it is essential for organizations to take the information at their fingertips, to understand it, and turn it into insight.
• Act in the Moment – Without the ability to take action quickly and effectively, there is no opportunity to create new value.  And thus companies must also focus on the ability to turn insight into action, in real time.
• Innovate without Constraints – And finally, with insight and the ability to act, the final critical need for competing in the digital economy is the ability to innovate and build new business models and create new outcomes for the organization

These three imperatives combine to demand the organization’s attention if it is to succeed in it’s digital journey.

SAP powered by Approyo can help you lead your organization’s digital journey and address the challenges of data proliferation from enterprise data, Big Data, IoT, and beyond.

And we help you to transform your all of data, the foundation of a digital enterprise, into insight to drive innovation and create business value.

As a result of optimizing existing processes and driving greater efficiencies, you can help fund new innovations.

Only SAP powered by Approyo allows you to innovate now with intelligent, real-time data to build new business applications

• Flexible and faster app development environment on ONE platform with choice of programming languages. Deployment available on cloud, in the data centers, and on laptops
• Applications can leverage hyper fast transactions and analytics to automate business processes with intelligent guidance
• Enrich applications with ONE platform that includes predictive, text, spatial, graph, and conversational UI capabilities

View the full blog post on www.approyo.com

Digital Transformation for the Technology Industry with SAP powered by Approyo

Although high tech is finding itself in nearly every product and service across all industries, high-tech companies are not themselves immune to disruption. Factors such as new entrants, blatant IP theft, and knowledge leakage due to key employee turnover accelerate the rate of disruption.

Strategic Priorities in a Digital Economy
The digital economy is disruptive. High-tech companies need strategic priorities that drive transformation. SAP supports a reimagined set of E2E business scenarios to support the strategic priorities of working in a digital environment.

• Subscribing to outcomes -  High-tech companies are shifting from selling products and services to selling measurable results that are relevant to their customers. Becoming an outcome provider requires a different business model –one where customers can pay for the outcome. As high-tech companies realize this, they are increasingly acquiring, building, and joining the platforms and ecosystems that are needed for the outcome economy
• Realizing a digital supply chain - Transform your supply chain into a responsive network. Companies everywhere face volatile customer demand and heightened expectations of responsiveness. Innovative technologies can help resolve these issues by providing vital business information across the network, improving real-time analysis, and enabling better collaboration across departments and trading partners –thus making the supply chain more responsive.
• Providing digital smart products - Digitally connect your products and transform them into solutions. Enabling products to provide intelligence about their usage and to be upgraded remotely any time with the latest features required by customers allows for differentiation in an industry where products get rapidly commoditized. Data-based services can be monetized, and individualized offerings can be provided cost-effectively. Leverage IoT technology to connect products to R&D and sales processes.
• Achieving customer intimacy - Putting the end customers‘ point of view at the center of every decision is a key prerequisite for success in the digital age. This does not stop in the sales department but also applies to what products are built and what services are offered

So, how does the incumbent not only defend itself but also become the disrupter? 

Plan less, experiment more
Many refer to the high-tech industry as dynamic, however, it is better characterized as frenetic. Product launch delays, yield losses, and IP disputes can all lead to unexpected events that can throw off a perfectly crafted plan. However, for some, this also represents an advantage. Those who can leverage their data and incorporate more simulation and other sophisticated analytic techniques to model their environment will respond much faster to unforeseen events.

Harness the intelligence of the network
High-tech companies have a long-standing history of developing complex supply chain networks to enable high efficiency, which keeps prices down and quality high. These networks have evolved to handle more than just physical goods; they are now conducting commerce, distributing IP, and contain component pricing awareness. The data required for sophisticated decision-making has now shifted to the network, providing the next frontier for data exploration.

Make every meeting a decision making meeting
Most meetings are best described as information-sharing sessions. Participants often spend most of their time preparing and reconciling reports yet often end up with poor meeting outcomes due to a lack of current information. With the unprecedented speed of competition within the industry, executives need real-time information to make prompt decisions. Adopting innovative solutions to support rapid and informed decision-making can shift the focus from reporting to achieving outcomes.

Recognize the Knowledge Worker
Arguably, the most valuable asset for a technology company is the productivity of the knowledge worker. Far too often, these employees are straddled with excessive data preparation tasks involving spreadsheets and must spend precious time filtering through extraneous data. This leaves little time to focus on business outcomes. Decision support tools have evolved to take the burden of data preparation off individuals and provide them with predictive capabilities –accelerating productivity.

The intelligent ERP
Bringing SAP S/4HANA and SAP Leonardo technologies together as a digital core will result in a more flexible and intelligent enterprise. To achieve next-generation business processes, companies need an intelligent ERP solution that can be continuously enhanced and extended with innovative business services and applications built on emerging technologies, including machine learning, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT). High-tech organizations that have big innovation appetites or prefer to be early adopters have already begun this journey.

Read the full blog post on www.approyo.com

Approyo moves to new office Location in Brookfield Wisconsin

Approyo is proud to announce that we have moved to a new office in Brookfield Wisconsin to accommodate our growth. Below is the full article on BizTimes Media from Molly Dill about our recent move.

SAP software company Approyo LLC has moved to a much larger headquarters in Brookfield to accommodate its growth.

Approyo’s headquarters was previously located in a 900-square-foot space at W144 S6311 College Court in Muskego. Earlier this month, the company moved to a 7,800-square-foot space at 13100 W. Lisbon Road, Suite 500 in Brookfield. It has an option to expand into another 10,000 square feet of adjoining space.

“The opportunity for the (new headquarters) space was great,” said Chris Carter, chief executive officer. “It’s centrally located for the staff that I was looking to hire and I can grow the company to where I want to grow it to and bring them all into one area instead of having to move multiple times.”

Approyo implements, hosts, manages and supports SAP HANA systems for corporations. Founded in 2013 by Carter, former owner of Milwaukee SAP firm CCI, Approyo was recently named to the 2018 Inc. 5000 list with three-year growth of 557 percent. Its 2017 revenue was $4 million, and at the time of the listing it had 73 employees. But Approyo has since cut all of its workers in India to focus on new hires in the U.S., a spokeswoman said.

Approyo now has 28 employees globally, 11 of whom are based in Milwaukee. Four of those Milwaukee employees were added within the past month, Carter said, and if one of four pending large contracts closes soon, the company will add up to 10 more employees this year. The company has about 27 clients worldwide, including French company Atos, for which Approyo manages 42 SAP systems.

“The great thing right now is SAP is in what’s called an upgrade cycle,” he said. “We’re showing companies that we can help them with that upgrade and then manage and support their systems.”

View the original article at: https://www.biztimes.com/2018/industries/real-estate/fast-growing-tech-company-moves-to-brookfield/

Digital Transformation for the Insurance Industry with SAP powered by Approyo

Radical change in the insurance industry is occurring at a rapid pace. Changes in technologies, in business models, in standards, and in the makeup of insurance companies themselves require constant adaptation. Insurers must be able to respond to rapidly changing conditions yet still comply with all standards. How does a digital core with a true single source of truth help?

Responding to rapid changes
A digital core is an IT architecture that offers stability and long-term reliability for core enterprise processes yet also provides the flexibility to adapt quickly to new opportunities, challenges, and regulations. This solid foundation gives you a single source of truth, which, in turn, enables flexibility for innovation to accommodate new business models, new regulations, and new business events, such as mergers or acquisitions.

Simulation and analytics
The ability to respond quickly is an essential part of managing an insurance company. To do this, simulation, prediction, and analytical capabilities are important. Data is critical for gaining insight to make decisions. This insight must be at a granular level so decision-makers have the detail they need to understand trends, opportunities, and risks and quickly carry out what-if analysis using predictive algorithms.

Keeping data under control
Every insurance company needs the computing capability for carrying out complex risk assessments with large data sets to support timely, real-time analysis. Everyone in the company must have access to data they need, whenever and wherever they need it. They must also manage the enormous amount of data generated by connected networks to develop and deliver leading-edge products and services.

Addressing innovative opportunities
Customers in every industry are demanding innovation. Companies are responding with new products and services that better meet individual needs. These new offerings impact every facet of business, not just the front office. Companies must address end-to-end (E2E) processes across departments and lines of business to deliver on new customer experiences, products, and services.

The Intelligent ERP
Bringing SAP S/4HANA and SAP Leonardo technologies together as a digital core will result in a more flexible and intelligent enterprise. To achieve next-generation business processes, companies need an intelligent ERP solution that can be continuously enhanced and extended with innovative business services and applications built on emerging technologies, including machine learning, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Insurance companies that have big innovation appetites or prefer to be early adopters have already begun this journey.

An End-to-End Intelligent Enterprise for Insurance
Insurance companies need to constantly innovate across their company value chain to drive profitable growth and adapt to how customers want to apply and pay for their policies and services. The capabilities delivered with SAP S/4HANA and the preconfigured, native integration with LoB solutions from SAP help ensure processes run smoothly and efficiently across the engagement lifecycle, allowing companies to drive sustainable revenue growth and maintain margins.

View the full post on www.approyo.com

Digital Transformation for Telecommunications with SAP S/4HANA powered by Approyo

Thanks to massive investments in mobile and fixed broadband and in wireless network infrastructure from telecommunications operators, our planet is now a true “global village.” The proliferation of connectivity, Internet access, smart devices, and SIM cards has created a new digital life and digital economy. 

The growth of mobile subscribers, mobile data, mobile applications, and mobile commerce has exploded over the past decade. Hyperconnectivity has changed everything from the way we communicate to the way we work, shop, pay, and play. 

Paradoxically, telecommunications operators risk becoming front-line casualties of the digital revolution they have helped create. They are disrupted by aggressive, new, over the-top (OTT) players such as Apple or Google, which deliver services on the operators’ network infrastructure and siphon off core revenue . Operators are restricted by regulations that bind them to domestic rules in an increasingly global world. Their core services are completely commoditized, putting pressure on their margins. They are engaged in an endless round of network upgrades, causing capital expenditures to skyrocket and making return on assets unpredictable.

To succeed in this competitive market, telcos will need to put in place a coherent digital vision with clearly articulated offensive and defensive strategies. In particular, they will need to ensure they are maximizing their operational efficiencies while defining and delivering new revenue generating services to drive profitable growth. To execute on this, telcos will not only need to reengineer their business processes, but they will also have to evaluate if they have the right technology platform that can deliver on that vision.

This platform requires an IT architecture that provides both stability and long-term reliability for core enterprise processes, and, at the same time, allows for flexibility in areas where change is happening on a constant basis. The digital core is the foundation for the core processes that need to run consistently and flexibly. It provides uninterrupted, real-time transactions and analytics; the ability to work with Big Data; and the delivery of new services such as connected cars, smart transportation, connected health, and much more. 

SAP S/4HANA was specifically developed to represent the digital core in this “bimodal IT architecture.” It provides telecommunications companies with a proven framework to adopt industry best practices while attaining operational excellence – specifically across core financial and engagement management processes.

Process simplification SAP S/4HANA provides reengineered and simplified business processes that can yield significant benefits. Financial processes are transformed by using central finance functions that integrate all ledgers into a single source of truth. Disparate close processes can be consolidated into a universal journal for more-efficient processing, enabling telcos to close more quickly. Support for new revenue accounting and reporting (RAR) add-on for IFRS 15 compliance enables telcos to view multiple ledgers comparing traditional, local GAAP results with new IFRS 15 results.

An end-to-end solution for telecommunications companies
Telecommunications companies need to manage the end-to-end lifecycle of bundle and service definition, marketing, delivery, and billing. This includes segmenting customers, defining thousands of unique bundles, efficiently delivering services and devices, analyzing margins on services, and managing the demands of customers through building the workforce and talent pools both internally and externally to meet these demands, and then efficiently and profitably delivering services to delight their customers.

The capabilities delivered with SAP S/4HANA and the prebuilt, native integration with LoB solutions help ensure processes run smoothly and efficiently across the end-to-end service delivery lifecycle, allowing telcos to deliver personalized and profitable services and drive sustainable revenue growth.

View the full blog post on www.approyo.com

Demystifying SAP: Understand your Journey to SAP HANA

By 2025, SAP will no longer support SAP ECC 6, the core component of SAP ERP. This means you will need to upgrade your SAP systems. But what are your best upgrade options?

There are three common SAP cloud migration paths. Companies that want to start off slowly can undergo a traditional SAP cloud migration, moving their assets into the cloud without moving to SAP HANA at all. This allows you to show ROI quickly from running in the cloud, while minimizing initial disruption and lets you wait for the major SAP HANA and S/4HANA upgrade for a later date.

Another option is a migrating to Suite on HANA — with SAP ECC 6.0 Enhancement Pack 7 running on a HANA database. This gives you all the incremental benefits of HANA, such as faster performance and compatibility with newer applications and will get you close to a full S/4HANA landscape.

However, most companies will benefit from moving directly to S/4HANA. In most cases, a complete upgrade and migration will be less disruptive and less costly than several smaller upgrades and the new functionality will provide a major competitive advantage right away.

Understand what option is best for you and get started today
If you run ECC 6.0 or earlier version, you will need to upgrade by 2025. Don't wait, start planning for your best upgrade path now and schedule a complimentary consultation with our team. We will help you understand all of your options and help you choose the best path forward.