SAP C/4HANA: Delivering customer centric processes, improving outcomes and building customer loyalty

Competition in retail is fierce. It is not just quality products but exceptional customer service that helps you win customers for life. SAP C/4HANA is the industry’s first inclusive data management solution that enables companies to turn data sprawl into business value, analyses data in an instant and solve previously unsolvable business problems.

SAP C/4HANA is a leader in customer engagement platforms, according to the 2018-19 Ovum Decision Matrix. SAP C/4HANA integrates data, machine learning, and micro-services to boost real-time customer engagements across sales, service, marketing, commerce and data cloud.

With the SAP C/4HANA suite, we can unify marketing, commerce, sales, and customer service groups to deliver speedy intelligent, trustworthy customer experiences. These pillars would actually help businesses run as intelligent enterprises, highlighting the demand for a balanced approach to automation in the workplace.

• Sales Cloud 
      • Manages the sales cycle from lead to sales quote and order, also supports in activities like visits, phone calls and emails
      • Helps companies save time on incentive plan creation, transparency in incentive payout and thus increasing employee satisfaction
• Service Cloud
      • Supports the entire post sales cycle along with dealer/sub-dealer service set up, call centre functionalities and warranty management
      • Backs technicians with mobility options and to carry out tasks like maintaining a checklist and stock replacement
• Marketing cloud
      • Helps build detailed customer profiles, understand customer intent in real-time and deliver relevant experiences
• Commerce cloud
      • Enables organisations to deliver personalised digital commerce experiences 
• Data cloud
      • Helps business securely identify consumers across devices and channels to drive registrations and engagement while managing permissions and consent throughout the customer lifecycle

These cloud portfolios are working independently as well as synergistically on the following:

• Simplifying the management of back office and front office sales operation
• Combining them into a single process chain to foster lasting relationships between customers and brands

Client impact

1. Client background and challenges: We worked with one of Bangladesh’s leading retailers for consumer electronic products. The client was still using the old version of SAP installed in 2012 with no major upgrades.
   
   Project objectives: It needed to upgrade the system from existing version of SAP ECC 6.0 Ehp5 along with DB migration from MSSQL to HANA and migrate their application to S/4HANA. With 340+ users, the client required to upgrade the initial technology landscape to stay ahead in challenging market along with exposure to user-friendly applications with real time insights.
   
   Our solutions and approach: We followed the Prepare-Migrate-Complete and Operate Methodology for migration and offered a packaged SAP cloud solution that covered every touch point in customer service engagement by ensuring a centralised platform for streamlined business operations.
   
   Client benefits: As a result of the S/4HANA Migration + C4C Implementation, the client was able to upgrade its existing technology landscape to advanced architecture for high performance KPIs with real-time insights. Other key benefits included reduction of data latency resulting in quick decisions and better administration, application based solution on production and sales that was accessible on mobile and tablets, advanced authorisation matrix for sharing role-based access to the data in reports and technological readiness for new age solutions like C4C for service and Hybris marketing.
2. Project background and client challenges: We have implemented S/4HANA + C4C for 30 properties of our client which is one of India’s fastest growing chains of upscale, midscale and economy hotels. The client was using numerous software like Tally and Alif for accounts, Prism for payroll, Prolific for procurement, Excel for planning and wanted to move to a single system platform.
   
   Project objectives: Key objectives of the digital transformation included common controls and policy enforcement, integration with billing system, centralised procurement and issue system, real-time reporting, customer 360 degree overview, operational excellence and automation of annual budgets. The technical scope for SAP S/4HANA included financial accounting and controlling, materials management, sales and distribution, project systems, plant maintenance, and human capital management. It also included SAP BPC comprising SAP budgeting and planning (annual plan), SAP legal consolidation and SAP C4C encompassing customer 360, lead and opportunity management, complaint management, social media integration. 
   
   Our solutions and approach: For S/4HANA implementation, we used the ‘assess, design, construct, implement and review’ methodology whereas implementation of C4C comprised five steps namely initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control. 
   
   Client benefits: As a result, the client moved to a single system platform from multiple systems with a 360 degree view from cloud of customer and billing interface with the accounting system of S/4HANA. Other benefits like increased sales, identifying client needs more effectively, and cross-selling also shortly followed the implementation.
3. Project background and client challenges: Our client was an affiliate of the multi-disciplinary industrial conglomerate which has partnered India's multi-sectoral infrastructure needs on the strength of its product excellence, customer orientation and technology leadership. The company has over four decades of experience in cement manufacturing with over 800+ mobile users. They were looking for a strategy tool which captures data from the field and helps the client in key business decisions with real-time reporting. We demonstrated experience of delivering quality business solutions through C4C implementation in number of large enterprises and we were shortlisted by the client. 
   
   Project Objectives: It was an end-to-end implementation project for C4C with a mandate of ensuring customer 360, lead and opportunity management, complaint management, route and visit management, sales order management, campaign management, custom interface from SAP ERP to C4C for account wise sales and finance data for 700 users
   
   Our solutions and approach: Our five-step approach began with the initiate phase where we decided on stakeholders who will be involved throughout or during the course of project. We then invested time in understanding detailed business processes and gaps in the existing process. Project plans were prepared considering all three constraints - time, cost and scope. Boundaries were defined for the project with developments. In the execution phase, we configured C4C, tested and trained business teams and received UAT sign-off. This was followed by monitoring and control phase where we managed change requests and accordingly changed plans in acceptance with all stakeholders 
   
   Client benefits: We delivered customer a 360 degree view wherein data comes from a custom interface from SAP ECC and streamlined business processes across all verticals. Other benefits included a consolidated view of customer wise sales and finance numbers in a single window, increased sales through better timing due to anticipating needs based on historic trends, identifying needs more effectively by understanding specific customer requirements, automation of e-mail campaigns, SLA tracking of ticketing solution and better MIS including reports and dashboards.