Managing corporate documents in the integration with SAP

SNP ECM is a proprietary solution of SNP available in the SNP Software Factory offering. Using the experience gained in SAP implementation projects and understanding companies’ expectations related to document management in the processes carried out using SAP, SNP consultants have prepared a universal Enterprise Content Management solution.

With SNP ECM, scanning, electronic archiving and sharing of documents, workflow and business process management are effective, safe, and employee-friendly.

The solution is used to optimize the management of various types of documents and processes. SNP ECM complements SAP ERP wherever there is a need to process e.g.:

• documents of cooperation with business partners and customers (including contracts, purchase orders),
• complaints,
• cost or material invoices,
• HR documents (including contracts with employees, associates),
• technical documentation (e.g. distribution and archiving of technical drawings of products, components, schemes and maps of infrastructure, etc.),
• IT processes.

In the third quarter of 2016, SNP released a new version of SNP ECM. It has a new design, a more intuitive and ergonomic user interface and enables work on mobile devices on any platform from leading manufacturers.

SNP ECM have been already chosen by companies from many sectors, including food, meat and beer, construction, business services, metallurgical industries, utilities, and manufacturers of plastic and decorative products. For the majority of customers, SNP has designed and carried out a close integration of this solution with SAP. The ease of this integration with the most popular ERP system, operating in the majority of large companies, is a distinguishing feature of the solution. SNP ECM is now one of the leading products of this class available on the Polish market for demanding companies using SAP ERP.

For our customers from this group, key characteristics of the product include:

• access to SAP and ECM competencies from a single provider. The SAP ECM solution has been developed by a leading SAP partner and it takes into account the needs of companies using SAP systems. This significantly facilitates the process of SNP ECM integration with the company’s SAP system and makes it run more smoothly;
• convenient handling — a central system handling both documents and processes from different sources;
• support of multilingualism — the same process can be handled in multiple languages (it is especially important in multinationals, e.g. when a document workflow requires approval by employees in different countries);
• a single provider of both systems — the possibility of implementing the end-to-end solution — from ECM to the configuration of SAP — by SNP, which clearly defines the responsibility of the provider for the result;
• the possibility of using the maintenance and development services from the same provider guaranteeing full support (for both SAP and SNP ECM) tailored to the needs of each organization;
• two models of the system implementation and maintenance, depending on customer preferences (on-premise — a system installed locally, requiring a license, or Software as a Service, a service model, based on the infrastructure of SNP Data Centers — a monthly or annual subscription).

All that SAP needs to manage documents

The above-mentioned distinguishing features of SNP ECM are important for the organization of the implementation process and subsequent use of the solution. They influence the security of the project and the stability of the solution and enable the selection of a suitable model of financing and maintenance.

For purposes of document storage, the solution provides a quick access to the functionalities complementing standard features and scenarios in the SAP system, for example DMS solutions (document archiving) together with intelligent OCR. The applied OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software allows for the correct recognition of a text in a scanned document, which facilitates, for example, managing an archive of documents (numbers of invoices, orders) and full-text searching of attachments and documents, or even automatic entering of the recognized documents to the SAP system for further processing.

It is also possible to directly transfer to SAP the document sent by e-mail, fax or any other communication channel, for example the EDI platform.

Dynamic data exchange between SAP and SNP ECM through effective integration mechanisms. SAP users have a direct access to documents from an external, secure repository, enabled by the ready integration with SAP modules (including SAP FI, SAP MM, SAP SD, SAP HR, SAP CRM) via SAP ArchiveLink.

The modeling of workflow processes integrated with SAP is done through a graphic designer (e.g. for cost invoices, material invoices, purchase orders, HR requests). Extensive capabilities of the workflow engine in SNP ECM and support for Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) enable handling even the most complex document flow scenarios.

The undoubted advantage for business users is the presentation of all tasks in the processes in a single box, and the ability to receive notifications about the required activities. The handling of notifications, substitutions and escalations is prepared in line with the company’s policy.

The secure access to documents is one of the key advantages of the solution. Documents are protected by the system of authorizations based on business roles in the company. The stored data are encrypted using the strongest algorithms.

Faster and under control

The key benefits of using SNP ECM integrated with SAP are a faster implementation of processes, full control over their execution and knowledge about the process at its each stage. The SNP ECM solution means:

• optimization and reduction of redundant tasks in the process,
• reduction of the time needed to obtain information, and the resulting faster task execution,
• automation of actions at the level of various IT systems at the same time,
• the possibility of parallel execution of tasks and group work, and elimination of the risk of errors made by employees,
• unique assignment of persons responsible for tasks and immediate determination who is responsible for what,
• a detailed analysis of the history and audit of a process,
• security of stored data, authorizations adjusted to duties,
• access to reports and summaries for optimization and improvement,
• dedicated configurable views, personalized according to the requirements and authorizations of users,
• the ability to link data between different processes.