SAP add-ons: off-the-shelf EXTRA products by BCC

BCC has been preparing uniqueproducts that enhance efficiency with using SAP systems at a small cost for many years now. Since 2009, these in-house developed extensions of the standard system have been offered under the common brand of BCC EXTRA. Now they are even more accessible –some of them have beenprepared in a form of “off-the-shelf” SAP add-ons immediately available to try out and buy. We talk to Krzysztof Siwiec, Business Development Manager at BCC, the offer coordinator, about the idea behind BCC EXTRA products.

Isn’t the offer of ready-to-use SAP functionalities in contradiction with the idea of​​the SAP ERP system that is in every aspect adaptedto the expectations and needs of individual companies?

These are totally differentapproaches to completely different issues. Implementation of the system or large functional development always requires a concept stage, a specification of customer requirements, and a project set-up. The size and complexity of the organization are reflected inthe project duration and in its cost. The functionalities from our BCC EXTRA offering are ready-to-use products, which do not constitute an alternative to a development project. Usually they meet customer needs regarding a narrow, strictly defined scope of functions.

How are the new products in the offer created?

Solutions are rarely builtfrom scratch as invented products that could attract buyers. Although such cases –setting up internal projectsto develop a functionality that is complementary to the SAP functionality –alsooccur in our organization. Most products are developed based on the implementation experience from working for various companies. For example, a customer expects that as part of SAP finances implementation or development project we will prepare for them a report that facilitates receivables aging in selected time intervals. All in all, it is quite an obvious requirement in a company that serves many customers, and a frequent one, given the limitations of the standard in this area.

Within our implementation teams, we gather know-how about the rules of building such reports, both from the business and programming side, as lessons learned from our projects. However, if a report meets typical needs of a company with a certain type of business profile or from a certain industry, we can offer it as a ready-to-use solution.

It is worth notingthat the EXTRA products prepared using the SAP technology can be customized and developed in the same way as other standard SAP functionalities.

Thus,we offer “off-the-shelf” SAP functionalities? What features characterize these solutions?

A part of theprepared solutions is indeed immediately available for a customer, directly through our website. They have been developed as ready-to-use products that do not require an implementation service and are launched by the customer on their own, on the basis of detailed instructions. The website contains a description of the product and a presentation of its applications.

However, it is not always possible to figure out on the basis of a description only if a given tool is what you are looking for. Therefore, the off-the-shelf products can be tried out. We provide the so-called trial, which can be downloaded from the BCC website and installed in the SAP system.The trial is active for a month –it isenough time to decide if the tool is useful, and make a decision about buying.

The off-the-shelf products can be tried out. We provide the so-called trial, which can be downloaded from the BCC website and installed in the SAP system.

Andwhat about otherproductsin the EXTRA offer?

Products thatare not available to buy directly from the website are the so-called consulting products. They contain a certain range of functionalities that need to be adapted to the needs of a company, for example due to implemented functionalities, the number of users, required configuration of reports, master data, etc. However, their functionalities are to a large extent defined and the consulting is, as a rule, limited to determining – together with a customer –specific needs regarding a product andpreparing a dedicated offer. The cost of such customization should not exceed the costs of a few consulting days.

We are working onexpanding the catalog of immediately available products. Undoubtedly, some products from the consulting products offer will be ready to use immediately after being properly customized. Implementation teams are also working on new functionalities which will be offered with this model.

To whom are the EXTRA solutions addressed?

BCCEXTRA products are mostly complementary to the standard system and constitute its extension, so it is obvious that a company interested in, for example, EasyLoad BI, a product that facilitates loading data into the SAP BW business warehouse by business users, must have the SAP BW system. But apart from that, our offer is addressed to all companies that want to improve business processes run in SAP at a small cost.

Most products are available in two language versions – Polish and English.

Let’ssay that I am a controlling specialist using the SAP system on a daily basis and I got interested in the description of EasySettler, a solution that facilitates month closing. What should I do next?

Testit to see whether the product actually meets your needs. On our website, www.bcc.com.pl/en/offer/sap/bcc-extra-products.html you can select the Download free trial option. After filling out a short form with basic data and accepting the licensing terms, we will send a ready-to-install trial together with a temporary license key.

The package will contain: transport ordersto be imported to the SAP system on your own, along with an installation guide, instructions for use and configuration of the solution and license files. After downloading the trial, you can immediately install it on a test or development system. In order to test the product, you need to enter the temporary license key into the system. And that’s all.

After a month, the trialis no longer active, and if the solution gains recognition in the company, it can be purchased just by choosing the Order product option.

Our off-the-shelf productshave a fixed price, which also is listed on the website.

And what about“consulting” products? Now I play the role of an HR head and I want to settle issues regarding H&S and registration of accidents at work in the SAP HR system. I see that BCC has an EXTRA solution in this field, but it is a consulting product.

In this case,we encourage a customer to submit a query to BCC through a contact form. Then, together with the customer, we determine what they specifically expect from the product (for example, changes in relation to the product regardingprint forms, adding company-specific fields). After accepting BCC’s dedicated offer, the customer places an order, whereupon the solution is launched.

Whywould a customer prefer a ready-to-use, standard product rather than a solution tailored to their needs?

SAPpower users often have many ideas on how to improve the work with the system. They know that something could be automated, done faster, better, and data in SAP could be used more efficiently. But the implementation of even these small facilitations entails significant costs. In the traditional approach, even small facilitations require setting up a project, engaging a consulting company that will build a dedicated solution from scratch. For some functionalities, such approach does not pay off – itrequires substantialmeans and resources to be engaged and at the end of the day the costs exceed expected benefits. So users are still struggling with imperfect tools, and decision makers come to terms with the fact that the reports they receive are not optimal.

With ourapproach, work can be optimized almost immediately, at a much lower cost.

And ifthe customer has an idea for a functionality making their life easier, but it is not in the BCC EXTRA product catalog?

Ifour current offering does not contain a BCC EXTRA product meeting some specific needs, you are welcome to send in a query. For sure you will be contacted to clarify it. Then, after establishing the conditions, we will prepare a proposal for a solution, consistent with the customer’s individual expectations. If the solution is versatile enough to be used also in other companies –we will developit in the EXTRA product version. Not only future potential customers, but also the company initiating the creation of the functionality will benefit from this approach, since the costs it has incurred will be lower than these of the classical SAP development project.

EXTRA BCC offering – comparison of “consulting” products with “off-the-shelf” products

Interviewed by Mirosława Huk, Grupa BCC