SAP customers onboarding is now also important. It is not only your employees or suppliers that need SAP onboarding. How, then, can you onboard your customers? Let us know below.
SAP Customers Onboarding: Why?
Why do you need to onboard customers in SAP? Firstly, your customers may also have their onsite systems and need to integrate them with your SAP. Secondly, you want to be able to track your customer data and all the interactions you have had with them, which is easier if it is all in one place.
Thirdly, because your customers may change over time – for instance, if they are a consortium of smaller companies that are all part of the same overall business – you need to be able to keep on top of this.
SAP Customers Onboarding: How?
How can you do SAP customers onboarding? It depends on your operating model and how you do business.
For instance, if your customers are using SAP invoicing only, you can use a single-instance approach (where the customer’s data is stored only once). If they use multiple applications, or if they are small enough to be onboarded manually (for instance, they pay in cash), then you might need a multi-instance approach.
In general, there are three areas in which you will need to involve your customers:
1. Data migration. This is typically done as part of the implementation process. You need to make sure that any data input by your customer is correct and complete. Furthermore, since it is quite likely that the customer systems are older than yours, it is also likely that they will not have all the same fields. Then, you will need to come up with an agreed set of new fields for them to use where necessary. Perhaps using the same names as their old system had for these fields.
2. Creating user accounts for your customers. Typically you will create one account per department or site belonging to your customer.
3. Customer self-service. How will your customers be able to access their information? Will they only be able to access certain parts of their data? What kind of security access will you give them?
4. Who will handle updates from the customer side? This depends on how much interaction there is between the two of you. Perhaps some people in each organization will take responsibility for updating their side of things when necessary.
5. How will updates be transmitted between organizations? This is a bigger issue if there are multiple instances involved. You may need a solution like EDI (electronic data interchange) or web services if there is no direct connection between your systems.
Final Thoughts
If then, your company is doing business with customers, you need to be able to onboard them as well as your SAP employees and suppliers. You also need to be able to manage their accounts, keep track of what they are doing, and make sure that you are being paid. In doing this, you can watch your business grow and mature, while at the same time keeping your customers happy.