SAP Document Management System or SAP DMS is an application that is part of SAP and helps in the connection of different documents to various SAP applications and other objects. The DMS integrates with important external systems such as, CAD(Computer-aided design)interface, Microsoft Word, Excel and SAP ArchiveLink. The use of SAP DMS enables automation of the whole life cycle of a system’s document. The document starts with creation, storage, access and update.
SAP DMS Functionalities
There are various functionalities that DMS from SAP provides and they are as follows:-
- Data consistency maintenance
- Indexing
- Versioning
- Revision Control
- Text Retrieval(Full)
- Search Functionality
- Classification
- Linkage with business objects from SAP like the Bill of materials, process plans, production orders, material masters and others.
- Supporting archiving
Importance Of Using SAP DMS
There are vital reasons why business organizations should use SAP DMS and they are as follows:
1. Proper Data Maintenance
The DMS enables maintenance of centralized documentation from all departments to allow easier access by people from any department within the organization. All documents from technical, administrative, sales and other relevant departments can be accessed and used for their purposes without any complications.
2. Less Data Complications
There is no such thing as document redundancy, wrong document updates, poor maintenance of the document life-cycle, unsafe documents, unauthorized access to sensitive documents, wrong document distribution and so on when using SAP DMS. Such problems only occur when the traditional methods of document management are used.
3. Perfect Integration With Business Workflow
The DMS will also store different types of documents such as office files, CAD models, multi-media files, images and many other kinds of electronic files that require secure storage. With safe storage and easy access to the documents it is easy for a business to integrate SAP DMS with its workflow in order to come up with unique and workable workflow processes.
4. Secure Document Access
Documents stored in the DMS are well protected from unauthorized access . A business doesn’t have to worry about their documents getting compromised and falling into the wrong hands. The SAP authorization concept involves provision of different levels of authorizations to documents access. However, organizations with a lot of documents are advised to store their data in the external archives or at an external server and not on the SAP database.
5. Linkage
Using the DMS will enable the business to link documents with other business objects like invoice, process plans, Bill of Materials and so on. This is for the purposes of good record keeping for future references.
Efficient Support System
For users of the DMS who find themselves stuck and with no clue on how to access documents or set up authorization levels for security purposes, then the SAP support system is ever ready to listen and provide the required support to enable good user experience. Any other problem encountered by the user should be reported to the SAP support team and proper advice will be given on how best to tackle it.
SAP DMS is the best thing that could happen to businesses because they can now keep their records efficiently without worrying about security breaches or any sort of mix up.