This is a series of three blog articles that will demonstrate how process mining can support you in your SAP S/4HANA Transformation.
Part 2: How to identify and optimize SAP processes with process mining in preparation for the SAP S/4HANA transformation
Business capability maps are an important part of our process-driven approach to the SAP S/4HANA transformation at Scheer. It is the main way how management and other business professionals display a set of capabilities for an organization.
The Business Capability Map serves as a comprehensive framework that categorizes a company's capabilities based on different levels, functional areas, and processes. It consists of a two-dimensional matrix, with the vertical axis representing the levels (operational, tactical, and strategic) and the horizontal axis denoting various company areas such as Purchasing, Manufacturing, Finance, Management, and more. To better comprehend the organization's standing in each capability, the processes within each company area are color-coded. The colors signify five different states from no capability at all to differentiating capability states.
In the context of the SAP S/4HANA migration, Scheer enables the management to allocate resources effectively by using the Business Capability Map. This way, areas that need attention can be improved by highlighting core capabilities that offer the most significant potential before migration.
The Business Capability Map enhances the process mining efforts during an SAP S/4HANA migration in different ways – for example, by providing a strategic context and framework for understanding process relationships, identifying critical capabilities, improvements, assessing process efficiency, and enabling ongoing monitoring and improvement. This integration empowers organizations to make well-informed decisions, streamline their migration efforts, and achieve a successful transition to SAP S/4HANA while aligning with their strategic objectives.
In the example below, the analysis starts with finding an area of improvement in the Business Capability Map and continuing with an analysis by using process mining.
Figure 1: Generic Business Capability Map
Figure 2: Order-to-Cash Overview, Top 1 Process variant
Figure 3: Order-to-Cash Overview, Top 9 Process variants
Additional information available for the process variants based on actual SAP data allows us to measure how well processes are executed with respect to performance and quality criteria as “on-time in-full deliveries”, automation rates, and others.
This information is useful for assessing the reliability of company processes and identifying areas that need improvement for a successful SAP S/4HANA migration. The insights obtained through process mining are highly objective and precise, surpassing the accuracy of other methodologies available in the market. In comparison to traditional approaches, the process of obtaining these insights would typically demand extensive internal and external resources, often taking several months or even years to complete. However, with the implementation of process mining, this discovery process can be significantly accelerated, enabling companies to achieve a high level of process transparency in a shorter timeframe.
