07.10.2008:

clavis Discusses Solutions for SAP Based Customer Complaint Processing

User Workshop on November, 25th 2008 in Cologne
The handling of customer complaints is a challenge for most enterprises, for the SAP application standard doesn't provide an optimal solution for this business process. From our experience, we at clavis know that users therefore often go a long way round to have their complaints processing requirements approximately mapped into the SAP system. In a workshop on November, 25th 2008 clavis offers interested users the opportunity to exchange ideas and to discuss efficient and cost effective solution approaches for complaints processing together with clavis consultants.

To the date the SAP standard applications do not provide a sufficient solution for customer complaints processing. SAP supplies complaints processing within CRM. CRM however runs on a separate server and is not integrated into ERP (SAP R/3 or ECC). Thus follow-up bookings lead to an additional development effort for data transfer into ERP. And more than other business processes complaints processing is linked to other sections and divisions like accounts payables, sales, delivery and quality assurance. Especially for companies that did not employ CRM, this SAP solution is unfavourable, for they would have to implement an immense overhead just to use complaints processing as a small portion of this application.

„We know from our customers that the issue complaints processing is a hot potato in many enterprises“, says Jan-Martin Lichte, CEO of clavis Unternehmensberatung. „SAP’s standard is unsatisfactory, and convincing alternatives did not arise so far in the market. To close this gap efficiently and yet cost effective, we would like to discuss this complex issue together with interested SAP users.“ Therefore on November, 25th 2008 from 2 pm to 5 pm clavis Unternehmensberatung conducts a workshop on the subject complaints processing. This workshop shall provide SAP users with the opportunity to exchange ideas, talk about solution approaches and state their requirements for a powerful complaints processing system.

„Up to now we know about a couple of loop ways that some enterprises go to manage their complaints processing with help of the SAP standard functionality“, summarizes Lichte his intensive research in the last months. For instance some standard documents in SAP at least partly comply with the requirements of a complaint. Amongst others these are service notifications in CS, quality notifications in QM and credit notes in SD. Depending on the transaction and the type of complaint the one or the other document fits better: With more service oriented complaints (i.e. repairs) a service notification applies whereas for complaints with returned goods the SD credit note respectively the returns note is more suitable.

But finally Lichte and his colleges had to state that none of these documents applies for all kinds of complaints – but this is expected from an adequate complaints document. The service notification does not permit a reference to a preceding document like invoice or delivery note. The quality notification refers only to one single material. The SD credit note or the returns note is missing a categorization of error codes and instead it merely offers an overly complex status processing. And all documents are lacking a precise scheduling and dispatching.

Against this background experienced clavis consultants consider that an add-on application on the SAP ERP side is the most preferable alternative. This application would on one hand allow for a smooth integration of the SD, LD, FI and QM modules. On the other hand a state-of-the-art architecture would provide besides the normal SAPGui, an access via internet browser, too. „Even though we could substantiate our considerations to a far extent, we are still open for many questions“, recapitulates Jan- Martin Lichte the situation. „Of course we are also aware of the - partly legitimate - concerns of SAP users regarding the so called Z-transactions. Yet we expect from our user workshop a cooperative dialog that gets us a further step closer to the optimal solution.“

The workshop will take place on November, 25th 2008 from 2 pm to 5 pm in the premises of clavis Unternehmensberatung in Cologne. Attendance is free of charge. For registration send an e-mail to r.haaker@clavis.biz or contact us at +49 (0)221/355878-0. For more information about clavis, please visit our website www.clavis.biz.

Since 1997 clavis is successfully providing advice on solutions offered by SAP AG. Our expertise is focussed on the conceptual design and the implementation of business processes in the areas warehouse and distribution logistics, sales and customer relationship management and maintenance. 20 regular employees and 20 freelancers work as clavis consultants at our locations Cologne, Bremen and Düsseldorf. Our customers are amongst others Ideal Standard, Ejot and pharma mall.

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