EagleBurgmann has a well-defined, multi-level approval process for offers. To make the approvals more efficient, it was decided to automate the process.
After offers are created in S/4HANA, a flexible workflow and rule-based offer release system was sought in this environment that can be rolled out step by step to all national subsidiaries.
At the beginning of the project, challenges initially arose in relation to customer-specific requirements and the integration of the BRFplus rules, which went beyond the standard S/4HANA 1909 on-premise.
Users wanted an approval option at team level, integrated e-mail delivery and a secure review process. In addition, a particular focus was on ensuring the transparency and traceability of the process.
Another customer request was an additional function to start the approval process, which allows users to control the process manually, while in the SAP standard this happens automatically when the offer is saved.
After approval, details of the approval process, such as approval status and reasons for the determined approval procedure, were visualised in the offer for the user.
The approval process was implemented on the basis of four parameters via BRFplus tables. The first parameter was the total value of the offer, which triggers the internal release process. Two further parameters were the absolute and percentage deviation of the sales price from the recommended sales price. In addition, the amount of the margin was also used as a basis for the release.
The solution was implemented at EagleBurgmann as a pilot project in the national subsidiaries in the US, Mexico and Canada within three months. It has automated the approval process for around 2,400 offers per month.
This not only reduced processing times, but also created increased traceability and transparency.
Due to its high level of benefit, this solution has now been activated in four additional companies.
The main benefit is defined by the reduced effort, the ability to document blocking reasons and releases directly in the system, the transparency and the seamless transition of processes during the system change.