Mobile solutions will play an unprecedented role in overcoming today’s supply chain challenges. That’s one of the key takeaways from an intensive exchange between SAP and more than 40 customers and partners at the first SAP Mobile Day in Munich, Germany.
Empower Employees with the Technology They Want
Global challenges have made it clear mobile is the only way through and forward. The pressing need to help customers run at their best beyond geographical constraints, combined with the modern workforce’s growing dismay at outdated work tools, gave rise to a growing mobile adoption worldwide. But adopting mobile apps isn’t without challenges.
The SAP team took a hard look at existing solutions. Florian Heretsch, vice president and head of Mobile Experience & Engineering at SAP, explained that the team’s goal is simple: to create native mobile apps that users love to use and require zero training time to master. “Every business app from SAP also does what people expect of any social media or weather app. We have holistically looked into what people really need to get their work done: a simple and beautiful experience, the latest cross-device native features, and the fastest, most intuitive technology available,” he said. The results are a new mobile app suite crafted with partners including Apple and Scandit.
Christian Floerkemeier, vice president of Product, CTO, and co-founder of Scandit, added to the importance of user experience: “With employee expectations increasing, user centricity is key. Smart data capture, such as automating the scanning of items, empowers workers by shifting tedious work to technology. This helps reduce errors, saves time, and increases job satisfaction while workers can also be upskilled by having the right data delivered to them in real time to make informed decisions.”
Take Digitalization to New Heights
But good looks alone won’t do the trick. “An enterprise mobile experience requires a thorough understanding of specific industry and business process requirements, deeply below what’s visible on the user interface. That’s what only SAP has to offer,” said Philipp Herzig, senior vice president and head of Intelligent Enterprise & Cross Architecture at SAP.
Indeed, modern enterprises require more than an elegant look and feel to fulfill their commitment to helping customers become efficient and sustainable. Beneath the fancy packaging, mobile devices and solutions bring digitalization to a whole new level. The Bechtle team – Christian Deppisch, Josephine Leschik, and Martin Ullrich – explain how system integration increases efficiency: “System and process integration with mobile devices means the job becomes much simpler for employees and a great reduction in mistakes, which in turn improves the quality of deliverables and quickens business processes. As a result, operational efforts and costs can be greatly reduced.”
Tackle Industry Challenges Head-On
For service and maintenance workers, following assigned tasks ensures both customer satisfaction and their own safety. In some environments, one mistake or a skipped step can be life-threatening.
Gregor Bender, managing director of Evora IT Solutions GmbH, shared how the SAP Service and Asset Manager mobile app and other mobile solutions help Evora and its customers stay on top of their game. “Relevant information that supports technicians in their on-site decision-making is digitalized, stored in the SAP system, and integrated into the maintenance processes. This means that technicians can get their job done easier, faster, and much safer, “Bender said. “By allowing remote collaboration, critical industry challenges like transferring knowledge to the next generation of technicians are furthermore supported.”
“The right mobile solutions are crucial to enhancing both service quality and efficiency,” said Stephan Niewoehner, head of Mobile Innovation, and Henning Pohlhausen, consultant for Mobile Applications at CLAAS. CLAAS provides its service technicians with one central app to guide their processes and tasks as well. “Especially for many of our colleagues who work in the field, a native, offline app is a tremendous help in their daily business, as they can quickly gather information required for their job, schedule them in an efficient manner, and single-handedly document details of each job,” he added. Alongside the native mobile apps in the production and warehouse area, CLAAS’s Digital Service Manager app helps ensure accurate service delivery and contributes to building a sustainable supply chain by replacing traditional paper processes with an easy-to-use mobile one.
There’s still a lot to do to truly transform the modern enterprise, but with a network of like-minded customers and strong partnerships, SAP is continuing its mobile innovations in optimism.
Cecilia Lo is part of Mobile Experience & Engineering at SAP.