SAP R/3

Business Blueprint

Chapter 3
”Configure to order”

Configure to order

­ Processes involved in implementing

the Business Blueprint (BP)

1
 Two ways to address
the implementation
issue
­ Implementation from scratch
­ Use of templates

Implementation from
scratch

­ Identify your business processes

­ Find the best suited software available

2
 Implementation by
blueprinting

­ Start with templates

­ Use the templates as the basis for
configuring company designs

Reasons for starting

from scratch
­ Every company is unique
­ “A template cannot support the
company’s business processes”

3
 Reasons for
blueprinting
­ The use of templates give room for
focusing on the company’s specific
needs
­ Templates support the generic
business processes of an industry
­ Templates help you find the
competitive advantage of the company

Reasons for
blueprinting – II
­ Configure-to-order
– Blueprint built for major business process
areas, and mapped to business SW
­ Companies often underestimate the
cost of implementing from scratch

4
 Primary activities of the
implementation phase

­ List the most important and

competitive business processes using
BP as a template
­ Select the processes covered by BP
so that the specific needs are clearly
defined (redlining)
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Primary activities of
the impl. phase – II
­ Compare the selection of processes
with company objectives
­ Identify the needs not covered by BP
and develop customized models, using
BP as a guide

10

5
 Standard SW
implementation issues
­ BP most important in start up stages:
– Creates a common starting point
– Quicker learning and training
– Better understanding of the system

11

Standard SW impl.
issues - II
­ Selecting standard SW - problem areas:
– Business processes supported by the
standard SW are not documented
– Existing business processes within the
company are not documented
– No procedures for designing business
processes
– The target concept is unknown
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6
 Standard SW impl.
issues - III
­ BP meets these challenges by:
– Documenting standard SW processes
– Making it easier for companies to
document existing business processes
– Developing procedures for designing
business processes
– Designing and documenting a “final state”
of desired business processes
13

Mapping with the

Business Blueprint
­ Gives the users opportunity to choose
new processes, compare theirs with
those in the system, and configure the
models of the company

14

7
 Mapping with the
Business Blueprint - II
­ Blueprint can help identify a
company’s organizational structure
and how it can be optimised with R/3
This is called mapping
­ Two important considerations:
– The members of the project team
– The process of identifying business
processes and objects

15

Mapping with the

Business Blueprint - III
­ Business Blueprint provides a good
starting point for implementation:
– Project members share the same overview
– The project team can spot weak points of
BP
– Decision makers can see what changes
must be made
– Helps the company identify what is strategic
and what is generic
16

8
Redlining the blueprint
­ Involves going through the directory of
business processes and picking out those
that are most applicable and discarding
those that are not
­ Gather information about:
– Organizational structure
– Processes, routines and procedures in use
– The way of the information flow through
functional areas of the company

17

Extending the business

process design
­ Three questions have to be answered
when deciding if any new business
processes must be added:
1. Does the selected business BP processes
include all of the functions of the company’s
corresponding business process? If no, then it
must be added
2. Would adding any new tasks improve the
business process? If yes, then these tasks
should be selected
3. Are any functions unnecessary? If yes, they are
simply deleted
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9
Extending the business
process design - II
­ These questions help analyse identified
problem areas, weak points and proposed
changes
­ Once identified, the new design is made by
selecting from, modifying and adding to the
business Blueprint
­ When the design and implementation phase
is complete, preparing for production start
up begins
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Conclusion
­ The Blueprint provides a huge
collection of business processes and
their variants. The variants provide
great variety for shaping the processes
­ The Blueprint enables customers to
easy visualize and analyse different
business solutions before deciding
whether to use or purchase R/3
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