Author: Jacqueline Gabb, Agri Solution Architect
For many years people have been saying that SAP could not support the complex Australian Agri industry requirements. It was too cumbersome, required too many transactions, could not support the specific data requirements, was too hard to use, and the terminology did not make sense. I overheard an individual saying “a plant is something you sit on the window sill and water when you remember – not a site”.
Extend Technologies myCommTrade solution has taken on that challenge and proven that SAP can work for the Agri industry. We have moved into the uncharted territory.
Our accelerators provide the backbone for managing seasonality, quality and commodity relevant data. We harness the power of SAP in inventory management, finance, sales and procurement and logistics, and extend that to simplify the process for users. read more…
Author: Jenny Meadows – BI Solution Architect
Ask most companies what they view to be their most important asset and they will say ‘our people’. So why are companies not making the most of their assets?
HR departments have until recently lagged behind the trend in analysing data and have traditionally relied on experience or hunches to determine the factors that may be affecting their workforce.
Why is this? Probably because HR information is seen as more ‘touchy-feely’, and the types of information they deal with is often more qualitative than quantitative, so it can be difficult to spot trends and produce real insights. read more…
Three Key Features of SAP ERP 6.0
Author: Renaud Motuelle, Project Manager Agribusiness
Innovation at SAP has strongly accelerated in 2012 – equally in evolutionary improvements (SAP Business Suite 7) and breakthrough solutions (for example: SAP HANA, Mobility, Demand Driven Supply Chain and Commodity Management).
The evolutionary innovation is facilitated by:
- SAP Architecture of SAP Business Suite 7 – SAP ERP 6.0, SAP CRM 7.0, SAP PLM 7.0, SAP SCM 7.0, SAP SRM 7.0 – are now all built on the common SAP NetWeaver 7
- The release strategy using enhancement packs vs major upgrades (Enhancement Pack 6 is finishing its ramp-up process in Q2 and should be available to customers soon after)
Author: Peter Horder, Business Intelligence Practice Lead
After reading the ramblings of the mad Scotsman (I am Data, Hear Me Roar blog) it got me thinking about 2 things:
- Maybe I should ask Malcolm to type everything out, as I can’t understand a word he says – but behind that thick accent he actually has quite a bit of useful information
- Are existing customers of SAP reading this information thinking “everything’s changing again, what about my existing investment in SAP BW development?”
Yes, HANA is going to significantly change the face of data warehousing and reporting.
Yes, you will want to rebuild some of your data warehouse solution on HANA.
Yes, HANA means you no longer require the multi tier data warehouse you have spent years developing and refining. However …
Author: Mark Wade, HR / Payroll Practice Lead
The 5th annual Mastering SAP & HR Payroll event came to a close on Wednesday 29 February after 280 or so HR and Payroll professionals from 94 organisations attended the conference with a number of these also joining instructor led workshops and information sessions. The conference ran over 4 days with a pre-conference jump start session on Sunday evening, which led into 2 full days of conference before wrapping up with ‘Wednesday Workshop’.
Extend Technologies had an exhibition booth set up alongside our colleagues and partners from Kaba. In a joint effort we featured an employee on-board process via a mobile registration process through an Apple iPad, where visitors to the stand were able to enter their details through an online form that created their employee record in SAP. They were then issued with a bar code ID that allowed them to swipe a clock in and out time through the Kaba clock – all in a matter of a few minutes. Thank you to all that visited us on stand, those that joined us for dinner and congratulations to the winners of our RedBalloon gift vouchers – we hope that you enjoy your experience. read more…
Author: Jacqueline Gabb, Agri Solution Architect
If you work in the Agri industry you’ll know that one of the most difficult things about the Australian agricultural industry is the terminology. There are a lot of specific terms used and many organisations use a different word that actually means the same thing. When I first started specialising in the industry it led to some confused looks and lost in translation moments …
You hear people talking about agents, marketers, traders, trade agents and think “wow there are a lot of players in the market”, only to realise they all mean the same thing – a counterparty who is not a grower! read more…
Author: Calvin Aquino, Senior HCM Consultant
The recent Mastering SAP HR & Payroll conference in Sydney saw a good amount of topics focusing on SAP Employee Self Service and Manager Self Service (ESS/MSS). I went to a couple of these presentations and there was a lot of excitement as speakers shared experiences and great outcomes in recent ESS/MSS implementations. One in particular that was interesting in terms of scope, approach and business benefit outcomes was presented by Rob Makinson of Australia Post. Rob’s insights were particularly interesting as he is a former SAP consultant and also coordinates the SAUG SIG for HR/Payroll, so is across the challenges being faced by a lot of the SAP customer base. read more…
Author: Malcolm Clark, Solution Architect
So, the first thing I notice when I step off the boat is the weather. It is exactly the same as bonny Scotland’s. It’s cold, wet and miserable. Australia is not delivering on the promises of the glossy brochure. I turn up the collar of my government issued raincoat and think about my mission …
Your mission Agent Data is the establishment of a Big Data Colony in New South Wales. Expect resistance from the locals. Repeat – the locals may be hostile. Remember your training, remember what we taught you. read more…
Author: Daire O’Mochain, HCM Practice Manager
Extend Technologies recently drew a number of our senior consultants together to update our customers in relation to HCM and EHP5. read more…
What improvements and opportunities can Enhancement Package 5 offer for my SAP HCM solutions?
Author: Mark Wade, Human Capital Management Practice Lead
Each release of SAP Enhancement Packages offers the opportunity for companies to implement richer functionality and enhanced end-user experiences across a number of HCM processes. How many times do we hear “can’t you make the screen more intuitive”, “surely you must be able to do …?”
Being able to establish exactly what benefits can be realised from an Enhancement Package implementation, versus the amount of effort, system dependencies and risks require considerable research that can be time consuming and frustrating. read more…
