The acronym “SAP” stands for Systems, Applications and Products. This software is one of the most widely used ERP systems for data management in businesses. The company that offers the SAP software also goes by the name SAP.
The SAP software helps increase efficiency by improving the flow of information in an organization. Even so, there are still some manual processes that can be automated in the system. This article will go over the meaning and benefits of SAP automation, then highlight ways to automate the SAP software.
What is SAP Automation?
According to Avantra (https://www.avantra.com/automate), SAP automation refers to the process of automating manual and repetitive tasks in the SAP system.
The SAP software itself comes with an automation feature that allows you to automate some processes, for example, accounting. Even so, there are still automation avenues that aren’t covered by this feature.
Some processes in the SAP software still require manual typing and filling. Many SAP users would appreciate being able to automate such tasks. This part is where SAP automation comes in.
How SAP Automation Helps Businesses
Minimizes Human Errors
Automating SAP processes helps reduce human errors that may stem from always performing the same monotonous tasks. Everyone, even the most skilled employee, makes mistakes once or twice. By automating these repetitive tasks, the organization can decrease errors in data entry, among other things.
Enables Scalability
SAP automation allows the ERP system to handle a vast supply of tasks and processes. It enables the organization to manage more data while performing tasks quicker than any employee.
Employee Satisfaction and Productivity
By automating repetitive tasks in SAP, employees can use this time to focus on other high-value activities. Humans are prone to getting tired and bored of performing the same processes over and over again. Bots and robots, on the other hand, will never tire of performing repetitive tasks.
Increases Compliance
SAP automation improves adherence to regulatory standards and procedures. The bots that perform the automated tasks will carry them out, in the same way, as per regulation. Automating the SAP processes helps avoid penalties resulting from non-compliance.
Ways to Automate SAP Processes
1. Write a Program
The first way to automate SAP processes is to write a program that allows automation of the task at hand. This method might, however, be time consuming and expensive. The organization will need to hire experienced ABAP developers since ABAP is the language used to create most programs in the SAP software.
The developers will have to ensure their new lines of code don’t affect the functionality of the SAP system. They will have to pass their development in strict SAP tests to make sure nothing gets affected.
2. Using Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
The RPA software is a cheaper and better way of SAP automation than writing a program. This software allows the user to add bots into the SAP software. The software bots will handle the manual and repetitive tasks that the business wants to automate.
Here are some processes that a software bot can automate:
- Customer onboarding process
- Data migration from one application to another
- Initiating transactions
- Invoice and inventory management
To get started with RPA in SAP S/4HANA, users should first choose an RPA platform or provider. The user then introduces the bots into the SAP S/4HANA system then demonstrates how to perform the repetitive tasks so that the software bot can emulate the process.
It’s vital to conduct SAP testing after automation. SAP testing ensures no programs and integration have been affected by the automation. You can also test to see whether the software bots are working as they should.
Automate SAP Closing Remarks
SAP automation refers to the process of automating manual, rule-based and repetitive tasks in an SAP system like SAP S/4HANA. It increases employee productivity, minimizes errors and improves compliance and governance. You can automate SAP processes by writing a program or using RPA software. Using RPA is cheaper and better than writing a program.
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