Selected Practices:
Case Study
Implementing SAP Concur Expense for a Global Scientific Instrumentation Company in Germany
Srivatsan Sampath
Consulting TeamClient Profile
A Global Scientific Instrumentation Company Looking to Implementing SAP Concur Expense in Germany with Multiple Sites and a Complex ERP LandscapeFocus Area/Service
Scientific InstrumentationA scientific instrumentation company that was already using SAP Concur globally wanted to implement the system in newly acquired entities in Germany. Having already established a successful partnership with Acquis for its initial SAP Concur Expense global deployment, the client engaged with Acquis again to plan and deploy Concur Expense carefully in their German entities, and to ensure a balance between satisfying local statutory requirements and remaining aligned to their existing global design. The client's global team had minimal experience with German statutory requirements and required support to prepare documents for Works Council approval, which was critical for go-live.
Think + Do
At the onset of the project, Acquis conducted a requirements workshop with the client and discovered that Germany’s requirements were quite complex. There were 20 legal entities with different ERP systems and no harmonization across account codes, per diem rates, and policy exceptions. The decentralized state was not compatible with the global model design.
Acquis evaluated the client’s T&E policies and processes, and recommended best practices to accommodate Germany’s requirements in the global model design. To handle non-standardized per diem rates across entities, Acquis developed a custom solution that was easy to use. In addition, Acquis advised the client using decentralized administrative roles and symbolic accounts for easier account maintenance and finance processing for each legal entity.
Results
Acquis successfully implemented SAP Concur Expense in all 20 German entities and continued to help the client achieve positive results from using the system, including:
• Increased productivity and focus on strategic tasks for the client’s Travel and Expense back-office team
• Streamlined and simplified the reimbursement process in line with best practices
• Maximized utilization of SAP Concur and accelerated the return on investments
Acquis continues to work with the client on expanding its use of SAP Concur in both their existing and new companies.