dbh Logistics IT AG: Who are we?

As a certified SAP partner, dbh offers a broad portfolio of SAP solutions for customs and foreign trade. Regardless of the ERP suite in use (SAP ECC, SAP S/4 HANA on-premise, private cloud or public cloud), our solutions are fully usable everywhere.

Our previous solutions in the foreign trade/customs area

The implementation of classic SAP plug-in solutions based on ABAP is not possible without remote access to the customer system. Despite SAP access, our customers were not spared SAP Basis work. Configurations in SM59, the creation of AL11 directories and the import of external transport requests are just a few examples of such activities. Customer-specific adaptations, which were defined in a workshop, always required implementation on the customer system itself.

Practical example: Origin of goods and preferences

The origin of goods determines the country of manufacture of a product for trade rules and customs duties, while preferences are customs concessions granted by trade agreements for certain countries of origin. The conversion of the solution for origin of goods and preferences (WuP) from an ABAP-based plugin with heavy customizing to a modular cloud-native approach on the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) was a key step in our cloud strategy.

In the previous ABAP environment, the WuP solution was heavily customized to meet specific customer requirements. These individual customizations led to a complex system landscape that was difficult to maintain and expand, as customer versions remained on the respective on-premise systems. Each customer project required extensive customization and specific know-how, which extended implementation times and limited flexibility.

The new side-by-side extension approach makes it possible to design the WuP solution in a modular and flexible way. Only the components that are actually required are activated, while customer-specific adaptations are integrated as separate modules on the SAP BTP. This keeps the core of the application stable and maintainable ("Keep the Core Clean"), while individual requirements can be implemented efficiently.

This approach minimizes the dependency on in-depth customizing by not developing similar requirements twice, but by managing them in a modular way. Customers benefit from a standardized solution that is easy to expand and is automatically supplemented by continuous updates without compromising the stability of existing systems.

Challenges

The conversion from SAP plugins (ABAP) to a cloud-native architecture, as is necessary for the dbh solution for origin of goods and preferences (WuP), for example, brings with it a number of challenges:

• Data ManagementThe processing and management of large amounts of data, which are crucial for the calculation of preferences and proofs of origin, must be guaranteed securely and efficiently.
• FunctionalityEnsuring that all essential functions are retained in the new environment is a complex task, as new technologies and architectures are introduced and existing customizing features for all customers have to be combined in a maintainable and scalable application.
• User interfacesCustomers expect customizable and user-friendly interfaces that meet the specific requirements of their company. This requires a flexible design of the front-end components.

Technical implementation / advantages of dbh SAP add-on solutions

The SAP Build Work Zone is the central entry point for our customers into the dbh SAP Cloud solutions. It has a modular structure, which means that customers can only activate the specific functions they need, such as Data Store, UI5 customizations or specific additional services. This reduces complexity and costs. New modules or services can be added at any time without affecting existing implementations. As the solution is based on SAP BTP, it can easily grow with the company. New users, more data or additional applications can be integrated with little effort.

Lessons learned

The switch to a cloud-native architecture has provided us with valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with the introduction of new technologies in the SAP environment. We were able to gain important insights into the new environment, particularly in the context of technical innovations such as the Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP), UI5 in combination with Node.js and the various BTP services (such as Destination, Connectivity and Event Mesh).

A key point that we have noticed in our projects is the considerable learning effort that the new technologies entail. Although the CAP model offers a modern and flexible basis for the development of applications, it is fundamentally different from traditional ABAP-based approaches. The need to get to grips with new programming languages such as Node.js and SAP's specific cloud-native frameworks is a challenge, especially for developers who have previously only worked in the ABAP world.

BTP services such as Destination, Connectivity and Event Mesh offer powerful integration capabilities and the Event-Driven Architecture approach, but also require in-depth exploration and understanding of the underlying concepts. There are currently few standardized approaches or best practices on the market, which means that every project represents a certain amount of pioneering work.

Opting for a forced greenfield approach in the SAP Public Cloud and using new programming languages brings challenges where there is a lack of comprehensive market expertise and proven best practices. These challenges can lead to higher costs, longer implementation times and increased risk.

SAP customers who opt for this approach should be prepared to invest in research and development in order to realize the benefits of the new technologies.

Looking Ahead

As part of our "Cloud First" strategy, we plan to continuously expand our product portfolio. The focus is on the development of completely new, cloud-native solutions that are based solely on proven ABAP concepts. These are greenfield developments that are designed from scratch and can be seamlessly integrated into the modern, constantly evolving SAP cloud landscape. The focus is on innovative and future-proof approaches.

Our aim is to always provide our customers with the most modern and efficient tools. We will continue to offer flexible, scalable and future-proof solutions thanks to our close connection to SAP developments, particularly under the motto "Rise With SAP".

Continuous innovation remains a central part of our strategy to ensure that our products meet the growing demands of the market while taking advantage of the latest technological advances in the SAP environment. This enables us not only to optimize existing processes, but also to open up new business opportunities for our customers.

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