Billing and Revenue Innovation Management

With Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM), SAP has further developed traditional billing. The software is characterized by flexibility and speed: BRIM is designed for mass processes with high transaction volumes and offers integration with existing billing systems. It is designed to make digital transformation easier for companies. E-3 Magazine interviewed Jasmina Cejan and Alexander Vogt from SAP BRIM specialist GTW.

E-3: How do you see the transformation process, BRIM enables new business models or new business models require new order-to-cash processes?

Jasmina Cejan: Both statements are correct; as is so often the case, it all depends on the initial situation. Let's take one of our customers as an example of what it can look like when exponential growth pushes existing SAP solutions to the limits. If at some point you have to schedule three or four days for a billing run, then you are indeed forced to think about new OTC processes and technologies.

With SAP BRIM, we can now implement the same billing runs in just a few hours and think about implementing new business areas and use cases in parallel. Furthermore, with BRIM an implementation of all prepaid, postpaid and partner participation scenarios is possible - even with an extremely high number of transactions. 

Alexander Vogt: However, new business models do not necessarily require new order-to-cash processes, because basically O2C is still the process from the receipt of a customer order to the payment of the outstanding receivable by the customer.

The difference seen in the past is that the order is not just a physical good or service, but complex product packages that can include a wide variety of configurations.

E-3: GTW is one of the leading SAP BRIM solution partners. With whom in a company do you discuss the topic?

Vogt: This is indeed dependent on how concrete the understanding of BRIM is within a company. Depending on the size of a company, SAP managers, system or enterprise architects, or CFOs are integrated into the discussions.

If BRIM is identified as a strategic topic, the circle of discussion partners changes and primarily the management, CIO and CFO or C-level supporting staff functions with a focus on digitization and innovation take part in the discussions.

E-3: Where do you see the strengths of BRIM, Hana and S/4 infrastructure?

Cejan: The greatest strength of BRIM in SAP S/4 Hana is the new add-on for Customer Management. In a conventional SAP system landscape, CRM is connected to ERP via middleware.

By transforming and moving traditional SAP CRM to S/4 CM, middleware is no longer required. The system landscape is thus considerably simplified, data exchange problems are eliminated, and the company's operating costs are reduced.

E-3: SAP BRIM is credited with being able to provide more efficient revenue generation, how does it work?

Cejan: SAP BRIM enables billing of all types of recurring models, across industries and for any type of service. Among others, also shared service platforms for multisource, high-volume invoices and receivables where complex, rule-based multilateral payouts to partners and/or market participants have to be made.

The solution supports all common payment methods, which provide consumers with great payment flexibility and greater shopping cart conversion. Even the high transaction volume in -direct-to-consumer models is not a problem for the solution.

You could say BRIM opens up new opportunities for innovative, efficient business models and fast-growing companies, ensuring better revenue generation and reduced time-to-market, billing and collection costs.