Extrovert or introvert?

Who should or must be the leading system? This question cannot be answered in a general way. The decisive factor is always the use case. This article shows how differently companies design their SAP and ECM applications in practice and which reasons are at the forefront for those responsible in each case.

Extroverted or introverted: How outwardly or inwardly oriented does a software need to be? This cannot be generalized, but depends on the respective use case in the company. SAP has its strengths in the processing of data, while ECM systems such as Doxis4 from SER are leaders in the processing of documents.

Where documents dominate business processes, enterprise content management (ECM) solutions come to the fore. In this context, they are extroverted.

If, on the other hand, the goal is pure document archiving to supplement SAP transactions, the ECM takes on the introverted role, so to speak, and contributes the archiving function that is missing in SAP, unnoticed by the user.

The application scenarios in the SAP context of companies are diverse. Depending on the respective IT strategy and task, questions arise that determine how extroverted or introverted the respective system will be. Each company finds its own answers here, as the following examples show.

Application diversity in the insurance industry

Policy management processes in the insurance industry follow the lifecycle of an insurance contract, a claim, etc. The respective sub-processes and the assignment to employees for processing are controlled by workflow systems.

These also dynamically monitor load distribution and differentiate according to different service levels. The documents required for transaction processing are stored in electronic files such as personal, contract, claims, or mortgage files, which in turn are closely coupled with the workflow system and the inventory management system.

New documents, such as applications, claims, etc., are digitized at the time of receipt, archived, assigned to electronic files in a structured manner, and placed in the workflow inboxes for processing.

Depending on the processing step, the data to be processed or the document is in the foreground. Accordingly, at one time the inventory management system and at another time the ECM is the leading system. Such enterprise-wide applications must be based on modern ECM technologies which, once installed, can be designed and linked differently depending on the area of application.

The processes, structures, components and functions must be able to be combined as required and be scalable. This requires a platform-based ECM technology such as Doxis4 from SER, which offers all components of enterprise content management on the basis of a uniform technology platform and whose components can be combined and linked flexibly, arbitrarily and without redundancy.

Not to be forgotten: The performance in the "machine room" must be given to cover such complex enterprise-wide solutions under the aspects of load (e.g., data volumes, number of users, etc.) and security (e.g., high availability, cluster capability).

DEVK employees look after around four million customers nationwide with over 14 million risks in all insurance lines. In the operational areas that deal, for example, with new applications, contract changes, etc., Doxis4 is the leading system.

There, DEVK also uses the workflow of the ECM system to control transaction processing. When processing incoming invoices, the ECM system serves as a document archive for SAP FI/CO. The invoice documents are linked to the transactions in SAP.

In the claims area, the Cologne-based insurance company uses the archive component of SER's Doxis4 iECM Suite as a document archive for claims management with SAP CM.

The electronic claims file comes with its logic and structure from SAP, but can also be researched via the ECM front end. Processes in claims processing are controlled via SAP Business Workplace. ECM and SAP were implemented in parallel in the claims area in order to be able to coordinate them optimally.

Project management in planning and construction

Enterprise content management is indispensable for the project management company for the planning and construction of federal trunk roads in Germany.

Complex projects require a complete and up-to-date overview of all documentation such as contracts, accompanying documents, planning documents, correspondence, etc. at all times. Up-to-dateness means always working with the latest document versions. Here, Doxis4 iECM forms the information bracket to SAP.

For Jens Düssel, Head of IT and Organization at DEGES Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau, it's all about linking the SAP data with the associated documents in the ECM system.

The question of leading or not leading is therefore only secondary here. In contract management, DEGES uses other specialist applications in addition to SAP and ECM, so that the information bracket can include any other applications depending on the use case.

ECM in the industry

Process support is an important argument for enterprise content management for the FEV Group, a leading international service provider in vehicle development. "A modern ECM system does not simply act as an archiving system for SAP, but above all allows the integration of these documents and metainformation into other processes. This is where the essential ECM added value lies," emphasizes Georg P. Genender, Product and Demand Management, Corporate IT - Aachen, FEV Europe.

Collaboration in production

For the automotive supplier Eissmann Group Automotive, headquartered in Bad Urach, Germany, with production sites on three continents, ECM, together with SAP, is one of the company's key strategic IT applications. SAP and Doxis4 iECM are interlinked in various areas of the group.

The latest example in the area of collaboration is the Doxis4 iRoom, a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution that has just won the Digital Leader Award. The solution, which is integrated into the Eissmann supplier portal, enables the vehicle interior specialist's more than 1,000 partners worldwide to exchange information with Eissmann Purchasing.

The iRoom integrated in the portal is linked to the electronic supplier file, which - in addition to documents - also contains data from the SAP system. Via the virtual information room, suppliers can, among other things, update their certificates, upload images of tools, and view and comment on their evaluations.

Introvert or extrovert - with software, it's not a question of character or taste. In many cases, it is even secondary which system is leading. What is more important is that users get a 360-degree view of information and that business processes are supported throughout.