The best ERP solution on cloud
Updated November 15, 2019

The best ERP solution on cloud

Henry Winchonlong | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with SAP Business ByDesign

SAP Business ByDesign has improved our operations decreasing the time to close accounting periods and monthly reports. Mainly we implemented SAP ByDesign to replace old legacy systems. Now, we are working on our finance and logistics processes integrated and avoiding reprocess and lack of information. Our users are increasing their skills from day to day.
  • I like the ease of use and the implementation methodology.
  • With SAP Business ByDesign you can integrate other systems with Web Services, and data technology to get information easy and fast.
  • SAP Business ByDesign includes an Analytics Module to create new reports in regards to your needs.
  • Regarding the functionality, SAP Business ByDesign can improve some logistics functions and additionally should improve the data entries to update exchange rates.
  • About the licensing, there are many types of licenses and it is very confusing to distinguish them.
  • The mobile apps are confusing and they do not have the same functions as the web version.
  • Integrated processes, sales, logistics, and finance
  • Control of accounts payable from purchase orders placed before
  • Solving 80% of incidents reported in less than 24 hours
SAP Business ByDesign has all functionalities that other systems have and more. Additionally, SAP Business ByDesign can be used from activation. The processes in this system are ready to use. SAP Business ByDesign only needs a few initial configurations to work. SAP Business ByDesign is a cloud solution and has multi-tenancy architecture.
SAP Business ByDesign is well suited for companies of services or companies that work on projects. For instance, the procure-to-pay scenario is the most useful and is very convenient for this kind of company. For some productive companies it can be complicated to use because it's difficult to connect the productive processes with sales processes.

SAP Business ByDesign Feature Ratings

Accounts payable
8
Accounts receivable
8
Global Financial Support
8
Primary and Secondary Ledgers
8
Journals and Reconciliations
7
Configurable Accounting
8
Standardized Processes
8
Billing Management
7
Cash and Asset Management
8
Period Close
8
Inventory tracking
8
Location management
8
Pricing
8
Order entry
8
Cost of goods sold
8
Order Orchestration
8
Dashboards
7
Standard reports
8
Custom reports
9
API for custom integration
8
Plug-ins
8
Role-based user permissions
9
Single sign-on capability
9
Project Costing
8
Cost Capture
8
Capital Project Management
8
Customer Contract Compliance
8
Project Revenue Recognition
8
Project Planning and Scheduling
8
Task Insight for Project Managers
8
Project Mobile Functionality
8
Bids Analyzed and Compared
8
Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated
8
Supplier Management
8
Warehouse Workforce Management
8
Production Process Design
8
Production Management
8
Configuration Management
8
Work Execution
8
Manufacturing Costs
8
Forecasting
8
Inventory Planning
8
Performance Monitoring
8

Using SAP Business ByDesign

75 - Mainly, the SAP Business ByDesign users represent several
logistics functions to control material input and output from warehouses and
finance functions to manage accounts for multiple operating units and business
areas, currencies, and reporting standards. The cash flow management to use
transactions of customers and suppliers data to get real-time visibility into
our company cash position. Additionally, we have purchase orders approvers,
requesters of shopping carts, buyers, subcontractors, and IT members to support
our business users.
3 - We have system analysts to support internal requirements, and to resolve incidents reported by end-users or functional users. Additionally, we have a business analyst to implement new business cases over the main business configuration. We mainly require the following skills: expertise on SAP Buisiness ByDesign, creativity to propose several options to solve user requirements.
  • Procure to pay
  • Budget management
  • Cash flow and liquidity management
  • Assets Management
  • Closing period o Cokpit
  • We have implemented a decision tree in SAP Business ByDesing to manage several levels of purchase orders approval due to internal policies. This implemented way is based on standard document approval of SAP ByDesing.
  • Business Analytics using Microsoft Excel through a plugin to connect directly and easily. This complement is helping to our end-users to extract data to make complex reports.
  • We are using standard SAP Business ByDesign web services to integrate external applications.
  • We are going to use the services module to implement service business processes to include the request to resolve, and service orders.
  • We are considering to use Project management to manage the project activities and integrate all stakeholders such as project managers, project planners, buyers, team leaders, operators, and subcontractors.
  • We also are planning to integrate with other external applications that support corrective and preventive maintenance.
We have recently renewed our licenses after the first year
operating on SAP Business ByDesign and we are thinking to extend more time
because the system gives us all functions according to our needs, our business
model, and our operations. Our users are satisfied, and they are requesting
more implementations on this system. They know that the system is permanently upgrading,
and it is a good sign from SAP to improve their skills and to continue working
on the SAP Business ByDesign system.

Evaluating SAP Business ByDesign and Competitors

Yes - We replaced some applications that they were not integrated with,
and they were doing separate functions individually with each other. The first one,
CODA System that it had all finance functions. CODA supported all accounting
operations, closing accounting periods, making financial reports, and treasury
functions. The BPCS system was another system that was replaced by the new
system. BPCS supported logistics operations and purchasing operations. Both
replaced systems were not connected, and their documents needed to conciliate
and apply additional manual controls. Finally, we had the budgeting system that
also was integrated with the other systems.
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Vendor Reputation
We made the decision based on the fact that our legacy systems had a long time without support and they had not updated, were out-of-date and obsolete and did not support the growth of the company and did not respond adequately to regulatory changes. Additionally, to resolve the problems produced for the lack of systems integration.
If I had to do it again, I would implement more workshops to review each system module to ensure its functionality and its feasibility to use in the feature, integrate all key users that are stakeholders in each workshop and take the feedback.
I would request a demo environment or a test tenant to get better use cases or real cases. Also, to estimate the time of the activities and avoid delays during the project execution.

SAP Business ByDesign Implementation

I recommend implementing all workshops during the ERP selection that you need to know very well about the ERP software. It allows us to gather information to accurate the plan of the project implementation. Additionally, we must reach the high-level commitment to achieve the main goals, to define the RACI matrix and communicate to all project stakeholders.
  • Third-party professional services
We implemented SAP Business ByDesign with Third-party professional services. We chose the Seidor company to implement this ERP system. Seidor company is a global implementor and they are SAP Partner for SAP Business ByDesign around the world. Despite some delay during the implementation project we went live in January 2018 according to the last Steering Committee celebrated in December 2017.
Yes - The implementation project of SAP Business ByDesign was broken into two phases, the first phase had as implementation scope the processes of Finance, Logistics, Services, and Localization system and the second phase had as implementation scope Project Management processes. The project phases included the following stages regarding the SAP Cloud Methodology: Prepare, Realize, Verify, Launch, and Support. The Prepare stage allowed us to align the company processes to the SAP Business ByDesign standard processes and its business scenarios. The Realize stage identified gaps and information needed to configure the system. The Verify stage permitted us to execute the unit tests and integrals tests. The Launch stage allowed us to execute Data Migration and prepare the production environment to go live.
Change management was a major issue with the implementation - 
Firstly, we need to structure a strong management team to monitor the project activities, to track the risks, and to check the quality criteria.
Secondly, It is very important to define and formalize the change management procedure.
Finally, we need to support the project activities on a project management system to avoid duplicate information, to track the activities and to make project reports on time.
  • The Realize stage identified several gaps that they could not implement. This issue did not allow us to implement some modules of the system.
  • Some features the Localization Add-on were not ready to work.
  • We encountered differences in functionality in relation to what we had reviewed previously.

SAP Business ByDesign Support

The Business ByDesign support is stablished since you contract the service with SAP. SAP resolves according to the service level agreement. Currently, we continue with the service and we are using the support channels available. We are receiving the support. The SAP support gets an incident and after that, they contact us to resolve the incident, if necessary, they set the meeting to understand it or we explain the incident.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
Immediate help available
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
We have received several times exceptional support, for instance, the first time, they took remote control of our workstations to replicate the incident to realize the problem. That time, the support resolved a complicated issue with our configuration. At another time, they have communicated by call-conference to indicate the steps to solve the incident.

Using SAP Business ByDesign

Because SAP Business ByDesign allows us to improve our work, reduce the operational steps, implement audit controls, allows us found standard reports or it allows us to create new ones if you need more than the exists are enough for your work or your needs. Overall, SAP Business ByDesign allows us to standardize our operations, enhance our work, improve our skills, work over a web environment or mobile interface.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Requires technical support
Lots to learn
  • To create documents for AP and AR such as customer invoice documents, and supplier invoice documents
  • To create shopping carts from requesters
  • To execute reports from the Web application and from the Excel Add-in
  • Closing periods or called Cockpit function too
  • To combine existing data sources to produce new and create enhanced reports.
  • To define the organizational structure to start the system implementation.
Yes - The mobile interface has been enhancing to offer more view of information. The mobile interface also has been changing its look and feel according to the SAP Fiori as the new Standard UI of the SAP system. The mobile interface is iOS and Android compatibility. This version for the mobile phone has been adding functions and dashboards to check key performance indicators or KPI like you can see over the web version.