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Author's profile photo Caroleigh Deneen

Veselina Peykova – SCN Member of the Month February 2016

Veselina Peykova is a seasoned independent SAP consultant based in Bulgaria, and our SCN Member of the Month, Februay 2016.

Currently between projects, she has previously worked for Carlsberg, Coca-Cola Hellenic and Mini Maritza Iztok. Veselina is an expert in Plant Maintenance, Investment Management, Warehouse Management (and Ortec MLS), Transportation (including Ortec LEO), ERP Sales and Distribution, DSD including integration with MM, FI/CO. She is proud to have been involved in SAP implementations on 3 continents.

She searched and read on SCN for years before starting to contribute in earnest by contributing, I was interested to hear about when she knew she was ready to jump in. She self-described herself as the most boring person alive, but I’m sure you will agree after reading her answers and watching our interview, she is witty, humble, and smart, someone who embraces learning and enjoys sharing her knowledge.

VeselinaGoLive.jpg

   Veselina at Lagos Plant – last simulation before go-live

charloteeCat.jpg

   Veselina’s cat, Charolette

Tell us a bit about yourself, where you live, what kind of work you do, and other things you would like to share with the community (hobbies, fun facts)?

I live in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. I entered (or to be more precise I was kicked into) the SAP world back in 2006 in the usual way: as an accident.

I have studied Electronics engineering and Economics in the university. Unfortunately, after I graduated, there was not a huge demand for inexperienced female engineers in electronics, who wish to program in Assembler and design PCB, so I have worked in some diverse areas:

  • Responsible for order execution from customers and contract fulfillment, negotiating with subcontractors, calculating costs, co-coordinating departments in the design phase  etc. for make-to-order spare parts for heavy machinery and mining;
  • Then I worked in graphics design;
  • After that I got a job as a maintenance engineer in a computer sales/electronic repairs company (even now I am still quite good with the soldering-iron and provide PC support to my friends and relatives).

My family made me go to an interview for a SAP consultant position and get a real job (excuse me?).

The interviewer asked me: ‘Do you have any previous experience in SAP?’

‘Not really’, I replied, ‘But at the end of the day this is some software with SQL under the hood. How hard can that be?’
I got the job.

machineSmall.jpg

   Machine Veselina built for testing

Yerevan Go-LiveSmall.jpg

   Yerevan, Armenia, go-live; Veselina not pictured

   (She’s downstairs for order credit release)

It took some time before I started to appreciate it and finally love being a consultant. So this is what I do – I consult and it turned out that everything I have learned or done before proved to be extremely useful. I have worked in PM, Investment Management, WMS (and Ortec MLS), Transportation (including Ortec LEO), SD, DSD including integration with MM, FI/CO etc. At some point I even dabbled with authorizations and ABAP (the latter helped me realize that I will probably not become techno-functional in the foreseeable future).

When did you become a member of SCN and which areas are you most active in?
I have been a forum lurker for a couple of years, but did not consider registering until 2014. I post mostly in Sales and Distribution and the sub-forums (I read a lot in SAP ERP – Logistics Materials Management and ERP SCM Logistics Execution, but I am not ready yet to start participating there).

What motivates you to keep coming back to SCN and help members get answers to their questions?
It could be because I enjoy playing computer games and I treat SAP as some mixture of a brain-teaser/role-play/strategy. Or it could be that when I finally decided to enroll for P_SD_65, answering the questions in the forum was a valuable practice. Or simply because I would hate to see design solutions, which are not very well thought out in my next project. Sometimes all it takes is to remind people that there is more than one side of the story and that you can approach the problem from a different angle.

You’ve made a name for yourself on the community in a relatively short time. What’s your advice to newer members? Top 3 mistakes to avoid?
A general advice about advices:
Always take them with a grain of salt. Even if a SAP note provides you with clear steps on how to perform a seemingly simple task, read carefully, use your common sense and critical thinking before you even consider implementing a solution. Did you check that user exit in Controlling? Have you considered the impact on all company-specific processes? Please do your homework!

Top 3 mistakes…. there are four of them, actually.

  1. Assuming that posting questions/requirements in SCN is a viable option to avoid training, research and self-improvement: This does not work in the long term; there is a high chance that it would not work even as a short- term strategy.
  2. Assuming that as a SAP consultant you already know better than your customer their business needs and pain points: There are no two companies alike and even within the same company and industry the market could be vastly different. Speak with your clients, listen to them and observe their current way-of-working (especially the end users) before you rush to your computer and start configuring or implement a copy/paste solution from your previous project. Establishing dialog with your client (and earning his trust) is a key part of the process.
  3. This is not my job/I am only responsible for XXXX step: During a key user training I told my DSD route settlement users that such attitude is a thing of the past. Then why would that be different for SAP consultants? You still need to understand (at least at a high level) the end-to-end processes and know how to execute the complete order-to-cash cycle as an end user. It would be easier and less stressful for you if you achieve that before go-live.
  4. Believe in the one-man-army myth: So… you took the trainings and even have some hands-on experience in SD, MM, FI/CO, ABAP and BASIS? Great! Please do not assume that you can single-handedly manage a SAP implementation on your own. This is not going to happen: if you do not believe me, login to IDES, create a company code and start configuring from scratch (in addition to your daily communication with the business). I hope that after you finally dismiss the task as absurd to be completed in a reasonable time, you would appreciate more your colleagues’ efforts and would start collaborating with them. All successful implementations I have been part of, were a result of a team effort, but I have seen projects struggle due to insufficient communication and integration between teams.

Which course did you earn your openSAP badge for? What was the learning experience like on openSAP?
I don’t know. I have to admit – I am mildly addicted to openSAP courses and I have taken a lot of them lately (19 in total) – so this could be either Cybersecurity – The Essential Challenge for Digital Transformation, or Introduction to Ariba, or SAP NetWeaver Upgrades in a Nutshell or SAP S/4 Hana in a Nutshell. And on top of that, yesterday I enrolled for Build Your Own SAP Fiori App in the Cloud – 2016 Edition. So next month I would finally get to play with the shiny HCP tools and see if this is something I would like to do (most likely as a hobby) in the future. A really good initiative, indeed.

As an SAP consultant working with SAP’s products, you must have seen a lot. What’s the most important thing SAP needs to do to keep customers enthusiastic about its products in the future?
Is this some sort of a wish list? I personally am very enthusiastic about what SAP has done lately in terms of speed and usability.

I wish that in ERP you could have a non-z solution at least comparable to Bonus Buy. Free goods is not even close to what the business needs in 2016.

I wish there were a native solution for automatic generation of package proposals and truck space optimization in ERP (without add-ons) that would consider the bay trucks layout. Please?

Is there an SCN member you admire (OK… you can name a few)? And for what reason?

  • ‘ MoazzaM ‘– very knowledgeable, helpful and yet modest and polite. This is a rare combination (I am planning to work on this ‘polite’ part, honestly… in the more distant future).
  • Jelena Perfiljeva – Reading her comments in all forum spaces is a pure enjoyment.
  • Jürgen L – there is still so much to learn from him.
  • And (of course) all forum moderators: for the dedication and patience to keep SCN a better and cleaner place.

Are you on Twitter?
You have probably noticed that I talk too much. 140 characters per post? How is that ever going to work?

* * *

Every month, a member of the SAP Community Network is recognized for exemplary behavior: sharing knowledge with peers, being helpful and taking on additional tasks to support community engagement. See the list of previous members recognized on the SCN Member of The Month Hall of Fame.

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      41 Comments
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      Author's profile photo Matt Fraser
      Matt Fraser

      Congratulations, Veselina Peykova!

      Author's profile photo Jason Cao
      Jason Cao

      Veselina, thanks for sharing the story of your journey! We are very lucky to have you in the community!

      (Thanks Caroleigh for posting the interview!)

      Author's profile photo Jelena Perfiljeva
      Jelena Perfiljeva

      Wow, with such outstanding SCN members of the month 2016 is off to a great start! πŸ™‚

      Congratulations and welcome to the MOM club! Hope many SCN members will follow Veselina's sound advice.

      Ladies of SCN rock! πŸ™‚

      Author's profile photo Jyoti Prakash
      Jyoti Prakash

      Fair and deserving choice Caroleigh Deneen

      Congratulations Veselina Peykova Keep the good work and words keep coming. All the very best.

      Best Regards, JP

      Author's profile photo Colleen Hebbert
      Colleen Hebbert

      I had to press like as soon as I saw the name appear.

      Great pick Caroleigh!!!

      Congratulations Veselina. It has been fantastic to see you appear in Coffee Corner and a few other spaces with fantastic, intelligent and well articulated responses.

      I also didn't become active on SCN until I went to study for certification. I found if you are working on a stable product and it's been around for a few years there is a high chance someone has already solved your issues on SCN. Just have to search. As a result, you quietly lurk and rarely login as you don't need to ask for help.

      Regards

      Colleen

      Author's profile photo Midhun VP
      Midhun VP

      Congrats Veselina Peykova!

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Well done..Congratulations... !!!...... Veselina Peykova!

      Author's profile photo Loganathan P
      Loganathan P

      Truly admirable. Congrats Veselina Peykova!

      Especially the way you look at SCN and what motivates you to come back again!!

      Author's profile photo Sanil Bhandari
      Sanil Bhandari

      Congratulations Veselina Peykova


      Regards

      Sanil Bhandari

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Congratulation Veselina Peykova

      Well done

      Regards

      Bijay

      Author's profile photo Lakshmipathi Ganesan
      Lakshmipathi Ganesan

      Hearty Congratulations Veselina Peykova

      I have been noticing you in sales forum and the way you respond to any query is commendable.  Keep up the good work going

      G. Lakshmipathi

      Author's profile photo Pradeep Mani
      Pradeep Mani

      Hearty Congratulations ..

      U answered to most of my queries.

      I would surprise how come in a short period of time,you could answer to most of the time,but you have done ground work from 2006,that base work is helping you to answer.

      The basic difference between you and people like me is,we enroll in SCN the day one we come in to SAP world,looking only for Solutions..

      Author's profile photo R K
      R K

      Congrats Veselina.

      Your contributions are always worth to read, Keep up the Good Work.

      Regards,

      SRK

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Congratulation Veselina.


      Thanks.,

      DJ

      Author's profile photo Omar Ali
      Omar Ali

      Zdrasti, Veselina!

      Author's profile photo JΓΌrgen Lins
      JΓΌrgen Lins

      Veselina if I were from your country then I would shake my head for everything you said.

      Keep up your good work, show courage, I am sure you can participate and add value in MM and LE already today too

      Author's profile photo Mohomad Swalay
      Mohomad Swalay

      Congratulations,

      Regards.

      Swalay Ali

      Author's profile photo Virinchy Panangipalli
      Virinchy Panangipalli

      Congratulations Veselina Peykova !!!

      Author's profile photo Ganesh Sadula
      Ganesh Sadula

      Congratulations  Veselina Peykova !!    


      With regards,

      Ganesh    

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Congrats Veselina and thank you for sharing these interesting professional exchanges πŸ˜‰

      Author's profile photo Kamlesh Kumar Arya
      Kamlesh Kumar Arya

      Congratulations Veselina Peykova

      I am sure that it's going to be a great learning from your replies in MM,LE too along with SD πŸ˜‰ .

      Kind Regards

      Kamlesh

      Author's profile photo Veselina Peykova
      Veselina Peykova

      Thank you all for the kind comments.

      I still don't know why people voted for me (I guess that this is how it works), but I hope that this would encourage more forum lurkers to start participating in SCN.

      Author's profile photo Matt Fraser
      Matt Fraser

      Actually, I think a secret cabal of the Illuminati meet in some smoke-filled back room and decide the fate of the unsuspecting when choosing MotM inductees....  😈

      Seriously, I have no idea how the selection process works. I know I was very surprised when it was my turn, just about a year ago -- it came out of the blue for me. But now you have the secret handshake so fellow MotMers can recognize each other at gatherings.... 😎

      Ok, I know this much, though: the choices all have been good ones, so these secret cabal members must know what they're doing, and you are the latest evidence of that. πŸ™‚

      Author's profile photo Veselina Peykova
      Veselina Peykova

      I knew it! πŸ˜†

      Author's profile photo Gali Kling Schneider
      Gali Kling Schneider

      I really enjoyed reading your interview and getting to know you a bit Veselina!! I loved reading how all your previous roles contributed to making you a better consultant today πŸ™‚

      Caroleigh, great choice!

      Author's profile photo Steffi Warnecke
      Steffi Warnecke

      Welcome to the MotM club, Veselina! I like you and your style. 😎

      Author's profile photo Jeanne Carboni
      Jeanne Carboni

      Congratulations Veselina!  I too used to work as a consulting in the SD area of ERP, then moved into project management. This was a long long long time ago, prior to SCN. It was really difficult to get good / fast information to stay ahead of the customer. I wish I had SCN back in "the old days".

      So great that you are "giving" back to the Community. Happy that you have been recognized.

      Kind regards,

      Jeanne

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      congrats veslina!!

      Author's profile photo ' MoazzaM '
      ' MoazzaM '

      Hi Veselina Peykova

      Many congratulations for this big achievement and I am sorry not to congratulate you on time. I am occupied by my current project from a while.

      I am really happy to see that finally someone got MOM achievement from SD area. Though you know other modules very well but I know you from SD and I hope you got this award based on your SD postings. I think you are the first one from SD to get this award. Right?

      And thank you for mentioning my name. I never knew that I have these characteristics which you have mentioned here 😳

      Thank$

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Hi Veselina Peykova

      Congrats.. all the best. πŸ™‚

      Thanks,

      Karthik Panneer

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Congrats! Keep it up..

      Author's profile photo Typewriter TW
      Typewriter TW

      well-deserved. thanks!

      TW

      Author's profile photo Ravi Pal
      Ravi Pal

      Congratulation!! and all the best πŸ™‚

      Author's profile photo Idrees Mohammed
      Idrees Mohammed

      Congratulations, Veselina Peykova!

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Hearty Congratulations,

      like Replied ' But at the end of the day this is some software with SQL under the hood. How hard can that be?

      Finally you dared to disclose.

      Keep it growing.

      With Regards,

      Devendra

      Author's profile photo Khasimsharif Shaik
      Khasimsharif Shaik

      Congratulations veslina!!

      Author's profile photo Jignesh Mehta
      Jignesh Mehta

      Congratulations, Veselina Peykova.

      It is indeed good to read your answer to users queries.

      Author's profile photo ALEJANDRO DUMONT
      ALEJANDRO DUMONT

      Congratulations, Veselina Peykova!

      Kind Regards

      Alejandro

      Author's profile photo viswa visu
      viswa visu
      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Congrats dear...

      Author's profile photo Sridhar Malathi
      Sridhar Malathi

      Veselina Peykova!! Congrats!!

      Β 

      I was browsing and accidentally came to know your achievement though it was back in 2016.

      Keep sharing and daring…

      Thanks

      Hidayath

      Β