The distinction between distribution, manufacturing and financial services used to be very clear. Lately, however, the lines between these separate industry functions has been blurred. Distributors are now looking and acting very much like manufacturers and service providers, performing functions that have not typically been part of their business processes. Multi-industry businesses (MIB’s) face a variety of business challenges. They must address the needs of hybrid business processes that have often resulted from mergers and acquisitions. Vertical business integration strategies are being executed on in order to drive out cost and increase revenue.
To address these challenges, multi-industry businesses would like to realize the business value enabled by a single holistic IT system that gives distributors a competitive advantage. With the combination of SAP S/4 HANA industry functionality, multi-industry businesses can leverage the benefits of a single and comprehensive digital platform.
With SAP Model Company templates, distributors can take advantage of the built-in content and methodologies needed for a cost-effective turnkey deployment of comprehensive enterprise technology for new hybrid business models. SAP solutions can be implemented and adapted to support distributors with multiple business units. Preconfigured support for new business scenarios can help hybrid companies realize benefits rapidly.
The SAP Model Company templates include documentation and preconfiguration that can help distributors establish an end-to-end digital enterprise platform. SAP Model Company templates are designed to meet industry-specific needs. For example, the SAP Model Company for Logistics Execution can help meet the needs of wholesale distributors. In addition, functionality can be combined from SAP Model Companies for Connected Manufacturing or Subscription Billing to meet multi-industry needs for manufacturing or financial services functionality. These templates include predefined support for diverse industry-specific business scenarios.
Over the years, SAP competitors have taken their solutions originally designed for manufacturing, and attempted to move them into the distribution and financial services industries, but they have often failed. On the surface, the solutions look like they meet the requirements, but true industry-specific features and capabilities are often missing and extensive, costly modifications are required to meet to business needs.
SAP Model Company templates are true pre-packaged, ready-to-use, end-to-end solutions, tailored to an industry or line of business. They comprise state-of-the-art applications and proven industry-specific best practices and encapsulate the experience from many successful, real-life digital transformation projects. Embedded in an overall transformation road map and delivered as a service, a Model Company approach enables distributors to reduce cost, decrease risk, and accelerate adoption as they evolve into multi-industry businesses.
