Customer Creativity at the Heart of SAP Mobile Solutions

[Former Member]

It’s been a hectic and really enjoyable couple of weeks where I've been on the road, touching down in 12 cities in Europe and North America visiting SAP Mobile Solutions customers. Through all these visits, I'm consistently amazed by the creativity of our customers in shaping and deploying mobile applications that transform their organizations.

The reality is we've got literally hundreds of use cases for SAP Mobile apps:

• Analytics applications to provide immediate insight
• Field service and sales mobile apps driving rapid and tangible return on investment (ROI)
• Mobile consumer apps that uncover new revenue sources
• Mobile approvals that allow employees to stay unwired
• Transformative custom mobile apps that radically change how business is conducted

I was so impressed by the customer stories that emerged during my visits, I felt compelled to share them with the SCN. Now, since the recent road trip was pretty much a transatlantic whistle-stop tour, I’ll highlight four stories in this blog and will save some other examples for a later update.

Vodafone makes real-time HR decisions a reality using SAP Productivity Apps

Vodafone is implementing SAP Productivity Apps, including Travel and Expense Management and Leave Request among other solutions. Now Vodafone, more than most, understands that workers are frequently mobile. In the past, being on the road meant you had to devote the time of an entire morning to processing expenses and other routine admin tasks on your return to base. By leveraging SAP Mobile Apps for HR, Vodafone gives far more flexibility to the workforce, enabling them to execute mundane processes during downtime on the road – while sitting at an airport or on a train. The company already rolled out this app to 150 users in the first phase, and anticipates a further roll-out to thousands of users throughout the remainder of 2013. I could go into more detail, but I think you’ll get a better flavor of what’s happening through the short video shown below.

• Click this image to launch the video.

Carlsberg makes things even smoother for the customer

I also learned how Carlsberg, the world's fourth largest brewery, is rolling out 3,000 tablets – running the SAP Retail Execution mobile app – to allow sales teams to execute key Consumer Products business processes such as creating planograms and site surveys. The company aims to leverage the app to make things even more efficient and, most important, to craft an even better customer experience than before. Carlsberg will also deploy SAP Service Manager – starting later this month in Sweden – to help manage maintenance on technical equipment, such as refrigeration units, beer taps, and the like.

The brewing giant aims to secure competitive advantage by also employing SAP Mobile Business Intelligence (BI) to help drill into customer buying history and make sure the right product is on the shelf when you're ready to quench your thirst. If you’ve got a little time to spare, you can uncover more detail about the Carlsberg experience from this slide deck:

• http://www.slideshare.net/sapmobile/carlsberg-ppt-final

British Airways cuts waiting time on the tarmac

British Airways (BA) has already started rolling out iPad mini devices – using a field service maintenance app built on the SAP Mobile Platform – to engineers working on the tarmac. Right when an aircraft lands and parks, and passengers hear the familiar tone indicating that they can unbuckle and leave their seats, the BA maintenance crew takes control and performs routine checks there on the spot. The processes involved used to entail a good deal of paperwork, and the engineers used to travel to a separate kiosk to enter their findings during such inspections. However, with their new mobile app, they can now enter such information in real time while they're still at the aircraft. This type of efficient handling will help reduce the turnaround time involved for such checks and routine servicing on the tarmac, enabling BA aircraft to resume service sooner than was ever possible before.  The best part of this story is that many of us road warriors may spend less time on the tarmac waiting to take off!

Boston Scientific leverages the SAP Mobile Platform to support healthcare professionals

Boston Scientific distributed iPads running the SAP Mobile Platform to its 4,000 member sales force, enabling those field executives to better describe the characteristics of technical devices to doctors and other healthcare professionals. The medical device manufacturer uses several custom apps built on the SMP to boost the effectiveness of its sales teams. Their ISTARS app, for instance, lets reps manage inventories while on the road. For example, the rep can request delivery of a new stent, and use their iPad to scan and track the vital piece of equipment. Sales reps also keep a large portfolio of marketing assets on their iPads, enabling them to provide clearer information for doctors during medical procedures. By using videos and animation, the rep can go into far more detail than was ever possible when using paper alone. Apart from that, Boston Scientific sales teams can also use their mobile devices to track patient results, doctors, and opportunities in real time. Check out the video shown below for more background.

• Click this image to launch the video.

Meeting such innovators is always a privilege and in fact, a lot of fun.  I want to thank all our SAP customers, particularly those who gave their time unselfishly to describe how SAP Mobile Solutions are working for them.  I always marvel at the type of ingenuity I recently witnessed, and am proud to be associated with such a talented and creative group of people.

Bear in mind, many of our customers will present their stories at this year’s SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando on May 14-16. So, if you enjoyed this preamble, you will be amazed by their complete stories at SAPPHIRE.  In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted with more customer innovation insights.