SAP CRM - Statement of Direction For 2006 - 2008 (A4)

Statement of Direction
SAP CRM
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT
STATEMENT OF DIRECTION FOR 2006–2008
August 2006
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2 CRM Statement of Direction 2006–2008. Copyright (C) SAP AG, August 2006. SAP AG proprietary – all rights reserved
CONTENTS
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Managing Customer Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

About CRM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
CRM Across Marketing, Sales, and Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Channel Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
CRM Done Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
SAP’s Strategy and Road Map for CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

The Three Pillars of SAP’s Strategy for CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
SAP CRM On-Demand Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Road Map for CRM Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Detailed Solution Road Maps for SAP CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Marketing – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Sales – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Service – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Interaction Center – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
E-Commerce – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Partner Channel Management – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Analytics – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Focus Industries of SAP Software for CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
CRM Statement of Direction 2006–2008. Copyright (C) SAP AG, August 2006. SAP AG proprietary – all rights reserved 3
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Customer relationship management (CRM) without Planned for availability to the first customers in 2006, SAP
compromise: with a move to a hybrid model, SAP offers CRM 2006s features the same simplified user experience in
customers more deployment options and more flexibility both on-premise and off-premise deployments and is fully
for growth without disruption. New user-interface (UI) Web service–enabled for ease of integration with SAP software
technology makes managing even complex business and non-SAP back-end systems. For sales professionals, service
tasks simple and easy for business users. Providing the managers, and marketing managers, SAP CRM 2006s features
best of both worlds – best of breed within a business an easy-to-use interface as well as alignment of business
suite – SAP® software is complementing leading front- processes in key industries to deliver fast results. New func-
office capabilities and industry-specific end-to-end tionalities of the coming releases include the following:
business processes. • Industry enhancements include functionality for telecom-
munications order and contract management, financial
In a continuing demonstration of its ability to revolutionize services leasing and account origination, public sector
and lead the CRM market, SAP AG unveiled a CRM strategy grants management and social services capabilities, and life
designed to give customers maximum flexibility in deployment sciences contract life-cycle management.
options while continuing to innovate and add important • For business information workers in all industries, SAP CRM
functionalities that help organizations meet specific business 2006s and subsequent releases support new capabilities for
challenges in key industries. While announcing its road map business-to-consumer (B2C) environments, advanced call
to migrate its CRM offering to a unique hybrid model, SAP center capabilities, pipeline performance management,
also unveiled the SAP CRM 2006s application, the industry’s service management, channel marketing funds, and trade
first hybrid on-demand, on-premise CRM suite, which offers promotion management.
new industry-specific functionalities, full Web service en- • In addition, SAP CRM 2006s provides a UI configuration tool
abling, and an easy-to-use interface that is shared across on- that enables non-IT users to quickly and easily adapt business
demand and on-premise deployment options. processes and terminology based on their unique business
needs.
With SAP CRM 2006s, organizations can choose the component • For IT organizations, SAP CRM 2006s provides new, seamless
and deployment option that best meets their needs, achieve deployment options to make IT choices transparent to the
immediate business results, and grow strategically as business business user and ease the transition and interoperation
needs evolve – without disruption to user adoption or customer between on-demand and on-premise models. The new Web
relationships. SAP also introduced the second wave of SAP services definition tool set allows IT professionals to define
Customer Relationship Management on-demand solutions new Web services on the fly according to customer needs
and will continue to ship additions to these solutions on a and to connect SAP CRM 2006s easily to external and legacy
regular basis. SAP has successfully delivered to promise applications.
on the first two waves of its hybrid application road map by
bringing to market the SAP sales on-demand solution and SAP CRM 2006s provides a rich set of enterprise services that
SAP marketing on-demand solution. With SAP CRM 2006s, partners and customers can use in the context of the Enter-
SAP becomes the only vendor whose hybrid solutions are prise Services Community program from SAP.
based on a shared architecture, data model, and UI, providing
seamless transitions across on-demand and on-premise
deployment options.
INTRODUCTION
Going forward, SAP software for CRM will remerge with Customers determine your business. They determine
the SAP Business Suite family of business applications. By the success of your organization, deciding whether or
taking our CRM offering to the hybrid deployment model, not to purchase your products and services and how
we will give our customers the ability to focus on their success much they are willing to spend. Customers choose how
with customers, while we in turn take care that the CRM and when they want to interact with your organization
application is integrated with back-end systems and flexibly and buy your products and services – online, over the
deployable in exactly the way that most benefits our customers. phone, in a store, or through another channel. The
customer’s experience at every touch point in your
SAP will continue to innovate its CRM offering with organization creates an image of your brand and
customers’ strategic business benefits in mind, enhancing eventually determines your success or failure. Hence,
critical CRM functionalities across all interaction channels – everything you do as an organization you do because
enabling their customer-centric ecosystem beyond enterprise of the customer.
boundaries. Additional functionalities will be added to
improve support of direct sales (sales force automation), the Now, more than ever, CRM is a critical component of any
Internet channel (e-commerce and self-service), as well as successful business operation. What’s the goal? It is to have
indirect sales and service networks (channel management). a truly customer-centric business – one that empowers the
enterprise and its ecosystem to orchestrate all its employees,
With this unique strategy and road map, SAP is in an even partners, and resources to deliver visibility and value around
stronger position to partner with our customers throughout customers. And it is having a dynamic enterprise that is able
the entire life cycle of their CRM journey. to seamlessly and quickly perceive, adapt, and respond to
changing market and customer needs before competitors are
This statement of direction explains SAP’s three-year strategy aware of the opportunity. For an organization to be successful,
for CRM and provides a preliminary, comprehensive overview it needs a CRM application that delivers more than transac-
of planned new and enhanced product functionalities of tion and interaction automation efficiencies. It must support
the SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) every potential customer interaction intrinsic to a customer
application and SAP CRM on-demand solutions ahead of life cycle, intuitively provide employees with clear customer
release to customers. information and insights relevant to their role and responsi-
bility, integrate into current systems to leverage existing IT
investments, and support collaborative processes across
suppliers and partners.
INTRODUCTION
CRM is about acquiring customers, keeping customers, and SAP’s strategy for CRM is based on three pillars:
growing your customer relationships. It is about gaining • Drive user adoption – New focus on end users and their
insight into your customers’ needs and wants, interacting needs, tasks, and processes to ensure the entire enterprise
with your customers across all touch points, and building can operate successfully. SAP delivers a new intuitive,
profitable long-term relationships with your customers. Web-based UI across all of its offerings for CRM that is built
CRM is about delivering value to your customers, achieving for the business user and delivered by role – and is easy to
a sustainable competitive advantage, and ultimately growing use and navigate.
your business. IT is a critical enabler for CRM to cope with • Deliver best of breed – Complementing leading front-
today’s top business imperatives: SAP CRM helps you office functionality with industry-specific business process
drive growth by entering new markets and increasing share context, SAP provides a comprehensive CRM application
of wallet, react faster to a changing business environment that enables B2C and business-to-business (B2B) relation-
and customer needs, and ensure operational excellence by ships across all interaction channels – based on the best
streamlining critical business processes. practices of the best-run organizations.
• Provide adaptability and choice – Unique in the industry,
In order to achieve these goals, organizations are looking for SAP now offers flexible deployment options (on-demand, on-
a CRM application that is comprehensive, simple, and flexible. premise, and a hybrid model), extensible service-oriented
SAP has listened to our customers and has put together an architecture, and powerful, easy-to-use customizing
aggressive product strategy and road map with an accelerated functionalities.
development plan and delivery schedule – as described in the
last two sections of this document – in order to help organiza- This statement of direction describes SAP’s approach to CRM
tions on their evolutionary journey to become a truly customer- and provides a preliminary, high-level overview of SAP’s
centric enterprise. strategy and road map for its CRM software for 2006–2008.
MANAGING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
About CRM your customers choose, every interaction becomes an experi-
CRM is – of course – about managing relationships with ence that helps customers form an image of your organization
customers. It is about seeking and keeping customers. No – your brand. And you need to make sure your channels work
business can exist without customers. Growth, profitability, effectively – both from a customer experience perspective and
and market share are all determined by customers. Customers in terms of internal process efficiency.
do or do not buy a product or service. Customers bid the price
up or drive it down, depending on the value they perceive The touch points with your customers can be numerous, and
from a product or service. No matter how good a product or many different people within the organization either interact
how efficient an organization – without customers there is with the customer directly or have an indirect impact on
no growth, profitability, or market share. the overall customer experience. Some of these are obvious,
like sales people, a customer service representative in a call
Hence every enterprise does CRM. Certainly, organizations center, or a field technician. But there are many others who
do it in very different ways depending on their business – and are involved in processes such as building and shipping the
some do it better than others. But all organizations have to product, delivering a service, or billing and payment. If you
make their products known to the market, sell their products, cannot deliver a product with the expected quality, if you
and provide services to their customers – whether it is product cannot ship it by the time you had promised, if you are not
delivery, technical advice, or any other type of support. They able to help your customers when they have a problem with
need to pay attention to their customers’ needs and wants; your product, customer experience and your brand image
they need to market their product, build the product, and will be impacted negatively. If a customer calls to inquire
deliver the service; and they need to make sure that the about the status of an order and you have no idea that he or
revenue they generate covers the costs of their business plus she placed an order because he or she did so on the Web, and
any profit margin they try to achieve. you do not have a record of the order that the call center
agent can access immediately, your customer might never
CRM is about the customer, but it is also about the channels come back.
and the brand. Everything you do as an organization has an
impact on your brand image: the quality of the product or Then there are the many different types of partners and their
service, how you price your offering, and the way you interact employees who act on behalf of the “brand owner” and help
with your customers. CRM encompasses all interaction with market, sell, or service a product: for example, logistics
customers and prospects, and all business processes that are providers and truck drivers who deliver your products to
related to this interaction. Thus you need to decide how you the customer, staff in an electronics store or car dealership,
want to interact with your customers – what touch points or service contractors that install a satellite dish or repair
and which channels to offer to your customers. You can sell television sets or dishwashers. Their interactions with the
directly to your customers by phone, a field sales force, in stores, customer and their way of fulfilling their tasks are part of the
and over the Internet. Or you can have channel partners like total customer experience. Last but not least, do not forget
dealers, resellers, distributors, agents, and so on, who sell your about your customers’ experience when they are buying
products to the end customer. No matter which channels online and using Web self-services.
Successful organizations put customers at the center of their consumers. Organizations sell over the phone, in stores, on
business. They understand who their most valuable customers the Internet, or have a sales force that goes out and visits
are and they understand their needs and their buying habits. customers – and some of them sell across all these channels.
They target and tailor their offerings and personalize their Some enterprises are facing fierce competition while others
interactions with customers. Successful organizations design have the advantage of a unique offering that almost puts
and continuously improve business processes across their them in a monopolistic position.
entire ecosystem to adapt quickly to changing customer needs.
They strive to become a fully customer-centric business and No matter what they do and how they do their business, what
consistently deliver a superior customer experience. This all enterprises have in common is that they need to find and
means that they need to look at their business from their sell to customers in order to stay in business. Also, in many
customers’ perspective. cases, it makes sense to develop and maintain long-term
customer relationships as opposed to merely focusing on short-
These organizations strive not just to know what, when, term revenue and profitability. Thus all organizations need
where, and how their customers want to buy, they strive to CRM, and – as a prerequisite – they need to know as much as
tune their entire enterprise and ecosystem to react quickly possible about their existing customers and potential buyers.
and efficiently to deliver on these needs – preferably before
the competition even has time to react. IT is a mission-critical CRM Across Marketing, Sales, and Service
tool for the customer-centric business. IT is what the enter- Marketing, sales, and service are the cornerstones of CRM.
prise uses not just to understand what the customer needs, Organizations have to do the following:
but also to determine how it will deliver on those needs. The • Plan and execute marketing campaigns and successfully
capabilities supported by your CRM application therefore drive demand. And they need to make sure that they spend
have a direct impact on an organization’s ability to grow, their marketing dollars wisely.
improve profitability, and gain market share. • Run an effective sales organization that drives revenue.
And they need to think about how to shorten sales cycles,
Every organization is different, and so is the way organizations increase win rates, maximize sales force productivity, and
need to manage the customer experience: Some organizations efficiently manage order taking and fulfillment while
sell directly to their customers while others rely on partners keeping an eye on their cost of sales.
(dealers, resellers, distributors, and so on) to sell or service • Ensure customer loyalty by providing services that meet
their products – and many have mixed selling models. Some their customers’ needs and expectations while managing
organizations like those in the aerospace industry have very service costs. And many organizations even try to make
long sales cycles, while, for example, many consumer pack- their service business an important contributor to their
aged goods are sold quickly right off the shelf. Some organiza- overall revenue and profit.
tions have only a few customers – others have millions. There
are large enterprises with a global business, and there are small Marketing – Driving Customer Demand
businesses focusing on the needs of their local community. If you want to sell a product, you need to let people know about
Some organizations build products, others provide services it. One of the key goals of marketing is to generate demand. There
or specialize in marketing and selling products that other are different ways to do this: You can run an advertising campaign
organizations develop and manufacture. Some organizations on television and place advertisements in newspapers, magazines,
do business with other organizations while others sell to or industry publications as well as on billboards or on the Web
CRM Across Marketing, Sales, and Service
(banners). You can present your latest products at industry Today marketers face challenges when they try to reach out
conventions and trade shows or organize your own customer and get their message across, whether it is to raise awareness
event. You can send product catalogs, collaterals, mailings, or to get customers to take some action. There are regulatory
e-mails, or product samples directly to your target audience. constraints, technologies like TiVo, spam filters, and phone
You can have people call customers and prospects to generate services that prevent marketers from getting their message
leads by phone, and you can fund the marketing activities and out. There is also increased competition for the remaining
trade promotions of your channel partners. customer mind share. We as consumers are constantly
bombarded with messages; we all get a huge number of
While a more product-centric approach to marketing focuses e-mails, mail, and messages everywhere and anytime. Along
primarily on generating demand for a particular product, a with this challenging marketing environment, many enter-
customer-centric approach is about both acquiring new custom- prises are looking to build customer relationships as a way
ers and developing long-term customer relationships. Keeping of differentiating themselves from the competition. They are
customers is critical for many organizations: building and looking for new technologies and methods that will help
maintaining long-term relationships with your customers often them to differentiate their products, brands, and organization.
turns out to be more profitable in the long run because acquisi-
tion costs are typically much higher than the cost of retaining Many are looking at innovative ways to leverage multiple
existing customers. Hence another important marketing marketing channels to execute coordinated customer inter-
objective is to build profitable customer relationships. You need actions that unfold over time with every interaction. Each
to identify your most valued customers and their needs and inter- interaction is personalized and relevant, because it leverages
act with them continuously in order to keep them as customers. the information from previous interactions.
Therefore, it becomes obvious that marketing is both about
presales activities to generate demand, as well as postsales Typical questions a marketer has to deal with include the
activities to keep the dialogue with these customers going and following:
identify their future demands in order to drive future revenue. • What is the best way to identify the most valued (profitable)
The customer lifetime value, which is the profit you can generate customers and market segments?
over the entire period of a customer relationship, determines how • How can I effectively reach my target audience and connect
much you should invest in a particular customer. with them?
• What is the best marketing channel and offer mix to achieve
Marketing includes a broad spectrum of activities that need my marketing goals?
to be defined, managed, executed, and monitored. Marketing • How can I make customer interactions more relevant and
begins with identifying market segments and your most valuable personalized and build profitable long-term relationships?
customers. It is about creating and running campaigns, connect- • How can I effectively coordinate and plan all campaign
ing with your target customers, generating leads to support the activities?
sales force, producing and providing collateral and, last but not • How can I ensure that I am providing highly qualified leads
least, analyzing the success of all these activities in order to to the sales organization or channel partners?
improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. If you market • How can I monitor, measure, and learn from my marketing
and sell through channel partners, you also need to think about activities and drive better marketing decisions?
funding their marketing activities to extend the reach of your • How can I increase marketing effectiveness by leveraging
marketing efforts. dialogue marketing through multiwave, multichannel,
inbound, and outbound campaigns?
• How can I effectively provide incentive to my channel account and contact management. Today SFA applications
partners to better market and sell my products? can support all kinds of sales processes that can make the life
• How can I increase the brand value? of a sales representative much easier and provide sales managers
with tools to better manage and control their sales force.
While marketing is often considered more an art than a
science – it’s probably both. A lot of creativity is needed to In order to plan and prepare sales calls, sales representatives
come up with a new advertisement, but ultimately it’s not just need information about their sales pipeline; new leads; their
about hiring creative advertising people – what really matters customers and contacts; and the most recent interaction
is how marketing can impact the bottom line. Marketing is history, including last visits, customer service calls, purchased
supposed to help grow your business. Successful organizations products, previous revenue numbers, and revenue targets
achieve positive bottom-line results because they use IT to gain with this customer. Ideally, they have full 360-degree visibility
customer insight and have end-to-end, closed-loop marketing of their customer. In a longer sales cycle, sales representatives
processes. And they maximize marketing effectiveness by might also want to know about the revenue potential of the
analyzing, tracking, and learning from every customer sales opportunity and what phase of the sales cycle they are
interaction and every marketing dollar spent. They also rely in with a customer. Sales people need to plan and schedule
on software applications to manage their marketing resources calls – on-site or over the phone – and coordinate with other
in order to reduce costs and spend their marketing dollars activities as well as with a sales team. If you have to visit a lot
more efficiently. With more than 20% of marketing budgets of customers per day, you probably want to plan the sequence
spent on managing and producing marketing output, IT offers of your visits in a way that optimizes your route to minimize
a huge potential for cost savings, for example, simply by driving time and maximize time spent with your customers.
automating rote tasks and eliminating duplication of effort.
During a sales call, a sales professional needs all kinds of
Automating Sales and Order Management information about products, product availability, prices,
Every business needs to sell its products or services in order to conditions, and contracts, as well as competitor information.
generate revenue. If you have your own sales force, you need Complex products or offerings, such as generator sets, pumps,
to provide both sales management and sales representatives cars, and trucks need to be configured and customized to
with the right tools and relevant information to enable them meet the customer’s specific needs. In many cases, sales
to sell successfully. Sales professionals need to plan and representatives have to be able to negotiate a contract, come
prepare customer calls, talk to the customer about the product up with a quote, put together a proposal, or take orders. Order
offering, in some cases create a quote or take an order, and entry and order management across different touch points
follow up after each customer interaction. Sales management is critical to every business and goes beyond pure SFA. Being
is interested in sales planning and forecasting and needs to able to support end-to-end order-to-cash business processes
know what’s going on in the field. Also, they are looking for can be a very important competitive advantage. Organizations
optimal coverage of all sales regions, and they want to make can handle and deliver orders as promised, much faster, and
sure that sales representatives do their jobs most effectively more accurately if they can fully automate sales transactions
and apply best practices. IT can play a critical part in providing throughout the fulfillment process, while at the same time
the tools and information needed to run a successful sales reducing transaction costs.
organization. Sales force automation (SFA) applications have
been around for more than 20 years, beginning with simple
CRM Across Marketing, Sales, and Service
Sales representatives also need to know about cross-sell and provide one face to the customer across all channels. In today’s
up-sell opportunities, to drive additional revenue. And highly competitive and fast-paced business environment,
customers might want to know about the status of previous being able to make the right information – such as product
orders while talking to their sales representative. And, as a details, a specific customer discount, account information, or
sales representative, the last thing you want is to run into a order status – available anytime, anywhere, can be mission-
customer who is upset because of an unsolved service issue critical to winning a customer or to keeping a customer –
that you are not aware of due to a lack of any record of the whether it’s over the Web; online; offline; or on an agent’s
customer’s complaint from your service department. This is desktop, a sales representative’s laptop, a handheld, a PDA,
why sales applications need to be integrated with other CRM or a smartphone.
software.
Service – Keeping Customers Loyal
After each customer interaction, sales reps should be able to “Treat your customers the same way you would like to be
quickly report the content and outcome of a call, update the treated” is a simple but very powerful approach to providing
status of an opportunity, document follow-up activities, and service to your customers. However, providing consistent and
so on. This is absolutely critical, because this information high-quality service to your customers that really meets their
serves as a basis for future calls and will be used for analytical expectations, while at the same time being cost-effective, is
and planning purposes. not an easy task. Customer service and its delivery has to deal
with the (often unhappy or even upset) customer, solving
Among the many business challenges a VP of sales is faced problems, fixing broken products, helping with shipping or
with are the following: billing issues, managing the logistics of spare parts, dispatching
• How can I increase sales team effectiveness and productivity? service resources, fulfilling service level agreements, checking
• How can my organization drive revenue while reducing the warranty entitlements, and providing software upgrades.
cost of sales? Customer service can be provided over the phone, for example,
• How can I effectively forecast and predict future revenues? in customer support centers, online as a self-service, in-house
• How can my organization shorten sales cycles and increase or in the field by service technicians of an organization’s own
win rates? service department, or by contracted partners of an organiza-
• How can I monitor sales performance and gain insight into tion’s service network.
sales trends?
• How can I enable the sales organization to focus on the right Customer service can make or break a customer relationship;
customers and deals at the right time? it can help build your reputation as a trusted, reliable vendor
• How can I streamline sales processes and implement best or service provider, or it can kill your brand image and directly
practices in sales? impact your bottom line – it can go both ways. Studies show
• How can I enable reliable end-to-end order-to-cash processes? that resolving a service issue quickly most often improves
• How can I maximize the value of every customer interaction? customer satisfaction and can turn a one-time negative
• How can I optimize territory coverage? experience into a positive overall customer experience.
Whether you have sales representatives in the field or working Unless you follow a hit-and-run strategy, service plays a critical
on the phone, whether you sell through channel partners or role if you want to keep and grow your customer base. There
the Internet or a combination of all these, it is important to is always something that can go wrong: a product might have
defects, all of a sudden it may stop working, or perhaps it does Today many organizations realize that the greatest amount
not meet the customer’s requirements or expectations; hence of unexplored revenue potential exists within the service
the product needs to be repaired or returned. A shipment organization. For some organizations, customer service is
might be delayed or the product damaged during transport. even driving more revenue or profit contribution than
Perhaps something is wrong with the invoice or the customer product sales. Customer service is critical to improving
just does not understand the bill. A customer might have customer satisfaction, retaining customers, and growing
questions regarding some product features, the order status, customer relationships.
or how to use the product. A customer might choose to pay
his or her bill online, call to update or extend a service contract, On the flip side, service is a major cost driver. That is why it
or notify the organization of a change of address by fax. Also, is important to increase service effectiveness while decreasing
you want to help your customers make the right buying costs through operational efficiency gains. Successful organi-
decision in the first place, use your product, and get the most zations use software applications that help them achieve
value out of it. Last but not least, many products like cars, both of these goals. They provide their service professionals
trucks, elevators, copy machines, and other machinery need with the information and tools they need to run productive
regular maintenance by a trained service technician. service operations across all customer touch points. They try
to maximize the value of each customer through quick,
Among the most burning service questions you find are the effective service and problem resolution; reduce costs from
following: efficient operations and improved employee productivity; and
• How can I drive greater customer loyalty and lifetime value increase service revenue through sales of service contracts, as
through service? well as cross-sales of related products and services.
• How do I ensure my best customers receive the best quality
of service? Channel Strategies
• How can I reduce the support budget while improving Organizations have to decide which channels they want to use
service? in order to interact with their customers. Today customers
• How can my organization manage the ever-increasing expect to interact with an organization across different touch
volumes of interactions? points. All channels have advantages and disadvantages, and
• How do I drive sales revenue through my service organization? the costs of each interaction are very different. Besides face-
• How do I stop giving away free service to customers who are to-face contact of sales or service representatives, there is
not entitled to it? phone, fax, e-mail, and chat, which allow direct interaction
• How do I avoid having too many or too few resources due between a customer and a representative of the organization
to poor service planning? using some type of media. These interactions can be handled
• How can I avoid multiple visits to a customer site to solve through an interaction center (or interaction hub), which is
a problem? often referred to as a call center since the phone has been the
• How can I make sure that spare parts are available when preferred channel of communication for most customers.
needed?
• How can I ensure consistent service operations across all Obviously, costs per interaction vary widely across different
contact channels – direct, interaction center, e-mail, and channels: for example, a customer service phone call is about
Web? 5 to 10 times cheaper than sending a service technician to
Channel Strategies
the customer (with the average cost of a customer service visit And this is the challenge: you never know what the issue will
at about US$100 to US$200). Another interaction channel is be when a customer calls. There are so many possibilities, and
the Internet, which allows fully automated customer interac- as an organization you need to be prepared to assist your
tion, and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Internet customers with their requests. Hence customer service
as an interaction channel has evolved dramatically in just representatives (CSRs) need to have access to all kinds of
about a decade, and has since become a very important low- information regarding the customer, his or her transaction
cost channel for many organizations. The average cost of history, product and pricing information, contracts and
a Web interaction can be as low as US$.10. The cost factor warranties, order management and fulfillment, and billing
obviously needs to be considered when determining the right and payment information. They should have all the information
channel mix. they need to resolve customer service issues at their fingertips,
without transferring customers to other departments.
Last but not least, an organization can market, sell, or service
its products through partners such as dealers, resellers, and An interaction center covers far more than just processing
distributors – typically referred to as the indirect channel. phone calls in a traditional call center. It means the central
Often you will find a combination of channels that allows provision of interactive services for customers – inbound and
the customer to choose his or her preferred way of interac- outbound – across different channels, such as phone, e-mail,
tion. In this case, consistency across all touch points, as well Web, chat, and fax. Although many different processes become
as process and system integration of all channels, is critical. relevant in the interaction center at some stage, most of
We will take a closer look at the different channel options in the processes do not start or end there. This means that an
the following paragraphs. integrative view of business processes in an enterprise is
required. This requirement can hardly be met by a stand-
Interaction Center – Making Every Customer alone application that focuses on contact management. Thus
Interaction Count an interaction center needs to be an integral part of a CRM
Do you know any business that does not have a phone and a application.
phone number that customers can call? It’s unlikely. Often it
is a lot more convenient and much faster to pick up the phone It is also noteworthy that every customer interaction provides
and call an organization instead of trying to meet face-to-face an opportunity to sell: in order to turn a service call into a
with a sales or service representative; sometimes an in-person sales opportunity, you should provide your agents with the
meeting does not make sense or it is just impossible due to the insight they need to cross-sell and up-sell to a customer. If they
distance. Now, there are a million reasons why customers call have visibility into relevant revenue potential events, such as
an organization, send a fax, or send an e-mail. They might an impending service contract renewal, and visibility into
want to place an order or inquire about a product, a price, or available-to-promise inventory, they can effectively cross-sell
a product’s availability. They might call to get an update on and up-sell products and services. Tools such as scripting, alerts,
the status of their order, pay their bills, request an upgrade or and messages, as well as access to product configurators, enable
extension of their service, file a claim, complain about the CSRs to increase sales volumes. They can drive more qualified
product, report a problem, or ask for technical support. No leads into the pipeline, target existing customers with cross-
matter what the reason is – it is essential that you are able to selling and up-selling opportunities, as well as process orders
help the customer and make sure that their experience is and status information – all at a significantly reduced cost to
positive. your organization.
In order to run an efficient call center, it is also necessary business platform that unites the front and back office. They
to enable managers to control and monitor the interaction ensure that customers receive accurate answers and efficient
center and measure its performance. They need to make sure follow-through on all commitments and hence spare their
calls are routed to the right agents and that agent schedules customers from the pain of “answer shopping,” or getting
meet demand and customer service quality goals, so custom- different answers from different agents. Managers are given
ers do not wait in line too long and are not transferred too access to administration, maintenance, and reporting analytics
often. to ensure that the interaction center can operate efficiently,
with quantitative data for more informed decision making
Among the top interaction center challenges are the following: and optimized staffing levels.
• How can I deliver customer service that will differentiate
my organization from others? E-Channel – Turn the Internet into a Profitable Sales
• How can I identify and retain my highest-value customers? and Interaction Channel
• How can I make sure my CSRs have access to complete If you want to secure the cheapest air fares and best hotel deals,
information on my customers and products at their you go online. If you want to configure and price out a new car,
fingertips? you go to the dealer’s Web site. If you want avoid the inconve-
• How can I reduce average call-handling time and improve nience of checks and stamps, you pay your bills online. If you
first-call resolution? want to easily compare features and functions of a laptop or
• How do I ensure that all access channels – phone, e-mail, digital camera, purchase immediately, and then track your
Web, and so on – are all integrated? goods until they reach your door, you use the Internet. More
• How do I connect my interaction center with my marketing and more people and organizations are purchasing goods and
campaign execution, workforce planning, and scripting? using services online. Analysts estimate that in 2006 more than
• How can my managers predict when they will have slow 1 billion people will have gone online, and that online retail
inbound periods or high outbound requirements and avoid purchases will continue to grow at a very healthy rate year
the over- or understaffing that results? over year. This is not a surprise in an electronically enabled
• How can I optimize resources, monitor the contact center world where consumers and businesses are eager to take
environment in real time, and react immediately to meet advantage of the convenience of the online channel.
business needs and ensure that service levels are maintained?
• What can I do to reduce and cope with agent turnover? But for your customers, Web self-service is not a panacea: if
• How do I convert my interaction center from a cost center your customers have a question they cannot answer online,
to a profit center? they call someone for help. And when they interact with the
call center agent, they expect a consistent experience and
In many organizations the call center or interaction center is accurate information. To meet your customers’ expectations
at the heart of CRM. It serves as a strategic delivery channel it is important to integrate your organization’s e-commerce and
for service, sales, and marketing efforts across all channels CRM strategies. This means supporting integrated processes
(phone, e-mail, fax, and so on) to improve customer loyalty, that let your customers choose the channel that best fits their
reduce costs, and boost revenue. Successful organizations needs each step of the way – whether they prefer to help
provide their agents with the tools they need to seamlessly themselves or want a CSR help to them. You also need to
handle inbound or outbound transactions, all on a single provide your customers with a secure experience and reliable
commitments tied to your back-office and fulfillment systems
Channel Strategies
in order to deliver on promise. This integrated approach Typical questions about e-commerce and self-service include
enables you to increase customer satisfaction and trust – and the following:
to drive more business. • How can my organization use the Internet as a profitable
sales and interaction channel?
Now this may sound simple, but it is not that easy: many • How can I leverage the Internet to reach new target
organizations still do not have this right. On a daily basis, audiences?
customers make purchases over the Web and then do not • How can I make it easier for my customers to do business
receive them in the expected time frame, do not receive the with me?
right discounted price, or talk to a call center agent who does • How can I create a branded and personalized online
not even know about the purchase. The results are negative experience for my customers?
customer experiences, a degradation of customer trust, and • How can I provide easy-to-use interactive selling capabilities
finally customer attrition. and enable reliable end-to-end order-to-cash processes
through the Web?
The Internet provides a great opportunity for a low-cost sales • How can I provide convenient self-services and increase
and service channel. Your ability to effectively integrate an my customer service level?
e-commerce strategy into your overall business strategy is • How can I provide a Web application that is fully integrated
crucial in creating a win-win situation – where you empower with other customer interaction channels?
your customers and see your business thrive. • How can I reduce my cost of sales and support?
Providing customers with easy access to enterprise knowledge With a fully integrated Web channel, organizations can
and information as well as critical transactions anywhere and strengthen sales and service operations while reducing
anytime is a powerful way to foster customer relationships transaction costs and customer service calls. Successful
both in B2B and B2C environments. Leveraging the conve- organizations have made the transition from a hyped and
nience of the Internet and providing an intuitive Web site experimental playground called e-commerce to a serious and
that allows customers to find the product they are looking highly professional business by incorporating the Web as an
for and guides them through the buying process so they can integral self-service channel into their overall CRM strategy.
easily and quickly proceed to check out can deliver a great
customer experience. Successful Web sites provide customers Empowering customers with convenience, consistency, and
with intuitive tools to search products, retrieve detailed control while ensuring operational excellence across sales and
product information including images, request a product service processes throughout fulfillment is key to providing a
comparison, configure a product, access reliable pricing and superior customer experience beyond the shopping basket.
availability information, and much more. Customers can get
personalized and relevant product recommendations and Partner Channel Management – Extend the Reach of
targeted sales promotions. After a purchase they can track CRM to Your Partners
order status, file complaints and handle returns, check out If you want to buy a new car or get your weekly supply of
frequently asked questions (FAQs), request technical support, cereals, diapers, and soft drinks, or if you want to rent a movie
and sign up for automated billing and payment. or shop for a new cell phone, you do not call the car manufac-
turer in Detroit or Germany to order your SUV or sports car,
you would not visit a consumer goods organization to make
your purchase, you would not go to Los Angeles and visit your brand image? The best thing you can do is provide them
a Hollywood, California, studio just to get a copy of the latest with the same tools and information that you would give to
blockbuster, and you would not even consider taking a flight your own sales people or service representatives. This means
to Asia to get a cell phone with the latest features. You would you need to integrate your partners into your CRM approach
rather go to your nearest car dealership, local supermarket, or and recognize and foster their unique business drivers. To do
nearby video rental store, and you expect your cell phone this, it is important to have a CRM system that centralizes
provider to have a selection of phones available for you to your partner data – who your partners are, where they are
choose. And if your television or washing machine breaks located, what their competencies are, what their business
down, or you have a satellite dish installed, most often it is objectives are – and then use that information as a framework
not a manufacturer’s employee who comes to your house to to drive intelligent business processes that are targeted and
fix it or do the job, but a local service contractor. You can tailored to your partner communities. This way you can build
find similar cases in the B2B world: organizations get their mutually beneficial business relationships.
office supplies from wholesalers, pharmacies buy pharma-
ceuticals through licensed distributors, and organizations buy Channel management or partner relationship management
machinery from specialized importers in countries where the evolved from the late 1990s for brand owners to better manage
manufacturer does not have a subsidiary. channel partners, streamline channel business processes, and
provide tools for partners to more effectively interact with end
In many industries a high percentage of an organization’s customers. It has been the latest addition to CRM applications.
revenue is driven or influenced by indirect partners – and For many organizations it is absolutely critical to leverage
this percentage is growing. Given this trend, it has become partners in order to market, sell, and service their products.
increasingly important to rely on indirect revenue to achieve All the more, it is hard to believe that many organizations do
corporate financial goals. With this strategic importance of not even know their channel partners.
indirect channels, extending your core CRM processes to
collaboratively work with your partners is a critical component of Typical questions regarding the indirect channel include the
realizing your channel objectives. These core CRM processes following:
include marketing, selling, and servicing your products. By • How can I increase revenue through my channel?
effectively integrating your partners into these core business • How can I more effectively control and manage my indirect
processes, you will be able to provide your end customers with channel?
the buying experience they are looking for. You have probably • How can I ensure that my partners are effectively selling
heard the old 80-20 rule – 20% of your partners generally drive my products?
80% of your indirect revenue. By extending your CRM reach out • How can I ensure high-quality and consistent service to
to your partners you can get more of your lower performing my end customers?
partners to drive revenue like your top 20%. • What is my ROI on my channel and partner investments?
• How do I provide incentives to my partners to invest in and
But there are challenges – your channel partners do not work execute marketing activities for my products?
directly for you. So how do you make sure that they can market, • How can I decrease channel support costs?
sell, or service your products effectively? And how do you • How can I optimize my business across both direct and
make sure they do not damage the customer experience and indirect channels?
CRM Done Right
Successful organizations proactively enhance collaboration implementation with no ROI. They might have a vision but
with their selling and service partners, drive more revenue no clear strategy, focus on single channels, and rarely achieve
through their channels, increase value to customers, and a true multichannel coverage – all of which results in lower
reduce channel support costs. They identify and target the right customer satisfaction. Often they just automate existing “bad”
partners to promote specific products and deliver specific processes instead of redesigning their customer-facing opera-
services. They consistently manage partner recruiting, tions based on best practices.
profiling, registration, joint business planning, and performance
management. They enable a consistent process-driven way Here are some guiding principles based on what successful
to align sales prospects with the right channel partners based organizations have done.
on a real-time 360-degree view of partner profile and perfor-
mance. They gain full visibility into partner performance, Do the right things to grow your business:
leads, and follow up, ensuring that they drive the right leads to • Identify and focus on the most profitable customers.
their most valuable partners. They provide partners with the • Ensure effectiveness of sales, service, and marketing across
knowledge, tools, and expert advice needed to more effectively all customer touch points.
sell to and serve customers. They empower their partners And you’ll drive revenue and increase share of wallet.
with easy order-entry functionalities and access to timely,
accurate information about product availability, pricing, Do things right to obtain operational efficiency across
shipment, and so on, eliminating manual, error-prone, and all channels:
costly support processes. And they build integrated service • Streamline business processes such as quote to cash.
networks to get closer to their customers when it comes to • Simplify and standardize user experience for greater user
service delivery and support. adoption.
And you’ll reduce the cost of sales and service operations.
CRM Done Right
Every organization does CRM, but not all organizations do it Do things collaboratively to extend the reach of CRM:
right. CRM done right requires a vision, a strategy, and an • Establish and leverage value-adding networks through
execution road map detailing how to get there. IT is a critical greater collaboration with partners.
enabler for CRM across all channels and needs to be part of • Empower customers with convenience, consistency, and
the road map. CRM done right requires a holistic view of control across any channel.
customers, channels, employees, and processes, as well as an And you’ll have partners and customers help you drive your
evolutionary approach to implementation. Ultimately, CRM business.
done right delivers positive bottom-line results: it drives
growth and helps improve productivity. Do the right things at the right time and grow as you go:
• Emphasize what needs to be done quickly while looking
Many organizations fail to become truly customer-centric at the bigger picture.
because they rely on point solutions with little or no integra- • Take an evolutionary approach to deploying tactical
tion that are not aligned with the organization’s long-term solutions and making strategic investments.
IT strategy and provide them with only a limited view of the And you’ll scale without disruption to your business.
customer. They either compromise on functionality or try
to achieve too much and end up with a complex, expensive
SAP’S STRATEGY AND ROAD MAP FOR CRM
According to the results of recent surveys among CEOs,
managing customer relationships is one of today’s most COMPREHENSIVE SIMPLIFIED FLEXIBLE
• Full-scale CRM • New industry • Flexible delivery
urgent business imperatives. This is a call for action for SAP solution standard user model – on demand,
to help organizations drive growth by entering new markets interface on premise, and
• Industry-specific hybrid
and increasing share of wallet, to enable them to react faster business processes • Unified across all
to changing customer needs and business challenges, to help CRM solutions from • Extensible and
• B2C and B2B SAP service-enabled
them use resources more effectively, and to allow them to relationships
focus on and retain their most profitable customers. Offering • Built for the • Adaptive to
• All necessary business user, and customer’s unique
the only comprehensive CRM application using a flexible, interaction channels delivered by role business need
hybrid model, SAP supports organizations that want to achieve
immediate business results and solve major pain points quickly, Figure 1: CRM Without Compromise
organizations that strive to become truly customer-centric
across their entire enterprise and beyond, and organizations Consequently, SAP’s strategy for CRM is based on the follow-
that need both tactical and strategic solutions. ing three pillars.
In order to deliver on this promise, SAP has developed a Deliver Best-of-Breed Software
profound product strategy and unrivaled product road map Organizations need comprehensive CRM capabilities across all
for its CRM offering that is unique in the industry. In this customer touch points and channels for B2C and B2B based
section and in the following section of this document, we will on best practices of the best-run organizations. SAP delivers
explain the key elements of this strategy and share details of the best of both worlds, complementing leading front-office
the product road map. software with end-to-end industry-specific software. You will
get powerful marketing, sales, and service front-office software
The Three Pillars of SAP’s Strategy for CRM as well as leading-edge call center and best-in-class e-commerce
Organizations looking to achieve bottom-line results managing and channel management software – ready for high-volume
their customer relationships need a CRM application that B2C environments. There will also be a special focus on
offers the following: service and other industries.
• Comprehensive functionality
• Simplicity and usability Drive User Adoption and Productivity
• Flexibility and extensibility Organizations must focus on business users and their needs,
tasks, and processes to ensure the entire enterprise can fully
They require these qualities to attain operational excellence leverage the software functionalities and operate successfully.
across all customer touch points and deliver superior customer To help them do this, SAP introduces a new Web-based, easy-
value. to-use, and easy-to-configure UI that is tailored to business
users in marketing, sales, and service roles. Easy and intuitive
The uniqueness of the SAP application is the combination of navigation and a familiar Web-application style allow rapid
all three elements. Only SAP software enables organizations adoption and ensure user satisfaction. Introduced with the
to master complex customer-facing business processes with SAP CRM on-demand solutions, the new UI is now being
simplicity and flexibility – this is what we call CRM without adopted as standard for all CRM applications.
compromise!
The Three Pillars of SAP’s Strategy for CRM
Provide Adaptability and Flexibility Drive User Adoption with a New, Intuitive UI
Organizations need flexible deployment options. SAP will Even the best functionality and support of business processes
offer CRM software with an on-premise, on-demand, and will not deliver the expected results if the users are not using
hybrid model – extensible services-oriented software built on the application. User adoption is a critical issue and many
the industry’s leading enterprise service-oriented architecture CRM implementations have failed simply because the users
(enterprise SOA) and powerful configuration tools to quickly did not like the look and feel and could not use the software.
adapt to unique business needs.
Ease of use is key to user adoption. With SAP CRM on-demand
Deliver Best-of-Breed Software Based on Best solutions, SAP introduced a new, user-friendly interface that
Practices got very positive feedback from customers and analysts. Based
SAP has worked with many customers and implementation on the user interaction design of SAP CRM on-demand
partners to get their feedback on the current SAP CRM solutions, SAP will provide a single Web-based, easy-to-use,
application and has partnered with leading, best-run organi- and easy-to-customize UI for all CRM online users that can
zations in different industries to identify and develop best be deployed across all channels. It combines the breadth and
practices in CRM. In addition, we have discussed our findings depth of the CRM functionality in SAP software with the
about state-of-the-art CRM and major trends with leading intuitiveness of SAP CRM on-demand solutions. A single UI
industry analysts who have provided valuable input and for both the SAP CRM application and SAP CRM on demand
validated our strategy. The result of this ongoing collaboration solutions will also allow customers to transition easily from
is a development plan that will bring important additions and on demand to on premise.
significant improvements of core CRM functionality across
marketing, sales, and service, as well as extensive new and Harmonizing the CRM UIs and ensuring UI consistency across
enhanced channel functionalities. SAP will deliver best- all functional areas, channels, and processes will increase end-
of-breed functionality in all key CRM subcategories – user efficiency and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) and
supporting both critical front-office functions (stand-alone) training effort. Based on proven interaction center Web client
and end-to-end business processes (for example, integrated technology, the new CRM UI replaces the people-centric UI
with the SAP ERP application). and the SAP graphic user interface (GUI). It is completely Web
based and is deployed in a Web browser with no plug-ins
While the focus of the product road map is on core CRM needed. SAP CRM 2006s can work with the SAP NetWeaver®
functionality (for example, for call centers, SFA, and Portal component, but it can also be deployed and work
e-commerce), and high-volume B2C market requirements in without the portal. The UI can be tailored easily to different
particular, which will benefit organizations in many industries, users and roles in sales, service, and marketing. Fields and
SAP will also make considerable efforts in specific industries screen layouts can be customized; end users can personalize
like telecommunications, public sector, financial services, and their home page and search functions. A new administration
pharmaceuticals, with additional focus on consumer packaged tool makes it possible to add users quickly and to manage all
goods and high tech. For more information about how SAP is administrative functions online.
going to execute its strategy, please refer to the road map
overview below and the section titled “Detailed Solution Road
Maps for SAP CRM,” which covers all CRM key functionalities
and vertical enhancements in more detail.
so on), including shortcuts for fast data entry or access. A

navigation history allows the user to go directly to previously
visited pages. Search queries can be saved and selected at any
time from the context frame to provide quick access to often-
needed information from anywhere in the application. A
central home page is the starting point for every user in his
or her daily business. It contains important personal informa-
tion and access to the most frequently used tools. Every first-
level menu item in the navigation bar (such as Marketing or
Sales) has a “work center” as a starting point, which contains
a set of shortcuts and access to all related CRM functions.
Report screens, which summarize all relevant reports, are
defined for each role and grouped logically. Search screens
Figure 2: The New UI in SAP® CRM 2006s and SAP CRM On-Demand provide comprehensive and context-specific search function-
Solutions alities for every aspect of CRM. Every object, such as an
account, opportunity, and so on, has an overview page that
Most new users will immediately be familiar with the new provides the most important information at a glance. Overview
UI’s intuitive Internet application–like navigation. Online screens are easily accessible from anywhere in the application
end-user documentation and e-tutorials will also help them and allow direct navigation to more detailed information.
get up to speed quickly. Groupware integration, data upload Specific edit screens allow users to create or maintain CRM
and download, browser printing, ad hoc reporting, and data; they are just a click away from the overview page and
comprehensive search functions also contribute to high user designed as form views or simple lists.
productivity. The Web-like look and feel requires less interac-
tivity of the screens, which reduces the number of server round New UI Design Tool
trips and complexity. The screens of the standard shipment The ability to easily configure the UI according to the specific
are kept simple and show only the most frequently used needs of the organization and business users is also critical
functions; more can be added quickly as needed. The reduced for user adoption. Therefore a new, easy-to-use UI design tool
complexity of the screens as well as user-oriented task flow has been developed. It is available for SAP CRM on-demand
and navigation also increase user adoption. With the new UI, solutions and – in an extended version – for the SAP CRM
SAP introduces a new interaction model that differentiates application. It allows business users who do not have detailed
between viewing and editing data. The UI also provides guidance application development skills to easily modify the UI. With
enabling power users as well as occasional users to complete the Web-based tool, you can add customer-specific fields and
typical tasks a lot easier: they simply follow the steps on the buttons for editing the layout of a page and field properties
screen. (hidden, display, editable, or mandatory), tables, and field
labels, and supporting the recording of changes of configura-
New UI Highlights tion settings in change requests. You can also simply create
A new context frame on each screen provides easy and quick new customer-specific objects and fields. Of course, all modifi-
navigation throughout the application and the different cations can be previewed before release.
functions (for home page, work lists, calendar, reports, and
The Three Pillars of SAP’s Strategy for CRM
Provide Adaptability and Choice However, with all other on-demand solution providers there
Flexible Deployment Options – A Hybrid Model is a downside: if you know that at some stage you will need a
Organizations’ needs differ when it comes to managing customer full-scale, multichannel CRM application, you are faced with
relationships. Even divisions within the same organization face a costly dilemma. A hosted on-demand solution will only get
disparate challenges. Some need a quick fix for a single issue, you to a certain level, and then you hit a wall. Point solutions
such as managing the sales pipeline; others seek a more robust with little or no integration often support only a single channel
solution to tackle multiple customer-facing processes, such as and provide a limited view of the customer. Compromises on
organization-wide sales, service, and marketing. Until now, functionality start to impact business results, and typically
the market has not offered a solution that can address such a there is a bad fit with long-term IT strategy. When you reach
broad range of issues or provide an on-ramp to a more powerful, the point where you really want to become a customer-centric
integrated CRM application as business needs evolve. business and want to streamline your customer-facing
operations across all channels, you need to switch to an
That has changed. To meet an organization’s diverse needs, on-premise application that meets your requirements. This
SAP has extended the SAP CRM application to include hosted, means additional costs and disruption to your business.
on-demand options. This easy-to-use, Web-based application
offers customers targeted functionality to meet business needs SAP offers a unique hybrid model that avoids these short-
quickly, while helping lay the foundation for a long-term comings: Organizations can start with SAP CRM on-demand
CRM strategy. SAP CRM on-demand solutions have become solutions and seamlessly transition to the SAP CRM applica-
available as a subscription-based offering and come with a tion (on premise) when ready. Or organizations can start
subset of the functionality within the SAP CRM application. with SAP Business Suite and easily expand with SAP CRM
on-demand solutions. There is a seamless coexistence of
SAP now provides organizations with the right solution for on-demand and on-premise software that is unique in the
the right situation – without compromise. So far, tactical industry: SAP CRM on-demand solutions and the SAP CRM
business considerations had forced organizations to choose application have a common UI, shared customer data,
a solution that may have impeded their strategic business consistent customizing and configuration, as well as the same
goals in the future. And there are many reasons why an user and administration data. They have the same database
organization would need a quick solution and look for a structure, and the functionality of the SAP CRM on-demand
software-as-a-service (SaaS) type solution: Budget constraints solutions is a subset of the SAP CRM application: this means
can be an issue, so a subscription-based offering has a clear there are no lengthy migrations, no changes for the user, no
advantage over a license-based model. Timing is another retraining, no remodeling, and no reconfiguration.
reason to consider an on-demand solution, because such a
solution does not require a long implementation in order to Organizations no longer have to make technology choices
get up and running; it can be turned on quickly. Limited IT that restrict flexibility and impede growth. With the offering
resources or IT priorities in areas other than CRM (such of a hybrid model from SAP, organizations can start small and
as an enterprise resource planning [ERP] upgrade or an grow without disruption, expand quickly, and transition
e-procurement implementation) can also result in a need for seamlessly. They can start today and still maintain IT alignment.
a hosted on-demand solution. Under these circumstances, They can rent (pay as you go) and buy when they are ready.
and if the organization has just basic needs in specific areas like
SFA, an on-demand solution is very attractive.
Powered by the SAP NetWeaver Platform

Depending on customer needs, customers implement different
Deploy Deploy
on demand on premise
integration projects such as basic application-to-application
(A2A) integration, business-to-business (B2B) integration,
and business process management. All of these integration
The SAP Hybrid Advantage
• Department-centric • Enterprise-centric projects can be simplified using enterprise SOA. SAP leads
• Minimal configuration Common user interface • Configured for
Shared customer data the market in addressing these needs with the SAP NetWeaver
• Basic features differentiation
• Pay as you go Seamless transitions • Deep functional platform, a unified platform that delivers new levels of
• Intermittent usage Seamless coexistence requirements
• Light integration Fast expansion • Option for ownership
flexibility and innovation to define and manage end-to-end
• Minimal storage needed • Transaction-intensive business processes.
processes
• Complex business
process integration To simplify integration projects, SAP delivers standards-based
• Heavy storage
requirements enterprise services for SAP Business Suite. As part of an
enterprise SOA strategy, customers can manage and govern
Figure 3: Hybrid Advantage with SAP® Software enterprise services from a central enterprise services repository.
By using enterprise services and SAP NetWeaver, customers
More details about SAP CRM on-demand solutions can be can rapidly compose, orchestrate, and innovate end-to-end,
found at the end of this section. customer-facing business processes across their enterprise. As
part of the CRM enterprise SOA road map, SAP is shipping its
Extensibility – Service Enabling of SAP CRM first set of defined CRM enterprise services with SAP CRM
SAP has chosen SAP CRM to be the first Web service–enabled 2006s.
application as part of the SAP road map for enterprise SOA.
CRM projects have a great need for flexible, cost-effective Service-Enabled CRM Application
integration. CRM applications must be able to easily share To address the requirements of customers who need immedi-
data with a very broad and heterogeneous set of third-party ate deployment of basic A2A integration projects that require
and legacy applications utilizing a full range of integration custom service definitions, SAP will expose key CRM business
techniques. CRM implementations are highly dynamic as objects through a new Web services tool set in the upcoming
they mirror an organization’s shifting attempts to understand, release SAP CRM 2006s. The service enablement will give
connect, and execute on ever-changing customer priorities. CRM customers additional options and flexibility with a new,
This creates a need for some customers to rapidly define easy-to-use service-definition tool set that allows customers
custom services on the fly for individual CRM projects in and partners to rapidly define project-specific services on the
order to extend and connect their unique business processes. fly. The UI allows customers to define services that would
The goal is to simplify integration tool sets, reduce costs, and otherwise not be available and to connect SAP CRM with
increase the pace of integration projects to meet the expecta- external and legacy applications in just minutes.
tions of our prospects and customers.
SAP CRM On-Demand Solutions
The business benefits of a service-enabled application include The SAP sales on-demand solution and the SAP marketing
these: on-demand solution are the first SAP CRM on-demand
• Ease of deployment, defined services in minutes, and rapid solutions offered and are available globally today. These easy-
ROI to-use, hosted Web-based solutions offer customers targeted
• Customer-driven service definitions – bottom-up enterprise functionality to meet business needs quickly, while helping
service recommendations lay the foundation for a long-term CRM strategy. SAP CRM
• Open and easy service-modeling environment on-demand solutions offer a new UI, completely redesigned
• High degree of customer flexibility and independence based on customer feedback, to mirror the way sales and
• Quick development of end-customer-specific composite marketing people work. The interface is based on familiar Web
applications features and tools, and online help is available to let users start
right away with minimal training.
SAP CRM On-Demand Solutions
SAP has expanded its industry-leading SAP CRM application The solutions integrate with desktop productivity applications
to include on-demand options. SAP CRM on-demand such as Microsoft Outlook and IBM Lotus Notes, enabling
solutions are easy-to-use, hosted Web-based solutions. As a users to manage their customer communications from one
leader in enterprise applications, SAP is exceptionally well central location. The solutions also integrate with SAP back-
positioned to address the varying needs of your entire organi- office software systems to provide a 360-degree view of the
zation – and, as those needs evolve, to provide a virtually customer across the organization.
seamless transition path from a hosted CRM solution to an
on-premise application. With SAP CRM on-demand solutions, SAP has pioneered an isolated tenancy model, which combines
SAP provides an unrivaled on-ramp to a customer-centric the high availability and low risk of a single tenancy approach
enterprise. These solutions enable organizations to act imme- with the efficiencies and deployment speed of a multitenancy
diately and grow strategically – without disruption to their architecture, to create a unique hybrid CRM application that
business – as follows: delivers the best of both worlds. You can now have the
• Act immediately – Achieve quick results with Web-based confidence that your system performance and continuous
on-demand solutions that are easy to use, fast to deploy, operations are independent of overall usage by other customers.
and pay as you go.
• Grow strategically – Avoid the trade-offs of tactical decisions Because the on-demand solutions are based on the architecture,
that limit the potential of your investments with a solution data model, and UI of SAP CRM, your organization can
that meets immediate business needs while supporting your transition seamlessly from a hosted solution to an on-site
long-term strategy and providing lifetime value. application when your needs evolve. You will experience no
• Transition without disruption – Transition to the lost data, interrupted processes, or change management costs.
industry-leading SAP CRM application when your business These on-demand offerings are more than a quick fix; they
needs evolve – without the disruption of losing data, are a strategic investment that supports future growth.
interrupting processes, or incurring change
management costs.
SAP CRM on-demand solutions provide sales, marketing, • Sales management – Provide managers with visibility
and service professionals, as well as managers, executives, and and quick access to their teams’ sales activities to help them
administrators, with a quick on-ramp to CRM. The user- recognize and respond to constantly shifting market
friendly design of the Web-based UI comes with online demands.
tutorials and end-user support to reduce the time for adoption • Account and contact management – Help your sales
as well as the need for training. Quick links to key data, professionals focus on activities that develop loyal and
snapshots of recent records, key reminders and alerts, screen profitable customer relationships. Attain visibility into all
personalization functions, and advanced search functions sales activities to foster collaboration and team efficiency.
help users navigate easily and perform daily tasks more • Calendar and task management – Support your team’s
efficiently. Integration with desktop tools lets users manage efficiency and productivity with tools for easily capturing and
their activities and communications from one central spot – managing activities, calendar, and customer interactions –
regardless of their location. They can synchronize tasks, including appointments, phone calls, e-mails, letters, and
appointments, and e-mails with Microsoft Office and IBM meetings. A powerful e-mail editor allows users to create
Lotus Notes and export customer and opportunity lists to standard templates and merge in account names, contacts,
Microsoft Excel for analysis. and more to create a personalized feel. Synchronize with
Microsoft Outlook and IBM Lotus Notes for easy access to
The SAP sales on-demand solution helps make sales consistent and current information.
representatives more productive, managers more effective,
and executives better equipped to make the right decisions The SAP marketing on-demand solution helps you deliver
with functionalities for the following: the right message to the right target at the right time to
• Opportunity management – Gain visibility into your increase the number and quality of leads, as follows:
opportunity pipeline to forecast accurately, improve team • Campaign management – Easy-to-use segmentation and
communications, and distribute leads to the appropriate campaign management functions enable distributed sales
sales representatives. Improve your win rate by tailoring and marketing users to design and run multichannel
sales-assistant functionality to your sales methodology to campaigns to support their sales activities. This enables a
provide real-time, step-by-step guidance and help standardize closed-loop campaign management process that allows
best practices across your organization. users to execute and track direct marketing campaigns
• Sales reporting and forecasting – Monitor and respond across multiple channels.
rapidly to key performance indicators (KPIs), improve • Lead management – Simple-to-use lead management
forecast accuracy, position your team to achieve revenue functions allow marketing and sales users to generate, qualify,
goals, and provide users with prebuilt dashboards for prioritize, assign, and follow up on leads to improve
reporting and analytics. processing times and increase conversion rates. This ties
• Pipeline performance management – Maintain sales in to the existing opportunity and account management
targets with integrated sales-quota planning functions and functions to provide a complete, integrated process.
analyze the actual sales pipeline against planned targets to
identify gaps. Simulate what-if scenarios and opportunity
changes for closing the gaps and immediately trigger any
necessary actions.
Road Map for CRM Solutions
Tools for Fast and Easy Administration Road Map for CRM Solutions
SAP CRM on-demand solutions deliver administration SAP has embarked on an astounding journey in its promise
functionality that is easy to use, simple to customize, and of an unrivaled, market-leading CRM application. SAP has
quick to roll out. Customers can tailor the solution online put in place an aggressive development plan and delivery
to meet user needs, including screens, views, field labels, and schedule in order to provide customers with new enhance-
pick lists. They can quickly add and authorize new users; create ments much faster and to incorporate customer feedback
and edit roles and control data visibility; reassign owners for much sooner than it would be possible with standard release
key areas such as accounts, opportunities, contacts, and cycles. The product road map is packed with new functional-
activities in response to organizational changes; and manage ities and product enhancements. (The details of all planned
other administrative tasks online. To get started faster, customer enhancements of CRM functions for each component are
and contact data from your SAP ERP application can be disclosed in the section titled “Detailed Solution Road Maps
brought in easily. for SAP CRM.”) SAP will migrate its CRM offering to its
unique hybrid model. SAP CRM 2006s will be the industry’s
SAP CRM on-demand solutions support multiple languages first hybrid on-demand and on-premise CRM application that
based on user preferences as well as multiple currencies across offers new industry-specific functionalities, full Web service
the same deployment. enabling, and an easy-to-use interface that is shared across
on-demand and on-premise deployment options.
SAP CRM on-demand solutions deliver the following
advantages: SAP CRM on-demand solutions will have new shipments
• Low TCO – Minimal on-site installation, no upgrades, and (“waves”) in short cycles. The first release of SAP CRM on-
no costly maintenance. Buy what you need and pay as you go. demand solutions – the SAP sales on-demand solution – was
• Rapid ROI – Fast implementation and improvements in released in February 2006. With wave two, now available to
user efficiency ensure quick returns on your investment. customers (as of May 2006), SAP delivered on its previously
• Improved customer satisfaction and retention – Timely, announced road map for its on-demand CRM solutions.
accurate customer data keeps your sales, marketing, and In wave two, SAP introduced the SAP marketing on-demand
service professionals well informed and your customers solution and enhanced the SAP sales on-demand solution that
happy. was released in wave one. The SAP marketing on-demand
• Confidence in the future – Seamlessly transition from solution includes functions for campaign management,
SAP CRM on-demand solutions to the industry-leading customer segmentation, and lead management, as well as
SAP CRM application as your needs evolve – without role maintenance and owner realignment. The SAP sales on-
disruption to your customer relationships, users, or selling demand solution enhancements of wave two include pipeline
process. performance management functions to better capture and
track sales opportunities, lead generation, sales execution, and
client engagement. With wave three, SAP will introduce an
SAP service on-demand solution, currently scheduled for
release in the third quarter of 2006. Future shipments will
continue with enhancements across marketing, sales, and
service, based on customer feedback.
Key elements of the strategy and road map for SAP CRM and account origination; public sector – grants management
on-demand solutions are the following: and social services; and pharmaceuticals – contract life-
• Support the complex requirements of medium and large cycle management
customers – with a simple solution • A new, intuitive UI in a known Web application style, easy
• Deliver a cost-effective and efficient technological platform: and clear navigation, consistent user experience across
enhance the platform to be more cost-effective and efficient on-demand and on-premise deployments, end-user
from a hosting standpoint to support many customers, personalization, flexible UI configuration tools, and the
while continuing to take care of the specific requirements ability to customize screen layout and fields on the fly
of large customers regarding complexity, compliance, and • Service-enabled CRM in the first fully Web services–enabled
control application for SAP software. This includes the first enter-
• Protect customer investments: take CRM on-demand prise services delivered, and a Web services tool set that
solutions to the next level by seamlessly integrating them empowers customers to create tailored services.
with SAP ERP, the business intelligence functionalities
of SAP NetWeaver, and other back-end applications Going forward, SAP software for CRM will remerge with
• Establish SAP CRM on-demand solutions as drivers of SAP Business Suite and combine the new user experience and
change and feedback for the on-premise product functionalities of SAP CRM 2006s with the full functionalities
of SAP CRM 2005 and all industry-specific functionalities.
SAP CRM 2006s represents the next generation of CRM for SAP. SAP will continue to innovate its CRM offering with customers’
With SAP CRM 2006s, organizations can choose the solution strategic business benefits in mind, enhancing critical CRM
and deployment option that best meets their needs, achieve functionalities across all interaction channels – enabling their
immediate business results, and grow strategically as business customer-centric ecosystem beyond enterprise boundaries.
needs evolve without disruption to user adoption or customer More functionalities will be added to improve support of
relationships. SAP CRM 2006s, to be delivered in two waves direct sales (SFA) and the Internet channel (e-commerce and
beginning this summer, will be a separate product and is not self-service), as well as indirect sales and service networks
included in SAP Business Suite. SAP CRM 2006s is targeted (channel management).
at new CRM customers, customers looking for specific best-
of-breed CRM functionalities, and customers in specific
industries. The majority of SAP customers for CRM software
that fall outside this target group will continue to use SAP
CRM 2005, which has been extremely well received and
achieved significant adoption as a comprehensive CRM
application and key element of SAP Business Suite. With SAP
CRM 2006s, you get the following:
• Leading front-office functionalities for pipeline perfor-
mance management, call centers, and service management
• Expanded industry functionalities for telecommunications –
order and contract management; financial services – leasing
DETAILED SOLUTION ROAD MAPS FOR SAP CRM
Marketing – Overview, Market Trends, and analyze, plan, develop, execute, and measure all marketing
Road Map activities. The application provides functionalities for marketing
About Enterprise Marketing Management resource management to increase efficiency and visibility across
Advances in technology have changed the way people all related aspects, segmentation and list management to
communicate and interact with others. These technological provide insights into customers and allow for better-targeted
advances have empowered the customer with information and activities, multichannel campaign execution to increase the
the means to control the customer-enterprise relationship. return on each marketing dollar spent, and marketing
The impact of traditional marketing channels in reaching analytics to allow marketers to make smarter, better decisions.
consumers has to be reevaluated. New technologies like on- And it provides software for lead management that is fully
demand television, antispam software, and regulations have integrated into the sales cycle to increase demand generation
empowered the end consumer with the ability to choose and the effectiveness of customer conversions. Here is an
what to expose themselves to. Likewise, in indirect sales overview:
environments, the power of retailers is increasing, requiring • Marketing resource management – Organizations can
organizations to plan and execute their promotion activities optimize the utilization of available marketing resources:
in a much more targeted manner. The tables have turned; budget, time, people, collaterals, campaigns, brands, and
today customers are empowered to initiate their relationships channels. The software allows managers to gain visibility
with enterprises. It is the customers’ choice to decide what, and control into the entire marketing process. Major
when, with whom, and how to interact with enterprises. functionalities include marketing planning, forecasting
and scenario planning, budgeting and cost management,
Within the enterprise, CEOs and CFOs are calling on marketers digital asset management, and marketing calendaring.
to be more accountable for their resources, expenditures, and • Segmentation and list management – Organizations
actions. Increasingly, marketers are seeking marketing solutions can manage customer and prospect lists, and data from
to help them gain full visibility and control over the marketing different sources to provide a single place to access the
processes, to optimize the marketing mix across multiple (and complete customer information. You can run on-the-fly
new) channels, and to increase ROI and efficiencies, closing segment analysis to discover insights and create accurate
the loop on all marketing activities. Successful marketing customer segments for maximum return of specific
organizations have started to adopt technologies to build an activities. Major functionalities include data importing and
integrated IT infrastructure to equip their marketers with tools exporting, data enhancements, data quality, list generation,
that will increase marketing speed and optimize resources. and segmentation.
More than ever, marketing solutions need to help marketers • Campaign management – Organizations can reach out
understand and anticipate customer needs and preferences, to target customers in order to accelerate demand and build
and leverage every customer interaction to build profitable long-term, profitable relationships. You can execute an
customer relationships. integrated multichannel campaign management solution
and have the ability to analyze, plan, execute, and measure
Current Solution Overview marketing activities through all inbound and outbound
SAP CRM increases resource efficiencies and empowers customer interaction channels. Major functionalities
organizations to acquire and develop long-term, profitable include campaign planning and development, targeting,
customer relationships, increasing the return on each marketing rule-based automation of multiwave campaigns, dialogue
activity. The closed-loop application enables marketers to marketing, online marketing, and inbound marketing.
• Lead management – Organizations can create greater enhanced marketing resource management software for
alignment between marketing and sales organizations to closed-loop enterprise processes, as well as the next genera-
effectively convert leads. Major functionalities include lead tion of trade promotion management software.
generation, lead qualification, automated rule-based lead
distribution, and lead conversion. Relationship Marketing
• Trade promotion management – Organizations can As marketers become sophisticated in their approach to
increase the effectiveness of their promotion activities through marketing, so do the solution requirements to provide high-
retailers, focusing their trade funds and expenditures on end, sophisticated campaign management and loyalty
the promotion activities with highest impact. The software marketing functions. These include the following:
enables better alignment of trade promotions with account • Advanced campaign management – The application
management, brand management, and consumer marketing addresses the specific needs of high-volume marketing
on the front end to better syndicate these different initiatives, environments where marketers deal with large number
as well as connectivity to related supply and settlement of customers, segments, and campaigns and orchestrate
processes on the back end to reduce costs for out of stocks multiple communication channels (both inbound and
and disputes. Major functionalities include multilevel outbound) to reach their target audiences with relevant
planning, support of sell-in and negotiations, validation marketing messages. Advanced analytics are embedded to
and settlement, and analytics. There will be further provide marketers with the sophisticated decision support
enhancements. intelligence required in such environments.
• Marketing analytics – Organizations can gain 360-degree • Real-time offer management – The application enables
insight on all aspects of their marketing activities against marketers to make the best marketing offers at the customer
plan and support to derive the right business decisions. The interaction point (Web, interaction center, e-mail, and direct
marketing analytics applications help you to convert mail) while maintaining and coordinating marketing offers
marketing data and reports into true insights that can be across all marketing channels. In the future, SAP CRM will
used to make intelligent business decisions. deliver the advanced personalization functions that this
capability will be built around. Real-time offer management
Solution Road Map will give marketers the framework to build and test offer
SAP plans the following in enterprise marketing: rules and policies and allow marketers to leverage advanced
• Become the leading enterprise marketing solution provider analytics to optimize the next-best offer recommendations
in the marketplace for the customers.
• Provide best-of-breed functionalities for marketing processes • Loyalty management – The application applies across
• Provide a marketing solution that is fully integrated with an multiple industries where loyalty programs are used to
easy-to-use, flexible UI build customer relationships and to promote specific
customer behaviors, increasing retention and share of
The road map for SAP CRM includes significant enhance- wallet. The software enables marketers to plan and execute
ments for marketing. Major focus areas include high-end closed-loop loyalty programs. These programs can promote
campaign management to address high-volume B2C environ- customer participation through points-reward programs
ments and loyalty management. In addition, SAP will deliver where certain amounts of points are earned for specific
customer behaviors. In turn, customers can redeem these
Sales – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map
points for specified rewards. End customers have access to SAP Marketing On-Demand Solution
self-service Web sites to check and manage their points- Marketing functions delivered with SAP CRM on-demand
reward accounts and to redeem points for rewards, or they solutions provide a new entry point for marketing organizations
may choose to access these actions via the organization’s to get started quickly on key business processes without the
call center. These points can also be accrued and redeemed dependencies of the IT organization. More importantly, these
through designated partner organizations. marketing functions provide a seamless transition path to the
integrated on-premise application without any disruption.
Enterprise Marketing Process Some key advantages include the following:
One key benefit to automation is the ability to provide enterprise- • Campaign management – Easy-to-use campaign manage-
level end-to-end business process automation. Many organiza- ment functions enable distributed sales and marketing users
tions are seeking an integrated solution to increase visibility to design and execute multichannel campaigns to support
into business processes and thus enable increased control of their sales activities. This enables a closed-loop campaign
their business as follows: management process that allows users to measure the
• Marketing resource management – Additional marketing effectiveness of the campaigns.
resource management enhancements are planned to round • Lead management – Simple-to-use lead management
out the application. This includes user-guidance functions functions allow marketing and sales users to generate,
to help occasional users, enhanced integration of project prioritize, assign, and follow up on leads. This ties into the
management functions, and enhanced functions for existing opportunity and account management functions
purchasing, product definition, and insights. Enhanced to provide a complete, integrated process.
functionalities for marketing development funds will
allow marketers to plan and manage all marketing funds. Sales – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map
Additionally, new integrated digital asset management About Sales
functionalities will allow marketers to sell digital asset Many organizations find today’s competitive landscape filled
products through the e-commerce software in SAP CRM. with new challenges – market consolidation, unprecedented
• Trade promotion management – Additional trade pricing pressure, and unforgiving shareholder expectations.
promotion management enhancements are planned to These factors have driven a shift in the priorities of many
round out the application. Enhanced trade funds manage- executives to place revenue growth above cost control in order
ment (TFM) software will give marketers increased visibility to maintain a competitive edge. Supporting growth remains
to manage all trade funds and their spending. TFM software a top priority for CIOs in 2006. Investment in sales automation
will be integrated with trade promotion planning and account is on the rise, a trend that sales executives welcome, considering
planning software to forecast and set up accruals. Integration that the individual and shared success of the entire sales team
to claims management software will allow easier access to is measured every 90 days.
external forecasting tools and financial data. Enhanced trade
claims software will enable you to validate and settle claims Effective sales organizations do more than just meet revenue
and deductions. New functions to enable indirect businesses goals; they find new ways to achieve their goals while ensuring
will allow marketers to manage promotion planning to that sales professionals remain focused on activities that grow
indirect customers and handle financial executions of these profitable relationships. They focus on the right activities –
indirect promotions. identifying which activities move opportunities through the
sales cycle and which do not. They focus their resources • Accounts and contacts – Organizations can ensure that
where they can be most effective – aligning the sales force sales professionals remain focused on activities that develop
to minimize drive time and maximize face time with their loyal and profitable customer relationships. You get complete
most valuable customers. They focus on the right accounts – visibility into all sales activities to foster collaboration and
considering the value of each account and the performance of team efficiency. Major functionalities include visit planning;
each sales professional when assigning accounts and defining account profiling; interaction tracking; relationship manage-
territories. ment; and bidirectional synchronization of e-mail, contacts,
calendar, and tasks with leading groupware solutions.
Current Solution Overview • Opportunity management – Organizations can manage
SAP CRM prepares the sales force to be efficient with time the sales cycle more effectively and predictably – at a lower
and effective in action, provides the knowledge needed to cost of sales. You get full visibility into the opportunity
turn insight into action, and maintains focus on productive pipeline, improve team communication, and route leads
activity to acquire, grow, and retain profitable relationships. to the best-fit sales representative. Major functionalities
The application empowers sales professionals with the tools include opportunity planning, team selling, influence
and information needed to plan and analyze sales execution modeling, opportunity hierarchies, and sales process and
throughout the entire sales cycle while helping organizations selling methodologies.
find new ways to reduce the sales cycle and uncover new areas • Quotation and order management – Organizations can
of revenue potential. It also supports new methods for generate accurate quotes, place orders, confirm real-time
improving sales productivity. Here is an overview: product availability, and track order status. You can integrate
• Sales planning and forecasting – Organizations can order information with the supply chain for planning and
forecast accurately, manage budgets and opportunities, and fulfillment. Major functionalities include inquiry tracking,
allocate resources efficiently. You can proactively handle order capture, configuration, order status tracking, product
trends, shortfalls, and opportunities; plan and forecast authorization and restriction, billing, and fulfillment
across all sales channels; and optimize supply chain planning process synchronization.
and execution. Major functionalities include strategic • Pricing and contracts – Organizations can develop
planning, rolling forecast, planning-cycle monitoring, and manage long-term customer contracts, incorporate
and account planning. customer agreements into ongoing customer processes, and
• Territory management – Organizations can optimize monitor the sales process from inquiry to completion.
account coverage with clear territory definition and complete Major functionalities include management of value- and
visibility into team distribution. Precise monitoring of your quantity-based contracts, sales agreements, collaborative
sales force ensures that you are prepared to recognize and contract negotiation, release order handling, cancellation
respond to constantly shifting market demand and that processing, credit management and credit check, promo-
you can place the right resources in the right locations to tional pricing, and customer-specific pricing.
optimize team performance. Major functionalities include • Incentive and commission management – Organizations
market segmentation, territory assignment and scheduling, can develop, implement, and manage compensation plans
territory and organizational mapping, and rule-based with improved visibility into team performance. Sales
synchronization of data with mobile devices. professionals can track their current performance and
evaluate potential compensation for opportunities in Solution Road Map

the pipeline. Major functionalities include incentive plan SAP plans to deliver business value to the entire customer
modeling, processing of individual plan exceptions, setting sales organization by doing the following:
target agreements, posting and settlement activities, • Making every sales interaction productive
managing adjustments, commission simulation, and • Focusing on functionality that is valuable, innovative, and
commission status management. customer inspired
• Time and travel – Organizations can keep the sales force • Collaborating with partners to extend the solution beyond
focused on tracking opportunities, not expenses. You can our core strengths
eliminate paper-based processes, enforce travel policy
compliance, and monitor and control costs associated In the road map for the sales software in SAP CRM, the major
with sales professionals’ activities. Major functionalities focus areas include utilization of analytics to ensure that sales
include time tracking, expense reporting (including receipt professionals always remain focused on productive activity to
itemization, mileage, and deductions) and process integration acquire, grow, and retain profitable relationships; continued
to associate cost assignment to sales activities. delivery against our ongoing commitment to usability with a
• Sales analytics – Organizations can monitor and respond renewed focus on simplification of existing functions over
in real time. You can ensure forecast accuracy, remain below development of new features; support for comprehensive
budget, optimize resource alignment, and position your team industry-specific business scenarios for service providers; and
to achieve revenue goals. You can enable your sales force to more extensive collaboration with the SAP partner ecosystem to
address trends, measure customer retention, monitor revenue deliver smart enhancements through independent software
shortfalls, and assess future opportunities. The software vendors (ISVs).
offers a variety of out-of-the-box analytical performance
measurement tools, including sales performance analysis, Prioritize Sales Activity Based on Analytics
sales pipeline analysis, competitive win-loss analysis, sales The issue with traditional reporting has always been that results
funnel analysis, activity analysis, opportunity planning are often analyzed long after the opportunity to influence the
analysis, and opportunity analysis. outcome has disappeared. Also, providing visibility and access
to sales metrics does not always guarantee that the information
In the office or on the road, SAP CRM ensures that your can or will be used to influence decisions. The true value of
mobile team always remains accessible with complete support analytics is realized when information is placed in context and
across all access modes – connected (online), mobile (offline), delivered to the right person at the right time to influence
and wireless. Regardless of device preference (laptop, handheld, decisions and drive positive results. The application will
tablet PC, smartphone, or BlackBerry device) or access mode, include these improvements:
bidirectional synchronization of data between all mobile • Pipeline performance management – A new and highly
devices and the enterprise ensures that the entire team has interactive analytic application is designed to help sales
reliable and timely visibility to the most accurate information managers and sales representatives plan quotas and manage
to quickly respond to customer needs. pipeline activity to achieve targets. Presenting opportunity
data in context with pipeline analytics allows easy identifica-
tion of gaps and critical opportunities, resolving issues before it
is too late. Sales managers can prioritize, reassign, or modify
opportunities to drive immediate action and help sales Focus on Simplification

representatives maintain focus on the right deals. Simulation Sales professionals demand technology that is simple to use,
functions provide the ability to run what-if scenarios and saves time and energy, and above all helps them perform
visualize the outcome without affecting the underlying data. better than they could without it. The frustration caused by
The pipeline performance management function is being complexity and the appeal of a simple UI has contributed to
delivered in the second wave of the SAP sales on-demand the recent surge in the SaaS market for SFA. For SAP CRM,
solution to generate immediate feedback from the sales user the unification of multiple UIs into one consistent UI is a
community; refinements will be made based on their input major step toward simplicity. Additional steps can and will
and a revised version will then be delivered with the sales be taken to ensure an ongoing commitment to maintain
software in SAP CRM. simplicity, increase value, and drive positive change in user
• Collaborative opportunity review – Many sales organi- adoption as follows:
zations use opportunity and activity reviews to gain greater • Best-of-breed SFA – Leveraging the best practices of SAP’s
visibility and transparency into the daily activity of sales most valued community, our customers, helps us drive new
teams. The goal is to prioritize and focus the activity of levels of coinnovation within SAP CRM. Over time, we have
your sale force on deals that have the greatest probability of consistently found that the most innovative and valuable
contributing to the achievement of sales objectives. These improvements come from the practical, real-world experi-
reviews are highly collaborative and require much preparation ence of our customers. Keeping close to our customers helps
by both parties to ensure that they remain effective. To to ensure that SAP delivers true business value that addresses
support this process, SAP plans to deliver analytical tools the needs of selling organizations. Based on this premise,
that will automatically filter relevant opportunity data and in close cooperation with a customer, SAP will join forces
activity data based on a selected time frame and compile this to deliver best-of-breed refinement to the sales software in
information into predefined templates. These tools should SAP CRM through a broad range of enhancements that
facilitate the review process and eliminate the preparation support the management of accounts, contacts, activities,
time required by both sales managers and sales representa- opportunities, and quotations.
tives, allowing for a more effective use of time. • Navigation and process flow – Effective UI design goes
• Customer value-driven targeting – Understanding far beyond the “look and feel” of the screen layout. Each
who your most valuable and least valuable customers are business scenario and all associated process steps must be
dramatically improves your ability to drive profitable carefully evaluated against the proposed design to create
growth. Assigning a customer value score to each account a logical flow through the application that minimizes the
based on revenue, profitability, or some other performance number of mouse clicks, presents only the information
metric is a good first step for most organizations, but it is necessary to perform the task at hand, and does so in a way
not enough. If you leverage this customer rating to auto- that is uncluttered and easily understood by the average
matically establish the priority for a group of opportunities user. SAP will perform a deep analysis of all existing screens,
or prioritize a series of sales tasks, you can turn interesting supported business processes, and tasks commonly performed
data into useful information that impacts decisions and by the user role to ensure that the application remains simple
drives action. SAP plans to deliver this functionality to while supporting complex business scenarios. We will deliver
further enable sales organizations to focus the sales force powerful personalization functionalities to allow end users
on productive activity and profitable customers. the flexibility to personalize the screens. Out of the box, the
screens will only expose the minimum fields required by the
majority of our customers.
• Simplify complex concepts through visualization – includes the option of reevaluating past decisions to build
Many complex concepts can be greatly simplified when organically rather than deliver integration with best-of-breed
presented graphically. A good example of where we have solutions offered by our partner ecosystem as follows:
already applied this concept is the buying center – the • Price optimization – In late 2005 SAP and Vendavo
mapping and maintenance of relationships is a fairly complex entered into a strategic partnership to deliver a composite
process that is difficult to represent in a table, but easily application that empowers sales teams to negotiate more
visualized when it is depicted graphically. Graphics tools profitable contracts and quotes, provides pricing and
with drag-and-drop functionalities greatly simplify the guidance across the organization, and delivers real-time
definition and maintenance of complex structures and pricing insights to decision makers. This is now resold by
relationships, and there are many opportunities where this SAP as the SAP Price and Margin Management application
can be applied to the sales solution. by Vendavo. Currently the SAP Price and Margin Manage-
• Power to the business user – Sales managers should not ment application is available as a certified integration and is
need to submit an IT ticket every time they need to make powered by the SAP NetWeaver platform. SAP plans to
territory adjustments. SAP plans to provide new screens that extend this beyond the current technical integration with
enable a business user to cover some common maintenance deeper business process integration to incorporate price
tasks, such as territory management. management, enforcement, and optimization throughout
• Expose sales processes through familiar applications – the sales process to maximize profitability through improved
In addition to simplifying the UI of SAP CRM, an alternative margin management.
path to rapidly accelerating adoption is the practice of • Sales document management – The creation and manage-
embedding business processes and transactional data within ment of sales documents, such as proposals, presentations,
applications that users are already comfortable with and use or requests for proposal (RFPs), is a necessary and time-
daily. SAP fully embraces this concept and is working closely consuming aspect of daily life for most sales professionals.
with partners like Microsoft and Adobe to extend and enable Providing tools that enable sales professionals to reduce the
casual and non-CRM user participation in the sales process; time spent producing such documents greatly improves
for example, by using SAP Interactive Forms software by overall sales efficiency. In close collaboration with SAP partner
Adobe for offline quote generation and approval and to Pragmatech, SAP plans to deliver an out-of-the-box integra-
produce offline customer fact sheets. tion that enables users to choose from a series of predefined
document templates (Microsoft Word or PowerPoint),
Extend Value: Coinnovation with the SAP Partner which are automatically populated and updated based on
Ecosystem contextual information derived from CRM data in the
In alignment with our corporate strategy to expand the SAP opportunity, quotation, or account profile.
software portfolio by fostering coinnovation across the SAP
partner network to deliver specialized solutions and flexible Stand-Alone CRM with Open Integration to Third-Party
processes, and in cases where development of advanced Systems
functionalities would require deep domain expertise, it makes Decoupling SAP CRM order-capture functionalities from the
more sense to partner than to build organically. Therefore, we SAP ERP and SAP Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM)
plan to extend current functionality through ISV solutions. applications extends the appeal of our CRM application to
This represents a significant shift in our historical position and non-SAP customers. Delivering a stand-alone application with
open interfaces provides options for peaceful coexistence and • Quotation management (wave three) – Detailed quoting
process collaboration with non-SAP back-office solutions, functions will enable sales reps to create, modify, and manage
particularly in industries where deep integration to supply chain customer quotations from initial proposal through negotia-
planning, order management, and fulfillment processes is not tion and to opportunity closure. The ability to generate
necessary. quotations is both a logical and compelling extension of the
SAP sales on-demand solution.
SAP Sales On-Demand Solution • Products (wave three) – Simple-to-use tools will enable
In early 2006 SAP delivered the first release of SAP CRM you to create, define, and manage products. This will result
on-demand solutions (wave one) featuring key functionality in compelling offers that maximize revenue potential
designed to meet the immediate core needs of the sales throughout the sales cycle, particularly for quotation and
organization. Additional functionality will be added in the opportunity management.
next releases (waves) as follows:
• Opportunity management, account and contract Service – Overview, Market Trends, and
management, and activity management (wave one) – Road Map
The SAP sales on-demand solution delivers core SFA About Service
functionality, for example, for opportunity and pipeline Increasing customer demands and advances in enterprise
management, to enable sales professionals to manage software technologies are driving a fundamental change in
opportunities and sales managers to have greater visibility the ways that organizations interact with their customers.
into the sales pipeline. Accounts and contacts can be This change is the adoption of integrated, end-to-end service
mapped into a consistent and useful repository of customer processes with enterprise software to drive customer loyalty
information, calendar information, and task management and service profitability. Customers will no longer tolerate
to improve personal productivity and provide a window yesterday’s disconnected service processes that entail, for
into customer interactions. Finally, no selling solution example, long wait times to have products serviced because
would be complete without the ability to analyze sales the depot repair department was not notified of the returned
performance and customer information with integrated component that was processed through the customer returns
analytical tools. department. Customers have run out of patience for multiple
• Pipeline performance management (wave two) – visits made by a field services technician because the correct
Presenting opportunity data in context with pipeline analytics service parts were not made available. These disconnected
allows gaps and critical opportunities to be identified easily, processes impact not only customer loyalty, but also service
resolving issues before it is too late. Sales managers can cost and profitability. Another way to impact service profit-
prioritize, reassign, or modify opportunities to drive immedi- ability is through differentiated levels of service based on
ate action and help sales representatives maintain focus customer loyalty, past interaction history, and service profile.
on the right deals. Increased visibility to pipeline data And service costs can be reduced by deploying self-service to
helps ensure that everyone remains focused on effectively support low-margin customers.
managing quota attainment in order to consistently meet
or exceed rising revenue growth and sales performance
objectives. Simulation functions provide the ability to
run what-if scenarios and visualize the outcome without
affecting the underlying data.
Service – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map
Successful service organizations have recognized this funda- • In-house repair and depot repair – You can conduct
mental change and have started to adopt technologies to build the entire in-house repair process, from creating the return
an integrated IT infrastructure that enables end-to-end service material authorization (RMA) to billing and shipping
processes that will allow service organizations to be successful repaired products back to customers, using tight integration
in this new environment. Service organizations need a tool to between CRM, logistics, and financial management. Major
provide integrated, end-to-end service to ensure top-quality processes supported include inventory management, in-
service for customer loyalty while at the same time driving house repair quotation, in-house repair processing, loaner
profitability through their service channels. management, quality management integration, logistics
and financial integration, and in-house repair analytics.
Current Solution Overview • Case management – Organizations can consolidate and
The service functionalities of SAP CRM maximize service manage diverse information in a central repository and track
profitability by keeping profitable customers loyal, decreasing and analyze this information. Major processes supported
costs through greater service efficiency, and increasing service include case processing, change request management,
revenue. Organizations can provide their service professionals service confirmation processing, activity processing, and
with the information and tools they need to effectively and case management analytics.
profitably plan, execute, and analyze service processes. Here is • Installed-base management – You can track customers’
an overview: installed base of products to provide quick and effective
• Service order management – Organizations can handle service of the products as well as predict the behavior of the
a complete range of processes relevant to the performance product in their existing operational environment. Major
of services, starting with the processing of a service order processes supported include installed-base processing,
quote and the processing of the actual service order, right component hierarchy, object fact sheet, and back-end
through to billing and various analyses. Major processes integration for bidirectional equipment exchange between
supported include service order quotations, service employee SAP CRM and SAP ERP.
resource planning, service confirmation processing, and • Warranty management – Organizations can manage the
logistics and financial integration processes. entire warranty and claims process – from RMA to receipt
• Service contract management – You can perform and inspection. Major processes supported include customer
automatic checks of customers’ entitlements to service, and vendor warranty, product and warranty registration,
track performance against service level agreements, and warranty determination, and warranty claim processing.
drive contract renewals to alert service agents when a • Resource planning – Your service organizations can
customer’s contract is about to expire. Major processes organize, plan, and dispatch service resources to meet
supported include service contract quotation processing, changing service demands in the most effective way. Major
usage-based contract management, service level manage- processes supported include service resource planning,
ment, and service contract analytics. assignment management, absences and attendance mainte-
• Complaints and returns management – Organizations nance, appointment scheduling, and resource planning
can perform the entire complaints process, from recording analytics.
a complaint, analyzing it, processing it, through to the
statistical evaluation of it. Major processes supported All of the above is delivered to respective service roles, enabling
include complaints processing, returns processing, recall service managers, service representatives, and service employees
management, and complaints and returns analytics. to access relevant content and functions.
Solution Road Map support for their SAP software. Existing application manage-
SAP plans the following regarding service: ment functionality covers SAP software–related incident
• Become the leading service solution provider management, problem management, and change manage-
• Enable complete, consistent service operations across all ment, and includes an interface to the SAP Active Global
contact channels – direct, interaction center, e-mail, Web, Support organization to facilitate the support process. SAP
and so on. Solution Manager will be integrated into the CRM-based
• Provide integrated end-to-end service functionalities, with enhanced IT service and asset management solution.
front-end visibility into back-end operations
• Tie service applications with marketing applications and Case Management
sales applications, for personalized offerings of services and Organizations need the ability to consolidate all information
products about a particular case into one location for faster case
processing, reduced storage requirements, and enhanced
In the road map for service software in SAP CRM, the major security. Case management software will provide enhancements
focus areas will be enhanced IT service and asset management, in case content and structure. This applies to organizations
case management, channel service, resource planning, and that capture significant amounts of data and organize it in a
analytics. We are also delivering service functionality with logical fashion for quick retrieval and fast processing. Case
SAP CRM on-demand solutions. content and structure functionality will enable you to add
different kinds of CRM business objects and relevant data to
Enhanced IT Service and Asset Management a case and to link related cases by building a hierarchical case
As businesses increasingly rely on their IT infrastructure, it is structure. It will allow you to use a partner determination
vital that they have the capability to update and support their procedure (similar to the linking of other CRM business
IT assets as follows: objects) and provide other enhancements. With enhanced
• IT service and asset management – IT service and asset case management and a better UI, you can improve customer
management applies to organizations that want to improve satisfaction by enabling accurate and efficient case processing.
their IT-related service management of, for example, service
levels and controlling costs, and to improve their IT-related Channel Service (Warranty Claim Management)
asset management of, for example, tracking and optimizing Warranty and claims management applies in industries with
resources at every stage of the asset life cycle. Existing IT help- serviceable products where manufacturers engage in after-
desk functionality enables service agents to resolve IT issues market services and want to enable end-to-end processes to
through built-in multilevel classification structures and support their service partners in delivery of service to end
knowledge base access. The enhanced IT service and asset customers. Functions for warranty and claims management
management functionality provides improvements for IT enable partners to easily and quickly check warranty status
infrastructure library (ITIL)-based processes, including before performing service and streamline warranty registration
incident management, problem management, and change and product returns. Partners can submit and manage
management (network server dependencies, for example). warranty claims. Partners can validate and manage service
• SAP Solution Manager integration – Integration with entitlements for a customer or asset.
the SAP Solution Manager application management
solution applies to SAP customers who value proactive
Service – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map
Resource Planning External Service Provider Process Improvements

Organizations need the ability to do more with less by making Many service organizations are contracting with multiple
the most out of their limited resources. At the same time, they external service providers to perform certain services, making
need to automate the resource planning process to reduce the it especially important to have a reliable, cost-effective method
effort involved in this task, as well as ensure optimal resource to process service requests with those external providers.
plans. New resource planning functionality will permit the
seamless integration of external labor or third-party service External service provider service request processing
provider resources with company employees to resolve service applies to service organizations that want a reliable, cost-
issues. The capacity planning function will allow a service effective method to issue service assignments and process
representative to flexibly offer appointment options while invoices with external service providers. Existing functionality
balancing workload and business rules. The enhanced UI will for external service provider service request processing
provide graphical tools so you can efficiently manage resource includes manual service assignment, as well as manual data
schedules while meeting contractual commitments. entry of invoice data. The new functionalities will use SAP
Interactive Forms to e-mail the service assignment to external
Analytics service providers, replacing error-prone and time-consuming
Organizations need a way to facilitate smooth service opera- manual processes.
tions on a daily basis through tactical analytics as well as take
a long-term view of their service processes through strategic SAP Service On-Demand Solution
analytics as follows: The SAP service on-demand solution will provide a new entry
• Tactical analytics – Tactical analytics apply to organizations point for service organizations to get up to speed quickly on
that need to ensure smooth service operations on a daily key business processes with fewer dependencies on the IT
basis. Functionality exists for service order analytics, service organization. The SAP service on-demand solution will also
contract analytics, and complaints and returns analytics. provide a seamless migration path to an integrated on-premise
Functionality enhancements for tactical analytics focus on solution as follows:
short-term resource planning, and include forecasting and • Customer service and help desk – Easy-to-use customer
planning of operational demand (workload) and supply service and help-desk functions will enable service users to
(resources). provide fast, accurate answers to customer inquiries. From a
• Strategic analytics – Strategic analytics apply to organiza- single desktop solution, service agents will be able to easily
tions that want to improve the profitability of their service research and diagnose problems.
operations by taking a long-term view. Functionality exists • Service ticket management – Simple-to-use service ticket
for analytics covering profitability by customer, product, and management functions will allow agents to process customer
territory. Enhancements to strategic analytics functionalities service issues and complaints quickly.
focus on long-term resource planning and include the • Rule-based distribution and escalation of service
forecasting of simulated staffing against organizational goals tickets – Rule-based distribution and escalation of service
and service KPIs. An additional enhancement is the ability to tickets will enable routing of service tickets to the appropriate
perform simulation of operational staffing and configuration resource automatically, based on predefined business rules.
to meet demands, and vice versa.
• Service agent role, service manager role – Service Current Solution Overview
managers will be able to monitor service performance and SAP CRM provides a strategic delivery channel for service,
operations, analyze service processes, and coordinate service sales, and marketing efforts across all contact channels to
teams. Service representatives will be able to respond to maximize customer loyalty, reduce costs, and boost revenue.
customer needs quickly. It includes interaction center software that enables agents to
seamlessly handle inbound or outbound transactions, all on a
Interaction Center – Overview, Market Trends, single business platform that unites the front and back office.
and Road Map SAP CRM also provides managers with access to all SAP or
About Interaction Centers third-party administration, maintenance, and reporting
The advancement of interaction center technology is the analytics software to ensure that the interaction center can
catalyst to improvements in the ways that organizations operate efficiently, with quantitative data for more informed
interact with their customers. Customers will no longer decision making and optimized staffing levels. Here is an
tolerate yesterday’s call center environment, with their overview:
limited choice of interaction channels, long hold times, and • Telemarketing – Organizations can execute marketing
inconsistent responses. With today’s state-of-the-art interaction efforts through all inbound and outbound interaction
centers, organizations can prepare themselves to better respond channels, building profitable long-term customer relation-
to inquiries and proactively reach out to customers. In addition ships and increase the relevancy of marketing to prospects.
to meeting increasing customer expectations, today’s interaction Major processes supported include call list processing and
centers also need to address the call to tighten budgets and outbound dialing integration, lead generation and qualifi-
even to generate revenue from an organization traditionally cation, and personalization.
seen as a cost center. With new interaction center technology • Telesales – Organizations can increase sales volumes by
available on the market today, organizations can offer customers giving agents the tools they need to drive more qualified
their choice of contact channels, reduce their time on hold leads into the pipeline, target existing customers with cross-
through superior call routing, and ensure consistent responses sell and up-sell opportunities, and process orders. Major
to queries. Organizations can also deploy shared service centers processes supported include display of interaction history,
organization-wide for their HR and IT help desks. interactive scripting, activity management, opportunity
management, and quotation and order management.
Successful organizations have recognized these trends and are • Customer service – Organizations can provide agents with
repositioning their interaction center from a cost center to a all the information they need to resolve customer service
key contributor of strategic value to the organization. Today’s issues without transferring them to other departments.
best-run interaction centers enable agents to quickly and Agents can easily research and diagnose problems using the
effectively address customer issues as well as expedite sales knowledge repository. Major processes supported include
through the interaction center. Organizations have realized service order and ticket management, multilevel categoriza-
that interaction center management is important as well, so tion, contract and entitlement management, service level
they require a way to easily administer and maintain their management, escalation management, complaint manage-
interaction center, as well as provide analytics for smooth ment, and knowledge search.
interaction center operations. In today’s environment,
interaction center solutions must make every interaction count.
Interaction Center – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map
• Interaction center management – Organizations can multichannel integration and intent-driven interaction
effectively administer their interaction centers. Alerts and design for intelligent interaction processing. In addition, we
messages notify agents of special information and exceptions; are making distinct advancements in enhanced B2C and
scripts systematically guide agents through transactions. telecommunications industry-specific functionality.
Major processes supported include solution search, auto-
suggest of solutions, alert management, scripting, rule Intelligent Interaction Processing
modeling, and support for multichannel interactions. For Business demands that organizations do more with less. This
interaction center analytics, the software captures relevant fact, added to increasing customer expectations, makes it more
interaction center data and provides advanced reporting vital than ever to optimize interaction processing. Consider
tools to monitor and measure performance. the following:
• Enhanced multichannel integration – Enhanced multi-
SAP CRM gives organizations the flexibility to deploy an channel integration applies to organizations with demanding
interaction center using a configurable Web-based agent customer expectations and situations where the interaction
desktop. Organizations can deploy SAP CRM on a variety center is tightly integrated with the rest of the organization.
of communication management systems to leverage investment The software currently provides multichannel integration
in communication infrastructure. In addition to the option with e-mail response management system (ERMS) pull
to fully integrate the interaction center into cross-system end- functionality, where agents can select which e-mail they
to-end processes, the interaction center can be deployed as a want to process from a group in-box. In the future, it will
stand-alone offering, decoupled from other SAP solutions. support enhanced multichannel integration that will
combine ERMS functionality with the possibility to push
Solution Road Map and screen-pop e-mails to the agents. It will also support
SAP plans the following regarding interaction centers: enhanced multichannel integration that includes computer
• Become the default choice for interaction center function- telephony integration enhancements, such as presence
ality within the SAP software installed base information for transfers, to show the availability of the
• Expand beyond the SAP software installed base with a intended recipient to receive the transfer, similar to the
stand-alone offering presence icons of instant messaging. Moreover, there will
• Show real, quantifiable benefits by enabling integration of be functionality enhancements to send dual-tone multi-
the interaction center with the rest of the organization frequency tones to communication management systems
• Provide a strategic delivery channel for service, sales, and and to review and change contact-attached data from
marketing efforts across all contact channels within the interaction center Web client UI.
• Intent-driven interaction design – Intent-driven
In the road map for the interaction center software in SAP interaction design applies to organizations that want to
CRM, the major focus areas are interaction center Web client ensure that interactions are processed according to corpo-
tools for quick configurability and enhanced interaction center rate standards. Functionality will include alerts, based on
management; analytics to complete the breadth of the flexible conditions, and the rule modeler, which provides
software’s administrative functionalities; and enhanced
a routing environment for interactions based on predeter- E-Commerce – Overview, Market Trends, and
mined business rules. The new intent-driven interaction Road Map
design will extend that functionality to include rule-driven About E-Commerce
alerts based on business-critical events. Users will have More and more people and organizations are going online
flexibility in defining business-critical events. to purchase goods and services: e-commerce had double-digit
growth in recent years and that growth is expected to accelerate
Advanced Administration Capabilities in coming years. This is not a surprise in an electronically
Organizations need a way to quickly set up their interaction enabled world where consumers and businesses are eager to
center operations and to make changes to enable their take advantage of the convenience and reliability available via
ongoing marketing, sales, and service processes as follows: the online channel. With technological advances, customers
• Interaction center Web client tools – Interaction center have access to more capabilities over the Web. An online
Web client tools apply in interaction center environments presence is no longer a “nice to have” – it is a critical part of
where the application and its UI need to be quickly config- business.
ured. The new tools will include a UI design tool to position
fields on the UI as well as wizards to define navigation and To meet customers’ expectations, it is important for organiza-
events. Custom fields will be available to the UI design tool. tions to integrate their e-commerce strategy into their overall
• Enhanced interaction center management and analytics customer strategy. This means supporting integrated processes
– Enhanced interaction center management and analytics that let customers choose the channel that best fits their needs
functionality will provide reports that blend business and while ensuring a consistent, personalized experience – whether
communication information, to clearly differentiate time they prefer to help themselves or want a customer service
differences between different types of customer requests. representative to help them. Organizations can leverage self-
Also, you will be able to retrieve contact handling times from service to drive profitability through differentiated levels of
a communication management system or log them by an service. Organizations also need to provide their customers
interaction center Web client independent of this integration. with a secure experience and reliable commitments tied to their
In addition, enhanced interaction center management and back-office and fulfillment systems. This integrated approach
analytics functionality will enable real-time monitoring, enables organizations to increase customer satisfaction and
including consolidated monitoring for landscapes where trust – and drive more business. To do e-commerce right,
multiple communication management systems are used. organizations need to tie it into their traditional channels like
the call center, direct sales team, or partner channel, and they
Enhanced B2C Capabilities need to make sure they can deliver the product as promised.
Enhanced B2C capabilities apply to the unique requirements
of B2C organizations. The existing software provides function- Current Solution Overview
ality for quotation and order management, availability check, SAP CRM has e-commerce functionalities that enable
pricing, payment card processing, and other basic B2C processes. organizations to turn the Internet into a profitable sales and
The enhanced B2C software will provide businesses with interaction channel for both business customers and consumers.
improvements to account search and address validation It supports complete e-commerce processes – from presales to
functionality. You will be able to create custom index searches. sales to postsales support. With SAP CRM, you can empower
And you will be able to mix B2C and B2B type searches and each customer with a personalized Web experience and
account representations. convenient self-service functions. At the same time, the
E-Commerce – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map
software’s fully integrated Web channel helps organizations Solution Road Map
strengthen sales and service operations as it reduces transaction SAP plans the following regarding e-commerce:
costs and the volume of customer service calls. • Remain the undisputed choice for B2B e-commerce in
the SAP software installed base
The e-commerce software in SAP CRM is not just for selling – • Focus on delivering market-leading B2C e-commerce and
it supports the full breadth of a CRM solution providing self- self-service solutions
service functionality across marketing, selling, and service, as • Provide an e-channel solution that is fully integrated with
well as analytics from a Web perspective. Here is an overview: an organization’s customer strategy
• E-marketing – Organizations can drive customer loyalty • Focus on ease of site management for business users
and demand generation via the Internet. Major processes
supported include catalog management, creation and In the road map for e-commerce software in SAP CRM, the
targeting of content to customers, personalized e-mail and major focus areas are delivery of best-of-breed B2C functional-
Web marketing campaigns, and store locator activities. ities to extend our self-service offering, in order to further
• E-selling – Organizations can run their complete sales integrate our online sales and service solution, and delivery
process on the Internet. Major processes supported include of platform enhancements to ensure scalability and flexibility
online quoting and ordering of products, shopping basket within high-volume B2C environments. In addition, we are
management, customer pricing and contracts, configuration making compelling advancements in terms of site manage-
tools for customers, Web auctions, and collaborative selling ment tools for business users and enhanced support for rich
across organizational boundaries. branding.
• E-service – Organizations can empower customers with
intuitive self-service, problem resolution, and the ability to Best-of-Breed B2C Solution
initiate service processes. Major processes supported include Because consumers are increasingly savvy, they demand a
customer access to FAQs and solution search; immediate higher level of service, and if they don’t get it, they will switch
assistance via chat, e-mail, and call-back requests; creation to a competitor. In this environment, it is especially important
and management of service requests; online access to for organizations to tailor their e-commerce offering to attract
installed base and warranty information; and creation and and retain consumers within their online channel. Consider
management of complaints and returns. the following:
• E-analytics – Organizations can analyze purchasing activity • Enhanced personalization: guided selling and service –
and sales figures across selling channels as well as optimize Personalization applies in environments where vendors have
their Web shop and online content and better drive future a varied product mix they are targeting at a diverse customer
marketing activities. Organizations can also get a full picture base. E-commerce software in SAP CRM enables organiza-
of customer shopping patterns and conversion rates through tions to personalize their customers’ Web experiences
integration of click-stream information and standard sales through personalized product recommendations, best seller
reporting. lists, cross-selling and up-selling suggestions, and so on.
Organizations can drive personalization based on factors such
as a customer’s past orders or buying preferences. Going
forward, we plan to deliver enhanced functionalities to
manage real-time personalization across CRM, not just sell product packages in the Web shop. Packages will include
within the Web channel. Enhanced personalization will both products and service contracts and support both
enable organizations to build and test personalization rules recurring and one-time charges. Organizations will be able
and policies. Organizations will be able to drive personalization to leverage a seamless integration to contract creation and
based on past interactions, personal preferences, and click- follow-up processes as well as improved management of
stream information. Enhanced personalization functions contracts, services, and subscriptions.
will enable them to use guided selling and service procedures.
Organizations will also get advanced analytics functions to Extend Self-Service Solution
optimize next-best offer recommendations for customers. Customers are interested in self-service when they believe
• Loyalty management – Loyalty management applies in that doing the task themselves will save them time or money,
retailing, credit card, travel, and hospitality business environ- therefore organizations need to deliver those savings to keep
ments where organizations want to offer consumer incentives them coming back as follows:
that keep customers from switching to a competing vendor. • CRM-based bill presentment and payment – Payment
Going forward, marketing software of SAP CRM will enable processing applies in e-commerce environments where
vendor-side loyalty management processes to plan and consumers want to execute purchases immediately. Today
execute closed-loop loyalty programs. These programs will the e-commerce software in SAP CRM provides customers
promote customer participation through points-reward with online access to account status including contracts,
programs where certain amounts of points are earned for a invoices, rebates, and billing status. Customers can initiate
specific customer behavior. In turn, customers can redeem online payments of invoices via bank transfers and credit
these points for specified rewards. Within e-commerce card payments and can get a complete account history
software of SAP CRM, we plan to provide functionalities for including open balances, credits, and payment history.
customers to check and manage their points-reward Going forward, we plan to enable more streamlined online
accounts, redeem points for rewards, and so on. payment processes, more flexible setup of autopayment
• Shopping services – Shopping services apply in retail services, and customer self-service functions for viewing
environments where consumers often purchase products as billing statements and paying and managing recurring fees.
gifts for others. Shopping services will enable organizations • Enhanced request and returns processing – Request and
to offer gift registries where consumers can create, manage, returns processing applies in industries where manufacturers
and buy from gift registries. Consumers will be able to engage in aftermarket services and want to enable customers
leverage other services such as the ability to preorder products, with a self-service interface to participate in request and
set up wish lists, purchase and buy with gift certificates, and returns processes. E-commerce software in SAP CRM
request additional services such as gift cards and gift wrapping. enables customers to create, update, and check the status
• Sales order and contract processing for service of service requests, complaints, and returns. Customers can
providers – Sales order and contract processing for service schedule on-site service appointments, and organizations
providers applies in service industries where consumers can automatically validate warranty entitlements and service
commonly purchase products and services together. Sales contract entitlements. Going forward, we plan to enable a
order and contract processing functionality for service more intuitive end-to-end request process and streamlined
providers will enable organizations to present, manage, and returns processing including generation of RMAs.
E-Commerce – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map
• Enhanced knowledge management – Knowledge Focus on Ease of Site Management

management applies in e-channel environments where Organizations want to quickly respond to market dynamics to
consumers require accurate and timely information to remain competitive and meet customer demands. Therefore,
ensure repeat business. Knowledge management software in it is important to enable business managers to immediately
SAP CRM enables customers to research and resolve their make site changes without IT involvement. Consider the
own service problems by browsing FAQs or searching for following:
information using natural language search. Organizations • Rich site design and flexibility – Rich site design and
can create, manage, and target content to customer segments. flexibility is important now more than ever because organi-
Going forward, we plan to provide guided solutions and zations are focused on building and protecting their brand
wizards for more intuitive access to self-help information on and want to provide a Web experience that reflects their
the Web. Additionally, we plan to deliver functionalities for overall corporate brand. E-commerce software in SAP CRM
more flexible management of different types of content and has site design functions that enable organizations to
self-learning knowledge management. leverage ready-to-run templates for B2B and B2C scenarios.
• Self-service analytics – Self-service analytics apply in Going forward, we plan to enable increased flexibility and
online marketplaces where organizations need to understand branding functions for Web shops. Organizations will be
and ensure customer satisfaction with their self-service able to leverage advanced branding techniques including
processes. Self-service analytics software enables click-stream rules-based branding, and business users will be able to
analysis for Web self-services, analysis of service-triggered more easily change branding on the fly.
revenue, Web analysis for self-learning knowledge manage- • Site management for business users – Site management
ment and customer search behavior, and automatic tracking for business users applies in consumer environments where
of customer visits via interaction records available to agents. organizations want to quickly roll out changes to their Web
• Enhanced integration to interaction center – The need sites to respond to market dynamics. Site management
to enhance the integration with the call center applies in functions in the e-commerce software of SAP CRM enable
multichannel business environments. Integration of technical users at an organization to set up and manage a
e-commerce and interaction center software in SAP CRM Web shop. Going forward, we plan to tailor site manage-
enables customers to contact an agent via e-mail or chat. ment tools so that business users can set up and manage a
Going forward, the software will support extended interactive Web shop. Business users will be able to easily activate
collaboration between customers and agents via chat, features, configure the look and feel of a site, and maintain
automatic redirection of unresolved ERMS responses to guided procedure rules by using a wizard-based tool –
agents, and intelligent routing to agents. without the need for IT involvement. Business users will
also be able to more easily execute business processes such as
updating the product catalog and problem resolutions,
managing unstructured content, or pushing new promo-
tional pricing to the Web shop. Workflow-driven approval
functions will ensure that changes are approved before
going live on the Web shop.
Deliver Platform Improvements This means that organizations need to integrate their partners
As the e-commerce market matures and organizations into their business approach in a way that recognizes and
gain insight into e-commerce costs, requirements, and best fosters their partners’ unique business drivers. To do this, it is
practices, it is increasingly important to deliver an e-commerce important for organizations to understand who their partners
platform that enables organizations to decrease maintenance are, where they are located, what their competencies are, and
costs and increase their return. Consider the following: what their business objectives are – and then use that infor-
• Site optimization for high-volume environments – Site mation as a framework to drive intelligent business processes
optimization applies in high-volume online environments. that are targeted and tailored to partner communities. This
With site optimization software, we plan to deliver perfor- approach enables organizations to build mutually beneficial
mance and scalability enhancements to optimize the handling business relationships – creating the kind of win-win relation-
of large traffic and transaction volumes. Organizations will ships that foster partner loyalty and profitability for both the
be able to ensure effective high-volume processing through enterprise and the partner network.
improved reporting and consistency checks as well as business
processes optimized for bulk handling. Organizations will With this increased focus on the strategic importance of indirect
have better control over peak handling through streamlined channels, extending core CRM processes to collaboratively
functions for site administrators to add and remove servers work with partners is a critical aspect of realizing channel
around peak times such as holidays. objectives. These core CRM processes include marketing, selling,
• Integrated e-commerce and self-service solution and servicing products. By effectively integrating partners into
platform – Consumers expect a one-stop-shop experience these core business processes, organizations are able to provide
where they can both buy and get service from a vendor. their end customers with the buying experience they are
Therefore, organizations need an integrated platform that looking for and help their partners drive revenue.
can support blended sales and service scenarios. Going
forward, we plan to continue to support an integrated Current Solution Overview
e-commerce and self-service solution platform, enabling The channel management or partner relationship management
organizations to flexibly combine e-commerce and self- software in SAP CRM helps organizations leverage their
service scenarios into one seamless user experience. partner relationships and empower channel partners so they
can better market to, sell to, and provide service to end
Partner Channel Management – Overview, Market customers. The channel management software provides access
Trends, and Road Map to all critical partner-related data so that organizations can
About Partner Channel Management forecast and recognize demand across all sales channels.
For many organizations, it has become increasingly important Organizations can also enhance collaboration with their
to engage with channel partners such as dealers, resellers, or selling partners, drive more revenue through their channels,
distributors. For these organizations, indirect revenue has increase value to customers, and reduce channel support
become increasingly important to achieve corporate financial costs. Here is an overview:
goals. This presents a challenge, as channel partners do not • Partner relationship management – Organizations can
work directly for the organization and often do not have better recruit, ramp up, and manage channel partners
exclusive relationships – they can easily go to a competitor if throughout the entire partner life cycle, building stronger
their needs are not met. and mutually beneficial channel relationships. Major
Partner Channel Management – Overview, Market Trends,
and Road Map
processes supported include partner registration, partner All of the above functionalities are provided to partners via
on-boarding, partner profiling and segmentation, channel the SAP Channel Partner Portal site, enabling partners to
forecasting, and partner scorecarding. access transactions and receive content.
• Channel marketing – Organizations can better drive
demand for products through channel partners and engage Solution Road Map
in collaborative marketing and demand generation activities SAP plans the following for partner channel management:
with their partners. Major processes supported include • Become the undisputed choice for channel and partner
distribution and management of leads to partners, distribution relationship management in the SAP software installed base
of content to partners, managing channel marketing funds, • Deliver market-leading industry-specific partner channel
collaborative campaign management with partners, and management solutions
partner locator capabilities. • Provide a partner channel management solution that is
• Channel sales – Organizations can enable their partners to fully integrated with an organization’s customer strategy
sell more of their products more effectively, by providing
these partners with the same knowledge, tools, and expert In the road map for the partner channel management software
advice they provide to their own sales force. Organizations in SAP CRM, the major focus area is the delivery of compre-
can also better align their cross-channel sales efforts to more hensive channel incentive functionalities to complete the
effectively drive sales. Major processes supported include breadth of the application’s support for sell-side business
the distribution and management of opportunities to processes and to extend service-side business processes to
partners, account management, and contact management. enable distributed service management. In addition, we are
• Channel service – Organizations can ensure consistent and making distinct advancements in ease of use through the
timely service to end customers by delivering service and further development of flexible partner interaction options
problem resolution capabilities to partners. Major processes such as the ability to interact via e-mail forms and integrating
supported include partner access to FAQs, solution search, directly with partner systems.
knowledge base content, and immediate assistance via chat,
e-mail, and service requests. Comprehensive Channel Incentive Functionalities
• Partner order management – Organizations can optimize Because channel partners do not work directly for the enter-
their partners’ ordering processes and increase visibility into prise, it is especially important to have incentives in order to
their inventory levels. Major processes supported include affect and align partner behavior. Consider the following:
providing configuration tools for partners, managing • Deal registration – Deal registration applies in competitive
partner pricing and contracts, and online quoting and channel environments where partners are vying for the
ordering of products and services for partners across an same large accounts and deals. It also applies to influencer
organization’s entire demand network. Collaborative selling partners who affect brand owners’ sales through the services
across organizational boundaries is supported through they provide to end customers. Deal registration software
distribution of orders to partners for fulfillment and enables partners to register deals with a brand owner so the
through hosted order management for partners. brand owner can recognize ownership of the sales deal or an
• Partner and channel analytics – Brand owners as well influencer role, and motivate partners accordingly. Deal
as partner organizations can analyze and act on channel registration software supports both basic deal registration
business trends in order to build more profitable and processes that involve nonmonetary incentives as well as
successful business relationships.
payment-based processes in which partners get paid a • Enhanced POS and channel inventory management –
percentage of the revenue on the deal once it is won and POS and channel inventory management apply in multitier
the order is placed. channel environments where inventory is held in the
• Enhanced channel marketing funds management – channel. Currently, software for POS and channel inventory
Channel marketing funds management (for marketing management enables brand owners to capture and reconcile
development funds or co-op funds), applies in a geographi- POS information from distributors and retailers and track
cally dispersed marketplace where brand owners want to inventories held by channel partners to enhance channel
extend their marketing reach via channel partners. Func- visibility and analysis. Going forward, we plan to enable
tionality for this is currently available within the partner partner self-service functionalities around uploading POS
channel management software in SAP CRM and enables data, viewing POS and inventory levels, and empowering
brand owners to better manage and distribute channel brand owners to drive intelligent business processes based
marketing funds to their channel partners. Organizations on POS data.
can establish, manage, and monitor channel marketing fund
programs and enable their partners to request funds online Extend Service-Side Partner Channel Management
and submit claims for marketing activities they have executed; Even if organizations sell their products directly, many
claims processing and payment can be fully automated. organizations leverage a network of partners to deliver service,
Going forward, we plan to enhance the software to provide in which case they need a partner channel solution to support
a fund program framework, enable real-time information service execution. Consider the following:
about funding, and provide more flexible claims processing. • Distributed service order management – Distributed
• Enhanced special pricing – Special pricing applies in service order management applies in industries with
price-sensitive channel environments where partners often serviceable products where manufacturers engage in after-
need discounted pricing to win large deals. Currently market services and want to leverage service partners to
software for ship-and-debit claims management enables deliver service to end customers. Software for distributed
brand owners to handle ship-and-debit claims. Partners can service order management enables organizations to distribute
submit claims data via electronic data interchange (EDI), and schedule service through the best-fit channel and best-
XML, or Web-based communications. The claims data is fit partner. Partners can easily create and manage service
automatically validated and linked to point-of-sale (POS) requests on behalf of end customers. Brand owners can
data. Brand owners can accept or decline claims and analyze and align service efforts across channels.
communicate the approval decision to partners. Going • Complaints and returns management – Complaints and
forward, we plan to provide partners with self-service returns management applies in industries with serviceable
functionalities to submit and manage special pricing products where manufacturers engage in aftermarket services
requests and claims, empowering approvers with decision and want to enable end-to-end complaints and returns
support tools to ensure legal compliance with special processes to support their service partners in delivery of
pricing laws and delivering back-end integration to ensure service to end customers. Software for complaints and returns
safe, conservative accounting with respect to special pricing management enables partners to create and manage
liabilities. complaints as well as initiate and track product returns
on behalf of end customers. Brand owners can analyze
complaint and return activity to better understand the
quality of service and customer satisfaction levels.
Analytics – Overview, Market Trends, and Road Map
• Warranty and claims management – Warranty and Analytics – Overview, Market Trends, and
claims management applies in industries with serviceable Road Map
products where manufacturers engage in aftermarket About Analytics
services and want to enable end-to-end warranty and claims As markets shift away from supply-driven to customer-centric
processes to support their service partners in delivery of enterprises, customer insight represents an organization’s most
service to end customers. Software for warranty and claims valuable asset. Leading organizations recognize that their
management enables partners to easily and quickly check ability to understand, anticipate, and serve customer needs
warranty status before performing service and streamlines often represents the difference between success and failure.
warranty registration. Partners can submit and manage Successful customer-centric enterprises will move past
warranty claims. Brand owners can analyze warranty and traditional business intelligence to deeply embed customer
claim activity throughout their service network. insight into their sales, marketing, and support processes to
drive more effective and profitable customer interactions and
Focus on Ease of Use market strategies. Those organizations that do not effectively
Partners often work with multiple brand owners. This makes integrate customer analytics into their CRM implementations
it especially important for brand owners to make their business are at significant risk.
processes and interactions as user friendly as possible for
partners and to streamline their partners’ experiences. As customer data is collected at record levels, organizations
are turning to enterprise analytics to help them understand
Flexible partner interaction options – Flexible partner what the data actually means. Organizations are looking for
interaction options apply in nonexclusive channel models ways to combine customer knowledge from across the
where partners work with multiple brand owners. They also enterprise with analytical techniques such as predictive
apply to partner users who spend much of their time in the analytics and customer segmentation in order to optimize
field – like field sales reps or field service reps. Currently, their customer-facing processes and better address the specific
the lead distribution process supported by partner channel and changing requirements of their individual customers. As
management software in SAP CRM is enabled via SAP enterprises learn to better address the needs of each customer,
Interactive Forms. Going forward, the software will support new markets and revenue streams based on customer-specific
additional processes via SAP Interactive Forms, such as lead innovations and services will emerge. Those organizations that
creation by partners and service request scheduling. These learn to incorporate analytics into their operational processes
functionalities will provide partners with quicker and easier as part of a closed-loop cycle of customer discovery, needs
access to leads and service requests because they will be able assessment, and value creation will lead the race to uncover
to receive, accept, and update leads and service requests via and capitalize on the newest growth opportunities in their
e-mail – without logging into a partner portal. Also, partners industries.
will be able to integrate their systems with a brand owner’s
system to seamlessly pass transactions and updates back and Putting analytics to work throughout the enterprise means
forth by leveraging the Web services tool set. For example, placing business intelligence in the hands of more users across
partners will be able to receive leads directly into their SFA all levels of the organization, in formats they can easily
system, make changes, and pass them back to the brand understand and act on. The greatest barrier to deployment
owner. remains a lack of user skills or knowledge of best practices due
to overly complex solutions and poorly integrated UIs. • Business intelligence – Organizations can collect and
Customer insight must be distributed throughout the manage a consistent historical view of customers. The
enterprise in ways that allow workers to do their jobs better analytics software in SAP CRM includes a fully integrated
with minimal training. They must provide the right level of analytical foundation as part of SAP NetWeaver that
insight, at the right time, specific to an employee’s job role, includes an enterprise business warehouse; prebuilt extract,
responsibilities, and usage patterns. transform, and load (ETL) mappings and business metrics;
and online ad hoc query tools. Thus there is a higher level
Current Solution Overview of context, business value, and usability across all SAP
The analytics software in SAP CRM enables organizations to software for analytics.
turn their enterprise customer data into a competitive • SAP xApp™ Analytics composite application –
advantage to better acquire, retain, and grow new and existing Organizations can make better decisions with a process-
customers. Customer-facing employees can make better driven composite application for analytics that is designed
business decisions based on a fully integrated suite of analytics to help managers and front-line knowledge workers make
software, including a unified customer view, predictive model- operational choices based on more accurate and current
ing, business simulation, and in-context delivery. Here is an enterprise insight. The application displays information in
overview: a highly usable, process-specific way.
• Actionable insights – You can deliver value immediately
back to your users. The analytics software in SAP CRM is Solution Road Map
designed to give customer-facing employees more than just SAP plans the following regarding customer analytics:
key metrics and reports. Analytics functions are embedded • Become the undisputed choice for customer insight in
within the transactional applications with proactive alerts the SAP software installed base
to deliver insights that are timely, relevant, and complete, • Extend analytics out to all CRM users across the enterprise
allowing users to take immediate action directly from the • Deliver the most fully integrated, process-specific analytics
application. functionality available to SAP customers
• Predictive analytics – You can understand who your • Help organizations better align their activities to their goals
customers are and how they are likely to behave. The through better visibility and insight
software lets you better predict your customers’ buying
patterns. It helps organizations create more effective In the road map for the analytics software in SAP CRM,
go-to-market strategies based on more accurate customer the major focus areas are usability, alignment, and process
segmentation. optimization. Today analytics software is already behind some
• Business planning – Organizations can align customer- of the key functions of SAP CRM and is an important part of
facing operations to the enterprise strategy. CRM planning SAP NetWeaver. Analytics software will be tightly integrated
software lets you leverage the SAP NetWeaver platform to across all SAP software offerings to provide a new level of
enable enterprise-wide performance alignment across the decision support and business value to SAP software users.
full SAP application and management stack including sales,
service, and marketing planning software, together with Usability
balanced scorecards and functionality for cross-departmental Analytics has traditionally been used by a small group of
reporting and enterprise-wide metric management. business users. Generally, only a select team of statisticians and
executives have had access to critical business insight from
Focus Industries of SAP Software for CRM
business intelligence solutions. SAP is working to bring this • Sales, service, and marketing business planning – SAP is
enterprise insight directly to the users who interact with working to enhance managers’ ability to plan, optimize, and
customers every day in sales, service, and marketing depart- collaborate across teams, systems, and organizational silos.
ments. SAP is working to expose critical customer insight to SAP CRM will continue to enhance process-specific
customer-facing workers within the context of their core planning to enable greater communication, accountability,
processes and in formats that are appropriate to their roles and consistency for sales, service, and marketing activities
and responsibilities as follows: such as account planning, marketing resource management,
• Embedded analytics – Analytics must be an integrated and service management.
part of the applications that people use everyday. It is not
enough to provide isolated analytical reports. Customer- Optimized Processes
facing users need the critical information contained in these Organizations are looking for ways to better define and execute
reports delivered directly within their actual application flexible business processes across the enterprise and outside
screens, at the right time, and in the right format to enable the firewall to the partner ecosystem. As the foundation for
better customer-facing decisions. SAP is adding embedded enterprise SOA, SAP NetWeaver provides the next-generation,
alerts, simulation, and decision-support functionalities service-oriented platform for process definition, management,
directly into the new UI of SAP CRM. and orchestration.
• Proactive alerts and guides – SAP is pinpointing events
and triggers that can proactively help organizations identify Integrated analytics and application platform – SAP
business anomalies before they happen. With predictive continues to decouple existing applications into standardized
analytics and proactive alerts, SAP is working to deliver tools and open software that can be combined and reorganized more
that can notify sales, service, or marketing professionals of easily to support agile business processes that are specific to the
critical business issues before they become customer needs of customers, industries, and market events. This event-
disrupters or business disrupters. based architecture will rely heavily on analytics to provide
embedded intelligent decision touch points and business
Alignment exception handling across end-to-end business processes.
All organizations stray from their top-level goals. As they
increase the number of employees, products, markets, and Focus Industries of SAP Software for CRM
organizational layers, their ability to handle their channels, Organizations – even when they belong to different industries
communicate, and attain visibility becomes more difficult. – have many similar needs with regard to CRM. For this reason,
Analytics software helps organizations set clear goals and many CRM functionalities are relevant across multiple
consistently communicate them across the organization as industries. This road map for SAP CRM has a clear focus on
follows: improving such “core” CRM functionalities that will benefit
• Composite applications for analytics – SAP xApp organizations in many industries. In addition, SAP continues
Analytics can sit on top of heterogeneous IT landscapes to recognize what makes each business fundamentally different
and provide unifying, process-specific support to manage – and will continue to provide and further develop solutions
an end-to-end business process. SAP xApp Analytics is for particular industry needs. There will be significant
designed to deliver a new level of usability and flexibility development of industry-specific functionality for organiza-
to a greater number of business users. SAP CRM will tions in telecommunications, financial services organizations,
continue to deliver SAP xApp Analytics to support the consumer products organizations, the public sector, and
specific needs of sales, service, and marketing professionals. pharmaceutical organizations.
Telecommunications Public Sector

Telecommunication organizations need to react to a rapidly In response to constituents’ demands for easy-to-use and easy-
evolving business environment in both professional and to-understand government services and programs, public
consumer markets. They are being forced to react to the rapid sector organizations are forced to increase efficiency while
evolution of access technology, the convergence of services, serving customers better across all channels – just like profit-
and an increasingly competitive situation caused by additional generating enterprises that are undergoing a similar business
players such as traditional cable network providers. transformation. CRM functionality can run this transforma-
tion process, modernize public sector organizations, and
To address the ongoing evolution of access technology and simplify the processes by which they run, to allow for efficient,
the convergence of services in the telco space, SAP CRM will cost-effective deployment of people and systems in response
support industry-specific product modeling and bundling to reduced budgets and a declining workforce.
along with state-of-the-art product sales and service scenarios,
including support for account hierarchies, product bundles, Grants Management for Grantor
multichannel sales order processes, contract changes and Already available today, the SAP Grants Management application
upgrades, and agreement and contract management processes. addresses the requirements of grantors and all levels of public
A new product-packaging functionality will allow telecom- sector organizations that fund grant programs with a closed-
munications service providers to set up converged packages, loop process from grants budgeting, claims handling, and
such as triple play, and to flexibly deploy rules that can payment, including annual reporting and year-end closing.
consider tailored product- and rate-plan combinations, for Here is an overview:
example. Up-selling and down-selling rules, which are easy • Grantor change management and amendments – As
to maintain, help you leverage the existing customer base. part of the product road map, SAP CRM will enable grantor
Also, enhanced integration options are provided for third- organizations to manage changes to a grantor agreement
party applications such as telco billing systems. after the agreement has been approved and released. These
changes are generally triggered by the grantee as a result of
For both B2B and B2C markets, a consistent sales and service changes to payment amounts or agreement duration.
experience will be ensured across all channels, including Resulting effects of these changes can be managed through
dealers, e-commerce, call centers, and self-service scenarios. change request management, workflow integration, version
In addition, a tight integration to financial back-end systems tracking, and amendments for internal and external
and order fulfillment processes ensures a delightful customer processing.
experience that goes beyond the front-office touch points. • Claims management – The grantor claims management
function includes a Web-based claim form that is assigned
to a relevant agreement and individual claim items. These
claim items can be checked for eligibility and availability and
then executed against the agreement. Any advances are also
cleared. Claims are then approved, released, and paid.
Focus Industries of SAP Software for CRM
• Financial execution – Grant application, agreement, and retaining loyal and profitable customers is key to future
claim items can be distinguished by payment type and expense success, financial services organizations must hone in on
type. Payment types allow for unique business processing customer needs and increase sales to their most valuable
logic, both in CRM and in external financial and budgetary customers. And they need to deliver individually tailored
systems, including handling of advance and multiple products while providing excellent personalized service.
payments or reassessing claims including triggering of
payment recoveries. At the same time, financial services organizations must
overcome major technology hurdles. Many operate complex,
Social Services and Social Security disparate systems that run a myriad of processes and store
Currently, the IT landscapes of many public authorities are volumes of customer data – much of which is difficult to
poorly prepared to fulfill the growing demand for a citizen- access. With operational excellence and efficiency growing in
centric approach and a seamless integration of all available importance, they need easy-to-use, customer-facing solutions
information systems. Due to the huge amount of structured and enterprise-wide workflow to integrate the front and back
and unstructured data, an enhanced version of the case office. They need to simplify employee tasks and reduce
management software in SAP CRM serves as a consolidating errors, and to work with consistent, consolidated customer
platform for standard social services processes. It also integrates data from all channels. While financial services organizations
supporting software for document management, Web requests, will benefit from core enhancements for B2C, interaction
and the business rule framework. center, and customer service software, as well as the new UI,
SAP will also provide enhanced functionality for account
With SAP CRM, social services applications can be managed origination and leasing, specific to industry, as follows:
automatically from the first touch point with citizens through • Account origination – The account origination function
eligibility determination, amount calculation, benefit selection, is already part of current SAP CRM software and will be
service plan creation, and execution. The application provides enhanced with the CRM road map in the following areas:
close integration with modified and enhanced case manage- enhancements to support the loan origination scenario,
ment functionalities for public sector and financial systems. collateral handling, document template handling, inter-
With a focus on accurate, timely, and consistent information faces to scoring applications, and authorization manage-
about citizens and their social cases, the service that constituents ment functions.
experience will improve with SAP CRM. • Full-service leasing – Due to tax advantages and business
flexibility, leasing is considered by more and more organiza-
Financial Services tions as well as private individuals to be an attractive option
Financial services organizations face increasing pressure due instead of actually owning objects and devices. SAP offers a
to a decline in customer satisfaction and loyalty. To maintain complete end-to-end solution for leasing for organizations
their footing, they must cut costs and boost revenue while that lease out assets. You get support for all steps in the
responding quickly to changing market, customer, and financial contract life cycle from the lease or loan offer to
regulatory requirements. Because attracting, serving, and midlease changes through to end-of-lease options. At the
end of the contract life, the software provides remarketing Consumer Products – Trade Funds Management
functionality for each lease object. In order to address this Complementing the existing trade promotion management
trend toward leasing in the industry, SAP CRM will functionalities, enhanced trade funds management function-
support leasing scenarios for virtually all types of goods. alities will give marketers increased visibility to manage all
Key highlights to be supported will include leasing product trade funds and their spending. Trade funds management
bundles, full processing of service provider invoices, consoli- functionalities will be integrated with trade promotion
dated billing and invoicing, fleet-specific financing and planning and account planning software to forecast and set up
service, quantity call-off scenarios, and the reconciliation accruals. Integrations to claims management software will
of advance payments versus actual costs. allow easier interface to external forecasting tools and finan-
cial data. Enhanced trade claims software will support the vali-
Life Sciences – Contract Life-Cycle Management dation and settlement of claims and deductions. New func-
New contract life-cycle management software for life sciences tionalities to enable indirect businesses will allow marketers to
organizations (particularly pharmaceutical organizations) manage promotion planning to indirect customers and
goes beyond the functionality for pure contract administration handle financial executions of these indirect promotions.
and claims processing that currently supports the contract
management scenario. Contract life-cycle management is
time-consuming and complex. This furthers the need for life
sciences organizations to effectively manage contract creation
and negotiation, ensure compliance on an enterprise-wide
basis, and minimize revenue leakage by ensuring that contract
terms and obligations are monitored and executed.
SAP plans to deliver a more robust set of functionalities to

better enable collaboration, streamline and automate routine
business process steps, and improve the overall productivity
of the contract from negotiation to enforcement and claims
settlement. Extensions to contract life-cycle management
software will include a more sophisticated contract authoring
environment; a clause library; collaborative document review
and approval tools; and functionality for version control,
change management, archiving, rebate and chargeback
handling, resale tracking, and defining and associating
business rules to enforce terms and conditions.
www.sap.com/contactsap
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SAP CRM - Statement of Direction For 2006 - 2008 (A4)

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Statement of Direction

Managing Customer Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

SAP’s Strategy and Road Map for CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Detailed Solution Road Maps for SAP CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

so on), including shortcuts for fast data entry or access. A

Powered by the SAP NetWeaver Platform

evaluate potential compensation for opportunities in Solution Road Map

opportunities to drive immediate action and help sales Focus on Simplification

Resource Planning External Service Provider Process Improvements

• Enhanced knowledge management – Knowledge Focus on Ease of Site Management

Telecommunications Public Sector

SAP plans to deliver a more robust set of functionalities to

50 081 089 (07/04)

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