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If like a lot of business owners you tend to treat your accounts and production software as a necessary evil, then you might just want to pay some attention to this blog.  We are going to dive into the top 5 reasons for upgrading to SAP Business One and the benefits you can expect to gain in doing so.

1. SAP AI Reduces Workload

With the recent advances of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within SAP things that once seemed impossible to do are becoming very easy to achieve.

An example of how SAP Business One is utilising cutting edge platforms to help businesses in this area, is its automatic document recognition functionality. Whilst document recognition has been around for quite some time, traditionally a business would have to seek 3^rd party packages to do this. Using SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP), it is now possible to offer users this functionality without having to look outside the SAP family of products. Additionally SAP, using intelligent automation can also learn of future changes.

Working Example

Using a combination of electronic document services, SAP BTP and BOTs you are able to achieve an automated service that checks your accounts email inbox for new purchase invoices, matches them against any existing purchase orders and adds them into SAP automatically.

2. Access from Anywhere at Anytime

While the majority of work is still performed from the office PC, there is an increasing need to have remote access available to staff working outside the office.  Fast access to data without having to commute to the office, or simply to get access on alternative smart devices.

SAP Business One has many options to facilitate this; there of course are the traditional methods of remote working available, there are a number of apps available, SAP Business One for Cloud and most recently there is the powerful SAP Business One Web client.

Web client is especially powerful as it allows users to access SAP Business One and utilise the analytics functionality wherever they are, providing them the data they need. This works on handheld devices both inside and outside the business allowing fast access from warehouses and factory floors.

Working Example

When a sales rep is out an about, traditionally they would have struggled to have up to date account information for a customer they were visiting, let alone be able to process an order for them there and then. Now with Web Client the sales rep just needs to log on to Web client on their phone and they have access to SAP’s data and functionality there and then.

3. No Code / Low Code Application Building

Apps are more important than ever. The flexibility and accessibility they offer not only allows business users to save time carrying out their tasks but also can help to improve accuracy/efficiency when doing so. Traditionally when creating applications to be used in conjunction with ERP packages like SAP Business One, developers were required to specify, write and test the platform before it could be used. The advent of new technologies is quickly making that a thing of the past.

Low-code/No-code solutions are now becoming increasingly popular as they allow users with less technical knowledge to create their own apps quickly and easily. This is achieved by platforms offering predefined “building blocks” of functionality that can be brought together to build the basis of an application. Some configuration may be required to satisfy a business’s exact requirements but this can now be carried out by users who don’t have to have development knowledge.

SAP’s Build platform (formerly AppGyver) allows SAP Business One customers to avail of this technology. Once the predefined objects and connections to SAP are set up, the user can create the functionality to suit whatever requirements they have using their own logic and have an interface that is in keeping with their company’s brand.

Working Example

Currently a business completes their stock take using paper copies of stock count sheets. In order to improve efficiency and accuracy Build Apps can be used to create a very simple app that allows users to record their count value on a device rather than paper. This removed the need to manually update count sheets in SAP so they can be posted immediately.

4. Integration with Everything

When it comes to doing business today the ability of your ERP solution to connect with the many software packages you use to run your business is vital. SAP Business One is a very powerful and robust piece of software that you can be confident will handle your business transactions. Built with modern integration in mind, it not only allows integration through its API’s but now there are multiple platforms that make this easier than ever.

Utilising SAP BTP and its predefined connectors, SAP Business One can easily be integrated with many of the well-known software solutions businesses use today. Similarly to the no code/low code app development functionality, this can be achieved without the need for developers because the building blocks are already there, its just a case of configuring them for your company. BTP will also allow you to use SAP’s AI Bots which themselves offer powerful functionality to automate tasks and procedures that would require manual processing by users. This is perfect if you want to transform data before bringing it in to SAP or when sending data to external software packages.

Working Example

A business has recently deployed a web shop on Magento to take sales from account and non-account customers. A lot of time and money was spent getting this right and it is now very successful for taking orders. The only issue is that the orders have to be manually imported to SAP Business One. With the predefined Magento connector, the need for manual import can be removed and the orders can be placed directly in to SAP Business One. This means that as soon as an order is placed it can be available in SAP Business One to be fulfilled.

5. SAP Datasphere

Data is key these days, but meaningful data is even more important. SAP has always been good at providing data through Crystal Reports but users requirements are changing and they need the ability to filter and manipulate data to see exactly what they need on a more ad-hoc basis.

There are many options here such as Web Client Analytics, SAP Analytics Cloud, Power BI and the SAP Datasphere. Reporting should be available from all data sources with the emphasis on easier and more meaningful reporting.

With the introduction of AI we are also beginning to see reporting tools going further and organising data to provide users with what they need and making suggestions to enable them to make business decisions. Soon with the introduction of tools like SAP Joule,  users will be able to ask questions and receive accurate and relevant answers from Business One specific user AI.