Johannesburg, 10 Feb 2014
Leading supplier of cement in southern Africa, PPC is the first company in South Africa to integrate SAP Fiori into its operations from a functional implementation point of view. This implementation took the company an astonishing two weeks from the installation to going live.
SAP Fiori is a collection of apps which supports the most broadly and frequently used SAP software functions, enabling employees to complete workflow approvals, information lookups, and self-service tasks - for an instant productivity boost.
"Prior to the Fiori implementation, our CEO, Ketso Gordon, was shocked at the convoluted manual processes that supported basic business functions, such as applying for leave, procurement approval, and requested a more simple, user-friendly procedure using mobile devices," says Jeetendra Chhika, Head IT Operations at PPC.
Chhika explained that PPC is looking to grow its African footprint, so the company needed to come up with technology to enable its employees to access their e-mail as well as critical documents when they are out on the field or travelling in Africa. Beyond e-mail and accessing documents, top level management also needed to stay connected to the business and perform functions like approving orders. A simple-to-use, intuitive system was needed, so that employees would not have to spend a great deal of time learning how to use the software.
"We engaged with multiple vendors around a solution, but most of these needed to develop or customise their software, whereas SAP Fiori did not, thus making it the most cost-effective and strategic option," Chhika added.
Implementation and support
The implementation is scheduled over three phases, with the first phase - adoption of four apps around leave and purchase order requisition - taking the company a mere two weeks from the installation to going live. Phase two will be completed in-house, with these apps being made available to around 100 workers in sales. After the third and final phase, Fiori will be rolled out to the rest of the workforce across Africa over the next year.
"PPC had a strong, competent team who worked closely with SAP in order to ensure that the implementation went smoothly and any obstacles handled quickly and effectively," says Marlene de Jager, SAP Africa Account Executive for PPC.
Benefits
One of the key benefits of the adoption of Fiori for PPC was enhanced productivity, with Chhika adding that PPC also appreciated the solution's simple, friendly-to-use interface.
SAP Africa's De Jager says: "PPC's staff only required minimal training. We sat with the top five execs for five minutes, who all found it to be quite intuitive as they were logging on, reviewing and approving orders in no time."
For more information, visit SAP Newsroom.
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