SAP In Action

Essay by dedsledUniversity, Bachelor's July 2004

download word file, 1 pages 3.3

Case Project: SAP In Action

SAP is a software system which integrates key business processes into one system. Although this system has helped many companies grow, the benefits do not come easy. The implementation process can be slow and every company has special needs and presents unique obstacles that must be addressed in order to achieve a successful system.

The Dallas-based oil exploration giant, Halliburton decided growth would be possible with a new strategy of integration. The biggest problem that Halliburton faced was consolidation of 300 applications into a single ERP system. Most of the existing systems did not communicate with one another and the single system to handle the company's key processes including order to cash, purchase to payment, manufacturing, project management and controls, Health/Safety/Environment, HR/Payroll, accounting, and management reporting. Halliburton also faced a problem of the sheer size of the project. With the consultation of Accenture, Halliburton pulled off one of the largest global implementations of SAP ever.

The company integrated more than 350 locations in 78 countries and upwards of 14,000 users in the system.

Lincoln Electric is a company that provides industrial equipment such as welders all over the world. The company has been in business over 100 years and wanted to update its old legacy systems for the new millennium. Lincoln Electric chose SAP R/3 as the system to use and implemented it in only 15 months. During this process the company changed major business processes to lower expenses and improve customer service. An internal architecture was also built so the company's IT department could build new applications in accordance with growth.

Although these are only two examples of the diverse and complicated issues involved in adopting SAP systems, they illustrate the fact that every company is different and should consider outsourcing or forming partnerships...