SAP Process Orchestration


What is Process Orchestration?

Businesses run on a plethora of business processes. In today’s rapidly digitizing world, it means that they may need to be supported by a multitude of systems. To build best-of-breed processes, organizations need to understand their current state better and make sure that it’s well orchestrated. While point systems may be capturing data, this data is fragmented and does not provide a holistic view of the end-to-end data flow. Process orchestration ensures that these disparate data sources work in sync with each other, when required, with data sharing and a combined intelligence and analytics platform. This provides organizations with the required insights to reduce friction, identify efficiency opportunities, and build best-in-class processes within a combined portfolio.

What is Process Orchestration?

Businesses run on a plethora of business processes. In today’s rapidly digitizing world, it means that they may need to be supported by a multitude of systems. To build best-of-breed processes, organizations need to understand their current state better and make sure that it’s well orchestrated. While point systems may be capturing data, this data is fragmented and does not provide a holistic view of the end-to-end data flow. Process orchestration ensures that these disparate data sources work in sync with each other, when required, with data sharing and a combined intelligence and analytics platform. This provides organizations with the required insights to reduce friction, identify efficiency opportunities, and build best-in-class processes within a combined portfolio.

Examples of Process Orchestration Tools Available in SAP ecosystem

There are several process orchestration tools available in the SAP ecosystem. SAP’s acquisition of Signaviolast year illustrates the growing importance of process intelligence. Due to the rising importance, there are now several vendors in this space, including key ones like SAP, Celonis, Kofax, UiPath, IBM, and Worksoft. Some of these vendors offer a comprehensive solution that encompasses a wide range of business processes whereas others are focused on a subset of processes.

Key Considerations for SAPinsiders

  • Develop a process orchestration strategy. This is a step you need to finalize even before you start evaluating tools you need. The first sub-step is to understand which processes are interconnected and hence need to be in sync and orchestrated. The second sub-step is to define how this orchestrated capability will interface with other applications like your business intelligence tools or control towers. You then also need to understand the role analytics will play in your process intelligence strategy.
  • Understand the strengths of orchestration tools available. While they all fall into the same category, these tools have different unique selling propositions. It is imperative for you to understand these strengths as that will aid you to understand which tools will fit your needs. A good approach is to evaluate use cases like this to understand if the tool has been leveraged extensively in your domain.
  • Leverage tools beyond vanilla process intelligence. Leverage tools for initiatives beyond day-to-day process intelligence. SAP S/4HANA migration is a great example, considering that organizations see this as a challenging initiative. As detailed in this white paper, a process mining and intelligence platform can help you capture your current processes to facilitate and accelerate the migration.

1036 results

  1. Improve Your HCM Employee Interaction Center Using BW Queries and Custom Reporting

    Published: 09/December/2009

    Reading time: 11 mins

    Read an overview of the reporting capabilities of the data captured within the Employee Interaction Center. Understand the standard SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse queries that SAP delivers with the Employee Interaction Center (EIC) product, as well as some of the common custom reports that customers typically develop as part of their EIC implementations. Key Concept...…

  2. Using SAP Bank Communication Management: Enhancing SAP Functionality with Custom Developments

    Published: 11/March/2016

    Reading time: 34 mins

    This article expands on the topics in the Financials Expert article “SAP Bank Communication Management: What You Need to Know.” It outlines a number of nice-to-have custom developments around payment processing using the SAP standard provided alerts messages. Key Concept SAP Bank Communication Management is a relatively new module of SAP’s Financial Supply Chain Management...…

  3. Robotics Process Automation for the SAP Customer

    Published: 13/December/2016

    Reading time: 7 mins

    Andrew Pery, Chief Marketing Officer, Top Image Systems, discusses robotics process automation with Ken Murphy of SAPinsider. Below is a transcript of the conversation. Ken Murphy, SAPinsider: Hi, this is Ken Murphy with SAPinsider, and I am joined on today’s podcast by Andrew Pery, Chief Marketing Officer, Top Image Systems. Andrew is here to discuss…

  4. Biomimicry and the Internet of Things

    Published: 01/March/2017

    Reading time: 5 mins

    Many people are familiar with artificial intelligence, but what happens when the line between machine and biology begins to blur? Biomimicry, machines imitating biological systems, has many implications in the healthcare industry. As the Internet of Things continues to grow, so will the evolution of machine learning capabilities. 

  5. SAP Data Services: How to Extract, Transform, and Load Data into SAP HANA

    Published: 12/June/2017

    Reading time: 15 mins

    Examine and compare the classic SAP Data Services approach for extracting, transforming, and loading (ETL) processes to the functionality that is native to SAP HANA to determine optimal integration.

  6. Quick Tip: A List of Dos and Don’ts When Upgrading to SAP BW 7.4

    Published: 11/August/2016

    Reading time: 33 mins

    Learn the dos and don’ts for upgrading to SAP BW 7.4, as well as some quick tips to help functional teams and Basis administrators plan a successful SAP BW upgrade to 7.4. 

  7. Beyond the Pandemic: Using automation to become more agile in financial processing with OpenTex

    Business is undergoing a forced transformation due to a range of effects such as the current Pandemic, but also longer term challenges such as Supply chain disruption, increased competition and customer expectations. Companies are having to change the way they operate globally which directly impacts the effectiveness of processing within organisations finance function. In this…

  8. SAP AI Strategy featured image

    Enterprise Artificial Intelligence – Embedded AI

    Published: 04/May/2021

    Reading time: 9 mins

    If your company has not begun building an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, it may risk falling behind competitors. That could mean lagging in areas of innovation that AI can enable, including improved or new products, reduced risks, and a better bottom line. There is good news for SAP customers: SAP has already begun embedding AI…

  9. SAP Cash Application - image

    SAP Cash Application Leverages Machine Learning

    Published: 02/September/2021

    Reading time: 9 mins

    The first of many machine learning applications in the finance and risk portfolio in SAP S/4HANA Finance is SAP Cash Application, which streamlines the clearing process of open items for accounts receivable (A/R) transactions. When new transactions come into the system that result in exceptions, the machine learning application takes that prior information and decides…

  10. Accelerating the Financial Close Process

    Published: 27/October/2022

    Reading time: 4 mins

    In this article, you'll explore how solutions like FS2 JournalEntry automate processing, review and approval of all manual journal entries (recurring, intercompany, FX, etc.) and enables accurate and transparent reporting. The solution validates accounting information (e.g., cost centers) at initial upload/creation, automates the processing of non-PO invoices and expenses, enables touchless payment processing and provides…