Upgrade to SAP SRM 7

Most SRM customers are facing the situation that their current installations (based on SRM 4 and SRM 5) are outside the general maintenance program of SAP, or they soon will be. In the light of this fact it should come as no surprise that events on SRM 7 upgrade programs, tactics and strategies are attracting large audiences. Actually, this is THE upgrade on top-of-mind of all procurement managers running SAP SRM, and this is for a cause. Performing an upgrade of an IT-system the size of SAP SRM entails substantial risks in terms of time, cost and business continuity as well as a respectable change management effort.
The latest version of SAP SRM, version 7, is built on a completely new technical platform and with this release SAP is also changing the upgrade strategy for SAP SRM. Version 7 will be the last major release and future development will be introduced in the form of “enhancement packs”, each adding a functional increment to the solution with version 7 of SRM as foundation. Using SRM 7 will be a prerequisite to implement the enhancement packs and follow the future upgrade path of SAP SRM.

The Capgemini Procurement Cloud

Capgemini Procurement Services operates the world’s largest multi-client SRM solution, with more than 200.000 users in the system. We call it the Capgemini Procurement Cloud. This complete Procure-to-Pay suite, available as a Cloud Service, today serves a large customer base including several blue-chip corporations and multi-national implementations. These companies benefit from a procurement solution:

• incorporating best-practice procurement processes
• maintained and enhanced by procurement experts
• supported 7/24 by multilingual service centers
• operated according to requested Service Level Agreements

The core of Capgemini Procurement Cloud is SAP SRM 7, strengthened by IBX eProcurement enhancement package. The Capgemini Procurement Cloud integrates with back-end ERP and user management systems. Flows of financial records, bookings and user updates are managed with the same, at times even better, capabilities as compared to an on-premise implementation.
IBX eProcurement enhancement package has been developed by CPS to strengthen the capabilities of SAP SRM7. Through tailored roles, new transactions and pre-made integrations your procurement operations will benefit from a system with embedded procurement expertise with proven success in improving procurement metrics.

The Capgemini upgrade package

Together with our customers we run several upgrade projects. We have developed a best practice approach for upgrading your SRM solution to version 7 including:

• Analysis of your current SRM landscape
• Analysis of your procurement processes & functions
• Scoping workshop (to define upgrade strategy, operational model & build business case)

With Capgemini as your partner you can also use the SRM 7 upgrade as your springboard into a Cloud based solution. We offer three different operating models:

• On Premise: We support you to set up SAP SRM in your given framework behind the firewall.
• Hybrid Model: You run SAP SRM behind the firewall – and you get all the web applications on demand. You can use the IBX supplier network & the IBX Content Platform on demand.
• On Demand: Probably the cheapest and most efficient way to run SAP SRM is to run it on demand. The setup and rollout time can be reduced by 85%. The on demand model is very often used as a bridging model: companies upgrade to SAP SRM 7 first on demand and switch later to the hybrid model.

Contact your Capgemini Procurement Services representative for more information or to get started!