The business process team started by upgrading to the latest SAP CRM release to improve overall system speed. They also conducted a review of SAP UI5 as well as SAP Fiori, which helped them understand how to optimize the CRM solutions for mobile to improve access for users. Still, they determined that using either of these solutions would be time-consuming and would require ABAP developers to navigate a large learning curve, not a compromise they were willing to make.

“After seeing Neptune DXP in action via a webinar and demo, we were confident we had found a solution that matched our needs,” said Fischer. “With Neptune, we were pleased with how easy it was to develop mobile solutions combining Fiori on the front end and ABAP on the back end, and eliminating the need for a long training cycle for developers in the process.”

Creating a unified user interface for all new apps using Neptune DXP was identified as an important step in providing the rich UX that field sales teams required.

Beginning with account and contact management apps, developers created a simple mobile user interface, enhancing the CRM functions while optimizing for various screen sizes and minimizing the number of buttons and tasks within a process.

While it was easy to reuse the existing SAP business logic, the team tackled a more complex challenge of synchronizing the process for Cross-App Rules and Authentications. Having successfully solved that challenge, the team can further reduce development, deployment and management timelines going forward.

And by keeping users involved in testing and quickly incorporating their feedback and recommendations, the ebm-papst business process team is building a foundation for success.

“We’re already seeing that users can get more done faster, in fewer clicks with the new apps we’re creating,” said Fischer. “And we’re taking advantage of new capabilities such as touch, fingerprint authentication, GPS, and direct camera interface to give users access to the convenient tools they’re accustomed to using on their smartphones.”

With the master data management apps in place, field sales teams can update contact information, create appointments, complete transactions and other tasks, and build contact reports conveniently, wherever they are.

And with the enterprise app store, it’s easy for users to install the apps and begin using them on the go, with little training required. And with access to information offline, sales teams can better manage their accounts and provide the level of service that keeps their customers happy.

“With Neptune, we’ve quickly developed the know-how to complete our 360-degree view of the customer and bring field sales teams up-to-the-minute data on the latest offers, running sales orders, open complaints, and more,” said Salch. “And we’re exploring apps that we can create for our SAP ERP solution as we expand our use of Neptune across the enterprise.”

And with access to more than 100 prebuilt apps that are made for mobile, ready to use, and easily tailored with ebm-papst’s existing SAP back-end, developers can save a significant amount of time. In fact, overall, Neptune Software users can reduce development time by 80 percent and total cost of ownership (TCO) by 63 percent compared to alternative solutions.

“Our goal is to provide 360-degree access to customer information anytime, anywhere, online, and especially offline as teams travel to customer locations.”

A worldwide innovation leader in fans and motors with over 14,500 different products, ebm-papst has the ideal solution for virtually all air technology and drive engineering tasks. If they do not have it already, their 500 engineers and technicians will work with you to develop a new one.

Industry Focus: Manufacturing
Number of Users: 700 Users
System Version: SAP CRM, SAP ERP
Timeline: 7 months
Devices: iPhone and iPads