SAP Business One (SAP B1) and SAP Business ByDesign are two intelligent solutions from the SAP portfolio that conveniently complement small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) structure and operations even in the time of COVID-19 pandemic.
In January this year, SMEs dominate the Philippines’s business landscape comprising of 106,175 small enterprises, 4,895 medium enterprises, and a massive 887,272 units of micro business establishments. The country recorded only 4,769 large enterprises. With SMEs being responsible for 2.5 million-job creations in the country, the nation’s economic recovery post-pandemic lies in the ability of the SME ecosystem to thrive by leveraging technology.
Karl Kendrick Chua, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for the Philippines to address its “digital divide” and transition to becoming a digitally-powered economy. Aside from enabling the healthcare sector to face the COVID-19’s pressing challenges head-on, technology has also been at the forefront of many enterprises’ strategies for survival in these unprecedented times.
Embracing the New Normal
SAP Philippines recognises the country’s need for a 180-degree pivot to embrace and adapt to the new normal. According to SAP Philippines Managing Director Edler Panlilio, the global health crisis has changed the business landscape as employees, customers, and organisations adjust to remote working, transacting via online or virtual channels, and even managing business operations remotely.
“These quarantine guidelines demonstrated how technology continues to play an important role in supporting business continuity. Organisations now rely more on digital tools and platforms to move labor-oriented practices into more automated and technology-oriented processes,” Panlilio explained.
Panlilio stressed that even when the Philippine government decides to lift the quarantine guidelines, technological advancements will continue to grow significantly. For SMEs, he emphasised that now is the most opportune time to shift their gears towards technology as an important asset, instead of an option. This shift in perception will enable them to not only thrive in the new normal but also continue to be resilient despite possible disruptions from the coronavirus health crisis.
SAP Solutions for SMEs
The SAP Philippines MD highlighted SAP Business One and SAP Business ByDesign as two of the SAP solutions that SMEs can take advantage of as they navigate the road to becoming an intelligent enterprise even in this unpredictable environment. Today, more and more businesses strive to become “intelligent enterprises” to achieve greater productivity, more efficient operations, and better cost-saving processes.
“Intelligent enterprises can collect insights better from customers, employees, products, and brands at every touchpoint as they use powerful technology to sense opportunities, risks, and trends and, turn this intelligence into action across every part of the business,” said Panlilio.
Designed for small and midsize businesses, SAP Business One (SAP B1) offers an affordable way to several key business areas. It is a single, integrated solution that captures all critical business information for immediate access and company-wide use. The SAP ERP solution boasts of its modularity and flexibility having more than 500 add-on solutions, custom-made to industries, or special functions.
On the other hand, SAP Business ByDesign is a single cloud ERP solution for fast-growing, mid-market businesses to scale and compete without the complexity and cost. The solution enables businesses to connect every function across their organisation to time-tested best practices and in-depth analytics.
SAP B1 Adoption
In the country, many SMEs that have used SAP solutions emerged to be fast-growing enterprises.
Sta. Elena Properties is one of the SMEs that leveraged SAP B1 to seamlessly integrate their financial accounting system and deliver reports more effectively. The solution allowed the company to have access to real-time data enabling them to make sound and informed decisions.
“Optimising our financial and accounting system through technology has helped us improve our business processes and nurture the company’s growth,” said Katrina Tantoco-Lobregat, VP for Sales Marketing and Business Development at Sta. Elena Properties.
MM Steel Service Center Corporation has also leveraged SAP B1 to help steel production and delivery run 24/7. Now having full visibility into their stock items and production orders, the company can forecast demand as well as guarantee customer satisfaction.
“We have been successful in implementing SAP Business One across our supply chain. We are now always confident to fill customers’ orders. Because at any time of the day, we know exactly how much stock we have on hand, what orders are incoming and how much stock is in transit,” shared the steel manufacturer’s Accounting Supervisor Marcel Gako.
“This means zero delays across the entire supply chain. Uninterrupted supply means uninterrupted growth,” further stressed Raymond Seminiano, Supervisor at MM Steel.
MD Panlilio explained that SAP, as a purpose-driven company, is focused on helping its customers and organisations successfully manage their businesses amid new adversaries just like this pandemic. He said:
“SAP’s mission has always been to help every type of organisation in whatever size or shape, to run better. Especially in the Philippines where SMEs are essential to our thriving economy, we remain focused on providing access to technology that will support their growth and resiliency.”
While the Philippine government strives to provide incentives and aids to SMEs, SMEs, for their own sake, must stay on top of their game to innovate, find and adopt applicable solutions and technology to help them prosper during and after the pandemic.