SAP Korea Strengthens Digital Foundation for Small and Mid-Sized Companies, Supporting ERP and AI Adoption
IT DAILY ·
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SAP Korea said it will work with partners to ease barriers to ERP adoption for small and mid-sized companies.
It said the support is aimed at the fact that internal management systems are failing to keep pace with corporate growth, leading to fragmented department-level work and data, more complex closing and settlement work, and delays in securing information.
The new "SAP Next 100" program will provide step-by-step support from growth diagnostics to system implementation, with Hana Bank, PwC Korea, ASPN, Blued, and Visa Korea participating.
SAP Korea said it will work with its partners to ease barriers to ERP adoption for small and mid-sized companies. It also plans to help growth companies manage their work and data systems and build a foundation for practical use of AI.
On the 20th, SAP Korea held a press conference for "SAP Next 100" at the International Finance Center in Yeouido, Seoul, and unveiled the plan.
The backdrop for this support is the view that internal management systems are not keeping up with the pace of corporate growth.
SAP Korea said that if a company's department-by-department work and data are fragmented, it becomes difficult to promptly identify profitability by business even if sales increase. It also explained that such fragmentation makes closing and settlement work more complicated.
It also cited difficulty in securing information in a timely manner for decisions on business expansion and investment as another reason for pushing ahead with the support.
Kim Jun-young, vice president at SAP Korea, said that in the course of corporate growth, companies that have digital foundations from the outset can leap forward quickly, while companies that achieve sales growth but fail to establish a systematic management base may face difficulties in attracting investment, going public, and expanding overseas.
SAP created "SAP Next 100" for the purpose of solving these problems. SAP NEXT 100 is a program that provides step-by-step support from growth diagnostics to system implementation.
The support combines the professional capabilities of five partners: Hana Bank, PwC Korea, ASPN, Blued, and Visa Korea. Kim Jun-young, vice president at SAP Korea, said SAP is working with specialist partners in each field to support promising domestic companies in taking a leap forward.
A photo of Kang Ji-hoon, head of SAP Korea's mid-sized and small business client division, was published. The photo was taken by reporter Yang Seung-gap.
The program targets small and mid-sized companies under the NICE Information Service standard that want to adopt SAP Public Cloud ERP, and it provides selected companies with a growth diagnosis package and an implementation support package in stages. The growth diagnosis package consists of digital transformation roadmap consulting and a business AI readiness assessment, and is worth KRW 25 million.
The subsequent implementation support package consists of a special SAP license rate and benefits linked to Hana Bank and Visa, and is worth up to hundreds of millions of won. The total support period for selected companies is 8 months, and the support will proceed in four stages: Discover (1 month), Design (1 month), Build (4 months), and Grow (2 months). At each stage, support is provided for growth diagnostics, design, implementation, and operational stabilization.
Kang Ji-hoon, head of SAP Korea's mid-sized and small business client division, said that for the first month, the company will provide a free digital transformation assessment and diagnose which areas can produce what effects through digital transformation. He added that it will also present innovation directions and a blueprint for areas of interest such as AI.
This program is suitable for companies that aim to grow their businesses based on innovation. It is also suitable for companies that are pushing ahead with applying AI to core work and for companies that want employees to perform work from an enterprise-wide perspective that crosses departmental boundaries.
Kang Ji-hoon, head of SAP Korea's mid-sized and small business client division, said it is not easy for small businesses to apply AI beyond simple automation to core work or to pursue a proof of concept (PoC). He said that in line with this reality, SAP Cloud ERP is equipped with more than 400 built-in AI scenarios.
Kang Ji-hoon, head of SAP Korea's mid-sized and small business client division, said SAP Cloud ERP can be applied immediately without a separate PoC. It was also noted that this gives it a characteristic that can reduce the burden small businesses face in the process of adopting AI.
The program is structured so that participating partners provide support based on their respective areas of expertise. They will support selected companies from management diagnostics to ERP implementation and cash management.
The photo includes Kang Ji-hoon, head of SAP Korea's mid-sized and small business client division; Lee Sung-hoon, managing director at ASPN; Chun Jae-moon, managing director at PwC Korea; Cheon Seok-beom, head of Blued; and Park Tae-joon, head of Hana Bank.
Hana Bank said it will help reduce separate development time and costs by pre-integrating a firm banking service based on SAP Business Technology Platform with SAP Public Cloud ERP. It also said it will support cash management for branches, affiliates, and overseas subsidiaries as companies grow.
Park Tae-joon, head of Hana Bank, said that even after small and mid-sized companies grow, the number of personnel in charge of internal controls and cash management remains limited. He added that using a firm banking system can improve internal control and management efficiency with a small workforce.
PwC Korea said it will provide a free business diagnosis to identify each company's stage of growth and priorities, and then focus on reducing ERP implementation time and costs. It said this means first diagnosing a company's growth stage and key priorities, then concentrating on cutting the time and cost of ERP implementation.
Chun Jae-moon, managing director at PwC Korea, said the company is extending its industrial experience and capabilities, which have centered on large corporations, to small and mid-sized companies. He also said it will support the reuse of existing systems when growth companies go public or expand overseas, and help avoid redevelopment in preparation for an IPO or overseas expansion.
ASPN provides guidance on ERP adoption scope, schedule, and budget by company growth stage, and after implementation it supports work improvements through AI use. The use cases ASPN presented are automated journal entry creation, inventory verification, and performance forecasting.
Lee Sung-hoon, managing director at ASPN, cited schedule and budget as key concerns for growth companies adopting ERP. He also presented a finance-centered ERP starting point for growth companies and is guiding them so they can later expand ERP into logistics and production.
Blued provides consulting, implementation, and operations services for SAP cloud transition. Blued also provides cash management and firm banking integration solutions, as well as an AI agent platform.
Blued emphasized the importance of an accounting and asset management foundation in response to diversified financing methods. Cheon Seok-beom, head of Blued, said that when sources of financing become more diverse, a thorough link with accounting and asset management is necessary, and he explained that to understand accounting and operational regulations and raise external funds, SAP must be properly built so that needed information can be secured easily.
Source: IT DAILY · Yang Seung-gap
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=242319
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Source: IT DAILY
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