Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Streamlines Operations with SAPs R/3 Enterprise by Chris Trayhorn, Publisher of mThink Blue Book, January 15, 2002 SAIC is a leader in systems design and integration, information security, IT outsourcing, and telecommunications networking and support, with more than 41,000 people at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide and a 32-year continued growth record. This is their SAP Case study: Decision to Purchase SAIC made the business decision to modernize their IT applications in the fall of 1993 in order to meet the growing business information needs of finance and accounting. The company, therefore, committed to replace its custom legacy systems with an ERP system from a global software solutions company. Solution After rigorous evaluation of possible solutions SAP’s R/3 Enterprise solution suite was selected. SAIC was an “early-adopter” in selecting SAP to integrate their dynamic and rapidly growing global business. One of the main criteria was the ability to support SAIC business processes. Very few U.S. companies had implemented SAP at that time and SAIC was one of the first large-scale users of R/3 Enterprize software in the United States, with more than 300 locations worldwide and over 5,000 users. Pilot Project In the first stage of the R/3 implementation, SAIC chose a pilot project approach for their small commercial division, starting with PS, Financials, CO, and Materials Management modules, along with the time reporting portion of HR. Within six months, this phase was successfully completed with assistance from SAP and in part because of the ability to access project information on-line. The internal pilot project team was now in place to further implement the SAP R/3 Enterprise System company-wide. SAIC clearly saw benefit in SAP R/3’s potential for lowering operating as well as administrative costs, and streamlining processes with one data model. Company-wide Implementation Subsequently, the SAIC internal team implemented company-wide procurement in 1995, which involved centralization of Accounts Payable and the implementation of common business practices for procurement. The existing Accounts Payable and procurement processes were mostly manual processes with various locally developed, offline management tools. A key benefit of the new SAP system was having information readily available for consolidating large vendor accounts and negotiating corporate purchasing agreements. One of SAIC’s objectives for this project was to develop a permanent internal R/3 Enterprise support team. This was accomplished by partnering with SAP and other consultants in the initial pilot, training existing staff on the various modules and new releases. Some of the main challenges apart from streamlining business processes and change management were meeting training needs and SAP front-end software distribution. The SAIC training approach was to send technical and functional teams to SAP training classes and to establish an in-house training team to train the users. The company followed the “train-the-trainer” approach in order to reach all 5,000 users. Role-based training and informational events, in which employees were comprehensively prepared for the coming changes, played an important role in effective change management. “SAIC’s SAP R/3 implementation was such a success from a pilot project perspective that we immediately saw the system’s potential for lowering costs and increasing productivity. Shortly after the pilot implementation, SAIC moved forward with a company-wide implementation. SAP has been running problem-free now for over seven years, thanks to our internal project team and SAP’s own dedicated team of professionals.” — Mani Perumal, SAIC Company Growth SAIC with its strong record of growth is continually expanding through partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions, which requires many commercial and international system rollouts through contemporary SAP software components. Implementing “Best Practices” in the business arena has helped SAIC to integrate these new companies through the acquisition process more quickly, hence moving the new copany forward easily into SAIC’s streamlined operations. Two recent rollout examples, SAIC UK Ltd., and Network Solutions, are new organizations using the same SAP system. Building on prior internal experience, SAIC later implemented a full complement of SAP modules for Intesa, SAIC’s joint IT venture with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). SAP systems greatly simplified the process of merging with another company, thus reducing the time to implement new programs and continued progressive operations. System Performance SAIC is looking forward with plans for an active future with SAP. To take advantage of SAP R/3 Enterprise’s increasing functionality and versatility, SAIC has kept the system up-to-date by performing subsequent upgrades. Since its implementation in 1994, SAP R/3 Enterprise has been running problem-free for over seven years, which has enabled significant benefits to end users. Lessons learned during implementation can be attributed to SAP’s well-developed sense of customer partnership and support, as well as SAIC’s efficient and reliable operational model, service delivery infrastructure, software and business process knowledge base, and experienced delivery team. About SAIC As a leader in systems design and integration, information security, IT outsourcing, and telecommunications networking and support, SAIC offers unparalleled expertise and a variety of value-added services. With more than 41,000 people at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide, SAIC provides IT services around the world. And, as a FORTUNE 500® company with a history of 32 consecutive years of growth, their clients can count on SAIC to stand by its commitments now and into the future. SAIC helps its clients — from some of the world’s largest utility/energy and commercial companies and government agencies — to reduce costs, improve operations and add value to their businesses. About SAP SAP America is a subsidiary of SAP AG, the recognized leader in providing collaborative, inter-enterprise software and e-business solutions. A truly global software provider, SAP AG has more than 1,000 partners, 22 industr y solutions and 10 million users at 30,000 installations around the world. SAP America has contributed significantly to this leadership position, and it is the foremost provider of e-business and enterprise software in the United States. www.sap.com/usa/publicservices/utilities Filed under: White Papers Tagged under: Utilities About the Author Chris Trayhorn, Publisher of mThink Blue Book Chris Trayhorn is the Chairman of the Performance Marketing Industry Blue Ribbon Panel and the CEO of mThink.com, a leading online and content marketing agency. He has founded four successful marketing companies in London and San Francisco in the last 15 years, and is currently the founder and publisher of Revenue+Performance magazine, the magazine of the performance marketing industry since 2002.