News

SAP + energy suppliers + scc = a perfect symbiosis

Energy suppliers are constantly faced with challenges in their day-to-day work

Starting with securing the energy supply in the entire supply area, through the optimization of business processes and communication with a large number of customers, to compliance with statutory provisions and environmental regulations. All in all, there are many aspects that need to be focused on and taken into account every day. For this, a powerful ERP system that is optimally tailored to the energy industry and its needs is indispensable. And here we come to the first, perfect symbiosis: SAP + energy suppliers. It is not for nothing that almost all large, well-known energy suppliers in Austria use SAP as their ERP and/or IS utilities solution.

10 Requirements of the energy industry for an ERP system

1
Flexibility
Even companies in the same industry often differ from each other in many ways - and are individual. Energy suppliers are no exception. That's why a flexible ERP system that adapts to the respective business requirements and needs is essential.
2
Scalability
If circumstances in the company change, employees and customers are added or the product range develops further, then the ERP solution must not lag behind - on the contrary: it must adapt perfectly to the new conditions.
3
Security and
privacy
Every company that works with confidential, personal data must be able to rely on the ERP system to operate securely and in compliance with the GDPR.
4
Connection to
other systems
If several different applications are used in a company that are to process data and information with each other, it is important that linkage is possible here.
5
Customer
service
Utilities need a comprehensive function to serve customers efficiently and competently.
6
Mobility
Field service employees of energy supply companies must also be able to access the ERP system while on the road. Use via mobile devices must therefore be guaranteed.
7
Industry change
The energy industry in particular is currently undergoing a major transformation. This means that the energy transition is presenting energy suppliers with new challenges, such as increased electricity production from renewable energies or new, intelligent metering systems. The ERP system must be able to react flexibly to these changes and process the enormous volumes of data.
8
Information
in real time
Data and information that serve as the basis for important business decisions should be available and analyzable in real time.
9
Legal
requirements
Companies in the energy industry are subject to strict requirements with regard to compliance with laws. That the ERP solution meets these is an absolute basic requirement. A typical requirement, for example, becomes applicable to companies that offer other services and products in addition to energy supply (public transport or similar). Where one system used to be sufficient for all of a company's services, separate solutions are now required to comply with EU and DSGVO regulations.
10
Simple
operability
With all the requirements for customers and companies, the company's own employees should not be forgotten. After all, the ERP solution makes up a significant part of their daily work and thus also has a great influence on their satisfaction at work. The system should therefore be easy and intuitive to use and enable an efficient way of working. Good and competent support is also an important criterion here.
All these requirements show that it is essential for utilities to rely on a performance
capable ERP system like SAP - regardless of whether they choose an on-premise or cloud environment. SAP adapts to the fast-moving world and constant change, recognizes potential and needs, and is the ideal partner for the utilities of the present - and the future.

Why scc is the perfect partner for energy suppliers

Now we come to the second symbiosis: SAP + scc. We have been active as an SAP consulting company in Austria for over 25 years, are an officially accredited SAP GOLD partner and are now a leading SAP consulting company with 300 consultants. Our customers are diverse, although we have been able to build up particularly profound expertise in some areas - including the energy sector. Our customers include many renowned, well-known energy suppliers:

illwerke vkw AG

Together with SAP and a partner company, GISA, we are implementing an interesting conversion project. Cooperation with several specialists is the usual approach for such projects in order to be able to exploit the full potential for our customers. In the conversion for illwerke vkw AG, SAP is purely responsible for quality control, we take care of the ERP part (classic business processes such as accounting, controlling, materials management, invoicing, purchasing, inventory management, procurement, human resources, payroll, etc.) and GISA takes care of the utility specifics (formerly: IS-U = Industry Solution Utilities). GISA is a subsidiary of our joint venture partner, NTT DATA Business Solutions, which is considered the world's largest SAP partner. In addition, GISA is an affiliated IT company of a German energy supplier and thus an absolute specialist in the energy industry.

Salzburg AG

We are currently in the setup process for this relatively new conversion project. The project is being carried out, among others, with our own daughter company HR Force (in the area of human resources management). Together with other partners, scc is responsible for the core part in the ERP area. The special feature of this project: Salzburg AG is the first European energy supplier to opt for a conversion based on RISE, which is implemented technically by SAP and applicatively by scc - together with its partners. This means that the data is not located at Salzburg AG itself, but is outsourced to SAP's cloud. This means that data management is also the responsibility of SAP. The decision between cloud and on-premise solution is not easy for many utilities, making Salzburg AG a highly interesting project for all utilities that still have the conversion to S/4 HANA ahead of them.

Image: © Salzburg AG

For many years, we have been acting as a consulting company for energy providers in almost all Austrian provinces as well as system-critical infrastructure companies, passing on our wealth of experience in selected ERP topics such as accounting, controlling, analytics or inventory management. In addition, we support Austria-specific industry adaptations and occasionally also ensure that the necessary internal skills in the use of SAP are built up within the companies of our partners and customers.
And with this, we have now also demonstrated the third perfect symbiosis: energy supplier + scc. We are pleased to have been able to cooperate with renowned energy supply companies for so many years, and in doing so to continue to expand our knowledge in this highly interesting field. This leads to the fact that we can always expand our offer based on this newly acquired knowledge and be a reliable companion for our customers.
back to our blog