Procurement for Public Sector (PPS)

Public sector systems need to meet external legislative and regulatory governmental procurement requirements. In an effort to meet these, we worked to develop the SAP Procurement for Public Sector (PPS) solution.

 

While at SAP, Summit Consulting Group principals Matthew Dixon, Paul Hanifan, and Randy Gaylor led the product development of SRM PPS. Our involvement spanned the full product development life cycle, from initial requirement discussions with clients through product testing and roll-out. More specifically, they led tasks in:

 

• •  Requirements definition
• •  Gap analysis of requirements to existing SAP product lines
• •  Writing of functional designs for handoff to development
• •  Software acceptance and integration testing
• •  PPS roll-out at selected client sites
• •  Development of SAP PPS training class
• •  Customer training and workshops
• •  PPS presentations at industry forums
    (e.g. SAPPHIRE and ASUG conferences)

 

To meet the complex procurement processes in the Public Sector, SAP enhanced the SRM and ERP components and built Document Builder, a tool that produces complex procurement documents.  While the PPS functionality is robust, it does span multiple system landscapes and the process flows are often complex (see process flow example below).

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Accelerated Procurement Solution (APS)

To facilitate PPS implementations, Summit has built an Accelerated Procurement Solution (APS) which can be readily installed on a client’s system. The APS offers a pre-configured SAP PPS solution that delivers not only the technical integration between SRM, ECC, and Document Builder, but also provides functionality and scenarios that cover the following:

 

With APS, our team will be able to provide a fully integrated sandbox environment during the initial phases of the project. The sandbox will not only include PPS procurement functionality, but will also highlight the integration with other supporting processes (e.g. ECC Purchase Requisitions, Funds Management). Along with assisting with an early knowledge transfer, APS benefits include:

• •  Pre-configured system based on industry best practices.
  
  
• •  On-site system access during critical early phases of the
     implementation; clients will be able to view and test
     PPS functionality on a configured system as early
     as the requirements definition phase of the project.
  
  
• •  Allows for implementation team to provide software
     demos to support blueprinting and design phases
     when matching SAP functionality with their business
     processes.
  
  
• •  Provides a basis to be used in support of client specific
     configuration that will be implemented based on specific
     business processes.
  
  
• •  Pre-developed documentation to include configuration,
     process guidelines, and process scenarios to support all
     project phases.
• •  Comprehensive PPS Configuration Training
  
  
• •  Reusable prototype to implementation that enhances
     other methodologies (e.g. ASAP, Agile).

 

Clients that implement the PPS Implementation Accelerator will be able to streamline their implementations. From the start of a new implementation project, we will work with clients while being able to show them the functionality of PPS and how it can integrate into their current system and how the functionality can support their business process requirements. We answer questions, demonstrate SAP capabilities, and assist clients in moving beyond the blueprint phase to the realization phase. In doing so, we increase stakeholder understanding and confidence that SAP is the right solution.

 

The APS is an ongoing initiative, as we will continue to enhance its capability as we roll in requirements from our client base.

Driving practical solutions to
achieve optimal system performance.