The United VARs member for the German-speaking area, B4B Solutions, has launched their SharePoint Integration add-on on the United VARs premium solutions catalogue. The add-on enables centralised and structured data management within SAP Sales and Service Cloud. We interviewed David Molter, SAP CX Product Manager at B4B Solutions, to find out more.
Learn more about B4B Solutions
United VARs: What does the add-on do, David?
David @B4B: Our new add-on provides easy integration of Microsoft SharePoint into SAP CX and SAP S/4HANA. It gives a single point of access into the one, shared document management system. This makes it easier for employees to share content and to be more productive, even for those people who aren’t nominated SAP users. Colleagues needing to create and access files throughout the sales cycle and project process can collaborate and edit them more efficiently, file and locate them more easily.
United VARs: Why did B4B Solutions decide to build this add-on?
David @B4B: Because of the huge increase in homeworking last year, Microsoft SharePoint is now one of the most popular document management systems worldwide. SharePoint Online has over 200 million active users a month. So, we saw there was a clear market for an integration add-on for SAP Sales and Service Cloud and we developed it in conjunction with our colleagues at All for One, our parent company. We piloted the add-on in September 2020 and launched it in January 2021. The add-on is also available for SAP S/4HANA and, in conjunction with our MS Teams Integration add-on, offers entirely new collaboration opportunities.
United VARs: What problems does the add-on solve?
David @B4B: Sales representatives and cross-departmental project team members want to respond to customer-specific requirements quickly. However, the files they need to access are often stored in complex document management systems without a central access point. These document silos require a lot of maintenance and slow down internal processes enormously.
Without the B4B integration add-on, SAP CX users have to go outside of the SAP system to access any documents needed by sales but developed by their non-SAP user colleagues. With our add-on, the SAP CX users have a central access point to all documents related to a business object. How the users get in is up to them. They can use MS Teams, SharePoint Online, the SAP Sales & Service Cloud or SAP S/4HANA to access documents.
Sales representatives regularly need access to customer-specific information when they are on-site at the customer's premises. This is possible now thanks to the 360° SAP customer view and our add-on. Being able to share documents across departments improves data quality, avoids unnecessary data silos, and improves cross-departmental collaboration, especially with colleagues who may not have access to the SAP Sales Cloud.
United VARs: What business benefits does your add-on deliver?
David @B4B: The B4B Sharepoint Integration add-on automatically creates a SharePoint folder for each new business object. It gives fast access to sales documents, via search, even by users who are not stored in the CRM. By providing a central access point to all customer documents and data, the add-on makes business processes more efficient. With direct access from the SAP Sales Cloud to SharePoint Online, internal processes are faster which saves both time and money. This add-on can significantly increase productivity, as users simply drag and drop data into our integrated add-on in the SAP Sales Cloud which automatically saves it in SharePoint Online. Without the add-on, they would need to change the system they’re in - go into Sharepoint Online, upload the data, and then go back into SAP Sales Cloud to continue their job. There is plenty of business research proving that going off-task disturbs your focus for around 25, maybe 30 minutes. So, avoiding that is clearly a big benefit.
The customer experience is also much better as colleagues from finance, marketing, etc. can create, edit and access shared documents, contracts, and so on throughout the sales process. Whether via MS Teams, SharePoint Online, the SAP Sales & Service Cloud or SAP S/4HANA, the knowledge transfer takes place directly on the business object.
Our customers can look forward to a user-friendly solution with a short implementation phase and a manageable standard period of 12 months. After the initial implementation fee, we price per user and this includes all updates and future functional enhancements.
Want to know more? View the app factsheet or request a demo here
About B4B Solutions
B4B Solutions is part of the All for One Group and is the United VARs member for Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. As SAP CX experts, they help SME companies to optimise all business processes for their customers and to promote strong, vibrant customer relationships throughout the entire customer journey. B4B has several add-ons featured in the United VARs product catalogue:
About United VARs
United VARs is certified with the highest SAP status as Platinum Partner and forms an alliance of leading IT solution providers in approximately 100 countries to guarantee the best service and support for your international SAP implementations, ERP optimization projects, and cross-border nearshoring. Are you planning a global SAP rollout? Watch the United VARs video
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