Digitalise credit management
From Excel to enterprise: BDF EXPERTS supports agricultural group in successful credit management digitalisation
Contents
The task was clear: an international seed group with billions in revenue modernised its credit risk management as part of its S/4HANA migration. Thousands of farmers and cooperatives worldwide buy on account, and the new system was intended to make credit decisions more efficient and more transparent.
The starting point: room for optimisation in a billion-euro business
The European market leader for seed had decided on a comprehensive transformation. Maize, beet and grain producers in over 30 countries rely on the company. Its previous credit management, however, still offered potential for improvement:
- Credit limits managed locally in Excel files rather than centrally in SAP
- Approval processes without a unified system, with unclear responsibilities
- Compliance optimisation required through better documentation of credit decisions
- Lack of integration of external credit data from sources such as Dun & Bradstreet
The solution: SAP Advanced Credit Management as the recipe for success
Phase 1: soft go-live, monitoring without restrictions
Full technical monitoring of all credit checks was implemented, but without order blocking. This allowed the system to be stabilised successfully.
A pilot company went live with active blocking logic, the successful practical test under real conditions.
The rollout to all S/4HANA companies with fully active credit management was successfully completed.
The heart of the solution: a segment-based credit limit model with a 1:1 mapping to Credit Control Areas. Each business partner received a dedicated Main Credit Segment for global limit control and its monitoring.
Core components of the implementation:
- 96 combinations of item categories were configured for credit relevance, comprehensive customising that has paid off
- Multi-stage workflows for credit decisions with automated thresholds (20k / 500k / EUR 2 million)
- Definition of credit groups for different sales channels (webshop, standard, customers/suppliers)
- Risk classes with score-based logic (High, Moderate, Low)
Fiori apps and operational tools:
- Implementation of the “Manage Credit Limit Requests” Fiori app for systemic release processes
- Mass assignment of the UKM000 role to business partners for efficient rollouts
- Preparation for mass migration of credit segment assignments for later implementations
- Definition of KPIs for in-depth reporting on credit limit monitoring
Integration into the SD process:
- Seamless integration: from pricing to credit exposure calculation, everything runs automatically
- Adjustment of SD condition schemas to ensure the correct value of a customer order is taken into account
- Specific assignment of credit checks to the relevant order types
- Strategic D&B integration prepared: maintenance of fields such as DUNS, PAYDEX, Net Worth, Credit Limit Recommendation
- Deliberately without an API connection in the soft go-live, data is initially maintained manually
- Technical foundation created for future automated credit data integration with SAP Cloud for Credit Integration
The added value achieved: from optimisation to excellence
- Before: Credit data held decentrally in Excel, manual processes, room for improvement in compliance, no integration of credit rating data
- After: central SAP data management, automated workflows, audit-proof documentation, preparation for external data sources
- Finance/AR: Significantly faster processing and more precise approvals through system-supported decision processes
- Sales: Clear escalation paths for order approvals and transparent credit status information
- Management: Reduced default risk and strategic real-time reporting with full traceability of all credit decisions
.Measurable improvements:
- Full SAP integration: All credit limit data can now be retrieved directly in SAP and no longer needs to be managed via Excel spreadsheets
- Process standardisation: Uniform credit approval processes across all S/4HANA companies
- Stronger compliance: Audit-proof documentation of all credit decisions with a clear separation of duties
What makes this project unique
The solution realised with SAP PPG and PRS enables a rule-based merging of the proven and the innovative: established engineering structures are preserved without any compromise on future readiness. Novel structural concepts such as the Production Order Structure (POS) ensure greater continuity, traceability and efficiency, a model step for the entire industry. Further process optimisations were already identified during the project, with their implementation planned for the next phases. The prerequisite: the flexible PRS architecture can be adapted at any time without disruption.
The success:
While many companies simply transfer their existing processes during an S/4HANA migration, this agricultural group seized the opportunity for a comprehensive redesign of its credit management. The result? A system that not only works but scales, from a pilot company through to a successful global rollout, fully prepared for future enhancements such as the D&B integration.
About BDF EXPERTS
BDF EXPERTS is the brand of bdf consultants GmbH, a leading SAP Silver / SolEx partner with comprehensive end-to-end expertise in Digital Supply Chain and Corporate Finance & Treasury (CFT).
For more than 25 years, BDF EXPERTS has been helping companies, on the basis of SAP ERP and S/4HANA, to achieve measurable value creation through fully digitalised processes. In Digital Supply Chain, BDF EXPERTS has developed particular expertise in holistic data management.
With SAP PPG (Product and Process Governance), BDF EXPERTS offers an innovative solution for centrally managing all product and process data in SAP, thereby laying the foundation for data-driven business models.
Any questions? We would be glad to help you in person.
Would you like to learn more about implementing SAP PPG in your company? Our experts will be happy to advise you individually.
Contact us for a no-obligation initial consultation.
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The BDF EXPERTS Insights platform is aimed at decision-makers and specialists working with SAP, supply chain and corporate finance. It offers well-founded expert articles, practical insights and strategic perspectives on process harmonisation, digitalisation and technological developments.
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