Legacy ordering processes cause problems for SAP companies. If customers can only place orders via phone, fax, and email, then you may have a frustrating customer experience—which can drive customers to the competition.

Legacy processes are also inefficient and expensive, as every order requires human intervention to post it to SAP.

Enter the SAP-integrated ordering system!

A self-service SAP customer portal can alleviate the problems associated with legacy ordering processes. But the key is to choose an SAP ordering system that solves problems without introducing new costs and liabilities for your organization.

Here’s everything you should look for in an SAP-integrated ordering system.

1. Easy, self-service price and availability checks for customers

If you’re going to reduce your dependence on phone, fax, and email interaction with customers, then you’ll need to provide a quick way to check pricing and availability on any device. Even EDI customers can benefit from this functionality, as it’s easier to use than sending an EDI 846 to check inventory.

Of course, your ordering system will need a deep integration to SAP ERP to provide this information. That’s why Corevist is built on 49 rock-solid SAP integration points. Your customers get real-time, personalized pricing and availability, straight from SAP (and much more).

Of course, not all integrations are created equal. When it comes to availability, your SAP ordering system should support each customer’s personalized ATP (available to promise) rules, if applicable. That way, customers get a 100% accurate view of their inventory allocation.

2. Self-service ordering for customers

If nothing else, your SAP ordering system should do this: It should allow customers to place orders in a self-service portal that post to SAP ERP without errors.

That’s easier said than done if you have complex, customer-specific business rules. How can your SAP ordering system support the right business rules for each logged-in customer?

Once again, the key is a deep integration to SAP ERP. You’ll need to cover material master data, customer master data, product availability, order creation, and more.

This is why Corevist is built on a comprehensive, real-time SAP integration. Check out our 49 SAP integration points for more.

3. Product catalog supported (if you need it)

When it comes to self-service ordering, customers usually fall into two camps.

Some customers know exactly what they want. They may have SKU numbers memorized, or maybe they’re starting with a CSV file exported from their procurement system. (By the way, Corevist supports CSV upload in the cart. When a customer uploads a CSV, Corevist automatically fills the cart with the right products and quantities based on your SAP business rules).

Other customers don’t know your products as well. They may be new in their jobs, or their company has only recently started doing business with you. Whatever the scenario, they may need a product catalog with images, videos, descriptions, and related products to help them understand your offerings.

For some SAP companies, a product catalog is an essential component of their ordering system. For others, a catalog would just get in the way.

The key is to know your customers and their needs. And if you need a catalog, make sure your SAP ordering system supports it—ideally, with deep SAP integration for pricing, availability, and so on.

4. Self-service order tracking and payments for customers

An SAP ordering system isn’t much good if it only supports online ordering.

After all, the customer journey doesn’t end there.

Once a customer has placed an order, the journey continues. Now they need to track that order. If some line items didn’t ship, but others did, the customer needs to be able to track separate line items and shipments and see how they relate to the order as a whole.

Customers need self-service access to financial documents, too. Invoices, month-end statements, and real-time credit status are all essential features of an SAP-integrated ordering system.

Ideally, you’ll want to enable self-service payments too. This allows customers to select open invoices and pay them down online, through your preferred payment methods.

Keep in mind, post-order care isn’t only for customers who’ve placed orders online. EDI customers find great benefit in a self-service portal for order tracking, invoice tracking, and payment. Even if they continue to place orders through EDI, self-service workflows for post-order care are more convenient and efficient. This is one way you can make yourself “easier to do business with,” even while still supporting EDI ordering processes.

5. Your SAP ordering system shouldn’t create more work for IT

As you can see, a good SAP ordering system provides a lot of capabilities to your customers.

All that sophistication requires sophisticated technology.

And this is where many organizations stumble.

Simply put, your ordering system shouldn’t create more work for IT. If your IT team already has their hands full supporting SAP ERP, then you need to find a low-effort way to provide this self-service portal to customers.

That’s why Corevist delivers B2B portals and ecommerce through a managed SaaS model. Our cloud solutions include SAP integration, and our career SAP experts personally support, upgrade, and maintain each solution. Your IT team continues to support SAP ERP as they do today—and your Corevist solution automatically leverages that business data and logic in your self-service portal.

6. Your SAP ordering system should launch fast

Here’s an uncomfortable stat: 85% of B2B buyers will abandon a supplier with a bad digital experience.

You can’t wait 6-18 months to launch your self-service SAP ordering system. Really, you needed it yesterday.

That’s why Corevist launches in 30-90 days, depending on the package you select. On Day 1, our solution is 80% done—and already integrated to your SAP ERP system. We take out the guesswork in UI (user interface) design, and we eliminate the need for a complex, custom SAP integration. This unique combination allows you to launch fast, giving every customer the experience they deserve—while saving your IT team from taking on a significant burden.