Introduction

It has been over a year since SAP Invoice Management (SIM) 7.5 was introduced. In the meantime, OpenText has released the necessary service packs; we have now reached SP4. Last year we already wrote about the new functionalities of SIM in our blog(link). Today we will talk about keeping your software up-to-date by regularly upgrading your SAP Invoice Management software.

Latest status

The most recent version 7.5 contains a lot of new functionality. Since the previous blog about SIM, a number of new features have been added that may be of interest for an upgrade. Together with the previously discussed topics, this provides the following overview:

  • Best practice:
    • Business Rule Framework (BRF)
    • Logic Modules (LM; data enrichment)
    • Flexible autopost determination
  • Single click entry
  • New version of VIM Analytics (with support for CDS views)
  • Supplier Self Service
  • Return to vendor
  • Approval via SAP Fiori app
  • Scan function in VIM Workplace
  • Upgrade tools

There are also a number of features that are no longer supported. These are still available in the new version but will not be further developed:

  • The old Chart of Authority. It is advised to use the new Chart of Authority, which allows level-based approval.
  • Integrated Invoice Cockpit: will be replaced by the VIM Workplace for the accounts payable department. VIM Workplace offers more information and functionalities on the first screen.
  • Old VIM Analytics: a new version of the VIM Analytics reporting is available, optimized for SAP HANA.
  • Old document processing index screen
  • Old portal approval screen

Why upgrade to 7.5?

Upgrading SIM has several advantages:

  • Make use of the new functionalities;
  • Support for older versions (≤ 6.0) will expire on 31-12-2015. Upgrading will extend support;
  • The best practice functionalities offer the possibility to implement process improvements and work more efficiently with SIM;
  • Possible replacement of existing customization by new functionality.

Kind of upgrades

One of the most important questions when upgrading to SIM is what kind of upgrade it should be. You can choose between a technical upgrade (i.e. without the use of new functionalities), a technical upgrade using some new functionalities, or an upgrade including a redesign of the most important functions.

Considerations here include to what extent the new functions are desirable, how much customization is available, to what extent old functions are still supported and of course the costs.

The advantage of only a technical upgrade is that the support with OpenText is extended, think for example of bugfixes. In addition, certain new functions that do not require a full upgrade can be implemented quickly. With a technical upgrade, however, the necessary steps will still have to be taken, also depending on which SIM version you upgrade from.

In the case of a full upgrade, in addition to the technical upgrade itself, the new functions such as BRF and Logic Modules are also enabled.

Upgrade tools

For companies that already use SIM and want to upgrade to 7.5 it is necessary to perform a migration. An Upgrade Guide and migration programs are available for this purpose. The migration programs can help to migrate various settings, migrate running workflows, and initialize the new VIM Analytics and VIM Workplace data.

Migration programs are available from service pack 2 (SP2). So make sure you bring at least SP1 and SP2 with you when upgrading. By the way, we advise to always upgrade to the last available SP.

Invoice Capture Center

When using OpenText Invoice Capture Center (ICC) for invoice recognition, it is good to know that ICC can be upgraded separately from SIM. However, the ICC version must be the same or higher version than the SIM version.

Sneak preview Fiori apps

Finally, new in SP4 are some Fiori apps that we would like to bring to your attention.

First up is the Fiori Invoice Approval. Already delivered in SP2, but now extended with new features, such as bulk approval and extended sorting and search capabilities.

New in SP4 is the encoding of invoices via Fiori, and the handling of DP document exceptions, such as requests for information. Especially adding the latter was a wish of many companies, information requests could previously only be handled in SAP.

Finally, a first version of a report is available, Simple VAN Report.

Below are some of the screen prints provided by OpenText.

What's next? 

Avelon has extensive experience in implementing and upgrading existing SIM functionality. Based on your current release and setup, we can carry out an analysis without any obligation and make you a proposal to update your current setup. In this way, you can quickly benefit from the new possibilities offered by SIM. 

For questions or additional information on this subject you can contact recording with Sander van der Wijngaart.