PepsiCo optimizes approval of SAP Workflow tasks via email
At PepsiCo, approval of business documents must take place as quickly as possible. This helps to reduce overall handling time and avoid potential disruptions. Handling administrative approval tasks is often done by employees who do not work in SAP all day. They often find handling and logging into SAP difficult, cumbersome and therefore not user-friendly. This hinders fast processing.
PepsiCo had a need to let employees handle SAP workflow tasks via email in an accessible and fast way. Within SAP SRM, it was previously possible for PepsiCo users to approve or reject a shopping cart via email.
In the search for a similar functionality within S/4HANA, PepsiCo came to Avelon. For a number of our customers, we reproduced and optimized this former SRM functionality based on the same technical components.
The Avelon Offline Email approval solution enables the handling of these approval tasks easily and anywhere. The approval task to be handled is clearly presented in an email message, including the relevant details, PDF attachment and possible follow-up actions. This makes it possible to handle SAP Workflow tasks within an ECC or S/4HANA system via any email client, from any device.
What is offline email approval
Offline Email Approval is a functionality in ECC or S4/HANA that allows an approver to approve or reject a workflow step by clicking on a link in an email without the user needing an active VPN connection or a direct connection to SAP.
Global features of the solution are:
SAP Workflow approval via email reply
Supports any e-mail client (including Outlook, GMail, Apple Mail)
Supports any device (including phone, table or desktop)
Works when the user is offline
Additional security measures beyond corporate mailbox security
Supported scenarios:
OpenText Vendor Invoice Management (VIM/SIM) approval tasks.
Custom workflow approval tasks, including invoices, purchase orders, contracts and sales orders
Based on proven SAP technologies (SAPConnect, SAP Workflow and ABAP)
How it works
Based on the role definition in the workflow, SAP determines a responsible user.
SAP creates a workitem (workflow message) for this user and sends it to his SAP inbox
The e-mail address of all users is maintained in their user profile in SAP.
A periodic batch job selects all work items for which offline email approval has been implemented and sends an email to the email address in the user profile.
When the recipient clicks the hyperlink for approve or reject, a response email is generated. This email contains the approver, the decision (approve or reject) and the comments.
The email with the response is received in SAP and processed in SAP Workflow.
What it looks like
PepsiCo decided to purchase this solution as a "template solution" and have it further developed to fit its needs in its global S/4HANA template. From go-live, PepsiCo's users will have the ability to approve invoices, unscheduled delivery charges, journal entries, purchase orders, purchase requisitions and contracts via email.
More information
For further questions or information on this topic or for other questions on SAP Workflow, SAP Invoice Management, Fiori or SAP Master Data Governance, please contact Sander van der Wijngaart.
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