The added value, the process & preparation of the Customer COE Team Accreditation

[AnnetteMichel]

As SAP's product portfolio has evolved, so has the Customer COE concept in the 30 years since it was first introduced to our customers. Its goal has remained the same over time: To establish and develop an expert team on the customer side (the so-called “Customer Center of Expertise”) which bundles SAP know-how and competencies and brings them together across all business units.

As the Customer COE concept evolved, the Customer COE certification service became Customer COE Team Accreditation. Why this? Quite simply, performance is always the work of a team, combining strengths and networking with various stakeholders in the organization. The name of the service should reflect this, even if the intention, the content, and the process of the audit service remained the same.

Why has SAP been recommending establishing a Customer COE for three decades and develop the expert team in line with the SAP landscape?
In customer projects, we see time and time again that successful companies are realizing the full value of their SAP investment. Based on transparency, efficiency, clear responsibilities and agility, these organizations bring together the right resources and enable a continuous exchange. This is precisely where the added value of a Customer COE in the company lies. 

Having said this,what is the added value of the Customer COE team accreditation.
Can't see the wood for the trees" - this well-known saying is a good illustration of how difficult it can be to keep track of the many topics relating to your current and future SAP landscape. Particularly when setting up and developing your SAP expert team, the following questions need to be asked: Where is the best place to start? What topics should be covered as a minimum?

With the Customer COE Team Accreditation, we give you an orientation on which topics are important as a basis for implementing the stated goal of a Customer COE in practice. For established Customer COEs, further questions arise: Are the services offered by the Customer COE still aligned with my company's IT and SAP strategy? Is my Customer COE team well positioned organizationally in the future? Are there any changes in processes and responsibilities in the customer organization or at SAP that need to be considered? Which SAP solutions, services and tools have been launched or changed? And much more.

The preparation for the team accreditation already shows which topics are well established, which need to be addressed and which are still open. In short, the team accreditation will give you an indication of where there is a need for action. The questions in the audit guide and the requirements provided are helpful in this respect.

The result of the team accreditation can be used as a measure of maturity on which the Customer COE can build as it continues to develop. Because nothing is more constant than change!
Change is one of the current focus topics of the Customer COE framework from SAP. In particular, the consideration of where existing Customer COEs can place their focus to avoid being "left behind" and continue to be a valuable part of the customer organization.

This brings us to another aspect of a successfully passed team accreditation that should not be underestimated: internal marketing. Do good and talk about it. The certificate at the end of the successful audit is the icing on the cake – a confirmation from SAP that the expert team has successfully implemented the fundamentals. Bravo - keep up the good work!

Content of the Team Accreditation
The Customer COE Management Framework is the foundation of the Customer COE concept and therefore also of Team Accreditation. It clusters the various questions and topics for you, making them more tangible for later implementation. The associated insight documents summarize the most important topics for you and provide you with further sources.

Want something even more compact? Then the Customer COE Team Accreditation Guide is just right for you. Broken down into the individual areas of the Customer COE Management Framework pyramid, the guide provides you with reference points for the basic requirements for your SAP expert team - and does so in a sustainable manner. This means that the requirements relate to both the existing and your future SAP landscape. It is important to emphasize that the requirements are defined independently of the deployment model of your SAP solutions.

Preparation of the Customer COE Team accreditation and the audit process
Would you like to start with the team accreditation of your SAP expert team now? With pleasure. You will find all the information you need in the Customer COE portal page.

We will start with an overview of what you need to know about the Customer COE. Would you like to get your colleagues in the company on board? We will be happy to support you with the so-called ‘Initial Guidance Service’ - a free remote call with an SAP expert who will help your team and the departments involved with the CCOE concept.

The SAP Customer COE program team is also available to answer any questions you may have at any time. Contact us - COE.program@sap.com, we will be happy to help you.

Preparation is half the battle
The Customer COE Team Accreditation Guide will give you a first impression of the extent to which each topic area is established, in progress or open. Review the topics in the guide with your team. Include interface areas in the discussion. Create cross-departmental transparency about the processes and define responsibilities together.

Familiarize yourself with the SAP tools and services mentioned. The above-mentioned Customer COE Insight documents and the additional SAP information and best practices available in the Customer COE Portal pages will help you.

Answering of the audit questions.
The requirements addressed in the Team Accreditation Guide form the basis of the online questionnaire, which you can access via the Customer COE Portal.

To start the application, you need an S-user with the authorization ‘Report a Technical Issue’ (Create Case). In the online questionnaire, you specify how your Customer COE has implemented the requirements. The requirements of the Team Accreditation Guide can be found 1:1 in the online questionnaire. 

Good things take time: Allow the content to sink in and collaborate on the questionnaire across the organization. You can save your entries as a draft at any time, involve colleagues in the editing process or add attachments. As soon as you feel that you have made a comprehensive contribution, send the online questionnaire to SAP. This starts the actual audit process at SAP.

Customer COE auditing is an SAP remote service.
The remote service request runs through the general SAP internal dispatching process, which is documented via the automatically generated case. The case then provides you with all further information on the audit process, such as the name of the SAP auditor responsible for you.

The detailed review and assessment of your information is based on SAP best practices, which are summarized for you in the last column of the Team Accreditation Guide.

If necessary or if you have any queries about the information you have provided, the auditor will contact you by e-mail. They will contact the Customer COE Manager entered in the questionnaire. If you would like to involve other colleagues in the audit process, please pass on their contact details to the auditor for queries.

The role of the Customer COE Manager
The customer's Customer COE Manager has overall responsibility for the topics addressed to the SAP expert team. Even if there is always a team behind the performance and services of the Customer COE, the overall responsibility cannot be shared. The Customer COE Manager is maintained by the SAP Auditor in your customer master data at SAP and can be found in SAP for Me under ‘Users & Contacts’ -> My Important Contacts.

If you would like to have other colleagues maintained, such as the deputy, as a contact for your Customer COE at SAP, please also pass on the contact details to the auditor.

The audit results
The SAP auditor informs the customer's COE manager of the audit result by e-mail. This includes a benchmark with the results of all customers who have successfully completed the team accreditation. The e-mail will also include the Customer COE Team Accreditation certificate and more information on the exclusive offers for Customer COEs that SAP provides to honor the efforts made towards team accreditation.

Do you need further support? With pleasure!
You can find additional service offerings for setting up and developing your Customer COE in the Customer COE Portal Media Library, under the "Services" section. Your SAP contacts and the SAP Customer COE program team can help you find the right support for you.