This document outlines 5 steps for effectively resolving SAP support issues in order to provide a great client experience and make profits. The steps are: 1) Have a detailed planning document template to collect all relevant information about issues from clients; 2) Meet regularly with leads and managers to understand where consultants are stuck and how to help; 3) Create a techno-functional team to independently resolve simple and medium issues, freeing functional consultants for complex work; 4) Have support teams in different locations to offset disruptions; and 5) Encourage knowledge sharing on a company social network and incentivize questions and answers. Following these steps leads to business continuity, cost reduction and increased support team efficiency.

1. 5 steps which you can miss only at your own peril – Iron out the
chinks in the armor - SAP Support issues:
In today’s world of business there are more projects related to support than new
implementation. Hence companies are competing vigorously to win them. In order to give a
great experience to the client and also make profits in the bargain, there is a need to find the
optimal solution to resolve SAP support issues.
Below are five important steps that you will want to miss only at the cost of your business.
1. Have a great planning document
Today an incident created by a user does not contain all the information needed to take
an informed decision to reach resolution. This leads to a lot of back and forth
communication between the support team and the business user leading to lower
productivity and a frustrated business user.
Now, what is the solution?
First step is to have a tool that monitors all the queues and batch jobs. As soon as there is an
issue, it must raise an incident.
There should be a template which could be even a very simple excel sheet. It should contain the
check list of all the points related to problem definition.
Circulate it to the business user and request them to fill it as much as possible. And if anything
is not filled by the business user, then during the first call itself share the screen, and collect this
information. In the process, you may also teach the business user how to do it within the limits
of their authorization.
The template must contain:
 Steps created to reach at this issue.

2.  Screen name
 Standard ABAP program
 Authorization details including the roles assigned to a user
 Information of the whole business process followed till that issue cropped up
 System details like the SAP box and client details
 Table names associated with the session
 Information about the custom ABAP objects
 Transport details of the related objects
 ST22 dump analysis of the whole day
 Related S-note information
 Screen shot with the error message
I have taken few concepts used by Capgemini in the above case.
2. Meet regularly not to pin point mistakes but to guide and help
Having daily or weekly calls with the leads or manager to understand where the
consultant is stuck and what help is needed to go forward is must.
There should be a proper Root Cause Analysis process set up to tackle major incidents.
Having a call with all the stake holders is a good way to start the Root Cause Analysis as
it reduces the amount of time needed by a single consultant to collect/analyze data.
3. Create a techno-functional team that relieves your functional to focus on more important
matters
The best way to resolve SAP Support issues is to have a techno-functional team over
and above the functional team. You select a group of motivated technical people and
then train them in the business process that is relevant to the client. They should be able
to resolve simple and medium functional issues independently. This frees the functional
consultants to resolve recurring and complex issues which impact the business
profitability.
4. Locations matters in today’s volatile environment
Another good idea is to have teams spread across different locations. You can have
teams in different states or time zones to offset disruption caused due to conditions
created by weather, politics, uncertain economy etc. You cannot forego all the profits

3. gained during the entire eleven months of the year to solve the exigency created during
that one month due to a strike or a flood.
5. Encourage your support team to share their issues on a company owned social network.
Create an environment of freedom to ask even a basic doubt. Someone would have
forgotten a concept or had never had to use it in their entire career. Provide some
incentive to the person who asks more questions as well to the person who answers the
most questions.
This kind of set up will lead to business continuity, cost reduction and increased efficiency in the
support team. This leads to lower dependency on a particular resource and better planning of
leaves.
There is a constant need to innovate and build a structure to resolve the SAP support issues.
Hence you can only miss these 5 steps at your own peril.