SAP’s commitment to cloud solutions has led to the development of newer cloud-based enterprise solutions that cater to diverse business requirements. One such technological change is transitioning from SAP Inventory Manager to SAP Service and Asset Manager – Inventory Clerk Persona.
In this blog, we will explore the reasons behind this replacement, the key features of SAP Service and Asset Manager, and the benefits it brings to businesses.
Why Migrate from SAP Inventory Manager?
- End-of-life Support: SAP Inventory Manager is based on the Agentry platform that SAP acquired from Syclo. SAP has announced end-of-life for Agentry platform-based solutions. Upgrading to SAP Service and Asset Manager ensures continued support and access to future enhancements.
Note – Not applicable to customers with Work Manager/Inventory Manager Cloud Edition licenses. The underlying platform for cloud deployments, Agentry Cloud Edition (or ACE), is fully supported for the length of the customer’s cloud contract.
2. Enhanced User Experience: The new solution offers an improved user interface, making it more intuitive and efficient for end-users.
3. Integrated Solution: SAP Service and Asset Manager provides a more comprehensive suite of capabilities that combine service management, asset management, inventory management, and Health and Safety in a single mobile solution.
Empower your workforce with persona-driven efficiency.
This Blog’s Focus – Inventory Clerk Persona
In the initial years of SSAM – Inventory Clerk, the depth of its features didn’t match that of SAP Inventory Manager. However, with the latest release, SAP SSAM has gained feature parity with SAP Inventory Manager.
Some of the features of SSAM – Inventory Clerk are listed below:
- Inventory Management
- Manage inbound and outbound deliveries
- Manage purchase orders and reservations
- Search for material documents; auto-fetch or on-demand from backend
- Lookup and transfer stock between plants
- Configure multiple storage locations
- Count physical inventory
- Support split valuation, serialise and batch materials
- Enable goods movements for production orders
- Reverse goods movements
- Change stock types
- Support purchase requests with authorisations at different cost levels.
- Usability
- Optimised UI for Inventory Clerk
- iOS, Android and Windows support
- Automatic backend synchronisation
- Offline support
- Built-in camera scanning (2D and barcodes).
- Process Flow
The table below summarises the differences between the two products:
SAP Inventory MANAGER | SAP Service & ASSET MANAGER – Inventory clerk persona | |
Backend Support | ERP and S/4HANA | ERP and S/4HANA |
Device Support | iOS, Android, Windows | iOS; Android, Windows |
Feature Set | Mature product; fully developed feature set | Next generation model of Inventory Manager, Integrates with SAP IoT |
Mobile Platform Deployment Options | Cloud and on-premise | Cloud only |
Connectivity | Complex offline capabilities | Complex offline capabilities |
Architecture | Metadata-driven technical architecture | Metadata-driven technical architecture |
Licensing | Subscription and on-premise | Subscription only |
Platform | Agentry on SAP Mobile Platform or SAP CP | Mobile Development Kit on SAP CP |
Roadmap | No future updates or roadmap | Active innovation Roadmap and support available |
Benefits of Adopting SAP Service and Asset Manager – Inventory Clerk.
- Increased Efficiency:
- Keep inventory moving
- Ensure mission-critical parts are available when needed
- Prevent obsolescence
- Control/manage theft and shrinkage
- Reduce inventory carrying costs.
- Essential part management:
- Manage parts and store inventories
- Perform cycle counts
- Receive, transfer, issue and adjust
- Manage parts during inspections, maintenance, and repairs.
- Barcode/QR code scanning: Barcode QR code scanning with mobile device camera and Bluetooth scanner.
- Cost Savings: No infrastructure costs with a cloud-hosted scalable solution.
- Compliance: A supported solution is a compliance requirement for many organisations.
- Better user adoption: With a single mobile solution for multiple use cases, the end user will be more familiar with the look and feel of the solution. Along with a better user experience, this should result in better user adoption.
- Out-of-box integration with SAP systems: Designed to seamlessly integrate with SAP backend systems – SAP ECC or S/4HANA. Quick deployment in weeks.
- Online/offline processing: Works offline to facilitate warehouse management even without an internet connection.
Conclusion:
As the SAP Inventory Manager Agentry edition reaches the end of its support, transitioning to SAP Service and Asset Manager is a strategic move for businesses seeking a unified and modern mobile solution for their operations.
With its powerful features, enhanced user experience, and tangible benefits, SAP Service and Asset Manager is poised to be the solution for mobile inventory management for SAP customers. We can help you embrace this transformation to stay ahead in today’s competitive business landscape.
On Device Solutions is an SAP Gold Partner and a specialist IT consultancy for SAP enterprise mobile solutions. We have delivered SAP Inventory Manager and SSAM for multiple SAP customers. We also have expertise in material barcoding solutions, often rolled out alongside mobile inventory management solutions.
Contact our dedicated On Device Solutions team to learn more about SAP SSAM – Inventory Clerk persona or request a tailored demo.