An agile workforce is a prerequisite for operational excellence in any organization. But are the SAP HCM (human capital management) modules you’re using right now giving you the flexibility, optimization and speed you need in planning your people and resources? Probably not.

SAP HCM: The Gap

As found by many companies with SAP HCM, its limitations to provide an all-in-one suite to cover the full spectrum of human capital management including workforce planning, forces them to look elsewhere as an adjunct to SAP. The use of Excel spreadsheets is not uncommon and there are a number of alternative workforce planning solutions in the market to cover the gap. However, does the choice you make provide the agility you need?

Let me illustrate my point with a couple of examples.

Outsourced service provider case study

A large provider of cleaning, catering and security services in the APAC region was looking for a workforce planning solution that fully integrated with SAP for its 30,000+ employees. The company went with a well-known workforce management software vendor, but it wasn’t quite able to deliver what the company actually needed – and that was agility. It needed a flexible solution that included rostering as well as a time and attendance management system on one platform for a number of very diverse businesses units with very different work practices. It found that it just could not respond in an agile way to the service provider’s constantly growing and diverse requirements, and so they needed to go back to the market.

And that’s when DELMIA Quintiq came into the picture with a workforce planning and optimization system that enabled the generation of planning and operational rosters, along with the assignment of shifts and specific tasks to employees. DELMIA Quintiq’s solution, integrated end-to-end with the service provider’s existing SAP HR and Payroll modules, enabled the company to respond to shifting workforce demands in real time.

Customs agency case study

Another customer, a government customs and border protection agency also in the APAC region, took a different route. In charge of ramping up security at the country’s borders, the agency was in the midst of setting up new national and regional command centers. The facilities needed to be equipped with a state-of-the-art technology stack that enabled multi-resource planning, scheduling and case management. For them, superior functionality outweighed everything else.

DELMIA Quintiq was compared to the incumbent SAP HCM solution as well as other workforce planning software vendors. In a six-month proof-of-concept, not only did DELMIA Quintiq far exceed the technical and functional requirements given the complexity, it was also able to demonstrate its ability to quickly adjust to changing requirements and scenarios, which is part of this ever-changing environment. Our record-breaking optimization technology and in-memory architecture meant that we could provide the agency the advantage of real-time, day-of-operations optimization. This was the differentiator that sealed the deal.

As part of our partnership with the agency, DELMIA Quintiq will plan, coordinate and optimize all the resources needed ― including equipment and detector canines ― for the agency to carry out raids in various locations throughout the country. Our solution’s ability to plan across multiple time horizons will enable the agency to create optimal long- and short-term plans, with rapid re-planning in response to last-minute changes and incidents on the day of operations.

The benefits of agility

The above examples bring to light situations you cannot afford to leave unaddressed for long, given that speed and agility are crucial for the high-performing workforce of today. Inflexibility, a lack of real-time optimization, poor scalability and sluggishness are just some of the shortcomings experienced in some solutions. Forgoing these elements would mean that your organization never realizes the full extent of the benefits it can enjoy, such as higher customer service levels, improved efficiency and reduced costs that come from an agile workforce.

There is a sweet spot

So, this is what it all comes down to: Full functionality and agility don’t have to be mutually exclusive. DELMIA Quintiq’s workforce planning solutions, with day-of-operations optimization, give you a level of speed and agility other vendors cannot match. As a certified SAP Silver Partner, DELMIA Quintiq has a proven record in successful end-to-end integration with existing SAP systems. You really can have the best of all worlds when it comes to workforce planning – functionality, low risk implementation and agility.

Are the gaps in your SAP HCM software getting more noticeable by the day? It’s time to consider an alternative. One that can maximize the potential of your workforce. Find out more about DELMIA Quintiq’s workforce planning solutions.