SAP SME (MM/WM)

Asahi Europe & International is part of Asahi Group Holdings, a global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food group with leading positions in European and Asia-Pacific markets, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan. As of November 2020, Asahi Europe & International Group runs 19 production facilities in 8 countries across Europe, and is the custodian of some of the best beer brands in the world, including Asahi Super Dry, Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Grolsch and Kozel. Within the Asahi Group, the remit of Asahi Europe and International is also to develop and manage all export markets globally, outside of Japan and Oceania. Covering 90 markets and with over 10,000 passionate colleagues on board, the business is well positioned to inspire people around the world to drink better.

SAP SME FI/CO

Company overview

Asahi Europe & International is part of Asahi Group Holdings, a global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food group with leading positions in European and Asia-Pacific markets, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan.  As of November 2020, Asahi Europe & International Group runs 19 production facilities in 8 countries across Europe, and is the custodian of some of the best beer brands in the world, including Asahi Super Dry, Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Grolsch and Kozel. Within the Asahi Group, the remit of Asahi Europe and International is also to develop and manage all export markets globally, outside of Japan and Oceania. Covering 90 markets and with over 10,000 passionate colleagues on board, the business is well positioned to inspire people around the world to drink better.

Functional overview

#digital aims to be the best strategic technology partner and enabler for AEI business to meet its strategic goals.  A regionally integrated function in which every employee plays a part. Organizationally, #Digital is structured to enable digital innovation and is capable of agile value delivery on pre-defined, technology platforms. We are organised around business functions and empowered to achieve goals. We will harness capabilities with suitable technologies, together with a unified data model to enable and meet expected business outcomes. Our AEI behaviours and #digital Principles will shape the way we collaborate across business functions, fusing and working together on joint goals, strategy and execution. The function is the forefront of new technologies, deliberately reducing the constraints of the ‘old’ and enabling the ‘new’, to contribute directly to the increasing expansion of our premium brands at scale.

Main purpose of the job

The SAP Subject Matter Expert role will serve within the Asahi Europe & International (AEI) SAP Center of Excellence (CoE) team. This role will be responsible for SAP customizing, supporting, and developing processes in the SAP AEI environment using industry and AEI standard methodologies and the AEI template content. This role will also involve working hands-on with business partners, solution owners, and other regional and global AEI application team members.

Accountabilities and deliverables 

Implementation and Configuration

• Design and Specification: Develop comprehensive solution designs that align with both business requirements and industry best practices for given domain
• Complex Solution Implementation: Implement, test, and configure advanced module-specific solutions that address:
  • For FI/CO: intricate financial and controlling scenarios, ensuring compliance with local and international regulations.
• Quality and Scalability: Ensure that configurations are not only robust but also scalable, supporting future business growth and transformation initiatives while adhering to compliance and quality standards.

System Integration

• Cross-Module Collaboration: Work closely with both internal and external relevant SAP module consultants to ensure seamless integration across the entire AEI SAP landscape.
• Interoperability Standards: Establish and enforce integration standards to maintain data integrity and operational continuity between interconnected systems.
• Proactive Issue Resolution: Develop monitoring mechanisms and communication protocols to quickly identify and resolve integration challenges, minimizing system potential disruptions and downtime.

Business Analysis

• Process Mapping and Gap Analysis: Conduct in-depth analyses of existing business processes, identifying inefficiencies and recommending transformative improvements and optimization that leverage SAP capabilities.
• Opportunity Identification: Proactively explore and propose enhancements within the SAP portfolio that can deliver measurable benefits to AEI, such as cost savings, efficiency gains, or improved compliance or quality.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as a trusted advisor to business units, translating technical capabilities into tangible business value and strategic insights.

Support and Maintenance

• Ongoing Operational Support: Provide continuous support for the relevant modules, ensuring high system availability, optimal performance and rapid problem resolution.
• Incident Management: Implement structured troubleshooting and root cause analysis processes, supported by defined SLAs and KPIs, to ensure consistent service quality.
• User Partnership: Work closely with business area stakeholders to address specific needs, ensuring that operational issues are resolved in a manner that minimizes business disruption and drive efficiency.

Vendor Management

• Third-Party Oversight: Act as the gatekeeper for third-party developments, ensuring adherence to both SAP and AEI template best practices and maintaining the integrity of core clean principles.
• Performance Evaluation: Regularly assess vendor performance against predefined criteria, ensuring that all external contributions meet the project’s quality, cost, and timeline requirements.
• Contractual Compliance: Negotiate and enforce vendor contracts to secure optimal service delivery and adherence to industry standards.

Project Management

• Module-Related Project Contribution: Actively contribute to project planning and execution, ensuring that best practices for relevant module are applied throughout the project lifecycle.
• Transformation Initiatives: Play a key role in the S4/HANA transformation of the AEI ECC landscape, ensuring smooth transitions and minimal disruptions during global and regional implementations and innovation projects.
• Risk and Change Management: Employ robust project management techniques to manage risks, orchestrate change management initiatives, and communicate effectively with stakeholders to drive project success.

SAP Module Objectives

• Comprehensive Functional Expertise: Provide expert-level oversight across key functional areas including:
  • For FI/CO: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Banking, Asset Accounting, Taxation, and Management of Business Partners (customers and vendors).
  • For MM/WM: Procurement, Purchasing, MM and WM Inventory, Inbound and Outbound Logistics, Extended Warehouse Management, Packaging, SKU management, mobile WM solutions, automatic warehouse operations, and interfaces between WM/MM and SD/DSD.
  • For PP-PI/QM/PM/MII: production planning, process industry requirements, MRP, batch management, quality inspection, and traceability, ensuring that manufacturing processes are efficient and compliant.
• Global and Multi-Language Support: Ensure that SAP configurations support a multi-language and multi-currency environment, complying with diverse regulatory and operational requirements across different geographies.
• Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and optimize module performance to keep pace with evolving business needs and industry standards, ensuring that AEI consistently leverages best-in-class SAP capabilities.

What we expect

• Minimum of 8 years of experience as the SAP module consultant, including implementation and configuration. S4/HANA implementation is an asset.
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, economics, business administration or equivalent.
• Business-facing experience - running the requirement gathering workshops, solution design presentations, and conducting user training. Strong knowledge of required SAP modules.
• Certifications in SAP relevant modules, SAP training certificate, FMCG or sales-driven business experience preferred
• FI/CO experience