In itelligence AG, GfK has Found the SAP Services Partner of Their Choice

BIELEFELD, Germany, March 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

SAP Application Management Services not just for a change process

GfK SE has chosen itelligence AG as a partner for the management of their global SAP® solution, including the joint development of a tailor-made service concept. The main challenges were the requirement for the change processes to do justice to a project-driven company and the need to work jointly to develop an economically-efficient model for the desired support and thus to bring about a continual reduction, inter alia, in the high backlog of unprocessed support tickets.

Nuremberg-based GfK is counted among the world's four largest market-research companies and is the undisputed number 1 in Germany. Around 13,000 dedicated employees in more than 100 countries combine global knowledge with the exact analysis of local markets. The company is best known for the GfK consumer climate index and the data on ratings for television in the Federal Republic of Germany.

At GfK the progressive inclusion of end-to-end processes such as "Order to Cash", "Procure to Pay" and "Record to Report" went hand-in-hand with the implementation of the SAP ERP and SAP Supplier Relationship Management applications as well as the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) platform. This is a particularly challenging task in a project-driven company and caused the original service provider to face some insurmountable challenges. In an intensive joint review process GfK and its new SAP parter itelligence AG, succeeded in overcoming these difficulties. This process included, among other points, the development of consistent and effective processes for support requests and change requests, which also fixed the backlog of support tickets.

Today GfK is supported by a highly-motivated external, dedicated team for the provision of application management services. It has both extensive knowledge of the relevant internal procedures at GfK as well as a clear understanding of the needs of the users and provides multi-lingual support.

André Holhozinskyj, Global Head of Finance, GfK SE said: "We needed a service provider, who would adapt to the delivery structures we want to use. Our key points were short decision paths and a pragmatic approach. That is what we have achieved through itelligence."

The support costs were significantly reduced. A jointly-undertaken needs analysis showed that the initial establishment of a 24/7 service according to the follow-the-sun principle was not strictly necessary since major technical changes in Germany could always be implemented the next working day. In the meantime, a 19-hour service five days a week, with a mix of onsite, nearshore and offshore support, was sufficient to ensure the desired level of service. The geographical concentration and reduction of the SAP Application Management Services team brought further cost savings. Nevertheless, the support provided can be adapted flexibly at GfK request.

Lars Janitz, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Managed Services, itelligence AG said: "Our goal as an experienced, SAP-certified provider of application management services is the customer-based balance between proven standards and best practices, as well as customized service adjustments. With our expertise as an SAP global partner and an SAP-certified provider of application management services we can offer GfK appropriate, highly-qualified and flexible service throughout a long-term cooperation."

itelligence is a leading and an SAP-certified provider of application management services for medium-sized companies and corporations alike. Together with NTT DATA, the company offers innovative, flexible and scalable services for the complex and changing needs of its customers worldwide.

itelligence AG  

itelligence is one of the leading international full-service providers of solutions in support of SAP solutions, employing more than 5,000 highly qualified employees in 23 countries. As a frequently awarded SAP partner, among others global value-added reseller, itelligence is SAP-certified in cloud services, an SAP-certified provider of hosting services for SAP HANA® Enterprise Cloud and an SAP platinum partner. itelligence realizes large projects in the SAP solution-based environment for customers worldwide. The company's services in support of SAP solutions range from consulting and licensing to application management services and hosting services to proprietary industry-specific SAP solutions. In 2015, itelligence generated total sales of EUR 696.2 million.  

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Public Relations:        
Silvia Dicke       
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itelligence AG
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33605 Bielefeld 
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SOURCE itelligence AG