The digital challenges associated with the administration and management of large real estate portfolios are numerous. Simon Caspar, Partner at pom+ and Head of Business Unit Digital Solutions, knows them well. We wanted to know from him how SAP's real estate solution "Flexible Real Estate Management" (SAP RE-FX) can support here and which processes can be simplified with it.
Real estate is a commodity. People live, work, store, buy, maintain, care for and live in them. The stakeholders and their demands are just as broad as the variety of purposes. This makes the management of large real estate portfolios complex. Not only for FM specialists, but also for the IT, finance and controlling departments or property and asset management. Because they all access data from real estate management.
This is where SAP RE-FX comes in. It is called "Flexible Real Estate Management" (RE-FX) and the name says it all. This is because the management software shows the building from a multi-perspective: on the one hand, information on the architectural structure, such as office or floor space, is displayed in the so-called architectural view. . On the other hand, the utilisation view contains information on typical business cases from leasing, for example, rental contracts, conditions and contractual partners. At the same time, the Real Estate module takes on a kind of hinge function within the SAP palette in that, for example, technical installations can be linked to rooms and contracts. This enables a high degree of automation in the value flows.
Simon Caspar and his team support organisations in connecting different company areas and business processes by means of digital systems and creating a seamless exchange of data. In this interview, he explains how SAP RE-FX can help reduce complexity.
We always say that you should think in processes, not technologies. And now we are having a conversation about SAP's Real Estate module... How does that fit together?
It is true that the organisation decides on the basis of requirements what the system landscape of a company looks like. Accordingly, we have to deal with the business processes first before we install technologies. In doing so, I often find that the digital challenges in the administration and management of large real estate portfolios are the same for many companies. The SAP real estate module can support us in dealing with these challenges, as long as the goals, requirements and framework conditions, e.g. from the system architecture, fit.
What are these challenges?
They are numerous. In essence, it is always about the fact that the different roles within the organisation need specific real estate data for their activities, but use it differently and maintain or re-use it in different systems. For example, the finance department is primarily interested in the correct mapping of the real estate business in accounting, while in facility management, operationally specific services as well as the planning and control of orders are relevant. Meanwhile, Asset Management primarily uses key figures on the portfolio, letting and investments.
It is already challenging to break down all these needs to a single building. Of course, it gets even more complicated when we look at property management from a portfolio perspective.
Speaking of complicated - SAP does not necessarily have a reputation for being easy to handle. How can the software reduce complexity here?
SAP is an ERP system at its core and maps processes across several business segments. The real estate module SAP RE-FX enables a seamless integration of real estate data into the SAP core.
For example, mutations in contracts, in partners, in projects or in technical assets as well as changes in the value flows of real estate can be seamlessly integrated into the accounting. This not only significantly increases data quality, but also enables a high degree of automation.
SAP as a single source of truth, in other words.
Exactly. The single source of truth is an important building block in the digital transformation. If data is always maintained in the same place and automatically adjusted in all other systems, this contributes significantly to the acceleration and efficiency of business processes. In addition, the high quality and consistency of data enable integral decisions to be made at a strategic level.
And, of course, data management becomes much easier for the user. In this respect, SAP as an integrated solution really does reduce complexity in various processes in real estate management.
Which processes are you referring to here?
SAP is developing strongly, especially in the real estate sector. New solutions are constantly being presented and optimisations made to the existing applications. The real estate module can now be used in a variety of ways.
In addition to the master data management already mentioned, it is also possible to flexibly record and manage all types of property and components (property, rental units, rental areas, architectural rooms, etc.). Furthermore, the contracts relevant to property management can be recorded, from letting to service and maintenance contracts to deposit agreements.
Space and room management can also be mapped via the Real Estate module. Architectural peculiarities, usage conditions and equipment features are taken into account, as is the flexible letting of space.
Last but not least, SAP enables the control of real estate-relevant business processes. Integrated are, for example, asset-related bookings and evaluations, real estate controlling around cost planning, settlements and allocations as well as the planning and control of new buildings, maintenance and modernisation measures.
The real estate module thus covers a fairly comprehensive range of needs. For which companies is the introduction of SAP RE-FX worthwhile? What is the critical size?
An in-depth examination of the real estate module is of course particularly worthwhile if an SAP ecosystem is already in place. A mixed real estate portfolio consisting of operating and investment properties can also be a good indication. In my experience, these two aspects apply especially to corporate real estate management.
However, the critical size depends on the requirements of the parent organisation, the number of properties, the composition of the real estate portfolio and the digitalisation strategy. For example, if automation and integration are important in terms of value flows, SAP certainly makes sense for a certain company size. Ultimately, an organisation must ask itself how high it weights the integration of all its business processes. The higher the demands for data flows without media discontinuity, the more worthwhile it is to deal with the SAP system.
What are the goals of the SAP projects your team is currently supporting?
We are currently supporting various organisations in their transition to SAP S4/HANA. This is a new core technology on which SAP is building. It's about a complete renovation of the IT infrastructure and the renewal of core applications, so to speak.
Some customers use the switch as an opportunity to optimise their processes for mapping in the new technology. Others follow the "shift and lift" approach, i.e. they first make the technological leap and transfer the existing processes to the new system in order to then improve them over time.
Incidentally, we have been managing our largest SAP project for several years. Here we are responsible for the conception and test management as well as for the management of the master data.
About the expert
Simon Caspar holds a degree in Facility Management and an Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen (HSG). 10 years ago, he built up the Digital Solutions business unit as a partner at pom+Consulting AG. Today he is responsible for three service units with a total of 28 IT specialists, business analysts, data architects and requirement engineers. He supports companies in thinking of their organisation, processes, data and real estate as a unit and views digital systems as transport axes for the seamless exchange of information.
SAP RE-FX: How pom+ supports you
It doesn't matter whether you are already working with SAP, are considering the switch to SAP S4/HANA or are still thinking about introducing SAP - we will be happy to accompany you with an individual offer in five steps:
- We analyse your business processes and derive your technological requirements from them.
- We create a data concept that meets the requirements of the new Data Protection Act (nDSG), which comes into force in 2023.
- We take over the project management, coordinate and control your software suppliers
- We take care of quality assurance, including testing, system acceptance and defect management.
- We support you during the rollout and also accompany you after the project has been completed in the event of queries.
Do you have any questions? Our experts are happy to help.