Implementation of SAP System by General Electric (GE)

I. GE Healthcare Systems Co., Ltd.: A Digital Pioneer in the Medical Technology Fiel

General Electric (GE) of the United States is a diversified technology company, with businesses ranging from chemical energy to medical imaging and medical devices, and customers in more than 100 countries around the world. GE Healthcare Systems China Co., Ltd. (GE Healthcare China) is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise invested by General Electric (GE) in China. It is mainly engaged in the development, production, and sales of medical devices, and provides corresponding technical services, consulting, and training services.

GE Healthcare is committed to becoming a global leader in innovations of medical technology, diagnostic drugs, and digital solutions. By providing integrated solutions, services, and data analysis, it makes hospital operations more efficient, clinical diagnosis more effective, treatment methods more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Over more than 125 years of serving patients and medical institutions, GE Healthcare has continuously advanced personalized, interconnected, and more empathetic medical care while simplifying the patient diagnosis and treatment process. Its businesses in medical imaging, ultrasound, life care, and diagnostic drugs cover all links of medical care from diagnosis and treatment to monitoring. In January 2023, GE Healthcare was listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market in the United States. It operates in more than 160 countries and regions, with an annual revenue of over 19.6 billion US dollars, and 51,000 employees worldwide work together to create boundless medical care.

GE Energy, another subsidiary under GE, is faced with rapid changes in the technology and service markets and accelerated digital transformation. Traditional management models are gradually unable to meet the enterprise’s needs for efficient operations and rapid response to market changes. Issues such as information silos, complex data management, and operational efficiency bottlenecks have become key factors restricting the enterprise’s further development. To achieve sustainable development and enhance its core competitiveness, GE Energy has decided to fully implement the SAP system and embark on a journey of digital transformation for its operational management model. Renaissance Consulting, a holding company under Hippocrates, has become one of the implementation partners for GE’s current SAP project.

II. Digital Transformation: Breaking Through the Bottlenecks of Traditional Management Models

Under the traditional management model, GE faced many challenges. Data recording relied on paper documents and scattered spreadsheets, which were not only prone to errors but also made it difficult to retrieve and analyze data quickly. Information flow was slow, and there were obstacles to communication and collaboration between departments. For example, in project management, project progress, material procurement, and financial data were scattered across different departments, making real-time sharing difficult and leading to delayed decision-making. In addition, supply chain management was complex, involving suppliers from multiple countries and regions, resulting in low efficiency in procurement and inventory management and great difficulty in cost control.

To solve these problems, GE decided to introduce the SAP system to improve the efficiency and transparency of enterprise operations through digital means. The SAP system organically integrates the enterprise’s business processes such as procurement, production, sales, finance, and project management, enabling real-time information sharing and collaborative management. Through data collection and analysis, the SAP system can monitor operational status in real time, optimize business processes, reduce operational costs, and bring all-round changes to the enterprise.

III. SAP Project: Phased Implementation to Steadily Advance Digital Transformation

(I) Overall Planning and Implementation Path

GE’s SAP project adopted the strategy of “overall planning and phased implementation” to ensure the steady progress and successful implementation of the project.

1. Phase 1: System Planning and Foundation BuildingThe project team conducted in-depth research on the digital construction of advanced enterprises, and formulated a detailed implementation plan based on GE’s actual needs. During this phase, the enterprise built the infrastructure of the SAP system, realized the initial connection of business processes across departments, and laid the foundation for the subsequent full-scale application.
2. Phase 2: Core Module Implementation and OptimizationIn this phase, the enterprise focused on implementing core modules such as procurement management, production management, sales management, financial management, and project management. Through the SAP system, procurement plans could be sent to suppliers in real time, production progress was monitored in real time, sales data was fed back in real time, and financial statements were generated automatically. At the same time, the system optimized business processes, reducing waiting time and resource waste in operations.
3. Phase 3: Full Integration and In-depth ApplicationThe SAP system was fully integrated with other existing information systems of the enterprise (such as MES, CRM, and PLM), breaking information silos and realizing seamless data sharing. By in-depth applying the data analysis function of the SAP system, the enterprise could grasp key indicators in the operation process in real time and provide decision support for the management. In addition, the SAP system also realized the whole-process traceability of business processes, ensuring the transparency and standardization of operations.

(II) Innovation in Core Business Models

Centered on core modules including procurement management, production management, sales management, financial management, and project management, the SAP project promoted the all-round upgrading of the enterprise’s operation and management.

• Procurement ManagementBased on the enterprise’s procurement needs and supplier resources, the SAP system automatically generates the optimal procurement plan and sends it to suppliers in real time. Through system monitoring, the management can keep track of the procurement progress at any time and adjust the plan in a timely manner to ensure the smooth completion of procurement tasks. The system also supports supplier performance evaluation to optimize supply chain management.
• Production ManagementThe SAP system realizes refined production management, with the whole process from raw material procurement to finished product storage tracked and controlled through the system. The system automatically generates production reports, reducing human errors and improving production efficiency. By monitoring production progress in real time, the enterprise can effectively avoid production delays and resource waste.
• Sales ManagementThe SAP system can monitor sales data in real time and generate sales reports, providing data support for market analysis and sales strategy adjustment. At the same time, the system supports the integration of multi-channel sales data, helping the enterprise better understand customer needs and improve customer satisfaction.
• Financial ManagementThe SAP system realizes the automatic processing of financial data and automatic generation of financial statements, reducing errors caused by manual operations. Through the data analysis function, the management can understand the enterprise’s financial status in real time and make scientific decisions. The system also supports financial management with multiple currencies and tax rules to meet the enterprise’s global business needs.
• Project ManagementThe SAP system provides comprehensive support for the whole-life-cycle management of projects, realizing refined project management from project planning, progress tracking to cost control. Through real-time data sharing, the project team can quickly respond to customer needs, optimize resource allocation, and improve project delivery efficiency.

(III) Strong Technical Architecture Support

The SAP system is based on an advanced digital platform, with high customization capabilities and efficient data access capabilities. It adopts a distributed architecture, which optimizes data storage and access efficiency and can quickly respond to users’ query needs. At the same time, the SAP system supports integration with third-party systems, realizing data sharing and collaborative work across all business links within the enterprise.

IV. Significant Results: Comprehensively Improving the Enterprise’s Operation and Management Level

(I) Internal Transformation of the Enterprise

The introduction of the SAP system has brought significant internal changes to GE:

• Significant Improvement in Operational EfficiencyBy optimizing business processes and monitoring operational status in real time, the SAP system has significantly improved the enterprise’s operational efficiency. The execution of procurement plans is more accurate, production efficiency has been effectively improved, the feedback speed of sales data has been accelerated, the time for generating financial statements has been reduced, and the project delivery cycle has been greatly shortened.
• Great Improvement in Data ManagementThe SAP system realizes centralized management and real-time sharing of enterprise data, with data consistency and accuracy reaching 100%. All departments of the enterprise can obtain the required data in real time, reducing decision-making errors caused by inconsistent data.
• Full Realization of Paperless OfficeThe application of the SAP system has realized paperless operation and management in the enterprise, reducing the cost of using and managing paper documents. At the same time, the system has improved the accuracy and security of data, avoiding errors caused by manual recording.

(II) Industry Demonstration and Social Impact

The successful implementation of GE’s SAP project has not only brought significant benefits to the enterprise itself but also provided valuable experience for the digital transformation of the energy, chemical, and medical technology industries:

• Industry Demonstration EffectAs a leading enterprise, GE’s successful case has shown peer enterprises the great potential of the SAP system in improving operation and management efficiency, encouraging more enterprises to actively engage in digital transformation.
• Cost Reduction and Efficiency ImprovementThe application of the SAP system has reduced the enterprise’s labor costs and management costs while improving operational efficiency. The enterprise has invested the saved resources in technological R&D and innovation, further enhancing its core competitiveness.

V. Future Outlook: Continuous Innovation to Lead the Industry’s Digital Transformation

The successful implementation of the SAP system has laid a solid foundation for GE’s digital transformation. However, the enterprise is well aware that digital transformation is a continuous process, and there is still broad room for development in the future.

• Continuous Optimization of System FunctionsGE will continuously optimize the functions of the SAP system according to the needs of business development. For example, it will further improve the data analysis module to realize more accurate market forecasting and operational decision-making; optimize the production management module to realize intelligent scheduling of production and optimal allocation of resources.
• Strengthening Data Analysis CapabilitiesThe enterprise will introduce more advanced data analysis technologies and tools to deeply mine the operational data in the SAP system. Through data analysis, the enterprise can predict potential problems in advance, optimize business processes, and further improve operational efficiency.
• Exploring System Integration and CollaborationGE will actively explore the integration of the SAP system with other digital solutions. For example, integrating with the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform to realize intelligent management of production equipment; integrating with the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to improve customer service quality.
• Through these continuous efforts, GE will continue to move forward on the path of digital transformation, moving towards intelligence and high efficiency. This will not only help the enterprise stand out in the fierce market competition but also provide richer and more valuable experience for the industry’s digital transformation, leading the industry to a more brilliant future.

VI. Related Solutions

• Solution 1: SAP Solution for the Life and Health Industry
• Solution 2: MES System-based Production Management Solution

VII. Related Cases

• Case 1: SAP System Implementation Project of Anhui Laoxiangji
• Case 2: Electronic Batch Record Project of Southwest Pharmaceutical

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