SAP Solution Brief
SAP Customer Relationship Partner Channel Management
Management
Build Stronger Partnerships for
Stronger Profits
Channel partners have the
power to make or break your
business. To build a more
profitable and loyal indirect
channel, you need a partner
relationship management You depend on your channel partners. partner channel network – and a more
That’s especially true today, because profitable company.
solution that helps you indirect sales channels account for a
strengthen channel partner­ growing percentage of revenue for Drive Demand, Collaboration,
many companies. But multitiered sales, and Value
ships and optimize channel service, and marketing channels have
operations – the SAP® complex demand chains. That makes it Partner management functionality
even more important for you to build enables you to better recruit, ramp up,
Customer Relationship and maintain strong partnerships with and manage channel partnerships
Management application. all your channel partners, including throughout the entire partner lifecycle.
dealers, distributors, agents, resellers, SAP CRM helps streamline and opti­ ize
m
and systems integrators. channel operations, resulting in a more
profitable and loyal indirect channel.
Energize channel partner Channel marketing functionality helps
relationships and enhance you drive demand through channel
partners. SAP CRM provides relevant
every facet of your indirect information, marketing tools, and incen­
channel so you can attract, tives to channel partners, which help
you motivate your partners to sell your
retain, and motivate the products and services – and not your
strongest partners with competitors’.
SAP Customer Relationship Channel sales functionality empowers
Management. your partners to sell more products more
effectively. SAP CRM enables you to
give your partners access to the same
The SAP® Customer Relationship knowledge, tools, and expert advice
Management (SAP CRM) application that your own sales force uses. And
helps you leverage your partner relation­ with insight into demand across all your
ships and empower channel partners so sales channels, you can forecast future
they can better market to, sell to, and business more effectively.
provide service to your end customers.
SAP CRM provides access to critical Partner order management functionality
partner-related data so you can forecast helps you optimize partner ordering pro­
and recognize demand across all sales cesses and increase visibility into chan­
channels. You can enhance collabora­ion nel inventory. SAP CRM helps to inte­
t
with your partners, drive more revenue grate your partners into your e-business
through the channel, increase value to strategy and enables collaborative selling
customers, and reduce channel support across organizational boundaries.
costs. The end result? A more profitable

Channel service functionality enables Partner communication – Drive part­
you to turn service and problem resolu­ ner effectiveness and foster loyalty by
tion over to your partners and still pro­ providing personalized and timely infor­
vide consistent, timely service to end mation. You can target content to part­
customers. SAP CRM equips your ners via e-mail or their partner portal
part­ ers with the tools and expertise
n home page. In addition, partners can
they need to manage service. search an online library for information
and tools.
Everything You Need to Succeed
Lead management – Capture, route,
With SAP CRM, you can manage all and manage sales leads, directing each Work in close harmony
aspects of indirect channels and seam­ lead to the best-fit channel and partner. with your critical part­
lessly incorporate your partners into all SAP CRM handles lead generation and
aspects of your business – marketing, qualification, automated lead distribu­ion,
t ner organizations and
sales, service, and e-business – building and ongoing monitoring of partner leads. build a collabora­ ive
t
a partner network that boosts your
bottom line. Collaborative campaign management – and a more profit­ ble
a
Design, manage, track, and optimize partner channel net­
Partner lifecycle management – targeted marketing campaigns. You
Register, profile, and monitor your part­ can work with partners to generate work – and a more
ners so you can manage them through­ demand by enabling them to leverage profitable company.
out the partner lifecycle. With con­ is­ent
s t your processes and expertise to
processes from recruitment through increase campaign impact. Partners
ramp-up, your partners and you are on can tailor campaigns with their own
the same page. branding, product mix, pricing, and and redeem points for loyalty partner
target customers as well as adapt and products and services. In addition,
Partner training – Make sure that your personalize e-mails to end customers. loyalty partners can register new
partners are prepared to represent you. members online and track the accrual
They can register for and take courses Channel marketing funds – Streamline and settlement of points.
online, request certification, and main­ channel marketing programs (market
tain qualifications. You can manage development funds, co-op, and so on), Partner locator – Enable your custom­
partner qualifications and certifications increase the effectiveness of channel ers to easily locate a store, reseller, or
down to individual employees at each marketing expenditures, and help ensure service location. They can research
partner company. legal compliance of funding practices. products and services on the Web and
Partners use self-service functions to then find a convenient partner location.
Partner planning and forecasting – submit and track fund requests and
With tools for planning sales and strate­ associated claims. Opportunity management – Gain
gies, you can set goals and measure complete visibility into each prospective
partner progress against those goals. Loyalty partner management – sale and support consistent sales
With tools for analyzing your sales Lever­ ge loyalty partners to generate
a methodologies. You can collaborate
pipe­ine, your partners and you can
l incre­ ental revenue and increase the
m with your partners to capture, manage,
evaluate future revenue based on open value of loyalty programs to members. and monitor business contacts and
sales transactions. Loyalty-program members can earn account information of opportunities.

Interactive selling and configuration – Service management – Enable partners You Succeed When Your Channel
Guide customers and partners to the to manage service requests, complaints, Partners Succeed
right solutions with online product con­ and returns to better support their end
figuration tools – especially important customers without relying on your A thriving partner channel is critical to
for complex, configurable products with support staff. your company’s success. SAP CRM
multiple options. Partners can access helps you enhance every facet of your
multimedia content, guided selling, con­ Partner and Channel Analytics indirect channel so you can attract,
figuration advice, and real-time pricing. retain, and motivate your channel
SAP CRM provides a broad range of partners. With SAP CRM, you can:
Pricing and contracts – Offer consis­ standard reports and analyses that help • Increase value to customers because
tent, accurate pricing across all channels you evaluate partner coverage, partner they receive consistent information
– with support for price lists, tiered and channel performance, revenue and and service across all channels
pricing, contract pricing, special quotes, sales, the return on partner invest­ ents,
m • Drive revenue and optimize your
discounts, and contracts. You can partner gross margins, and partner utili­ channel strategy with full visibility into
establish pricing rules, processes, and zation. You can share relevant reports customer demand and market trends
data centrally and deploy them across and analyses with channel partners. • Optimize your price and inventory mix
all selling channels. with full visibility into channel inven­
Customized Portals for Partners tory and resale information
Point of sale and channel inventory – and Channel Employees • Drive channel sales by working
Capture and reconcile point-of-sale collaboratively with channel partners
(POS) information from distributors and With SAP CRM, you can build personal­ ­ • Enhance the performance of your
retailers and track inventories held by ized portals for partners so they can supply and demand chain by making
channel partners to enhance channel access information and business all product, inventory, and customer
visibility. You can execute what-if analy­ transactions. information available in real time for
ses to predict the impact of pricing channel partners
changes with respect to price protec­ Using their portal, channel managers • Reduce channel support costs by
tion programs. can oversee all partner-related activi­ies.
t empowering partners with self-service
They can manage partner relationships, functions
Quotation and order management – collaborate with partners, and optimize
Enable partners to quote and order channel operations. They can also For More Information
products and services online – for them­ monitor and analyze channel sales,
selves and on behalf of end customers service, and marketing performance. Discover for yourself how SAP CRM
– and track orders through fulfillment. can help you attract, retain, and moti­
Partners access all of the power of vate your channel partners. Contact
Collaborative showroom and distrib­ SAP CRM from the partner portal – your SAP representative today or visit
uted order management – Host a Web self-service functions, information, our Web site at www.sap.com/crm.
shop for collaborative online sales and busi­ ess transactions, and powerful
n
marketing, giving customers a single analytical functionality. Partners can
point of access to purchase products download and order collateral and docu­
from the entire partner network. You mentation, enroll in training courses,
can optimize your ordering processes and receive notification of upcoming
with support for distributed order promotions. They can also receive
management. leads, purchase products, track orders,
and access support information.

Quick facts www.sap.com /contactsap
Summary
With the SAP® Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application, you can man­
age your indirect channel and seamlessly incorporate your partners into all aspects of your
business – across marketing, sales, and service – building a partner network that boosts
your bottom line.
Business Challenges
• Manage growing channel complexity
• Deal with an increasingly competitive marketplace, which raises the importance of your
partner ecosystem
• Meet customer demands for consistent treatment across channels
• Fulfill partner requirements for simplified yet powerful solutions that make it easy to do
business with you
Key Features
• Partner management – Better recruit, ramp up, and manage channel partners throughout
the entire partner lifecycle
• Channel marketing – Drive demand for products by engaging in collaborative marketing
and demand generation activities with your partners
• Channel sales – Empower your partners to sell more products more effectively by giving
them the same knowledge, tools, and expert advice as your direct sales force
• Partner order management – Optimize partner ordering processes, increase visibility into
channel inventory, and enable collaborative selling across organizational boundaries
• Channel service – Deliver consistent and timely service to end customers by enhancing
service and problem resolution capabilities of partners
• Partner and channel analytics – Gain insight into, analyze, and act on your indirect
channel operations and trends, resulting in more profitable and successful partnerships
Business Benefits
• Improved ease of doing business to help ensure partner loyalty and success
• Extended marketing reach through comarketing programs
• Increased revenue through channel collaboration and consistency
• Optimized price and inventory mix with transparent channel inventory and resale 50 063 332 (10/04)
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as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered
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their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves
informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary.
These materials are subject to change without notice. These materials
are provided by SAP AG and its affiliated companies (“SAP Group”)
for informational purposes only, without represen­ ation or warranty of
t
any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions
with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group
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