MITSUI KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY: Enhancing operations of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition with SAP Preferred Success
Explore MKI’s journey with SAP
MITSUI KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY CO. LTD. (MKI), part of the MITSUI & CO. LTD. group, specializes in information systems and IT infrastructure services. To enhance cloud utilization efficiently, MKI implemented SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, leveraging the customer success offering SAP Preferred Success services. By working closely with SAP experts and receiving support on function utilization and operational improvements, MKI aims to achieve greater investment returns.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Professional services | Tokyo, Japan | 2,366 employees |
Manager, Digital Strategic Promotion Division, Corporate Planning Administrative Unit, MITSUI KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY CO. LTD.
Implementing SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition under a cloud-first policy
In 2018, MKI announced its IT strategy, “MKI IT Grand Design,” emphasizing the integration of cutting-edge technologies into its in-house systems.
The company had been using the SAP ERP and SAP Business Warehouse applications, but its standard maintenance and support contract was coming to an end. So MKI made the decision to introduce SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and the SAP Analytics Cloud solution.
Shunsuke Niihama, manager of the company’s Digital Strategic Promotion Division, Corporate Planning Administrative Unit, says, “As an SAP partner, we decided to adopt the latest cloud service to accumulate knowledge and share our experience with our customers.”
At the same time, MKI chose SAP Preferred Success services to provide lifecycle support for cloud services spanning implementation, operation, and application phases. During the implementation, the company received technical support for API integration between SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and sales support solutions.
Manager, Digital Strategic Promotion Division, Corporate Planning Administrative Unit, MITSUI KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY CO. LTD.
Implementing improvement measures in the enterprise and operational areas
After SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition went live, regular communication between MKI and customer success partners (CSPs) from SAP revealed new issues in enterprise and operation areas.
In the enterprise area, challenges included utilizing production modules, strengthening management accounting, and enhancing the adoption of business reporting. Initially, production operations were excluded from the implementation scope, but the need to integrate systems of merged companies necessitated incorporating the production module based on SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, thereby expanding its use. Strengthening management accounting focused on enhancing data utilization to create management value. For business reporting, performance issues with reports designed using SAP Analytics Cloud were identified and addressed with the support from SAP’s technical team. “As a result of improving the most frequently used reports first, user engagement gradually increased,” comments Niihama.
In the operations area, interviews with on-site users about their experience with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition were conducted. Based on the feedback, web conferences were held with users and the SAP team. “The ability for users to communicate directly with cloud experts from SAP was a significant advantage,” says Niihama. “Users who were uncertain about their use of the services expressed sentiments such as, ‘My doubts have been resolved,’ and ‘I no longer have any worries about how to use the service.’”
Gaining a sense of security in direct communication with SAP experts
By utilizing SAP Preferred Success, the company realized the necessity of project planning for enterprise issues, setting a clear future direction. It is expected that the advanced use of management accounting and business reporting will positively impact business and management, such as increasing sales and reducing the rate of lost orders. In the operational area, user satisfaction has increased as on-site understanding of the standard functions of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition has improved.
Niihama praises the SAP Preferred Success offering for providing prompt and appropriate support from CSPs and technical experts even after SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition went live. He notes that there are benefits to using the cloud that can’t be obtained with standard support alone. “It is very reassuring to be able to communicate closely with experts from SAP. Information about the functional expansions is promptly shared with us at regular meetings, allowing us to consider future actions proactively,” says Niihama.
Expecting improved functionality and further upgrades
MKI plans to continue utilizing SAP Preferred Success and strengthening its functions through repeated communication with CSPs. The company is considering using the SAP Datasphere solution, a cloud-based data integration offering, to enable its business model that bundles the sale of products, maintenance services, and projects in conjunction with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. The aim is to create an integrated data mart that includes non-SAP data.
“Ideally, we would like to keep up with the twice-yearly version upgrades as much as possible while exploring new features of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition,” says Niihama. “We plan to continue improving our business operations while quickly implementing effective functions in the production environment and returning the value of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition to our customers as an SAP partner.”
To advance data utilization, MKI has also opted for support from SAP Preferred Success in using SAP Business Technology Platform, including SAP Analytics Cloud. With the support of SAP Preferred Success, MKI plans to fully leverage both SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and SAP Analytics Cloud.