Public Sector
From stand-alone solutions to a strong unit
SIGUV integrates industry solutions into SAP
Away from stand-alone solutions towards a standardized system – the aim of the SIGUV network in the finance sector was to integrate the industry solutions used for its collection and disbursement processes into SAP. consolut supported SIGUV in developing standardized interfaces and implementing them at the network’s professional associations. The result: high synergy effects and more economical work than ever before.
The challenge
SIGUV Shares Services, an interest group of three professional associations and several statutory accident insurance companies, provides its members with standardized IT applications. SIGUV members’ core business is to process several thousand payment-related business transactions per day, divided into collections and disbursements. For this, SIGUV members use the industry solution CUSA from HDP for the “member & contribution” and “rehab & benefits” business processes. Examples of collection transactions are premium payments or the administration of recovered income. Disbursements include, for example, benefit payments or direct debits.
SIGUV’s three professional associations have been using the ECC 6.0 ERP system from SAP to map administration-specific business transactions for many years. All data from collection and disbursement processes must be transferred correctly to the SAP general ledger. Until now, they used non-standardized and in some instances in-house developed interfaces, which were both systemic and manual. This led to complex individual solutions and a high level of manual coordination.
The professional associations were looking for a standardized solution to connect their SAP systems to the two CUSA core systems. “We wanted to increase our efficiency, improve our data and process security, and significantly reduce our manual workload,” says Tina Jonas, SAP consultant at BGHW Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warenlogistik. BGHW, whose implementation project is described here by way of example, is one of the professional associations in the SIGUV network.
We are particularly noticing positive effects through standardization in the implementation and maintenance of the systems at the individual companies; this saves time and reduces costs.
The solution
consolut developed target models that use SAP standard functions to process account statements and payment programs for incoming and outgoing payments with the principal banks. Additional interfaces for communication with the banks are not necessary. This has the major advantage that adjustments to the interfaces to the banks, for example due to format changes, can be made centrally in SAP.
Encapsulated applications
Two encapsulated application areas for the interfaces to the CUSA products were developed in SAP, which seamlessly integrate into SAP FI and the FI-AR and FI-AP submodules and take over the communication with the core systems. Working together with experts from the SIGUV professional associations and HDP, consolut designed and implemented the interfaces for collection and disbursement processes. It was determined which extracts of master data and transaction data from the core systems the SAP application areas need to assign payment receipts.
The information referred to as “VIEW data” is made available to the SAP system on a daily basis in the full or delta process and stored in the SAP database. Efficient search indexes enable a convenient fuzzy search. Real-time access to the core application data was implemented using WebService technology.
consult developed user-friendly GUI-based interfaces that simplify daily work and offer various monitoring functions. They are intuitive to use and show all the important information at a glance – for efficient work with high user acceptance.
Example of a collection process:
A company’s premium payment is identified and posted via the electronic account statement in SAP. After that, the payment receipt is checked in an automatic validation routine and assigned according to rules. At BGHW, this is done automatically in about 98% of cases, which is a huge relief with up to 20,000 payment receipts every day. If automatic assignment is not possible, the payment receipt is made available for manual post-processing.
All payment receipts validated during the day are transferred to the core system at night and posted there. The transaction figures are updated in the SAP general ledger at the same time. Errors are rare, but there are procedures to fix them and provide the information.
Example of a disbursement process:
A premium due for payment is collected by direct debit, transferred to SAP via the disbursement process and posted as a receivable in SAP FI-AR. Direct debits are processed with the SAP payment program by default. The same procedure applies to all payments, such as benefit payments or reimbursements of credits. Thanks to clear protocols, users can keep track of everything; error handling processes ensure smooth payment processes. Depending on the disbursement process, the transaction figures can be transferred to the SAP general ledger in summarized form based on the defined account determination.
The result
The standardized interfaces at the professional associations leverage considerable synergy effects. “We are particularly noticing positive effects through standardization in the implementation and maintenance of the systems at the individual companies; this saves time and reduces costs,” says Tina Jonas. Only specific requirements and optimizations were implemented on an individual basis and according to the respective professional association’s specifications.
BGHW has been successfully using the interfaces to the CUSA “member & contribution” and “rehab & benefits” products in productive operation since 2018 and 2023 respectively. In 2024, the implementations were completed with the integration of the last professional association in the SIGUV network – a milestone that further strengthens efficiency and cooperation.
About SIGUV GbR
Our example in the text, BGHW Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warenlogistik, is a member of the SIGUV cooperation. SIGUV Shared Services Interessengemeinschaft für die gesetzlichen Unfallkassen provides IT services for all members. In addition to the professional associations BGHW, BG Verkehr and BG ETEM, a number of accident insurance companies are members of the network.
Benefits of SAP integration
User satisfaction has increased due to improved user experience
The enhanced processes enable tasks to be completed more efficiently and faster
Profitability has increased with the lower workload
By integrating all payment-related processes into SAP, the SAP system can be used as a central source of information
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