Business Flows 2.0 Release Overview: From Generic Foundations to Industry-Specific Execution

bpExperts is proud to announce the latest Business Flows 2.0 (BF 2.0) release—a structured, SAP-aligned repository of business processes designed to support real-world SAP transformation initiatives.

This release delivers value in two distinct ways. It enhances the Generic Industry version with improved structures and updated content, and it introduces a new Process Industry repository tailored specifically to the operational realities of process-driven organizations.

With Business Flows 2.0, organizations gain greater transparency across their process landscape, faster and more reliable process scoping, and actionable insights that accelerate SAP-driven transformations from the earliest phases. The BF 2.0 release is guided by a consistent set of principles applied across both the Generic and Process Industry content, ensuring that improvements are not isolated changes but part of a coherent overall design.

What Makes This Release Special

A defining element of this release is the enhanced Business Flows metamodel, which introduces industry-specific transformational drivers and business capabilities that are explicitly modeled and visible:

• Carefully selected, industry-relevant end-to-end scenarios were defined for the Process Industry, focusing on real operational business cases rather than generic functional flows.

• Industry-specific transformational drivers and business capabilities are explicitly represented, making the link between strategic objectives, processes, and execution transparent and actionable.

• For the first time, SAP scope items, business capabilities, and SAP solutions are officially introduced and implemented together, ensuring that process content is directly aligned with what SAP solutions support in practice.

👉 Request a demo session to explore Business Flows 2.0 and see how industry-specific process content can accelerate your SAP transformation.

Process Industry Development Approach

As part of the BF 2.0 release, a dedicated Process Industry (PI) version has been introduced. It complements the Generic Business Flows by providing tailored structure and content for process-driven organizations and serves as a blueprint for future industry-specific releases.

SAP-Aligned Domain Coverage

The Process Industry repository spans eight SAP-aligned end-to-end domains:

• Idea to Market

• Plan to Fulfill

• Lead to Cash

• Source to Pay

• Finance

• Acquire to Decommission

• Governance

• Recruit to Retire

Objectives of the Process Industry Release

The objective of this release is to enable effective scoping, design, and implementation of SAP-aligned business flows by:

• Establishing a comprehensive, industry-specific process repository

• Deploying the content on SAP Signavio for immediate use in modeling and analysis

• Supporting efficient mapping of real business cases to SAP solution capabilities

• Highlighting process-industry-specific transformational drivers and business capabilities to support targeted business outcomes

Development Methodology

The Process Industry content was developed using a structured and reusable approach:

• The Generic Business Flows served as a baseline to ensure architectural consistency

• Industry-specific business cases (such as Sell-from-Stock, Third-Party Procurement, and Manufacturing Site operations) defined the primary scope

• Industry-centric scoping focused on operational realities rather than functional decomposition

• Validation against SAP solution capabilities ensured feasibility and alignment

• Dedicated libraries of transformational drivers and business capabilities support measurable value realization

Repository Structure and Benefits

The Process Industry repository provides multiple perspectives to support navigation and analysis:

• Industry View for selecting relevant content

• Domain View aligned to SAP end-to-end domains

• Industry-specific E2E scenarios and transformational drivers

• Detailed E2E flows linked to business capabilities and SAP scope items

This enables organizations to:

• Accelerate process scoping and design using predefined industry standards

• Align business processes directly with SAP solution capabilities

• Identify key transformational drivers and required business capabilities

• Maintain a consistent, structured, and reusable process repository

Generic Industry Highlights

The Generic Industry version has also been significantly enhanced in this release, with improved domain structures, refined end-to-end scenarios, and stronger alignment with SAP solutions.

Key improvements include:

• Introduction of Acquire to Decommission and Asset Management, completing the full asset lifecycle view

• Structural realignment based on Integrated Business Planning principles

• Streamlined end-to-end scenarios, removal of obsolete content, and introduction of new scenarios addressing regulatory, sustainability, workforce management, and subscription-based business models

This release incorporates SAP scope items version 2508, with extended coverage across logistics, procurement, asset management, finance, quality management, and human capital management. SAP Integrated Business Planning, SAP Ariba, and SAP SuccessFactors scope items are aligned where applicable.

Several domains remain under active review and will be further enhanced as part of planned redesigns scheduled for Q1 2026.

Overall Impact

Overall, this release strengthens the foundation of Business Flows 2.0 by improving structural consistency, expanding functional coverage, and ensuring closer alignment with current SAP solutions and best-practice operating models.

Business Flows 2.0: Why Industry Context Matters More Than Ever in SAP Transformations

Over the past years, we have used Business Flows in many SAP transformation initiatives — especially in large, complex industrial environments. And while the feedback has consistently been positive, one insight became impossible to ignore:

👉 Reference content only creates value if it is scoped, relatable, and usable from day one.

That insight is the starting point of Business Flows 2.0.

From “One Size Fits All” to Industry-Specific Acceleration

In earlier releases, Business Flows followed a deliberately generic approach: a comprehensive set of end-to-end scenarios covering all industries, all domains, all variants of doing business.

That worked—until it didn’t.

As the content grew, we saw a clear pattern in projects:

• Scoping workshops became harder

• Repositories became overwhelming

• Teams spent too much time reducing instead of accelerating

With Business Flows 2.0, we have added a fast lane:

➡️ Industry-specific repositories, curated and pre-scoped for real transformation work.

Aligning Business Architecture with SAP Reference Content

Another strong driver behind Business Flows 2.0 is the way SAP has evolved its own reference content over the last years.

SAP Best Practices, Scope Items, and Solution Capabilities have become extremely rich—but also complex. What’s often missing is a business-oriented structure that helps organizations understand:

• Why certain capabilities matter

• Which scope items are relevant

• How they relate to real end-to-end business scenarios

Business Flows 2.0 bridges exactly that gap:

• Business end-to-end scenarios remain the anchor

• Transformation drivers make objectives and pain points explicit

• Business capabilities connect strategy to execution

• SAP solutions and scope items are mapped transparently—without losing the business perspective

One Domain. One Map. One Conversation.

A major structural change in Business Flows 2.0 is that we no longer separate:

• End-to-end scenarios

• Process groups

• Process libraries

• Transformation drivers

into disconnected entry points.

Instead, they now come together within one domain map.

That means:

• No jumping between different models

• No loss of context

• Much faster conversations with business and IT stakeholders

It’s a setup designed for the Discover and Prepare phases of SAP initiatives—before teams disappear into detail.

First Release: Process Industry (Discrete Manufacturing Next)

We’re starting the Business Flows 2.0 journey with the Process Industry domain, released today.

Discrete Manufacturing is already in progress and will follow shortly. From there, we’ll move into Consumer Goods—and later into industries where the differences are even more substantial, such as Retail, Utilities, Energy, and Services.

That’s where the industry-specific approach will really shine.

Transparency Is Still Our Philosophy

One thing hasn’t changed.

We’ve always believed that reference content only creates trust if it is transparent, consistent, and open for discussion. That’s why we’re happy to:

• Walk you through the content

• Give you access via our collaboration hub

• Discuss how it fits (or doesn’t fit) your transformation context

Because at the end of the day, Business Flows is not about models.

It’s about helping organizations enter and execute SAP transformations with clarity, structure, and speed.

If this resonates with you, feel free to reach out—we’re happy to continue the conversation.

👉 If you want to see how this looks in practice, reach out to us and get your free demo session!

HANA migration - On the procrastination of getting your business involved

Dr. Russell Gomersall

While talking to customers preparing for their HANA journey, I often hear a commitment from the IT departments to involve the business. To a point, everyone agrees that it is inevitable. However, the question of when and how to involve the business is disputed. It is obvious that the business will have many questions, while the project management will not be ready to give answers, yet. Open points during the project inception will involve aspects such as brown vs. greenfield, budgets, duration, and approach. 

This often leads to procrastinating to involve the business. Sometimes, there is a 'shadow project' for preparation. This neglect of open communication frequently results in duplicate efforts with business and IT initiating parallel investigations that are hard to merge later on. 

 I suggest involving the business as early as possible. 

 Open communication is key, and identifying and involving key stakeholders from both sides will work better the earlier you join forces with them. 

It is advisable to set up your own 'business readiness' stream with clear objectives to gather relevant information on current strategic guidelines, operating models, and an inventory of related end-to-end scenarios and their business processes. 

As the basis for decisions on brown vs. greenfield, an analysis of pain points and key requirements is essential to effectively challenge the status quo and identify value drivers for the HANA initiative. 

Besides gathering crucial information as input for planning and early decisions, timely activation of the business will have a fundamental, positive impact on change management during your project. 

So, if you haven't involved your business yet, I suggest you start tomorrow and set up your first alignment. 

As bpExperts, this is what we focus on. Using Business Process Management as a true management methodology, we help introduce a process-centric approach, bridging the gap between business and IT, as well as between strategy and operations. 

We care, we act, we deliver. 

Dr. Russell Gomersall

Partner

E-Mail: russell.gomersall@bpexperts.de

Phone: +49 151 222 344 96

bpexperts.de

Why is it important to assess process maturity prior to S/4 HANA transformation?

Dr. Ikemefuna Allen

Building a good business case before embarking on an S/4 HANA transformation is crucial for several reasons. It helps ensure that the transformation aligns with the organization's broader strategic goals and objectives. It also allows you to clearly articulate how the S/4 HANA implementation will support and enhance these goals. A robust business case helps in estimating and justifying resource allocations, as well as assessing risks and quantifying expected improvements in efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. 

In building a business case, knowing where your operations stand in terms of maturity will give you a clear baseline against which you can measure desired improvements made through the S/4 HANA transformation. The maturity assessment will help you identify gaps in your current processes that need to be addressed. These gaps could be in data quality, process efficiency, compliance, or technology usage. The maturity assessment will reveal how well current processes are integrated with existing technology, providing a roadmap for what needs to be updated or changed in the S/4 HANA transformation. 

A thorough assessment that shows gaps and areas for improvement in processes can help in securing stakeholder buy-in, a critical factor in the success of any transformation project. The insights from the assessment provide concrete data and context that justify the investment. Moreover, knowing the maturity level of your processes will help you better estimate the effort and cost involved in the transformation, as gaps are identified and prioritized to focus on areas that need the most attention. 

The maturity assessment can highlight dependencies between processes and other business functions. Understanding these can help mitigate risks during the HANA transformation. The assessment can reveal areas where additional training or change management efforts will be required, helping you prepare your team for the upcoming changes. 

In summary, assessing process maturity is a necessity for aligning goals, mitigating risks, optimizing resource allocation, and ensuring the success of your S/4 HANA transformation. It provides a strategic and operational roadmap aligning your processes with organizational objectives. 

We at bpExperts can guide you through all the steps for performing a process maturity assessment by providing: 

1. A Process Maturity survey 

2. Advisory and support for survey respondents 

3. Evaluation of survey results and diagnosis of process maturity 

4. Detailing of action items and the roadmap required to achieve desired process maturity 

For inquiries on the maturity survey and how to conduct an assessment for your organization, please feel free to contact me. 

Dr. Ikemefuna Allen

Senior Manager

E-Mail: ikemefuna.allen@bpexperts.de

Phone: +49 162 28705 38

bpexperts.de