Friday, July 25, 2025

Customer Success - APOS Publisher for Cloud - Bechtle AG

Using APOS Publisher for Cloud to provide secure broadcasting of financial reports

Customer Profile & Landscape

Bechtle is one of Europe's leading IT service providers. It creates future-ready IT architectures encompassing on-prem and multi-cloud infrastructures, modern workplace solutions, resilient security, artificial intelligence and a full range of managed services. Bechtle's customers also benefit from smart financing solutions and a circular IT offering, helping them achieve their ESG goals. Operating from 120 locations across 14 European countries, Bechtle combines personal, local service with a digital offering as part of its global multichannel strategy. With over 15,500 employees, Bechtle is always close to its B2G and B2B customers, from SMEs to large international organisations. Bechtle is listed on the MDAX and TecDAX indexes. In 2024, the company generated a revenue of €6.31 bn.

Bechtle initially deployed SAP Analytics Cloud in 2019 on a limited basis, initially focusing on Profit & Loss (P&L) analysis. The data source for P&L analysis is SAP BW/4HANA. SAP Analytics Cloud has grown and been more widely used in Bechtle since the initial deployment.

Core Challenge

As an IT company, Bechtle places a high value on analytics and secure, timely communication of detailed analytical data to appropriate stakeholders. Among other analytic activities, Bechtle uses SAP Analytics Cloud for financial reporting to the Executive Board and Supervisory Board from the Controllers in its many business groups.

They were looking for ways to extend broadcasting capabilities to:

• Secure reporting of financial controls, such as profit & loss statements
• Expanded communications to larger groups via daily emails

Problem: Their report distribution volume and frequency needs could not be met with the functionality provided by SAP Analytics Cloud Publications.

Without flexible and secure broadcasting capabilities, they would not be able to expand SAC use cases and decommission their legacy BI system.

Requirements

• "Push" distribution via email of reports based on SAP Analytics Cloud stories
• Embedded reports in emails
• Secure delivery of highly sensitive data
• Trigger automation and distribution logics with SQL database

Barriers

SAP Analytics Cloud Publications restrictions:

• Lack of support for Excel spreadsheets limits ability of stakeholders to work with data.
• Number of non-SAC recipients exceeds limits imposed by SAC Publications.
• SAC limitations on available time slots for report broadcasting were problematic.
• Formatting of spreadsheets is not retained in the broadcast report.

Outcomes & Customer Success

• Critical use cases have been met.
• Critical security requirements have been met.
• Rapid deployment of a reliable, scalable enterprise broadcasting solution and strategy.
• Future use cases will expand ROI of SAC and APOS Publisher for Cloud.

With successful broadcasting through APOS Publisher for Cloud, there is the potential for SAC to replace other SAP BusinessObjects use cases, delivering timely and accurate generation and distribution of key financial statements such as Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement reporting.

Feedback

“With APOS we now can "push" daily and monthly reports to the managing directors and board members directly from SAP Analytics Cloud. The automation options, both from a security perspective and the process improvements, save a lot of time.”
Gottfried Pfeil - Group Controlling Manager, Bechtle AG