How B2B Workforce Works- An Insider's Guide to Getting the Most out of Your Relationship with B2B Workforce- A Chat with Ralph Williams, Director of SAP HCM Solutions

Ralph Willams joined B2B Workforce over three months ago as part or our Solution Architect Program. In the following interview he shares his fresh perspective on what it means to be a B2B Workforce Solution Architect and shares some tips for our B2B Consultants he has gathered along the way.

Interviewer- How long have you been in your role as a B2B Solution Architect?

Ralph- About 3 and a half months.

Interviewer- Can you tell us a little bit about the experience you bring to the B2B Solution Architect team?

Ralph- I have always worked with Human Resources oriented systems, with about 20 years experience there, and have spent the last 10 years working specifically with SAP. I made the transition to SAP during the ERP boom in the mid 90's when client companies were looking for people with functional business experience to serve on their ERP implementations. At that time, the hiring companies were willing to train on SAP and I served as a systems analyst at first. Over time, my niche became post production support.

Click Here to see Ralph's tips for our B2B Consultants

Public Sector News and Opportunities: Consulting Update from Keith Marsh, CMO and VP of the Public Sector

CSC RECEIVES SAP CUSTOMER COMPETENCE CENTER RECERTIFICATION FOR WORK ON U.S. ARMY LOGISTICS MODERNIZATION PROGRAM

B2B Workforce is working with CSC on many Federal programs and recently executed a commercial consulting agreement for support CRM and ERP related programs as well. B2B Workforce supports or is teamed with CSC on many important programs such as U.S. Army's Logistics Modernization Program (LMP).

Computer Sciences Corporation announced July 31, 2007 that it has earned SAP Customer Competence Center (CCC) recertification for its work on the U.S. Army's Logistics Modernization Program (LMP). CCC certification signifies that an organization has met SAP standards for its practices, procedures and performance. Less than four percent of worldwide SAP implementations and less than one percent of SAP clients in North America have been awarded the certification, according to industry figures. CCC certification requires reevaluation every two years to ensure sustained quality and commitment to applying industry best practices.

CSC's LMP team, which includes a core team of B2B Workforce resources, earned its initial certification in April 2005 and was the first CSC organization in North America to receive the award. The Army's LMP is one of the world's largest enterprise resource planning implementations and is completely modernizing the Army's supply chain management operations. CSC provides end-to-end application development and support services to the LMP.

"Our recertification as an SAP Customer Competence Center reflects CSC's dedication to providing world-class support to the Logistics Modernization Program," said Austin Yerks, president of CSC's Defense Division. "This award also honors the experience, expertise, and collaborative efforts of the CSC team members who deliver significant business results to our customers."

SAP CCC certification is granted to organizations that exceed benchmarks for adopting effective business processes, and for maintaining and promoting technological expertise. The award affirms CSC's commitment to achieving the highest standards in business and technology performance, which translates into greater productivity gains for its customers.

An audit by SAP's Operations Competence Assessment organization analyzed how CSC's LMP team managed the SAP environment, including the business processes and technology tools used to support the LMP production system. The results were then benchmarked against industry best-practice standards.

SAP CCC recertification serves as an independent review of business processes and technological efficiency, validating the framework CSC has in place to ensure continued high levels of performance in both service delivery and service support to the LMP.

LMP continues to be great program for B2B Workforce and the consulting excellence that our consultants continue to provide under programs such as LMP are why we continue to be "a go to partner" for clients such as CSC. New funding has been awarded under this program and if you or friends are interested in working on programs such as LMP where you can be part of a long term programs setting the highest standards in industry, then call your B2B Resource Manager and let them know today! Congratulations to the entire B2B Workforce LMP team on this great achievement!

SAP in the news

SAP upgrades flagship ERP suite
Second version shipped under new upgrade policy: Click here

IBM connects WebSphere, SAP with pre-built portal application: Click here

SAP deputy CEO Apotheker sees operating margin at 30 pct in 2-3 yrs: Click here

Check out our new Podcast Center for this month's featured podcast:

Jon Reed Interviews Brian Trout on the State of the SAP Market

Podcast Preview: SAP career expert Jon Reed recently conducted a podcast interview with Brian Trout, SAP Practice Director at B2B Workforce. This in-depth interview covered a range of crucial topics on the state of the SAP consulting market.

You can listen to and/or download the full audio interview for this interview and our other B2B Workforce podcasts from our new Podcast Center. Click here

Ask the Expert

Can you please let me know how the current SAP BW market is and what is the minimum wait time to get a job? Also if you don't mind, can you let me know what module is the best to work with right now in conjunction with BW?

JR: The current SAP BW market is hot enough that I'm tempted to use "explosive," but we're not there yet. Perhaps we should err on the conservative side and say, "plenty warm." So why is BW so hot? Consulting markets are always a function of supply and demand. The short version of this answer is that demand for BW consultants has increased as BW has increasingly become part of the core SAP solution and the de facto reporting environment for more and more SAP users who are looking to standardize on one enterprise solution.

Click Here to read the rest of Jon's answer to this question and more.

Oracle in the news

Oracle Holds Third High-Tech Industry Strategy Council in Shanghai: Click here

Oracle's Secret Weapon: Charles Phillips: Click here

Long Island University Implements Oracle(R) Applications to Deliver an Enhanced, More Efficient Student Experience: Click here

Health Tip from WebMD

Got 5 minutes? It Could Save Your Life Brush up on WebMD's 5-minute lifesaving health tips.

WebMD Feature Five minutes could make a big difference in your health. "In the time it takes to file or clip your nails, blow your hair or shave, you could instead be taking lifesaving steps and performing quick health checkups that can add years to your life," says Marie Savard, MD, a clinical associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Lassoing Your Waist
"Pull out your tape measure and your check waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio," says Savard, author of Apples and Pears: A Revolutionary Diet Program for Weight Loss and Optimum Health. "Everybody's got a tape measure and this is so important that doctors are starting to call it the new vital sign," she says. For women, an optimal waist is less than 35 inches and for men, it's less than 40 inches.

"The lower the waist circumference, the better," she says. For example, "women with a waist of 35 inches or more means that they have increased amounts of dangerous fats which spew out chemicals and hormones, increasing risk of diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, and stroke." The good news is that walking 30 minutes per day burns waist fat and shrinks the waist first --- even before we tip the scale very much," she says. "Losing just 2 inches of waist size will reduce risk of diabetes by 58% or more," she tells WebMD.

Smiling in the Mirror
"Gum disease is associated with systemic inflammation and a growing list of diseases and conditions including heart disease and preterm birth," Savard says. But if you have a spare moment or two, "pull down your lower lip and pull up your upper lip and check your gum line in the mirror," she says. Look for signs of redness or bleeding, which can mean infection. "If you notice these signs, talk to your dentist, it could save your life and your smile!"

To view the full article on WebMD.com : Click here

FUN STUFF

Here are some links to a few interesting articles that focus on the lifestyles of traveling consultants. Enjoy!

• Traveling consultants opt for homelessness
• Staying Close While Traveling Far
• Some business traveler's prefer B&B's