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Evidence Guide: ICASUS703A - Research strategies using SAP solutions for sustainable economic and environmental outcomes

Student: __________________________________________________

Signature: _________________________________________________

Tips for gathering evidence to demonstrate your skills

The important thing to remember when gathering evidence is that the more evidence the better - that is, the more evidence you gather to demonstrate your skills, the more confident an assessor can be that you have learned the skills not just at one point in time, but are continuing to apply and develop those skills (as opposed to just learning for the test!). Furthermore, one piece of evidence that you collect will not usualy demonstrate all the required criteria for a unit of competency, whereas multiple overlapping pieces of evidence will usually do the trick!

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ICASUS703A - Research strategies using SAP solutions for sustainable economic and environmental outcomes

What evidence can you provide to prove your understanding of each of the following citeria?

Scope the enterprise for establishing a business case for integrating SAP into business operations

  1. Analyse current enterprise operations to determine what processes or practices can be realised using SAP to ensure long-term sustainability within organisational guidelines
  2. Research and analyse a range of alternative SAP product and services solutions, including a risk analysis and relative comparisons to prepare a business case for validation with stakeholders
  3. Produce preliminary results of the scoping analysis with recommended priority of SAP solutions that would optimise business sustainability and deliver competitive advantage
Analyse current enterprise operations to determine what processes or practices can be realised using SAP to ensure long-term sustainability within organisational guidelines

Completed
Date:

Teacher:
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Research and analyse a range of alternative SAP product and services solutions, including a risk analysis and relative comparisons to prepare a business case for validation with stakeholders

Completed
Date:

Teacher:
Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Produce preliminary results of the scoping analysis with recommended priority of SAP solutions that would optimise business sustainability and deliver competitive advantage

Completed
Date:

Teacher:
Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plan and conduct the business case for using SAP solutions

  1. Evaluate scoping analysis report to produce an operating costs estimate projected over appropriate time period for a proposed plan, based on SAP solution for business critical operation
  2. Conduct cost-benefit analysis to predict the potential return on investment (RoI) on economic and environmental sustainability and business benefits derived by proposed SAP solution
  3. Produce executive summary of the proposal for validation with stakeholders, including risk analysis if the SAP solution activity is not implemented
Evaluate scoping analysis report to produce an operating costs estimate projected over appropriate time period for a proposed plan, based on SAP solution for business critical operation

Completed
Date:

Teacher:
Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conduct cost-benefit analysis to predict the potential return on investment (RoI) on economic and environmental sustainability and business benefits derived by proposed SAP solution

Completed
Date:

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Produce executive summary of the proposal for validation with stakeholders, including risk analysis if the SAP solution activity is not implemented

Completed
Date:

Teacher:
Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devise management strategies for implementing SAP sustainability solution in the business operations

  1. Produce management plan to implement sustainability strategies using SAP software solution tools to improve profitability and reduce environmental impacts
  2. Establish regular reviews using SAP reports to improve key performance indicators (KPIs) on sustainability performance
  3. Produce energy usage analysis for proposed SAP solution using projected carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with comparable benchmarks
  4. Provide detailed feasibility report to support long-term economic and environmental benefits
Produce management plan to implement sustainability strategies using SAP software solution tools to improve profitability and reduce environmental impacts

Completed
Date:

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Establish regular reviews using SAP reports to improve key performance indicators (KPIs) on sustainability performance

Completed
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Produce energy usage analysis for proposed SAP solution using projected carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with comparable benchmarks

Completed
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Provide detailed feasibility report to support long-term economic and environmental benefits

Completed
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Assessed

Teacher: ___________________________________ Date: _________

Signature: ________________________________________________

Comments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions to Assessors

Evidence Guide

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Evidence of the ability to:

conduct a scoping exercise and produce analytical report

conduct cost-benefit analysis using SAP solutions to justify RoI on economic and environmental sustainability

produce executive summary for stakeholder validation

produce management plan to implement strategies using SAP software solutions

produce energy usage analysis and feasibility report for long-term sustainability.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure access to:

appropriate learning and assessment support when required

modified equipment for people with special needs

sites on which preparation of a business case for introducing or improving sustainability in an enterprise may be carried out

relevant legislation, standards, guidelines, reports and equipment specifications and drawings

range of workplace documentation and personnel, information and resources, such as compliance obligations, organisational plans, work responsibilities.

Method of assessment

A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:

review of research and analysis conducted by candidate

review of implementation strategy, management plans prepared by candidate

analysis of methods used to involve stakeholders in validation, implementation and review

review of methodologies and procedures used by candidate to evaluate SAP solutions and recommendations made for long-term sustainability

review of work area relating to policy and procedures being developed to assess measurement of resources used, hazards and compliance.

Guidance information for assessment

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, where appropriate.

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and suitable to the communication skill level, language, literacy and numeracy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

Indigenous people and other people from a non-English speaking background may need additional support.

In cases where practical assessment is used it should be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge.

Required Skills and Knowledge

Required skills

analytical skills to compare and evaluate effective SAP solutions involving introduction or improvement of sustainability

communication skills to:

adjust communication to suit different audiences

consult on and validate policy

liaise with stakeholders to outline resulting sustainability benefits

respond effectively to diversity

work as a member of a team

literacy skills to:

prepare reports and executive summary regarding level of achievement of sustainability benchmarks, environmental targets and performance highlights

document SAP requirements and procedures

evaluate complex and formal documents, such as government policy and legislation

interpret operational specifications and related sustainability documentation

prepare a business case

numeracy skills to:

analyse and confirm target predictions

calculate budget requirements and limitations

determine workforce requirements

perform calculations related to life cycle assessment (LCA)

organisational skills to arrange relevant documentation for analysis

planning skills to set out priorities for evaluation and analysis

problem-solving skills to:

account for unexpected variations to requirements

manage different points of view and dissenting stakeholders

project-management skills to undertake or manage a complex project

research and writing skills to:

prepare written business cases requiring precise expression, language and structures suited to the intended audience

research and present information

research skills to gain and maintain relevant strategies to implement SAP solutions

technical skills to use SAP software tools.

Required knowledge

best practice approaches relevant to SAP sustainability

extensive range of SAP software solutions and tools

energy consumption and energy audit methodology

waste and recycling policies and management

procurement and supply chain management

business operation and procedures

environmental and sustainability legislation, regulations and codes of practice applicable to industry and organisation

carbon emission global and national legislation and targets

environmental impacts of products, processes, systems and services

equal employment opportunity, equity and diversity principles and OHS implications of policy being developed

principles, practices and available tools and techniques of economic and environmental sustainability management

quality assurance systems relevant to own organisation

relevant industry competency

relevant organisational policies, procedures and protocols

relevant systems and procedures to aid in the achievement of workplace sustainability.

Range Statement

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Enterprise operations may include:

building management

energy usage and utilities

finance and accounting

human resources

information technology (IT) services and support

manufacturing and production

procurement and logistics

recycle and waste management

research and development

sales and marketing

warehousing.

Organisational guidelines may include:

automation of processes

budget allocations

capital expenditure (capex)

improved cash flow

inefficiencies

integrity

operational expenditure (opex)

projected growth

reliability

reporting activities

risk management

security.

SAP product and services solutions may include:

business intelligence (BI) solutions:

administration

business reports

desktop intelligence

web intelligence

customer relationship management (CRM):

customisation

sales

enterprise resource planning (ERP):

financial:

asset accounting

financial accounting

management accounting

product costs planning

profitability analysis

travel accounting

human capital management (HCM):

organisational management

payroll configurations

talent management

time recording

procurement and logistics:

inventory management

materials management

physical inventory

transportation

warehouse management

product development and manufacturing:

manufacturing integration and intelligence

production planning and scheduling

supply network planning

sales and service:

billing

delivery processes

pricing

sales order management

governance, risk and compliance (GRC) access control solutions:

compliant user provisioning and enterprise role access control management

implementation and configuration

information management (IM) solutions:

data integrator

enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions:

planning and consolidation

profitability and cost management

strategy management

platforms:

BI

change request management

data acquisition

data warehousing

database administration

modelling and implementation

system administration

user management and authorisation

product life cycle management (PLM):

asset management

life cycle data management

project portfolio management

quality management

supply chain management

service-oriented architecture (SOA)

supplier relationship management (SRM):

invoice and payment management

product and services selection

purchase order (PO) management.

Stakeholders may include:

business partners

community

customers

government organisations

industry associations

investors

shareholders

staff

technical experts.

Business sustainability may include:

better customer satisfaction

better survivability in hard economic times

competitive advantage

improved positive cash flow

improved quality of products and services

long-term profitability

meeting environmental sustainability targets

meeting operational targets

reduced compliance costs

reduced inefficiencies.

Operating costs estimate may include:

annual operating costs

capital expenditure costs

compliance costs

downtime costs

energy costs

human resources (HR) costs

recurring costs

summary of costs by category

training costs

transport and logistics costs.

SAP solution may include:

economic solution:

accessibility and security of IT services for critical business operations

assured information gathering, reporting and auditing against KPIs

benchmarking against peers to improve performance

emergency management to prevent occurrence of disastrous situations resulting in poor company image

environment, health and safety risk assessment and reduction

financial risks and performance for higher profitability

OHS for legal obligations and profitability

labour compliance and human rights to promote a safe and productive work environment

manufacturing process safely using hazardous chemicals

material and product safety for safe transport, storage and use of hazardous materials

product compliance to minimise disruption to production

strategic workforce management to deploy talent with required skills and levels at right location and time

workforce diversity for expansion of global market share through innovation

environmental solution:

carbon management to reduce carbon footprint and grow profitability

commuting: implication of travel choices and use of more sustainable options, including alternative transportation and teleconferencing

energy and utility management for more efficient use of energy and reduced impact on environment, without disrupting production levels

environmental compliance at local, regional and global levels

green IT: use of virtualisation, cloud networks and certification of hardware, based on power benchmarks from technology partners

green logistics using hybrid transportation to reduce energy usage and gas emissions

natural resource management to optimise use of natural, human and physical resources

personal footprint: transportation, housing, food, goods and services, energy consumption and waste recycling

recycling compliance for administration and reporting of data on recycled content ratios, packaging improvements and carbon footprint

smart grid participation and use of renewable and clean energy technology

strategy management to measure and manage sustainability performance

supply chain sourcing and procurement to ensure verifiable sustainable claims on lower carbon emissions

support product LCA to reduce carbon, water, energy and other resources footprints with impacts on labour practices and human rights

sustainable designs by increasing revenue streams using improved products and lower resource consumption.

Return on investment may include:

carbon trading offsets

cost savings on improved efficiencies

costs of inefficiencies and wastage

equipment replacement costs

monitoring, reporting and auditing of processes

more versatile and skilled workforce

project life

rate of depreciation

returns on use of renewable energies

simple RoI calculation

sustainable operating and capital expenditures.

Business benefits may include:

better:

competitive advantage

employee satisfaction

energy usage and resource management

global compliance

operational expenditure

profitability

recycling plan

use of workspace

waste management plan

improved:

cash flow

organisation performance and efficiency

public perception of company

more reliable service to customers

more robust enterprise in hard economic times

possible carbon tax trade-offs

reduced carbon emission operations.

Executive summary may include:

background and introduction to the proposal

past and current environment

plan for the company long-term direction and sustainability

rationale for establishing the business case at this time

risk analysis for not implementing proposal

summary of cost-benefit analysis and business plan

summary of feasibility study

summary of implementation plan and time line.

Sustainability strategies may include:

auditing waste management procedures

establishing a comprehensive inventory of carbon emissions and other environmental impacts

establishing an effective recycling management policy

improving the energy efficiency of enterprise equipment:

reducing the need for air conditioning

shutting down equipment during low demand

procurement strategies:

assessing suppliers’ environmental policies and procedures

lowering energy consumption or environmental impact of replacement products or services

managing environmental impacts of electrical and electronic equipment

using energy consumption and environmental impact as criteria in the process of awarding contracts

supply chain:

driving ethical values through the supply chain

engaging supplier involvement in emissions reporting and continual improvement

engaging suppliers who provide information on energy consumption and product life cycles

influencing suppliers to provide energy efficient products and services.

SAP software solution tools may include:

carbon emission management

energy and utility consumption audit and management

LCA

PLM

supply chain management

waste management.

Key performance indicators may include:

kg CO2 emissions from company car fleet

kg CO2 emitted per floor area occupied in permanent buildings

percentage of timber used in construction from well-managed, sustainable sources

percentage volume of material from sustainable sources

reduction of quantity (in 1000’s kg) of ozone depleting gases used in air-conditioning equipment.

Benchmarks may include:

AccountAbility AA1000 Assurance Standard (2008)

BSI BenchMark

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 guidelines (telecommunications sector supplement).

Feasibility report may include:

calculated estimated CO2 emissions for the proposed SAP solution

calculated potential energy savings and payback periods for recommended actions

innovative approaches

recommendations in order of priority on range of activities with sustainable outcomes.