A studio service
Supply chain control tower for SAP-run plants one live view for the weekly supply meeting.
SAP analytics answer SAP questions. The weekly supply meeting asks cross-system ones: which sponsor's campaign is at risk because a material is still in QC in LIMS and the next delivery is late in SAP? We build control towers that join those sources and put the answers, by sponsor and date, on one screen.
The facts behind this module
62%
“Of 163 drugs that went into shortage between 2013 and 2017, 62 percent went into shortage after supply disruptions occurred that were associated with manufacturing or product quality problems.”
26%
In a survey of 100 respondents, 26% named regulatory violations or FDA Form 483 warnings as the main reason a contract manufacturer would lose a bid, ahead of high cost (20%) and timelines (16%).
39 → 111
FDA CDER warning letters on manufacturing or GMP subjects rose from 39 in 2023 to 78 in 2024 and 111 in 2025.
Quoted from the sources linked. We add no estimates of our own.
What it looks like
Materials at risk
5
Lots expiring < 90 days
11
Median release time
9 days
On time in full
94%
| Material | Campaign | Sponsor | Needed by | Issue | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filter capsule 0.2 µm | C-311 | Sponsor A | 14 Oct | Delivery late 6 days | At risk |
| Cell culture medium | C-309 | Sponsor B | 21 Oct | Lot still in QC | In QC |
| Chromatography resin | C-315 | Sponsor A | 2 Nov | Single source | Review |
| Buffer salt | C-311 | Sponsor A | 14 Oct | — | Ready |
Interface concept with invented sample data, shown to illustrate the design. It is not a screenshot of a live system.
How it connects
SAP S/4HANA
- Batches, QM, EWM, planning
- Stays the system of record
- Core left standard, nothing changed inside
The app, in your tenancy
- SAP BTP, Azure or AWS, your region
- Audit trail, roles, single sign-on
- Read-only in a Pilot; write-back by agreement
People and plant systems
- Your teams, by role
- Sponsors, each to their own data
- MES, LIMS, QMS and logger platforms
SAP's clean-core rule, quoted: “Extensions must be developed using only released local or remote public SAP APIs, BAdIs, or ABAP RESTful application programming model business object (BO) extension points.” SAP PRESS, SAP S/4HANA Clean Core: Principles, Benefits, and Best Practices.
N° 01What SAP already covers
We start from SAP, not against it.
SAP Analytics Cloud and embedded analytics report well on SAP data. This module joins MES, LIMS and logger data to it by sponsor and campaign. This module is a side-by-side extension: it reads and writes SAP only through released APIs and leaves the core standard.
N° 02Where it helps
Four situations this module is built for.
01
Meetings start with exports
The numbers are ready before the meeting.
02
Different answers per system
One definition per KPI, calculated once.
03
Risk seen too late
Shortages, expiries and late releases flagged against the sponsor and batch they will hit.
04
Numbers nobody trusts
Every figure drills through to its records.
N° 03What the module covers
Scope, in plain terms.
01
Connections
SAP through released APIs, plus MES, LIMS and logger platforms, read-only.
02
KPI set
Days on hand, expiry exposure, release cycle time, OTIF, excursion rate, by sponsor.
03
Risk board
Materials and batches at risk by sponsor and date.
04
Drill-through
From any KPI to the records behind it.
N° 04For each person in the decision
One page, six readers.
01
Supply chain lead
The scope above, three fixed-scope packages with prices, and a read-only Pilot you can run on one site before committing.
02
QA and validation
GAMP 5 Category 5 development documents, executed developer IQ/OQ evidence, Annex 11 and Part 11 controls in the GxP-ready package. You run and sign validation.
03
IT and your SAP team
Released SAP APIs only, no changes inside SAP, one least-privilege technical user, deployed in your own tenancy and region.
04
Sponsor-facing teams
Each sponsor sees only their own data, enforced in the data layer, with every access logged.
05
Procurement
Fixed scope and price per package, a written not-included list, and our vendor questionnaire answered in full on request.
06
Finance
The price shown is ours. SAP licences, including any SAP Digital Access for documents created in SAP, hosting and validation effort are yours and are listed as not included.
N° 05The Pilot, week by week
Eight to ten weeks, read-only from SAP.
01
Weeks 1–2: scope and access
Requirements workshop, the list of SAP APIs to be read, a technical user from your SAP team, and sample data agreed.
02
Weeks 3–5: build
The module built in your tenancy against your SAP test system, with a working demo every week.
03
Weeks 6–7: your data
Connected to the agreed SAP data, tested by your users, findings fixed.
04
Weeks 8–10: live on one site
Go-live for up to 25 users, a handover session, and a written decision paper for the Production package.
N° 06Your three options
Inside SAP, packaged, or beside SAP.
01
Customise inside SAP
Done by your SAP partner. SAP's clean-core rule limits extensions to released APIs and extension points, and each change follows your SAP change and validation process.
02
Buy a packaged product
A vendor's standard product and roadmap, with its own licence, validation package and integration to your SAP.
03
Build beside SAP (this page)
An app scoped to your process, in your tenancy, connected through released SAP APIs, with the source code and documentation handed to you.
N° 07AI assists
Where AI helps, and where a person decides.
Designed to the draft EU GMP Annex 22: predictive models are static, versioned and show their confidence; generative tools only draft for a person to confirm. No assist releases, rejects or ships a lot.
01
Shortage prediction
A static, versioned model predicts which materials will be short for which campaigns, with confidence and the drivers behind each prediction.
02
Meeting brief
A draft summary of what changed since last week, for the supply lead to edit before the meeting.
N° 08Investment
Pilot, production, or GxP-ready.
Pilot
From $28,000
One site, read from SAP through released APIs, live in 8–10 weeks.
- KPIs and risk board from SAP alone
- Drill-through to SAP records
- Read-only connection to SAP S/4HANA (OData APIs and CDS views), no core changes
- Audit trail on every record, role-based access, SSO with your identity provider
- One site, up to 25 named users
- Not included: write-back to SAP, electronic signatures, validation documentation, SAP BTP licences
Production
From $46,000
Two-way with SAP and one more plant system, across sites.
- Everything in Pilot
- MES, LIMS or logger data joined by batch and sponsor
- Alerts by email or Teams
- Two-way integration through SAP APIs or SAP Integration Suite, clean-core compliant
- Digital Access check with your SAP licence team before any write-back is switched on
- Up to three sites and 250 users
- 60 days of hypercare after go-live
- Not included: validation documentation, SAP or BTP licences (including any SAP Digital Access your contract requires for documents created in SAP), SAP-side configuration by your SAP partner
GxP-ready
From $72,000
Built and documented for GMP use.
- Everything in Production
- 21 CFR Part 11 / EU Annex 11 electronic signatures and record controls
- GAMP 5 Category 5 SDLC pack: URS trace matrix, FS/DS, code review records
- IQ/OQ scripts with executed developer evidence; change control for later releases
- Not included: validation execution and QA sign-off (your CSV team), hosting qualification, SAP licences
Before you buy
What you get
- An independent build that connects to SAP only through SAP's released APIs
- A read-only Pilot that creates nothing in SAP, so it carries no SAP licence exposure
- Delivery alongside your SAP partner and IT, who keep control of SAP itself
What we don’t do
- SAP licences, or SAP Digital Access for documents a two-way build creates in SAP
- Changes to your SAP configuration or custom code inside SAP
- SAP certification of the integration, unless you ask us to scope it in
DesignKompanie is an independent studio and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or a partner of SAP SE. SAP and SAP S/4HANA are trademarks of SAP SE.
N° 09Questions
The answers we give most often.
- Do you replace SAP Analytics Cloud or Power BI?
- No. If you already run either, we can build inside it. The value is the cross-system data model, not the chart tool.
- Is it GxP?
- By default no: it reports rather than decides. The GxP-ready package exists for plants that use it in release-relevant reporting.
- How does this differ from SAP's own AI?
- Joule works inside SAP data and workflows. These predictions use SAP plus MES, LIMS and logger data, scoped to sponsors and campaigns.
- Are you an SAP partner?
- No. We are an independent studio. We build beside SAP using its released APIs and work with your SAP partner, who stays responsible for SAP itself. If you need the integration certified by SAP, we scope that into the project.
N° 10Related
- Pharma supply chain apps for SAP S/4HANA
- Security, validation & your SAP partner
- Sponsor portal & client-owned material
- Cross-system batch genealogy
- Cold chain & excursion evidence
- GMP warehouse floor app for SAP
- Campaign material planning for SAP
- Supplier CoA intake for SAP QM
- Sponsor quality notifications & approvals
- Tech transfer workspace
- AI assist layer
- Enterprise app development
Start your book
Planning the Control tower across SAP, MES and LIMS build?
Tell us your sites, the systems you run and what has to change. You'll get a scoped plan and a fixed price within two business days.