Modernized call center operations on top of SAP without replacing it

Overview

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. is a global technology company providing managed IT services, digital workplace solutions, and business process optimization. Their call center is central to customer support and account management — and it runs on SAP.

The problem wasn’t SAP’s data. It was everything around it: the interface, the navigation, and the rigid workflows that couldn’t keep up with how the business needed to operate.

The challenge

SAP was deeply embedded in Konica Minolta’s operations, but it was creating friction at the point of customer interaction:

• Cumbersome interface. Call center agents had to navigate multiple SAP screens and modules to find the information they needed during a live customer call. Every extra click added seconds to call times and increased the chance of errors
• Slow access to customer data. Account history, billing details, and support records lived in different parts of the system. Agents couldn’t get a unified view of the customer without switching between screens and manually piecing together context
• High training burden. New hires needed extensive training just to learn how to navigate SAP’s interface. The system’s complexity made onboarding slow and increased time to productivity
• Rigid workflows. SAP’s built-in workflow capabilities couldn’t adapt to evolving business processes. Changes that should have been simple required development effort or workarounds, resulting in outdated patterns that slowed the team down
• No clear path to modernization. Replacing SAP entirely would be a multi-year, high-risk initiative. But staying on the current experience was costing the business in efficiency, training, and customer satisfaction

The solution

Kinetic was deployed as a modern experience and orchestration layer on top of SAP — giving call center agents a completely new front end without touching the underlying system of record.

• Unified customer view. Kinetic aggregates data from SAP into a single, intuitive interface. When an agent searches for a customer, they see account history, billing details, and support information in one place — no more navigating between screens
• Simplified navigation. The Kinetic interface strips away SAP’s complexity and presents only what agents need for the interaction at hand. Fewer clicks, less cognitive load, faster resolution
• Flexible workflows. Kinetic enables workflow logic that runs on top of SAP’s rigid backend processes. Business process changes can be made in Kinetic without modifying SAP itself — giving the team agility without risk
• Foundation for future transition. By decoupling the user experience from SAP, Konica Minolta created a clear modernization path. If they eventually move off SAP, the Kinetic experience layer stays intact — protecting the investment in workflows and training

Results

Konica Minolta improved call center performance and employee experience without the cost, risk, or disruption of a full SAP replacement:

• Faster customer interactions. Agents access all relevant customer data from a single screen, reducing the time spent searching for information during live calls
• Lower training time. New hires learn an intuitive Kinetic interface instead of navigating SAP’s complexity directly, accelerating time to productivity
• Increased efficiency. Simplified workflows and streamlined navigation reduce the number of steps required for common call center tasks
• Extended SAP investment. Konica Minolta continues to use SAP as the system of record while delivering a modern experience on top of it — avoiding a costly rip-and-replace

Before and after

	Before	After
Customer data access	Multiple SAP screens	Single unified view
Agent workflow	Rigid, SAP-native processes	Flexible Kinetic workflows
Training	Extensive SAP navigation training	Intuitive interface, faster onboarding
Call efficiency	Slow — manual screen switching	Streamlined — data at a glance
Modernization path	Locked into SAP UX	Decoupled — ready for future transition
Backend system	SAP	SAP (unchanged)