In 2025, many maintenance technicians still use SAP in a very manual way. Printing from SAP, scribbling notes in the field, tediously re-entering data after shifts, and hunting through spreadsheets for spare parts data are still all too common. These manual methods create delays, errors, and frustration, making maintenance departments less productive. To address these challenges, companies have several mobile maintenance solutions to choose from, including SAP’s own mobile offerings and third-party tools. But not all solutions are created equal.  

In this article, we’ll explain how osapiens CMMS solves these issues by integrating completely with SAP and enabling mobile access, with a simple, intuitive experience for users. No more paperwork, no more manual data entry – instead, efficient maintenance with everything technicians need at their fingertips. 

Mobile maintenance solutions for SAP: Key requirements 

When it comes to mobile maintenance solutions for SAP, companies typically have several options to consider: 

Overview of SAP’s maintenance solutions: 

SAP Asset Manager is SAP’s native mobile solution for asset and work order management. Built on the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and integrated with SAP S/4HANA or ECC, it covers an extremely wide range of functionality. 

SAP Maintenance Assistant is a newer mobile application, designed to support technicians in performing structured, guided maintenance tasks, does not offer end-to-end maintenance planning, scheduling, order creation or spare parts management. 

SAP Fiori apps are running in the web browser. While they provide quick access to essential functions, they are not optimized for mobile use and offer no offline capabilities. There is no central technician dashboard, planning board, or support for advanced features like parts tracking, checklists, smart forms, or full mobile asset views. As such, SAP Fiori apps are better suited for light interaction by supervisors or planners, rather than for field technicians performing day-to-day maintenance work. 

Stand-alone CMMS solutions with certified SAP Connector: 

Stand-alone solutions like osapiens CMMS are built specifically for technicians working in the field and integrate into SAP solutions via a certified connector. They offer a complete toolset for the operator’s day-to-day tasks from creating and managing work orders to handling spare parts, checklists, smart forms, and asset history. They are usually optimized to work fully offline, integrate directly with SAP PM and MM, and are designed for fast deployment with customizable workflows tailored to real-life maintenance needs. 

What sets third-party solutions apart is their ability to meet the technician’s requirements for maintenance: 

1. Mobile-first approach – Designed specifically for field work, not just adapted from desktop interfaces 
2. High usability – Intuitive interfaces that require minimal training 
3. Full offline capabilities – Complete functionality when working in areas without connectivity 
4. Customizable workflows – Adaptable to specific maintenance processes 
5. Rapid implementation – Quick deployment without extensive configuration 

While SAP’s mobile solutions offer strong backend integration, some maintenance teams still struggle with slow adoption, complex UIs, and rigid processes. Here is a summary of when you might opt for a third-party solution like ospaiens CMMS vs a native SAP solution: 

Situation	Recommended
Need quick deployment, simple UI, mobile focus	✅ osapiens CMMS
You have an SAP BTP strategy & budget for an extended project	🟨 SAP Asset Manager
You want to minimize cost, avoid BTP, and implement quickly.	✅ osapiens CMMS
You want field-friendly UI and focus on usability	✅ osapiens CMMS

5 SAP challenges that companies face and how the osapiens CMMS can solve them 

Many technicians find that standard SAP Plant Maintenance (PM) or Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) interfaces aren’t optimized for field use. This can create obstacles to efficient maintenance workflows. 

Let’s examine some common challenges maintenance teams face and how osapiens directly addresses them.  

1. Technicians still rely on paper-based processes 
Despite the rise of digital solutions, many companies still print work orders. Technicians carry them around, jot notes on the margins, and someone has to re-enter everything in an SAP system later. It’s inefficient and introduces avoidable errors. Some teams estimate they lose 30–60 minutes per shift just handling paperwork. 
osapiens replaces the entire paper flow with a mobile app. Technicians receive their work orders on their phones or tablets, complete tasks digitally, and sync everything back to SAP automatically. The process is faster, cleaner, and eliminates duplicate effort. 

2. SAP tools aren’t necessarily made for mobile or field use 
SAP offers a wide range of functionality, but its user interfaces are primarily built for desktop use. In real-world conditions, outdoors, with gloves, or under time pressure — this complexity becomes a serious barrier to efficiency. 
osapiens CMMS simplifies these tasks by presenting only the relevant information and actions in a clean, mobile-optimized interface. Technicians can complete their work quickly without navigating through complex menu structures. 

3. Technicians can’t easily access asset data or history 
SAP contains a lot of information, but finding relevant information in the field is often quite difficult. Technicians need to jump through multiple transactions to see past failures or open tasks, and that’s assuming they have access. 
osapiens gives technicians full asset context on the spot. Scan a QR code, and instantly see open work orders, past jobs, photos, and inspection history. It’s all linked, fast, and available directly on the mobile device. 

4. Spare parts and material consumption are hard to track 
Most technicians don’t update SAP MM in real-time. They don’t have access, or it takes too long. As a result, inventory data is often outdated. That makes reordering harder and costs less transparent. 
In osapiens, parts can be scanned, selected, or added with a tap — right inside the work order. Consumption updates automatically in SAP, so planners always know what’s been used and what’s left. That reduces shrinkage and improves inventory accuracy by over 90% in some cases. 

5. Custom workflows are hard to implement in SAP mobile apps 
SAP Asset Manager and Maintenance Assistant follow fixed logic. Custom approval steps? Trigger a checklist only for specific jobs? Enforce photo capture before closing a work order? This will usually require BTP, consultants, and custom code. 
osapiens is built for flexibility. Companies can create their own checklists, enforce steps, and define workflows — all without changing their SAP backend. It adapts to how the teams actually work, not the other way around. 

Integrating key maintenance processes with osapiens and SAP: the technical deep dive 

osapiens has deep experience with SAP integration and an SAP-certified connector that makes integration straightforward. It’s a core expertise of ours: 90% of osapiens enterprise implementations involve SAP integration. 

The integration between a Maintenance SaaS and SAP CMMS (SAP PM/EAM) takes place via standardized interfaces (SAP BAPI, OData, REST API, IDocs) and uses SAP technical objects and master data for each workflow. 

Here’s how osapiens integrates with key SAP modules: 

SAP Module	Description	SAP Objects	osapiens Integration Process
SAP PM/EAM (Plant Maintenance)	Core module for managing maintenance activities, equipment records, and work orders	• Work order: AFKO (order header), AFPO (order items), AFRU (confirmations) • Functional location: IFLOT (functional location master) • Equipment: EQUI (equipment), EQST (status)	• Maintenance orders created in SAP PM with two-way synchronization • Order status updates flow between systems in real-time • osapiens’ connector handles integration automatically
SAP MM (Materials Management)	Manages materials, inventory, and purchasing processes	• Material master data: MARA (material master), MARC (storage location data) • Warehouse stock: MBEW (inventory valuation), MARD (warehouse stock per storage location) • Posting documents: MKPF (document header), MSEG (document items)	• Spare parts inventories synchronized with osapiens • Automatic inventory reservation (MB21) for planned maintenance • Real-time inventory updates via goods issues (MB1A, MIGO)
SAP QM (Quality Management)	Handles inspection processes and quality documentation	• Technician worklogs: AFRU (feedback) • Measured values & test reports: IKPF (measuring point header), IMRG (measured value) • Checklists & forms: QALS (quality inspection header), QAVE (inspection results)	• Mobile inspections with offline capability • Automatic synchronization when connectivity returns • Structured data capture for predictive maintenance
SAP FI/CO (Finance & Controlling)	Manages financial transactions and cost tracking	• Cost centers and internal orders: COSP (primary costs), COBK (cost accounting document header), COEP (line items) • Time recording: CATS (Cross Application Time Sheet)	• Automatic posting of work hours and material consumption • Cost center allocation for budget control • Financial transparency for maintenance activities
SAP Analytics	Provides reporting and analysis capabilities	• Maintenance history: PMCO (cost overview), PMQI (quality management) • Failure statistics: PMIS (maintenance information system), S061 (maintenance evaluations) • IoT sensor data (optional): SAP IoT Services / SAP PCo	• AI-powered predictive analytics • Integration with SAP Predictive Maintenance & Service (PdMS) • Failure prevention insights

Case study: mobile maintenance at Nordex 

Nordex, one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers, transformed their maintenance operations using osapiens CMMS.  

By integrating osapiens smoothly with their existing SAP systems, Nordex eliminated manual data entry errors, improved transparency across systems, and significantly improved efficiency across their maintenance operations. 

osapiens CMMS mobile maintenance integrated completely with: 

• SAP PM for equipment and work order management 
• SAP MM for spare parts and inventory 
• SAP HR for technician data and qualifications 
• SAP DMS for documentation 

The SAP-integrated mobile application allows Nordex technicians to receive instant notifications when issues arise, access detailed checklists and material requirements, and generate automated reports – all while working on wind turbines. This real-time mobile access has dramatically reduced response times and turbine downtime. 

As Alberto Erce, Group Lead of Service Digitalization at Nordex explains: “We were looking for a stable platform that would simplify and optimize our workflows.” Bringing all maintenance data together in one platform like this allowed Nordex to respond quickly to maintenance challenges and standardize processes – from planning to execution – across various regions. 

You can read more about how osapiens transformed Nordex’s maintenance efficiency here.  

osapiens mobile maintenance and SAP: the key takeaways 

In short, integrating osapiens CMMS with SAP makes maintenance processes much more efficient – without sacrificing any big investments made in SAP and its backend capabilities. It eliminates paper-based inefficiencies, provides reliable offline functionality for field technicians, and ensures data flows smoothly between systems.  

With osapiens and SAP working smoothly together, maintenance teams get optimal workflows with minimal errors, full transparency, and better decision-making. The choice is clear: struggle with disconnected systems and manual processes or embrace a mobile-first solution that makes maintenance work so much more productive. 

Start making your maintenance operations more efficient today and try osapiens CMMS for free today, or schedule a demo to see the integration in action.