A Simple Guide to SAP Apps That Remove Friction at Work
Posted on January 13, 2026 by Laeeq Siddique
Introduction
All organisations would like SAP to make their lives easier. Reality teams end up dealing with unnecessary waiting, overly complicated approvals, and onboarding screen craziness.
SAP itself, it turns out, is seldom the problem; it’s usually the apps we use and how they’re constructed. Some apps add friction rather than remove it, and apps that waste hours of productivity each week.
Furthermore, this SAP Apps Guide will help you spot all these friction points and conveniently provide the right SAP applications in addition to optimizing workflows, improving processes, and creating an outstanding user experience.
Follow this practical guide to understand how you can proactively utilize standardized SAP apps understand when to turn to custom apps. However, available tools in SAP FIORI & BTP solutions will make your life easier, so the software can help with daily business operations.
What Is Friction at Work?
Friction at work is the resistance that causes us to slow down in our day-to-day business processes. For SAP systems, this generally comprises:
- Delayed approvals
- Repetitive manual tasks
- Poorly designed interfaces
- Lack of integration between apps
Small as these inefficiencies might be, they accumulate and eventually diminish overall productivity. The right SAP apps can take away these roadblocks by automating tasks and offering transparency to users.
Overview of SAP Apps
SAP apps are a range of applications that back specific business processes. They include:
| Type of SAP App | Purpose | Benefits |
| SAP Fiori Apps | Easy to use for all basic SAP functions | Better UX, more mobile access, quicker task completion |
| SAP Workflow Apps | Automate approvals and task routing | Reduced delays, predictable process flow |
| SAP Automation Apps | Automate repetitive tasks | Fewer mistakes, more free time for strategic work |
| Custom SAP Apps | Customized apps to fit specific business requirements | Address workflow pain points head-on, increase adoption |
| SAP BTP Apps | Cloud-based scalable solutions | Flexible, secure, and already works with your systems |
The right combination of these apps can make the daily grind much less painful.
Why Some SAP Apps Create More Friction
Not all SAP apps automatically translate to being more productive. Friction arises when:
- Standard applications have no relationship to the actual business process
- Screens are cluttered or confusing
- Notifications are missing or delayed
- Complex or hard-coded Workflows
Poorly designed and unoptimised apps that are supposed to assist can become hindrances to staff.
Critical SAP Apps That Eliminate Friction
Here’s a working guide to the kind of apps that actually increase work efficiency:
Workflow and Approval Apps
Workflow apps automate approvals and task routing.
Benefits:
- Reduce manual follow-ups
- Provide transparency for pending tasks
- Ensure compliance and consistency
Main Pet Peeve:
Leaving the workflow to collect approvals is a bottleneck; if there are too many levels of approval, you can’t pull it off. In fact, Custom building allows applicants and administrators to streamline approvals with the ability to retain control.
Automation Apps
Automation apps handle tasks that operate on a schedule — data entry, document processing, or computation running in the background.
Benefits:
- Minimise human error
- Free up employee time
- Standardise processes
These apps are best used as support for your regular habits, not lifestyle changers.
Reporting and Insight Apps
Real-time reporting applications give both employees and managers action items.
Benefits:
- Eliminate manual reporting
- Accelerate decision-making
- Reduce dependency on IT support
A clean, easy-to-read dashboard in one place can eliminate countless spreadsheets and emails, sharply reducing friction.
Custom SAP Apps
Not every unique workflow can simply fit into a standard app. Custom SAP apps:
- Align with actual business processes
- Simplify complex steps
- Incorporate with other SAP systems or third-party systems
These activities address unique pain points for productivity and are used by users.
How SAP BTP Helps
Scalable, cloud-based apps can be created with SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform).
Advantages:
- Flexible development for business-specific needs
- Safe integration with other SAP and third-party products
- Easy maintenance and scalability
With SAP BTP, companies can create apps that run alongside standard SAP applications without influencing core processes.
Our Approach:
| Step | Approach |
| Analysis | Learn from existing apps or processes to find inefficiencies |
| Design | Streamline workflow, improve the user experience, and look for process efficiencies |
| Development | Develop custom apps or extend standard SAP apps |
| Integration | Easily integrate with SAP and third-party applications |
| Optimisation | Track adoption and improve performance over time |
Thus, this approach transforms your SAP apps from a point of irritation to one of productivity.
Conclusion
SAP Apps should remove friction, not create more. If designed and configured correctly, they bring employees to meaningful content faster, minimizing delays and increasing productivity.
Custom SAP development is usually what it takes to get apps in line with real business needs and eliminate the hidden barriers holding your team back.
Therefore, Friction does not have to be part of SAP workflows. It is due to bad app design, outdated processes, and a lack of integration.
If your SAP applications haven’t quite caught up with how you want to serve your teams, Cremencing Solutions can assist. Let’s help your SAP apps eliminate friction and unleash true productivity.
FAQs
What is an SAP Apps Guide?
A guide on the SAP apps detailing which are suitable for business processes and increasing efficiency.
How do SAP apps help employees get their jobs done without friction at work?
By making workflows more straightforward, automating the mundane, and letting you know what’s important.
Do SAP Fiori apps do enough for productivity?
They assist, but for the best results, it’s worth considering optimising and customising.
When do you need a custom SAP app?
When standard SAP apps are not completely aligned with specific business workflows/processes or productivity needs.
What is SAP BTP good for in app development?
With SAP BTP, you can scale and develop secure, flexible SAP apps that are connected to your current systems.