celonis-ap-value-framing
Accounts Payable Value Framing Business Case
A Process Mining Portfolio Project | Celonis Methodology Applied to Real P2P Data
✅ Project Overview
This project applies Celonis’s 6-Step Value Framing Methodology to a real Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) event log dataset, producing an executive-ready business case for two high-priority Accounts Payable improvement opportunities:
- Payment Blocks & PO Blocks — manual intervention driving process delays
- Price Deviations (Change Price activity) — rework-heavy corrections adding cycle time
The analysis follows the Celonis Value Delivery Framework (Identify → Frame & Commit → Realize & Track) and is structured as a simulated consulting engagement — from raw data discovery through to executive sign-off.
Context: This project was built as a portfolio deliverable following the Celonis × AICTE Virtual Business Analyst Internship, during which I earned certifications in Process Mining Fundamentals, Business Value Delivery, and Celonis Foundations.
✅ Business Problem
Accounts Payable teams operating in SAP-based environments frequently face hidden process inefficiencies that are invisible in standard ERP reports:
- Invoices blocked from payment due to price/quantity mismatches requiring manual resolution
- Purchase orders revised post-issuance, creating rework loops that delay goods receipt and invoice clearance
- Low automation rates meaning human capacity is spent on corrective work rather than value-added tasks
- No systematic framework for quantifying these inefficiencies or prioritizing remediation
Without process-level visibility, organizations cannot make data-backed decisions about where to invest in automation, process redesign, or vendor management.
✅ Repository Structure
ap-value-framing-business-case/
│
├── 📂 data/
│ ├── P2P-Cases.csv
│ ├── P2P-Activities.csv
│ └── data_dictionary.md
│
├── 📂 analysis/
│ ├── p2p_data_profiling.py
│ ├── deviation_analysis.py
│ └── value_calculation.py
│
├── 📂 presentation/
│ └── AP_Value_Framing_Business_Case.pptx
│
├── 📂 assets/
│ ├── ap_value_tree.png
│ ├── celonis_variant_explorer.png
│ ├── celonis_olap_table.png
│ ├── celonis_data_model.png
│ └── celonis_kpi_model.png
│
├── 📂 docs/
│ ├── methodology.md
│ ├── assumptions_log.md
│ └── kpi_definitions.md
│
├── README.md
└── LICENSE
✅ Dataset Summary
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | SAP-based P2P Training Dataset (Celonis Guided Learning) |
| Total Cases (PO Items) | 812 |
| Total Events | 4,927 |
| Unique Activities | 19 |
| Total Procurement Spend | €207,096 |
| Unique Vendors | 20 |
| Date Range | 2016 – 2017 |
| System | SAP ERP (Tables: LFA1, EKKO, EKPO + Activity Log) |
✅ Methodology: Celonis 6-Step Value Framing
This project implements all six steps as documented in Celonis’s Value Delivery Framework:
Step 1: Qualify → Assess Strategic Fit, Business Impact & Feasibility
Step 2: Quantify → Calculate Expected Monetary Value per opportunity
Step 3: Investigate → Root cause categorization (Process / Time / Attribute)
Step 4: Validate → Align KPI definitions with business logic
Step 5: Prioritize → Impact-Effort Matrix placement
Step 6: Commit → Executive sign-off documentation
✅ Key Findings
Process Health
| KPI | Value | |—–|——-| | Happy Path Cases | 537 (66.1%) | | Deviant Cases | 275 (33.9%) | | Total Deviation Events | 310 of 4,927 | | Automation Rate | 47.5% | | Manual Activity Rate | 52.5% | | Average Cycle Time | 29.6 days | | Maximum Cycle Time | 190 days |
Top Deviation Activities
| Activity | Event Count | Business Impact | |———-|————-|—————–| | Change Price | 110 | Price mismatches → manual rework | | Block Purchase Order Item | 38 | PO delays → extended cycle time | | Set Payment Block | 20 | Invoice holds → delayed clearance | | Change Currency | 20 | Currency mismatches → compliance risk | | Delete Purchase Order Item | 20 | Procurement waste |
✅ Business Case Summary
Opportunity 1: Resolve Payment & PO Blocks
Framing approach: Labor productivity savings from reducing manual block resolution
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Affected Events | 58 (Set Payment Block + Block PO Item) |
| Effort per manual resolution | 15 minutes |
| FTE Cost per minute | $0.42 (based on $90K/year FTE) |
| Realization Potential | 80% |
| Expected Monetary Value | ~$293 annually (sample dataset) |
Note: This dataset is a training simulation with 812 cases. In a real enterprise deployment, scaling this ratio to 279,000 cases (as seen in Celonis platform screenshots) would produce savings in the range of $1.5M–$2.2M p.a., consistent with Celonis’s published payment block benchmarks.
Opportunity 2: Eliminate Price Deviation Rework
Framing approach: Reduce manual effort from 110 Change Price correction events
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Affected Events | 110 |
| Effort per price correction | 10 minutes |
| FTE Cost per minute | $0.42 |
| Realization Potential | 70% |
| Expected Monetary Value | ~$323 annually (sample dataset) |
✅ Platform Screenshots
Celonis Variant Explorer — Process Flow Analysis
The most common variant (39% of 279k cases, 26-day cycle) follows the expected happy path: Process Start → Create PR → Create PO → Print & Send PO → Receive Goods → Scan Invoice → Book Invoice → Process End.
Celonis OLAP Table — PO Items by Vendor
Vendor spend analysis reveals high concentration: Piccolo GmbH (€85.9M), C.E.B. BARCELONA (€259M), PAQ Deutschland GmbH (€9.6M) represent key strategic supplier relationships warranting close monitoring.
Celonis Data Model — SAP Table Relationships
The P2P data model connects LFA1 (vendor master) → EKKO (PO header) → EKPO (PO items, case table) → _CEL_P2P_ACTIVITIES (activity log), joined on LIFNR/MANDT/EBELN keys.
✅ Tools & Technologies
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Celonis EMS | Process mining platform — variant analysis, KPI calculation, OLAP tables |
| Python (pandas) | Data profiling, deviation classification, value calculation |
| PowerPoint | Executive business case presentation |
| SAP ERP | Source system (LFA1, EKKO, EKPO tables) |
✅ How to Use This Repository
1. View the Business Case Presentation
Open presentation/AP_Value_Framing_Business_Case.pptx — a 10-slide executive deck following the Problem → Process → Analysis → Insights → Value → Recommendations storytelling arc.
2. Explore the Data
# Clone the repository
# Correct
git clone https://github.com/komalharshita/celonis-ap-value-framing.git
cd celonis-ap-value-framing
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Run data profiling
python analysis/p2p_data_profiling.py
# Run deviation analysis
python analysis/deviation_analysis.py
# View value calculations
python analysis/value_calculation.py
📧 Contact
Komal Harshita CSE student
This project was developed as part of the Celonis × AICTE Virtual Business Analyst Internship (2026). All data used is from Celonis’s Guided Learning environment and is used for educational portfolio purposes.