How I reduced a 10-minute SAP process to 1.5 minutes using Excel VBA — and saved 255 minutes every day

This isn't a theory post. This is something I built, tested, and deployed across 2 manufacturing plants in Pakistan.

If your team is running repetitive SAP transactions manually every day, this will show you exactly what's possible — and how I did it with nothing but Excel VBA.

The problem

In my last FMCG role we ran STOs (Stock Transfer Orders) daily. An STO is a stock movement between two plants or warehouses in SAP — and it requires 3 separate transactions to complete:

→ PO Creation — run NME21N, select PO type, enter shipping code, item codes, quantities, receiving plant, SLOC for each SKU → Delivery Creation — run NVL10B, go to purchase order, paste PO number, execute, click line item, save → Shipment Creation — run NVT01N, enter FK02, Z004, select P&G Interplant, click delivery tab, paste delivery number, execute, set shipping point, select date, click planning, check in, select date, click shipment start, save

50 manual steps per STO. 10 STOs per shift. 3 shifts per day.

That's 1,500 manual steps every 24 hours — and 2.5 hours of pure manual work daily across all shifts.

The errors

The process wasn't just slow — it was a trap.

The most common error: copying an 8-digit PO number and missing one digit. You wouldn't catch it until the next transaction failed — then you'd go back, find the correct PO, and restart.

SAP also disconnected occasionally mid-process. When it did, you started from scratch.

30 STOs a day meant 30 chances to make a mistake. And mistakes had real consequences — wrong stock movements, delayed shipments, production line stoppages.

The solution

I mapped every single step across all 3 transactions. Every click, every field, every copy-paste, every keyboard shortcut.

Then I built an Excel VBA tool that automated the entire flow.

The tool: → Opens SAP automatically → Copies all item codes across 6 SKUs in one action → Pastes all quantities across 6 SKUs in one action → Clicks create STO — completing all 3 transactions automatically

The new process:

Open tool

Open SAP

Copy item codes

Paste quantities

Click create

5 steps. That's it.

The results

Before After Steps per STO 50 Time per STO 10 min 1.5 min Steps per day 1,500 150 Time per day 150 min 45 min Steps saved daily 1,350 Minutes saved daily 255

The impact

It took me 3 months to build. Nights, weekends, failed scripts, late fixes.

When it worked — it really worked.

The tool was rolled out across 2 plants in Pakistan. I shared it with the regional council and they couldn't believe it was built in Excel — not by an SAP consultant, not with an IT budget, not through a formal project.

I received a company award for it.

What this means for your operation

If your team is running repetitive SAP transactions manually, you almost certainly have the same opportunity.

The tool doesn't require SAP customization. It doesn't require an IT team. It works alongside your existing SAP setup — not instead of it.

Every warehouse or production operation running SAP has at least one process like this. A task done 20, 30, 50 times a day that nobody has ever stopped to question.

That's where the biggest wins are hiding.

Want this built for your operation?

I offer SAP & Excel process consulting for warehouse and production teams. If you're running repetitive SAP transactions manually and want to explore what automation could look like for your specific setup, book a free discovery call below.

👉 [View my SAP Consulting Service]https://contra.com/s/7lbgEqRc-sap-and-erp-process-consulting-for-warehouse-operations 👉 [Schedule a Call]https://appointment.briskcloudware.com/book.html?r=lLixzwVO