What's New

SAP Collaborates with UC Berkeley to Advance AI Research

SAP News - Tue, 01/30/2024 - 12:00

BERKELEY, Calif. SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced it will collaborate with the Sky Computing Lab at the University of California (UC), Berkeley to support the university’s cutting-edge research on interconnected cloud technology in the context of artificial intelligence (AI).

UC Berkeley’s insights will help accelerate SAP’s AI strategy aiming to build hundreds of applications.

Learn how you can benefit from AI built into your core business processes Explore now

“There’s no technology advancing faster than AI,” SAP Chief AI Officer Philipp Herzig said. “While the progress on foundation models is impressive, there is a lot to learn and shape on the AI stack on top, in particular for designing and scaling distributed cloud applications in multi-cloud environments or to build AI agents in combination with large language models. The Sky Computing Lab at UC Berkeley conducts very relevant research in this field, and the frameworks that are being built look very promising.”

Generative AI is a transformative force that is changing how people work, communicate and learn. As AI applications become increasingly sophisticated, efficient handling of large workloads becomes critical.

UC Berkeley’s research activities focus on enabling users to run large language model applications and general AI workloads seamlessly on any cloud, substantially reducing cloud costs, tapping into best-in-class hardware on different clouds and enjoying higher resource availability, according to Ion Stoica, director of the Sky Computing Lab at UC Berkeley.

The interconnection of clouds aims to create a distributed network, giving users access to a vast pool of computing power. This agility is crucial for dynamically allocating and scaling computational capabilities based on specific AI task requirements, ensuring optimal efficiency and cost-effectiveness for users. As the computational demands of AI continue to evolve, this approach ensures not only the scalability and efficiency of AI tasks but also lays the groundwork for an innovative and interoperable future in artificial intelligence.

Through this collaboration with the Sky Computing Lab at UC Berkeley, SAP aims to advance knowledge in artificial intelligence. Besides AI-specific expertise, SAP will support graduate students through scholarships and internships.

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ.  Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
© 2024 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.

Categories: What's New

SAP Helps Customers Build a Cloud-First Business Strategy

SAP News - Tue, 01/30/2024 - 10:00

WALLDORF SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced a comprehensive set of resources, services, and financial incentives to help every customer move to the cloud and maintain the pace and level of innovation that cloud enables.

RISE with SAP: A complete offering to empower you to thrive in the cloud Learn more

The RISE with SAP Migration and Modernization program addresses two primary issues businesses face when moving to the cloud – scope and cost. It gives leaders confidence to take even the most complex ERP systems to the cloud by helping to eliminate custom code, data silos and process complexity.

“Every company needs a cloud-first business strategy,” said Eric van Rossum, chief marketing officer for cloud ERP, SAP. “It’s more important than ever for customers to start their migration and modernization journey, so they can harness the potential of the latest cloud innovations, including AI and sustainability solutions.”

The RISE with SAP Migration and Modernization program helps customers become and remain innovation-ready to benefit from ongoing updates and new innovations. Once customers are operating in the cloud, SAP takes the burden of management to build reliability, strengthen security and compliance and unlock the power of business data.  Regardless of whether businesses today run on SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) or SAP S/4HANA, the program’s self-guided digital experience and assisted services offer a path from preparation through go-live. The program also introduces a set of new services and incentives to help customers in their move to the RISE with SAP solution.

“With the current announcement, SAP is making it clear that it is aware of the complexity of the challenges that customers face when transitioning to the cloud. At the same time, their previous investments in existing systems are being recognized,” explained Christine Grimm from the DSAG Executive Board. “By expanding the RISE with SAP offering to include financial incentives and support, SAP is reaffirming its promise to actively support customers on their journey to the cloud and thus make the transition easier. At DSAG, we appreciate this initiative and the willingness shown by SAP. The aim must be to further improve and expand this offering in collaboration with SAP in order to take into account the complex requirements and challenges of our members who are deciding in favor of a transformation process to the cloud. In doing so, we want to ensure that they benefit fully from the extended possibilities and innovations of the RISE with SAP offering.”

Offsetting Migration and Transformation Costs with Incentives

To recognize the investment made by SAP customers and to help offset the cost of migration and transformation, SAP is announcing a limited-time offer that may reduce the cost of migration up to 50% and shorten the time to value. Through the end of 2024, when moving to the RISE with SAP or GROW with SAP solution, SAP S/4HANA and SAP ECC customers will have access to credits that can be applied to offset the cost of maintenance, cloud services or cloud subscription. This incentive will include SAP S/4HANA Cloud and line-of-business solutions such as supply chain, human resources, spend management, CRM, business transformation tools and the business technology platform for extensibility.

RISE with SAP Methodology Provides Consistency and Quality

To drive predictable timelines for projects, all implementations – both through SAP and our partner ecosystem – will follow the RISE with SAP Methodology. It will provide project progress transparency, with key milestone checks. It is supported by SAP services and specialists who confirm the methodology is applied from discovery through go-live to get customers innovation ready. SAP is training and validating partners to use the RISE with SAP Methodology and will collaborate closely with these partners to provide consistency and quality.

Introducing the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service

For customers who need more time to complete their full migration, we are introducing the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service. It is designed for customers using RISE with SAP that enter customer-specific maintenance for older releases of SAP S/4HANA. With SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper, customers may get their systems ready to upgrade to the latest version of SAP S/4HANA. It includes upgrade services and infrastructure optimization while providing business continuity for the customers’ current system with updates and patches for two more years.

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About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 26 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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Categories: What's New

Modernize SAP Business Warehouse with SAP Datasphere and Its Open Data Ecosystem

SAP News - Mon, 01/29/2024 - 09:15

Many SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) customers are seeking to leverage cloud-based solutions but want to ensure that their previous investments are safeguarded. While the benefits of modernizing to the cloud are clear, customers need a flexible path that builds upon their existing technology and talent. 

SAP Datasphere can offer that path. Its native connectivity to SAP BW means customers can reuse up to 80% of existing SAP BW content, retaining value while adding cloud speed, scale, and interoperability and avoiding costly and unnecessary rework. 

Delivering meaningful data to every data professional requires a comprehensive cloud data service. With SAP Datasphere, organizations can:  

  • Access authoritative data, accelerating time-to-value by automatically reusing the semantical definitions and associations from SAP applications.  
  • Enrich all data projects, harmonizing heterogeneous data into a business semantic model of their diverse data landscapes.   
  • Simplify the data landscape, accessing all their data across hybrid and cloud environments no matter where it resides. 

SAP has also partnered with an open data ecosystem of leading technology vendors to provide tailored integration between SAP Datasphere and their solutions. The first set of industry-leading data and AI vendors includes Collibra, Confluent, Databricks, DataRobot, and Google Cloud. By closely integrating their data and AI platforms with SAP Datasphere, organizations can access their mission-critical business data across any cloud infrastructure. 

Transition to a modern business data fabric at your pace with SAP Datasphere Learn more Flexible Paths to the Cloud  

Many SAP BW users have always-on projects that depend on SAP BW data and objects, which requires flexibility in modernizing to the cloud.  

SAP offers flexible paths. Whether you’re moving directly or integrating SAP Datasphere as part of your data landscape to enhance your SAP BW deployment, there’s a strategy:  

  • Gradually transition functionality over time using SAP Datasphere, SAP BW bridge to reuse and integrate SAP BW objects. 
  • Leverage SAP BW data ingestion and staging to accelerate the move or, for SAP Business Suite customers without SAP BW, move directly to SAP Datasphere. 
  • In some cases, migrate SAP BW systems to SAP Datasphere for a complete transition. 
  • Modernize with a combination of SAP Datasphere and SAP HANA Cloud to benefit from the capabilities of both solutions. SAP Datasphere can provide the foundation for a business data fabric, while SAP HANA Cloud enables the development of intelligent data applications.   

The goal is to provide options to fit each customer’s unique environment and timeline. With the right approach, the move to SAP Datasphere can be straightforward while optimizing previous investments. 

Our experienced SAP partners understand the importance of flexible paths. They work with our customers to outline customized modernization paths that can safeguard their technology and fit their goals.

“We are excited to help SAP BW customers experience the power of SAP Datasphere. We’ve already seen multiple customers take this modernization approach and it’s the ideal modernization path to protect the customer’s existing SAP BW investments.”

Deepu Sasidharan, Vice President, Analytics, Applexus

No matter which path a customer takes, they can always progress to SAP Datasphere. Technically, this can be achieved with the support of SAP Datasphere, SAP BW bridge and modernization tools. That’s why customers like Nipro chose SAP Datasphere.

“SAP Datasphere, SAP BW bridge is a complete game changer. The cloud architecture allows us to simplify our landscape. We are also seeing significant improvements in our performance.”

Iaroslav Korzh, SAP Technology Manager, Nipro Europe Group Companies  New Professional Readiness Assessment 

Whether you’re starting fresh or modernizing an existing system, having a solid plan is key for a successful move to the cloud. 

SAP is now offering a limited-time, complimentary SAP BW system assessment to help you optimize your transition to SAP Datasphere. Through this assessment, you can gain insight into your SAP BW environment and learn which objects are active and frequently used and whether they can be migrated.  

This assessment helps deliver a reliable basis for an actionable modernization plan. With the right information, you can modernize on your terms. Get started today by applying for your complimentary assessment

Get Started  

Visit our Web site for the latest modernization tools, including our getting started guide, technical deep dive webinar series, and professional readiness assessment

SAP BW customers moving to SAP Datasphere may also qualify for exclusive incentives. Contact your SAP representative before this limited-time opportunity expires. 

Daniel Yu is senior vice president of Solution Management and Product Marketing for SAP Data and Analytics.

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Categories: What's New

Fusing Sustainability and AI for Inclusive Global Progress

SAP News - Fri, 01/26/2024 - 09:15

The echoes of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference’s (COP28) groundbreaking commitments lingered as the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos became the epicenter of global dialogues this month. Against this backdrop, SAP’s innovative strides in sustainability and artificial intelligence (AI) spotlighted the transformative potential of technology in addressing pressing global challenges.

SAP’s presence at both events exemplifies the seamless connection between environmental commitment and technological innovation. The nearly 100 initiatives SAP was involved in at COP28 last month demonstrated the company’s unwavering focus on fostering collaboration across governance, the private sector, and civil society, which, coupled with a commitment to transparency, also resonated with Davos’ core values.

For example, the “From Farm to Consumer” showcase emphasizing intelligent agriculture solutions at COP28 and the WEF Collaboration Village at Davos both showed the power of technology, such as how AI can optimize all industry practices and foster collaboration across the supply chain. This embodies SAP’s multifaceted approach to innovation.

The company’s strategies involve valuing carbon assets, supporting collaborative supply chains, and actively backing local climate initiatives. Recent studies highlight how SAP solutions can seamlessly integrate sustainability into core business strategies, giving companies a competitive edge. By treating emissions tracking with the same rigor as financial transactions, SAP solutions can enable data-driven decision-making for positive environmental impact.

Record, report, and act with SAP Sustainability solutions Learn more Navigating the AI Landscape Responsibly

As the WEF in Davos unfolded, the pervasive enthusiasm for AI became evident along the promenade. A dedicated pavilion called “AI House” served as a testament to the technology’s significance in shaping the future. SAP’s commitment to innovation aligns with the forum’s pulse, offering a glimpse into how AI can transform industries and societies.

AI’s impact on the global workforce was a central concern at Davos. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the AI revolution could affect almost 40% of jobs worldwide, including highly skilled ones. In industrialized countries, this number could surge to 60%. The integration of AI in various industries can exacerbate inequalities, especially in terms of job displacement. However, SAP believes the time is right to explore the implications and the steps required for this future. One of the first mind shifts may be seeing AI as a coworker rather than a software tool.

SAP’s approach seeks to mitigate potential inequalities. The company didn’t merely showcase innovation at Davos; it actively engaged in discussions to address the complexities surrounding AI and find solutions for a responsible approach.

Striking the Balance: A Global Perspective

SAP recognizes the broader, global context of responsible AI, particularly with varying regulatory standards in the U.S. and China. The discussions at Davos provided a platform for SAP to advocate for a harmonized approach to AI regulation, which is especially relevant for the EU. The company’s commitment to finding the right balance resonated in discussions about regulatory standards, emphasizing the need for global cooperation to navigate the evolving landscape of AI. This global perspective gains profound meaning when viewed through the lens of COP28.

COP28 concluded with a landmark decision by nearly 200 countries to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems. The renegotiated text emphasized a just, orderly, and equitable shift, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This signifies a global move, committing nations to tripling renewable energy use by 2030 and doubling energy efficiency. The resolution proposes the first-ever phase-out of fossil fuels, accelerating coal’s exit, boosting renewable energy, and emphasizing energy efficiency. However, the resolution falls short of a complete commitment due to opposition from economically reliant countries like Saudi Arabia. And despite progress, vulnerable island nations stress the need for inclusive decision-making, as they face immediate threats from climate change and depend on global solidarity for survival.

Hand-in-Hand: AI and Climate Action

It’s crucial to recognize AI’s broader role in climate action. Scaling proven applications and technology, AI has the potential to unlock insights that could help mitigate 5% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and significantly bolster climate-related adaptation and resilience initiatives. Approximately 87% of executives view AI as having the potential to address climate issues, making it a key player in the fight against climate change.

AI contributes to climate protection not only by helping to reduce emissions but also by helping to navigate unavoidable climate change impacts and provide essential capabilities that enable climate action. SAP, alongside its dedication to AI ethics, wants to ensure that its AI solutions drive sustainability strategies and contribute to a more resilient and adaptive world.

SAP believes that working together and being open and transparent are key to solving bigger challenges. It’s not just about cool tech; it’s about creating real connections. As AI evolves, SAP’s dedication to a responsible and inclusive future shows the power of teamwork in making a difference.

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Categories: What's New

Helping Women-Owned Businesses Thrive in the Global Economy

SAP News - Thu, 01/25/2024 - 10:15

When Danielle Thomé was a teenager, she asked her father for a job. That’s not unusual, especially since her father was the founder of Projex Engenharia, a successful business in Brazil. But the business focused on civil and industrial construction, an industry where a 15-year-old girl didn’t fit the typical job description, despite her passion for civil engineering. Although Thomé would eventually take over her father’s business, her road to success was paved with many challenges.

“One of the biggest challenges I faced was the age-old problem of gender discrimination,” Thomé recalled years later. She is one of many women driven to lead businesses that reflect their life passions.

Like other entrepreneurial women, she needed support. But where are the networks to help women turn their passions into successful businesses? Thomé found her network in an SAP customer. WEConnect International connects women-owned businesses to qualified buyers around the world. As a result of becoming WEConnect International certified – and a lot of hard work by Thomé and her team – Projex Engenharia’s revenue grew by a staggering 200% in just two years.

Many Challenges, Huge Potential Impact

Women who start and lead businesses face unique challenges. Cultural and social norms, or simply being underestimated by investors, can impede their entrepreneurial efforts. Harvard Business Review observes that “women are massively under-represented among both venture-backed entrepreneurs and VC investors.” It adds that companies founded solely by women receive less than 3% of all venture capital investments.

Also, the pandemic exacerbated the imbalance in unpaid care work – managing the household or caring for children and aging parents – which disproportionally affects women in business.

Women must also deal with the challenges other businesses face, including access to markets, information technology gaps, and the red tape involved with government programs designed to help new businesses.

Yet despite these challenges, women-owned and women-led businesses offer the potential to make a significant impact on the global economy. The World Economic Forum (WEF) observed that “societies with greater gender equality not only offer better socioeconomic opportunities for women, but also tend to grow faster and more equitably.”

The WEF also reports that advancing women’s employment could add US$12 trillion to global GDP and boost some countries’ economic output by as much as 35%.

Yet despite a clear business case, the WEF sees global progress stagnating.

Who Has the Power to Drive Change? All of Us.

Traditionally, the procurement function within larger organizations has held the power to fill supply chain gaps and build networks of suppliers. Yet today, other voices are making themselves heard. Consumers are expressing preferences to buy from women and other diverse businesses. Around the world – for example in the United States, Australia, and Canada – government regulations are requiring increased diversity and inclusion.

SAP Business Network powers transparency, resiliency, and sustainability Learn more

Additionally, the C-suite is reframing corporate policy to reflect more sophisticated approaches to selecting suppliers. In my role as customer officer, SAP Intelligent Spend & Business Network, I see business leaders prioritizing inclusive sourcing metrics within their procurement strategies to help ensure they have access to all the world’s best suppliers, not just the ones they always buy from.

Concerned about supply chain risks, procurement leaders are increasingly adopting localization strategies. While seeking new local suppliers, they also focus on inclusive sourcing. Of course, finding diverse suppliers is not easy – even local ones. Many women-owned businesses are small entities, not well-known in the business community. They often lack access to communication technology that would help them create greater visibility for the business.

How can we make it easier to connect enterprise buyers and women-owned businesses?

Creating Connections with SAP Technology

As president, CEO, and co-founder of WEConnect International, Elizabeth Vazquez is a leader in women’s economic empowerment and global supplier diversity and inclusion. Through WEConnect International, she helps women around the world grow their businesses to create wealth, hire more people, and contribute to the prosperity of their communities.

Last week, she participated in panel discussions during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The discussions focused on opportunities to direct more corporate spend to women-owned businesses, not only to do good but to close supply chain gaps.

“Women-owned businesses are a valuable and under-utilized resource,” she said. “The women who run these businesses understand what their communities need most, and they are in a unique position to help solve them. In the process, they are creating entirely new industries.”

WEConnect International recognizes that to compete in the global marketplace, women-owned businesses must be visible to potential customers. It developed the WECommunity platform, a global register of women-owned businesses that makes it easier for buyers to find women-owned suppliers.

Unfortunately, the initial version of WECommunity relied on technology that delivered a poor user experience, making searching the register cumbersome. WEConnect International needed a scalable, global solution that offered smooth user experiences in multiple languages for buyers and suppliers.

The SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance solution and SAP Business Network more than met these criteria. As an added advantage, many of the WECommunity member buyers were already transacting on SAP Business Network. SAP partner Premikati Inc., a women-owned business, was engaged to help deploy the SAP solutions.

In its first year, the improved functionality of WECommunity produced dramatic outcomes:

  • Buyer membership increased by 91%, a $2 trillion increase in purchasing power.
  • Over 6,000 women-owned businesses experienced revenue growth, creating 24,000 new jobs.
  • Over 7,800 new registered women-owned businesses joined the database, a 95% growth.

“By making it easier for women to register their businesses and for large buyers to find them, our online portal based on the SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance solution, SAP Business Network, and SAP Business Technology Platform helps women compete in a global marketplace,” Vazquez explained.

Breaking Through the Barriers

Remember Thomé, the teenage girl who wanted to work in her father’s construction business? Today, she is owner-director of Projex Engenharia, the business her father founded.

As a noted in a recent profile, Projex Engenharia earned the WEConnect International Women’s Business Enterprise Certification. Thomé leveraged the global network of women suppliers and large buyers to become a more confident and assertive leader.

The relationship has also helped produce significant benefits for her business. In just six years, Projex Engenharia landed six large corporations as clients. This enabled the company to hire more people, ensure their safety and well-being, and support social, health, and environmental campaigns.

SAP is committed to helping all customers achieve their diversity and equity goals. And it is gratifying to know that our technology has become a valuable tool in making this happen.

Megan O’Connor is customer officer for SAP Intelligent Spend & Business Network.

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Categories: What's New

Palm Oil and SAP Software Give Ugandan Farmers New Hope

SAP News - Thu, 01/25/2024 - 09:15

Much has changed for Nassozi Berna, her husband, and their seven children since she began farming oil palm trees on Kalangala, an island in Uganda’s Lake Victoria, 11 years ago. Before that, Berna and her husband were subsistence farmers growing cassava, banana, and some coffee and living in a small, timber-framed house.

Like many other farmers on Kalangala, Berna started growing oil palm trees in 2012 while emphasizing sustainability and avoiding the deforestation and other issues associated with oil palm farming in some parts of the world.

Oil palm trees bear the fruit that makes palm oil, a much more reliable and lucrative crop than the cash crops they were producing previously. “When we were farming cassava, bananas, and coffee, we were affected by monkeys. They came and destroyed our crops,” she says.

She also explains that she had to leave home and go to the market to find a buyer for the crops that survived the monkey attacks and never knew in advance how much they would fetch. “Our living conditions where bad,” she remembers. She and her family lived in a makeshift timber house. “In the night when we were sleeping, winds would come and destroy our houses and our children fell sick almost every day.”

Cloud Technology Empowers Ugandan Island Community

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That began to change when Berna began working with the Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT) and the family planted their first oil palm trees in 2012. They expanded their crop in 2019 and again in 2022. In Kalangala, many of the people are oil palm farmers. “When a day starts, some of my family members help me with the pruning,” she says. “The others go to the plantation and do other activities.”

As part of its mission, KOPGT teaches farmers better agricultural practices. But perhaps most importantly, it has created a transparent payment system so farmers get paid faster and know if what they’re getting paid is accurate, increasing the standard of living of the farmers and, subsequently, much of the island itself.

As the number of farmers and transactions increased, KOPGT needed a digital solution to enable continued growth. Since 2009, SAP has worked to create applications that help smallholder farmers in developing nations, primarily across Africa, enhance food production.

David Balironda, KOPGT’s general manager, explains that the trust’s system is based on SAP Rural Sourcing Management, which can digitally record information on producers, their farms, and communities at every level of the value chain. This helps provide visibility and allows parties to easily and quickly communicate with each other.

Build a sustainable and traceable agriculture supply chain with SAP Learn how Sustainability

Underscoring the importance of sustainability to KOPGT, the trust conducted an initial environmental impact assessment before launching the project and uses SAP Analytics Cloud to monitor the farmer plantings and ensure they are in compliance with the National Environment Management Authority guidelines.

SAP cloud technology also enables KOPGT to ensure that the oil palm planting meets the most stringent sustainability guidelines set by Uganda’s National Environmental Authority. “We are in the process of applying for that certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to make sure that we work within those guidelines,” says Fredrick Sulwe, KOPGT’s finance and administration manager.

As part of KOPGT’s commitment to sustainability, the trust maintains a lake buffer zone between the planting and the lake itself and even rehabilitates those areas that have been damaged by other plantings. “Restoration of those areas – the lake buffer zones – is key,” says Sulwe.

In addition to maintaining the buffer zones, the trust also follows recommendations for the stocking of trees and ensures that no chemicals or herbicides are used. “As we increase household income, we must keep an environment that is free of any distortion by the project,” explains Sulwe.

The KOPGT system allows the farmers to input information about their crops using the lead farmer’s mobile phone and enables them to receive information and advice back from the trust. The system also includes a mapping feature that has helped farmers to know exactly how much land they are farming. “That means when I go to the bank to get a loan, I’m sure of the size of my lot,” explains Berna.

In addition, she also knows exactly how much of the loan is outstanding and when it needs to be repaid. “Previously, we would almost spend a year without knowing the status of our loan,” she says. “Now we can learn the status of our loans monthly. This never existed before.”

Better Information

She also credits the system with making her a better and more informed oil palm farmer. “At the end of the month I get an SMS that shows how much I have harvested from my lot,” she says. Before the system came online, she says the family was spending a lot of money on transport going to and from the KOPGT office.

“Oil palm has not only impacted my life, but also the community,” she says. “There are many farmers who are like me who have built houses and some have bought cars. They have used the money they got from oil palm to start new businesses on Kalangala and outside.”

Big Dreams

Berna says her hopes and dreams are enormous. “I have started to achieve some of them,” she says. “Now, because I have a permanent house, I am able to sleep well, my children no longer get sick, and I’m sure that the winds won’t take my house.”

“Now, we are able to take our children to school. We can live a decent life. We have some place to stay, and we get paid every month. We are sure that our life has greatly changed,” she adds. And although she doesn’t yet own a car, she hopes to learn to drive in the coming years.

Meanwhile, she says she wants to thank everyone for their help. “What gives me confidence is we have good officers at KOPGT that have tried to give us a good direction. We hope that when they continue doing what they are doing our lives will be impacted greatly.”

Berna’s confidence and newly found optimism reflects the success of the vegetable oil program on Kalangala island. Because palm fruits can be harvested throughout the year – compared to one or two seasonal harvests – and have high yields, palm farming has become a viable alternative for the residents.

Palm oil is already the most widely used vegetable oil on the planet, with about 71 million tons consumed in 2021. And there is not only a domestic need, but also a demand from the foreign market that Ugandan smallholder farmers like Berna’s family and neighbors can help fill.

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Categories: What's New

Grow with the Latest SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition 2402 Update

SAP News - Thu, 01/25/2024 - 08:15

With the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition 2402 update, we are bringing a new round of exciting innovations.

Over the last year, artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm and captured our collective imagination – and it has been a clear focus for us. We see a lot of potential in how AI can improve user and organizational productivity: doing things faster, making better decisions, and automating business processes. We have been embedding intelligent capabilities in our product regularly and will continue to invest in AI to help organizations be successful. 

Simply Ask Joule

Available through the SAP Early Adopter Care program, Joule, our AI-powered copilot, can redefine user interaction, streamline business processes, and enhance productivity. It can offer quick, contextual access to content and applications; users can simply ask Joule for guidance and get pointed in the right direction.

Catch a glimpse into the future of AI in ERP and find more information about the development of AI and Joule in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition here.

Improve Productivity with Embedded AI

The 2402 update also enhances productivity across various business processes through embedded AI capabilities. Examples include:

Input recommendations for sales order completion. Click to enlarge. Automatic material inspection in customer returns. Click to enlarge. Adopt a Modern and Collaborative User Experience

The launch of spaces and pages in the SAP Fiori design system can offer a more intuitive user experience, enabling better task organization and quicker resource access. Highlights include:

  • The new My Home space helps enhance personalization for end users, including personalization export/import and improved language support for System News. Watch a video to learn more.
  • Collaborative stage view integration facilitates information sharing in Microsoft Teams, helping to enhance collaborative efforts across platforms. Watch a video to see it action.
Integration of collaborative stage view in Microsoft Teams. Click to enlarge.
  • Contact card collaboration is now possible by initiating chats, calls, or video meetings directly from the To Do section in My Home. Watch a video to see how.
New features on My Home. Transforming to Intelligent and Sustainable Finance

One important aspect is treasury and risk management, where IDC MarketScape has positioned us as a leader for SaaS and cloud-enabled enterprise applications. Our latest finance enhancements are specifically designed to help elevate businesses into sustainable, intelligent enterprises:

Integration of risk management into financial compliance management.
  • Integrated financial planning with CO2e insights in SAP Analytics Cloud allows planning alongside economic sustainability goals. This can provide a dual perspective on financial metrics and environmental impact, aiding in the development of eco-responsible strategies and identification of related financial risks.
Sustainability planning in integrated financial planning. Click to enlarge. Powering Service-Centric Companies

We have seen a spike in service-centric companies using SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and were named a leader in this area by Gartner. Based on feedback from our customers and partners, we are continuously improving the product experience. Examples include:

  • The Project Control – Professional Services Projects app can offer a detailed project overview, enabling managers to monitor project health and address issues like missing time entries, pending invoices, or unassigned roles. This can allow for more proactive and efficient project management.
Project Control – Professional Services Projects app. Click to enlarge.
  • The improved billing solution helps prevent revenue losses and streamline billing processes for increased flexibility and accuracy. Enhancements include editing billing due dates, merging billing plan items, and creating preliminary billing documents, all within the Manage Project Billing app.
  • The SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)-based module of SAP Subscription Billing is tightly and seamlessly integrated. It can support customers’ transitions to subscription-based commercial models. Effective and detailed profitability analysis becomes instrumental to maximize revenue with tailored subscription-pricing models with the seamless support of profit centers. Take a look at our brand-new interactive value journey.
  • Advanced solution order management can elevate your sales strategies. By integrating sales kits into solution orders, we provide the tools to help enhance your solution selling approach, working to ensure that every sales opportunity is maximized for optimal results, enhancing the process from ordering to billing and accounting.
Sales kits in solution orders. Click to enlarge. Boosting Manufacturing and Product-Centric Companies

The enhancements for product-centric companies help elevate operational efficiency, streamline processes, and unlock new revenue opportunities. Gartner named SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition as a cloud ERP market leader for product-centric enterprises. Highlights of the 2402 update include:

Efficient third-party order processing. Click to enlarge.
  • The automatic linkage of equipment to service contracts helps improve the combined sales of a physical good and a service and enables you to increase revenue by selling combinations of physical products, one-time services, and recurring services. This also helps to avoid errors and reduce manual effort.
Automatic linkage of equipment to service contracts. Click to enlarge. Enhancing Global Reach

We further invested in localization, so our software complies with local regulations and cultural norms:

And So Much More…

Throughout this year, we will deliver many more innovations that help bring value to your business. For more details around what is being delivered for the 2402 update, see the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition release info. For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition:

Arpan Shah is SVP of Public Cloud ERP Product Management at SAP.

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Categories: What's New

SAP Announces Q4 and FY 2023 Results

SAP News - Tue, 01/23/2024 - 18:53

WALLDORF SAP SE announced today its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

  • SAP exceeds non-IFRS operating profit and cash flow outlook for FY 2023
  • Cloud revenue up 20% and up 23% at constant currencies for FY 2023, underpinned by 25% cloud revenue growth at constant currencies in the fourth quarter
  • Current cloud backlog of €13.7 billion, up 25% and up 27% at constant currencies
  • IFRS cloud gross profit up 23%, non-IFRS cloud gross profit up 23% and up 27% at constant currencies in FY 2023
  • IFRS operating profit down 5%, non-IFRS operating profit up 9% and up 13% at constant currencies in FY 2023
  • 2024 outlook anticipates accelerating cloud revenue growth
  • Planned transformation program including restructuring in 2024 reflects focus on scalability of operations and Business AI
  • 2025 non-IFRS operating profit and free cash flow ambition updated to reflect updated non-IFRS definition as well as approximately half a billion Euro of incremental efficiency gains from the program

“SAP has delivered: We met or exceeded our outlook for 2023 in all key metrics. Based on a stellar order entry, our current cloud backlog expanded by 27% – an all-time high. We are confident about the company’s prospects in 2024. From this position of strength, SAP is opening the next chapter: with the planned transformation program, we are intensifying the shift of investments to strategic growth areas, above all Business AI. Going forward, this will empower us to keep leading with innovation while increasing the scalability of the operating model.”

Christian Klein, CEO

 

“2023 was a year of inflection. We kept our promise and achieved double-digit non-IFRS operating profit growth despite an adverse macro environment. In 2024, we will focus on putting the right gradient of earnings growth in place to deliver on our raised ambition for 2025 and sustain growth and financial performance beyond.”

Dominik Asam, CFO

Read the Quarterly Statement

Press Contacts:
Joellen Perry, +1 (650) 445-6780, joellen.perry@sap.com, PT
Daniel Reinhardt, +49 (6227) 7-40201, daniel.reinhardt@sap.com, CET

Categories: What's New

SAP Updates Its Ambition 2025 and Announces Transformation Program for 2024

SAP News - Tue, 01/23/2024 - 18:34

WALLDORFSAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announces plans to implement a company-wide transformation program including restructuring for 2024. In addition, SAP is updating its ambition for 2025. The update reflects the strong performance in the fourth quarter 2023, the updated non-IFRS definition of profit measures, as well as the anticipated benefits from the new program.

The updated 2025 non-IFRS operating profit ambition of approximately €10.0 billion now reflects share-based compensation expenses of approximately €2 billion. Based on SAP’s analysis, this profit ambition is materially ahead of corresponding analyst consensus estimates. In addition, the updated 2025 free cash flow ambition of approximately €8.0 billion is ahead of the latest analyst consensus. 

Ambition 2025

The update of the non-IFRS operating profit ambition includes a reduction by approximately €2 billion due to the inclusion of share-based compensation expenses under the updated non-IFRS definition, as well as an increase of approximately €0.5 billion due to anticipated incremental efficiency gains from the transformation program.

By 2025, SAP now expects:

  • Non-IFRS cloud gross profit of approximately €16.2 billion, now including share-based compensation expenses of approximately €0.1 billion (previously: approximately €16.3 billion, excluding share-based compensation expenses)
  • Non-IFRS operating profit of approximately €10.0 billion, now including share-based compensation expenses of approximately €2 billion (previously: approximately €11.5 billion, excluding share-based compensation expenses)
  • Free cash flow of approximately €8.0 billion (previously: approximately €7.5 billion)

SAP continues to expect:

  • Cloud revenue of more than €21.5 billion
  • Total revenue of more than €37.5 billion
  • A share of more predictable revenue of approximately 86%

The 2025 ambition is based on an exchange rate of 1.10 USD per EUR.

2024 Transformation Program: Focus on Scalability of Operations and Key Strategic Growth Areas

In 2024, SAP will further increase its focus on key strategic growth areas, in particular Business AI. It also intends to transform its operational setup to capture organizational synergies, AI-driven efficiencies and to prepare the company for highly scalable future revenue growth.

To this end and to ensure that SAP’s skill-set and resources continue to meet future business needs, SAP plans to execute a company-wide restructuring program in 2024. The majority of the approximately 8,000 affected positions is expected to be covered by voluntary leave programs and internal re-skilling measures. Reflecting re-investments into strategic growth areas, SAP expects to exit 2024 at a headcount similar to current levels.

Restructuring expenses are preliminarily projected at around €2 billion, the vast majority of which is expected to be recognized in the first half of 2024, impacting IFRS operating profit. Excluding restructuring expenses, the program is expected to provide only a minor cost benefit in 2024. Expected cost savings and re-investments are fully reflected in SAP’s 2024 outlook and the updated 2025 non-IFRS operating profit- and free cash flow ambition.

Financial Outlook 2024

SAP’s business outlook, which includes the financial outlook 2024 as well as the financial ambition 2025, is based on SAP’s updated non-IFRS definition of profit measures which, beginning in 2024, include share-based compensation expenses and exclude gains and losses from equity securities, net.

Furthermore, the 2024 outlook and 2025 ambition for free cash flow assume all payouts associated with the planned restructuring program will be completed in 2024.

For 2024, SAP expects:

  • €17.0 – 17.3 billion cloud revenue at constant currencies (2023: €13.66 billion), up 24% to 27% at constant currencies.
  • €29.0 – 29.5 billion cloud and software revenue at constant currencies (2023: €26.93 billion), up 8% to 10% at constant currencies.
  • €7.6 – 7.9 billion non-IFRS operating profit at constant currencies (2023: €6.51 billion based on updated non-IFRS operating profit definition), up 17% to 21% at constant currencies.
  • Free cash flow of approximately €3.5 billion (2023: €5.08 billion). This includes a preliminary €2 billion estimate for payouts associated with the program, a €0.2 billion impact from a settlement earlier this year of pre-existing regulatory compliance matters accrued in 2023, as well as a €0.2 billion adverse impact due to the discontinuation of the SAP-triggered financing program.
  • A non-IFRS effective tax rate of approximately 32% (2023: 30.3% based on updated non-IFRS tax rate definition).

While SAP’s 2024 financial outlook is at constant currencies, actual currency reported figures are expected to be impacted by currency exchange rate fluctuations as the Company progresses through the year.

SAP will publish its fourth quarter and full year 2023 results shortly after this release.

SAP senior management will discuss these items in more detail during its financial analyst conference call on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:00 a.m. CET/6:00 a.m. GMT/1:00 a.m. EST (Tuesday, January 23, at 10:00 p.m. PST), which will be webcast on the Company’s website at https://www.sap.com/investor and will be available for replay.

Visit the SAP News Center.Follow SAP at @SAPNews.

About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 26 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.  

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For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

For more information, financial community:
Anthony Coletta, Chief Investor Relations Officer, +49 (6227) 7-60437, investor@sap.com

For more information, press:
Joellen Perry, +1 (650) 445-6780, joellen.perry@sap.com, PT
Daniel Reinhardt, +49 (6227) 7-40201, daniel.reinhardt@sap.com, CET

Webcast
SAP senior management will host a financial analyst conference call on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:00 a.m. CET/6:00 a.m. GMT/1:00 a.m. EST (Tuesday, January 23 at 10:00 p.m. PST), followed by a press conference at 10:00 a.m. CET/9:00 a.m. GMT/4:00 a.m. EST /1:00 a.m. PST. Both conferences will be webcast on the Company’s website at https://www.sap.com/investor and will be available for replay.

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
© 2024 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.

Categories: What's New

SAP Invests in Partner Learning to Boost Availability of SAP Experts

SAP News - Tue, 01/23/2024 - 11:00

Companies are under tremendous pressure to remain competitive. This requires the reinvention of themselves and their offerings, along with their underlying IT systems – while still operating. And all of this needs talent.

In times of everything-as-a-service, it is important for SAP experts to build modular system architectures for the sustainable enterprise using SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). But unfortunately, according to ASUG, maintaining knowledgeable staff and internal skills hindered organizations’ technology and business progress.  

Acknowledging these challenges and embracing the power of SAP’s partner ecosystem, SAP has launched an enhanced partner experience on the SAP Learning site specifically tailored to the needs of partner learners. This new experience features curated SAP Learning Journeys, exclusive access to events and subject matter experts, plus the opportunity to earn valuable credentials.

And this SAP partner enablement model is not the typical training. As much as a golf coach can explain how to perfect a swing, true learning actually happens when golfers swing the clubs themselves. Similarly, the partner experience on SAP Learning can provide hands-on interaction designed to help build skills using practical scenarios. Additionally, our newly launched platform can give SAP partner learners access to the right resources for a significantly reduced price per user per year – including certifications. 

Explore learning resources tailored exclusively for our partner ecosystem Learn more

Beginning January 2024, SAP partners accessing the new learning experience will receive the following:

  • Free, self-paced courses that can enable learners to quickly upskill, reskill, and stay up-to-date, offering engaging learning, rightsized to fit the learner’s day-to-day work needs
  • Partner-specific SAP Learning Journeys that can enable partners to become an extension of the SAP team
  • Enhanced analytics, providing the ability to map and track individual skills and to monitor the growth of certified consultants and active learners
  • Access to expert-led live sessions
  • Unlimited on-demand access to hands-on practice systems
  • Four certification exam attempts
  • A single starting point for partner digital learning with AI-supported search across content repositories

Keeping skills current is the key to unlocking success, and it ensures access to future job opportunities. It is important to stay relevant in the work that SAP professionals do as businesses transform. That is why SAP helps make it easier to stay up-to-date with certifications:

  • Certification validity will be 12 months from the assessment completion date to the next checkpoint. This supports professionals in staying up to speed with innovations and new methodologies.  
  • SAP is transforming certifications to become role-based – such as, enterprise architect or backend developer – adapting the learning efforts to the needs of the partner consultants. This shift aligns better with the needs of the learner, thus making the training more efficient.

With the new partner experience on SAP Learning, partner learners can access free content and take advantage of reduced fees for premium SAP partner enablement. They can also get more chances to earn certifications and benefit from extended certification validity and personalized role-based training.

Doubling down on SAP’s cloud-only innovation strategy, we continue to focus on developing new talent and capacity in the ecosystem to support the increased future demand for cloud transformation across our customer base.

For more information, visit the partner experience section on the SAP Learning site

SAP Partner Live: SAP Global Partner Kick-Off 2024

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Tine Vandenbreeden is global VP of Digital Partner Learning at SAP.

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Categories: What's New

Accelerate Innovation with a Clean Core Strategy

SAP News - Mon, 01/22/2024 - 10:15

In a world where innovation is happening at an unprecedented pace, businesses are finding themselves at a crossroads. They are presented with new opportunities to reimagine the way they work, collaborate, and invent. But businesses of all sizes, in every industry, are struggling under the weight of disjointed and disparate technology stacks that distract them from growth, resilience, and innovation.

That’s where clean core comes in. With a clean core strategy for your business technology – starting with your ERP – you can stay focused on what matters most to your business.

Operating with Greater Control and Agility at Your Core

Clean core is a concept designed to keep your organization’s core ERP systems transparent, flexible, consistent, and efficient. It provides the foundation for igniting innovation in the areas of your business that matter the most, allowing your systems to keep up with your business needs more easily, enable innovation, and even support a transition to the cloud.

Clean core has long been the primary goal of enterprise resource planning. After all, the point of having an ERP system is to keep your business running smoothly and adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Yet somewhere along the way, many businesses got lost – they adopted sprawling technology stacks with significant customizations and redundant integrations that negate the purpose of a modern, intelligent ERP system. Why? Too often, businesses believe they are so different that almost every process warrants a nonstandard approach.

In reality, most businesses have more in common than they realize. In terms of finance, accounting, HR, procurement, and many other core business processes, you’re probably very similar to your competitors and others in your industry. Clean core identifies those parts of the business that are standard and enables you to focus on your technology needs related to the nonstandard processes that set you apart from the rest.

Explore the value of a clean core strategy Learn about RISE with SAP Setting Your Business Apart with Strategic Differentiators

Take a luxury fashion brand and a fast-fashion retailer, for example. They both have the same core business goal – and related processes – of designing, manufacturing, and selling apparel and accessories. However, the luxury fashion brand likely focuses more on customer service and the procurement of high-quality materials, while the fast-fashion powerhouse probably places greater importance on rapid design and production cycles. 

Despite their differences, both these businesses would benefit from using the same standard ERP and best practices designed for their industry. Doing so empowers them to focus on the strategic differentiators that make them unique, whether that’s creating custom solutions for the customer experience or innovating ways to cut costs.

So, what are SAP customers doing to differentiate themselves from the competition? Hitachi High Tech (HHT) replaced its highly customized, multinational business landscape with a move to the cloud, investing in SAP S/4HANA Cloud. With a two-tier public and private cloud model, using a side-by-side development approach on SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), HHT reduced 9,000 custom code developments to 472, allowing it to facilitate major upgrades every year and minor updates every six months. Moreover, it’s adopted a clean core mindset as part of the strategy going forward. By embracing the change, HHT moves from a legacy approach to a future-ready intelligent enterprise.

The Clean Core Journey: A Starting Point, Not an End

The industry is sending a clear message: cloud is the default, and it’s rapidly becoming the new normal. However, to truly future-proof their business, organizations should adopt a clean core strategy, a concept that is revolutionizing the way businesses innovate. For many businesses, upgrading to a cloud-based ERP system is the natural next step.

But there are steps you can take to get closer to a clean core and prepare yourself for the future, even before you are ready to make the jump to the cloud. To start, determine what parts of your ERP drive value. Create two categories: one for differentiating elements that deliver value to your business and another for basic functions that don’t create value but keep your business running. By determining which parts of your business set you apart – and whether they’re locked behind fragile integrations and custom code – you can begin thinking more strategically about whether your core ERP system is helping you achieve your goals. You can build on this foundation, enriching your systems to incorporate your competitive differentiators and create a business platform that sets you apart in the marketplace.

The future belongs to those that embrace the clean core and leverage it as a launchpad for innovation and growth. The time to embark on this transformative journey is now.

Claudio Muruzabal is chief business officer at SAP.

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Categories: What's New

Eastman Energizes HR Reporting to Deliver One-Stop Insights to Leaders

SAP News - Mon, 01/22/2024 - 09:15

In an ever-changing world, businesses require data-driven, real-time insights from HR reporting and analytics to make informed decisions that affect their workforce. But many HR teams still rely on older technology and struggle to fulfill demands for reports that encompass an increasing volume of metrics and data. The time they spend gathering, extracting, and transforming data across a patchwork of tools and spreadsheets detracts from other urgent tasks. Despite their efforts, the resultant reports are limited in usefulness by past data and often contain inconsistencies that require additional time to resolve. 

Global specialty materials company Eastman overcame its HR reporting challenges by implementing story reports in SAP SuccessFactors solutions, making its reporting easier and more efficient. For example, a standard talent report – once a labor-intensive task that took several days of precious time – is now generated in under two hours complete with detailed graphics that are continuously updated with live data. Indeed, an SAP study found that with the analytics tools available in SAP SuccessFactors solutions, customers reported a 74% decrease in time spent on report generation, saving days and even weeks on HR reporting.  

“The ability to give our [HR] information to leaders as they need it is huge,” says Nina Nabors, manager of Talent Systems, Eastman. She summarizes the transformation in improvement over past reporting methods. “Before, it was lagging data. It was never data that was live. Having that benefit of building the story report in SAP SuccessFactors and it continuously updating with the latest information is very nice.”

Based in Tennessee, U.S., Eastman Chemical Company was founded in 1920 as a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak. It has a workforce of 14,000 employees in 15 countries. Energized in its purpose to “enhance the quality of life in a material way,” Eastman engages with customers in 100 countries to deliver innovative materials found in items people use every day, including safe, durable medical materials; premium plastics for eyewear frames and lenses; food and beverage packaging; sustainable fibers for luxury home furnishings; and energy-efficient window glass for the construction industry, among others.

Cloud HR Delivers Sustainable Value with Exceptional Employee Experience

To future-proof its workforce, Eastman set itself up for success by moving to the cloud with SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Eastman was already using an on-premise human capital management (HCM) solution from SAP, but wanted the scalability and cost-effectiveness of a cloud-based HR solution. “Delivering [HR] services in the cloud gives us an opportunity to make the technology available to our employees in a way that is more sustainable than having it housed on our servers,” says Nabors.

Prachi Sathe, director of Global HR Technology and Solutions, Eastman, underscores the value of receiving the latest innovations and new features with each biannual SAP SuccessFactors release update. “We also wanted to make sure our HR platform is sustainable in terms of how we support it, how we grow it, and how we make more functions available to our employees. Going to SAP SuccessFactors just made sense for us,” she says.

Put employee experience and engagement at the heart of your organization with SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite Learn more

Eastman uses a range of solutions in SAP SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite – including SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and modules for recruiting, learning, compensation, variable pay, performance and goals, career development planning, and succession – to help harness the efficiency of end-to-end integration and provide an exceptional experience throughout the employee journey from hire to retire.

The SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting solution, for example, is a key driver of Eastman’s talent strategy. “That’s how we bring our new talent into the organization. That’s really their first introduction to our tools,” says Nabors. “We’re bringing great talent into the organization. How we do it is very important, and SAP SuccessFactors is a part of that.”

Accelerating Efficiency with Real-Time Analytics

Eastman needed a streamlined approach to HR reporting that accelerated efficiency and optimized value by fully using the analytics and data in SAP SuccessFactors solutions. “We were using separate tools outside of SAP SuccessFactors solutions to pull our reporting together,” recalls Sathe. “The challenges with that [were figuring out] how we get data out of SAP SuccessFactors solutions and feed it into those reporting tools.”

Eastman’s customer success partner for the SAP Preferred Success plan identified SAP resources to help Eastman increase value from its use of SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics. Eastman also joined a hands-on lab session at SuccessConnect 2022 to gain experience working with story reports, a tool available in the report center of SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Story reports can deliver real-time data analytics and generate reports faster by using live data from across SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite, displaying presentation-style reports in a clear format with detailed visual graphics that communicate insights in an understandable way. As Sathe notes, “When we saw [story reports], it was so motivating for us that data is already there and tools are there. We came back and started working on our first dashboard.”

“We’re so happy Eastman joined us at SuccessConnect,” says Maryann Abbajay, chief revenue officer, SAP SuccessFactors. “Hands-on lab sessions like the one Eastman participated in are invaluable learning experiences. Eastman is a great example of how customers are applying that new knowledge to unlock value with SAP SuccessFactors. With story reports, they are already able to deliver the type of data-driven insights that transform HR into a strategic partner for the business.”    

Data-Driven Insights That Advance People Strategy

Eastman began working with a manager dashboard, one of the many time-saving templates preloaded in story reports, and later built its own version tailored to the information requirements of its organizational leaders, supervisors, and people managers. The HR team also developed custom objects to use in its story reports, including an organizational hierarchy table with extensive drilldown capabilities and a currency exchange table to help executives track international labor costs. The story reports, customized with the look and feel of Eastman’s branding, quickly gained broad acceptance with Eastman’s organizational leaders.

Explore stories in SAP SuccessFactors solutions Read the guide

The HR team recently built a dashboard showing a holistic view to help leaders identify opportunities to advance the organization’s people strategy. This dashboard uses data from SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and will later be augmented with data from the recruiting and learning solutions. A talent dashboard is also forthcoming to Eastman’s HR community, which includes talent partners and leaders. Sathe notes, “By creating the stories, as its name says, we are bringing various data sources together.”

Michael Glenn, talent assessment and analytics manager, Eastman, is building a new learning dashboard that will go out to all learning administrators and supervisors to enable them to see how many people are overdue on their learnings and what learnings are coming up in the next 30 days – and how many hours are required to complete the learning sessions. This information is especially important for production teams that work on fixed schedules, as it enables managers to plan the learning hours into the employee’s schedule.

To ensure the reports provide the right level of information to each recipient based on their role, Glenn intends to use the role-based access permissions available in story reports. So far, he is impressed with the feature, which saves him time from performing manual activities and distribution list maintenance. “We’ve been testing out role-based permissions and it is just working great,” he says.

Empowering HR Administrators with User-Friendly Solutions for Improved Productivity

Nabors says that though she has no background or training in analytics, she found that she was able to get up to speed with stories very quickly. She recalls previously spending several days to build a single report that integrated data from SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. In stories, she is now able to generate the same report in just one to two hours.

Also, troubleshooting and addressing gaps in data is much easier. “If there’s an error somewhere – for example, requisition data that shows up under the wrong person’s name – being able to see it in a story is very easy,” she says. “It’s easy to address that error quickly because you can go right to the error without having to dig through lines and lines of data, rows and columns of data.”

Better Analytics for Faster Decision-Making

Eastman plans to build on its early success with story reports to drive more insights for the organization. For example, there are plans to integrate data to track progress towards Eastman’s ambitious inclusion and diversity goals, which include increasing diverse talent and supporting employees in bringing their whole selves to work. Real-time information from SAP SuccessFactors solutions supports organizational leaders in advancing Eastman’s strategy to build a high-performing organization.

“We really believe in sustainability and sustainable outcomes,” says Sathe. “We want our employees to be self-service reporting employees and create better analytics that give them information versus data. What we were doing previously was giving them data. Story reports transformed this.”

For more information, read “A Guide to Stories in SAP SuccessFactors.”

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Categories: What's New

SAP TechEd in 2024: An Expanded Global Program to Meet You Where You Are

SAP News - Thu, 01/18/2024 - 10:15

I’m thrilled to share a sneak peek of our SAP TechEd program for 2024, which brings together developers, practitioners, enterprise architects, and global IT leaders to explore SAP’s latest innovations and gain hands-on learning.

This year, we’re offering three unique and convenient event experiences so customers and partners can build skills and meet 1:1 with SAP experts.

SAP TechEd Virtual

Held October 8-9, 2024, the free two-day virtual event will deliver SAP technology news and announcements via global keynotes, technical and developer enablement, and engaging sessions of live and pre-recorded content for everyone across the globe.  

SAP TechEd On Tour

Taking place on multiple dates throughout the year, the single-day in-person events hosted across the globe by SAP experts and the SAP Community will deliver deep learning, networking, and hands-on engagement. Locations will range in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and Asian-Pacific and Japan (APJ) regions.  

ASUG Tech Connect, in partnership with SAP TechEd, West Palm Beach, Florida

From November 12-14, 2024, the major three-day event stopover on the SAP TechEd program tour will deliver visionary keynotes, technical education and enablement, expert-led sessions, and a full-scale show floor community experience with networking, best practices, and hands-on engagement.  

I can’t wait to see everyone at an SAP TechEd event in 2024! 

JG Chirapurath is chief marketing and solutions officer for SAP BTP.

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Categories: What's New

How to Get the Most Out of This Transformative Moment for Business Technology

SAP News - Thu, 01/18/2024 - 09:05

If 2023 was the year when generative artificial intelligence (AI) finally became a consumer reality, this will be the year when AI in a business context takes a big step forward.

There is simply no doubt that more and more companies will adopt business AI this year as a key part of their digital transformations and to future proof their operations. But to look at AI alone is to miss the bigger picture of this generational shift in enterprise technology.

See what SAP is building with generative AI Explore now

While AI may get all of the attention, this is actually a moment when two transformative technologies for business are converging. On one side there is the awesome power of the cloud, which allows businesses to break down silos so their teams can access the data they need to innovate faster and in a more secure environment. On the other side is generative AI for business, which can do everything from generating content and code to automating time-consuming tasks and discovering new insights.

But behind the hype and the headlines about generative AI lies a fundamental truth that IT professionals know very well: Any new technology only has value when it can be integrated seamlessly across systems and processes so organizations can do things they couldn’t do before.

In other words, it’s never about the new technology itself; it’s always about what the new technology can do to move businesses forward that really counts.

Increasingly, CIOs recognize what is at stake with getting generative business AI right. According to CITI’s 2Q23 CIO survey, 86% of respondents are directly funding generative AI projects. But there’s a lot of confusion about where these investments are best directed to drive growth for business and value for customers.

In my role for SAP, I speak with CIOs all the time about how to make the most of their technology investments. And whether it’s the cloud or generative AI, my message to IT professionals is simple: experience within your industry and integration across your systems matter now more than ever. Working with experienced partners like SAP is also the only way to unlock the power of responsible, reliable, and relevant AI for business. 

The potential of ERP systems powered by AI is huge. It could allow mundane tasks to be automated more intelligently, freeing up teams to tackle more strategic challenges. It could allow analytics to become even more predictive by using data in AI algorithms to identify trends and patterns long before they become obvious. And it could enhance customer experiences by using data on preferences coupled with real-time data on supply chains to help companies offer more personal recommendations while also making sure those products are available where and when people are ready to buy them.

SAP has been helping businesses use technology to solve these kinds of challenges for decades, starting with ERP and expanding across the enterprise. And while the idea of having cloud solutions augmented by AI might seem new, the reality is we have already been embedding AI into use cases. Today, more than 24,000 businesses are already using and benefiting from SAP Business AI capabilities — and they are seeing impressive results.

For example, American Sugar Refining, Inc., which has been delivering sugarcane products for over 150 years, is now using AI embedded in SAP Business Technology Platform to predict the cost of moving freight more accurately. Predictions that used to be a painstaking process are now being generated automatically in seconds. As a result, the company has been able to generate 2,200 forecasts for 628 trucking lanes sampled from six U.S. states with six months of data — with 95% accuracy.

Or take the example of Motor Oil Group, which need to monitor the health of its refinery equipment to minimize downtime and reduce maintenance costs. By embracing machine learning and predictive analytics from SAP, the company has been able to build predictive models for abnormal events based on sensor data and feed them into user-friendly dashboards and e-mail notifications. As a result, it has been able to explain abnormal events with 77% accuracy and predict future sensor measurements with 70% accuracy.

These are just two examples of what’s already happening when AI is embedded into cloud solutions. And it is just the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come.

But to get the benefits of business AI, companies must first move to the cloud. And that raises an important question for IT professionals. What are you doing today to get ready for the coming flood of business AI solutions that will be available to you but also to your competitors?

This race has already started. Those who team up with partners with the right combination of experience and integration will be the ones set up to win it.

Scott Russell is head of Customer Success and a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

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Categories: What's New

What Industry Analysts Say About SAP Sustainability

SAP News - Wed, 01/17/2024 - 10:15

For nearly 15 years, SAP has committed to being a sustainability leader both in our operations and through our sustainability product offerings for customers. Industry analysts review and assess the sustainability performance of companies across industries. SAP has recently been assessed by some of the most important analyst firms for both our own sustainability performance and the sustainability solutions we offer customers.

Gartner, an independent analyst firm, recently published a report titled “Sustainability Assessment: SAP.” A report from analyst firm IDC earlier this year, “Sustainability Index for Software Providers: SAP”, noted SAP performed “exceptionally well.” The published IDC report highlights how SAP is leading by example as a sustainable vendor.

It’s abundantly clear that businesses need to urgently address sustainability challenges. Companies are adopting new technology solutions to help them manage sustainability across many different dimensions, from environmental issues like energy, water, and waste, to social issues like diversity and human rights, to governance and reporting issues.

Source: Gartner. Click to enlarge.

Business leaders are looking for the best tools that allow them to quantify, analyze, and act on real-time, accurate, and shareable sustainability data throughout their end-to-end operations. With SAP’s ERP-centric solutions, financial and non-financial data can be brought together for holistic decision-making. Business leaders can not only manage their productivity and operating results but connect that information with sustainability-related data to help make climate protection measurable, diversity and inclusion visible, and ethical responsibility transparent.

Record, report, and act with SAP Sustainability solutions Learn more

SAP has a unique role to play in supporting our customers’ sustainability efforts. SAP customers produce 87% of the world’s global commerce. That means our products and services can help the vast majority of companies driving the global economy organize their supply chains, transportation, and financial data in a way that can enable an equitable, circular economy and net-zero emissions.

Sustainability data in ERP is the foundation for holistic, integrated sustainability management. As the leader in enterprise resource management, SAP has more than 50 years of experience helping businesses across 25 industries optimize resources.

Our comprehensive portfolio is designed to help customers find the solutions they need to run their business processes and enterprise more efficiently, with offerings such as SAP Business Network, business process transformation solutions, SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), and the SAP Customer Experience portfolio. Our solutions, increasingly powered with AI capabilities, can help customers not only in their own operations, but across their entire value chain – from calculating product-level carbon footprints, to ensuring diversity and inclusion, to protecting human rights. In addition, SAP’s broad ecosystem of partners can support customers with industry- and technology-specific consulting and implementation, advancing SAP’s “sustainable by design” approach.

SAP leads by example as well, having committed to net-zero emissions across our entire value chain by 2030. We also have been recognized as the leading software firm in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 15 years and as a leader in environmental transparency and action by CDP, an international organization considered the gold standard of environmental reporting.

What’s Next

Sustainability is not an end state, it’s a state of being. In that respect, companies should adopt an approach that constantly evolves and adapts to remain sustainable. SAP is dedicated to advancing sustainable business through our own operations and our comprehensive portfolio of solutions that can help other companies with their end-to-end sustainability management. Across the business network and our wide solution portfolio, SAP supports our customers in tackling their biggest sustainability challenges.

Try the free SAP Sustainability Navigator tool, and read the full complimentary Gartner Sustainability report.

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer at SAP.

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Gartner, Sustainability Assessment: SAP, 11 December 2023, Ed Anderson, Fabio Di Capua
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from SAP.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Categories: What's New

Jowat Creates Seamless, Just-in-Time Operations with SAP Digital Manufacturing

SAP News - Wed, 01/17/2024 - 09:15

Jowat Group is one of the world’s top adhesive manufacturers for industrial use. Tradition and experience from 100 years of corporate development and experience allow it to act as a leading company in technology and innovation in numerous markets and application areas.

Jowat SE’s annual production amounts to 100,000 tons of industrial adhesives. Production is complex and requires high volumes of specialized chemicals and a tremendous amount of power. With raw materials and energy costs skyrocketing, premium manufacturer Jowat looked to get a tighter grip on its inventory management and production processes.  

To ensure maximum efficiency, Jowat requires enough raw materials to fulfill orders while minimizing waste and inventory costs. Moreover, the company needs smooth workflows, as any delay in order placement, production, or the delivery of raw materials can have huge cost implications for the company. As a result, Jowat works hard to ensure that its 24/7 manufacturing processes always run like clockwork.

With demand for industrial adhesives surging, the company was eager to ensure that its production processes could scale to meet increasing order numbers and still deliver optimum efficiency.

Deliver individualized, sustainable, and smart equipment, products, and components in industrial manufacturing Learn more Targeting Seamless Digital Workflows

Originally established in 1919, Jowat is no stranger to innovation. Leaders at Jowat identified that the next stage of the company’s evolution would require a radical digital transformation of its production and inventory management processes. 

“Our factory workers relied heavily on paper-based processes,” explained Dirk-Alexander Segger, Detmold plant manager at Jowat. “For instance, when employees had finished mixing and decanting adhesives, they handwrote notes to track the volume and type of raw materials that they used during the process. Shortly after decanting, workers would then input the information from their notes into our inventory management and manufacturing execution systems, adding to their workload and increasing the risk of errors.” 

Tracking materials usage manually created time delays, potential for human errors, and discrepancies between the stock numbers recorded in Jowat’s inventory system and the actual volume of raw materials available on the factory floor. Moreover, with information stored across multiple systems and in different formats, plant managers had no clarity to identify process bottlenecks or potential enhancements.  

Annette Podleschny-Borchardt, project lead at Jowat, commented: “To enhance efficiency, improve transparency, and prepare for growth, we decided it was time to go entirely paperless. Building digital processes would give us a more detailed, up-to-date picture of our stock position, which would help drive smarter raw materials purchasing decisions and production improvements.” 

“We aimed to take a more proactive approach to our manufacturing processes. Developing robust, reliable, end-to-end digital workflows was the perfect way to achieve this goal,” explained Christine Künne, head of IT and Business Process Services at Jowat SE. 

Embracing Digital Transformation

To find the best solution to support its digital transformation initiative, Jowat invited multiple technology vendors to outline the strengths of their solutions. To keep customization low, Jowat targeted a solution that it could easily adapt to meet the highly specialized nature of just-in-time chemicals manufacturing.  

After reviewing 15 different solutions, Jowat selected SAP Digital Manufacturing. In addition to providing a solid foundation for digitalization, SAP Digital Manufacturing can also integrate seamlessly with Jowat’s existing SAP solutions, including SAP S/4HANA, SAP Extended Warehouse Management, and SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). 

Sustainable, risk-resilient manufacturing is here Learn more about SAP Digital Manufacturing

“We were immediately interested in SAP Digital Manufacturing because it is a cloud-native solution,” commented Segger. “Previously, we used on-premise solutions that required us to carry out extensive and disruptive updates. With SAP Digital Manufacturing, we get instant access to the latest features thanks to the quarterly release schedule.” 

Jowat also valued SAP’s proactive engagement with the chemicals manufacturing industry. “We really appreciate that SAP is eager to co-innovate with industry leaders like Jowat to develop next-generation manufacturing solutions,” said Podleschny-Borchardt. “Through the SAP Customer Engagement Initiative, we can help expert developers at SAP build smart factory solutions that meet the needs of our sector down to the finest detail.” 

Sticking with the Experts 

To ensure a smooth implementation of SAP Digital Manufacturing, Jowat relied on support from SAP Services and Support.

“Whenever we hit a stumbling block, the experts helped us work through the issues. For instance, we wanted to develop a dedicated production operation dashboard, which would give plant managers fast access to key production metrics. As this was uncharted territory, it naturally took a lot of time and energy to work through and SAP was behind us every step of the way,” said Segger.

Currently, Jowat is completing the first phase of the SAP Digital Manufacturing implementation at its Detmold factory before expanding the solution across all plants. Künne explained: “With a phased implementation, we can ensure that the processes we build at our Detmold plant are tried and tested to deliver maximum efficiency. This will give us the best chance of success when we roll out these processes across all our facilities.” 

“Consultants from SAP Services and Support brought not only their expertise to the project, but also the willingness to listen to the needs and the challenges of our industry. Because of this, we were able to collaborate extremely effectively,” added Podleschny-Borchardt.

Driving Efficient Manufacturing with High-Quality Data 

With SAP Digital Manufacturing, Jowat left error-prone, manual processes behind and now benefits from seamless digital workflows with end-to-end transparency. This helps increase quality and ease work for shop floor operators. The activity confirmation is automatically done in the SAP system, enabling real-time inventory insight. 

Consequently, Jowat gained the following benefits:

  • 100% digitalized manufacturing process
  • One source of truth for detailed production information
  • Time savings of three person days per week through automated raw material consumption updates allowing employees focus on higher value activities
  • 100% accurate inventory

“Today workers feed consumption information at the point of production. Previously, it would take one full-time employee three days a week to track raw materials consumption,” said Segger. “With SAP Digital Manufacturing, we have a real-time, accurate picture of our raw materials usage and needs. This is helping us optimize usage and reduce costs.” 

Podleschny-Borchardt added: “Production processes are so much faster now that we have built streamlined digital processes. Before, our paper-based ways of working could add up to five days to production timelines. With SAP Digital Manufacturing, we’ve shaved off this time, allowing us to produce and distribute products to our customers much faster, boosting satisfaction.” 

Planning Ahead for an AI-Driven Future 

With reliable, up-to-date information in SAP Digital Manufacturing, plant managers and leaders at Jowat can have full visibility across the entire manufacturing cycle. “SAP Digital Manufacturing has helped improve the traceability of our products and given us a much more detailed understanding of our manufacturing operations. Ultimately, that helps to enhance planning and provides new insights into potential process improvements,” said Künne.  

Jowat’s plans for SAP Digital Manufacturing go far beyond a global rollout. The company is already exploring the potential to scale and streamline manufacturing processes further with artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. 

“AI holds tremendous potential for us,” reflected Podleschny-Borchardt. “We’re excited to explore how it can help us to ensure consistently excellent quality across heavily customized product lines and how we can enhance production uptime with IoT-driven predictive maintenance. Having an AI-ready solution like SAP Digital Manufacturing at the heart of our operations makes taking these next steps in our innovation journey much easier.” 

Summarizing the overall benefits, Künne concluded: “With the implementation of SAP Digital Manufacturing through SAP Services and Support, we see ourselves on the way to becoming a transparent factory with a reduction in risks, errors, and process costs thanks to optimized processes.” 

Discover benefits other companies have gained, including improved quality with AI-assisted visual inspection. Be sure to listen to the webinar about how a renowned manufacturer revolutionizes manufacturing with Industry 4.0. Also, read this report from Oxford Economics about making supply chains more resilient and sustainable.

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success for Digital Supply Chain at SAP.

Top image courtesy of Jowat.

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Categories: What's New

Trustworthy AI Can Reinvent Companies and Help Resolve Global Challenges

SAP News - Tue, 01/16/2024 - 10:05

“Vague but exciting.” The words were the understatement of the 20th century, scribbled on the margins of Tim Berners-Lee’s famous 1989 paper in which he effectively invented the World Wide Web. In hindsight, we know this was a revolutionary moment, which made the internet accessible to billions of people worldwide and ushered in an era of rapid digitalization.

Today, we’re at a revolutionary moment of similar proportions. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has gone from niche technology to a topic of global discussion within little more than a year. It has happened at a critical moment, with the world facing multiple geopolitical, economic, and climate crises.

While these challenges urgently require our attention, global human, environmental, and financial resources are already stretched. Generative AI, however, offers hope that we can address all these competing priorities simultaneously. In other words, we’ll be able to achieve more with less.

Accelerating Change

The enormous potential of generative AI is widely acknowledged, yet there is one key area where its impact for good has yet to be fully realized. If we apply generative AI to how we run business — as a tool to transform companies, supply chains, and entire industries — we’ll accelerate the evolution of our world economy into one that is more sustainable, resilient, equitable, and prosperous.

Generative AI for business can, for example, help find better and faster solutions to the questions millions of organizations around the world face today. For example:

  • What steps do I need to take to make my company carbon neutral?
  • How can I improve the availability of critical supplies?
  • What can I do to make my business more productive and competitive?
  • How do we skill and reskill our workforce to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow?

Relying on the recommendations provided by generative AI for such critical matters, however, requires the underlying technology to be extremely trustworthy — much more so than in the consumer application space.

Building Trust in AI

Trustworthy means, first, that generative AI for business has to be relevant. AI can only be as good as the data it is trained on, and the generic data used for today’s most famous large language models (LLMs) will not help companies address their very granular problems. To provide context-specific proposals, relevant AI for business must train and work with real-life enterprise data.

See how you can benefit from AI built into your core business processes Learn more

Second, generative AI for business has to be reliable. The stakes in business can be very high: single decisions can affect thousands of customers, colleagues, and the company’s long-term future. That’s why business AI outputs must be provided with the greatest accuracy and quality. And, while AI “hallucinations” may be entertaining in the consumer world, they’re a no-go in business.

Third, generative AI for business has to be responsible. There is an ongoing discussion about how AI models trained on and working with public Internet data may infringe on privacy and copyright regulations. In the business world, this kind of “gray zone” mode of operation is unthinkable.

For businesses to trust generative AI, they need to be sure their data is handled safely and confidentially. They need to be sure that generative AI tools respect and observe data privacy, data ownership, and data access restrictions by their very design, and that they operate only in areas where explicit consent has been given.

These three “R”s — relevance, reliability, responsibility — are the cornerstones of trustworthy AI for the business world. They are also key to building trust in technology as a tool to tackle the biggest challenges of our time.

A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity

As a global software company, SAP has made relevant, reliable, and responsible AI a top strategic priority, training and working with real-life business data based on the explicit consent of thousands of customers. By design, it follows the access and privacy settings already built into SAP databases and software.

The ethical implementation of AI is ensured by clear guiding principles, internal governance structures, and an advisory panel of external experts. Most importantly, SAP is pushing the quality of generative AI results to be not just “good enough,” but to have the integrity and quality customers expect when they make consequential business decisions.

I believe there is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity on a larger scale: nations and regions that pioneer trustworthy AI for business will see a much faster and broader adoption of generative AI across companies and industries. They will reap the benefits of greater competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability. And they will contribute immensely to a better running world — much like the World Wide Web did three decades ago.

Christian Klein is CEO and a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

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This piece originally appeared on the World Economic Forum site.

Categories: What's New

Is Supply Chain Innovation Even Possible in an Era of Tighter Regulation?

SAP News - Tue, 01/16/2024 - 05:00

The world is experiencing a new, tougher business environment. Trade tensions, wars, climate change, and countless other disruptions are putting the brakes on a long and steady period of globalization. Given this growing uncertainty, companies must reconfigure global supply chains to improve their resilience.

Business leaders might assume that more regulation in such a volatile environment would hinder the innovation they require most at this time. However, we will argue smart and balanced regulation can serve as a catalyst for transformation.

Recent regulatory initiatives like the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), which mandates human rights and environmental impact due diligence, have positioned Germany at the forefront of ethical standards in supply chains. The draft EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) extends corporate responsibilities in sustainability, while the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) places the onus on companies to prove that their products are free of forced labor, shifting the burden of proof to importing entities.

Increased Transparency: Understanding Suppliers’ Suppliers

These and many other emerging regulations play a crucial role in enhancing supply chain resilience. Firstly, they help to increase transparency. Compliance necessitates extensive data collection, providing companies with a clear view of their supply chains, including supplier practices and potential risks. This has been practiced by the pharmaceutical industry for many years due to the potential for damage to human health and economic risk to the company from counterfeits or product quality issues.

Now, more industries are recognizing that transparency across the tiers of a supply chain creates this critical backbone of data and visibility.

A risk-resilient and sustainable supply chain is one that is connected, contextualized, and collaborative Learn more

Secondly, companies must reassess their sourcing strategies, encouraging diversification and regionalization. This in turn reduces dependency on single suppliers or regions, making supply chains more resilient against unexpected disruptions.

Although companies may have been operating in an interconnected web of global supply chains for decades, those that still do not have full visibility into their own suppliers — and those of their suppliers’ suppliers — are putting themselves at undue risk by not innovating. We call this tier-n visibility. This is an incredibly powerful tool for eventually reducing uncertainty across supply chains.

Enhanced Collaboration: Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Compliance, when well-executed, can lead to stronger relationships with suppliers. The engagement required fosters trust and accountability in the supply chain, resulting in more collaboration to overcome challenges. With diversified sourcing, companies can swiftly adapt their supply chains to ensure business continuity. That’s simply better preparedness.

Researchers at Cambridge University recently emphasized the need to form alliances to enhance economic security through resilient supply chains, advocating for more collaboration to improve resilience and sustainability. Collaborative approaches, supported by digital technologies, can lead to significant benefits, including reduced tax evasion and enhanced information sharing in the global supply network.

But let’s face it: This is an industry problem, not a technology issue. Industries need to change how they use supplier data. Instead of using it to push for better procurement terms through negotiation, they should focus on more collaborative processes.

Many industries are beginning to realize the benefits of such a collaborative approach. For instance, a car company using the open network Catena-X can pinpoint faulty engine parts and trace issues back to the supplier’s supplier. Such a targeted approach minimizes recalls. Catena-X ensures interoperability through common standards, allowing data providers to maintain sovereignty over their data. With 170 international members, including major German car manufacturers, Catena-X is poised to become an industry standard.

In this dynamic environment, supply chain resilience becomes a competitive advantage. Companies that proactively embrace regulatory requirements gain the trust and loyalty of consumers, investors, and stakeholders.

Reduced Risk: Embedding Artificial Intelligence

Growing regulatory demands also require a paradigm shift in how businesses approach risk management within their supply chains. Here is where artificial intelligence (AI) plays a central role.

Tap AI to optimize your risk-resilient and sustainable supply chain Explore SAP offerings

SAP Business AI solutions can provide proactive insights into the highly complex impacts of potential risks, allowing companies to anticipate and mitigate challenges before they escalate. This transforms the traditional risk assessment process, offering a more dynamic and real-time understanding. And that’s exactly what businesses need now to de-risk.

For example, understanding the impact of new trade sanctions (such as U.S. export controls on advanced computer chips), a container port blockade, or a steep increase on transportation cost for a given shipping lane offers a competitive advantage. Sensing disruptions, simulating them, understanding the impact, and then recommending and executing actions are core use cases that are optimized by AI and machine learning.

However, with powerful technology like AI also comes great responsibility. Ensuring ethical AI development and deployment requires transparency, accountability, and collaboration among businesses, governmental bodies, civil society, and the broader public. The draft EU AI Act would regulate AI systems based on risk levels, emphasizing the importance of adhering to ethical principles to ensure responsible AI use. Trust in AI solutions hinges on the responsible handling of AI technologies and adherence to human rights.

SAP recognized even before any AI regulation was available, that the speed of AI adoption increased the need for the highest ethical standards. SAP was the first European technology company to establish AI guiding principles in 2018 and then created an AI Ethics Policy. The company established an AI Ethics Steering Committee and AI Ethics Advisory Panel, which helps operationalize guiding principles, provides guidance for high-risk use cases. and will align with the upcoming EU AI Act.

Advanced Technologies: Turning Regulatory Burdens into the Foundation for Resilience

Necessity often drives innovation, leading companies to invest in advanced technologies such as supply chain control centers, n-tier visibility, digital twins, cloud solutions, and AI or machine learning. SAP solutions, such as SAP Business Network for Supply Chain Collaboration and SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain, not only facilitate compliance but also enhance overall supply chain visibility and management.

The best examples of the dynamic application of supply chain technology are often found in the food and beverage sectors, where strict quality controls as well as traceability and safety regulations have long necessitated agile, transparent, and sustainable supply chains. Unilever’s commitment to traceability and transparency in its global palm oil supply chain demonstrates how compliance acts as a transformative force. Nestlé’s embrace of technology illustrates how businesses can enhance transparency, and resiliency, while ensuring compliance with evolving standards. And Grupo Nutresa’s procurement transformation shows how it’s possible to deliver efficiencies and generate more value while doubling down on sustainability with trading partners.

These examples show that compliance and innovation are not mutually exclusive and should be integrated, with sustainability serving as the bedrock of resilient supply chains.

Thomas Saueressig is a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.
Anahita Thoms is partner and global lead sustainability partner for Industrials, Manufacturing, and Transportation at Baker McKenzie.

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Categories: What's New

Hunkemöller Finds Perfect Fit with RISE with SAP

SAP News - Tue, 01/16/2024 - 04:00

WALLDORF SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that Hunkemöller International B.V., Europe’s fastest-growing lingerie brand, has moved to the cloud, leveraging the RISE with SAP solution to offer customers personalized experiences and to keep up with strong demand.

With more than 850 retail stores and 15 online stores across 23 countries, Hunkemöller needed a technology infrastructure that could scale and keep up with the brand’s growth. Moving from an on-premise system to the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition solution with Google Cloud marks the first milestone in Hunkemöller’s digital transformation journey to become a data-driven company.

Hunkemöller has an omnichannel sales strategy, selling through its own shops and through wholesale and international franchises. Strong wholesale activities were one of the reasons the company looked to move to the cloud. Hunkemöller wanted a technology infrastructure that could offer flexibility, personalized insights into customers’ shopping behaviors and innovation to position itself for further growth.  

With SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, Hunkemöller is eyeing its next step in its digital transformation journey as it embarks on the implementation of the SAP S/4HANA solution for fashion and vertical business, a version of SAP S/4HANA optimized for the fashion industry. The solution will allow the company to manage its business, from design to wholesale and retail, all on one platform. This will enable Hunkemöller to deliver collections faster on its channels, optimize inventory and cost as well as increase margins.

“About 75% of our customers are already a member of Hunkemöller,” said Gordon Smit, global IT director, Hunkemöller. “How great would it be if we could offer them an even more personalized experience, for example, by predicting when a customer wants to make a repeat purchase and being able to send the right offer at the right time? Thanks to our current efforts with RISE with SAP, we are ready for that next phase. This is going to be a game changer for our customer experience.”

Achim Schneider, global head of industry business unit retail and wholesale distribution, SAP, said: “Having worked closely over the past few months and migrating from on-premise to cloud in 48 hours is testament to the strong collaboration that our teams have had. With RISE with SAP now implemented, Hunkemöller is ready to continue building on the strong growth momentum they’ve had, and I’m excited to see them setting new standards in the lingerie market.”

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Categories: What's New

SAP Welcomes Rising Star Leylah Fernandez as New Brand Ambassador

SAP News - Mon, 01/15/2024 - 10:00

With the first Grand Slam of the tennis season kicking off in Melbourne this week, SAP is pleased to announce a new partnership with rising star Leylah Fernandez.

It’s not every day that we have the opportunity to collaborate with an emerging talent who embodies our values of excellence, determination, and social impact. Today, we are proud to welcome Leylah Fernandez, a Canadian tennis player, to the SAP family as our newest brand ambassador.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 31: Leylah Fernandez of Team Canada plays a backhand in their Group B match against Daniela Seguel of Team Chile during the 2024 United Cup at Ken Rosewall Arena on December 31, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)

As part of our longstanding partnership with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), SAP has invested in the promotion and advancement of women’s tennis for over a decade. Together with Fernandez, we will take our collaboration to new heights as we set out to inspire the next generation of athletes and young girls worldwide.

Who Is SAP’s New Brand Ambassador?

Growing up in Montreal, Canada, Fernandez’s passion for sports was ignited at an early age and continues now in her pursuit to become a top player in the WTA. At just 21 years old, Fernandez has already proven herself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of tennis. Her journey to the 2021 US Open Tennis Championships demonstrated her skill, determination, and resilience. As an unseeded player, she captivated the world with a remarkable run to the finals. Despite finishing as the runner-up, her performance garnered widespread acclaim among tennis fans and media, unveiling her status as one of the premier players on the WTA tour.

“I am honored to join forces with SAP, a company that shares my passion for excellence and creating social impact worldwide,” Fernandez shared. “I am excited to work with a company that has supported the WTA for over a decade and continues to invest in the promotion and advancement of women’s tennis. Together with SAP, I hope to inspire the next generation of athletes and young girls around the world.”

SAPs newest brand ambassador Leylah Fernandez

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Always allow YouTube Always load all embeds--> Beyond the Court

Fernandez’s match style is best described as fiercely competitive and highly engaged. But her impact reaches far beyond the tennis court. Fluent in English, French, and Spanish, Fernandez is a student at Indiana University East, a school that partners with the WTA to help players balance professional play while pursuing an education – a testament to her commitment to personal growth and development.

Driven by her passion for education and sports, Fernandez’s dedication to transforming lives is the driving force behind the Leylah Annie and Family Foundation, a non-profit organization on a mission to make a more impactful world.  The foundation’s mission is “Let’s Make A More Impactful World,” and her objective is to broaden access to education and sports opportunities for those in need. In partnership with various organizations, Fernandez aims to provide scholarships and sports grants to individuals who display a drive for greatness but lack the necessary resources.

What’s Next?

Both on the court and off, Fernandez innately represents what SAP stands for: bringing out your best in every aspect of life. With 2024 poised to be a stellar year for Fernandez, we are thrilled to have a player represent the SAP brand and amplify our collaboration with the world’s largest female sports league.

Join us in cheering on Leylah Fernandez as she represents Team Canada at the 2024 Olympics and takes on top-ranked players on the WTA tour.

SAP helps athletes, performers, teams, leagues, and organizations run at their best Explore our focus areas
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