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WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that it has filed the SAP Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it is accessible online at www.sap.com/investors/sap-2023-annual-report-form-20f. SAP also announced that the SAP Integrated Report 2023 is now available and accessible online at www.sapintegratedreport.com. The SAP Integrated Report 2023, which discusses the company’s social, environmental, and financial performance, is the 12th integrated report the company has issued. 

You can access PDF versions of the SAP Integrated Report 2023 and the SAP Annual Report 2023 on Form 20-F at our Investor Relations website www.sap.com/investor. A hard copy of the audited consolidated financial statements can also be requested free of charge by sending an email to investor@sap.com or via phone +49 6227 7-67336. 

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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We are proud to announce SAP has been recognized as a Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) with SAP Integration Suite for the fourth consecutive time.

We believe this prestigious recognition is a testament to our current capabilities, ongoing innovation, and commitment to providing world-class integration solutions for customers.

Unparalleled Recognition in iPaaS

The Gartner Magic Quadrant provides an overview of the technology vendors in the iPaaS market and positions them according to their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. According to Gartner, “Leaders have a deep understanding of the iPaaS market. They have a record of strong execution and an ability to influence the market’s direction. Leaders have a clear product road map to solidify the product’s position and to help buyers protect their investments. In the latest report, SAP is positioned as a Leader again.”

Unleash the power of connectivity and innovation with SAP Integration Suite Learn more

The ability for an organization to connect and automate its business applications faster and in new ways is critical in today’s digital world. SAP customers are seeking a robust integration solution to support their innovation and modernization initiatives. We believe this recognition serves as validation of our commitment to delivering industry-leading solutions that can empower businesses to seamlessly connect their applications, data, and processes.

A Winning Combination of Technology and Expertise

SAP’s vision for SAP Integration Suite is to connect and automate business processes. As the key integration technology of SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), SAP Integration Suite can empower customers to achieve seamless, scalable business processes without disruption. Its user-friendly interface, extensive library of proven prebuilt content for SAP and non-SAP applications, and robust security features help make it easy for customers to jump-start their integrations.

Organizations across the globe have embraced SAP Integration Suite to help support automation of business processes, streamline operations, and strengthen their collaboration with partners and customers. Take Pitney Bowes for example. It wanted a solution to support its transformation from selling stand-alone products to offering holistic solutions that orchestrate physical delivery, installation, and support while minimizing the need for customization and providing growth for the company.

“Using SAP Integration Suite, part of SAP BTP, to integrate SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition with SAP Sales Cloud and third-party providers, we’re simplifying and standardizing business processes, increasing agility, and supporting our growth ambitions in select countries.”

Stuart Beadle, Senior Director, Global Order Management, Supply Chain Applications and SAP Service, Pitney Bowes Inc.

Customer experience is one of the criteria evaluated by Gartner in the report for the ability to execute. According to the report, “Relationships, products, and services/programs that enable clients to be successful with the products are evaluated. Specifically, this includes the ways customers receive technical support or account support. This can also include ancillary tools, customer support programs (and the quality thereof), availability of user groups, service-level agreements, and so on.”

See Gartner Peer Insights to read the reviews.

Learn More

SAP Integration Suite can accelerate innovation, speed connectivity, and connect everyone to automated processes. We remain steadfast in providing powerful and reliable integration solutions. To learn more:

• Read the full report
• Explore exclusive iPaaS content on SAP’s integration space
• Get started for free with SAP Integration Suite
• Learn more about SAP Integration Suite

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

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Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as a Service 19 February 2024, Keith Guttridge Et Al.
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.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Government mandates for e-invoicing to track VAT (Value-Added Tax) payments are one of the fastest growing trends driving the digitalization of business practices worldwide.

Following a series of directives issued during the past decade, the EU has now mandated e-invoicing for all B2G (business-to-government) procurements. The same requirements are expected to include B2B transactions in Europe as well. So far, over 100 countries including Italy, Germany, Poland, Greece, France, and Romania have enacted mandatory e-invoicing legislation, as have numerous others in Latin America and Asia.

Cloud-Based Platform Collaboration Supports E-Invoicing Compliance

There’s no big mystery behind the e-invoicing push. In-country regulators and policymakers see digitalization as crucial to improve fraud detection, simplify VAT reporting, and gain a measure of transparency. While e-invoicing mandates from governments add a layer of complexity for buyers and suppliers, cloud-based platforms have become the norm to automate and simplify collaboration.

One example is SAP Business Network, where buyers and suppliers can manage procurement and invoicing activities with their trusted ecosystem.

“As governments add e-invoicing mandates, we’re committed to help organizations by providing capabilities for regulatory consistency,” Lorraine Yao, director of Product Marketing for SAP Business Network, said. “Digitalization automates the flow of accurate information from order placement, shipping confirmation, and delivery through e-invoicing that’s connected directly to the company’s ERP system. Organizations can replace manual verification with automation based on real-time updates that speed up accurate processing, order fulfillment, and timely payments.”

SAP Business Network helps procurement with supply assurance, efficiency, compliance, and spend transparency Learn more Buyers and Suppliers Reap Benefits of Connected Network

Yao said that organizations transact US$5.3 trillion in annual commerce on SAP Business Network, totaling 746 million B2B transactions each year. Business results to date have been impressive.

After centralizing automated supplier invoicing and collaboration on SAP Business Network, the procurement team at a U.S.-based clothing and accessories retailer saved time with quick access to spend details and reporting analytics. With fresh insights, the strategic sourcing team can identify savings opportunities and expediently act on emerging trends.

A multinational infrastructure and renewable energy company based in Europe moved to SAP Business Network as part of its company-wide procurement transformation. Replacing manual processes with automated machine-to-machine transactions has reduced errors, increased efficiencies, and provided the procurement team with real-time insights across the supply chain for more informed decisions.

Global Business Transformation from E-Invoicing

E-invoicing is yet another advancement slated to leave legacy tax collection behind. In an IDC survey, 61% of tax professionals agreed that e-invoicing will have a significant impact on their tax management process in the next 24 months. Researchers expect e-invoicing “to fuse compliance and invoice management into one extended process…as VAT and GST (goods and services tax) protocols grow…This essentially means that every company conducting business in the global market will have to interact with these e-invoicing protocols.” It’s no wonder that e-invoicing mandates are spreading rapidly as countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore adopt the EU model, adapting requirements to their specific needs. 

E-Invoicing Boosts Sustainability

Much more than surface automation measures, e-invoicing also contributes to what the EU calls the twin transition, meaning digital and green transformation. After all, when companies use less physical material such as paper, printing, and postage, along with fewer resources routing and archiving data, they can save energy.

“Buyers can quickly process information and data contained in electronic invoices and feed them directly into a company’s payment and accounting systems,” Yao said. “Our SAP Business Network customers find that procurement teams spend less time retrieving information and more time modeling strategic decisions. They can easily collaborate between internal groups and external suppliers, reducing inquiries and speeding up approvals while improving compliance.”

Broadened Positive Impact of Digitalization

Although e-invoicing is a government mandate in a growing number of countries, leaders in many organizations have realized that digitalization has broader business benefits. IDC analysts predict that by mid-2025, 70% of global businesses will use embedded financing to collect and make payments. This includes services like invoice transmissions.

“Digitalization gives both buyers and suppliers transparency to see e-invoice status, saving time and improving efficiencies,” Yao said. “Having immediate visibility to relevant procurement data in one dashboard, accounts payable teams can make the most of early-payment discounts and better manage working capital. This also improves cash flow for suppliers who receive timely payments. SAP is committed to help companies manage procurement end-to-end, including e-invoicing to meet country-specific mandates, and build trading partner relationships for business growth.”

Susan Galer is a communications director at SAP. Follow her @smgaler.

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Problems with wind turbines are rare. But if one does catch fire or blades break and fly off in a storm, it tends to be headline news. This can not only damage the reputations of wind turbine manufacturers and operators, but also adds weight to arguments against wind power. And repairs are costly, too. Product defects are one possible cause, but how can manufacturers resolve quality issues when supply chains are so complex?

To address this challenge, Vestas, a major wind turbine manufacturer, launched a quality initiative powered by SAP solutions and SAP Business Network.

Pillars of the Energy Transition

Faced with the climate crisis, many countries around the globe are investing heavily in zero-emission renewables. China’s 14th Five-Year Plan is driving the market for renewable energy, as are the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and the Green Deal in the European Union. In these parts of the world, wind energy is regarded as the pillar of the energy transition and is the largest source of renewable energy.

But the wind energy sector is highly competitive, experiences rapid innovation, and is prone to massive supply chain issues. Manufacturers must source raw materials, manage global logistics operations, and mitigate the risks of supplier dependency while still keeping pace with demand. They also need to be confident that all the components in their turbines meet rigorous quality standards and deliver performance and reliability. Quality control issues can result in faults, repairs, and – at worst – major failures.

As a market leader in wind turbines, Vestas Wind Systems, headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, launched a large-scale quality initiative. Its 29,000 employees in 88 countries develop wind energy projects worldwide and manufacture, install, and service the turbines for them. The 85,000 turbines Vestas has installed to date generated 173 gigawatts of electricity and over 151 gigawatts under service as of September 2023. Several newly commissioned major projects will see that output increase significantly in the coming years.

“Collaboration with suppliers and partners is of crucial importance to Vestas when it comes to creating a sustainable future for the world by leading the global demand for onshore and offshore wind energy,” Adeola Abegunde, director of Technology Area Lead Digital Procurement and Supply Chain at Vestas, says.

Sourcing Quality with SAP Business Network

Today’s wind turbines are made up of more than 10,000 individual parts. Since the companies that produce these parts are based all over the world, the supply chain is highly complex. To help manage this complexity, Vestas relies on SAP Business Network, the B2B platform used by millions of companies across 190 countries that can connect buyers with contract manufacturers and suppliers.

SAP Business Network enables Vestas to run all its procurement and supply chain collaboration processes online – even beyond company boundaries. Employees use its supply chain functions to collaborate on orders and subcontracting orders. When a supplier confirms an order and sends a shipping notification, staff at Vestas and its contract manufacturers see this information right away. Vestas employees therefore know whether raw materials or the components for an order will arrive at the contract manufacturer on time.

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

Projects of this scale need to run smoothly and according to plan. This is where the quality collaboration features in SAP Business Network come in. Before a supplier confirms or sends an order, it has to complete predefined quality tests and document them on the network. Vestas employees are then aware in advance of any quality issues further up the supply chain and can take corrective action. Through the network, employees can pass on changes to specifications if, for instance, one particular part had to be replaced sooner than expected and needs to be improved. If quality defects lead to incidents, the network can make these failures transparent to all partners and provide an audit trail. That helps everyone in the supply chain understand what went wrong and solve the problem.

“SAP Business Network allows Vestas to offer its trading partners a platform that makes all sorts of collaboration scenarios transparent from end to end. This means that Vestas is better able to mitigate the impact of disruptions in its global supply chain, making it more robust, future-proof, and sustainable,” Florian Seebauer, senior director of the SAP Business Network unit at SAP, says.

Reducing Supply Chain Friction

Suppliers also benefit from the network’s forecasting capabilities. Vestas can provide them with information from the planning tool so that they can prepare for changes and capacity increases. This helps suppliers plan more accurately and can minimize friction losses in the supply chain.

SAP Business Network also supports Vestas’ sustainability goals since it allows users to select and rate suppliers by sustainability criteria. When compared to electricity generated from fossil fuels, Vestas’ solutions have saved 1.9 billion tons of carbon emissions – equivalent to 88 million cars driven for a year. Vestas has established sustainability performance as a core priority across its entire value chain and introduced pioneering initiatives such as its “Circularity Road Map” for the circular economy. It is no surprise then that Vestas is ranked as one of the world’s most sustainable companies, featured regularly at the top of lists such as Corporate Knights 100.

Vestas and SAP have a long-standing relationship. Vestas has been running SAP as its ERP system since 2007. In 2017, it adopted SAP Ariba solutions for e-procurement and SAP Business Network. Through SAP Business Network, it now has access to a vast pool of potential trading partners. And, because the network is connected to Vestas’ ERP and the complex ordering and collaboration processes running in the background, users don’t have to switch away from the systems they are familiar with. With SAP’s help, Vestas is breezing into a bright future.

Top image: Borssele 3 & 4, The Netherlands, Courtesy of Vestas Wind Systems A/S

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International security leaders placed technology at the forefront of discussions during last week’s Munich Security Conference (MSC). Governments increasingly recognize the necessity of investing in the digitalization of the defense sector to ensure a competitive edge in the new global security environment.

SAP has helped defense and security customers around the globe navigate economic and geopolitical shifts for decades, enabling transformation and infusing intelligence into their operations. Today, SAP’s tailored solutions remain the nervous system of modern Western defense. Drawing insights from discussions at MSC, we see three crucial steps to ensuring NATO, the European Union, and the broader defense sector are ready for the digital age.

“Digital transformation and the secure exploitation of data will comprise the bedrock of European defense establishments’ future military power; they will need to make significant progress in these areas before European defense can seriously consider the operational integration and battlefield deployment of advanced technologies like AI.”

Digitalization of Defense in NATO and the EU: Making European Defense Fit for the Digital Age, International Institute of Strategic Studies Adopting Cloud

Cloud adoption is critical for organizations looking to be more agile, innovative, and competitive because cloud applications offer unparalleled flexibility and scalability. With dynamic and secure cloud-based applications, defense organizations can increase collaboration between agencies; quickly manage, analyze, and share vast amounts of data; and manage complex design, simulation, and engineering tasks so they can deploy their resources most efficiently. Cloud also revolutionizes the way defense forces utilize data as a strategic asset. Since the cloud facilitates the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data analytics, the defense sector can gain actionable insights from diverse data sources that enhance their readiness and operational effectiveness.

Despite the clear benefits of cloud, there are challenges to cloud adoption due to varying requirements between countries and defense organizations. However, these challenges are not insurmountable. Working with the world’s leading defense organizations, including 21 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations, SAP has the knowledge and experience to help the defense sector effectively navigate modernization. By facilitating dialogue between countries and organizations like NATO and the EU, we can work to harmonize approaches that help pave the way for widescale cloud adoption and can strengthen both security and interoperability.

Defense and security organizations are using intelligent SAP solutions to maintain mission readiness Learn more Embracing Artificial Intelligence

Advancements in AI have unlocked the potential for game-changing operational efficiencies and new strategic advantages. AI can ensure logistics and supply chain operations are efficient, agile, and resilient by forecasting demand, optimizing transportation routes, and managing inventory.

SAP’s AI capabilities can support the defense sector in predictive maintenance, quality control, supply chain optimization, and overall operational efficiency. The MSC discussions came in a timely manner as SAP teams are currently discussing AI use cases with NATO and the defense forces at the Defense Interest Group (DEIG).

AI can help ensure private and public organizations are more intelligent and resilient, but AI must be relevant, reliable, and responsible. With SAP Business AI, customers can realize the full value of AI because it is built with the highest concern for security, privacy, compliance, and ethics and connected to SAP’s wealth of enterprise data.

Increasing Digital Collaboration and Interoperability

Given the multinational and multifaceted nature of the defense sector, digital collaboration can expedite the product development lifecycle and enhance the efficiency of operations and supply chains by enabling real-time communication and coordination. Cloud-enabled digital collaboration tools, such as SAP Business Network, can be crucial for achieving interoperability among allied forces as they enable seamless communication and data exchange between diverse systems and platforms. The fact that a significant majority of NATO, EU, and key partners’ defense forces run on SAP makes us “allied by design.” The automotive industry set a good example of what digital collaboration can look like with Catena-X – an inspiration for “Defense-X” to enable digital collaboration of the sector from the factory to the foxhole.

The ability to truly modernize the defense sector hinges on its ability to adopt the cloud, embrace AI, and achieve greater collaboration and interoperability. However, the disparate regulatory landscape remains an impediment to modernization efforts and poses challenges to global cloud adoption. Harmonizing regulatory requirements is key to ensuring a cohesive and standardized approach. SAP is ready to help unlock the transformative capabilities of cloud and AI technologies effectively for defense forces and lead the dialogue across NATO and the EU together with defense clients, partners, and regulators.

Peter Selfridge is global head of Government Affairs at SAP.

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Disrupt yourself or risk being disrupted. That’s true in every industry today. But when it comes to the automotive industry, disruption can be a massive opportunity.

The speed at which the auto industry is changing is nothing short of remarkable. Just think of all the changes we’ve seen in vehicles over the past few years — from more autonomous driving capabilities to being more connected to your surroundings as you drive.

Advance your business and navigate the dynamic world of mobility with SAP Learn more

Electric vehicle demand has also surged over the past few years, which is also great news for the planet. Consumer buying habits are changing as well, with more and more people shopping for vehicles online. Last year, 65% of U.S. vehicle buyers said they shop for vehicles partially or entirely online according to S&P Global Mobility. Car companies are even building for entirely new ownership models.

Generative AI is forcing even more change, particularly by automating time-consuming tasks and allowing data to be used in more intelligent ways. For the auto industry, it’s beginning to improve everything from design and forecasting to manufacturing and production, while also making the customer experience more personal.

All in all, Precedence Research projects the global market for generative AI in the auto industry to eclipse more than $2 billion by 2032. All of this is fueling a new urgency for automotive companies to transform digitally. But what exactly does that mean?

Simply put, it means incorporating digital technologies into every aspect of a business’ operations. It allows businesses to seize new growth opportunities faster than they could before and future proof their operations in new ways. By transforming digitally, businesses can plan and pivot at the same time.

There are so many stories of SAP customers embarking on digital transformation journeys with important lessons to teach for industries.

Take the BMW Group for example: the company has had a longstanding partnership and collaboration with SAP for more than 30 years. Last year, it entered a new phase of its digital transformation journey by moving to a digitized cloud architecture through SAP S/4HANA for its iFactory in Oxford, UK.

Jointly creating the first blueprint for process digitization of automotive plants, it marks the first step to creating a digitized cloud architecture for its connected factories. The solution will simplify and unite the process of making complex changes to the IT systems of its plants in the areas of parts logistics, finance, and meeting customs requirements.

By doing so, the BMW Group intends to create a common digital language that will allow for reducing costs and increasing efficiency for its other automotive plants. And that could create a whole new standard for process efficiencies throughout the auto industry.

The BMW Group’s transformation story shows what is possible by moving to a cloud architecture. It also shows how the company is putting the pieces in place to take full advantage of generative AI as it ushers in a new wave of automation.

Despite a lot of macroeconomic uncertainty in the world, I believe the future for the auto industry could not be brighter. And it will belong to those who put digital transformation at the center of their business strategies, fueling unlimited possibilities for growth and success.

Scott Russell is a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

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In today’s dynamic business environment, organizations need highly efficient sales teams to generate revenue and stay ahead of the competition. But while advances in AI-powered tools have accelerated the sales process, they have also increased the value of soft skills and the relationship-building acumen that talented salespeople bring to their jobs. That’s why savvy organizations are more committed than ever to keeping their sales teams engaged and productive.

Accelerate business outcomes with sales performance management products from SAP Learn more

High-performing sales teams are using sales performance management solutions from SAP SuccessFactors to manage and optimize sales compensation and incentives – rewarding sales reps for their performance – while streamlining sales processes and using real-time insights to improve operational efficiency and drive revenue.

“There’s this renewed emphasis on efficiency,” said Rahul Iyer, general manager, Sales Performance Management, SAP SuccessFactors, speaking to SAP customers at the SAP North America Sales Performance Management Customer Summit, held February 13-14, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. “Customers want faster, simpler outcomes – and they want to provide a great seller experience, as well. At SAP SuccessFactors, we’ve threaded the intelligence of connected cloud applications throughout the SPM solution portfolio. This allows us to deliver the efficiency, transparency, and rich experience of SAP in a comprehensive platform that covers a full range of end-to-end processes in sales compensation.”

Together for Success

Under the banner “Together we can make it better,” the summit event provided a venue for SAP customers – some of whom came from as far away as South America – to meet one-on-one with experts and gain valuable knowledge from product road maps, demos, and deep dive sessions, as well as learn from one another’s experiences in customer sessions. 

Iyer affirmed SAP’s commitment to deliver the advanced innovations customers need to be competitive: “As a strategic partner to our customers, we have the moral responsibility to help them receive progressively more out of technology innovations, while accelerating with the best-in-class capabilities SAP has to offer. We are simplifying from every angle to make it easy for our customers to adopt, so they can achieve business outcomes faster.”

Barbara Rubis Linning, SAP SuccessFactors global vice president, Product and Engineering, presented the latest innovations and features across the sales performance management solution set, which includes SAP SuccessFactors Incentive Management, SAP SuccessFactors Territory and Quota, SAP SuccessFactors Agent Lifecycle Management, and SAP SuccessFactors Agent Performance Management. With features like territory planning and incentive compensation, SAP sales performance management solutions enable organizations to optimize their sales performance for better business results. The solutions use advanced features – for tasks such as drive time analysis and mapping to optimize territories – to streamline processes and make workflows easier so that customers realize value faster. The ongoing introduction of the Horizon visual theme on key administrative pages delivers a fresh, modern user interface (UI) for an elevated user experience. 

“We want our customers to have winning sales teams,” said Linning. “Their success is why we continuously look for new ways to build innovations and relevant features into the portfolio to accelerate business outcomes. SAP is building intelligence that is relevant, responsible, and reliable because we believe it leads to smarter, data-driven decision making and results in better sales performance. Our new intuitive UI helps simplify tasks and puts people at the center of business for improved productivity.”

SAP SuccessFactors solutions deliver Joule, SAP’s natural language processing AI copilot, to help people be more productive in their jobs using SAP business solutions.    

The integration of sales performance management solutions with SAP Business Technology Platform and SAP Datasphere enables seamless access to real-time data and analytics, empowering organizations to make informed decisions and drive sales success.

Winning with Sales Compensation

As the all-important link between an organization’s products and services and its customers, the sales team is a principal driver of bottom-line growth for the whole organization. Correctly incenting sales teams requires the use of proven strategies and solutions to align the pay program with organizational goals, said David Cichelli, revenue growth advisor at The Alexander Group, who presented “Leading the Sales Design Compensation Project.”

He advised sales compensation leaders adopt an annual review process that includes assessment, strategic alignment, taskforce design, and comprehensive communication phases. “Sales compensation design needs to reflect the consensus of key stakeholders: sales, finance, product management, and HR,” he said. “By following a proven design process, you can develop a strategically aligned, effective, and motivational pay program.”

Supporting Customer Success for Better Outcomes

The summit showcased the SAP ecosystem with sponsorships and informative sessions from SpectrumTek, Canidium, OpenSymmetry, Cahaba Consulting Group, The LC Firm, and Aspire Digital.

SAP experts highlighted SAP’s message of ongoing support for customer success: “We’re here for you,” said Tak Kusano, global chief operating officer of SAP SuccessFactors. “SAP has a tight-knit community of sales performance management experts that bring deep domain knowledge to this niche space. That’s why we’re able to work so closely with customers to gain consensus on the road map and product innovations, like AI. We’re passionate about bringing the best of technology to SAP customers.”

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In today’s business landscape, technology plays a pivotal role in solving customer problems and driving growth. But simply purchasing software doesn’t ensure resolution of the business issue.

Consider this: your business implements new software intended to speed up processes but finds out that your processes are instead stalling. Why? Because your employees never fully adopted the solutions. Now you may ultimately decide to stop using that software. To avoid this scenario, more and more software vendors are turning to an adoption-focused mindset that empowers customers to make the most of their software investments.

In fact, 85% of businesses say adoption and utilization data is the most valuable information in determining a software renewal. Yet, only one-third of software vendors on the market have a documented adoption framework to assess how well specific customers are adopting their technology. Enter telemetry, which can help organizations make more informed decisions, optimize business processes, and realize the full potential of emerging technologies.

Telemetry Helps Us Help You

Telemetry often refers to the automatic collection of data measurements from physical equipment. Telemetry has had profound impacts on Industry 4.0, as it’s adopted by not only manufacturers but also by any business that uses virtually any kind of equipment. But with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and its seamless integration into many cloud applications, companies from all industries can consume AI-driven insights and capabilities. These innovations are transforming the way businesses operate, creating new opportunities, and driving efficiencies.

Increasingly though, telemetry is also helping software vendors gather data on the performance and use of their customers’ deployments of their software. This includes SAP. Just like Industry 4.0 data analytics help your business optimize equipment, telemetry from your SAP software helps us see where you could best use our solutions to meet your unique goals, how it can be optimized, and where further enhancements may be necessary.

The ever-expanding landscape of intelligent software and next-generation technology has opened many new doors for businesses, but all these opportunities can be overwhelming and even confusing. Telemetry empowers software vendors – including SAP – to help their customers understand the full potential presented by new software solutions.

SAP Business AI: Revolutionary technology, real-world results Learn more Telemetry-Driven Customer Success

Telemetry is a game-changer in the realm of customer success. It provides a more accurate, near-real-time look at how software investments are performing. For software vendors, telemetry’s greatest advantages to help our customers include:

• Identifying user patterns: Telemetry can provide a real look at user behavior with our software. By tracking navigation patterns and time spent on specific tasks, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of how your users work every day – and how they should work instead. With this insight, businesses can make data-driven decisions to enhance user experiences and drive greater adoption, which drives greater value.
• Optimizing business processes and performance: Using telemetry, we can see how your software is performing across environments. It helps us discover process bottlenecks, frequently occurring errors, and system resource usage. With these insights, we’re better prepared to help you find out what processes simply aren’t working and why.
• Analyzing feature use: Find out what features are most popular among your users – and which ones aren’t. Using this information, we can encourage users to take advantage of the features you’ve implemented or implement new ones that help users work more efficiently.
• Predictive analytics: Telemetry data can be leveraged to create predictive models, anticipating potential issues or opportunities before they arise. This can help businesses stay one step ahead, ensuring smooth technology adoption and minimizing disruptions.

Telemetry serves as a source of 360-degree signal interpretation, and it provides you with opportunities for intervention in the moments that matter most. Building off the above benefits, you can use telemetry to take advantage of predictive analytics for feature development, feedback-driven iterations, and customized user training.

Bridge the “Hype-Reality” Gap

Telemetry and data analysis are helping us help our customers solve arguably the greatest threat to solution adoption: the “hype-reality” gap. Often, businesses hype up their latest software investment to users, claiming they’ll save employees time and effort. But when users don’t see results, they get disappointed – and they stop using the new software. Telemetry, by providing insight into how real users have been using your new software, is a critical way to show real-time results and get the entire business on board.

In addition, telemetry builds on the increasing value of partnership between software vendors and their customers. By harnessing the power of real-time insights right from our customers’ own deployments of our software, we’re better prepared to steer the future of our software toward outcomes that support our customers. As organizations combine telemetry with advances in generative AI, they have a powerful tool at their disposal to drive customer technology adoption and success with data-driven insights.

Claudio Muruzabal is chief business officer at SAP.

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WALLDORF — The Supervisory Board and Executive Board of SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) recommend that shareholders approve a dividend of €2.20 per share for fiscal year 2023. If approved by shareholders and assuming the same level of treasury shares as at December 31, 2023, the total amount distributed in dividends would be approximately €2.568 billion (2022: €2.393 billion), representing a pay-out ratio of 43.1% (2022: 139.6%).

SAP believes that its shareholders should benefit appropriately from the profit the Company made in 2023. The Company’s dividend policy is to pay a dividend totaling 40% or more of profit after tax.

The following dates are relevant for the dividend payment:

• Record date for dividend payment: May 15, 2024
• Ex-dividend date: May 16, 2024
• Payment date: May 21, 2024

Elections of Shareholder Representatives to the SAP Supervisory Board

As announced on February 11, 2024, the Supervisory Board has nominated Pekka Ala-Pietilä to stand for election at the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) as shareholder representative on the SAP Supervisory Board.

• Dr. h. c. mult. Pekka Ala-Pietilä (67), Helsinki, Finland, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sanoma Corporation, Helsinki, Finland. In case of election, his term would expire in 2026. The Supervisory Board intends to elect him as chair.

Further, the Supervisory Board is announcing the nomination of the following candidate to stand for election:

• Prof. Dr. Ralf Herbrich (49), Falkensee, Germany, Managing director, professor for artificial intelligence and sustainability, Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering gGmbH, Potsdam, Germany. In case of election, his term would expire in 2028.

Additionally, three candidates have been nominated to stand for re-election:

• Aicha Evans (54), Los Gatos, CA, USA, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, Zoox, Inc., Foster City, California, USA. In case of re-election, her term would expire in 2028.
• Gerhard Oswald (70), Walldorf, Germany, Managing director, Oswald Consulting GmbH, Walldorf, Germany; Associate lecturer, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. In case of re-election, his term would expire in 2026.
• Dr. Friederike Rotsch (51), Königstein im Taunus, Germany, Group General Counsel, Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt, Germany. In case of re-election, her term would expire in 2028 and she would continue in the role of Lead Independent Director (LID).

These nominations are in alignment with the Profile of Skills and Expertise, the Supervisory Board’s Diversity Policy, and the objectives set by the Supervisory Board for its own composition.

Note to holders of SAP ADRs (American Depositary Receipts):
One SAP ADR represents one SAP SE share. The final dividend amount per ADR is dependent upon the euro/US dollar exchange rate. Since SAP SE pays cash dividends on the ordinary shares in euro, the exchange rate fluctuations will affect the US dollar amounts received by holders of ADRs. The final dividend payment by SAP SE to the depositary bank is scheduled for May 21, 2024. The depositary bank will then convert the dividend payment from euro into US dollars as promptly as practicable.

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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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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.

With rural population in decline, many communities in the Japanese countryside struggle to continue farming and harvesting their land. SAP partner PSI and SAP Co-Innovation Lab in Japan launched a co-innovation project to help the town of Minano revitalize its community.

Like other industrial nations, Japan has been facing massive demographic challenges in its agriculture sector. An aging population and a lack of younger individuals entering the sector to replace them have led to farms being abandoned and fields lying fallow.

Japan’s government has realized the demographical issue, of course, as it touches not only the agricultural sector. To revitalize rural areas and stem the rural exodus, the government launched a national action plan.

In alignment with this action plan, SAP Japan has joined the effort of encouraging rural communities to thrive by launching a co-innovation project with PSI, an SAP partner, and the local government of the town of Minano.

Digitizing the Agricultural Sector

The small town of Minano is located in the hills of Saitama Prefecture, about two hours from Tokyo. While the south of this prefecture is largely a suburb of the Tokyo area, the west, approaching Mt. Fuji, is still very rural and thinly populated. A former center of silk industry, the region on average is sunny and warm but can get lots of snow in winter.

“Farms in this area are traditionally small and dispersed, located between forests and mountains,” says Yoshihisa Horiguchi, chairman of MINNANO Future Create. “Big supermarkets and retailers overlook them. Nowadays, the farmers cultivate rice and vegetables in small amounts to consume themselves, sell to their neighbors, or send to their children or grandchildren that live in cities.”

Since 1950, Minano has lost roughly one-third of its population, largely due to the decline of the agricultural sector. Today, it counts about 10,000 inhabitants.

“Young people often migrate to urban areas for better education and employment opportunities,” Horiguchi explains. “Where 50 years ago, a farm may have relied on 20 young workers, now only two elderly workers are left.”

Digitization is one obvious approach that may help prevent those areas from depopulating completely.

“But while large-scale farms benefit from the economic feasibility of applying robotics and the like, it is financially and logistically challenging to apply such technologies to small-scale dispersed farms,” Horiguchi says.

Horiguchi, the owner of an automotive parts manufacturing company, co-founded the local initiative MINNANO Future Create in 2019 to solve the challenges resulting from population loss. Its members range from elderly individuals to young residents, forming a diverse group of individuals, including pharmacists, architectural designers, and other professions, all living in the town.

For one of its projects, the Minano Digital Eco Farm, it partnered with SAP Co-Innovation Lab.

IoT Solution for Monitoring Agriculture

The Minano Digital Eco Farm project aims to build a communication platform that connects farmers and urban residents as well as small-scale dispersed farms to major supply chains, forming a portfolio that coexists with existing large-scale farms. In alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the project will help overcome supply chain disruptions due to food shortages and crop failures due to abnormal weather, conflicts, disasters, and more.

For this vision to become a reality, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors were distributed in various locations and managed remotely from headquarters.

Tap the power of SAP BTP to integrate and connect landscapes Learn more

“The idea was to have an IoT solution running on SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) that would help monitor all the agricultural processes,” says Atsushi Minakuchi, senior solution specialist at SAP Co-Innovation Lab in Japan.

SAP Co-Innovation Lab partnered with PSI, which brought in the Digital Material Controller (DMC), an all-in-one compact edge controlling server that enables easy setup of a ubiquitous IoT environment. And, due to the cooperation with SAP Co-Innovation Lab, the DMC has also obtained SAP certification.

“Many IoT sensors lack cybersecurity functions,” Mitsuhiro Yamazaki, senior advisor and former president of PSI, says. “However, by connecting sensors to a DMC with cybersecurity capabilities, it becomes possible to securely store locally collected data on the DMC, safely transmit to SAP BTP, and accumulate, analyze, and utilize data from the DMC. This enables seamless and easy integration between the SAP core system and the IoT system.”

“Collaboration with SAP Co-Innovation Lab has significantly expanded the application possibilities of DMC,” Masaki Fukui, former PSI Cyber Security Lab director and now with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, says. “Global users of SAP now could have the opportunity to easily implement and utilize a ubiquitous supply chain platform through the combination of DMC and SAP BTP.”

Through integration with SAP BTP, the deployment locations can then be displayed and monitored on a dashboard.

The idea is for citizens living in the city to enter a service contract with a rural farm or supplier and to connect via a technology platform to remotely monitor and support agricultural processes. In return, they receive part of the crops – freshly delivered to their homes in the city.

So far, two proofs of concept for farms have been completed between March 2019 and November 2022, as well as one proof of concept for a miso factory. Agriculture and rural industry are only two fields of application. Future projects could include schools, hospitals, stores, and elder care facilities.

Strengthening Rural Appeal for Inland Tourism

As a corporate social responsibility project, the Minano Digital Eco Farm came to life through the voluntary engagement of SAP employees in Japan who supported the project on top of their regular work.

The project is supported by a government program unique for Japan, the so-called hometown tax payment, which makes it possible for citizens to choose and support the region they were born and raised in or a community they wish to engage with.

“The possibility of hometown tax payment is very popular among Japanese people,” Hidenori Kurosawa, vice governor of Minano, explains. “To us in rural regions, it seems that this played a significant role in creating an interest in the countryside. People want to get to know and support local towns.”

Indeed, the appeal of small, thinly populated communities surrounded by beautiful forest landscape hasn’t gone unnoticed by Japanese inland tourists.

Kurosawa says: “We wish to make Minano appealing to visitors by offering return gifts that provide an experience – that allow visitors to come to the town, interact with the locals, and experience things that are unique to this place.”

The Minano Digital Eco Farm project aligns well with this strategy. Not only does it promote Minano’s charm but, by expanding initiatives, it addresses local challenges such as reclamation of abandoned farmland, increased self-sufficiency in food, reduction of CO2 emissions, and improved profitability in agriculture.

“We have great expectations that this initiative will contribute to addressing the town’s challenges and advancing the UN SDGs,” Kurosawa states. “We express our sincere gratitude to the volunteers from SAP Japan who provided invaluable assistance in bringing the Minano Digital Eco Farm project to life.”

“MINNANO” means “for everyone” in Japanese and is pronounced the same way as the name of the town. Fukui from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication explains the idea behind that name: “One action can have multiple meaningful impacts. The issue of unseen small-scale dispersed farms facing economic challenges can be witnessed around the globe. By collaborating with SAP, we hope to inspire rural communities beyond our own prefecture, maybe even beyond Japan.”

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In today’s dynamic world, the workforce is not only confined to permanent employees. A significant change in recent years is the rise of external workers, heightening the need to proactively manage everyone – from full- and part-time employees to services providers and contingent workers – all while reducing manual processes. This is now an integral part of many companies, including Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) and Brightspeed.

A total workforce management strategy allows businesses to keep the whole workforce in focus for increased agility, productivity, and bottom-line impact.  

OG&E’s experience with contingent and contract labor is unique. Despite the 121 years under its belt, OG&E has embraced the changing landscape of employment with open arms. For over 25 years, OG&E has been utilizing SAP solutions, including SAP Fieldglass solutions for over a decade. Together with the HR solutions of SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Fieldglass solutions – a comprehensive vendor management portfolio for external labor – help pave the way for the successful workforce management of permanent and contingent and contract labor. 

The challenge lies in determining which positions to fill with contingent workers or profile workers, a process OG&E has mastered over the years. The decision hinges on the specific skills required and the immediacy and duration of the need. This flexible approach has enabled OG&E to successfully bring in workers with diverse profiles for various projects, such as its recent SAP SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite implementation project.

Ownership of this process is shared between the departments of HR, the business units, and procurement, reflecting a trend observed across various organizations. A study conducted in 2022 revealed that HR was responsible for external worker functions about 51% of the time.* This is a testament to the rising importance of contingent and profile workers and the need for HR to engage them effectively.

However, this process isn’t without its complexities, necessitating collaboration between HR and procurement. Issues such as rate cards and other procurement-specific processes require strong cooperation between the two functions.  

Previously, a lack of comprehensive understanding about OG&E’s workforce made everyday HR and finance decisions increasingly challenging. The management of contingent workers through SAP Fieldglass solutions was handled by a third party. However, the transition to internal management provided more visibility.  

HR teams must plan, source, and manage their workforce across all types of labor Watch a video

This has empowered OG&E to make more informed decisions. For example, OG&E had 10 excellent candidates from different suppliers for a position, two of which came at a significantly higher cost. Recognizing the value of the other eight candidates, it challenged the high markup, resulting in one supplier lowering its rate. This type of negotiation was previously not possible for OG&E due to the lack of visibility, but now it’s an integral part of the process. 

In contrast, Brightspeed, a company that has recently started out, is managing a dynamic workforce of  4,200 employees and almost as many contractors. Its mission? To lay high-speed fiber in the South and Midwest of the United States. Alongside this, it also had a recent divestiture from Lumen, with hundreds of inherited applications and a fresh contingent workforce.

But its workforce needs are ever-evolving. With a contingent workforce that ebbs and flows according to the company’s needs, Brightspeed is flexible and can adapt, from field workers laying fiber to IT specialists building new applications.

Brightspeed utilized SAP’s suite of applications to help streamline its operations post-divestiture. Lumen had already implemented SAP SuccessFactors solutions and SAP Fieldglass solutions, so Brightspeed decided to create a seamless transition and continue to use these solutions. The suite it uses now includes SAP SuccessFactors solutions, SAP Fieldglass solutions, and SAP S/4HANA.

The SAP Fieldglass portfolio is used to help manage contingent workers. Within this context, Brightspeed’s managed service provider plays a crucial role. It liaises with the hiring manager, handles candidate selection, and ultimately delivers the temporary worker in SAP Fieldglass solutions. These workers are then trained in compliance and technical procedures, with all the information interfaced back into SAP SuccessFactors Learning. From an SAP S/4HANA perspective, cost center project activities and other elements are pushed out to its time system and raw time is imported to SAP S/4HANA, capturing millions of dollars in project cost every pay period.

However, the journey wasn’t without its challenges. As a young company, Brightspeed had a massive task ahead of it in getting these systems up and running in just 10 months. The team successfully navigated this initial hurdle, but soon realized it hadn’t fully prepared for the post-go-live period due to the compressed implementation period. This led to a challenging few months, as it scrambled to train personnel and resolve system errors. Despite this, the team has since stabilized operations.

As these examples show, the role of contingent and profile workers is evolving and becoming increasingly integral to the success of organizations. They are no longer just field workers but are being relied upon for specific skill sets. This allows companies like Brightspeed and OG&E to stay agile, adapt to business needs, and manage their contingent and profile workers as well as their permanent employees.

A total workforce management strategy, when done right, can leverage the full potential of a diverse workforce and make companies more agile. SAP SuccessFactors solutions and SAP Fieldglass solutions can work together to help create and manage a dynamic, flexible workforce that can easily adapt. The experiences of OG&E and Brightspeed highlight the importance of strategic planning and the effective use of technological tools in managing the workforce.

Andrea Domhardt is part of Product Marketing for SAP SuccessFactors.

*“Workforce Solutions Buyer Survey 2022, Americas,“ Staffing Industry Analysts, 2022.

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WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) has created a new end-to-end growth area focused on AI under the leadership of Dr. Philipp Herzig in the newly created role of chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO).

The new unit oversees the entire value chain for SAP Business AI, from product development and research through to customer implementation. In this new role, effective January 2024, Herzig reports directly to CEO Christian Klein.

Be ready for AI built for business with SAP Learn how

Herzig’s team will collaborate with innovators across SAP to infuse artificial intelligence into every part of the company’s portfolio. With this new setup, SAP aims to further accelerate the pace at which customers can benefit from groundbreaking business AI solutions and services. The newly established division also underscores the central importance of business AI as a strategic driver for SAP’s ongoing growth.

Herzig’s team consists of strong leaders, including Walter Sun, who continues to lead all product engineering efforts on business AI, as the global head of AI. Sun moved from Microsoft to SAP in September 2023.

“SAP’s increased focus on business AI marks the start of a completely new generation of enterprise innovation, and I’m honored to have the chance to help customers make the most of this unprecedented opportunity,” said Philipp Herzig, CAIO at SAP. “I look forward to working with our team, as well as our ecosystem of customers and partners, to drive the development and delivery of relevant, reliable, responsible business AI that fundamentally changes the way business runs.”

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Media Contacts:
Hilmar Schepp, +49 6227 7-46799, hilmar.schepp@sap.com, CET
Alex Vaught, +1 (206) 678-5712, alex.vaught@sap.com, PST
SAP Press Room; press@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.
© 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.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are transforming the mobility experience in corporate fleet management. A great example is the partnership between Mercedes-Benz and SAP where the companies are both customers and vendors to each other. Mercedes-Benz is using SAP solutions to digitalize its omnichannel buying experience, and SAP is the first customer using its own technology to manage the company’s vehicle fleet in Germany.

As longtime partners, SAP and Mercedes-Benz have a history of shared knowledge for mutual competitive advantage. The fleet management program is grounded in the companies’ similar business philosophies and product road maps. 

Mercedes-Benz has committed to move the company’s B2B business to 100% digital and plans to sell 25% of all new cars online by 2025. The company selected SAP Commerce Cloud to help support this mission. It will create a future-proof composable commerce portfolio designed to reliably power the company’s digital strategy, including a standardized offering across different markets. It will also simplify processes and reduce time-to-market.

Benefits of Digitalized Fleet Management

From the SAP employee’s perspective, ordering a company EV couldn’t be simpler. Instead of time-consuming manual research and back and forth communication with the car dealer, employees can use the guided buying capability in SAP Ariba solutions to order the EV they want directly from the Mercedes-Benz online catalog. They can choose the features they want, such as car make and model, color, and equipment packages, within SAP’s pre-set guidelines.

“The car configurator automates the EV selection process end-to-end, eliminating manual steps and saving time while providing the employee with a highly personalized experience,” said Steffen Krautwasser, head of SAP’s global car fleet. “Automating the approval process assures data consistency and eliminates the need for manual quality checks.” 

There’s a tremendous convenience factor in captured EV data as well. In one pilot program for select EVs in SAP’s fleet, the digital twin will automatically track mileage. Drivers will no longer need to manually enter mileage every time they recharge, and SAP can use this data to better manage the fleet.

Connected Data Drives Sustainable Business

Once ordered, EVs are tracked as assets in SAP’s financial system. After delivery, SAP Digital Vehicle Suite creates a digital twin that can capture relevant, secure data across the EV’s lifetime. SAP’s fleet management team can track CO2 emissions based on green energy usage, mileage, and the number of vehicles on the road. Krautwasser envisioned reporting this data to support the company’s global sustainability commitments.

SAP Digital Vehicle Suite delivers a holistic approach to vehicle, sales, and data management Learn more

“Performance data from the EV digital twin can help corporate fleet managers guide employees in choosing the best vehicle for their driving needs,” said Krautwasser. “Over time, drivers can better understand travel ranges between charges.” 

Data is expected to help address so-called range anxiety, alerting EV drivers when their vehicle needs a charge and, most important, where to recharge. Mercedes-Benz is investing in charging infrastructure to create an ecosystem that would be integrated with public and private charge point providers in the U.S., China, and Europe.

The partnership also reflects a shared commitment to sustainability. Mercedes-Benz has committed to become carbon neutral by 2038, and transition to 100% electric vehicles by 2030 wherever possible. SAP is transitioning the company’s vehicle fleet for employees in Germany to all EVs by 2025 as part of its corporate commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Omnichannel Is Fastest Path to Customer Love

The digital experience is extremely important for customers who expect convenience and quality. Organizations in many industries have shifted to an omnichannel strategy that offers people their preferred experience, whether online or in-person, building brand loyalty and repeat business.

“We want to provide a seamless journey for employees as they research, select, purchase, and enjoy their vehicle,” said Krautwasser. “The most exciting part of our EV fleet management strategy is how we can use our knowledge to enhance the employee experience. Through data and digital services, we can get closer to our employees and act quickly based on their feedback, making improvements and introducing new offerings that keep us on top of trends and support SAP’s sustainability commitment.”

EVs represent a profound business model shift for the entire automotive supply chain as automakers sell direct to customers, provide digital services from vehicle data, and explore new revenue opportunities. It’s clear that Mercedes-Benz and SAP are going the distance for a sustainable and satisfying driving experience.

Susan Galer is a communications director at SAP. Follow her @smgaler.
Top photo courtesy of SAP employee Jude Calvin Parong.

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Today’s digital workplace is constantly evolving, but the way we work is still siloed and complicated. Employees often waste time switching between applications, searching for information, finding data, and seeking recommendations and insights to get work done. They desire an intelligent work experience to boost engagement and productivity.  

SAP Build Work Zone provides a unified, intelligent work experience for the modern workforce.

2024 IDC MarketScape: Experience-Centric Intelligent Digital Workspaces Recognition

SAP has been recognized as a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Experience-Centric Intelligent Digital Workspaces 2024 Vendor Assessment (doc # US49741923, January 2024), based on IDC analysts and customer feedback. We believe this recognition acknowledges SAP’s ongoing dedication in delivering a modern, robust digital workplace solution to optimize user engagement and productivity, and to drive overall business agility.

Read an excerpt of the IDC MarketScape report now Get the complementary copy

IDC defines an intelligent digital workspace as a well-organized system of tools working together to enhance end users’ overall productivity and experiences. This system integrates intentional design, engineering, and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide a customized and seamless view of tools for user tasks. It ensures secure access to resources from any location or device and enables IT and security professionals with complete oversight.

As stated within this IDC MarketScape report, “Client organizations we interviewed noted that SAP Build Work Zone reinforced the importance of collaboration and knowledge management.”

Here are the additional highlights on strengths of SAP Build Work Zone noted in the report:

• A unified digital workspace: SAP Build Work Zone supports building blocks of content, user interface (UI) integration cards, and home page widgets to embed and display SAP or third-party business data in one workspace. Guided experiences sit on top of workflows to guide the user journey.
• Streamlined user tasks: SAP Task Center is used within SAP Build Work Zone to act as a unified inbox to provide one place for all approvals and to dos. Global announcements can be tracked for reads and to check length of time spent on content items with native SAP analytics, or with third-party tools such as Google Analytics or Qualtrics. Customers have noted that SAP Build Work Zone provided a friendly UI and access to all functionality on the mobile app.
• Seamless connection to a comprehensive product suite: SAP Build Work Zone is used to connect the SAP suite of capabilities — including SAP S/4 HANA, SAP Success Factors, and SAP Integrated Business Planning solutions — to handle workflow and collaboration of tasks across multiple IT and business users. SAP Build Work Zone offers pre-built workspace templates with public, private, or external access and an impersonation feature to preview workspaces in-context of specific audience segments.

Evolving the Digital Workplace with SAP Build Work Zone  

Unify Experiences Enterprise-Wide

Business users gain centralized access to SAP and non-SAP business applications, processes, and information, including custom-built apps and extensions, from desktop to mobile using SAP Build Work Zone. The solution offers a personalized, role-based user experience, for example, allowing business users to quickly search for applications or information they need, promptly manage tasks and notifications through the integrated inbox, and stay updated on content, apps, workflows, and processes that are seamlessly integrated across the business landscape without constantly switching around applications or leaving their desktops.

Build Workspaces Simpler and Faster with Low-Code

Business users are empowered to build and customize business sites visually. They can build branded sites, pages, and workspaces for different purposes and complexity. Our pre-built line-of-business content — including home pages, workspaces, integrations, and guided experiences — dramatically accelerates their time-to-value. For example, HR users can create pages for benefits announcements and design workspaces for learning academies. With the flexibility to design a tailored digital experience, business users can organize their work intuitively by bringing together their favorite business applications and unstructured content side-by-side, within a unified environment.

UI integration cards is a powerful widget to visualize data from back-end systems, allowing business users to quickly gain business insights into, for example, purchasing trends, account receivable overview, or compliance checklist. In addition, guided experiences streamline complex, difficult processes that span multiple systems, transforming them into simple, fast, and error-free experiences. This empowers business users to self-service their way through cross-application processes such as onboarding, returning to work, or submitting parental leave requests with ease and confidence.

SAP Build Work Zone is part of SAP Build, a portfolio of low-code solutions that enables the people closest to the business problems to create and augment enterprise applications, automation processes, and design workspaces and business sites visually.

Optimize Team Effectiveness Within and Beyond the Enterprise

SAP Build Work Zone is also designed to amplify team effectiveness across internal employees, external customers, partners, and suppliers. Business users can visually create workspaces to facilitate better team engagement through knowledge sharing, streamlined business processes execution, content management, and implementing best practices. They can also leverage surveys, polls, and interactive Q&A sessions to gather valuable feedback, improving communication and work synergy.

Many SAP Build Work Zone customers have created purpose-built business sites to actively engage with their external customers, partners, and suppliers. For example, a supplier business site is created for suppliers to self-service various business operations, including supplier onboarding, accessing policies, managing account payables and invoicing processes, and obtaining product knowledge along with Q&As. By empowering suppliers to address their requirements and needs, not only enhances their engagement and efficiency but also saves internal teams’ time for more impactful, high-value activities.  

Unlock the Future of Digital Workplaces

Like many customers and partners, Heartland Dental and Avvale chose SAP Build Work Zone and SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) to improve more than 5,000 business assistant’s user experience and productivity across more than 1,700 dental practices within the national dental network. Since its initial rollout in 2023, it has been reported that 33 hours per day have been saved across the initial 200 supported offices.

Looking ahead, SAP remains dedicated to delivering the best-in-class innovations to our customers to enable their business success, such as injecting business AI capabilities by enabling SAP Joule as the digital assistant for intelligent interactions within SAP Build Work Zone.

Learn More

• Read a complimentary excerpt copy of the IDC MarketScape Experience-Centric Intelligent Digital Workspaces report
• Join the SAP Build Work Zone community

Sid Misra is vice president for Product Marketing and Solution Management at SAP.

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About IDC MarketScape Experience-Centric Intelligent Digital Workspaces
This IDC research explores the intelligent digital workspace environment, offering further insights on the pace of adoption, the potential success of technology, and the level of market excitement. This aims to empower IT and business decision-makers to evaluate investments based on their own judgments.

The digital transformation that comes with the introduction of new software solutions has a big impact on the way we learn. This has prompted the Learning Services team at SAP to review the future viability of our services with our customers. What you have told us was enlightening.

What has been most interesting to hear is that 95% of customers we spoke to create their own customized, in-house content. They are recognizing the importance of creating more microlearnings in the form of video tutorials and in-application help. Seventy-nine percent of our customers create online content that learners can self-serve at when they need it. As one customer shared, “We are looking for the sweet spot of not overwhelming users with content, to provide the right content at time of need.”

This helps to fully realize the established trend towards learning in the flow of work.

Here are some common pitfalls we have heard from our customers and some tips to consider on how to avoid them:

Not clearly documenting your learning and enablement strategy

While there is a clear focus on creating learning content, the holistic view of the learning ecosystem is not necessarily given the attention it deserves. You wouldn’t build a house without a solid foundation underneath it.

Consider your enablement strategy to be the foundation for your enablement journey. Clearly document every learning and enablement activity you need to undertake, with detailed timelines, milestones, and roles and responsibilities through the project lifecycle and beyond into business as usual. The enablement strategy should be a document that is communicated widely to all stakeholders in your organization. Your learning approach should be clearly understood by all early in the project.

Diving straight into content creation without a learning needs analysis Learn more about the impact of learning and enablement on user adoption Start your SAP Learning Journey

All too often, the focus is on creating content as quickly as possible, without the due diligence of carrying out a thorough learning needs analysis beforehand. Consider what happens if you do the “big shop” at the supermarket without a shopping list. You buy things that you don’t necessarily need and you forget some important things you do need. How much more efficient can that shop be with a clear, itemized list?

If you don’t base your content creation plan on a learning needs analysis, you risk wasting energy on content that never gets consumed or you miss content that users need, which in turn decreases adoption. Planning and preparation are key. Take the time to conduct a thorough learning needs analysis.

Focusing on content creation pre-go-live, but having no clear plan on keeping that content current

In a fast-paced project environment, the onus is on getting the learning content created to beat the go-live clock. But what happens then? You’ve finished the big shop and now need to fill up your car’s tank. You’ve been so focused on driving your car to the destination that you don’t notice that you have run out of gas. The subject-matter experts and key users you so heavily relied on during the content creation phase go back to their day job or move on. Only 42% of the customers we interviewed have a key user network. Quickly, the content is out-of-date and no one is referencing it anymore. Who is tracking whether it is being consumed? Who is measuring learning effectiveness? Only 17% of our customers create knowledge checks. The content you worked so hard on is quickly dead, forgotten.

Don’t underestimate the key user network for delivering training and keeping enablement content up-to-date beyond go-live. A key user network is invaluable in a digital learning enterprise. Nurture and invest in that network where you can. Plus, all too often, there is no clear hand-off from the project to business as usual. Plans for this should be in place early, back at the enablement strategy stage. As the old saying goes, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

Takeaways

If you really want to drive adoption, clearly document your enablement strategy, understand the learning needs of your people, and provide the right learning at the right time. To work efficiently, learning content must be continually kept up-to-date, especially in a dynamic cloud world where agility, innovation, and flexibility are key. Have a plan, at the outset, on how you want to get the most out of your learning content and ensure key stakeholders understand the value of tracking content usage and keeping it current.

To understand the learning and enablement activities in more detail, check out the free SAP Learning Journey: Getting Started with Learning and Enablement in SAP Projects.

Sarah Gretton is global digital portfolio manager for Learning Services at SAP.

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Complementing SAP’s portfolio of prestigious partner recognition programs, SAP Regional Awards for Partner Excellence recognize partner success in sales, innovation, technology, services, and solution areas within each region.

At the beginning of each year, winners are announced at local kick-off events for the value they deliver to customers. These partners are essential in empowering customers to transform their business and harness cloud innovation for future success. This esteemed recognition in front of peers serves as a testament to the work and impact of these top performers, inspiring continued innovation for the new year.

Recipients are selected from SAP’s wide-ranging partner base, using system-generated data on key metrics. A steering committee of regional SAP representatives review, vet, and rank the achievements according to the internal criteria as it aligns with SAP’s communicated business strategies.

Congratulations to the 2024 winners!

SAP Regional Awards for Partner Excellence in 2024

Recipients by Region

North America

• SAP North America Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Emerging Enterprises: NTT DATA Business Solutions
• SAP North America Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Public Cloud: Sapphire Systems
• SAP North America Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Highest Cloud Revenue: Cognitus
• SAP North America Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Marketing: Argano
• SAP North America Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Indirect Customer Success Stories: Beyond Technologies
• SAP North America Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Service: Answerthink
• SAP North America Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Delivery: Syntax
• SAP North America Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Renewal: NTT DATA Business Solutions

Asia Pacific Japan (APJ)

• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Business Technology Platform Current Cloud Contribution: Accenture
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Global Strategic Services Partner: Accenture
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Regional Strategic Services Partner: ABeam Consulting
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for RISE with SAP – Cloud Contribution: Accenture
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition – Cloud Contribution: PwC
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition – Net New Name: Sar India Digital Private Limited
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP SuccessFactors Solutions – Cloud Contribution: Deloitte
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Intelligent Spend and Business Network – Cloud Contribution: EY
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Partner-Led Business: NTT DATA
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for New Cloud Partner: STL Digital Limited
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for RISE with SAP S/4HANA – Customer Excellence: PwC
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition – Customer Excellence: NTT DATA
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP SuccessFactors Solutions – Customer Excellence: Deloitte
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Business Technology Platform – Customer Excellence: Deloitte
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Intelligent Spend and Business Network – Customer Excellence: PwC
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Solution Extensions: OpenText
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Store: Icertis
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Partner Managed Cloud: Accenture
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Technology Adoption: VISA
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Consultant Capacity Building: IBM Consulting
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Customer Engagement Executive Capacity Building: NTT DATA
• SAP APJ Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Hyperscaler: Amazon Web Services

Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) North

• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Performance: Delaware Consulting
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for New Partner: Alight
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for New Business: PASaPAS
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Delivery: Delaware Consulting
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Contribution: Delaware Consulting
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Pipeline Creation: Flexso
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Business Plan Achievement: Stretch Goteborg AB
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for New Business GROW with SAP: Delaware Digital LLP
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Certifications: Capgemini
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP SuccessFactors Solutions: NorthgateArinso
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Customer Experience: Acorel
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Intelligent Spend and Business Network: Aiden
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Business Technology Platform: NTT DATA Business Solutions
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Digital Supply Chain: Accenture
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Solution Extensions: OpenText
• SAP EMEA North Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Store: Redwood
• SAP EMEA North Award for Service Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Contribution: Accenture
• SAP EMEA North Award for Service Partner Excellence 2024 for RISE with SAP: Accenture
• SAP EMEA North Award for Service Partner Excellence 2024 for Indirect Business: NTT DATA
• SAP EMEA North Award for Service Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition: Deloitte
• SAP EMEA North Award for Service Partner Excellence 2024 for Certification: PwC
• SAP EMEA North Award for Service Partner Excellence 2024 for Special Recognition: EY
• SAP EMEA North Award for Service Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Business Technology Platform: Capgemini
• SAP EMEA North Award for Service Partner Excellence 2024 for Line of Business: Accenture

EMEA South

• SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Solution Extensions – Cloud Performance: OpenText
• SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Solution Extensions – Cloud Growth: msg
• SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Endorsed Apps Performance: Pricefx
• SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Store Validated and Spotlight Performance: Proaxia
• SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Performance: SEIDOR
• SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for New Business: SEIDOR
• SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Marketing: Inetum
• SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Delivery: SEIDOR

Middle and Eastern Europe (MEE)

• SAP MEE Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Performance: NTT DATA Business Solutions
• SAP MEE Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for GROW with SAP: Agilita
• SAP MEE Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Store: Icertis
• SAP MEE Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Solution Extensions: OpenText
• SAP MEE Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Advisor and Integrator: Accenture
• SAP MEE Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Cloud Delivery: All for One Group
• SAP MEE Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Customer Value Journey: All for One Group

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Intelligent Spend and Business Network: ADP Consultores Limitada
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Customer Experience: SEIDOR
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP SuccessFactors Solutions: EPI-USE
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Business Technology Platform: SEIDOR
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP S/4HANA Customer Evolution Program: BCI Consulting
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition: DBR Consultoria e Tecnologia Ltda.
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Digital Supply Chain: ITS Tecnologia e Informação Ltda.
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for RISE with SAP: SEIDOR
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Partner Managed Cloud: BD Consultores
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Solution Extensions: Pathlock
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Store Endorsed: TeamViewer
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Store Validated and Spotlight Performance: Stratesys Tecnologias da Informacao
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Industry Cloud Portfolio Innovation: Workforce Software
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Delivery Quality: SEIDOR
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Customer Loyalty: Corponet Implements, S.A. de C.V.
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Global Strategic Service Partners: Accenture
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Business One Net New Name: Bexap
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for SAP Business One: SEIDOR
• SAP LAC Award for Partner Excellence 2024 for Top Performance: Essence Var Ltda

Thi Than Thuong Tran​ is head of Ecosystem Advocacy and Amplification​ at SAP.

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SAP customers know that effectively managing their company’s spend is as important to us as it is to them.

That’s why we’ve built our industry-leading suite of spend management solutions that span direct and indirect procurement, external workforce, and travel and expense management. These solutions help you gain visibility into your supply chains, procure what’s critical to get the job done, and protect your bottom line – whether you’re simplifying expense, travel, and accounts payable processes, or finding the right talent to ensure your company’s profitability.

With our core commitment to SAP Business AI, we are focused on applying generative AI technology to all categories of spend. Like my colleague Muhammad Alam says, we’re “driving efficiency, quality, and insight into processes that cut across spend management.” Here are 12 generative AI scenarios we’re hard at work on.

Our spend management and business network solutions continue evolving and improving with time – and 2024 will be no different. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s reflect on the incredible last half of 2023, which has laid the foundation for all the amazing innovation to come in 2024.

Eliminate the mundane and elevate the strategic with generative AI Learn more Enhancing Your Control over Company Spend 

New enhancements to SAP Ariba solutions, SAP Concur solutions, and SAP Business Network can take spend management from the most mundane part of your day to the most strategic. Here are a few enhancements we announced late last year:

• Region-specific strategy and planning for category management: Different regions of the world require different procurement strategies. The ability to import and use regions in SAP Ariba Category Management is now a reality. With its advanced analytics, AI-driven insights, and integrated frameworks and tools, users of SAP Ariba Category Management can reap the benefits of data-driven decision-making, identification of strategic sourcing opportunities, and mitigation of risks.
• The biggest Concur Travel release to date: As we continue rolling out the evolution of Concur Travel globally, the new end-to-end booking experience became available for customers whose travel management companies use the Sabre GDS from the U.S. point of sale for air, hotel, and car rental bookings. Congratulations to all our customers that made the strategic switch.
• Supplier catalogs within SAP Business Network: With the newly released SAP Business Network catalog feature, suppliers can upload a catalog that is publicly searchable and viewable by buyers on the network. With a network catalog, suppliers can maintain a single list of all the products they offer, creating high-quality buyers looking for the exact items listed. More improvements to the catalog and user demos are coming your way soon.

Customer Love

With Valentine’s Day coming up, it’s only right to brag about all the customer love we’ve been receiving. Words of affirmation is our love language.

• SAP Fieldglass is the G2 Winter 2024 Leader in Vendor Management.
• SAP Ariba is the G2 Winter 2024 Leader in Procure to Pay, Strategic Sourcing, and Supplier Relationship Management.
• SAP Concur is the G2 Winter 2024 Leader in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.

To top it off, SAP Fieldglass, SAP Ariba, and SAP Concur swept the 2023 “Best Of” Awards from TrustRadius! TrustRadius, the most trusted review site for business technology, also released more wins for our spend management solutions:

• SAP Fieldglass is Top Rated in Workforce Management, Contractor Management, Freelance Management, and Vendor Management Systems (VMS).
• SAP Ariba is Top Rated in Procurement, Expense Management, and Supply Chain Management.
• SAP Concur is Top Rated in Expense Management, Travel Management, and Accounts Payable.

SAP Recognized by IDC MarketScape

I am also thrilled to announce that SAP was positioned as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2023 Vendor Assessment.*

Source: “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2023 Vendor Assessment,” by Simon Ellis, December 2023, IDC #US49948423. Click to enlarge.

According to the assessment report, “SAP Business Network is a comprehensive B2B collaboration platform that connects people, processes, and systems across multiple enterprises, digitizing transactions and creating transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.”

The report highlights these SAP strengths:

• Depth and breadth of product features, functionality, future road map covering all major B2B collaboration categories (indirect, direct material, MRO logistics, financial, services, sustainability), and scenarios in an end-user, persona-based manner
• Integration and extensibility capabilities including integration between SAP ERP, SAP procurement modules, and other applications (other ERP, SCAM, and customer applications) and technologies (machine learning, AI, blockchain) through SAP Business Technology Platform
• Global adoption and breadth of collaboration among the industry’s largest, highly adopted B2B collaboration platforms, enabling trading partners to collaborate in real time
• Ongoing efforts to harmonize commerce, asset intelligence, and logistics continue to enhance the power of the connected economy.

Thank you to our customers and my colleagues for collaborating on this fantastic win.

Customer Success Stories

Al Dahra, one of the world’s largest agribusiness logistics companies, manages food and animal feed supply chains from its home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to countries around the globe. Learn how the company uses SAP Business Network to gain greater visibility into daily operations and as its digital solution to connect the company with its partners and clients.

Building material manufacturer Heidelberg Materials AG knew that visibility across its supplier base was key to enabling the smart decision-making that would help it improve financial performance while meeting sustainability goals. See how it achieved this by harmonizing its procurement processes across its operations with SAP Ariba solutions.

Watch how Chobani, America’s top Greek yogurt brand, uses SAP Business AI embedded in SAP Concur solutions to fully automate its expense processes.

BT Group aims to be the world’s most trusted connector of people, devices, and machines. Read how it overhauled its HR processes with the help of SAP Fieldglass solutions to deliver a modernized, connected colleague experience.

Register for SAP Concur Fusion

If you’re lucky enough to attend SAP Concur Fusion this year, don’t miss my colleague Etosha Thurman, chief marketing & solutions officer for SAP Intelligent Spend and Business Network, presenting in the keynote. She will be demonstrating transformative AI in SAP Concur travel, expense, and invoicing solutions, and how we’re creating a world where travel and expenses can practically manage themselves.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for SAP Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

*Source: “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2023 Vendor Assessment,” by Simon Ellis, December 2023, IDC #US49948423.

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WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the successful launch of SAP S/4HANA and the SAP BW/4HANA solution at Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX), a leading innovator of mass-capacity data storage solutions.

It will modernize the company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and benefit nearly 30,000 global employees through integrating advanced functionalities, such as enabling global manufacturing, supply chain and finance business processes. This achievement signifies the third crucial phase in Seagate’s digital transformation journey, complementing SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain and SAP SuccessFactors solutions.

Get ready-to-run cloud ERP that delivers the latest industry best practices and continuous innovation Learn more

Seagate embarked on this transformative path in 2021, transitioning from its legacy systems to embrace SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors, and SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain.

“We chose SAP solutions for our integrated ERP landscape because its strategy closely aligns with our own: to implement a foundational platform on which the business can scale and grow,” said Grace Liu, senior vice president and chief information officer at Seagate.

Seagate’s leadership recognized the limitations of its existing ERP, prompting the need for an integrated platform to keep pace with evolving business models. SAP solutions address these challenges, offering an integrated ERP landscape with centralized business rules and roles. The implementation aims to enable unified global reporting, overcoming hurdles posed by diverse data repositories and laying the foundation for scalable growth while minimizing total cost of ownership (TCO).

The go-live phase was executed efficiently, without operational disruptions, reflecting SAP’s commitment to a smooth transition. Seagate’s reliance solely on the SAP Value Assurance program underscored the efficiency of collaboration, while the use of cloud application services for pre-go-live testing ensured a robust launch.

Seagate’s move to SAP S/4HANA will provide the company with significant improvements in supply chain management, manufacturing execution, and even ongoing transformation. This recent go-live highlights the transformative power of SAP’s innovative solutions and strategic guidance in driving digital transformation for its customers.

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

Media Contact:
Bridget Carroll, +1 (267) 615-3589, bridget.carroll@sap.com, ET
SAP Press Room; press@sap.com

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Ranked among the world’s top 20 eco-friendly nations, Croatia aims to prosper in a low-carbon economy. However, such success demands major investments in building an energy infrastructure and increasing renewable resources – two criteria that the customer experience can help address.

Throughout Croatia, some businesses are venturing to a first in the European Union: offering customers charging services for electric vehicles (EVs). But this “charge while you wait” initiative isn’t just about attracting new customers – it’s about integrating eco-friendly practices into daily routines for a more sustainable future.

According to Ivica Blažević, CEO and founder of CEV Technologies d.o.o., “While automakers promise a more-electric future, people are interested in EVs only if they reduce fuel costs, offer convenience in refueling, enhance driving experiences, and demonstrate significant environmental contributions. This latest addition to the customer experience proves how businesses across various industries can play a pivotal role in delivering that vision.”

Greening the Customer Experience with E-Mobility

The transition to a low-carbon economy presents an opportunity for Croatia to enhance citizens’ lives by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and investing significantly in renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power. The country also emphasizes energy efficiency in buildings and industries, implementing regulations to curtail energy consumption.

One initiative gaining traction thanks to Croatia’s growing desire to offer charging stations is sustainable transportation. By encouraging electric vehicle usage while advancing public transport initiatives to reduce fossil fuel dependency, the country can better align with European Union directives and foster a greener economy that champions people, businesses, and communities.

SAP partner CEV Technologies, a rapidly growing international charge point operator and e-mobility service provider, aims to support these initiatives. The company offers bespoke e-mobility and smart energy solutions, intending to assist customers in leveraging EV charging solutions and green energy more effectively.

For sustainability-focused countries like Croatia, CEV Technologies sees enormous promise in developing solutions for many industries, including retail, hospitality, and fleet management. And it wants to apply its deep expertise in EV charging technology to create innovative e-mobility features. To realize this aim, CEV Technologies cemented strategic business relationships to help co-create smooth, intelligent, and automated charging experiences.

“In our partnership with SAP, we develop innovative and intelligent charging experiences for our customers. The focus is on integrating the charging process with individual business models to establish value-creating, end-to-end scenarios,” Blažević explains.

Drive the transition to sustainable and convenient electric mobility with SAP Learn more

To realize the potential of convenient charging within the customer experience, CEV Technologies implemented the AI-enabled capabilities of the SAP E-Mobility solution. It can support various scenarios for vehicle charging network construction, management, billing, and reimbursement. In addition, the solution helps optimize renewable energy production through greater transparency into costs, the charging process, and network usage.

But even more stunning is the opportunity to overcome one of the most significant challenges in the e-mobility market: simplifying the payment process at charging stations. Often, this involved a convoluted process requiring membership in exclusive charging networks, managing prepaid accounts, or navigating multiple apps. Now, CEV Technologies is enabling direct credit card payments at charging stations. This innovative move streamlines the charging and paying process, eliminating the obstacles to pushing e-mobility closer to a user-friendly, universally adaptable experience.

In return, achieving public, private, and commercial sustainability goals is within reach. Companies can develop, integrate, and adapt business models that address all types of customer needs and sustainability expectations with outcomes including:

• Speeding up onboarding of charging stations by three times through the use of templates
• 30% less effort when setting up relevant infrastructure, including back-end systems
• 20% faster ramp-up of charging stations

For Croatians, these benefits of e-mobility could bring more value to their everyday lives. Take, for example, a typical commute home from work. The navigation system of an EV can route you toward a charging station in a familiar location and effortlessly reserve it through a loyalty platform.

Plugging your EV into the charging point, you initiate the charging process on your phone and decide to capitalize on offers for a complimentary coffee and other exclusive in-store promotions. After checkout, you receive a comprehensive e-mail overview of your charging session and shopping experience and a free charging voucher for a future purchase.

While this customer experience epitomizes the harmonious fusion of technology and convenience, it also shows how a collective dedication to creating a greener, more connected future can positively impact individuals, communities, a nation, and even the world. And more important, the appeal of a straight-forward payment method that is reminiscent of traditional fueling stations might have an even more far-reaching impact on potential drivers’ willingness to adopt electric vehicles.

Aligning Businesses with Societal Stewardship

Croatia is striding more confidently toward a low-carbon economy as EV charging services become more integrated with the customer experience. Thanks to a country’s vision and CEV Technologies’ innovative solutions, companies across all industries can join this eco-shift by offering products along with an integrated sustainable lifestyle.

Korbinian Koblitz is business development lead for Automotive at SAP.

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In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, supply chain management plays a pivotal role in determining the success of a business. The digital transformation of supply chain processes has become imperative to remain competitive and agile in the market. SAP offers a powerful suite of tools as well as services and support plans to help businesses harness the full potential of their digital supply chain.

In this article, I explore how forward-thinking businesses can integrate guidance plans into their software strategies to advance the transformation of their digital supply chain in a fast-paced business environment.

Embracing the Digital Supply Chain Revolution

Traditional supply chain models have undergone a significant transformation through the integration of digital technology. Now, companies have access to real-time data, advanced analytics, and automation, facilitating informed decision-making processes. A digital supply chain boosts efficiency, cuts costs, and mitigates risks. However, a potent software solution is just part of the equation. Comprehensive innovation requires continuous upskilling of the workforce, a clear vision, and ongoing transformation.

Yet, businesses face challenges throughout the entire software lifecycle. Supply chain professionals juggle day-to-day tasks, envision the future, and manage critical steps. This demands strategic foresight and product expertise, a challenge many customers grapple with.

A reliable helping hand, like the SAP Preferred Success plan, can become invaluable. This advanced plan can aid in digitizing the supply chain, offering guidance for implementing and optimizing SAP Best Practices. The goal? Helping businesses extract maximum value from technology investments.

Here are a few key aspects that the SAP Preferred Success plan can offer customers in their digital supply chain journey.

A Personalized Plan

Imagine collaborating with your organization’s personal squad of SAP wizards. They’re not just experts; they’re partners that can craft a tailor-made plan for your digital supply chain ambitions. It’s like having a strategic road map exclusively for you, helping to ensure every move aligns with your business objectives. Say goodbye to uncertainty headaches because the how, what, and when can be crystal clear. This clarity is crucial as your project partner wraps up and reliance shifts to your in-house supply chain and IT teams. SAP Preferred Success helps eliminate any uncertainty by providing a guide to help navigate the digital landscape seamlessly.

Tailored Guidance

Your SAP Preferred Success counterpart can step into the role of your personalized guide, helping to deliver tailored advice and best practices precisely when you need them. It can go beyond just implementing SAP solutions; it’s about harmonizing them with tried-and-true best practices. What sets this apart is the proactive nature of the guidance. Think of it as a well-orchestrated symphony of checks and advisories by your customer success partner and delivered by our seasoned experts.

Fast-track the value of your cloud investment with SAP Preferred Success Learn more Accelerated Adoption and Continuous Improvement

The SAP Preferred Success plan is meticulously designed to help fast-track the adoption of SAP solutions and facilitate a quicker time-to-value. In the digital era where agility and speed reign supreme, there’s no room for guessing or waiting – it’s full speed ahead. And this isn’t a one-time sprint; it’s a commitment to continuous improvement, learning, and the refinement of your processes over time, well after your first go-live.

Technology evolves rapidly, and SAP Preferred Success can become your compass to stay ahead of the curve. How often have you heard customers wondering, “Are we aware of the latest capabilities or features? Should we be doing more with our solution?” The guidance embedded in the plan strategically helps in answering those questions. It’s about thriving in an ever-evolving digital landscape, not just avoiding obsolescence.

Data-Driven Insights for Feature Adoption

SAP Preferred Success can take the lead in leveraging the robust data and analytics capabilities within SAP solutions. This can give you actionable insights and helps guide you towards the most relevant features for your business.

Determining which features are truly relevant and whether they make sense for your business can be a puzzle. Add the frequent releases of new features in the cloud and staying in the loop and it becomes more challenging. SAP Preferred Success can act as your data-driven guide, helping to align features with business objectives so that you use only those enhancing effectiveness.

Access to Experts

There comes a point where the brilliance of your supply chain teams and IT experts might need a little extra support. SAP Preferred Success can provide access to SAP experts that help navigate challenges effectively. With SAP Preferred Success, you can get dedicated time with the precise subject-matter expert needed to help address your concerns and seek guidance.

Risk Mitigation

With SAP Preferred Success, risk mitigation in digital transformation can take center stage. You can benefit from enhanced incident handling in service-level agreements, which can significantly reduce risks during implementation and post go-live. Consider it your proactive protection for a smooth journey through the complexities of digital evolution.

Seamless Transformation with SAP Preferred Success

Digitalization is not just a choice but a necessity. SAP Preferred Success emerges as a guiding light for businesses keen on transforming their supply chain operations. Its advanced assistance can enable seamless transformations, enhanced guidance, and expertise, all while helping to alleviate stress and empower your supply chain and IT teams.

And there’s a commercial model. Imagine SAP Preferred Success is like a subscription to your favorite streaming service, with no hourly charges and no paperwork for guidance or ad-hoc questions. Your supply chain subscription covers everything, enabling a stress-free focus on the transformation journey without administrative complexities.

Visit us online or contact your local SAP representative to learn more about SAP Preferred Success for supply chain management solutions from SAP.

Kiron Satyavarapu is global solution owner for SAP Preferred Success at SAP.

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