疯拍传媒 for Me provides a central access point to solution support. The portal offers a user-friendly interface with improved functionalities that can enable better and faster interaction with 疯拍传媒 support experts and can provide immediate guidance to solutions for daily business tasks. It aims to make detached information a thing of the past on the customer and partner journey to an intelligent enterprise.  

Since November 6, 2023, an English-language experience has been available for customers and partners to begin their exploration before the migration. And as of today, 疯拍传媒 Ariba and 疯拍传媒 Business Network knowledge-related content on 疯拍传媒 for Me is available in over 20 languages. 

疯拍传媒 for Me provides an integrated and comprehensive platform to help meet the diverse needs of its users. The Services & Support dashboard features an 疯拍传媒 Ariba card that helps direct users to multiple resources on the legacy 疯拍传媒 Ariba Connect , including 疯拍传媒 Ariba and 疯拍传媒 Business Network release readiness information, product documentation, announcements, and specific content related to adoption and deployment.听听

When getting started with 疯拍传媒 for Me, know that:

• 疯拍传媒 Ariba Connect S-user authorizations are automatically carried over to 疯拍传媒 for Me 鈥� no additional access authorization is needed to use 疯拍传媒 for Me. 
• The portal gives access to personalized content in the most used languages 鈥� English, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. 
• 疯拍传媒 for Me offers intuitive cards that categorize and bucket information for your convenience. Support-relevant cards are mainly located in the Services & Support and Systems & Provisioning dashboards.  
• The availability, maintenance, and subscriptions for 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions and 疯拍传媒 Business Network can be found in the availability section of Systems & Provisioning.
• You can get a holistic view of licenses, orders, and consumption status.
• 疯拍传媒 for Me is also available on mobile devices. The mobile app will be enhanced with additional features and the ability to create and manage a new case.
• The get support application is your primary touchpoint with support.

Get Support, Easier and Faster 

The get support application helps guide customers through technical product issues in real time or reaching 疯拍传媒 experts through an AI-enabled framework. It can provide an integrated and personalized support experience to help simplify and streamline the case creation process. AI can automatically recommend solutions during the interaction, predict the right product categorization, and recommend the most suitable support channel, like Expert Chat, 疯拍传媒 Community, or Ask an Expert Peer, when available for the selected product.  

Access 疯拍传媒 Support on the Go 

With the 疯拍传媒 for Me mobile app, support interaction can be possible anywhere and anytime to complete tasks and access information directly on a smartphone. The mobile app can be downloaded from the Apple Store and Google Play Store. 

In conclusion, 疯拍传媒 for Me puts customer and partner interests into focus. While partners can manage their pipeline and customer success, the portal also serves as the central entry point for all support-related topics and questions for customers. It allows access to relevant information, self-services, and consumption status connected to any purchased product portfolio.  

The 疯拍传媒 for Me migration for 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions and 疯拍传媒 Business Network is a significant milestone as we tap into the next generation of AI opportunities to create an effective experience for our customers while delivering a seamless consistency in the look, feel, and delivery of critical support services.

疯拍传媒 for Me is made for you. Follow 疯拍传媒 for Me on LinkedIn and bookmark 疯拍传媒 for Me on 疯拍传媒 Community to stay updated.

Rohan Patel is global head of Support for 疯拍传媒 Procurement.

Like at home, identifying every dollar you spend and getting the most out of it is more critical than ever for your business. And as we continue to roll out 疯拍传媒 Business AI technology, the teams behind 疯拍传媒 solutions are working on ways to help you reduce the time spent on mundane tasks so you can focus on executing your strategy, unlocking spend potential, and unleashing efficiency.

The first quarter of 2024 was among the most productive in my 18 years at 疯拍传媒. We debuted new AI capabilities in various 疯拍传媒 spend management solutions. Check out some of these highlights:

• 疯拍传媒 Ariba Category Management: We鈥檝e incorporated that can assist category managers by generating recommendations in the solution鈥檚 category segmentation, market dynamics, and cost structure tools.
• Scoutbee Discovery: 疯拍传媒 partnered with Scoutbee, a leading AI-powered supplier intelligence and discovery platform, to launch . This 疯拍传媒 endorsed app can rapidly identify qualified suppliers that meet specific criteria and can help advance strategic business imperatives. of me participating in a recent LinkedIn Live with the Scoutbee team.
• Concur Request: Now, this service uses generative AI to help provide for trip planning.
• ExpenseIt: Users can upload receipt images to the ExpenseIt solution, which taps AI to help with several key fields prepopulated. Plus, ExpenseIt can now itemize hotel folios using generative AI.
• Generative AI search: A new capability within Concur Support allows 疯拍传媒 Concur customers to type questions in natural language and get quick answers using generative AI, .

疯拍传媒鈥檚 market-leading spend and business network solutions are getting even smarter, working to unlock greater value for our customers. We have many resources devoted to spend management and that鈥檚 why we continue to deliver innovation in spend management.

And we are only getting started. By the end of 2024,  is planning the following enhancements:

• Generative AI RFI/RFP responses in 疯拍传媒 Business Network Discovery: With generative AI-enabled responses for postings in 疯拍传媒 Business Network Discovery, suppliers will be able to respond to RFIs promptly and more accurately, helping to save time and reduce costs associated with manual labor and resource allocation.听听
• Catalog enrichment using ChatGPT recommendations: This feature can enable suppliers to generate and improve product descriptions and overall catalog quality based on prompts and keyword recommendations from ChatGPT.听
• Intelligent error simplification using generative AI:听This feature uses machine learning and a large language model to interpret and categorize invoice rejection reasons, allowing suppliers to reduce the number of failing invoices, improve rapid invoice submission and payment, and optimize cash flow.

For more on how AI is transforming business networks, read this recent article from my colleague Joern Keller.

But What Are Our Customers Saying?

Each quarter, G2 highlights the top rated solutions in the industry, chosen by the source that matters most: customers. Spring 2024 is no different, and once again our suite of spend and business network solutions scored extremely well.

• is a G2 Spring Leader in Vendor Management.
• is a G2 Spring Leader in Procure to Pay, Purchasing, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, and Contract Lifecycle Management.
• is a G2 Spring Leader in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.

What鈥檚 more, G2 recently announced its , with 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass and 疯拍传媒 Concur receiving high honors:

• 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass came in at No. 26 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards across all products and No. 12 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards for best midmarket products.
• 疯拍传媒 Concur came in at No. 4 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards for the account and software product category.

My colleagues are also getting their flowers. Etosha Thurman, chief marketing and solutions officer of Intelligent Spend and Business Network, and Steve Seide, global head of Adoption for Intelligent Spend and Business Network, were named Top Procurement Pros in the . A big congratulations also goes out to Darcy MacClaren, CRO for 疯拍传媒 Digital Supply Chain, who received a Pros to Know Lifetime Achievement award.

Driving Success for Our Customers

Hearing me spotlight our direct and indirect procurement, external workforce, and travel and expense management solutions is one thing. Seeing them in action is something way more powerful. Here are a few recent customer success stories to take in:

• American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), a leading global specialty retailer offering high-quality on-trend clothing, accessories, and personal care products through its portfolio of brands, needed to evaluate indirect purchasing processes and vendor relationships to maximize efficiency. See how helped simplify processes and deliver compliant purchasing protocols across the company.
• Power provider to over 900,000 electric customers, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (OG&E) faced challenges with the complexity of third-party and cross-department management of contingent workers. After transitioning 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass solutions to internal management, OG&E gained the visibility to make more informed financial decisions, like supplier negotiations.
• Vestas Wind Systems, the world鈥檚 largest manufacturer of wind turbines, launched a large-scale quality initiative powered by 疯拍传媒 Business Network to help mitigate product defects in a highly complex supply chain. Now, using 疯拍传媒 Business Network, suppliers complete predefined quality tests and document them before confirming or sending an order. This enables Vestas employees to be warned in advance of any quality issues further up the supply chain, so they can take corrective action.
• Most KUKA employees are based in Germany, where tax regulation is complex and submitting hotel and entertainment expenses is anything but simple. The KUKA team worked together to develop a simple process using 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions, connected to 疯拍传媒 ERP, that allows employees to create hotel and entertainment expenses with fewer errors and fewer rejected expense reports.

Join Us at 疯拍传媒 Sapphire!

疯拍传媒 Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference is June 3-5 in Orlando, Florida, this year and I can鈥檛 wait to meet with customers, partners, and my fellow colleagues. This is the best event in the industry in my opinion and you don鈥檛 want to miss out. Join us by registering on the , where you can also save your spot at the 疯拍传媒 Sapphire Virtual and 疯拍传媒 Sapphire Barcelona events. See you there!

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

On another day, this would be one of many alerts that supply chain logistics professionals see from 疯拍传媒 Business Network鈥檚 logistics collaboration solutions. Unfortunately, on this day there is more to the story than the indicator on the map can tell us.

By now, we鈥檝e all seen photos and videos of the cargo ship Dali striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing a section to collapse into the Patapsco River in Baltimore鈥檚 outer harbor on Tuesday, March 26. They tell the story on a human level.

This event was a terrible tragedy where people lost loved ones. We are also mindful of the thousands of people whose livelihoods have been affected and of the impact this tragedy will have on the City of Baltimore and surrounding areas for years to come. It is a reminder that transportation logistics is not just a routine process of moving goods from point A to point B. It鈥檚 high stakes, dangerous work that we depend on to keep the world鈥檚 economic engine running.

Recovering from the Disruption: Three Scenarios

Another reality to the tragedy is that even as events were unfolding in Baltimore, supply chain and logistics professionals were compelled to act quickly to address a shockwave of related disruptions. As one of my colleagues noted, 鈥淕lobally, companies immediately devoted extra resources to determine what inventory they have at the Port of Baltimore, what鈥檚 on the water headed there, and what鈥檚 leaving their factories that can be rerouted.鈥� Buying organizations looked closely at inbound shipments, while their suppliers were checking how the disruption would impact outbound deliveries.

Increasingly today, buyers and suppliers rely on technology to gain visibility into the global supply chain. This makes it possible to track shipments, reroute them as needed, or take other remedial action. To explain this further, I鈥檇 like to address three port disruption scenarios and how suppliers and buyers can use 疯拍传媒 solutions, including , , and , to recover and be more resilient through adversity.

1. Identifying and Tracking Outbound Shipments Impacted by a Port Closure

When a port is closed, especially unexpectedly, suppliers immediately turn their attention to outbound shipments and their committed delivery dates. Through logistics collaboration on 疯拍传媒 Business Network, suppliers and shippers can receive alerts about high-risk events affecting their shipments. They can also get alerts about deviations from planned or expected estimated deliveries. 疯拍传媒 solutions can generate these alerts based on global risk data from services like and from global positioning and event data from carriers and logistics visibility service providers.

However, knowing about delays is only one part of a business plan for supply chain resilience. To respond effectively, shippers also need to know the business impact. Which deliveries are impacted? Which customers? 疯拍传媒 Business Network Global Track and Trace helps keep global logistics visibility in the context of the business. This can enable shippers to identify and contact affected customers and prepare a recovery plan.

Similarly, buyers using 疯拍传媒 solutions can track inbound shipments. They can see how changes to the delivery date of a purchase order or stock transfer order will impact their inventory levels and production plans. This helps them avoid stock-outs and production delays that can ripple through the supply chain to their customers.

2. Adjusting for Shipments That Are Routed Away from a Closed Port

When a port is closed by a disruption, shipments headed there must be rerouted to another port. In many instances, new arrangements must be made for ground transportation from that port.

With 疯拍传媒 Business Network Global Track and Trace, shippers can see that the ocean vessel carrying their shipment has been rerouted. Then, they can use 疯拍传媒 Business Network Freight Collaboration to cancel ground transport out of the closed port and tender an order from the new port to the desired destination.

3. What About Shipments Stuck at a Port Suddenly Closed by Disruption?

If a port is suddenly closed, containers will remain piled up at the port, waiting either for pickup by another ocean vessel or for urgent ground transport to another hub. When a port is closed for an extended period, shippers must make alternative plans.

To do this efficiently and effectively, shippers can use 疯拍传媒 Transportation Management. The application helps them develop new plans to move their goods through new routes or with new carriers. This can include everything from load planning and balancing to leveraging new lanes and delivery methods.

Then, with a new plan in place, shippers can use 疯拍传媒 Business Network Freight Collaboration to collaborate digitally with carriers to execute the plan.

Anticipating and Avoiding Future Disruptions

Using technology to react to a supply chain disruption is not new. Inventory and production planning solutions have long helped businesses adjust when supply is affected. However, it may be even more important to understand how technology enables organizations to anticipate and even avoid disruption before it impacts their supply chain. This is the essence of .

Recovery and Resilience

Unexpected tragedies like the one in Baltimore Harbor are never easy on the many people impacted personally and professionally. As its effects ripple out across the world, we are reminded of the power of resilience. Building resilience is an axiom of supply chain management. Unfortunately, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is yet another resilience test for the world鈥檚 supply chains.

In the end, I believe the people of Baltimore and surrounding communities will show us what resilience really means. I also know that as recovery is achieved, supply chain practitioners around the world will do what it takes to make safety a top priority as they deliver what is needed to keep world economies running.

Doug DeLuca is an 疯拍传媒 Business Network product marketing manager.

But in reality, some functions are much better suited than others to gain from AI. The deeper the reservoir of data associated with an operational process 鈥� and the broader the sharing of that data not only within an organization but among its trading partners as well 鈥� the greater the potential for AI to bolster collaborative capabilities, instill operational resilience, and unlock exponential value.

By facilitating the convergence of trading partners鈥� operational data, cloud-based networks strengthen transparency and foster collaboration across interconnected processes such as procurement, supply chain, logistics, and asset management. The vast troves of data accumulated from these functions 鈥� and the insights they reveal 鈥� bear significant implications for forecasting demand, planning inventory, sourcing components, procuring labor, maximizing utilization, managing logistics, gauging sustainability, achieving compliance, and securing financing. Yet the sheer volume of such data, sometimes spanning billions or more transactions, can defy human interpretation in the quest to optimize decision-making.

That鈥檚 where artificial intelligence comes in.

As the world鈥檚 largest B2B collaboration platform, facilitates hundreds of millions of transactions per year, capturing a unified, end-to-end view of spend. So prodigious is the cloud-based network鈥檚 volume 鈥� exceeding US$5.3 trillion in commerce annually, greater than the gross domestic product of every nation except the United States and China 鈥� that, through innovations in predictive and technologies, 疯拍传媒 Business Network is transforming procurement, supply chain, logistics, asset management, and related operational processes, with the goal that every business runs as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise.

The cloud is uniquely fit for the task of delivering simplicity within a many-to-many network of trading partners. A network鈥檚 features, from its search functionality to the matching of buyers with suggested suppliers, must aid the dual goals of transparency and ease of use. Predictive and generative AI capabilities augment businesses鈥� ability to discover trading partners on the basis of complementary resources, mutual value, and strategic alignment. With every successive use, generative AI sharpens its ability to anticipate operations professionals鈥� requirements to match supply with demand. Meanwhile, AI helps businesses to automate their most time-consuming procurement and supply chain activities through predictive mechanisms as well, hastening the ability to arrive at better, more informed decisions. When applied to the broadest possible sets of operational data, AI removes the guesswork from business-to-business commerce and replaces it with new leads, renewed confidence, and resilient supply chains.

With these objectives in mind, 疯拍传媒 Business Network is transforming its powerful discovery functionality into a simple chat prompt this year. Also in 2024, generative AI will enable 疯拍传媒 Business Network to create catalog content based on existing data in the network, detect potential errors within invoices, and obtain quote requests from buyers via natural-language, on-screen dialogue with matched suppliers. Integrating AI capabilities into 疯拍传媒 Business Network thus promises to reshape the trading partner experience by enabling buyers to reach far more suppliers with precision for the specific goods and services they produce. Trading partners large and small benefit equally from the increased flow of accurate, detailed, and complete information identifying each other鈥檚 offerings and competitive advantages.

As AI technologies take shape and mature, infusing intelligence natively into business processes, digital commerce platforms are certain to introduce many enhanced capabilities. Naturally, with its scale and history of innovation, you can expect 疯拍传媒 Business Network to lead the way. But you鈥檒l know the moment that artificial intelligence has truly transformed enterprise software when its features subtly blend in, almost imperceptibly, to simplify everyday operational processes, making business applications more intuitive and predictive for trading partners. That is our vision for AI at 疯拍传媒 Business Network, where the intelligence may be increasingly artificial but the commitment to customer success is invariably genuine.

For further information on 疯拍传媒 Business Network and how we are equipping enterprises with AI and other digital tools needed to counter disruption, visit and .

J枚rn Keller is executive vice president and chief product officer of 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

On top of that, we still need to foster relationships with suppliers, manage costs, address sustainability mandates, and build resilient supply chains — all while transforming procurement into a more strategic business function. Not surprisingly, procurement leaders are looking to the next wave of technology to help them position their organizations to adapt quickly to changing conditions.

For many, moving key business processes to the cloud represents that 鈥渘ext wave鈥� and for that, is the perfect option.

The RISE with 疯拍传媒 solution is a managed cloud offering that enables a smooth, secure migration of on-premises ERP, including 疯拍传媒 ERP and 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA, to the cloud. Its holistic approach to business transformation empowers organizations to better adapt to changing market dynamics and innovate more quickly.

Businesses can leverage RISE with 疯拍传媒 to modernize their IT infrastructure, optimize and automate key processes, and unlock new levels of efficiency. They can also harness the power of data and analytics to make informed decisions, enabling them to achieve their business goals more effectively and efficiently.

The Challenge for Procurement: Extending Digital Transformation to Suppliers

For many years, 鈥渄igital transformation鈥� has been the hot trend for business functions, including procurement. Organizations are moving their internal business operations from manual processes and disparate software applications to integrated ERP systems. These systems are starting to leverage generative AI to improve the user experience, digitalize manual processes, and accelerate strategic decision making.

This is a win for the business with one caveat: 鈥渢raditional鈥� digital transformation does not go beyond the four walls of the organization. This creates a challenge for procurement because suppliers operate outside those four walls, where communication can be anything but digitalized. In fact, * revealed that 68% of respondents use email to transmit and receive data and documents for procurement and supply chain collaboration. Other methods include telephone (44%), supplier/customer portals (38%), and EDI (26%).

Given the technology available today, this is not only unproductive, but it also is completely unnecessary. With , 疯拍传媒 offers a premium plus edition that includes 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Procurement. This enables businesses to extend the digital transformation of business processes outside their walls.

Better Collaboration, Faster Invoice Processing, and an Improved User Experience

is a cloud-based collaboration offering that gives buyers and suppliers a way to find each other and do business within a single, networked platform. The network makes it possible for organizations to:

• Exchange data and documents digitally with suppliers, eliminating the need for phone calls, faxes, emails, or snail mail
• Achieve enhanced spend visibility and compliance
• Access a marketplace of suppliers to ensure business resilience, diverse spending, and alignment with sustainability objectives

Additionally, improved transactional operations and invoice status visibility enable better working capital management for stronger trading partner relationships. Finance colleagues can enjoy a faster month-end close due to improved accounts payable efficiencies and increased procurement and payment compliance.

疯拍传媒 Business Network for Procurement Extends 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA Cloud

When RISE with 疯拍传媒 is combined with 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Procurement, procurement teams can collaborate digitally with suppliers across procurement and invoicing processes. This dramatically improves transactional efficiency.

A natural extension of ERP, 疯拍传媒 Business Network provides an environment in which procurement processes initiated from 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA Cloud can be transmitted digitally to suppliers. As a result, suppliers can view and generate transactions like orders, order confirmations, ship notices, and invoices, and then act quickly to accelerate the procure-to-pay process.

疯拍传媒 Business Network for Procurement improves process efficiency in many areas, including:

• Purchase order processing: Digital purchase orders that are created in ERP are sent automatically to suppliers. Once confirmed by the supplier, buyers have visibility into order acceptance and delivery dates.
• Invoice payment status: Invoice and payment status information is available on the 疯拍传媒 Business Network dashboard to update suppliers, eliminating the need for phone calls.
• Invoicing business rules: Buyers have the flexibility to configure applicable business rules that require adherence to business process and regulatory compliance.
• Change order update: Buyers and suppliers can communicate changes to open purchase orders, which creates an auditable record of changes and variations. Related documents, such as shipping notices, are also synchronized with updates.
• Payment compliance: Quick invoice processing and data accuracy minimizes wrong or duplicate payments, while improving accounting processes and overall financial visibility.
• Supplier collaboration: Digitalization enables quicker feedback from suppliers, making it possible for suppliers to 鈥渇lip鈥� purchase orders into confirmations and invoices, reducing errors and manual effort.
• Promotional opportunities: Networked suppliers have additional opportunities to grow their business by using the network to promote their offerings and connect with new customers.

The Next Wave of Digital Transformation

When you invest in RISE with 疯拍传媒, you are enabling your business to migrate core business processes to the cloud. By complementing this solution with 疯拍传媒 Business Network, you extend your digital transformation to interactions with trading partners though a single, end-to-end technology landscape built on standardized processes and consistent data.

This is the next wave of technology that will enable you to address the ever-growing list of business challenges you wake up and face every day.

is chief marketing and solutions officer of Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 疯拍传媒.

*, doc #US50854723, July 2023

Supply chain resiliency has become a critical factor for businesses across industries. According to a recent IDC white paper, sponsored by 疯拍传媒, titled “,”^* companies must develop a new level of resilience in their supply chains. This involves adapting operating models and gaining a true end-to-end understanding of supply chains. Outdated approaches to communicating and transacting with trading partners lead to issues related to visibility, compliance, and efficiency. can provide a modern approach to digitally connecting people, processes, and systems with trading partners, revolutionizing supply chain collaboration. It can enable companies to adapt to changes more quickly and easily, ultimately helping them to meet customer expectations and comply with regulations.

疯拍传媒 Business Network: A Solution for Visibility, Efficiency, and Compliance

In today鈥檚 complex business landscape, companies face numerous challenges that impede visibility, efficiency, and compliance. Outdated tools, siloed systems, and point-to-point connections often result in broken connections and fragmented insights into the supply chain. Collaborating with contract manufacturers or subcontractors becomes difficult, and identifying new or alternate sources of supply quickly is a challenge. Moreover, complying with new or existing regulations can be a daunting task.

To address these challenges, offers a solution that can enable companies to overcome these obstacles and achieve their goals. It can provide a range of capabilities to help enhance visibility, efficiency, and compliance across the supply chain, and helps them be more resilient.

One of the key features of 疯拍传媒 Business Network is its ability to enable digital document and data exchange with trading partners based on automated business rules. This includes the seamless routing of various line of business documents, such as invoices and orders, as well as shipping confirmations, work orders, and quality notifications. By automating business rules and supporting multi-party scenarios, such as working with contract manufacturers or subcontractors, the network can improve efficiency and streamline processes as well as help ensure compliance with regulations. Additionally, 疯拍传媒 Business Network can support onboarding and system-to-system integration, helping to ensure seamless connectivity with various communication standards like EDI, cXML, and Peppol. It also offers interoperability with third-party systems and networks, working to further enhance the connectivity and integration capabilities.

The network can also provide intuitive dashboards and apps that can offer visibility into the status of orders and shipments. This helps companies track and trace batches and serial numbers, facilitating the resolution of quality issues in products when they occur. By leveraging these dashboards and apps, businesses can proactively manage their operations, improve decision-making, and enhance overall efficiency.

Furthermore, 疯拍传媒 Business Network includes a trading partner directory that allows suppliers to create and manage company profiles. These profiles can be viewed by buying companies, providing them with valuable insights into potential suppliers. The directory also incorporates , enabling buying companies to choose suppliers aligned with their sustainability goals. Additionally, the trading partner directory enables buyers to search for suppliers, facilitating the identification of new or alternate sources of supply. This capability can not only enhance supply chain resilience but can also present opportunities for cost savings, diversification, and innovation.

According to a recent IDC MarketScape report, 疯拍传媒 is recognized as a leader in the worldwide multi-enterprise supply chain commerce network market.^** The scale and reach of the network, with annual commerce reaching US$5.3 trillion and 746 million B2B transactions in 2023, make it a valuable tool for helping expand supplier bases and enter new markets.

Supply Chain Collaboration in Action

疯拍传媒 Business Network is trusted by millions of companies across 190 countries. One of these companies is Vestas, a leading wind turbine manufacturer. Vestas has implemented 疯拍传媒 Business Network and 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions to address quality control issues and streamline its complex global supply chain. With over 10,000 individual parts sourced from suppliers worldwide, Vestas relies on the B2B platform of 疯拍传媒 Business Network to collaborate with suppliers, track orders, and ensure quality standards are met. The network allows Vestas to conduct quality tests, document them, and take corrective action if needed. It also provides transparency and an audit trail in case of quality defects or incidents. By leveraging 疯拍传媒 solutions, Vestas has improved supply chain efficiency, reduced friction losses, and advanced its sustainability goals.

Another customer that has benefited from 疯拍传媒 Business Network is , a global luxury goods company. Richemont has utilized the network to establish seamless collaboration with suppliers and partners, streamlining its supply chain operations. By leveraging real-time data exchange and visibility provided by 疯拍传媒 Business Network, Richemont has been able to proactively manage inventory, optimize production planning, and respond swiftly to market demands. This has significantly enhanced the company鈥檚 supply chain resilience and enabled it to deliver exceptional luxury products to customers with efficiency and agility.

These success stories highlight the power of collaboration and technology in building resilient supply chains. 疯拍传媒 Business Network can provide the platform for companies to connect, collaborate, and exchange critical data, enabling them to navigate disruptions with resilience.

Leveraging Technology to Strengthen Your Supply Chain

In a world where disruptions are expected and circumstances tend to change, building resilience in supply chains is crucial for the success of businesses. The ability to adapt and thrive in the face of uncertainty requires collaboration, transparency, and efficiency. 疯拍传媒 Business Network offers a comprehensive solution that can enable companies to achieve these goals.

*Source: IDC White Paper, sponsored by 疯拍传媒, 鈥�,鈥� #US51374823, November 2023.
^**Source: 鈥�,鈥� #US49948423, December 2023.

Tony Harris is SVP and chief marketing and solutions officer of 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

Meanwhile, as legislation to bolster transparency in supply chains , the digital platforms through which trading partners carry out interconnected operational processes have become indispensable for managing risk, advancing sustainability objectives, and verifying adherence to ethical business practices 鈥� even as volatility in international commerce gathers pace.

After rebounding from several years of logjammed seaports, idled factories, and quarantined workers, many businesses find that though COVID-19 has receded, disruption stubbornly persists. Yet visibility across all aspects of the supply chain 鈥� from sourcing raw materials and managing logistics capacity to securing working capital solutions and managing dispersed physical assets 鈥� remains paramount in the quest to ensure business continuity, instill operational resilience, and deepen competitive advantage.

To help provide businesses with the 360-degree visibility and collaborative capabilities they require across complex trading relationships, 疯拍传媒 Business Network can connect people, processes, and systems across multiple enterprises to help digitize transactions, harness data-driven insights, and create transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains. Through , trading partners can gain process efficiencies, improve supply assurance, and achieve business process and regulatory compliance by increasing operational transparency. With , companies can achieve supply chain visibility by enabling plan-driven automation, optimizing capacity and inventory, and streamlining workflow. Aided by , shippers and carriers can work together in unison, track and trace goods in transit, and achieve transparency throughout the supply chain by optimizing logistics processes, increasing on-time deliveries, and mitigating third-party risk. Relying on , owners, operators, and service providers can strengthen joint processes and the flow of shared information through a single, consistent version of asset master data to help streamline asset maintenance processes and reduce maintenance costs. With the benefit of , trading partners can enhance payment security, free up working capital through early-payment discounts, and leverage access to capital bound up in outstanding receivables.

By linking together the routine business processes of trading partners, cloud-based networks establish the breadth of data necessary to apply predictive and generative AI applications to yield meaningful insights and outcomes. Through large language models and other forms of machine learning, cloud-based applications create new content with characteristics resembling that which precedes it. With every successive effort, sharpens its ability to tailor desired content.

As the world鈥檚 largest platform for business-to-business commerce, 疯拍传媒 Business Network can present an ideal setting for generative AI, in that it helps bring together an extremely large volume of trading partners across hundreds of millions of transactions representing US$5.3 trillion in commerce annually. Later this year, generative AI capabilities in 疯拍传媒 Business Network will be able to help detect errors and present automatic summaries when businesses create invoices. AI will also enable the network to help enrich catalog content and discovery posting responses for suppliers.

疯拍传媒 Business Network has accumulated significant structured content over many years to help generate broad operational insights for trading partners. When buyers, suppliers, carriers, and financing solution providers share operational data with each other in real time, the mutual value they create can be exponential rather than additive, enabling all participants in commerce to plan ahead with confidence, continuity, and enduring resilience.

For further information on 疯拍传媒 Business Network and how we are equipping enterprises large and small with the digital tools needed to counter disruption, visit .

J枚rn Keller is executive vice president and chief product officer of 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

Following a series of issued during the past decade, the 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鈥檚 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 , where buyers and suppliers can manage procurement and invoicing activities with their trusted ecosystem.

鈥淎s governments add e-invoicing mandates, we鈥檙e committed to help organizations by providing capabilities for regulatory consistency,鈥� Lorraine Yao, director of Product Marketing for 疯拍传媒 Business Network, said. 鈥淒igitalization automates the flow of accurate information from order placement, shipping confirmation, and delivery through e-invoicing that鈥檚 connected directly to the company鈥檚 ERP system. Organizations can replace manual verification with automation based on real-time updates that speed up accurate processing, order fulfillment, and timely payments.鈥�

Buyers and Suppliers Reap Benefits of Connected Network

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

After centralizing automated supplier invoicing and collaboration on 疯拍传媒 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 疯拍传媒 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 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 鈥渢o fuse compliance and invoice management into one extended process鈥s VAT and GST (goods and services tax) protocols grow鈥his essentially means that every company conducting business in the global market will have to interact with these e-invoicing protocols.鈥� It鈥檚 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.听

E-Invoicing Boosts Sustainability

Much more than surface automation measures, e-invoicing also contributes to what the 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.

鈥淏uyers can quickly process information and data contained in electronic invoices and feed them directly into a company’s payment and accounting systems,鈥� Yao said. 鈥淥ur 疯拍传媒 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.鈥�

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. 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.

鈥淒igitalization gives both buyers and suppliers transparency to see e-invoice status, saving time and improving efficiencies,鈥� Yao said. 鈥淗aving 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. 疯拍传媒 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.鈥�

Susan Galer is a communications director at 疯拍传媒. Follow her @smgaler.

That鈥檚 why we鈥檝e 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鈥檚 critical to get the job done, and protect your bottom line 鈥� whether you鈥檙e simplifying expense, travel, and accounts payable processes, or finding the right talent to ensure your company鈥檚 profitability.

With our core commitment to 疯拍传媒 Business AI, we are focused on applying generative AI technology to all categories of spend. Like my colleague says, we鈥檙e 鈥渄riving efficiency, quality, and insight into processes that cut across spend management.鈥� Here are we鈥檙e hard at work on.

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

Enhancing Your Control over Company Spend 

New enhancements to 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions, and 疯拍传媒 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 in 疯拍传媒 Ariba Category Management is now a reality. With its advanced analytics, AI-driven insights, and integrated frameworks and tools, users of 疯拍传媒 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 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 疯拍传媒 Business Network: With the newly released , 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鈥檚 only right to brag about all the customer love we鈥檝e been receiving. Words of affirmation is our love language.

• 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass is the .
• 疯拍传媒 Ariba is the .
• 疯拍传媒 Concur is the in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.

To top it off, , , and swept the 2023听鈥淏est Of鈥� Awards from TrustRadius! TrustRadius, the most trusted review site for business technology, also released more wins for our spend management solutions:

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

疯拍传媒 Recognized by IDC MarketScape

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

According to the assessment report, 鈥湻枧拇� 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.鈥�

The report highlights these 疯拍传媒 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 疯拍传媒 ERP, 疯拍传媒 procurement modules, and other applications (other ERP, SCAM, and customer applications) and technologies (machine learning, AI, blockchain) through 疯拍传媒 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鈥檚 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. 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 .

Watch how Chobani, America’s top Greek yogurt brand, uses to fully automate its expense processes.

BT Group aims to be the world鈥檚 most trusted connector of people, devices, and machines. Read how it to deliver a modernized, connected colleague experience.

Register for 疯拍传媒 Concur Fusion

If you鈥檙e lucky enough to attend this year, don鈥檛 miss my colleague Etosha Thurman, chief marketing & solutions officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network, presenting in the keynote. She will be demonstrating transformative AI in 疯拍传媒 Concur travel, expense, and invoicing solutions, and how we鈥檙e creating a world where travel and expenses can practically manage themselves.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

*Source: 鈥�,” by Simon Ellis, December 2023, IDC #US49948423.

This is our long-standing strategy, and we have no plans to change something that clearly benefits our customers. No one knows this space better than 疯拍传媒. The introduction of 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions more than 25 years ago revolutionized procurement processes for businesses. We鈥檝e taken the investment, innovation, and integration across our product line to deliver a complete portfolio of solutions. 疯拍传媒 Ariba is the future of procurement, and everything procurement at 疯拍传媒 is now 疯拍传媒 Ariba.

疯拍传媒 also understands that what works for one business, one industry, or one geography, may not play in another. Businesses need to choose the right source-to-pay solution partner 鈥� with a platform and ecosystem poised to ensure their procurement teams have the tools and actionable data they need to succeed in their increasingly essential and strategic roles.

As we鈥檝e listened to our customers and the market, here is what they have told us are their critical requirements:

• The ability to see and analyze spend across all categories
• Intelligence-driven category management that leverages analytics, spend data, and market intelligence
• Robust contract management functionality
• Automated management of external labor and services
• Practical AI use cases that drive efficiency across the procurement process

Within the source-to-pay landscape, 疯拍传媒 delivers integrated solutions to help manage all forms of spend. Our solutions comprise a full suite of enterprise-level functionality spanning sourcing, category management, buying and invoicing, services procurement, supplier relationship management, contract management, and spend analytics. Additionally, we enable businesses to connect with suppliers across 190 countries via 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

As you evaluate source-to-pay solution partners, consider the following:

• The source-to-pay landscape is changing quickly. Stay current. Today, everyone鈥檚 perspective on the source-to-pay technology landscape is vastly different than it was even half a year ago. Be mindful of how your business is evolving, and assess providers based on how their vision and road map align with your future needs.
• 鈥淏est of breed鈥� doesn鈥檛 always mean 鈥渂est for your business.鈥� 疯拍传媒 has demonstrated that in addition to the breadth of our solutions for source to pay, we can enable businesses to address their global requirements, handle high transaction volumes, and integrate into many back-end ERP systems.
• 疯拍传媒鈥檚 ecosystem of partners enables us to deliver advanced functionality to our customers. We remain committed to ongoing development of core, native capabilities across our source-to-pay portfolio. At the same, our strategy is to augment this development in some areas with innovation and advanced functionality through partners. This allows us to add significant value rapidly for our customers.
• Having access to a global network of suppliers is a game changer. 疯拍传媒 Business Network, which can extend the source-to-pay process beyond the walls of any business, can give our customers unmatched access to a global marketplace of trading partners. In 2023, annual commerce on the network reached US$5.3T, with 746M B2B transactions.

Five Ways 疯拍传媒 Is Addressing Customers鈥� Strategic Needs

疯拍传媒 has demonstrated its ability to balance product modernization, innovation, and our larger vision to enhance procurement capabilities in 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA with delivery of cutting-edge innovations that benefit our customers. Here鈥檚 how we鈥檙e addressing the critical requirements mentioned earlier.

The Ability to See and Analyze Spend Across All Categories

In our conversations with customers all over the world, this is one of their top asks. They are also asking for greater visibility into spend that impacts their sustainability goals.

Last fall we unveiled 疯拍传媒 Spend Control Tower, which offers advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend in 疯拍传媒 cloud ERP solutions, 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, and 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass solutions. Visibility into data from 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions, 疯拍传媒 Business Network, and non-疯拍传媒 solutions is also on our road map. This can enable businesses to uncover cost-saving opportunities and process improvements. 疯拍传媒 Spend Control Tower is expected to be available in the second half of 2024. .

Intelligence-Driven Category Management

In our and research with Economist Impact, category management was ranked as a top driver of digital transformation in procurement. Driven by this and our extensive market analysis, 疯拍传媒 released the solution last summer, empowering businesses to realize better results in this critical area.

The solution can streamline category strategy development, execution, and monitoring at scale. Additionally, it can enable organizations to optimize source-to-settle processes with embedded analytics enriched with spend data and market intelligence. .

Robust Contract Management Functionality

疯拍传媒 understands the importance of balancing risk and profitability within source to pay. To provide the additional advanced contract management capabilities our customers need, we entered into an expanded partnership with Icertis in 2022. This partnership helps ensure a joint product road map and deeper technological integration between 疯拍传媒 and Icertis solutions.

For 疯拍传媒 customers, integration with Icertis Contract Intelligence can allow them access to best-in-class innovations such as smart authoring, AI-assisted risk identification, obligation management, contract-driven insights for decision support, and the ability to have one contracting system for both sales and procurement 鈥� a capability no other source-to-pay solution offers.

Based on user evaluations, 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions received these leader badges from .

Automated Management of External Labor and Services

Sometimes overlooked within the source-to-pay discussion is services procurement. That鈥檚 changing. A 2023 report said 72% of enterprises plan to focus more extensively on ROI in their services procurement and statement-of-work management activities. The goal is to manage external labor and services strategically, applying the same process rigor there as with any other procurement category.

solutions can enable you to transform how you find, engage, and manage contingent workers and services providers to maximize business value.

Practical AI Use Cases

疯拍传媒 is embedding AI throughout the spend management process to help eliminate the mundane and elevate the strategic. Current use cases range from auto-complete and recommendation engines leveraging traditional AI and machine learning, to generative AI functions that can automate complex procurement processes. In 2024, we will continue to develop 疯拍传媒 Business AI use cases that help drive efficiency across spend management processes. .

In the Words of Our Customers鈥�

More confirmation that 疯拍传媒鈥檚 source-to-pay strategy is sound can be seen in the results we鈥檙e delivering for our customers. Here鈥檚 what they鈥檙e saying:

鈥淸疯拍传媒 Ariba] has no comparison in the market. No other software is even close. Best part is, once our supply chain executives get using it, they simply fall in love with it鈥avings are immense.鈥�

, via TrustRadius

鈥淸疯拍传媒 Ariba] stacks up by being a great, user-friendly platform that is easy to use.鈥�

, via TrustRadius

疯拍传媒 Ariba Sweeps the 2023 TrustRadius 鈥淏est Of鈥� Awards

Each year, TrustRadius issues awards to vendors who provide the best offerings in their category. In 2023, 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions won all four awards based on customer satisfaction ratings.

Leaning In to Our Source-to-Pay Strategy

As we鈥檝e seen in the input from our customers, as well as assessments from analyst organizations like IDC, 疯拍传媒鈥檚 source-to-pay strategy is producing solutions that help businesses run better. And that is 疯拍传媒鈥檚 mission, plain and simple. In 2024, we鈥檒l lean in to deliver solutions and innovations that continue to outpace the competition across the source-to-pay technology landscape.

Baber Farooq is senior vice president and head of Market Strategy for 疯拍传媒 Procurement Solutions.
Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president, chief product officer, and head of Engineering for 疯拍传媒 Procurement.

鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges I faced was the age-old problem of gender discrimination,鈥� Thom茅 recalled years later. She is one of many women driven to lead businesses that reflect their life passions.

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

Many Challenges, Huge Potential Impact

Women who start and lead businesses face unique challenges. Cultural and social norms, or simply being underestimated by investors, can impede their entrepreneurial efforts. observes that 鈥渨omen are massively under-represented among both venture-backed entrepreneurs and VC investors.鈥� It adds that companies founded solely by women receive  of all venture capital investments.

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

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

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

The WEF also reports that advancing women鈥檚 employment .

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

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

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

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

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

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

Creating Connections with 疯拍传媒 Technology

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

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

鈥淲omen-owned businesses are a valuable and under-utilized resource,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he women who run these businesses understand what their communities need most, and they are in a unique position to help solve them. In the process, they are creating entirely new industries.鈥�

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

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

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

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

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

鈥淏y making it easier for women to register their businesses and for large buyers to find them, our online portal based on the 疯拍传媒 Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance solution, 疯拍传媒 Business Network, and 疯拍传媒 Business Technology Platform helps women compete in a global marketplace,鈥� Vazquez explained.

Breaking Through the Barriers

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

, Projex Engenharia earned the WEConnect International Women鈥檚 Business Enterprise Certification. Thom茅 leveraged the global network of women suppliers and large buyers to become a more confident and assertive leader.

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

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

Megan O鈥機onnor is customer officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend & Business Network.

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

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

Increased Transparency: Understanding Suppliers鈥� Suppliers

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

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

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

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

Enhanced Collaboration: Gaining a Competitive Advantage

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

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

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

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

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

Reduced Risk: Embedding Artificial Intelligence

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

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

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

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

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

Advanced Technologies: Turning Regulatory Burdens into the Foundation for Resilience

Necessity often drives innovation, leading companies to invest in advanced technologies such as supply chain control centers, n-tier visibility, digital twins, cloud solutions, and AI or machine learning. 疯拍传媒 solutions, such as and , not only facilitate compliance but also enhance overall supply chain visibility and management.

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

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

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

Why 疯拍传媒 Is a Leader

In an increasingly digitalized world, it is imperative that companies stay connected via a business network. I believe 疯拍传媒 was selected as a Leader because 鈥� our entry into the Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network space 鈥� can successfully drive buyer-supplier collaboration across procurement, supply chain, logistics, and asset management by providing a digital platform for trading partners to collaborate externally and exchange data just as, if not more, efficiently as their own internal processes.

The IDC MarketScape report notes these competitive strengths of 疯拍传媒 Business Network:

• Depth and breadth of product features and functionalities, as well as a future road map covering all major B2B collaboration categories (indirect, direct material, MRO logistics, financial, services, and sustainability) and scenarios in an end user, persona-based manner.
• Integration and extensibility capabilities include integration between 疯拍传媒 ERP, 疯拍传媒 procurement modules, other applications like ERP, SCAM, and customer applications, and technologies such as machine learning, AI, and blockchain through 疯拍传媒 Business Technology Platform (疯拍传媒 BTP).
• Global adoption and breadth of collaboration makes 疯拍传媒 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.

The IDC MarketScape report notes, 鈥淢anufacturers and retailers looking for a vendor of both a multi-enterprise network and supply chain procurement application should consider 疯拍传媒,鈥� citing the 鈥渂readth and depth of [its] business network capabilities, strategic road map vision, and unmatched integration with core 疯拍传媒 and non-疯拍传媒 supply chain and procurement applications,鈥� making 疯拍传媒 a strong choice.

Charting the Evolution of 疯拍传媒 Business Network

I鈥檓 so pleased that as a pioneer in business networks, we continue to be recognized for our commitment to executing our vision. As we鈥檝e continued to evolve our road map, I鈥檓 reflecting on how far we鈥檝e come and paved the way for the future of intelligent business networks. From the founding of Ariba Supplier Network in 1996 to what we鈥檝e become today, 疯拍传媒 Business Network touches US$4.9 trillion in commerce annually across many business processes and industries and has over 2 million active users on the network.

Recent years have shown us that intelligent, digital business networks are essential to supporting an agile supply chain. 疯拍传媒 Business Network is a comprehensive platform that helps connect people, processes, and systems across multiple enterprises, ultimately creating transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains that can span the globe and be tailored to each line of business, helping to drive partner collaboration beyond a company鈥檚 own four walls and spanning the entire value chain.

I鈥檓 proud to say that 疯拍传媒 Business Network can provide best-in-class supply chain collaboration, helping companies adhere to legal mandates, scale with confidence, and automate repetitive tasks, leaving more time for strategic decision-making informed by patterns gleaned from vast amounts of data. Our vision 鈥� what so many talented people at 疯拍传媒 are working towards every day 鈥� is to create the world鈥檚 best and largest B2B marketplace to help our customers meet their business goals.

Recent Advancements Continue to Revolutionize B2B Collaboration

If you know 疯拍传媒, you know about our commitment to continuous innovation. In 2023, we announced many exciting innovations around 疯拍传媒 Business Network, including:

• Build on artificial intelligence in 疯拍传媒 Business Network. My colleague Muhammad Alam to further integrate generative AI in spend management at 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live. Customers can look forward to enriched supplier responses to 疯拍传媒 Business Network Discovery postings, helping to facilitate more transparent communication between buyers and suppliers. Generative AI improvements can give suppliers the ability to generate clear, concise catalog descriptions, as well as summarize common errors for users so buyers can find exactly what they鈥檙e looking for.
• Tackle industry-specific challenges with 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Industry. We鈥檝e combined our more than 50 years of industry knowledge with the power of business networks to help customers address industry-specific supply chain challenges. Take a look at to help predict and respond to disruptions, comply with industry regulations, and meet sustainability goals.
• Learn more with trading partner insights. Account managers struggle with obtaining comparative measures to assess the performance of trading partners. New KPIs and benchmarks, presented in a streamlined dashboard, can allow suppliers to evaluate customer transaction performance of orders, invoices, and payments with automatically generated KPIs and 疯拍传媒 Business Network community benchmarks. These insights can support collaborative dialogues with customers to help reduce transaction costs and mitigate business risk. .
• Draw insights from data with component planning collaboration. With component planning collaboration, buyers and suppliers can view the forecast planning data for a finished good together with its components. Armed with this visibility, buyers and suppliers can respond to material shortages and adjust production accordingly, making supply more predictable. .

Stay tuned for more exciting innovations this year. Stay up-to-date about recent and upcoming innovations and explore road maps .

Transforming the Future of Business Networks

I am proud that 疯拍传媒 is being recognized as a leader in delivering solutions that connect people, processes, and systems, enabling trading partners to collaborate effectively. I can鈥檛 wait to see our road map continue to come to life as we collaborate with our customers to develop innovations that help them achieve their business objectives by automating tasks, scaling efficiently, and operating sustainably.

To learn more, visit and read the full IDC MarketScape report .

Tony Harris is senior vice president and chief marketing and solutions officer for 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

*IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor鈥檚 position within a given market. The Capabilities score measures vendor product, go-to-market and business execution in the short-term. The Strategy score measures alignment of vendor strategies with customer requirements in a 3-5-year timeframe. Vendor market share is represented by the size of the circles. Vendor year-over-year growth rate relative to the given market is indicated by a plus, neutral or minus next to the vendor name.

It was also the year when business leaders worldwide decided enough is enough. They began taking steps to future proof their supply chains. And we can鈥檛 forget that 2023 was the year when generative AI came to dominate every conversation about technology.

Now it鈥檚 time to look ahead. Where will world events, business developments, and technology innovations take spend management in 2024? What strategies and technology will business leaders employ to bring greater resilience and efficiency to their supply chains?

Here are predictions for 2024, from 疯拍传媒鈥檚 intelligent spend and business network leaders.

鈥淚n 2023, generative AI was like a bolt of lightning that compelled every business and technology leader to sit up and take notice. We鈥檙e no longer asking if businesses will adopt AI technology, but rather how quickly they can deploy it and realize its benefits. In 2024, businesses leaders will look beyond the industry buzz for solutions that deliver real-life, AI-based use cases. They鈥檒l also see firsthand that AI is only as effective as the quality and availability of data. With the huge number of data and transactions running through our and , 疯拍传媒 is uniquely positioned to help organizations access the data they need, visualize it, and take decisive action to drive their success.鈥�

鈥� , President and Chief Product Officer,
疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network,
and General Manager for 疯拍传媒 Business Network

鈥淎s we enter 2024, procurement organizations will continue to focus on cost containment and supply continuity in order to bring value to their businesses. These have traditionally been the primary value drivers and, in today鈥檚 economic environment, I see this continuing. The opportunity will be maintaining the expanded voice earned with stakeholders during the volatile, crisis-riddled past few years, given the resurgence of hyper focus on cost containment. I believe that the scope of procurement will not contract back to a sole focus on supply stability and cost containment. In fact, I think procurement鈥檚 remit will continue to evolve to lead broader supply chain risk management, given the growing variety and number of risks faced such as geopolitical tensions, sustainability expectations, the need for more diverse sources of supply, and lingering labor availability concerns. The challenge facing procurement will be how to tackle all of this successfully. What we’ll see is the use of innovation like generative AI, spend analysis, and category management solutions to not only provide relevant, real-time business insights, but, importantly, to increase the efficiency and productivity of procurement teams, giving more capacity to focus on the strategic work stakeholders now expect.鈥�

鈥� , Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, 疯拍传媒

鈥淭he more things change, the more they stay the same. Or do they? Last year we were talking about how businesses needed to grapple with economic, political, and environmental uncertainty. That hasn鈥檛 changed. What鈥檚 different is how quickly new strategies and technologies have emerged to help businesses deal with these challenges. In 2024, I expect business leaders to continue pursuing supply chain resilience and to look for solutions such as AI that enable them to make big leaps. There will also be a continued focus on cost savings. With economic concerns looming as central banks raise funds rates to counter inflation, I foresee leaders being asked to deliver higher margins for their enterprises. To do this, traditional cost-focused sourcing and procurement cost compliance will be essential.鈥�

鈥� , Chief Revenue Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, 疯拍传媒

鈥淎s enterprises continue on their journey to digitalize procurement processes, the need for an even more intuitive user experience will increase. Procurement professionals are looking for ways to spend more time on value-adding tasks and are looking to generative AI and analytics to support them at the point of decision. Moving into 2024 and beyond, we expect the demand for these technologies to increase, as well as for new use cases to arise. At 疯拍传媒, we are already evaluating further ways to embed generative AI and analytics into solutions throughout our 疯拍传媒 Ariba portfolio to help make our customers鈥� business lives easier than ever.鈥�

鈥� , SVP, Chief Product Officer,
疯拍传媒 Ariba Procurement Solutions, 疯拍传媒

鈥淎s technology evolves, pragmatic business leaders are looking for ways to leverage these new developments to help streamline and simplify their processes. Managing a workforce that can be comprised of up to 40% external workers demands tools that can simplify the user experience and offer broad visibility to both external and full-time workers. I predict that in 2024 we will see more organizations lean into total workforce management strategies to address this need for greater visibility across full-time and external workers, allowing businesses to align the skills they have with the work they need to complete. Along with a more holistic approach to managing their workforce, these same companies can leverage innovative AI tools designed to offer efficiencies and improve the user experience. In 2024, 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass customers will be able to leverage powerful AI tools, including AI-enhanced statement of work creation, translation capabilities, and our new powered by generative AI. These offerings are just the beginning, with many more use cases to come.鈥�

鈥� , Chief Technology Officer,
疯拍传媒 Fieldglass Solutions, 疯拍传媒

鈥淚n my conversations with customers and prospects about their plans for 2024, they consistently voice concerns about supply chain disruption and economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, most seem to appreciate that artificial intelligence is vital to maintaining their competitive edge, yet many are unsure how to distinguish the actual value from the ample hype. In 2024, we will see more of the value that AI can deliver to organizations with capabilities to support their value chains. These include generative and predictive AI capabilities to help forecast disruptions, recommend alternate sources of raw materials, detect errors in invoices, extract pertinent data from requests for information, predict shipment and delivery times, and complete catalogue details. Trading partners need the ability to enter into additional collaborative relationships, such as those between buyers and suppliers spanning 疯拍传媒 Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration and material traceability and freight collaboration solutions. Also in 2024, we see network convergence taking center stage to give organizations a shared onboarding experience across all network applications, as well as a set of common data federation services to support data residency requirements.鈥�

鈥� , Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, 
疯拍传媒 Business Network

鈥淚n 2024, generative AI will deliver trillions in economic benefits. It will help companies realize greater top-line growth, be more productive, and safeguard supply chains. At the same time, resiliency will continue to be a major focus. The combination of AI and business networks will drive game-changing resiliency and productivity by facilitating improved demand forecasting and more efficient inventory management. These technologies will empower businesses to respond proactively to market changes, allowing them to source new suppliers quickly. In times of supply chain disruptions or demand surges, the nimblest companies will benefit most. Business networks will help them anticipate challenges with real-time information sharing and enhanced supply chain visibility. And there鈥檚 more good news for midmarket and smaller companies: as enterprise adoption of these technologies may begin to lag behind due to complex and unique use cases, segments like the midmarket and smaller companies will start to gain the competitive edge, building more resilient, predictable, and sustainable supply chains at scale.鈥�

鈥� , Global Head, 疯拍传媒 Business Network
Customer Success and Go-to-Market, 疯拍传媒

鈥淲e鈥檒l see business digitalization efforts go a level deeper 鈥� and become substantially more integrated 鈥� in 2024. Continued adoption of AI, automation, and virtual forms of payment will drive streamlined processes in travel, expense, and invoice. Instead of using a company credit card, employees will be able to expand their use of virtual payments for all business expenses, including travel. In turn, we鈥檒l start to see two types of transactions emerge: trusted and exceptions. Most transactions will use trusted payment methods, and AI will quickly validate them as compliant, enabling near-immediate reimbursement. Exceptions will trigger AI-driven, automated audits to ensure compliance. In both cases, payments will be issued faster with more ease, and employees will have more time to focus on what matters most to them and the organization.鈥�

鈥� , Head of 疯拍传媒 Concur Market Strategy,
疯拍传媒 Concur

“After another year of significant disruption caused by economic and geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain optimization has risen up the agenda as companies seek to better manage their working capital. Embedded finance has emerged as a solution, promising to reshape the way we do business and interact. Embedded finance has the power to expedite transactions, facilitate financing between trading partners, and lower trade barriers. By harnessing embedded finance, companies have the potential to optimize processes and access financing solutions seamlessly through B2B platforms. Ultimately, this will result in more streamlined payments, faster credit decisions, and expanded access to working capital.鈥�

鈥� , Chief Product Officer, Taulia

鈥淎s organizations, especially midmarket companies, continue to navigate today鈥檚 dynamic business environment, they are realizing the need to work with solution partners to create more value for their customers and themselves. A strong relationship between organizations and their partner ecosystems is critical to success, and I expect we will continue to see more businesses, both large and small, looking to establish these relationships. With the cost of managing sustainable supply chains continuing to increase, companies should turn to their partner ecosystems to leverage their expertise, skills, and services. This approach can help unify a company鈥檚 operations to provide a greater experience for its buyers and sellers, enabling stronger collaboration, greater visibility and transparency, risk mitigation, and more efficient operations.鈥�

鈥� , Head of Intelligent Spend and
Business Network Partner Ecosystem, 疯拍传媒

One More Prediction

Recent times have shown that unexpected disruptions aren鈥檛 the only reason businesses struggle in times of crisis. It鈥檚 also about their readiness to deal with disruption, to adapt, and to come out stronger when the crisis subsides. Many business leaders have learned this lesson. They鈥檙e taking action to ensure 鈥� to the best of their ability 鈥� that their businesses are prepared for what comes next.

Of course, that鈥檚 easier said than done. Sometimes it feels like we need a crystal ball to see into the future. Or, to use a more common term, we need 鈥渧isibility.鈥� Visibility into market trends. Visibility into world events. Visibility into every corner of the supply chain.

Here鈥檚 a prediction you can take to the bank: in 2024, 疯拍传媒 will continue to design and deliver and solutions that can drive efficiency, leverage AI in ways that are relevant, reliable, and responsible, and create greater visibility for every size business.

Mike Conners is a communications specialist for the 疯拍传媒 Spend Management Communications team.

However, with increasing importance comes new challenges. Companies also need to be concerned about risks that can result from not knowing enough about their supply chains. To avoid this, companies need to make their supply chain more resilient, requiring more visibility and transparency. This includes sharing information up and down the supply chain with partners about such things as supply and demand fluctuations, capacity constraints, and sustainability data around emissions, waste, and the health and safety of employees.

Let鈥檚 take sustainability, for example. In the past, the supplier selection and sourcing criteria for indirect and direct materials were more focused on price, quality, and delivery accuracy. Now, as more sustainability regulations emerge, the procurement function has turned into a strategic operation that is responsible for monitoring carbon emissions, waste, and other important sustainability factors.

We see a trend where CPOs and CFOs model sustainability costs into their systems and supply chains, which can lead to a renewed sourcing process where established suppliers might be replaced with ones that can fulfill new sustainability criteria and requirements. As such, midmarket companies operate with constrained resources and a more localized approach than their multinational competitors, so they often depend on partners to manage relationships with customers.

How 疯拍传媒鈥檚 Partner Ecosystem Can Help

Generally, supply chains are often global, while suppliers and buyers are more localized. Given this, they require further assistance and understanding of a global supply chain. The 疯拍传媒 partner ecosystem provides a unique combination of global partners that can manage global rollouts and business services for their clients while also providing local champions that understand local conditions best. Even if clients are local and need to provide global services, 疯拍传媒鈥檚 partner-to-partner framework can provide global or regional coverage for local clients that require rollouts in multiple countries.

For instance, the ecosystem offers a crucial link to local customers, working as an extension of companies to help them find the right solution for their needs and offering a blend of expertise, such as overcoming potential language barriers or navigating local regulations.

At 疯拍传媒, we鈥檝e put an increased emphasis on serving midmarket companies with partner-driven solutions. With programs like Boost Your Core and Spend Management for Midmarket Companies, the midmarket has become our fastest growth area in the whole of intelligent spend and business network, growing more than 50% quarter-over-quarter.

But more importantly, the partner ecosystem for midmarket is growing even faster at over 70%, underlining the importance of partners for midmarket operations.

疯拍传媒 offers powerful software and tools for businesses, but a strong partner ecosystem is crucial for tailoring those tools to the unique needs of each company. Partners can build customized solutions on top of the tools we provide, creating niche opportunities and use cases that can attract customers, which is especially helpful in a localized environment.

The offers businesses four specific models: , , , and . Each one allows midmarket companies to use 疯拍传媒鈥檚 leading technology in conjunction with a partner鈥檚 unique IP to help grow their business. They can even group to earn a seal of approval that could further expand their customer base.

That鈥檚 where a solution like can also help. It offers businesses the visibility and transparency to help ensure delivery to the right customer at the right time, working to eliminate siloed processes to better collaborate with partners. This additional layer of insight can help midmarket companies make informed decisions to help prevent materials shortages, work stoppages, or demand fluctuations. And by allowing 疯拍传媒 partners to manage the end-to-end relationship, companies can ensure that they鈥檙e getting the guidance and expertise that can help them continue to grow.

In today鈥檚 rapidly changing business landscape, midmarket companies face unique challenges when it comes to procurement and supply chain management. 疯拍传媒鈥檚 emphasis on serving midmarket companies with partner-driven solutions has led to significant growth in this sector, highlighting the importance of partnerships in driving success.

With powerful software, customizable solutions, and comprehensive support from 疯拍传媒 and its partners, midmarket companies can navigate complexities with confidence, ensuring their operations run smoothly to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

Claus Gruenewald is head of Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Ecosystem at 疯拍传媒.

To achieve consistently superior levels of service, efficiency, and maintenance, , also known as Swiss Federal Railways, bolsters its sprawling network of spurs, stations, and switches with an even larger one in the cloud, where vast repositories of operational data converge to propel the organization forward with resilience, visibility, and sustainable growth.

Integrated digital networks enable enterprises to carry out core operational processes with unrivaled efficiency at unlimited scale. Not only do they facilitate procurement, supply chain, logistics, and financing between businesses and their trading partners, but they increasingly connect remote assets through the Internet of Things (IoT) as well.

Cloud-based applications are revolutionizing the maintenance and service of dispersed equipment such as that at SBB. For routine maintenance and repairs, SBB professional staff work alongside skilled contractors to support the highest levels of safety and reliability.

But how can SBB while minimizing downtime for its substantial infrastructure? To do so, SBB has chosen to gain maximum transparency across its and those of its service partners.

鈥淎s a part of our 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA transformation, SBB鈥檚 energy operations are set to go live with 疯拍传媒 Business Network Asset Collaboration in early 2024,鈥� says Urs Gehrig, the railway鈥檚 principal consultant for business development for enterprise asset management. 鈥淥ur energy operations are responsible for the production and transmission of power within SBB to run trains and to deliver to third parties. The use case is about service providers who are executing maintenance in the field, such as inspections on high-voltage transmission lines. Based on what we learn from the use case, we can apply this knowledge to other areas of our operations set to occur on a three-year road map.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 best to understand SBB鈥檚 needs through how we鈥檙e organized,鈥� Gehrig explains. 鈥淥ur rail infrastructure division provides all our networks: telecommunications, water, and energy production and distribution. Then we have our passenger transport division, covering marketing as well the end-to-end life cycle from acquisition to decommission of rolling stock assets. SBB also owns a freight transport organization. Meanwhile, there鈥檚 our real estate division, which includes our train stations, with facilities that we manage. In addition, our traditional corporate department bears responsibility for supply chain, which presents another use case. All these departments use third-party providers to provide services when it comes to asset management. They all hold the potential to derive benefit from 疯拍传媒 Business Network Asset Collaboration.鈥�

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Depending on the department, SBB currently processes work orders in different ways.

鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 on paper; other times there鈥檚 a more systematized exchange of information, particularly if a service involves something regulated,鈥� Gehrig points out. 鈥淏ut our work orders today are not integrated across the business, let alone across the providers of services for the assets we manage. What we鈥檙e looking for is an integrated solution, a standardized process by which we can plan and execute a comprehensive asset management strategy.鈥�

鈥淭hrough 疯拍传媒 Business Network Asset Collaboration, we are handing over that information to our third-party service providers to ensure transparency, accountability, and a seamless coordination not only of the energy-related work orders and assets managed but of the underlying master data as well,鈥� Gehrig shares. 鈥淚f we buy a new pump or valve or sensor, the network exchanges all the associated data instantaneously with our service providers, thereby removing barriers to visibility, productivity, and efficiency. So for SBB, it鈥檚 full speed ahead with our digital transformation.鈥�

At 疯拍传媒, meanwhile, we couldn鈥檛 be happier to ride along on SBB鈥檚 journey.

Joern Keller is executive vice president and chief product officer for 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

But if an organization operates in a regulated environment, it may face considerable obstacles in establishing these digital business networks. When organizations are involved in the purchasing and manufacturing of goods related to national security or provide services to local constituents, they have heightened security constraints that can make digital connections with third parties problematic.

Despite this need for extra security, their objectives are similar to commercial organizations. They need to achieve closer connectedness with external supply chain partners to help ensure smooth product supply.

Adhering to Stringent Security Standards

Organizations handling highly classified information, such as aerospace and defense companies, must comply with cloud security directives such as International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53 regulations. These directives set out stringent security standards for the hosting and support of digital business networks, as well as robust rules for managing access to sensitive data.

However, with security requirements set so high, regulated organizations often fail to establish a digital business network at all. And without one, they must instead adopt a far less efficient point-to-point approach involving e-mails, phone calls, and numerous spreadsheets for communicating with business partners and suppliers.

Missing Out on Effective Supplier Collaboration

Without the ability for all parties, whether internal or external to the organization, to see real-time information stored in one location, effective collaboration is a challenge 鈥� to put it mildly. A lack of integration and transparency makes processes slow and cumbersome. What employees using a digital business network can achieve in hours can take days or weeks if they must make phone calls or send e-mails to request information or initiate a task. The result is a fundamental inability to execute tasks accurately and quickly. And this leads to all the things that supply chain professionals work diligently to avoid: stockout situations on materials they need, overstock on materials they don鈥檛 need, poor customer service, and higher supply chain costs.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a long-lasting effect on supply chain processes, and many organizations are still impacted today. Collaboration and resiliency across an enterprise are key to remaining proactive in unprecedented situations that could result in lasting negative effects to an organization.

How Can 疯拍传媒 Help?

Established to help protect the mission-critical operations of highly regulated organizations, 疯拍传媒 National Security Services (疯拍传媒 NS2) can enable customers, such as security contractors and government and defense agencies, to run 疯拍传媒 applications without sacrificing security. By deploying 疯拍传媒 Business Network through 疯拍传媒 NS2, organizations can benefit from the capabilities of 疯拍传媒鈥檚 commercial offering for 疯拍传媒 Business Network while remaining protected by the required U.S. security regulations. The 疯拍传媒 NS2 sovereign deployment model uses U.S.-based support teams to help control how 疯拍传媒 Business Network is governed and how its data is secured.

In addition to the 疯拍传媒 NS2 Secure Data Cloud service, access to 疯拍传媒鈥檚 vast network of trading partners can help organizations connect new suppliers and expand their supply chain operations. Organizations can connect with supply chain partners digitally to break down siloed business processes and eliminate data visibility barriers. As a result, they can make decisions in real time, providing transparency to all those that need to know what鈥檚 happening and why. Through the shared visibility of critical business information, organizations can quickly adapt to change, drive reliable and resilient product flow across their supply chain, and ensure high customer service and on-time delivery of goods and services.

to find out more about how you can deploy 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

Lillian Chang is senior vice president at 疯拍传媒 National Security Services (疯拍传媒 NS2).

Instead, they are recognizing the need to resolve supply chain disruptions in an integrated way, bridging the silos of various functions and going beyond dealing with supply chain disruptions as they occur. 

Taking a macro-view is also something governments have begun doing. Just think of the huge investments to “bring supply chains home”; for example, for semiconductors or for sustainable energy.鈥� At the same time, diversifying supply chains and complying with new regulations keeps increasing their complexity. 听

Companies take various approaches to these challenges, such as de-coupling their supply chains by building up costly inventories for critical components. Another option is听reshoring or nearshoring, which brings manufacturing and supplier relationships closer to core markets, ideally in countries with similar political and economic systems. But all of these strategies come with downsides, including the cost of operations in globally competitive markets.听

At 疯拍传媒, our vision is to embrace interconnected supply chains and optimize material flows — sustainably — with digital technologies. We believe in intelligent strategies to reduce supply chain uncertainties for the long-term by helping industries redefine their operations and by creating value chains that are more intelligent, connected, and responsive.鈥�

Supply Chain Convergence Increases Agility 

Companies that resolve supply chain disruptions in an integrated manner bridge the silos of various functions such as procurement, logistics, or manufacturing. That鈥檚 how they can truly alleviate the impact to their organizations. Supply chain functions need to work in concert and extend into their ecosystem of suppliers. Even the most accurate supply chain plan is meaningless if material suppliers cannot commit to volumes and lead times. Through integrating supply chain planning, such as demand and supply plans with procurement collaboration, manufacturers have a much stronger strategic lever to avoid downstream shortages.听

At 疯拍传媒, we call this approach design-to-operate. Our strategy is to deeply connect all relevant functions in a supply chain along end-to-end value chains and business processes. Going beyond the four walls of your own enterprise, into your ecosystem of suppliers and sub-suppliers — that鈥檚 the ultimate way to tackle supply chain challenges. In the case of supply shortages, for example, it is imperative to analyze the impact to the organization. 听

With 疯拍传媒 Integrated Business Planning, . Impacted customer orders and revenue at risk are visible and informed actions can be taken to mitigate any shortages, for example, by changing production schedules. The 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing system knows immediately about the changed production plan for the next shifts and adjusts labor and resources accordingly. Logistics departments in 疯拍传媒 Extended Warehouse Management orchestrate the new material flow, , and asset maintenance activities are re-scheduled to adhere to the new production priorities.听

As a result, supply chain leaders who follow a design-to-operate paradigm are highly agile and can take critical actions quickly to deal with supply chain disruptions.听

疯拍传媒鈥檚 Industry Business Networks: A New Paradigm鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Entire industries are recognizing the benefits of going beyond the four walls of their own enterprise. Consider a car company investigating faulty engines coming from one of their production lines. Now imagine it can trace the failure not only to a particular batch of components from one supplier but then dig even deeper to identify faulty basic parts from the supplier鈥檚 supplier. Instead of having to recall thousands of vehicles, it needs to recall only a few.鈥�

Solving problems this way requires a mindset for radical collaboration as well as technology for efficient, cross-company data exchange. is an open network that enables just that. It guarantees interoperability by defining common standards. The network is not owned by a single business and data providers keep their data sovereignty. For instance, they define for how long and for which purpose their data can be used. On the other hand, consumers can trust that data comes from a reliable source.鈥�

疯拍传媒 is one of the founding members of Catena-X, together with five other companies. Since 2020, the initiative has grown to IT companies. Among them are Germany鈥檚 biggest car companies as well as many small and medium enterprises. Catena-X may soon become the industry鈥檚 standard.鈥�

Naturally, the is ready for Catena-X. It readily connects Catena-X to 疯拍传媒鈥檚 broad portfolio of automotive IT solutions to trace parts, measure carbon emissions and manage demand, capacity and quality.鈥疪ecently, 疯拍传媒 announced business networks for more industries, including , with more to come.鈥�

Generative AI Adds New Types of Intelligence 

A key tool in solving supply chain complexity challenges is artificial intelligence (AI). Even before the recent groundbreaking advances in large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, our supply chain solutions have been infused with both 鈥渢raditional鈥� and 鈥渁dvanced鈥� AI.

For instance, creates demand forecasts based on historical demand patterns, but it also leverages advanced machine learning capabilities to improve forecast demand with point-of-sales data and improve planning quality using self-healing master data and lead time predictions. In the future, generative AI will enable completely new types of intelligent capabilities like these:

• Facilitating human-machine interaction: Users will soon be able to interact with their system much more naturally via our new embedded generative assistant Joule. For example, they will be able to ask which of customer X’s demands for product Y are still unfilled in Central America. Joule will give the answer, intelligently combining data from various systems and domains because it will be embedded throughout the 疯拍传媒 cloud enterprise portfolio.
• Supporting creativity: Much like a sparring partner, generative AI can help designers, engineers, and product managers create new product ideas in an innovation cycle and iterate them with 疯拍传媒 Enterprise Product Development.
• Transforming unstructured data: Consider a truck arriving at a warehouse with inbound cargo. The clerk knows what cargo to expect and this is saved in an 疯拍传媒 system. However, what is really on the truck is written on a loading list, often in paper form. Making this data available digitally has been possible for quite a while and is known as optical character recognition (OCR). What鈥檚 new is that generative AI tools can now match the unstructured loading list to the structured data already in the system — in a split second.

Leveraging AI for companies to scale and sustain business operations will no longer be optional. Consider the increasing labor shortage facing manufacturing companies, among others. They will have a shortfall of up to 85 million employees by 2030 — roughly the population of Germany!

By automating mundane tasks with advanced AI capabilities, we will bridge the human resources gap and enable experts to focus on what really matters: making data-backed business decisions.

Human and artificial intelligence work hand in hand — it鈥檚 a duet, not a duel.

We already help our customers build risk-resilient supply chains and deeply connect enterprises to run productive, agile and automated operations. Now, by also leveraging the power of generative AI, we will ensure that supply chain resilience doesn鈥檛 have to be something that keeps CEOs up at night.

Thomas Saueressig is a member of the Executive Board of 疯拍传媒 SE, 疯拍传媒 Product Engineering.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), meanwhile, are accelerating the value that businesses reap from the digital networks through which they engage in commerce, collaboration, and coordinated sustainability efforts with trading partners. As AI reshapes traditional procurement and supply chain processes, its emerging capabilities fall into two primary types: generative and predictive.

Generative AI and Business Networks

Generative AI produces text, images, or other media based on the structure and patterns of the information used to train it. Through large language models and other forms of machine learning, cloud-based applications create new content with characteristics resembling that which precedes it. With every successive effort, generative AI sharpens its ability to tailor desired content.

As the world鈥檚 largest platform for business-to-business commerce, 疯拍传媒 Business Network presents an ideal setting for generative AI, in that it brings together an extremely large volume of trading partners across . Starting in 2024, generative AI capabilities in will help detect errors and present automatic summaries when businesses create invoices. AI will also enable the network to enrich catalog content and discovery posting responses for suppliers. 疯拍传媒 Business Network has significant structured content accumulated over many years to help generate significant insights to enhance all these processes and unlock ongoing value for buyers and suppliers alike.

But what if AI could help businesses to automate their most time-consuming procurement and supply chain activities, not only through generative mechanisms but predictive ones as well?

Predictive AI and Business Networks

How much strategic value, previously tied up in tactical tasks, could enterprises unleash if business-to-business networks could reliably predict certain operational requirements and execute them autonomously? With the rise of cloud-based, intelligent applications, they鈥檙e beginning to find out and, in the process, uncovering substantial efficiencies throughout their operations and those of their trading partners.

These technologies are dramatically simplifying some of the most labor-intensive business processes, from sourcing and purchasing to contracting and payments. Through digital transformation, many businesses have streamlined procurement, supply chain, and logistics processes and spurred collaboration among trading partners. That鈥檚 because they鈥檙e seeing an increasingly clear connection between embracing intelligent 鈥� an approach that draws upon immense repositories of operational data to mitigate risk, yield contextual insights, fund innovation through savings, and extend competitive advantage.

Where are AI-enhanced spend management solutions headed in years to come? Toward systems that can carry out end-to-end procurement, supply chain, and logistics processes within parameters strategically set and overseen by humans. These cloud-based solutions are bringing us closer to an era of autonomous functionality, where AI-enabled applications reveal detailed insights, provide prescriptive recommendations, and unshackle talented procurement professionals from endless administrative burdens.

It is important to note that autonomous functionality does not obviate the need for humans. Quite the contrary! There can be no replacement for the carefully considered judgment of a seasoned business leader. But AI-enabled spend management solutions offer an invaluable set of tools through which human professionals can bolster their effectiveness in evaluating complex alternatives and making decisions with confidence.

The trend toward autonomous procurement, supply chain, and logistics processes represents a journey that different industries and personas will pursue from different directions and at varying speeds, embracing AI to reduce human labor for some activities while augmenting it in others. For example, a business network may anticipate the need to replenish inventory levels based on the rate at which they diminish, initiate sourcing events by inferring information drawn from activities transpiring elsewhere in the value chain, or leverage operational analytics to update trading partners with key performance indicators 鈥� all without manual intervention. An autonomous system can even notify suppliers when catalog searches turn up empty, suggesting that new goods be made available.

Yet even as humans relinquish various tactical tasks, they remain very much in charge of the strategic ones. Determining an organization鈥檚 approach to spend management, in concert with trading partners, is likely to remain in human hands for the foreseeable future. By contrast, deciding how to meet those needs 鈥� and then meeting them 鈥� presents a very exciting moment for cloud-based AI solutions. In the future, a user may initiate a process, only later to be informed of subsequent actions taken by the system, requiring human approval for only certain types of decisions. Or a user may employ a set of fully trusted, self-learning, analytical applications. Procurement, supply chain, and logistics professionals remain in control, adjusting their level of intervention per the needs of the business.

As emerging AI applications transform the interconnected operational processes among trading partners, manifesting capabilities both generative and predictive, spend management professionals stand poised to usher in a new era of accelerated growth, operational agility, and enduring competitive advantage for their organizations.

J枚rn Keller is executive vice president and chief product officer for 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

疯拍传媒 Global LoB Partner Excellence Awards are a partner recognition program focusing on 疯拍传媒鈥檚 strategic business priorities for the following lines of business: 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors, 疯拍传媒 Customer Experience, and Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

疯拍传媒 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Awards select finalists and winners for their valuable contributions in realizing 疯拍传媒鈥檚 vision for cloud growth based on data and key performance indicators.

Winners and Finalists

疯拍传媒 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Sales Success 鈥� Large Enterprise

• Winner: Accenture
• Finalist: Deloitte
• Finalist: PwC

疯拍传媒 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Sales Success 鈥� Midmarket

• Winner: NTT Data
• Finalist: Nitor Partners
• Finalist: Premikati

疯拍传媒 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Delivery Quality

• Winner: PwC
• Finalist: Accenture
• Finalist: Deloitte

疯拍传媒 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Customer Success Management

• Winner: IBM
• Finalist: Accenture
• Finalist: NTT Data

疯拍传媒 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for 疯拍传媒 Business Technology Platform Customer Success

• Winner: Stratesys Tecnologias da Informacao
• Finalist: Cordis Solutions Ltd
• Finalist: Thomson Reuters

疯拍传媒 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass Managed Service Provider

• Winner: Monument Consulting
• Finalist: Allegis Global Solutions
• Finalist: Kelly OCG

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Media Contact:
Angelika Merz, +41 58 871-7216,鈥�angelika.merz@sap.com, CET
疯拍传媒 疯拍传媒 Room; press@sap.com

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 疯拍传媒鈥檚 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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Maybe that鈥檚 the result of the supply chain challenges we鈥檝e all experienced in the last few years. But even more, I think it鈥檚 because businesses are struggling with outdated collaboration methods and a lack of visibility into their supply chains. Making matters worse, they don鈥檛 have the agility to react quickly to changing business conditions.

These organizations are feeling the need to take supplier collaboration to the next level.

If you鈥檙e feeling that way, check out the webcast, . I joined Mickey North Rizza, IDC group vice president, Enterprise Software, to examine how companies are collaborating with their suppliers today and how they can uplevel these interactions.

Additionally, we shared insights from an impressive research study of over 1,500 businesses globally, conducted by IDC and sponsored by 疯拍传媒. The IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by 疯拍传媒, (doc #US50854723, July 2023) examines today鈥檚 supplier collaboration and examines the benefits of business networks.

Collaboration, One E-Mail at a Time

Would it surprise you to know that most organizations are still using 鈥渙ld-school鈥� methods to collaborate with suppliers?

In the IDC study, 68% of respondents said they use e-mail to transmit and receive documents and data relevant to procurement and supply chain collaboration. Other methods include telephone (44%), supplier/customer portals (38%), and EDI (26%). If there is a silver lining, half of those surveyed (50%) reported they are also using enterprise collaboration tools, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, to help accelerate collaboration with suppliers.

What this means for most businesses 鈥� or parts of those businesses 鈥� is that collaborating with suppliers remains one-directional and inefficient. Just think how many e-mails and follow-ups it takes to find and purchase from suppliers 鈥� and the hours of time that takes.

Unlike the significant progress businesses have made by digitalizing their internal processes with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, their external processes and collaboration methods remain largely manual. In the Americas, 58% of IDC study respondents said they share documents like purchase orders and forecasts manually. The numbers are even higher in EMEA (66%) and APAC (64%). One survey respondent told IDC, 鈥淲e have digitized our internal processes but then rely on 鈥榮tone tablets鈥� to collaborate with our suppliers.鈥� Suffice it to say, now is the time for businesses to focus their efforts on digitalizing how they collaborate externally.

We鈥檙e in a New Digital World

In , IDC鈥檚 North Rizza reminded us we鈥檙e in a new digital world that demands speed, agility, and resilience. Businesses need to move quickly, not only internally but also externally in their interactions with suppliers.

Which brings us to the old-school and manual methods like fax, phone, and e-mail. They鈥檝e worked for years. But let鈥檚 face it, they can鈥檛 keep up with the requirements to collaborate in a digital world and their ability to provide supply chain visibility only goes so far. This is a problem because, as the IDC study finds, visibility and collaboration are challenges for most organizations. According to the study:

• 75% of organizations view collaboration as a work in progress
• 59% said a lack of visibility in their supply chain makes it difficult to see changes in time and react to them effectively
• 56% believe a lack of effective collaboration with external suppliers is a significant impediment to better business performance
• 26% view better collaboration as key to managing risk

Importantly, the IDC study also found that many organizations believe they are missing business opportunities because of poor collaboration. Among larger businesses (US$1 billion in revenue), 53% reported missed opportunities. The impact is even greater for businesses with $750 million to $1 billion in revenue, where more than 70% observed missed business opportunities.

Where is your organization in terms of lost opportunities? How can you get the data you need to make better decisions? How do you make sure you鈥檙e collaborating effectively with your suppliers, so you can acquire materials to support your business and stay competitive?

I believe old-school collaboration needs to give way to next-level business networks.

Next-Level Supplier Collaboration via Business Networks

鈥淏usiness network鈥� is a term we toss around a lot these days, almost to the point of confusion. Let鈥檚 get something straight: the old-school collaboration methods discussed here 鈥� telephone, fax, e-mail, even EDI 鈥� are one-directional channels, not business networks. To stay competitive, organizations need to extend the digital transformation they started internally with ERP systems beyond their four walls with a true, many-to-many business network.

makes this possible. It is a comprehensive business-to-business collaboration platform that can connect people, processes, and systems across multiple enterprises. It can enable you to digitize your transactions and create transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.

疯拍传媒 Business Network is a many-to-many network that can help uplevel collaboration with trading partners across procurement, supply chain, logistics, finance, people, and asset management. Organizations can exchange data, manage workflows, and apply network-wide intelligence to help improve decision-making. For suppliers, 疯拍传媒 Business Network helps create opportunities to make their offerings available to more buyers and thus expand their supply base.

Ready to Go to the Next-Level with Your Suppliers?

I鈥檝e only touched on a subset of the data and best practices in IDC鈥檚 important research. To start moving collaboration with your suppliers to the next level, check out and don鈥檛 miss our .

Eamon Ida is head of Solution Marketing for 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

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Q: What are some of the trends and challenges manufacturing companies are facing today when it comes to logistics operations?

A: The logistics operations landscape has undergone significant changes, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the focus was on increasing efficiency and implementing just-in-time and just-in-sequence models to reduce inventory. However, the pandemic highlighted the need for supply chain resiliency alongside efficiency. Manufacturing companies now require greater foresight, agility, and flexibility to address unforeseen disruptions, such as supplier bankruptcies and border closures. Transparency, particularly regarding the origins and ethical sourcing of goods, has also emerged as a significant trend. Additionally, sustainability plays a crucial role, as companies aim to reduce emissions and waste and promote greater social equality across their value chains.

How have logistics operations for manufacturing companies evolved in recent years? And what kind of capabilities or technologies are they looking for to help them navigate the future of industrial manufacturing?

Logistics operations for manufacturing companies have undergone significant transformations in recent years. The focus has shifted from purely efficiency-driven approaches to those encompassing resiliency, visibility, and sustainability. Industrial manufacturing companies already rely on a high degree of automation in their processes. However, they are increasingly turning to robotics technologies to further enhance operational efficiency. By leveraging robots, workers can complete tasks such as material transportation and inventory management more quickly and efficiently.

Companies also seek greater supply chain transparency, requiring solutions that provide real-time tracking and tracing data to proactively manage disruptions and comply with sustainability regulations. Improved visibility into warehouse operations is another key capability. With advancements in big data technologies, business leaders can gain helpful insights and optimize processes for better resource allocation and reduction of waste. For example, visualizing movement patterns within the warehouse allows companies to identify and eliminate bottlenecks. Technology plays a crucial role in driving efficiency, agility, and sustainability in logistics operations.

How can 疯拍传媒 help address these trends and challenges?

疯拍传媒 offers an array of solutions to help address the emerging trends and challenges in logistics operations. For instance, the 疯拍传媒 Warehouse Robotics solution can integrate the warehouse management system with various vendors, enabling the deployment of robots in the warehouse to help enhance efficiency and automation. 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Logistics can connect carriers and logistics providers through a unified network.

Within 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Logistics, several solutions are available. can provide a comprehensive overview of goods in motion, helping companies identify bottlenecks and focus on areas that require attention. helps improve transparency, visibility, sustainability, and efficiency by connecting the entire supply chain. can provide real-time insights into material and product availability, helping to reduce supply chain risks and optimize costs. It can also proactively raise alerts to users in case of any issues. Lastly, can connect business partners on a collaborative network, facilitating insights sharing across the value chain. With these technologies, business leaders can access the necessary capabilities to help enhance their logistics operations.

How does 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Logistics help generate value for the customer in the areas of compliance and sustainability?

疯拍传媒 Business Network for Logistics can generate tangible value for customers in the areas of compliance and sustainability. Once the information passes through the 疯拍传媒 systems, business leaders can gain transparency into the origins and movement of goods, facilitating compliance with regulations and ethical sourcing standards. And customers can start aggregating the data, reporting on it, and acting on the insights. This includes capturing carbon emissions data, gaining more details around material traceability, and making sure that vendors do not use child labor 鈥� all with audit-ready data. Compliance and sustainability will only gain increasing importance in the years to come, and the companies of tomorrow must equip themselves with the proper tools today.

Explore showcasing eight that help you apply best and next practices, so you can manage a more agile, resilient, and sustainable logistics network.

Kelly Cannon is part of Content Creation & Strategy for the Content Lab at 疯拍传媒.

At 疯拍传媒 Sapphire in 2023, I was proud that we hosted 17 sessions dedicated to 疯拍传媒 Business Network, where we shared insights on how companies can realize real improvements and overcome the real challenges they face in their regional, national, and global supply chains.

During the event it was fantastic to be able to unveil several significant announcements about . One of the most exciting pieces of news to share was for our trading partners that have standard accounts on the network. As we continue to invest in 疯拍传媒 Business Network, we have truly doubled down on the value for them. We know that true value in any network comes from all parties collaborating and deriving value, and the innovations we are making are delivering just that. At 疯拍传媒 Sapphire, we revealed that we are enhancing portal availability for standard accounts, giving unrestricted access to documents from the trading partner portal. We see this as a first step in helping to simplify the transaction process, enable more commerce, and deliver value to all trading partners on the network.

I was also proud to be in the audience at our keynote session, where we introduced five additional 疯拍传媒 Business Network innovations that are designed to help trading partners onboard quickly and grow their businesses. These same innovations will also help buyers find and qualify trading partners more quickly and easily. Right now, our team is working with early adopters to test these innovations, and we expect them to be generally available in the second half of 2023.

The five innovations announced in the keynote are as follows:

• Intelligent supplier insights to provide details about a supplier鈥檚 performance on 疯拍传媒 Business Network. Suppliers will be able to gain valuable information about sales performance from 14 key performance metrics that can be taken in at a glance on an intuitive dashboard.
• Improved integration that can make onboarding to multiple customers on the network faster and easier. Instead of building unique integration configurations for each customer, we have the ability to leverage existing configurations to connect more quickly and cost-effectively with multiple customers at once, helping to streamline the onboarding process. With this improvement, buyers can more easily bring trading partners into their network and see value that much more quickly.
• New marketplace catalogs can enable suppliers to publish their products on 疯拍传媒 Business Network. From the 疯拍传媒 Business Network portal, buyers can search, compare, and make inquiries. With this new addition, trading partners can showcase their products and reach a larger global audience of potential customers.
• Intelligent lead matching is the new, enriched service that can connect trading partners with prospective buyers ready to purchase. Instead of cold calling, they now can find the right match on 疯拍传媒 Business Network Discovery (formerly 疯拍传媒 Ariba Discovery).
• Enhancements to company profiles can help trading partners stand out from the competition by highlighting credentials and sustainability ratings. With environmental, social, and governance (ESG) at the top of mind for everyone in the C-suite these days, making this kind of information a differentiator for our trading partners brings value to everyone. In addition to this, we also showcased our partnership with , which provides verified sustainability ratings for trading partners.

Embedding Sustainability in Business Operations

Sustainability is such an important topic that I want to devote some extra time to it. 疯拍传媒 continues to focus on this overall, but I know from my conversations with customers that the focus on sustainability remains sharp. Increasingly, consumers want to purchase goods that were manufactured sustainably, and they want to work for companies that see sustainability as a core value. At 疯拍传媒 and through 疯拍传媒 Business Network, we want to create software products to enable these goals.

Governments are also weighing in with requirements. For example, U.S. policymakers have proposed the , which requires major federal contractors to disclose their environmental data. In Germany, lawmakers passed Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz, or LkSG, to regulate companies鈥� social and environmental responsibility.

With that in mind, we鈥檝e made it easier for suppliers to share key information. They now have the ability to self-report sustainability ratings or pull their EcoVadis-verified rating into their profile. If they are not already rated by EcoVadis and would like to learn more, they can visit to start the process.

Additionally, suppliers can now complete a supplier self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) for human rights due diligence. This standard assessment can help trading partners prepare for due diligence and maintain their data on the network to share with buyers, thereby shortening the onboarding cycle time. The self-assessment complements our supplier risk solution. Buyers can ask suppliers to complete the assessment, either from their 疯拍传媒 Business Network account or from 疯拍传媒 Ariba Supplier Risk.

The SAQ helps shorten onboarding cycle times because the supplier can complete it once and share it with many buyers, rather than completing a questionnaire for every bid. This is leveraging the true 鈥渘etwork effect鈥� to streamline processes for both suppliers and buyers.

At 疯拍传媒 Sapphire, we also launched 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Industry, which infuses our transformational business network with 疯拍传媒鈥檚 unique industry expertise. This takes the unmatched depth and breadth of our business network capabilities and combines it with 疯拍传媒鈥檚 industry expertise for a truly unique supply chain solution. The initial focus is on the consumer products, high tech, industrial manufacturing, and life sciences industries.

Don鈥檛 miss the opportunity to learn more about 疯拍传媒 Business Network and how 疯拍传媒 can help suppliers grow their businesses at .

Muhammad Alam is president and chief product officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network and general manager for 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

The reactive, ad-hoc approach that companies have taken to tackle disruption has resulted in mismatched supply chain processes that offer little visibility and don鈥檛 keep up with the speed of change. Companies rely on convoluted, manual communication methods between suppliers and buyers. E-mails and calls get lost in the shuffle of vacations and holidays, making critical collaboration untraceable and delayed.

疯拍传媒 Business Network Is an Industry-Ready Digital Network of Suppliers and Buyers

Businesses need a collaborative, many-to-many platform to drive transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains. That鈥檚 where 疯拍传媒 Business Network comes in: a multi-enterprise collaboration network, built for industry, that helps companies execute their vision and meet growth targets by connecting with trading partners seamlessly.

Only 疯拍传媒 Business Network provides collaboration across a broad range of processes, including indirect and direct procurement, supply chain, logistics, asset collaboration, finance, and talent.

But each industry faces unique challenges that can鈥檛 always be addressed with a one-size-fits-all approach. For this reason, we are introducing 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Industry with an initial focus on the consumer products, life sciences, high tech, and industrial manufacturing industries. This includes:

• A portfolio of 疯拍传媒 Business Network capabilities that address industry needs
• A new 疯拍传媒 Business Network Industry Advisory Board to guide our product and road map strategy
• New 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Supply Chain industry services accelerators for select industries to help customers fast-track their implementation and post go-live success

With 疯拍传媒鈥檚 more than 50 years of industry expertise and industry process excellence embedded in our technology, we know better than anyone how to help customers tackle their specific challenges.

Capabilities Designed to Meet Industry Needs听

As we work to help companies tackle challenges with supply chain transparency, resiliency, and sustainability, we鈥檝e engaged directly with customers to improve existing functionalities and develop new capabilities for 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

We developed capabilities including contract manufacturing, planning and forecasting, quality collaboration, stock transfers, support for supplier-managed inventory, material traceability, and track and trace. Several of these capabilities were developed alongside customers to answer unique industry challenges in a variety of industries, including consumer products, high tech, industrial manufacturing, and life sciences. While these and other innovations were originally created to address a specific industry need, many of them can be applied cross-industry to help businesses increase visibility, mitigate risks, and operate more efficiently.

Working with our customers has helped evolve 疯拍传媒 Business Network into the well-rounded, comprehensive solution it is today. It has been amazing to see the innovations that have come out of these relationships with customers, and their stories and successes have truly inspired me. To build on what we鈥檝e accomplished so far, we鈥檙e strengthening the way we collaborate with customers and helping accelerate implementation with new industry-specific use cases.

Continuing the Tradition of Customer Collaboration

To continue the tradition of working with our customers to enhance and extend our product capabilities, we鈥檙e introducing the 疯拍传媒 Business Network Industry Advisory Board. This select group of industry leaders will provide strategic direction for our product and road map, making sure we鈥檙e meeting the needs of our customers and helping their businesses grow. I鈥檓 eager to see the exciting new ideas and developments that will come out of this collaborative forum of industry experts.

Expedite Time to Value with Industry Services Accelerators for 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Supply Chain

For customers beginning their journey with 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Supply Chain in particular, we鈥檙e introducing new industry services accelerators from our 疯拍传媒 Business Network Services team to help expedite time to value and achieve success.

These industry services accelerators support critical supply chain business processes in the consumer products, high tech, industrial manufacturing, and life sciences industries. With prepackaged industry use cases and capabilities, implementation best practices, and dedicated post go-live support, industry services accelerators are based on 疯拍传媒鈥檚 knowledge and expertise with 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Supply Chain. Industry services accelerators can be delivered in collaboration with partners.

Stay Tuned for More

Other additions to 疯拍传媒 Business Network include new supplier innovations that will help support supplier adoption, focusing on creating an easier integration process to reduce friction and help grow your business to achieve maximum value.

To learn more, visit . Here, we鈥檒l keep you up-to-date on all of the exciting innovations happening and share resources to help you tailor your 疯拍传媒 Business Network experience.

And, don鈥檛 miss learning more about 疯拍传媒 Business Network and how 疯拍传媒 can help solve the unique business challenges of your industry at .

Val Blatt is global head for 疯拍传媒 Business Network Customer Success & Go-to-Market at 疯拍传媒.

鈥淔ifty years ago 疯拍传媒 built the first ERP system, 30 years ago we made real time a reality, and 10 years ago we entered the cloud,鈥� Saueressig said. 鈥淭oday, we are actually innovating together with all of you to redefine enterprise software and future-proof your business entering the era of AI. We’ve been alongside you, your businesses, and your industries with continuous improvement and continuous innovation.鈥�

To kick off the keynote and to showcase a series of demos, Saueressig and Mueller invited two 疯拍传媒 colleagues, Lucy Alexander and Sangeetha Jayakumar, onto the 疯拍传媒 Sapphire stage in Orlando, Florida. Before diving into the demos and a customer panel that included Topcon, the Women鈥檚 Tennis Association, Henkel, and Nestl茅, Saueressig and Mueller asked the two talents why they chose to work at 疯拍传媒.

Alexander said she joined 疯拍传媒 because the software industry is the place to have an impact. 鈥淛ust think: 疯拍传媒 has helped to produce more smartphones than any smartphone manufacturer, connecting all of us. We’ve also helped to make and distribute more vaccines than anyone else during the pandemic. To me, that’s impact.鈥�

Jayakumar shared that she joined 疯拍传媒 because of the company鈥檚 commitment to sustainability. She admires 疯拍传媒鈥檚 aspiration toward a future with zero emissions, zero waste, and zero inequality. 鈥淭hat’s why I chose 疯拍传媒.鈥�

疯拍传媒鈥檚 raft of sustainability solutions for customers was the first of the innovations highlighted by Saueressig and Mueller. 疯拍传媒 doubled down on its sustainability initiative in 2020 despite the pandemic, 鈥渂ecause we were, and still are, truly committed to it,鈥� Saueressig said.

The introduction earlier in the day of the green ledger for carbon accounting as part of the cloud ERP offerings RISE with 疯拍传媒 and GROW with 疯拍传媒 underscores the company鈥檚 continued commitment to enabling customers to truly measure their carbon footprints by moving from average carbon emissions to actuals. 鈥淲e all know that to get to a low-carbon future, you need end-to-end transparency and visibility across the entire supply chain,鈥� Saueressig said.

help turn those fragmented supply chains into collaborative sustainable networks. The launch of 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Industries at 疯拍传媒 Sapphire is also a key part of the company鈥檚 strategy. 鈥淲e are working on many industry-specific data networks, like Catena-X and Manufacturing-X,鈥� said Saueressig. 鈥淏ut all of these networks are only possible if processes and data are seamlessly integrated.鈥�

Picking up the theme, Mueller said that integration enables completely new possibilities such as synchronized planning, which is a closed loop between planning and execution. It is also automated and network aware.

鈥淥ur extended planning and analytics solutions span across financial planning, workforce planning, and demand planning,鈥� Mueller explained. This allows 疯拍传媒 customers to see the impact of their decisions across all their lines of business, as well as planning more holistically.

To help companies extract and harmonize data from their 疯拍传媒 and non-疯拍传媒 systems, 疯拍传媒 recently introduced .

鈥淲ith 疯拍传媒 Datasphere, you can create a data model consuming data from different sources like 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA Cloud and 疯拍传媒 BW/4HANA, and non-疯拍传媒 data sources like Google, BigQuery, and others,鈥� Sangeetha explained during her demo. She added that 疯拍传媒 Datasphere has a great graphical modeling feature, helping to quickly create a data model with simple drag-and-drop functionality, which can then be visualized in a dashboard in 疯拍传媒 Analytics Cloud.

Saueressig cited 疯拍传媒 Datasphere as an example of how 疯拍传媒 is opening up more than ever, which is why 疯拍传媒 has seen the partnerships announced in this area, including Databricks, DataRobot, Collibra, and Confluent, and now Google Cloud. 鈥淲e truly believe in the democratization of data,鈥� he said.

Mueller noted that 疯拍传媒 has also recently announced AI partnerships with Aleph Alpha, IBM, and Microsoft. 鈥淏ut our key differentiator for you is how we use those technologies and embed these AI capabilities to reimagine business processes across all 疯拍传媒 solutions,鈥� he said.

鈥淭here’s no doubt 疯拍传媒 is an AI company and 疯拍传媒 AI is built into our systems that power your business,” Saueressig added. As of today, 疯拍传媒 has delivered more than 130 embedded use cases of AI .

For example, 疯拍传媒 systems processed 40 million invoices automatically last year and generated savings of more than $366 million for customers. Now, generative AI is coming on top and will have widespread implications for a myriad of functions such as job descriptions, interview questions, product descriptions, and queries for analytics. 疯拍传媒 is already working on more than 80 use cases for generative AI.

疯拍传媒 is differentiating in the AI sphere, because its models are trained on years of business data, and also responsible and trustworthy, Saueressig said.

After demonstrating with Alexander and Jayakumar how AI and natural language processing might be integrated into 疯拍传媒 Analytics, Saueressig predicted that AI 鈥渨ill be infused everywhere and enable totally new capabilities in our products.鈥�

Mueller then demonstrated the use of generative AI for development. Currently, he noted, many 疯拍传媒 customers use standardized APIs to build future-proof extensions. 鈥淏ut imagine this,鈥� he told the audience. “What if instead of coding myself, I could simply describe what I want, and 疯拍传媒 will take care of it? Wouldn’t that be cool? And we are actually making this a reality with generative AI.鈥�

But the power of AI actually goes far beyond efficiency, according to Saueressig, who suggested we could also use AI to reshape the experience between humans and machines: 鈥淚t’s a duet, not a duel.鈥�

The keynote also revolved around how 疯拍传媒 has modernized its user interfaces and how it has used collaboration to streamline applications. It was shown how it is possible to improve and automate business processes using 疯拍传媒 Signavio solutions and how 疯拍传媒 Build and 疯拍传媒 Integration Suite can bridge the gap between business and IT.

鈥湻枧拇� enables enterprise automation because we know that you are under a lot of pressure when it comes to efficiency in your organizations and with that you can continuously identify and improve processes,鈥� Mueller said.

During the customer panel, participants explained all the different ways they are using 疯拍传媒 to innovate and future-proof their businesses. Then Mueller and Saueressig summed up the key innovations that had been discussed.

鈥淭o summarize all these innovations, we enable risk resilient supply chains,鈥� Saueressig said. 鈥淲e connect your business to a broader network. We help you plan across the business. We infuse AI across the whole portfolio of 疯拍传媒 and we want to provide you with a new intuitive user experience and collaboration capabilities, all enabled by our leading .鈥�

• 疯拍传媒 Business AI, the Green Ledger and Business-Ready Innovations Across the Portfolio Underscore 疯拍传媒鈥檚 Ability to Help Customers Solve Their Most 疯拍传媒ing Problems

Breakthrough announcements included responsible AI built into business solutions, ledger-based accounting for carbon tracking and industry-specific networks to bolster supply chain resilience. With these advances, 疯拍传媒 is helping customers transform their business models in the cloud, put sustainability at the center of their operations and boost agility to succeed amid ongoing change.

鈥淚n a world of geopolitical tensions, product and skills shortages and new regulations, our customers continue turning to 疯拍传媒 for the solutions they need to solve their most pressing challenges,鈥� said Christian Klein, CEO and member of the Executive Board of 疯拍传媒 SE. 鈥淭he innovations we鈥檙e announcing at 疯拍传媒 Sapphire build on our heritage of responsibly developed technology and decades of industry and process expertise to ensure our customers鈥� success today and in the future.鈥�

AI Built for Business

At the dawn of a new AI era, 疯拍传媒 is strengthening its commitment to embed powerful AI capabilities across its portfolio to help customers solve business-critical problems in the flow of work.

Customers can use 疯拍传媒 Business AI with confidence because it is built responsibly. Today, 疯拍传媒 is announcing a raft of advancements to 疯拍传媒 Business AI, including innovations that personalize customer engagement, make procurement more productive and expand organizations鈥� abilities to find and develop critical talent across their entire workforce.

疯拍传媒 also draws on the strength of its rich ecosystem to benefit customers. Yesterday 疯拍传媒 announced the next step in its long-standing partnership with Microsoft. The companies will collaborate on integrating 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors solutions with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot in Viva Learning as well as with Microsoft鈥檚 Azure OpenAI Service to access powerful language models that analyze and generate natural language. The integrations will enable new experiences designed to improve how organizations attract, retain and skill their people.

Moving Toward a Green Ledger

Fifty years ago, 疯拍传媒 revolutionized financial accounting with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Today, 疯拍传媒 reinvents the 鈥淩鈥� in ERP by extending the definition of resources to include carbon.

Amid rapidly changing regulatory requirements and rising stakeholder pressure to operate sustainably, enterprises need an accounting system for emissions that is as auditable, transparent and reliable as their financial data accounting. With 疯拍传媒鈥檚 new green ledger initiative, which moves companies from carbon estimates to actual data, companies can manage their green line with as much visibility, accuracy and confidence as their top line and bottom line.

疯拍传媒 is announcing an update to the solution, a single solution that calculates and manages the full range of corporate, value chain and product-level emissions. 疯拍传媒 is also announcing the 疯拍传媒 Sustainability Data Exchange application, a new solution for enterprises to securely exchange standardized sustainability data with partners and suppliers so they can decarbonize supply chains faster.

疯拍传媒鈥檚 green ledger initiative is planned to become part of the and solutions.

Innovations Across the Portfolio, Platform and Ecosystem Shore Up Customers鈥� Resilience

疯拍传媒 also announced a host of innovations across the rest of its portfolio. For example, drawing on the success of 疯拍传媒 Business Network, a comprehensive B2B collaboration platform where some US$4.5 trillion of trade is conducted annually, 疯拍传媒 announced 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Industry. This offering combines the benefits of networked supply chains with 疯拍传媒鈥檚 unique industry expertise to help customers across consumer products, high tech, industrial manufacturing and life sciences boost supply chain resilience quickly.

Innovations launched across 疯拍传媒 Business Technology Platform dramatically accelerate business process organization and enable enterprise automation at scale. Advancements in 疯拍传媒 Signavio solutions mean customers get critical process insights in hours, not days. Updates to 疯拍传媒 Integration Suite bring together holistic processes across 疯拍传媒 and non-疯拍传媒 systems on-premise and in the cloud. And new event integration capabilities in 疯拍传媒鈥檚 low-code offering, 疯拍传媒 Build solutions, give business experts the power to trigger automations across all business processes.

As customers face increasingly fractured data landscapes, 疯拍传媒 also recently built on its commitment to open data that increases customers鈥� ability to uncover deep, actionable business insights with an extensive expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud. The comprehensive open-data offering enables customers to build an end-to-end data cloud that brings data from across the enterprise landscape using the 疯拍传媒 Datasphere solution together with Google鈥檚 data cloud.

疯拍传媒 also doubled down on as the need for top-notch professional developers continues rising along with the increasing pace of technological innovation. The company announced new programs to meet the growing demand for 疯拍传媒 experts across its ecosystem to continue driving customers鈥� ongoing business transformation in the cloud.

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About 疯拍传媒

疯拍传媒鈥檚 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: 疯拍传媒 customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers鈥� businesses into intelligent enterprises. 疯拍传媒 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 鈥� without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, 疯拍传媒 helps the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. For more information, visit .

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听

That is what we solve at 疯拍传媒 with our unique approach to AI.

Built-In, Relevant, Responsible Business AI

At 疯拍传媒, we deliver AI that is available from day one, as it is already built into the 疯拍传媒 applications that power the most critical business processes. It works for an entire business because it is developed using extensive industry-specific data and deep process knowledge. Organizations can use it with confidence, as it is created using responsible AI practices. In essence, 疯拍传媒 AI is AI built for business.

Today at 疯拍传媒 Sapphire, we are announcing 15 new business AI capabilities, many powered by generative AI. We have also expanded our partnership with Microsoft on generative AI.

Let鈥檚 have a closer look at a few of these new capabilities.

Strengthening Human Capital Management

A company鈥檚 greatest asset is its workforce. Our focus for human capital management (HCM) is to use AI to help organizations attract, retain, and skill their employees. New generative AI capabilities in 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors Recruiting enable hiring managers to create compelling and accurate job descriptions that capture the desired skills and attributes of each role. Integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word allows them to fine-tune further and then seamlessly publish back in 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors software. Generative AI capabilities in the 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors solution also generates interview questions tailored to specific job descriptions and candidates鈥� resumes, helping ensure inclusive language. The combined effect of these business AI capabilities saves hiring managers precious time and improves interview quality, maximizing the effectiveness of the hiring process.

We are also announcing talent intelligence hub in 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors software, which leverages people鈥檚 skills, competencies, capabilities, interests, work styles, and learning preferences to formulate recommendations that help employees develop and grow. These recommendations inspire, guide, and support employees by suggesting learning choices, roles, mentoring programs, and peer connections. Organizations also gain a better understanding of skill sets in their workforce to improve internal mobility, retention, and workforce agility.

Both of these business AI scenarios are planned for availability this year.

Growing Supply Chain Resilience

In supply chain, we are using AI to help predict, prepare, and respond to rapidly evolving demands. New generative AI capabilities in 疯拍传媒 Transportation Management enable automotive and manufacturing companies to automatically process the tens of thousands of delivery notes they receive daily in different formats. The automation avoids data entry errors and works out of the box without requiring curated training data.

Additionally, in 疯拍传媒 Extended Warehouse Management, we are introducing an intelligent slotting capability that uses AI to suggest how to optimize warehouse organization, stocking, and replenishment based on a product鈥檚 characteristics, demand, or forecasts. This capability helps maximize warehouse space and increase the efficiency of warehouse management.

Users can take advantage of the intelligent slotting capability today; intelligent goods receipt is planned for availability later this year.

Increasing Efficiency and Compliance in Procurement

In procurement, we are using AI to help users contain costs and increase compliance across different markets. The new intelligent invoice conversion capability in 疯拍传媒 Business Network makes it easier for procurement teams to onboard new suppliers by automatically extracting and processing relevant information from supplier invoices. A close feedback loop improves the mapping accuracy over time, further expediting invoice processing and accuracy.

We are also using AI to enhance the employee purchase experience with personalized recommendations in 疯拍传媒 Ariba Buying. The guided buying capability uses data, such as employees鈥� roles, to suggest products and services chosen by peers and other pertinent products from the company catalog to improve the buying experience and curb maverick spend.

The guided buying capability in 疯拍传媒 Ariba Buying is available today; the intelligent invoice conversion on 疯拍传媒 Business Network is planned for availability later this year.

Reducing Risks and Controlling Costs in Finance

In finance, we are using AI to transform all finance operations with insights, recommendations, and automation. The new intelligent collections in 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA helps collection specialists forecast the risk of a late payment on an invoice and better prioritize which customers require follow up. This not only streamlines an extremely time-consuming task, but also simplifies risk management and makes it easier for corporate treasury to manage liquidity and capital levels.

Intelligent collections in 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA is available today.

Improving Employee & Customer Experience 听

疯拍传媒 Digital Assistant provides a unified natural language interface for 疯拍传媒 solutions. We are adding new generative AI capabilities to provide users with tailored assistance based on their context, helping new and experienced users be more productive with the tasks at hand.

疯拍传媒 Digital Assistant is also expanding its capabilities to provide users with proactive and contextual assistance inside their applications, starting with 疯拍传媒 Customer Experience solutions. With the new 疯拍传媒 Digital Assistant for customer experience, sellers and support teams can easily get holistic insights, create recommendations, and automatically generate content to personalize customer experiences.

Both these capabilities are planned for availability later this year.

Increasing Agility and Foresight Across your Business

We have covered just a few of the many business AI capabilities we are announcing at 疯拍传媒PHIRE. The figure below summarizes all of them — including the ones that bring value to several business functions, such as generative AI scenarios in 疯拍传媒 Analytics Cloud and 疯拍传媒 Signavio Process Manager.

New AI Capabilities

Delivering AI with Trust and Transparency

Responsible AI has been integral to our AI strategy since its inception. We follow a holistic approach to delivering AI that puts humans at the center of our products and processes. To do so, we have established an ethics policy and compliance processes to put responsible AI into practice. The AI in our applications is transparent, so we can understand how it makes inferences and builds recommendations. It respects the privacy of sensitive data and helps users avoid bias in your decisions. Altogether, we ensure you remain in control.

Learn more about these announcements and how 疯拍传媒 AI is built for business:

Bharat Sandhu is senior vice president of Application Development and AI at 疯拍传媒.

By Martin Heinig

Digital technology advancements in augmented and virtual reality as well as in artificial intelligence (AI) over the last decade have provided an incredible ability to capture and hold our collective imaginations. These technologies have transcended beyond the hype by offering immediately clear and convincing use cases for enterprises that bridge the physical and digital divide.

For example, AI-powered digital twins could provide incredible future-focused insights with simulations to anticipate and prevent supply chain disruptions. Employee onboarding could be individually tailored and optimized to deepen human connection in a hybrid world.

Immersive technologies are a broad umbrella that includes extended reality — virtual, augmented, mixed– 3D displays, spatial audio, gesture recognition, spatial sensing, speech recognition, haptics, and the metaverse. With the metaverse , these continuums of experiences and technologies have the potential to shape how customers and employees engage with businesses. That鈥檚 why organizations are increasingly turning to 疯拍传媒 and its partners to help them completely transform their business.

The 疯拍传媒 and Accenture Partnership

To support our mutual customers, 疯拍传媒 and Accenture have teamed up to create immersive experiences and business models that are built on (疯拍传媒 BTP), which offers future-ready interfaces contextualized with business data and processes. Combining immersive services on 疯拍传媒 BTP with Accenture鈥檚 technology vision, proven methodologies, industry experiences, and skilled practitioners, organizations could pilot and scale solutions with trusted partners.

With these services, organizations can offer digital experiences that can enrich employees鈥� onboarding, attract digital native talent, and empower users to operate more collaboratively and unlock efficiencies like never before.

Immersive services on 疯拍传媒 BTP could support customers to leverage their 疯拍传媒 business capabilities and data to capture value through differentiated business models and experiences. Accenture鈥檚 expertise in immersive application development, industry expertise, and innovation methodologies will help customers realize and scale end-to-end immersive applications in every industry.

Watch to learn more about the 疯拍传媒 and Accenture partnership:

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As the two companies continue their collaboration, customers can benefit from this partnership by exploring the following high-value use cases.

Hybrid Business Steering

Hybrid business steering empowers enterprises to manage and optimize their business collaboratively by enabling analytics, outcome simulations, and next-gen human-computer interactions on digital twins across the entire company business landscape. The intent of the is to enable users to:

• Interact with data more intuitively and operate assets safely in an immersive and engaging digital experience
• Proactively monitor asset health and predict potential asset downtime
• Visualize the movement of goods through a supply chain network in real time, zoom in on specific data points, and manipulate data using virtual tools and interfaces
• Simulate different scenarios and assess the impact of business decisions before implementing them in the real world

The hybrid business steering use case demonstrates how customers could consume 疯拍传媒 data more easily and leverage their existing 疯拍传媒 landscape for immersive business applications.

Digital twins are increasingly being used in a wide range of asset intensive industries, including industrial manufacturing, automotive, energy, aerospace, and construction. They are an important tool for developing and testing new products and systems before they are built — saving time and money while reducing risk.

Augmented Employee Experience

Bridging the physical and digital world is what makes employee experiences like onboarding and mergers and acquisitions strong use cases for immersive technologies. Organizations with a strong onboarding process average . Despite these benefits, only say their company does a 鈥済ood job鈥� of onboarding. The helps employees to:

• Experience the company culture, mission, organizational structure, and team
• Tour office facilities in the digital campus
• Learn from leaders with role-specific questions
• Upskill on new products and projects with self-paced immersive learning
• Meet colleagues in a fun way

Importantly, employees can move at their pace. As part of their hyper-personalized and contextualized onboarding experience, they can learn and re-learn, ask as many questions as needed until they are familiar — all in a fascinating virtual environment that can be configured to suit their personal needs.

Organizations benefit from making it easier to onboard employees, reducing onboarding time and costs. The impact continues as existing employees grow, get promoted, and transfer between departments. This also helps businesses retain valuable and experienced talent within the organization and during mergers and acquisitions.

The augmented employee experience use case shows how employees could explore an organization, meet colleagues, and learn role-based skills in a safe environment while saving time and costs and increasing employee health and safety.

Customers and partners interested in early access can contact icn@sap.com.

Martin Heinig is head of 疯拍传媒 New Ventures & Technologies.

Accenture and 疯拍传媒 Collaborate to Deliver Transparent, Resilient and Sustainable Supply Chains on 疯拍传媒 Business Network

By Sankar Kaliaperumal and Muhammad Alam

Accenture and 疯拍传媒 have expanded their strategic relationship to focus on the accelerated delivery of transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains across key industries on . The collaboration aims to offer customers increased transparency and visibility across assets and inventory, as well as faster value realization with 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

Ongoing disruption has taken its toll on the global supply chain. In response, organizations have invested heavily to boost inventory, processes, and capacity. In fact, reveals that 61% of chief supply chain officers say they鈥檝e been applying new technologies, ways of working, and AI in order to reinvent core processes, And 60% say they will be reinvesting in these areas over the next two years.

The opportunity now is to create synergies and efficiencies between processes and stakeholders and to unify all the points of interaction and integration. By doing so, organizations can collaborate, connect, transact, and partner on shared processes and information with trading partners across the supply chain.

With this in mind, Accenture and 疯拍传媒 are helping extend the power of the 疯拍传媒 Business Network with new capabilities, assets, and accelerators for:

• Logistics: Capabilities to collaborate with carriers, track goods in transit, and capture and validate data related to emissions and product genealogy help to ensure that trading partners are operating in a sustainable way
• Procurement: Responsible sourcing capabilities monitor for suppliers鈥� compliance with metrics and values in the network
• Supply Chain: Business to business (B2B) integrations support cross-industry supply chain processes and create specialized solutions for supply chain planning, purchase order collaboration, and quality management processes
• Asset Management: Intelligent capabilities optimize asset performance by using data in a central repository that shares information with equipment, asset operators, manufacturers/OEMs, and suppliers, which increases trust and collaboration between parties and results in faster completion of maintenance and repairs with fewer errors, improving the availability of the asset

鈥淪upply chains of the future require , enabled by data and a strong digital core,鈥� said Caspar Borggreve, senior managing director and lead of the Accenture 疯拍传媒 Business Group. 鈥淎ccenture鈥檚 deep expertise in supply chain management, 疯拍传媒 Business Network capabilities, transformation strategies, and leading industry practices can help our clients realize value faster with future-ready supplier networks that bring new into operations, increase agility, and reduce sustainability risk.鈥�

One organization that realized value faster from increased supply chain resiliency and its ambitious procurement transformation is , an energy technology company that provides solutions to energy and industrial companies worldwide.

鈥淏aker Hughes鈥� partnership and collaboration with Accenture and 疯拍传媒 played a big part in the successful transformation of our procurement operations and supplier enablement in 120 countries,鈥� said Sharad Mantri, senior director and global IT leader at Baker Hughes Company. 鈥淎ccenture helped us establish a modern and integrated technology infrastructure to simplify procurement processes and increase supply chain transparency and resiliency.鈥�

Customers like Baker Hughes benefit from Accenture and 疯拍传媒鈥檚 combined knowledge, resources, global presence, and unique ability to scale with multiple and parallel projects going live simultaneously. For supply chain transformations, Accenture and 疯拍传媒 leverage a wide range of capabilities, use cases, assets, custom prototypes, preconfigured solutions, and purpose-built accelerators for focused industries in consumer packaged goods, high-tech, and manufacturing.

Sustainability and resiliency are top of mind for companies across all industries, which is creating a sense of urgency for a solution like 疯拍传媒 Business Network. Working together with Accenture, 疯拍传媒 is helping customers address common industry-specific needs and challenges with the largest and most comprehensive business network, trusted by millions of companies around the world.

Accenture was recently honored with the 2023 疯拍传媒 Pinnacle Award for Cloud Business Transformation 鈥� Sales Success and 疯拍传媒 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2022听 for Sales Success 鈥� Large Enterprise.

Sankar Kaliaperumal is managing director of the ACN Technology practice and North America 疯拍传媒 Ariba Lead at Accenture.
Muhammad Alam is president and chief product officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 疯拍传媒.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) has become a mandate for businesses around the globe. Across every industry, consumers, investors, and employees are demanding change. In response, governments are implementing new regulations 鈥� rightfully so. We all have a responsibility to minimize our impact on the environment and contribute positively to society.

Procurement leaders play an essential role in helping companies achieve their ESG goals. With access to nearly all business functions, procurement is not only critical to driving efficiency and resiliency, but it is also increasingly becoming a key business partner to tackle ESG commitments. In fact, according to a survey by the , 51% of global businesses have a sustainable procurement policy in place, contributing to the resilience of their value chains.

What鈥檚 more, while sustainable procurement has long been a priority for the private sector, we are now seeing major investment from the public sector 鈥� with U.S. policymakers proposing the to require major federal contractors to disclose their environmental data. In Germany, lawmakers passed the LkSG Act to regulate companies鈥� social and environmental responsibility.

With organizations across industries focused on defining and realizing their ESG commitments, it is evident that we are at a tipping point. As procurement leaders, we must act now to build a path towards more sustainable practices.

Consumers鈥� Buying Behavior Shows an Emphasis on Sustainability but Inflation Presents Challenges

We all know ESG is complex and multifaceted. One aspect that gets a high degree of visibility is sustainability, which is usually tied to the tracking and reduction of corporate carbon footprints. Given that visibility, we asked consumers how they are factoring sustainability into their buying decisions. 疯拍传媒 surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults to better understand how they are prioritizing sustainability in their purchasing decisions and what factors influence those decisions. Some interesting findings surfaced:

• Consumers are increasingly focused on making sustainable buying decisions. More than half of consumers (51%) said they made an effort to purchase from brands that practice sustainability during the past two years. This is an increase from 36% in our February 2022 survey. Moreover, more than one out of three consumers (36%) say that, when possible, they purchase from brands that practice ethical sourcing for their products.
• Inflation is affecting consumers鈥� willingness to buy more sustainably. Despite increasing their efforts to buy sustainably, 64% of consumers also say inflation has impacted their ability to prioritize sustainable and/or ethical products and services. The majority (85%) would prioritize making more sustainable purchases if the cost barrier to do so was lower.

Improving Procurement Practices to Drive a More Sustainable Future

Consumers are not only prioritizing buying sustainably, but they are demanding transparency. Many remain skeptical about the data companies provide on their ESG efforts. As a result, procurement will play an increasingly important role in finding, sourcing, and acquiring goods with sustainability in mind, and doing so in a way that is traceable with the ability to verify provenance.

Here is a closer look at what the survey revealed about what consumers are thinking:

• Growing skepticism about 鈥済reenwashing鈥� may deter consumers from buying sustainably. When making purchasing decisions, only 22% of consumers rank a brand鈥檚 sustainability initiatives as their No. 1 factor. One cause for concern may be that a staggering half (50%) believe brands are exaggerating claims of sustainability to mislead customers. Another 34% are not sure.
• Consumers want to be informed on a company鈥檚 ESG initiatives, but a knowledge gap remains. Most consumers (40%) look for information about companies鈥� ESG initiatives on product packaging or with product information online. Other common places are the 鈥淎bout鈥� section of their Web sites (34%) and social media (34%). More than one in four consumers (28%) do not know where to find the information.

Building a Path to Sustainable Procurement in 2023

The survey makes it clear that businesses need to reimagine existing business processes with sustainability in mind and provide more transparency to build trust with consumers.

Procurement leaders cannot tackle this challenge alone. However, they can lay the foundation for success by harnessing their unique position to pave the way for sustainable innovation across the supply chain. To get there requires a sustainable procurement plan that involves:

• Sourcing sustainably: Employ sustainable sourcing to help reduce your company鈥檚 carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Joining the circular economy: Collaborate with your suppliers to develop innovative ways to recycle and reuse materials to cut waste.
• Performing supplier due diligence: Make sure vendors follow ethical labor practices and protect the environment.
• Promoting social responsibility: Choose to work with ethical businesses, certified green businesses, and those that prioritize sustainability as a business outcome.

疯拍传媒 solutions can enable you to follow sustainable practices at every stage of the procurement process, from to to the . All of this can help you build trust with consumers while also meeting your organization鈥檚 sustainability objectives and protecting the planet. It is a win-win.

Etosha Thurman is chief marketing and solutions officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 疯拍传媒.

In March, 疯拍传媒 was named a Leader in the (Doc #US48785722, March 2023). 疯拍传媒 Ariba was named a Leader in the 2021 vendor assessment for this same market.

The IDC MarketScape noted, 鈥湻枧拇� Ariba is a mature, established, and trusted brand. Brand perception is high, and users expressed that the integration with 疯拍传媒 ERP and supply chain management (SCM) products is a compelling feature.鈥� The report also noted that 鈥湻枧拇� Ariba solutions are strongly positioned to help companies administer spend that spans complex events, direct and indirect, services, and capex.鈥�

But this progress didn鈥檛 happen overnight. My colleague Baber Farooq said it best in his piece: 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked hard to evolve our vision, focusing on delivering a complete suite of solutions that enables our customers and their trading partners to manage spend with total visibility 鈥� while never losing sight of the people who use these solutions.鈥�

疯拍传媒 was also named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled P2P Applications 2023 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US50464223, March 2023) and a Major Player in the (Doc #US48785822, March 2023).

The IDC MarketScape for Buy-Side Contract Life-Cycle noted, 鈥淐onsider 疯拍传媒 when you need a robust contract management platform that supports the full contract life cycle, collaboration, and audit trails and that drives more efficient negotiations, provides an intuitive interface, and delivers reduced administrative costs and time.鈥�

Over the past couple of years, our commitment to delivering the most complete set of procurement solutions, from sourcing and supplier networks to supplier relationship management, contract lifecycle management, spend analytics, procure-to-pay, and sustainability, has only grown stronger. And we鈥檙e seeing that commitment pay off with more recognition for our extensive capabilities within 疯拍传媒鈥檚 procurement suite.

High Honors from Customers

疯拍传媒 customers continue to see the quality and value of our solutions. In January, TrustRadius, which bases its awards on customer reviews, conferred its 2023 Winter 鈥淏est Of鈥� awards on several 疯拍传媒 solutions, including , , and .

Each of these solutions took first place in the Best Feature Set, Best Value for Price, and Best Relationship award categories.

And if that wasn鈥檛 enough, our customers rated us as Spring 2023 Leaders on G2 in the following categories:

• 疯拍传媒 Concur 鈥� Leader in , , and
• 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass 鈥� Leader in
• 疯拍传媒 Ariba 鈥� Leader in and

Recognizing Our People

I鈥檝e said this many times, but the people are the best part about working at 疯拍传媒. My colleagues are some of the smartest, most committed, and kindest people around. Two of our leaders, Val Blatt and Muhammad Alam, have been named . Blatt is the global head of 疯拍传媒 Business Network Customer Success & Go-to-Market; Alam is the president of 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network and general manager of 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

Etosha Thurman, chief marketing & solutions officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network, came in at No. 12 in the . She is blazing a new trail in the procurement space, and I couldn鈥檛 be prouder to work together with her every day.

Award-Winning Customers

This time, the celebration isn鈥檛 exclusive to 疯拍传媒. We recently named the to celebrate our customers whose innovation achievements exemplify positive economic, environmental, and social impact, help the world run better, and improve people鈥檚 lives. To my delight but not to my surprise, customers using 疯拍传媒 spend management solutions were well represented in the winner鈥檚 circle.

Here are a few of their stories:

• is one of America’s leading transportation companies with over 10,000 customers, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. It chose 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions to help streamline employee travel and expense management for over 20,000 impacted employees. This implementation was a puzzle piece in its larger journey to the cloud.
• is a leading international bank, headquartered in London and listed on the Stock Exchanges in London and Hong Kong, with a presence in 59 markets. 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass solutions were integrated into 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors Employee Central to provide a total workforce management solution for 85,000 employees and 20,000 contingent workers, replacing a more than 20-year-old legacy platform.
• Less than 1% of the US$3 trillion of spend was directed to women-owned businesses. So, it decided to work with 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions to give WECommunity buyers a solution that makes it easier to find and do business with women-owned suppliers in over 135 countries.
• When the pandemic hit, fluctuations in supply and demand significantly increased and transportation resources were limited and unreliable for and much of the world. To optimize its planning and logistics functions for the cooperative鈥檚 $300M supply chain, it deployed 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Logistics to help provide deep insights into the transportation and logistics aspects of the business, allowing Blue Diamond Growers to meet demand, address supply gaps, and identify transportation bottlenecks.

If you missed my recent piece on the five lessons learned from Royal DSM when it utilized 疯拍传媒 Business Network and 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions to enhance the sustainability of its global indirect procurement, give it a read.

Join Us In Person at 疯拍传媒 Sapphire and 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live

If you鈥檙e a spend management professional or someone who wants to optimize their total spend management platform, make coming to 疯拍传媒 Sapphire or 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live a priority this year.

疯拍传媒 Sapphire starts May 16 with a live experience in Orlando and virtual sessions and events that meet you wherever you are. Visit the event page to learn more.

疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live is in Vienna, Austria, October 9-11 鈥� and there鈥檚 so much to look forward to. It鈥檚 the must-attend event for leaders and practitioners in procurement, supply chain, sustainability, 鈥媐inance, logistics, and operational risk. to get the latest updates for 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live 2023 and save on registration.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.