The glass bottles on the high-speed filling line made quiet clinking sounds as they sped around the bend of the track. The visitors to the 疯拍传媒 booth at the internationally renowned industrial trade fair were waiting for the moment when an optical sensor, using AI support, spotted the bottle that was only three-quarters full and kicked it out of the line and into a defects bay. 鈥淭his system has a capacity of 6,400 bottles per hour,鈥� said a grinning Ben Hughes from 疯拍传媒鈥檚 Solution & Innovation Experience team. 鈥淚n comparison, the original system from our partner can fill 50,000 bottles, but that would be much too loud here at the trade fair booth.鈥�

The showcase demonstrated how the cloud-based 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing solution could serve as the process order management system for 疯拍传媒 customers, whether they typically work with a lot size of one or with continuous manufacturing at higher speeds. The purchase order could have come from an 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA system, for instance, and ended here with execution in production. 鈥淲e can see the hardware integration with our own eyes,鈥� said Hughes.

AI was also involved: a camera captured the fill level of each bottle. If it was outside the defined tolerance, the bottle was rejected and this information was sent to the 疯拍传媒 system. A manufacturer could use this data to calculate the production costs for the system and the profitability of every work center, all with AI support. The data from all systems would give experts and management insights into how well the production process was working. This, in turn, would help improve planning.

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Complete Portfolio from the Industry鈥檚 Point of View

Hannover Messe 2024 took place from April 22-26. Muhammad Alam paid a visit for the first time in his role as leader of the 疯拍传媒 Product Engineering Board area. At the 疯拍传媒 booth, which featured the motto 鈥淏ring out new manufacturing excellence,鈥� he emphasized the importance of AI as an integral part of 疯拍传媒 solutions: 鈥淎I has the opportunity to fundamentally create significant value for our customers, particularly in the industrial space, with an ability to create resiliency from a supply chain perspective that just wouldn’t be possible without the application of AI.鈥�

疯拍传媒 demonstrated nearly its entire portfolio in an industrial context in Hannover. 鈥湻枧拇� uses what we call 鈥榚nd-to-end scenarios鈥� to do this,鈥� said Georg Kube, head of Industry Data Ecosystems. To reflect this, the booth was set up in line with this logic. The 鈥渄esign to operate鈥� graphical element, which maps all steps of the manufacturing process, showed the corresponding step in the value chain at each station of the booth. 鈥淲e integrate our solutions with the specific process that manufacturers have,鈥� Kube said. 鈥淭hey design a product, then it鈥檚 manufactured, then it鈥檚 bought by a customer, and in the end it is being used and maintained. We offer integrated solutions for every step in this process.鈥�

Working Together for Success

Darcy MacClaren, global CRO for Digital Supply Chain, acknowledged the challenges faced by 疯拍传媒, its customers, and its partners: 鈥淲e are facing environmental and geopolitical disruptions and we want to be sustainable.鈥� She said collaboration is the key to achieving these daunting goals, a message that was echoed in many presentations and podium discussions at the booth.

For example, experts from , , and 疯拍传媒 discussed how the automotive industry network is creating a standard that enables collaboration, data interchange, and transparency to support decarbonization along the value chain. Catena-X serves as a blueprint for other industrial networks under the umbrella, such as Factory-X for factory equipment suppliers and operators.

The showcases at the trade fair booth wouldn鈥檛 be possible without partners, which also play a decisive role in 疯拍传媒鈥檚 competitiveness and future viability. 鈥淭he partner ecosystem is a key success factor for 疯拍传媒,鈥� said Andreas Markus Thon, head of Digital Supply Chain MEE. 鈥淭hey are enriching our suite with their applications and solutions and are critical for high quality and successful adoption and use of our solutions.鈥�

A Fleet of Robots Delivers Materials

疯拍传媒鈥檚 鈥淢odular Manufacturing鈥� showcase let visitors witness examples of successful partner collaboration for themselves. It demonstrated a fleet of autonomous transport robots that delivered a variety of parts for a valve from storage to assembly stations. Thanks to the fleet control software with embedded AI from 疯拍传媒 partner , the robots from different manufacturers worked together seamlessly, making autonomous, situational decisions as to which station should assemble or disassemble the parts. The scenario demonstrated that 疯拍传媒 systems can also implement modular production, which is typically used in manufacturing scenarios involving many variants and low to medium product volumes. 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA, 疯拍传媒 Extended Warehouse Management, and 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing were deployed here.

The 鈥淚ndustrial Metaverse鈥� showcase was another big draw. It let visitors to the 疯拍传媒 booth put themselves in the shoes of a systems operator, using VR (virtual reality) glasses to inspect a system virtually, even if the manufacturing was taking place on the opposite side of the globe. The 鈥淚njection Molding Machine鈥� scenario vividly demonstrated how planning and manufacturing dovetail in integrated, agile, made-to-order production, as the machine produced colorful recycled plastic cups for guests at the end of the process.

Other topics at the trade fair included potential uses of digital twin solutions, such as virtual models and real-time simulations, as well as collaboration between people and machines. A summary description of all the presented scenarios is available .

The World鈥檚 Largest Industrial Trade Fair

The guiding theme of Hannover Messe 2024 was 鈥淓nergizing a sustainable industry.鈥� Nearly 4,000 exhibitors from 60 countries presented solutions for a high-performance, sustainable industry. As part of an industrial ecosystem, they showed how carbon neutrality can be achieved through electrification, digitalization, and automation.

Companies from Germany, China, Turkey, the U.S., Italy, and France booked the largest exhibition spaces. Around 1,600 speakers appeared on the venue鈥檚 11 conference stages. This year鈥檚 partner country was Norway.

Under its motto 鈥淏ring out new manufacturing excellence,鈥� 疯拍传媒 demonstrated how it is using AI to advance manufacturing processes, among other solutions, at its more than 1,000-square-meter booth in Hall 15. Visitors to 疯拍传媒鈥檚 booth had the opportunity to see 27 product demonstrations and nine interactive showcases. More than 25 疯拍传媒 partners showed the collaboration and variety of potential uses of their solutions, and 35 presentations by experts and customers were featured at the booth.

Photo 漏nottebrock.

Preh is a global growth company with five sales locations, six production plants, and a strong market position in the automotive market for human-machine interface and e-mobility systems.

With constant company growth and ever-changing market requirements, the product lifecycle costing at Preh had reached its limits. 鈥淲e are on the way to becoming a 鈧�2 billion company and doing product costing without the support of a fully integrated data processing system,鈥� says Harald Bayer, department head of Project Calculation at Preh Group. 鈥淔or our management, it was time to give the calculation of all our new products a new basis.鈥�

The company knew it needed a single source of truth for all product cost information that would also enable analysis and support reporting.聽

Introducing a Future-Proof Standard Solution

鈥淲e looked at several software solutions on the market and our choice was 疯拍传媒 Product Lifecycle Costing. As we are trusting on the strength of 疯拍传媒, this was a decision for the future,鈥� Bayer says. 鈥淎n 疯拍传媒 standard solution is a better fit with our system landscape.鈥�

According to Bayer, key objectives for the project were:

• Replace former processes with a standardized process across the company
• Improve quality and accuracy for product costing along the product lifecycle
• Increase cost transparency for reporting and analysis to easily identify cost drivers
• Increase speed and flexibility in the product costing process and the efficiency of the entire organization

helps companies gain visibility across teams, calculate and proactively manage costs, and support new product innovations and customer-specific engineered products.

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A Central Database for Product and Project Calculation

鈥淚n the first step, 疯拍传媒 Product Lifecycle Costing was implemented at our headquarters in Germany. Currently, we are doing the global rollout, which includes all business units at all locations and development centers, with the goal to set a common standard with global software,鈥� Bayer says. 鈥淲e want to make it available for all users involved in the product costing process. Therefore, we will train a large part of the entire PDP organization. There will be only one database.鈥� He added: 鈥淭he solution is integrated with our 疯拍传媒 ERP system, which is a single global instance.鈥�

To support various stakeholders in the most efficient manner, Preh created different apps and layouts within 疯拍传媒 Product Lifecycle Costing, such as a quality checker that helps avoid errors and increase the quality of the costing result as well as a material price app in which the purchasing department can enter material prices that are automatically transferred into the database. In addition, 疯拍传媒 Services and Support supported the company in developing different reports and an interface to provide up-to-date material prices.

Another partner, , was involved with creating additional reports and analyses and with data modeling, which helped create more transparency thanks to different views.

Increased Transparency Helps Identify Cost Drivers, Optimize Design

In terms of the value Preh gained, 鈥淭he main benefit is transparency,” Bayer says. “We can do analyses and reporting by pushing a button. With that, we know everything about cost drivers and can see the entire product costing. We can easily make comparisons between different calculations and see cost bridges, which was a lot of effort in the past.”

Leveraging the new database, the company can get an easier overview of which parts are used in which project; get up-to-date purchasing price information twice a day; examine calculations and prices of specific years; and make more precise product and project calculations.

From a business perspective, this means:

• Increased competitiveness, thanks to cost transparency and insight into cost drivers to make better design decisions
• Quick access to accurate product costing information
• Major time savings as master data is automatically replicated from 疯拍传媒 ERP, allowing employees to focus on cost improvements

鈥淲e can easily identify our cost drivers for working closely with development, purchasing, and our suppliers,鈥� Bayer says.

By the end of the year, Preh plans to leverage 疯拍传媒 Product Lifecycle Costing to calculate more than a hundred projects with up to 10 different product variants 鈥� and many more later. 鈥淭he choice of 疯拍传媒 Product Lifecycle Costing was the right decision,鈥� Bayer says. 鈥淲e were able to increase quality and accuracy in our processes and take an important step in our overall digitalization efforts.鈥�

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success for Digital Supply Chain at 疯拍传媒.

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.聽聽

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.聽聽
• 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.聽
• Intelligent error simplification using generative AI:聽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.

“Businesses today are confronted with challenges ranging from supply chain disruptions and labor shortages to geopolitical uncertainties,鈥� said Muhammad Alam, member of the Executive Board of 疯拍传媒 SE, 疯拍传媒 Product Engineering. 鈥湻枧拇� recognizes the imperative for agility and intelligence, driving innovation with AI-powered solutions to streamline supply chain and manufacturing processes. Companies can enhance operational efficiency and improve supply chain resiliency while delighting customers with superior service, paving the way for sustained growth and market competitiveness.鈥�

Accurate and relevant real-time information helps mitigate the impact that supply-chain disruptions have on suppliers, manufacturers and distributors worldwide. SMA Solar Technology AG and other customers have already witnessed the benefits of 疯拍传媒鈥檚 solutions, including an approximately 15% increase in supply chain workforce productivity, a 10% decrease in overall supply chain planning costs and a 10% reduction in inventory carrying costs and stock turnover rate.

鈥淪MA Solar modernizes its manufacturing execution systems to support sustainable, risk-resilient manufacturing operations with the power of AI-enabled visual inspection in the 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing solution,鈥� said Heiko Kehm, SMA Solar head of IT Order to Cash.

Sixty-three percent of supply chain executives and 52% of operations executives have an AI strategy linked to business objectives, according to 鈥�,鈥� a global 2024 IDC InfoBrief sponsored by 疯拍传媒*. Fifty-one percent of the 2,000 survey respondents are embedding AI into supply chain planning business processes and key applications for real-time decision-making. Another 58% are using AI to increase operational efficiency and employee productivity.

to 疯拍传媒鈥檚 supply chain solutions to support customers鈥� AI-centric strategy include:

• Optimizing decisions across the supply chain with AI-driven insights: Companies can now leverage higher volumes of machine data and integrate AI-driven visual inspection by computer into their production processes, enabling a remarkable increase in quality through automation.
• Streamlining product development: Product developers can now use 疯拍传媒鈥檚 AI copilot Joule to gather and enhance new product ideas quickly and effectively using natural language queries. Joule also helps tag product designs with business data, so they visually contextualize business-critical information.
• Detecting equipment anomalies: Using AI, asset operators can proactively address potential breakdowns based on sensor data collected from smart devices and edge gateways. This new capacity utilizes the cutting-edge Cumulocity IoT platform from Software AG, which is planned to be embedded in the 疯拍传媒 Asset Performance Management application in Q3.
• Improving field response: Customers can optimize driving routes and allocate job assignments efficiently with integrated real-time traffic data and machine-learning-trained models, which enable the right field service technicians to reach their destinations on time.

Find more details about the innovations 疯拍传媒 will show at Hannover Messe .

Visit the . Follow 疯拍传媒 at .

*IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by 疯拍传媒, The Importance of AI in Supply Chain and Operations, document #US52042224, April 2024.

About 疯拍传媒

As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 疯拍传媒 (NYSE: 疯拍传媒) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted 疯拍传媒 to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit .

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With the introduction of RISE with 疯拍传媒 add-on packages for critical lines of business, customers using RISE with 疯拍传媒 can reap significant value from their cloud ERP investment. Each targeted package augments the complete offering of cloud solutions, infrastructure, and services, creating a strategic arsenal for addressing uniquely nuanced challenges and opportunities. 

The first two sets of packages that are now available focus on the needs of finance and supply chain organizations. To advance critical functions from digital banking and treasury and risk management to product lifecycle management and logistics, these packages are designed to be versatile allies in the quest for greater efficiency, sustainability, and growth. 

Strengthening Financial Empowerment for Business Growth 

Financial management stands as a critical pillar for business growth. Within RISE with 疯拍传媒, its impact can be heightened with add-on packages finely tuned for the office of the CFO. 

Digital Banking: Simplify connections with customers, banks, and payment service providers while meeting the highest security standards.

The digital banking package streamlines financial transactions and helps ensure a comprehensive and secure banking interface, supporting payment processes integrated with 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition.聽.

Treasury and Risk Management: Invest, borrow, and hedge exposures more confidently with a comprehensive solution for centralized treasury and risk management.

Through the RISE with 疯拍传媒 advanced treasury and risk management package, smooth integration with trading platforms allows finance organizations to streamline, automate, and unify trading activities and make more strategic decisions with real-time and predictive cash insights. .

Financial Three Lines of Defense: Let standardization and automation take center stage to address key activities in enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance, and audit processes.

The three lines of defense package empowers finance professionals to anticipate and respond to potential economic risks, identify and resolve issues faster, and gain near-real-time visibility into their company鈥檚 compliance status and control effectiveness. .

Billing and Revenue Innovation Management: Accelerate the monetization of innovative business models and billing processes for bundled-usage services, products, projects, and recurring services billed on a single invoice.

Using the billing and revenue innovation management package helps establish the foundation for supporting subscription order management, convergent charging and invoices, and contract accounting. It also facilitates incentives and revenue shares for business partners with high-volume customer billings. .

Building Resilient Bonds Across the Supply Chain 

Companies that connect their processes, contextualize their decisions, and collaborate with each supplier, partner, and stakeholder are well-positioned to run risk-resilient and sustainable supply chains. RISE with 疯拍传媒 brings this competitive edge by setting the proper foundation with the following add-on packages.

Advanced Product Lifecycle Management: Empower your development organization with the best capabilities for collaboration, visualization, requirements definition and specification, and change management.

The RISE with 疯拍传媒 advanced product lifecycle management (PLM) package equips product-centric companies with solutions that keep information flowing across each PLM activity and engage suppliers through digital networks. In return, design decisions are made more accurately, and delays give way to accelerated time to market. .

Advanced Supply Chain Planning: Build an agile, intelligent, and risk-resilient supply chain.

With the RISE with 疯拍传媒 advanced supply chain planning package, supply chain organizations can automate and tightly coordinate their planning processes, leverage AI-driven intelligence and planning capabilities, and identify disruptions and shortages early to respond faster and more effectively. .

Advanced Logistics: Increase resilience against constant change and deliver as promised at the right time 鈥� every time.

Through the RISE with 疯拍传媒 advanced logistics package, supply chain organizations gain best-practice logistics capabilities in warehousing, transportation, robotics, and yard management to reduce costs, avoid stock-outs, and improve order accuracy and on-time delivery. .

Advanced Manufacturing: Drive productivity safely and sustainably with intelligent manufacturing planning and execution.

The RISE with 疯拍传媒 advanced manufacturing package assists supply chain organizations in meeting demand with automated, flexible manufacturing processes that support risk-resilient operations and improve sustainability performance. .

Advanced Asset and Service Management: Enter a new world of optimized, AI-powered maintenance and service capabilities.

The RISE with 疯拍传媒 advanced asset and service management package opens the door to innovative technologies that maximize asset performance, reduce maintenance costs, and deliver service excellence. This approach allows asset owners and service providers to handle everything from asset strategy and planning to maintenance scheduling and field service management on mobile devices. .

Navigating the Future with Digital Synergy 

The RISE with 疯拍传媒 offering is not only emerging as an enabler for migrating on-premises ERP systems to 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition; it鈥檚 also a transformative force shaping the future of businesses.

And with the addition of add-on packages meticulously crafted for finance and supply chain challenges, the offering stands to become a strategic partner, propelling 疯拍传媒 customers into a new era of efficiency, resilience, and sustained growth.

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for Cloud ERP at 疯拍传媒.

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.

Supporting networks with more than 2.5 billion subscribers in more than 180 countries, and with 40% of the world鈥檚 mobile traffic outside China carried over its networks, Ericsson needed a technological foundation to provide for a single source of truth for its entire planning and logistics process.

The cloud-based 疯拍传媒 IBP solution integrates business planning capabilities across various business functions, improves the ability of companies to anticipate supply-chain risks and offers mitigating solutions. With 疯拍传媒 IBP, Ericsson will be able to navigate complex planning requirements while improving response times of sales, operations, resources, and inventory planning. This will empower Ericsson to further focus on driving innovation and improving cost efficiencies.    

The ability to predict and meet demand in an agile manner is crucial for companies to achieve several business objectives. Choosing 疯拍传媒 IBP is part of a long-time 疯拍传媒 and Ericsson partnership, in which 疯拍传媒 has supported Ericsson鈥檚 vision of providing limitless connectivity for the world.

鈥淎gility, resilience and trust are critical for global leaders like Ericsson to achieve supply-chain resilience and meet customers鈥� needs,鈥� said Dominik Metzger, head of the 疯拍传媒 Digital Supply Chain organization. 鈥淓ricsson and 疯拍传媒 have had a strong collaboration over the years, and its choice of 疯拍传媒 IBP allows us to support it in further digitalizing its supply chain to cement its position as one of the world鈥檚 leading telecommunications companies.鈥�

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ.聽 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 2023 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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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.

To better react to market changes and expand its competitive edge, BYK saw the need to select and implement a new supply chain demand planning system.

Integrated Approach to Address Demand Planning Processes Holistically

The company was challenged with inefficient, diversified, and isolated supply chain demand planning processes on disparate legacy planning systems that impeded forecast accuracy. Therefore, the goal was to enhance data and process transparency and establish one source of truth for sales, operations, and demand-planning processes.

BYK found that the , a cloud-based application with comprehensive capabilities, could best meet its goals to harmonize demand planning processes across the organization and improve forecast accuracy. In addition, the company decided to use the , enabling the company to get real-time visibility and control over its supply chain.

For the implementation and deep solution know-how, BYK sought help from and the 疯拍传媒 Preferred Success service, which included architecture planning, implementation guidance, and process reengineering expertise. Moreover, 疯拍传媒 helped deploy 疯拍传媒 Integrated Business Planning for demand and 疯拍传媒 Supply Chain Control Tower in a technically standardized and lean way.

Enabling All Functions with a Single Source of Truth to Improve Decision-Making

Major benefits BYK achieved include:

• Improved collaboration by implementing a harmonized and automated demand planning process
• Simplified and integrated planning practices for sales, demand planning, supply chain management, controlling, and strategic supply planning teams with more than 200 users
• One platform as a single source of truth for improved data quality and process transparency across sales, operations, and demand-planning processes
• Increased forecast accuracy with real-time data reflecting changes to planned demand

• Quantity- and value-based planning for all planning teams to make decisions based on financial impact

鈥淲ith 疯拍传媒 Services and Support, we successfully implemented 疯拍传媒 Integrated Business Planning for demand and 疯拍传媒 Supply Chain Control Tower, enabling precise and accurate demand planning,” said Matthias Beenen, Supply Chain Process Management, BYK. “This is critical to supply chain efficiency and for delivering high quality service to our customers.鈥�

鈥淚n the future, we will continuously work on optimizing the implemented processes and extend 疯拍传媒 Integrated Business Planning for demand by adding subsequent supply chain planning processes,鈥� he concluded.

Karin Fent is senior director of Customer Success for Digital Supply Chain at 疯拍传媒.

Top image courtesy of BYK.

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.

In today鈥檚 highly volatile business environment, having a strong sourcing strategy in place is key when it comes to overcoming challenges such as supply chain disruptions and delays. However, many organizations have inefficient operations and limited supplier options, which means they may also lack a contingency plan or alternative suppliers they can call on to overcome such challenges. 

With a strategic sourcing plan, companies have the ability to get the best quality, price, and fit for their business needs, helping them stay competitive.  

To help organizations achieve their strategic sourcing goals, 疯拍传媒 has the for to help streamline and automate sourcing processes. It can enable users to identify and qualify suppliers, create and manage sourcing events, and evaluate bids and proposals. It can provide a structured and guided approach to sourcing, helping organizations to efficiently identify the best suppliers and negotiate the best possible terms for their procurement needs, allowing them to complete more projects with less effort.聽

The four key benefits of guided sourcing are: 

1. Improved user interface: The intuitive interface can make it easier for users to navigate the platform, resulting in faster adoption and increased user satisfaction. The revamp of the user experience has led to improved usability, rapid event creation, enhanced search capabilities, and contextual help with tools like . This can ultimately lead to a more efficient and productive sourcing process for businesses. The platform also offers intuitive management of the strategic sourcing and request for x (RFx) event process, making it easier for businesses to manage their sourcing events. This streamlined approach to event management can help businesses save time and resources while also improving the overall effectiveness of their sourcing strategy.聽
2. Embedded analytics: The guided sourcing capability is at the forefront of innovation with features like no-touch procurement efficiency enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Such features include recommendation of suppliers and content within strategic sourcing and smart upload in Microsoft Excel to easily import unstructured data as line items within a sourcing event in a matter of seconds. In addition to this, we plan to release a mechanism we refer to as 鈥渋nsights to action,鈥� which can bring analytics back into the applications. This can enable business users to use insights and recommendations to help make decisions fast and effectively.聽聽聽
3. Cross-product integrations: Through integration with and , guided sourcing can provide enhanced search capabilities with Supplier Lifecycle and Performance (SLP) criteria. It helps make risk information readily available so it can be accessed during the negotiation phase, while spend management data is made available via embedded analytics and 疯拍传媒 Ariba Category Management. This level of integration helps businesses make more informed sourcing decisions by understanding and managing the level of risk at an early stage of supplier engagement and having the ability to view and analyze spend by category, which can help in making the right sourcing decisions.聽聽
4. Enhanced capabilities via integration with partner applications: The capabilities of guided sourcing can be further extended through integration with partner apps endorsed by 疯拍传媒, making it a comprehensive solution for companies looking to streamline their sourcing processes. For example, integration with can allow for seamless collaboration between sourcing persona and legal personnel. Integration with for 疯拍传媒 Ariba Sourcing can allow customers to access new suppliers across the globe based on supplier and product characteristics.聽聽

The guided sourcing capability offers a wide range of benefits that can optimize and streamline the procurement process for businesses. From improved supplier management and enhanced visibility to cost savings and increased efficiency, the guided sourcing capability can provide a comprehensive solution for organizations to effectively manage their sourcing activities. By leveraging the power of guided sourcing, businesses can experience greater control and transparency in their procurement operations, ultimately leading to increased profitability and better business outcomes. With its innovative features, advanced capabilities, and integration with partner apps endorsed by 疯拍传媒, the guided sourcing capability can be key to helping organizations that want to achieve strategic sourcing excellence.聽聽

The capability is available at no additional cost for all licensed 疯拍传媒 Ariba Sourcing customers. For more information, check out this . 

Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president and chief product officer for 疯拍传媒 Ariba.

To address the challenges of manual processes, lack of accurate information, and decentralization of maintenance processes, Petrobras sought help from 疯拍传媒 to implement an innovative new solution.

The Need for Transparency of Asset Management Processes and Value Chain

The company’s use of manual spreadsheets and the lack of real-time insights and transparency into the asset management process hindered its ability to make informed decisions. Additionally, regular failures and disruptions, as well as synchronization issues with supplier assets and third-party products, impacted worker morale and overall efficiency.

鈥淲e lacked real-time insights and transparency into the asset management process and value chain to make informed decisions based on real-time data,” explained Bruno Vidal, business applications consultant at Petrobras. “We were looking for a best-in-class platform that could provide a central view of our mission-critical assets, allowing our assets and data to work in harmony.”

Petrobras needed a solution that could provide real-time insights, reduce downtime, and align with its wider ERP and digital transformation strategy.

Building on Petrobras鈥� Ongoing 疯拍传媒 Journey

Petrobras looked to due to its rich 疯拍传媒 ecosystem and legacy. Building on its ongoing 疯拍传媒 journey, the company saw an opportunity to enhance its 疯拍传媒 footprint across the organization and implement other 疯拍传媒 innovations.

鈥淲e had an 疯拍传媒 legacy, a technological program to implement , and we had a strong operational demand for an asset management solution,” Vidal shared. “Together, this created a powerful business case for 疯拍传媒-powered intelligent asset management solutions and tied in with our 疯拍传媒鈥揻irst approach.鈥�

From Proof of Concept to Successful Pilot Implementation and Beyond

In 2020, Petrobras conducted a proof of concept to evaluate the feasibility and potential of 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Asset Management. The successful execution of the solution led to the selection of the for a pilot implementation project. The BUZIOS field is the world鈥檚 largest ultra-deepwater reservoir, representing almost 16 percent of oil and gas production for Petrobras.

鈥淕iven the size of the BUZIOS field, even a small return of value has the potential to generate a huge return for the company with reduced downtime and increased efficiency,鈥� said Vidal.

Thus, the project initially focused on a limited scope, including 疯拍传媒 Asset Strategy and Performance Management for reliability assessments and 疯拍传媒 Predictive Asset Insights for equipment monitoring and failure predictions. The pilot implementation project started with one unit and expanded to include all units and critical systems. such as gas compression, oil and gas production gathering, fire and gas detection, firefighting, and energy generation. These systems involved a significant amount of maintenance and reliability data.

Leveraging Machine Learning to Detect Errors and Predict Failure

In addition to the pilot implementation, Petrobras activated the machine learning engine in the 疯拍传媒 solutions as a pilot project for anomaly detection and failure prediction.

鈥淲e had great results from the machine learning features, which allowed us to uncover further insight and make performance improvements,鈥� Vidal recounted.

Thanks to the success, the solutions were later launched to five more critical systems of the oilfield, including offloading, oil, water and gas treatment, and water pumping for injection. By the end of 2023, Petrobras had moved from proof of concept through going live with 10 critical systems in all units from BUZIOS field, including uncovering machine learning benefits, as well as concluding the proof of concept for the same solutions in Petrobras鈥� downstream operations.

Business Benefits that Create High Value to Petrobras

As the company achieved significant operational benefits at the BUZIOS oilfield, it plans to roll out to other upstream locations, introducing solutions beyond reliability engineering. With a significant return on investment, Petrobras plans to evaluate the value returned by the new technological solution and expand its usage across its teams and other locations in the future.

鈥淭he implementation of 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Asset Management has led to an improvement of our operational efficiency and increased availability of our machines,” Vidal concluded. “When we reduce failures, accurately monitor our equipment, get real-time performance data, reduce production losses, and implement a reliability culture, we reduce oil losses, inspire greater confidence in our people, and return huge value to our organization.鈥�

Karin Fent is senior director of global Customer Success Digital Supply Chain.

courtesy of Petrobras

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.聽

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.

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

Pillars of the Energy Transition

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

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

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

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

Sourcing Quality with 疯拍传媒 Business Network

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

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

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

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

Reducing Supply Chain Friction

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

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

Vestas and 疯拍传媒 have a long-standing relationship. Vestas has been running 疯拍传媒 as its ERP system since 2007. In 2017, it adopted 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions for e-procurement and 疯拍传媒 Business Network. Through 疯拍传媒 Business Network, it now has access to a vast pool of potential trading partners. And, because the network is connected to Vestas鈥� ERP and the complex ordering and collaboration processes running in the background, users don鈥檛 have to switch away from the systems they are familiar with. With 疯拍传媒鈥檚 help, Vestas is breezing into a bright future.

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

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聽鈥淏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聽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聽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.

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

Embracing the Digital Supply Chain Revolution

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

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

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

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

A Personalized Plan

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

Tailored Guidance

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

Accelerated Adoption and Continuous Improvement

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

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

Data-Driven Insights for Feature Adoption

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

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

Access to Experts

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

Risk Mitigation

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

Seamless Transformation with 疯拍传媒 Preferred Success

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

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

 or contact your local 疯拍传媒 representative to learn more about 疯拍传媒 Preferred Success for supply chain management solutions from 疯拍传媒.

Kiron Satyavarapu is global solution owner for 疯拍传媒 Preferred Success at 疯拍传媒.

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.

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

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

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

Targeting Seamless Digital Workflows

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

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

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

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

鈥淲e aimed to take a more proactive approach to our manufacturing processes. Developing robust, reliable, end-to-end digital workflows was the perfect way to achieve this goal,鈥� explained Christine K眉nne, head of IT and Business Process Services at Jowat SE. 

Embracing Digital Transformation

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

After reviewing 15 different solutions, Jowat selected . In addition to providing a solid foundation for digitalization, 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing can also integrate seamlessly with Jowat鈥檚 existing 疯拍传媒 solutions, including , , and (疯拍传媒 BTP). 

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

Jowat also valued 疯拍传媒鈥檚 proactive engagement with the chemicals manufacturing industry. 鈥淲e really appreciate that 疯拍传媒 is eager to co-innovate with industry leaders like Jowat to develop next-generation manufacturing solutions,鈥� said Podleschny-Borchardt. 鈥淭hrough the 疯拍传媒 Customer Engagement Initiative, we can help expert developers at 疯拍传媒 build smart factory solutions that meet the needs of our sector down to the finest detail.鈥� 

Sticking with the Experts 

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

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

Currently, Jowat is completing the first phase of the 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing implementation at its Detmold factory before expanding the solution across all plants. K眉nne explained: 鈥淲ith a phased implementation, we can ensure that the processes we build at our Detmold plant are tried and tested to deliver maximum efficiency. This will give us the best chance of success when we roll out these processes across all our facilities.鈥� 

鈥淐onsultants from 疯拍传媒 Services and Support brought not only their expertise to the project, but also the willingness to listen to the needs and the challenges of our industry. Because of this, we were able to collaborate extremely effectively,鈥� added Podleschny-Borchardt.

Driving Efficient Manufacturing with High-Quality Data 

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

Consequently, Jowat gained the following benefits:

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

鈥淭oday workers feed consumption information at the point of production. Previously, it would take one full-time employee three days a week to track raw materials consumption,鈥� said Segger. 鈥淲ith 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing, we have a real-time, accurate picture of our raw materials usage and needs. This is helping us optimize usage and reduce costs.鈥� 

Podleschny-Borchardt added: 鈥淧roduction processes are so much faster now that we have built streamlined digital processes. Before, our paper-based ways of working could add up to five days to production timelines. With 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing, we鈥檝e shaved off this time, allowing us to produce and distribute products to our customers much faster, boosting satisfaction.鈥� 

Planning Ahead for an AI-Driven Future 

With reliable, up-to-date information in 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing, plant managers and leaders at Jowat can have full visibility across the entire manufacturing cycle. 鈥湻枧拇� Digital Manufacturing has helped improve the traceability of our products and given us a much more detailed understanding of our manufacturing operations. Ultimately, that helps to enhance planning and provides new insights into potential process improvements,鈥� said K眉nne.  

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

鈥淎I holds tremendous potential for us,鈥� reflected Podleschny-Borchardt. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to explore how it can help us to ensure consistently excellent quality across heavily customized product lines and how we can enhance production uptime with IoT-driven predictive maintenance. Having an AI-ready solution like 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing at the heart of our operations makes taking these next steps in our innovation journey much easier.鈥� 

Summarizing the overall benefits, K眉nne concluded: 鈥淲ith the implementation of 疯拍传媒 Digital Manufacturing through 疯拍传媒 Services and Support, we see ourselves on the way to becoming a transparent factory with a reduction in risks, errors, and process costs thanks to optimized processes.鈥� 

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

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success for Digital Supply Chain at 疯拍传媒.

Top image courtesy of Jowat.

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.

Bosch Rexroth AG, one of the world’s leading providers of tailor-made system solutions in drive and control technology, aimed to improve its customer experience by providing technicians with the right qualifications and quality service while increasing overall productivity.

The business transformation success of Bosch Rexroth is demonstrated through how its premium-quality support has been a key driver of success.

Taking Customer Experience to the Next Level

Bosch Rexroth aims for real-time scheduling and seamless communication, which allows service technicians to respond to customer requests and resolve issues faster. Scheduling technicians based on their skills, availability, and location — ensuring the right technician with the right expertise and tools — helped the company not only increase productivity, but also take the overall customer experience to the next level.

“We need to make sure that the right quality and the right people with the right qualifications are on the road,” said Carsten Breitenbach, project manager at Bosch Rexroth, in the webinar . “The wrong planning not only costs us money as a company, but also causes customers to lose trust.鈥�

He added,鈥淚t significantly improves our response times and enables better route planning and resource allocation resulting in lower operating and maintenance costs and he continues.”

Facilitating real-time communication between customers, technicians, and support teams enables technicians to collaborate with support teams and access experts remotely to resolve complex customer issues. By having access to the customer database and service history on their mobile devices, technicians can diagnose and resolve issues quickly.鈥淭echnicians can see where they need to go, where is the site address, and who is the contact person directly on their mobile devices,鈥� Breitenbach explained.

Digitization also helped customers to easily schedule appointments. Now they can track job progress and provide feedback through self-service portals and mobile apps.

Highlighting that customers have been given positive feedback about the digitalization of the overall service, Breitenbach concluded: 鈥淲ith FSM [field service management], the technicians can focus on the job and spend more time with the customer instead of paper-processed administrative tasks. We also hear feedback from customers that they love to see us becoming digitalized.鈥�

Maximizing Workforce Productivity

Amid this exciting paradigm shift in the field service sector, many companies continue to rely on outdated, inefficient systems.

鈥淲hen the complexity is bigger, this is nothing you can handle with Excel or Outlook,” Breitenbach shared. “This is why we decided to implement the FSM application.”

Highlighting how time-consuming was the former process within the company, he further explained: 鈥淥ur technicians had to enter the hours manually into the timesheet. Now, the data is available immediately and you can directly start the invoice process. We could reduce the reporting time from weeks to days. With FSM, we achieved not only a faster process but also reduced the effort of manual input鈥�

By simplifying the processes and leveraging digital tools, Bosch Rexroth recognized that a user-friendly and intuitive digital system was crucial for its adoption and success.

鈥淚f you adopt new digital services, it must be simple,鈥� Breitenbach added. “If it’s too complex, people will simply not use it. It is very important to make the job easier, not hinder them on the job.”

Within Bosch Rexroth, different countries and business units were using their own FSM applications. The company needed to bring them together in just one pilot project and have a common field service management template.

“One of our main goals was to seamlessly integrate automated booking and back-end ERP integration without disrupting existing systems in Europe,” Christopher Thiesen, solution manager for CRM at Bosch Industrial Technology, shared in the .

Without making any changes to the ERP system but utilizing the ongoing systems, Bosch built a flexible system that enables seamless communication within each division, business unit, and country where it is needed.

Meeting Regulations and Legal Requirements with Standardization

Acknowledging the importance of keeping up with the increasing governmental regulations and legal requirements, procedures, and industry standards, Bosch Rexroth integrated field service processes to support compliance with local rules and regulations.

鈥淭he last goal was the harmonization and standardization of field service execution,” Breitenbach added. “We try to harmonize as much as possible and use standards wherever possible. This certainly helps us to achieve a common quality standard.鈥�

Bosch Rexroth now has the flexibility offered by FSM, allowing the company to adapt to different regulatory environments.

Growing Revenue Generation

Through a guided approach and data collection, Bosch Rexroth has witnessed remarkable growth in revenue generation. According to Breitenbach, “Boosting the sales lead generation helped us to generate revenue. We did not expect such a high result.”

The implementation of FSM transformed its sales process by directly guiding technicians to ask a set of specific questions. By doing so, Bosch Rexroth ensured the collection of accurate and relevant data, guaranteeing the quality of the information gathered. This valuable data is then seamlessly transferred to the customer relationship management (CRM) tool through an interface. As Breitenbach further explained, “Then the sales guys can take up the lead and follow on that potential.”

By simplifying the processes and leveraging digital tools, Bosch Rexroth has streamlined operations, enhanced customer satisfaction, and empowered its field service technicians with a user-friendly, flexible, and simple solution. Witnessing a remarkable growth in revenue generation, Bosch Rexroth achieved a common quality standard while accommodating country-specific regulations.

By embracing the power of , Bosch Rexroth has established a competitive advantage and continues to thrive in the ever-evolving business landscape.

Oyku Ilgar is a marketing specialist for Digital Supply Chain at 疯拍传媒.

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.

Besides innovation, excellent customer service is a top priority for the company that employs more than 3,000 people and maintains a partner network in 90 countries.

Due to constant business growth, existing customer service processes became insufficient and the company knew it needed to introduce a state-of-the-art solution that would support harmonizing field service management processes from a local and regional level to a global rollout.聽聽聽

鈥淲e worked with 疯拍传媒 at various service locations in Germany, but service processes were heterogeneous and involved paperwork and manual feeds into the system. Although we captured a lot of data, the processes didn鈥檛 allow us to effectively leverage them and they often got stuck in PDF documents,鈥� Bernhard Urban, head of Customer Service Germany at Putzmeister Concrete Pumps GmbH, said.

As a consequence, Putzmeister set out the following goals:

• Improve and streamline high-end customer service globally.
• Replace manual processes with modern, optimized, digitalized processes for field service management.
• Digitalize deployment planning of service technicians.

Introducing a Global Standard for Services Processes

To stay ahead of competition, Putzmeister decided to introduce a global standard for its service processes and select an innovative and digital solution to support planners, dispatchers, and service technicians with the following main objectives:

• More efficient resource scheduling
• Optimization of field technician assignments 
• Harmonization, simplification, and digitalization of field service processes, including processing complex service reports with master data from 疯拍传媒 ERP
• Employee leveraging of inspection protocols
• Integration with mobile devices allowing field technicians to report time, material consumption, and expenses
• Sped up and digitalized shop-floor processes

The company found that best suited its needs. The cloud-based solution helps digitalize field service and optimize operations while working to reduce environmental impact through efficient service delivery.

For the implementation of 疯拍传媒 Field Service Management, Putzmeister turned to , an NTT Data company. 鈥淭he Sybit team has comprehensive experience in the area and provided valuable recommendations and guidance, especially in early project stages,鈥� Urban said. That enabled Putzmeister to go live with a pilot in less than eight months and involved business process re-engineering and optimization. The cooperation with Sybit was very fruitful thanks to an agile project management approach, intelligent key user training, and field tests.

Establishing a New End-to-End Service Process

Service requests from customers are now entered into 疯拍传媒 ERP by the back-office team and automatically transferred into 疯拍传媒 Field Service Management for resource scheduling. Service technicians then receive a notification on their mobile device to confirm the order. At the same time, they get insight into inventory and can request the spare parts and materials they need.

When it comes to order execution, technicians can have all the information at their fingertips, including various inspection checklists related to service categories and images. They can do material availability checks from inventory, confirm used and no longer used components, and request additional supplies. The service report is then created on their mobile device and submitted to the customer for confirmation. Moreover, the solution allows service technicians to include additional details to create the invoice, such as actual time recording, unplanned activities, automatically calculated daily allowances, and other costs related to the on-site service.

The benefits Putzmeister achieved are:

• One harmonized, digitalized, and integrated service process for service locations in Germany and the global industrial technology team
• Optimized customer service thanks to instantly available information, such as machine data, operating hours, error quotes, and faster invoicing after order fulfillment
• A single source of truth for all information that helps increase service quality
• Transparent, digitally available, real-time service reports
• Increased productivity and time savings for planners, dispatchers, and technicians
• High user acceptance from service staff due to a modern user interface (UI), mobile access, and better insights to execute work orders

Preparing for an International Rollout

After the successful pilot implementation in Germany and first international rollout in Spain, Putzmeister wants to take the next step and roll out to its global operations.   

鈥淭he digitalization of field service management brings countless benefits, both for our customers and our employees, and helps us gain more efficiency,鈥� Urban concluded.

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success Digital Supply Chain at 疯拍传媒.

The international enterprise with headquarters in Spain and operations in more than 80 countries has been including environmental protection and economic growth into its DNA and is constantly working on achieving a sustainable business model that will be its future legacy to society and to the planet. Its commitment to the planet is based on four pillars: climate action, biodiversity protection, circularity, and conscious suppliers.

The mission of Zamora Company toward its suppliers is to encourage them to be more sustainable by collaborating closely to substitute product and packaging materials with more sustainable alternatives and to use more recyclable packaging materials to support circular economy principles. It鈥檚 no wonder that, for Zamora, sustainability goes hand in hand with innovation without compromising the highest quality standards. as a conscious company is also focused and aligned with the achievement of the set by the United Nations 2030 agenda.

Accelerating Innovation Through New Packaging Legislation

Since the introduction of a in Spain on January 1, 2023 on non-reusable plastic packaging, companies are required to meet comprehensive reporting requirements.

The tax is an indirect excise tax with an environmental purpose. It aims to internalize the environmental costs related to the manufacturing and consumption of plastic packaging in the price of final products.

The taxable event is the manufacturing, import, or intra-community acquisition of non-reusable plastic packaging for its use within the Spanish market. The plastic packaging tax captures a broad concept of “non-reusable plastic packaging” in its scope, which includes:

• Non-reusable plastic containers 鈥� the law provides definitions of 鈥渘on-reusable,鈥� 鈥減lastic,鈥� and 鈥渃ontainer鈥� for the purpose of this tax
• Semi-finished plastic products, such as preforms and thermoplastic sheets, intended for production of non-reusable plastic containers
• Plastic products aimed to facilitate the closing, trading, or presentation of non-reusable containers

鈥淭he new legislation required us to respond to governmental requisitions and was an additional driver to accelerate our sustainability efforts,鈥� Enrique Gonzalo Mec谩ndez, 疯拍传媒 manager in Operations at Zamora Company, explained. 鈥淲ith a cross-departmental team, we were looking to find the most appropriate and scalable software solution to meet the country鈥檚 regulatory requirements and help us with data management, a tax monitor, and reporting and insights.鈥�

Keeping All Data in One Central Place

As a result, Zamora Company found that , an industry cloud-based solution, would best meet its needs. 疯拍传媒 Responsible Design and Production can support manufacturers and retailers in calculating extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations and fees, plastic taxes, and corporate commitments to optimize material choices. In addition, it helps improve design decisions based on costs and planetary impact.聽

鈥淔rom a process standpoint, 疯拍传媒 Responsible Design and Production facilitates the incorporation of everything related to sustainability data linked to the material, so that all relevant information is unified in the material master,鈥� Gonzalo Mec谩ndez said. 鈥淎s all information is kept in one place, purchasing work and master data maintenance required to ensure regulatory compliance is centralized, without the need to manually replicate information in different systems.鈥�

鈥淢oreover, leveraging a single and integrated platform with provides the security of working with up-to-date and correct data. Additionally, the data quality application allows our users to detect any lack of information and correct it,鈥� he added. 鈥淲ith deep knowledge and solution experience, our trusted partner , an company, closely supported us during the implementation of 疯拍传媒 Responsible Design and Production, as well as the integration with our 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA platform.鈥�

The benefits Zamora Company achieved include:

• Ability to rely on 100% correct data, fully aligned with material registration processes
• Cost savings thanks to less administrative work, eased reporting, and a central data repository
• Reduced risk of non-compliance with extended producer responsibility regulations in Spain
• A simple, user-friendly tool to support legal reporting requirements in a timely manner
• Ability to expand solution usage to meet upcoming EPR legislation in other countries, like Italy 

Positive Impact on Customers, Economy, Society, and Environment

鈥淭he project helped us learn more about our products and incorporate their packaging details, so that our company knows exactly how much plastic and non-recycled plastic is being used. In a more strategic phase, this will allow us to evaluate alternative materials and compositions, which can create cost savings for the company and positively contribute to the environment by being able to transition to more sustainable elements,鈥� Gonzalo Mec谩ndez concluded.

Watch a solution to learn how to start acting on a circular economy, design products sustainably, and eliminate waste with 疯拍传媒 Responsible Design and Production. about what benefits other enterprises achieved.

To explore how the comprehensive, cloud-based sustainability solution portfolio from 疯拍传媒 can support carbon footprint management, reducing material waste, and becoming a socially responsible business, visit .

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success, Digital Supply Chain, at 疯拍传媒.

The impacts of climate change and geopolitical conflicts coupled with volatile commodity prices and inflation are only exacerbating food supply chain challenges. Food prices are expected to rise 80% by 2050, and crop yields are forecast to decrease up to 30% by 2080. During a recent event at 疯拍传媒鈥檚 Hudson Yards office in New York, agriculture experts and policymakers discussed how organizations in the private and public sector can work together to build a more sustainable food supply. 

鈥湻枧拇� continues to co-innovate with agribusiness leaders to digitalize the farm-to-consume value chain,鈥� said Anja Strothkamper, global vice president of Agribusiness and Commodity Management at 疯拍传媒. 鈥淓very organization in the ecosystem has the opportunity to come together and make a significant contribution towards affordable, efficient, and resilient farming, food production, and distribution. We collaborate across the food chain including agricultural production and farming, origination and trading, commodity processing, food manufacturing and packaging, and retail. These digital ecosystems help companies manage risk, improve decision-making, and maximize crop yields.鈥� 

Data Insights Reduce Complexity for Cost-Efficient Sustainable Farming

Case in point is the collaboration between 疯拍传媒 and VISTA that uses satellite images and AI-fueled algorithms to create digital twins that can simulate predictive forecasts for optimized decision-making in farming. VISTA is a subsidiary of BayWa, Germany鈥檚 largest digital agricultural company. I sat down with Strothkamper and Tobias Fausch, Baywa鈥檚 CIO, who shared how working together is cultivating the future of agriculture.   

鈥淪atellite imagery plus AI models capture and analyze a wide range of data in digital twins, including soil quality, crop variety and health, water availability, weather conditions, and other farming activities,鈥� said Fausch. 鈥淭he technology simulates yield predictions, calculating various scenarios based on precise risks by field location and weather patterns. Farmers can automate optimal soil preparation, irrigation and fertilization, crop rotation, and harvest times for sustainable efficiency and high yields. Even with the effects of climate change, these models reveal that we have sufficient resources to better manage global, end-to-end farming for adequate food production.鈥�

In one example, a soybean farmer in India used VISTA to harvest the highest yield ever, despite a drought in the country. Fausch said that optimizing crop yields sustainably bolsters food security and also makes economic sense.

鈥淯sing the technology, we can automatically calculate the availability of water for not just individual farms, but also a region or country,鈥� said Fausch. 鈥淭his data can help governments better manage water resources for maximum crop yields in the face of events that make crop yields unpredictable. For example, if there鈥檚 a drought in one part of the country, water could be transported into dryer regions for storage and irrigation where it鈥檚 needed most.鈥� 

Digital Platform Scales Up Secure Food Supply Chains

Accessibility to advanced technology is crucial to organizations in the food value chain, especially smallholder farms. The collaboration between 疯拍传媒 and VISTA offers growers of all sizes a simple yet powerful tool to help capture intelligent data in the field using their mobile device. Available on , VISTA is integrated with .

鈥淭he digital twin is the smart superpower, and 疯拍传媒 makes the information available across the digitalized value chain, triggering business processes like automated irrigation and fertilizer services, increased storage and transportation capacities for higher yields, or accurate government subsidy payments for fertilizer,鈥� said Strothkamper. 鈥淧ublic and private sectors can partner to extract value from the predictive modeling data. Farmers can increase yields, banks would have the traceability for investment decisions in startups to grow the economy, insurers can track claims, and governments can better plan and respond to dynamically changing community needs.鈥�

Generative AI for Intelligent Agriculture

疯拍传媒鈥檚 agriculture solutions are evolving to incorporate the latest technologies like AI for valuable business results. An uses 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Agriculture to help smallholder farmers digitalize operations, providing advice based on captured data in the field and beyond. Farmers have already improved crop yields based on harvest time guidance.

鈥淲e built this solution through our ongoing collaboration with organizations that are part of the 疯拍传媒 Advisory Council for Agribusiness,鈥� said Strothkamper. 鈥淐limate change has rendered time-honored farming practices irrelevant. Generative AI can democratize intelligent agriculture with data-driven insights. Tools based on ChatGPT and other large language models that provide advice based on tremendous amounts of data throughout the ecosystem are the vision for the sustainable food value chain of the future.鈥� 

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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.

That’s why Jowat looked to empower its technicians to prioritize work more effectively, manage inventory and costs more efficiently, and make smarter strategic decisions about asset investments.

Avoiding Sticky Situations with Effective Maintenance

The production line sits at the heart of any manufacturing company. If production misses a beat, the whole business feels the impact. And if a breakdown takes production offline, the consequences can be both operationally and financially disastrous. That鈥檚 why , one of the world鈥檚 leading suppliers of industrial adhesives, takes plant maintenance very seriously. As a key supplier to the furniture, packaging, textiles, automotive, and electrical industries, any delay in delivering its products could cause significant disruption and potentially cost the company and its clients millions of Euros. So, it鈥檚 vital that all production line equipment is always properly maintained.

Natanael Hernandez, 疯拍传媒 manager at , explained: 鈥淎dhesive manufacturing is particularly challenging because of the nature of the product. Our machines need regular and thorough cleaning to avoid contamination between batches. Hot glue can be hazardous to work with, so safety is critical. And to meet our environmental goals, we aim to recycle as much of the water and oil we use as possible, which adds to complexity and cost of labor.鈥�

To keep operations running smoothly, Jowat鈥檚 maintenance teams need to do more than just corrective break/fix maintenance. Regular inspections and preventive maintenance are key for technicians and supervisors. Moreover, many of the company鈥檚 production line machines rely on expensive components that take months to manufacture, so inventory management is vital to ensure that technicians always have the parts they need. And in the bigger picture, Jowat also wants insight from maintenance processes to feed into strategic decision-making. 鈥淲e realized that if we could gain more insight into the total cost of maintaining each of our production line machines, we could make better decisions,鈥� said Hernandez. 鈥淔or example, does it make financial sense to keep this line running, or should we replace it with something more efficient?鈥�

It was clear that with a deeper understanding of its maintenance and inventory processes, the company could streamline the management of its plants and make smarter investment decisions. That鈥檚 where 疯拍传媒 came in.

Digitalization Transforms Asset Management

Until a few years ago, Jowat relied on a legacy application to manage maintenance tasks. The system was not integrated with the company鈥檚 core 疯拍传媒 applications, so technicians and supervisors had to manage their daily tasks manually. 鈥淭he paperwork made it impossible to track time and labor costs, and it was difficult to establish an audit trail,鈥� said Hernandez. 鈥淪o, we decided to introduce the 疯拍传媒 Enterprise Asset Management solution (疯拍传媒 EAM) to digitalize and standardize our maintenance processes.鈥�

Integrated with Jowat鈥檚 core software for inventory, purchasing, sales, and cost accounting, 疯拍传媒 EAM introduced a more formal process around the creation of maintenance work orders. The solution also provided an inventory management system that enabled Jowat to manage its stock of spare parts. 鈥淔or the first time, we had an accurate view of our inventory, as well as the cost and lead time for ordering replacements,鈥� said Hernandez. 鈥淭his makes it easier for us to maintain appropriate reserves and gives visibility to other companies within the Jowat group. So, if a plant in Germany needs a part that we have in stock in the U.S., they can see it and buy it from us straight away instead of waiting months for the manufacturer to ship it to them.鈥�

疯拍传媒 EAM was a big step forward for the maintenance team, but its user interface was designed for power users sitting at full-sized screens, not mechanics and electricians working on the factory floor. 鈥淲e needed something simpler and more streamlined that our technicians could use on their mobile devices,鈥� explained Hernandez. 鈥淎t the same time, we wanted to be able to track the work they were doing more accurately.鈥�

Jowat discovered the , which is part of the 疯拍传媒鈥檚 industry cloud. 鈥湻枧拇� Service and Asset Manager was exactly what we were looking for. We loved the simplicity and it was a great fit for our business processes. As soon as our technicians saw the new application, they wanted to work with it. Now, our technicians and supervisors have an intuitive mobile app that gives them the visibility and control they need to maintain our production line equipment more efficiently,鈥� he added.

Working with , an experienced 疯拍传媒 partner, Jowat launched the new mobile app at its U.S. plant and planned a global rollout for its manufacturing sites in Germany, Malaysia, and China. So far, 21 technicians are using the app on their iPad Mini devices, while seven supervisors can choose between using the app on their iPhone or logging into the main 疯拍传媒 EAM interface. To help ensure smooth adoption of the solution, Jowat is also working with the team.

Doubling Productivity with an Intuitive Mobile Solution

With , Jowat鈥檚 technicians can see all corrective and preventive maintenance work orders assigned to them immediately, so they can organize their work more effectively. For example, if they are assigned several tasks on the same machine or in the same area of the plant, they can do them all at once instead of spending time going back and forth. For supervisors, the app helps make it easier to understand the status of open work orders and prioritize more efficiently. They can move more urgent tasks forward or put less important ones on hold and, crucially, they can document the reasons for their decisions. If a work order can鈥檛 progress until a replacement part has been delivered, it鈥檚 immediately clear why the job is on hold.

Since the launch of the 疯拍传媒 solutions for asset management, Jowat has seen a reduction in total downtime on its production lines. Moreover, productivity has effectively doubled. Before the implementation, around 45% of work orders in the system were actively worked on by technicians. Today, that figure has risen to around 85%-90%. At the same time, the maintenance backlog has been reduced by 75%, from three months to around three weeks. 鈥淎 three-week backlog is probably optimal for our business, because there will always be a proportion of tasks that have to wait for a viable maintenance window,鈥� explained Hernandez. 鈥淭he key thing is that the backlog doesn鈥檛 increase 鈥� once we got it down to three weeks, it has never crept back up again.鈥�

The app can also provide new capabilities for reviewing and approving completed work orders. Technicians can use their mobile device to take pictures of the before and after state of the assets they are working on to document the repairs they have made. And if during a maintenance visit a technician notices a problem that hasn鈥檛 been reported yet, they can take a photo or video and send it directly into 疯拍传媒 EAM to generate a new work order. Inventory management is simpler, too. Whenever stock of a required component falls below a minimum threshold, the system can automatically trigger a purchase requisition to order replacements. 鈥淏efore, we didn鈥檛 know what we were spending on spare parts,鈥� added Hernandez. 鈥淣ow, we can allocate costs to specific lines and even specific machines. With full visibility of the cost of parts and labor, we can make much more informed decisions on whether to continue maintaining an asset or replace it with a newer, more efficient machine.鈥�

Expanding Functionality in the Future

In the future, Jowat hopes to build on the success of this project by expanding its use of  to introduce calibration capabilities. The company is also evaluating introducing the , as well as taking advantage of the predictive material and resource planning functionality in .

鈥淎t the moment, our focus is on maintenance, but we know there is so much more we can do,鈥� concluded Hernandez. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to work with 疯拍传媒 and great partners like AG to explore the possibilities.鈥�

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success, Digital Supply Chain, at 疯拍传媒.

Organizations must deliver their brand promise to customers to establish that deep connection, and it is a lot easier to do when you鈥檝e gained supply chain agility by embracing digital transformation.

The technological developments of recent years have given us greater resilience, flexibility, and visibility into what brands can deliver and what customers expect, but how can brands embrace digital transformation to go even further to enhance those relationships?

I had the chance to discuss this topic with Sally Eaves, professor in Advanced Technologies, and global strategic advisor and special guest Steve Birgfeld, VP of Information Technology and Services at Blue Diamond Growers, as part of 疯拍传媒鈥檚 Live Chat series on Tomorrow鈥檚 Tech Today platform. I am pleased to share a few key takeaways from our engaging conversation about how brands can achieve end-to-end visibility of their supply and distribution chains to create the type of customer experiences that drive loyalty and profitability.

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Something for Everyone

Whether it is delivering a quality product or providing an essential service, every brand makes a promise to their customers. Birgfeld described how delivering on a brand鈥檚 promise helps Blue Diamond build that trust, and it is part of the reason the company is the world鈥檚 largest almond processing and marketing cooperative 鈥� and a 2023 疯拍传媒 Innovation Award winner.

Growers 鈥渢rust us with their almonds,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 up to us to deliver them accordingly. So [there is] a lot of focus on quality, integrity, and innovation. And that innovation also applies to the technology we use to enable that.鈥�

With two lines of business 鈥� branded nut snacks and ingredient sales to other consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers 鈥� Blue Diamond deals with variables like weather issues, wildfires, and droughts. But the havoc the COVID-19 pandemic played on its supply chain was unforeseen. 

Suddenly, what was a demand-driven, normal business became a constraint-driven one. Birgfeld explained how a three-week wait to receive cargo turned into a five-month delay. What could have been a disastrous situation was salvaged by an attitude I find common among 疯拍传媒 Innovation Award winners: the digital transformation journey is a journey, not an end destination.

Running Simple in the Digital Economy

With more than 3,000 growers, 1,800 employees, and consumers in more than 75 countries, the need for Blue Diamond to shift from disparate, manual processes to streamlined and integrated ones was critical. The company needed to create a world-class supply chain solution to improve its forecast accuracy and distribution channel, among other areas.

Fortunately, Blue Diamond had already migrated its ERP to 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA for its core capabilities, empowering the company to embrace the digital economy. The company also leaned on 疯拍传媒 Business Network to help connect, transact, and partner with other businesses on shared processes and information, replacing uncertainty with end-to-end visibility.

Together, Blue Diamond and 疯拍传媒 would develop what Birgfeld called 鈥渁n intelligent, data-driven cooperative.鈥�

Synchronized Planning Vision

By achieving a consolidated management view across its business, the company reduced supply on hand by 20%, expanded order fill rates to 99%, and saved US$1 million in logistics costs. Having the data in one centralized location condensed scenario planning for a typical situation from six hours to 20 minutes.

鈥淚t enabled our customer service reps [to] respond immediately to the customer on where things stood, and we could do course correction accordingly if there were issues,鈥� Birgfeld said.

Sustainability also improved, since the streamlined operation meant that fewer trucks had to be used along the supply chain.

As a 2023 疯拍传媒 Innovation Awards judge, I saw firsthand how grew with 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA.

 After setting the bar high for next year鈥檚 疯拍传媒 Innovation Award winners, Blue Diamond Growers is moving forward, utilizing 疯拍传媒鈥檚 financial planning and analysis (FP&A) tools to better align financial, inventory, and demand data and extending 疯拍传媒 Analytics Cloud to help improve analysis, planning, forecasting, and visualization.

鈥淥ur real vision is鈥 synchronized planning capability,鈥� Birgfeld said. 鈥淎nd 疯拍传媒 is a great enabler of that.鈥�

Inside Innovation

疯拍传媒鈥檚 Live Chat on Tomorrow鈥檚 Tech Today platform is a new limited series that highlights the latest innovations in emergent technology integration across a range of sectors and themes. In each episode, 疯拍传媒 innovators come together with experts from a variety of backgrounds, sharing stories that can inspire all of us. While each organization may differ, each interviewee shares their version of the same story 鈥� overcoming a unique challenge with the type of innovation we all aspire to achieve.

To learn more about 疯拍传媒 Innovation Awards and discover the incredible stories of innovation, visit .

Sven Denecken is SVP and chief marketing and solutions officer for 疯拍传媒 Industries & CX.

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.