SAP Sapphire event highlights supply chain, sustainability

Walking in to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, Day 1 of the SAP Sapphire conference certainly had the wow factor.

The scale of the show floor itself was impressive enough, but the schedule was also packed with floor-to–ceiling insights from SAP executives and their partners.

Kicking off the three-day conference, SAP CEO Christian Klein outlined innovations to support customers with supply chain resilience, sustainability credentials, business process transformation and no-code app development.

"For 50 years, SAP's mission-critical solutions and deep industry expertise have helped businesses around the world run their best," said Klein, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. 

"We're uniquely positioned to continue enabling our customers' success in a rapidly evolving world by driving cloud-based digital transformation that solves customers' most pressing challenges, from supply chain resilience to sustainability."

Resilient supply chains and intelligent business networks

SAP has tapped into the zeitgeist, providing innovations that tackle the hot topics of supply chain efficiency and transparency, enabling improved performance and resilience. Through its partnership with Apple to transform the way people work on handheld devices, SAP announced a new suite of apps that streamline the digital supply chain. Two mobile apps – SAP Warehouse Operator and SAP Direct Distribution – are available now in the Apple App Store.

SAP Digital Manufacturing Cloud brings together the latest analytics, edge computing, automation and state-of-the-art innovations supporting manufacturing processes to help customers optimise performance. SAP Business Network also continues to evolve. With the planned integration of Taulia software, customers can unlock value tied up in their working capital.

Other updates include capabilities in the SAP Cloud for Sustainable Enterprises solution to help companies innovate in sustainability management. The enhanced SAP Product Footprint Management solution helps customers reduce product carbon footprints at scale with live connectivity with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, including transport and travel capabilities.

Enabling business process transformation

Customers continue to adopt the RISE with SAP solution to redesign their end-to-end business processes and transition to a modular, agile ERP in the cloud. 

BizClik Media Group, publishers of Business Chief, had CEO Glen White, Chief Content Officer Scott Birch, Global Programs Director James White and Video Chief Kieran Waite onsite in Orlando to interview SAP executives and key partners.

The day began with a fascinating Q&A session with Mercedes-Benz Formula E chief Ian James talking about the electric motorsport series and how Mercedes has gained a competitive advantage by implementing SAP solutions.

Other highlights included SAP CEO Klein addressing a packed auditorium on the main stage to deliver his opening keynote, highlighting the impact that RISE with SAP has in attracting new clients. Business Chief also conducted exclusive interviews with Wolfspeed CIO David Costar, who spoke about the company’s groundbreaking silicon carbide microchip plant in New York.

James Sullivan, Head of Product Management, SAP Sustainability, and Jason Schaps, SVP Head of Cloud – RISE North America at SAP, also shared their takes on the latest product launches and updates as well as the wider issues impacting organisations around the globe – more from them soon.