SAP has been recognized as a leader in two IDC MarketScape reports,* describing the technology value, innovation, and expertise in its market assessments on manufacturing ERP and operational ERP.
Having received this news on the eve of SAP Sapphire 2022, it highlighted once again that we are doing the right thing by our customers in delivering innovative solutions in the cloud and enabling them to transform their businesses effectively, efficiently, and intelligently.
Manufacturing ERP
In times of unanticipated events and sudden demand shocks such as COVID-19, competition has never been higher in manufacturing. There are more companies competing for the same customer base and this makes differentiation a challenge. The commoditization of products impacts a manufacturer’s ability to grow revenue or move into new markets.
For manufacturing companies, a solution to issues such as agility, sustainability, the right product-service mix, customer experience, modular and integrated systems, continuous focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and an anywhere, anytime access is key.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a complete, modular cloud ERP software designed for every business need – powered by AI and analytics. With SAP S/4HANA Cloud, customers can run mission-critical operations in real time from anywhere, introduce new business models in their industry, and expand globally with a trusted partner. For 50 years, SAP has been proudly helping enterprises of all sizes – in all industries and geographies – run at their best with ERP software.
The IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Manufacturing ERP Applications 2022 Vendor Assessment is based on a thorough evaluation of SAP’s strengths and capabilities and lists them as follows:
Manufacturing Footprint and Expertise
SAP’s expansive footprint and experience working across the manufacturing industry is a clear strength. Customers that have been interviewed backed up this sentiment, stating that they can’t think of a vendor with more expertise than SAP when it comes to automotive and engineering-to-order type industries as an example, and it allows a lot of best practices to be adopted. This is also reflected in the customer base, as customer references noted that all major companies in their industry use SAP or are at least familiar with the company, which makes finding employees experienced with the system much easier.
Innovation
SAP continues to evolve its products with innovation, combining technological expertise with its industry expertise. SAP’s focus on AI and machine learning was cited by multiple manufacturing customers as an area they are very excited about. Automation is another area mentioned by manufacturers as an important focus that SAP is helping with. One reference shared how over the next few years the company expects to generate a lot of additional efficiencies by reducing efforts through process automation.
Level of Value Delivered
SAP continues to deliver value for clients, from innovation to best practices to additional insights. Customers have mentioned that the best practice use cases and additional insights provided are bringing substantial value as they reset their businesses to new business processes and the use of SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
Operational ERP
Demand for cloud-based ERP applications continues to grow because of the ability to access and analyze massive amounts of data in near real time and with anywhere, anytime access. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud-enabled ERP systems enable growing businesses to quickly expand into new regions around the globe without making major investments into their technology infrastructure because they are extremely adaptive to accelerated rates of change. SaaS and cloud-enabled systems are adaptive to dynamic operations environments, which is why this IDC MarketScape : Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Operational ERP Applications 2022 Vendor Assessment is extremely important as a technology vendor guide for today’s COOs, CFOs, CIOs, and IT buyers.
The IDC MarketScape evaluated criteria important to using technology as a competitive edge for discrete manufacturing companies, recognizing that manufacturers are looking for technology that can be an innovation accelerator. Operational ERP includes product-centric organizations in industries such as manufacturing, high-tech, engineering, and consumer products. These organizations’ ERP systems incorporate operational modules, including order management, finance, procurement, enterprise asset management (EAM), manufacturing, and supply chain, to maximize operational efficiencies. According to the report, the following issues were top of mind:
- Key metrics: Improvements in productivity are key.
- Manual processes: Organizations still use error prone manual processes.
- Visibility issues: Resources need to spend extra time to report and verify transactions.
- Resource constraints: Employees are asked to do more with less and, in many cases, the use of legacy systems add to the workload instead of reduce it.
- Lost money: Companies with inefficient operational and financial processes often lose opportunities to take advantage of cost-effective and efficient processes.
As part of digital transformation initiatives, operational workflows are changing fast. Characteristics such as robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, embedded intelligence, predictive analytics, modular and integrated systems, and anywhere, anytime access were most commonly found in the IDC MarketScape research.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud offers the following strengths:
- Level of value delivered: From innovation to best practices to additional insights, SAP continues to deliver value for clients. Customers reported that the best practice use cases and additional insights provided are bringing substantial value as they reset their businesses to new business processes and use SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
- Innovation: SAP continues to evolve its products with innovation. One reference said, “Our operations and finance areas have been enhanced with artificial intelligence and machine learning, helping us generate more in operational efficiency with greater automation of processes.”
- Pricing models and terms: Customers told IDC they find the flexibility of pricing, including units as a component of the pricing, appealing, supportive, and customer friendly. In addition, organizations noted the opportunity to migrate is much more palatable with this aspect of pricing.
SAP’s recognition by IDC MarketScape is a testament to our steadfast dedication to pushing the envelope and developing cutting-edge solutions for customers that leverage the greatest enterprise systems for manufacturing customers and customers aiming to increase the efficiency of operational processes. We believe that this evaluation is a superior measure of the competitive position of SAP S/4HANA Cloud in the market and shows that our solutions and innovations prove our underlying commitment to our customers. Our teams have worked day and night to successfully navigate the challenging environment of COVID-19 and other disruptions to deliver on our promises to our customers and help them confidently take yet another step in the right direction.
For the report excerpts, please visit: IDC MarketScape Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Manufacturing ERP Applications 2022 Vendor Assessment (doc # US49047922, May 2022) and IDC MarketScape Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Operational ERP Applications 2022 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US46733721 , May 2022).
*IDC MarketScape Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Operational ERP Applications 2022 Vendor Assessment, and IDC MarketScape Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Manufacturing ERP Applications 2022 Vendor Assessment by Mickey North Rizza and Reid Paquin from International Data Corporation (IDC), 2022
Jan Gilg is president of SAP S/4HANA at SAP.