Companies have been forced to reevaluate the fundamentals of their supply chains over the past several years, often completely overhauling their processes to meet shifting demands. Some of the most significant challenges businesses are facing include skilled labor shortages, shipping and logistics issues, and evolving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) regulations.
The reactive, ad-hoc approach that companies have taken to tackle disruption has resulted in mismatched supply chain processes that offer little visibility and don’t keep up with the speed of change. Companies rely on convoluted, manual communication methods between suppliers and buyers. E-mails and calls get lost in the shuffle of vacations and holidays, making critical collaboration untraceable and delayed.
SAP Business Network Is an Industry-Ready Digital Network of Suppliers and Buyers
Businesses need a collaborative, many-to-many platform to drive transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains. That’s where SAP Business Network comes in: a multi-enterprise collaboration network, built for industry, that helps companies execute their vision and meet growth targets by connecting with trading partners seamlessly.
Only SAP Business Network provides collaboration across a broad range of processes, including indirect and direct procurement, supply chain, logistics, asset collaboration, finance, and talent.
But each industry faces unique challenges that can’t always be addressed with a one-size-fits-all approach. For this reason, we are introducing SAP Business Network for Industry with an initial focus on the consumer products, life sciences, high tech, and industrial manufacturing industries. This includes:
- A portfolio of SAP Business Network capabilities that address industry needs
- A new SAP Business Network Industry Advisory Board to guide our product and road map strategy
- New SAP Business Network for Supply Chain industry services accelerators for select industries to help customers fast-track their implementation and post go-live success
With SAP’s more than 50 years of industry expertise and industry process excellence embedded in our technology, we know better than anyone how to help customers tackle their specific challenges.
Capabilities Designed to Meet Industry Needs
As we work to help companies tackle challenges with supply chain transparency, resiliency, and sustainability, we’ve engaged directly with customers to improve existing functionalities and develop new capabilities for SAP Business Network.
We developed capabilities including contract manufacturing, planning and forecasting, quality collaboration, stock transfers, support for supplier-managed inventory, material traceability, and track and trace. Several of these capabilities were developed alongside customers to answer unique industry challenges in a variety of industries, including consumer products, high tech, industrial manufacturing, and life sciences. While these and other innovations were originally created to address a specific industry need, many of them can be applied cross-industry to help businesses increase visibility, mitigate risks, and operate more efficiently.
Working with our customers has helped evolve SAP Business Network into the well-rounded, comprehensive solution it is today. It has been amazing to see the innovations that have come out of these relationships with customers, and their stories and successes have truly inspired me. To build on what we’ve accomplished so far, we’re strengthening the way we collaborate with customers and helping accelerate implementation with new industry-specific use cases.
Continuing the Tradition of Customer Collaboration
To continue the tradition of working with our customers to enhance and extend our product capabilities, we’re introducing the SAP Business Network Industry Advisory Board. This select group of industry leaders will provide strategic direction for our product and road map, making sure we’re meeting the needs of our customers and helping their businesses grow. I’m eager to see the exciting new ideas and developments that will come out of this collaborative forum of industry experts.
Expedite Time to Value with Industry Services Accelerators for SAP Business Network for Supply Chain
For customers beginning their journey with SAP Business Network for Supply Chain in particular, we’re introducing new industry services accelerators from our SAP Business Network Services team to help expedite time to value and achieve success.
These industry services accelerators support critical supply chain business processes in the consumer products, high tech, industrial manufacturing, and life sciences industries. With prepackaged industry use cases and capabilities, implementation best practices, and dedicated post go-live support, industry services accelerators are based on SAP’s knowledge and expertise with SAP Business Network for Supply Chain. Industry services accelerators can be delivered in collaboration with partners.
Stay Tuned for More
Other additions to SAP Business Network include new supplier innovations that will help support supplier adoption, focusing on creating an easier integration process to reduce friction and help grow your business to achieve maximum value.
To learn more, visit SAP Business Network for Industry on sap.com. Here, we’ll keep you up-to-date on all of the exciting innovations happening and share resources to help you tailor your SAP Business Network experience.
And, don’t miss learning more about SAP Business Network and how SAP can help solve the unique business challenges of your industry at SAP Spend Connect Live in Vienna.
Val Blatt is global head for SAP Business Network Customer Success & Go-to-Market at SAP.
