SINGAPORE, 29 July 2026 — Ahead of its flagship event SAP NOW AI Tour Southeast Asia 2026, SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announced that Singapore Management University (SMU), one of Asia’s leading universities, has modernized its enterprise operations as part of its business transformation with RISE with SAP, a guided transformation journey combining a standardized framework, an integrated toolchain, and expert guidance, and integrating a suite of SAP solutions spanning finance, human resources, procurement.
As part of its SMU2030 Strategic Plan, which is anchored on a purposeful impact agenda to transform lives through education, research and partnerships, SMU embarked on a university-wide transformation to simplify workflows, unify data, and achieve more seamless experiences for employees across administrative and academic functions.
Working with SAP and ABeam Consulting as its implementation partner, SMU adopted several SAP solutions as part of its RISE with SAP journey, including SAP Cloud ERP, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP Concur, SAP BTP, SAP Integration Suite, SAP Application Studio, SAP Cloud Identity Services and SAP Cloud Identity Access Governance, SAP Build Work Zone. The implementation helped to establish a connected, cloud-based digital foundation for SMU, one that aims for operational excellence today while positioning the university for future innovation.
Lau Kai Cheong, Chief Information Officer, SMU, said: “SMU has always embraced innovation as a key enabler of excellence across our education, research, and administrative functions. We focus on building on what is already working well and taking it to the next level. By modernizing our core platforms, harmonizing processes, and creating a more connected data environment, we have enhanced operational efficiency, strengthened decision-making capabilities, and created a scalable foundation for future innovation. This transformation helps position SMU to support the evolving needs of our community and advance our SMU2030 vision”.
Since its establishment in the year 2000, SMU has grown significantly in both scale and complexity, reflecting its enduring commitment to academic excellence and institutional advancement. SMU has long been well-integrated across its businesses and platforms and has consistently adopted new technologies to drive innovation across the university.
To support its continued growth, the university built a broad operational foundation across finance, HR, procurement and travel management, each supported by integrated cloud solutions and standardized workflows that align with its evolving needs. The evolution to a new enterprise platform presented SMU with a timely and strategic opportunity to transform its corporate processes in tandem with the adoption of new technologies, supporting opportunities for automation and data-informed decision-making, leveraging consolidated data and centralized platforms.
At the center of this transformation is SAP Cloud ERP, which serves as SMU’s modern ERP platform supporting finance, grants, treasury and reporting processes. The transformation also supported the university’s efforts to standardize processes across HR, finance and procurement, while helping reduce system complexity, strengthen governance, and improve visibility across the organization.
Beyond strengthening its digital core, SMU also transformed how employees interact with HR and procurement. SAP SuccessFactors introduced mobile-enabled self-service capabilities designed to streamline access to leave management, HR services and routine administrative tasks through a single digital platform. The HR transformation was delivered in two distinct phases, with the first phase establishing core HR capabilities and foundational processes, followed by a second phase that introduced additional functionalities to support employee services and evolving organizational requirements. SAP Ariba digitized supplier onboarding and procurement workflows, supporting process standardization and visibility across procurement activities.
Together, these solutions have help provide capabilities for workflow automation, spend visibility, transaction processing, aiming for consistent employee experience. Integration across HR, finance, and procurement has also created a shared operating model that supports SMU’s broader SMU2030 ambitions.
“The transformation has streamlined many of our day-to-day processes and improved the experience for employees across the university. By bringing together key operational functions on a connected platform, we have improved visibility, streamlined approvals and created a stronger foundation for collaboration and data-driven decision-making,” Lau Kai Cheong, Chief Information Officer, SMU, added.
Since going live in January 2026, SMU has delivered strong, measurable improvements across employee experience, operational efficiency, and financial governance, demonstrating the impact of its transformation. Early results include 83% active SAP SuccessFactors adoption and nearly 3,900 workflows triggered, reflecting strong user engagement and streamlined processes.
The university has also significantly increased efficiency in procurement and supplier management, with over 10,000 suppliers onboarded through self-service registration via SAP Ariba and 4,700 purchase orders synchronized to date, delivering end-to-end procurement visibility from requisition to sourcing to invoicing through real-time Ariba-to-S/4HANA integration with sourcing and contracting processes. Supplier collaboration on SAP Business Network has grown to exceed 2,000 onboarded suppliers, enhancing visibility across the source-to-pay process through compliant, system-driven workflows and a unified supplier portal.
In finance operations, claims processed through SAP Concur shortly after deployment have surpassed 3,600, alongside 3,700 payments processed and upwards of 500 accounts receivable collections recorded within the first month, with commitments made visible before liability, driving improved budget adherence, decreased exception rates, and stronger on-time supplier payment performance.
The transformation also established a foundation to support data management, reporting, compliance, auditability, and future digital initiatives.
Eileen Chua, Managing Director, SAP Singapore, said, “Universities today are under increasing pressure to deliver more integrated campus experiences while operating with greater agility and accountability. By bringing together finance, HR, procurement and travel on SAP’s unified cloud platform, SMU has established a strong digital foundation that supports its SMU2030 ambitions and ongoing transformation efforts.”
Thomas Mani Padiyara, Principal and Head of Enterprise Transformation, ABeam Consulting Singapore, said, “We are proud to partner with SMU on this significant transformation alongside SAP. By combining SMU’s SMU2030 ambitions with our experience in delivering large-scale enterprise transformations using SAP solutions, we have established an integrated, cloud-based digital foundation that enhances operational efficiency, streamlines processes across finance, HR, procurement and travel, and supports the university’s long-term growth and innovation.”
