Simplify is THE theme at this year’s SAPPHIRE NOW. It’s reiterated in numerous presentations and videos, reflected throughout the show floor, and it’s probably the most frequently mentioned word in the #SAPPHIRENOW Twitter feed.
While many attendees at SAPPHIRE NOW embrace SAP’s mantra to simplify, some are struggling to visualize how simplicity will truly be realized across the product portfolio and organization.
The path to simplicity starts with SAP customers. And based on a number of presentations this week, our customers are sprinting down that path.
Timken’s Robert Arbogast delivered a compelling business case for the outcomes gained at this global manufacturer. Timken simplified its highly disconnected HR process through collaboration with internal business partners and a commitment to an integrated platform. The company implemented the SuccessFactors suite with a single sign-on process that fueled employee adoption. Timken has gained greater agility to react to business changes, better management of its employee data, and faster access to innovation.
Caesars Entertainment and Monsanto shared their individual paths to simplicity using hybrid solutions. For Caesars’, it moved away from a highly-manual sourcing process that relied on phone calls to find potential vendors and paper RFPs. The gaming company achieved greater efficiency and cost savings with sourcing solutions like Ariba Discovery that helped it quickly locate minority suppliers. At Monsanto, simplicity started with gaining control over $2.7 billion in spend that was being processed without purchase orders. Efficiency was also key -- with double digit growth, Monsanto needed to manage its increased procurement spend without increasing its procurement headcount. The success that Monsanto is experiencing will grow as it extends its Ariba deployment to Asia.
Customer simplicity was showcased during the keynote with Hasso Plattner and Bernd Leukert. John Deere and ConAgra Foods discussed how each of their companies gained simplicity through re-inventing enterprise processes with SAP HANA. John Deere identifies problems and the root causes faster which means it can respond better and more efficiently. ConAgra simulates “What if” scenarios on SAP HANA to better anticipate demand planning, supply planning and manufacturing.
The path to simplicity is a journey. And SAP’s customers are leading the way.
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