Take Your First Step to Retailing in Real Time

[Former Member]

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Since early April, I’ve been sharing about the incredible innovation, value, and ecosystem our organization is contributing to help retailers run better.  Nowhere was this more evident than at SAPPHIRE NOW, where the power of SAP Retail on HANA was touted by global executives such as Bill McDermott, Jim Hagemann Snabe, and Steve Lucas.

Over at the Retail and Consumer Products booth, we demonstrated our dominance in innovation.  From mobile innovations such as Merci or My Runway to customer success stories like Charlotte Russe’s successful 12-week implementation of SAP HANA, we heard story after story of how retailers are growing like never before.  Lori Mitchell-Keller, SVP and Head of Retail Global IBU, spoke eloquently on the market changes and technology innovations that are shaping a new world of real-time retail.

After wrapping up SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando, I flew straight to New York City to attend the 35^th annual American Image Awards that same night on board the USS Intrepid.  Representing SAP on the American Apparel and Footwear Association’s Board of Directors, I joined my colleagues in honoring our men and women in uniform by fundraising over $1.3 million for the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).  This cause is near and dear to my heart – my brother served in the U.S. Marine Corps and I’m very proud of his service to our country.

Standing under the stars on the deck of the decommissioned Essex-class aircraft carrier, I reflected on Bill McDermott’s SAPPHIRE NOW invitation to “look at the horizon together and dream a little bit.” As a retail business enabler, how can I help my customers take on the world’s biggest opportunities?

Best-run retailers will be real-time retailers

To me, the answer is clear.  As we turn the corner from SAPPHIRE NOW and head towards the 2013 SAP Retail Forum, best-run retailers are going to be real-time retailers.  Over the past years, our team has been innovating the best in data management, analytic, and mobile applications to help our retail customers know and serve their customers like never before.

To bring their businesses to the next level, retailers need to start by investing in SAP HANA.  From Hasso Plattner’s keynote speech to the impressive array of companies implementing the platform, SAPPHIRE NOW was de facto proof that our in-memory database strategy is world-class and here to stay.  SAP HANA is the first and most crucial step towards real-time retail.  Are you ready to take that step?