Explore the next era of SAP Ariba procurement: AI-native, intuitive, and effortless.
Procurement is evolving, and next-gen SAP Ariba procurement is leading the way. In this video, discover how AI-native capabilities transform sourcing and purchasing into a smarter, more strategic process.
New offerings include:
👉 See everything in one unified view
👉 Make strategic decisions faster
👉 Guided deployment for smooth onboarding
👉 Self-configuration for flexibility
👉 Intelligence that makes processes effortless
👉 A modern, improved user interface
Whether you’re a procurement leader or an SAP Ariba user, these innovations help you work smarter, reduce complexity, and unlock new efficiencies across your source-to-pay workflows.
At a time when business-to-business commerce can be orchestrated with the touch of a screen, buying and selling across geographic borders has become increasingly frictionless.
But what happens when the bill comes due, so to speak, from local jurisdictions? How may a business transact commerce globally while adhering to an emerging set of electronic-invoicing requirements that differ among countries?
Global visibility across multiple tiers of the supply chain
As global supply chains weather shifting tariff policies, geopolitical tensions, and climate events, business leaders have turned to cloud-based business networks to instill operational resilience, extend transparency, and foster collaboration. The convergence of data, applications, and artificial intelligence capabilities enable businesses to manage supply chains, procurement, logistics, asset maintenance, working capital, dynamic discounting, and other crucial interdependencies with comprehensive reach. Yet just as digital platforms foster connected commerce, they also facilitate regulatory oversight of the very same activity. That which simplifies business processes can at the same time invite complexity in the regulations governing them, particularly when the fine print varies by jurisdiction. Call it a paradox of procurement, or an irony of the intelligent enterprise.
Connect across companies to build stronger supply chains and deliver on the customer promise
The proliferation of legislation mandating electronic invoicing reflects a desire on the part of governments to bolster tax compliance, streamline financial reporting, combat fraud, and document the ethical sourcing of product components. To aid with compliance in the jurisdictions where they transact, SAP Business Network can support buyers and suppliers alike with the necessary workflows for invoice generation, submission, receipt, and storage—all while safeguarding otherwise confidential data. Our electronic-invoicing strategy prioritizes business-to-business collaboration by providing localization support for 41 countries, tailoring requested data to required format, and connecting businesses directly with trading partners and tax authorities. SAP Business Network can integrate seamlessly with government electronic-invoicing portals through partners as well as through SAP Document and Reporting Compliance.
Electronic-invoicing capabilities take shape around emerging legislation
Already in 2026, new electronic-invoicing mandates have taken effect in Belgium, Brazil, and Poland, with the United Arab Emirates and France set to follow suit later in the year. Though it takes shape differently around the world, the trend toward electronic invoicing is unmistakable. Requirements range from periodic reporting to continuous transparency, from preapproval of transactions by tax authorities to notification after the fact, from country-specific formats to continent-wide platforms, and so on. In India, Malaysia, and Romania, for example, suppliers must clear invoices with tax authorities, whereas in Belgium, Germany, and Japan invoices must conform to a particular format. In France and the United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, a specific platform or network must be engaged. Italy requires businesses to issue and receive invoices via its Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) platform, using a country-specific XML format called FatturaPA. By contrast, Germany permits UBL, CII, and ZUGFeRD formats but takes an ambivalent approach as to method of transmission.
For each of these countries, SAP Business Network can provide a solution. Connectivity to Italy’s SDI portal is natively embedded, obviating any need for additional licensing. For Germany, invoices sent through SAP Business Network arrive in the UBL format. Organizations with a license for the cloud edition of the SAP Document and Reporting Compliance solution can even receive invoices originating outside SAP Business Network, such as via e-mail or the pan-European Peppol procurement system.
Not only can SAP Business Network accommodate the different formats set into law, but other invoicing attributes as well. Consider the obligation to archive. In Germany, invoices must be kept on hand for eight years. In France, it’s a decade. Elsewhere, mandates vary or may not apply. SAP Business Network offers the flexibility to match business rules, or the parameters set by organizations within which transactions may proceed with trading partners, to all manner of regulatory requirements. This can prove especially valuable with orchestrating documents and processes that span sourcing, procurement, and finance—corporate functions that, prior to the advent of cloud-based networks, had often operated in relative isolation. SAP Business Network can also provide businesses with the end-to-end visibility and—equally important—the analytics to assess performance, gauge against benchmarks, and identify opportunities for growth and collaboration.
For the emerging set of electronic-invoicing mandates across the globe and other compliance-related processes, businesses must prepare. That’s because no matter where commerce takes place or in which local currency, C-suite leaders understand one thing is priceless: peace of mind. Only a cloud-based network supple enough to carry out operational processes on a global scale yet sufficiently nimble to adhere strictly to electronic-invoicing requirements and other regulations that typically arise on a national level can instill the confidence that businesses need to thrive in these turbulent times.
Learn how SAP Business Network can accelerate value for suppliers by streamlining business processes, increasing visibility, and connecting to new buyers.
Jörn Keller is executive vice president and chief product officer for SAP Business Network.
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SAP Design shares how user research goes beyond surveys and NPS scores to uncover moments of hesitation, friction, and unmet expectations in enterprise software.
By listening closely to real user behavior, SAP Design shows how human-centered design, UX research, and enterprise UX design inform product decisions and innovation at scale. These insights improve usability, adoption, customer experience, and business outcomes across complex SAP systems.
Your frustration sparks our innovation. That’s why we’ve created an easy way for you to share your SAP experience.
Join our User Research Panel and help shape the future of SAP solutions: https://sap.to/6055hoB8h
In this episode of the Expert Talk series, we explore Permit to Work in SAP Cloud ERP Private: from setup to approvals, safety validations, and closure, plus real‑world insights.
Host Maria Silipo is joined by SAP experts Jörg Medack and Yakub Shah and special guest Marc Janssen, representing the company Vattenfall, to show how integrated templates, four eye approvals, guardrails, and dashboards make maintenance work safer and more efficient.
You’ll see the end-to-end process: planning & preparation, approvals, safety implementation, hand out, suspension/re issue, and closure, all integrated with maintenance orders. You’ll also hear about benefits at Vattenfall (including fewer safety incidents) and a look ahead to SAP Cloud ERP 2025 innovations such as isolation management and extended extensibility.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro & overview
00:47 Why Permit to Work matters (risk + safety)
01:55 PTW lifecycle + demo setup (plan → close, dashboards)
02:20 Vattenfall context & scale
03:31 PTW in SAP Cloud ERP Private (order-integrated)
05:02 Create & approve permits (hazards, controls, certificates, audit)
11:02 Safety validations + managing the permit (suspend, handover, close, KPIs)
18:03 What’s new (2025) & roadmap: isolation management, order integration, extensibility
20:04 Wrap up: Like, share, subscribe; SAP Community & email
📧 Questions or ideas for a future episode: insides4@sap.com
💬 Continue the conversation with professionals in the SAP Community: https://pages.community.sap.com/topics/s4hana
AI-powered retail, real fashion: Inside the Retail Innovation Lab at New York Fashion Week.
SAP and PUBLIC SCHOOL NEW YORK partnered to bring connected, AI-enabled retail to life in the Retail Innovation Lab by NYFW Collections and SAP. Co-developed with designers Dao‑Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, the space blended storytelling with intelligent technology – including centrally managed digital signage, a smart mirror bridging digital and physical try-on moments, product passports with origin and material details, and seamless RFID-enabled checkout.
For independent designers, access to real-time data is transformative. Insights into what customers pick up, try on, or purchase help teams design, merchandise, and scale collections more intentionally.
Powered by SAP’s AI-enabled retail solutions, the experience showed how technology supports creativity, strengthens brand relaunches, and connects every part of the retail journey – from product storytelling to checkout.
👉 Learn more about SAP retail innovation: https://sap.to/6051h5BJc
We believe this recognition reflects the continued momentum of SAP Engagement Cloud in helping enterprises orchestrate real‑time, AI‑powered engagement at a global scale, connecting data, channels, and experiences to drive measurable business impact.
This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from SAP.
Helping brands scale AI-powered engagement across channels
Leading brands—including Ferrara, John Frieda, PUMA, and Gibson—use SAP Engagement Cloud to deliver connected, personalized journeys that increase engagement, accelerate growth, and build long-term customer loyalty.
According to the report, SAP’s ability to support enterprise‑grade, real‑time engagement across channels remains a key differentiator. SAP’s personalization capabilities are powered by advanced segmentation, embedded AI decisioning, and intelligent triggering to deliver timely, relevant, and consistent experiences.
Organizations using SAP continue to see measurable outcomes, including improved customer loyalty, higher conversion rates, and increased average order value.
Driving measurable business impact with event‑based and behavior‑led orchestration
We believe this year’s placement also reflects SAP’s strength in orchestrating engagement using real‑time behavioral, transactional, and operational signals across the business.
With SAP Engagement Cloud, brands can activate journeys triggered by events occurring across their business to:
Boost retention through timely, context‑aware engagement
Increase conversions with more relevant, personalized interactions
Strengthen loyalty through connected, lifecycle-driven touchpoints
These results demonstrate SAP’s ability to move enterprises beyond channel execution toward true omnichannel orchestration.
Unifying customer experiences with native SAP integration
SAP Engagement Cloud connects marketing, commerce, service, loyalty, sales, and operational data, creating a unified, real-time customer view that powers intelligent engagement across every touchpoint.
This bi‑directional flow of data gives every customer‑facing team access to the same real‑time customer view, helping brands drive revenue impact, reduce churn, and improve service outcomes.
Global scale, flexibility, and trust
SAP’s long‑standing global footprint and enterprise-ready architecture continue to support its leadership positioning. With a cloud‑native, composable foundation, embedded privacy and compliance capabilities, and a robust partner ecosystem, SAP enables organizations to securely and reliably scale personalized engagement across regions and business models.
Whether operating in five markets or 50, enterprises rely on SAP to deliver personalized experiences with confidence.
Customer success reflecting real‑world impact
Customers on Gartner® Peer Insights™ continue to recognize SAP for ease of integration, deployment support, and customer partnership. Recent examples include:
Grupo Axo, which uses SAP for CRM and marketing automation that supports interaction and communication with customers to increase buyback, retention, and loyalty. This includes CRM ads, push notification apps, personalization campaigns, e-mail and SMS campaign execution, and website and app personalization and recommendations.
Molton Brown, which increased sales by 30% in three years by using SAP solutions, to interact directly with customers within highly personalized omnichannel journeys.
CHRIST, which saw a more than 40% increase in CRM revenue and more than 150% in commerce traffic during the holiday season by using SAP Customer Experience solutions that empower CHRIST to put customers at the center of everything the company does.
These results highlight the tangible value organizations are achieving with SAP’s AI-powered personalization capabilities.
We feel SAP’s recognition as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Personalization Engines underscores the strength of its strategy and continued innovation across SAP Engagement Cloud. SAP remains committed to helping brands activate data, personalize interactions, connect experiences, and scale engagement with confidence.
Gartner and Magic Quadrant are trademarks of Gartner, Inc., and/or its affiliates. Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Personalization Engines, By Penny Gillespie, Jason Daigler, Michael Ro, Ross Cosner, 3 February 2026 Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Companies are under growing pressure – from regulators, investors, customers, and their own boards – to disclose accurate, auditable sustainability data.
Product Lifecycle Management teams: this one’s for you!
Felix Finster (Cideon Software & Services) shares a hidden gem in SAP Integrated Product Development with Sarah Mei Niesel (SAP).
See how SAP Build lets business and IT teams ship secure apps and automations fast—connected to SAP data and governed on SAP BTP.
In this SAP TechEd demo, we show how SAP Build accelerates the way teams deliver value with low-code app development and process automation on SAP Business Technology Platform. You’ll see a business scenario go from idea to working solution: building a responsive app with drag-and-drop UI, connecting to trusted SAP data, and orchestrating approvals and tasks with automation—backed by enterprise-grade governance.
We also highlight how embedded AI in SAP Build helps generate forms, map data, and streamline routine steps so people can focus on higher-value work. Whether you’re in IT modernizing backlogs or a business technologist solving a workflow bottleneck, you’ll learn how SAP Build speeds delivery while keeping your core clean and compliant.
Speaker: Friederike Marby, Demo Expert, SAP
00:02 – Intro: Credit controller & Signavio insight
00:31 – Ask Joule; generate S/4HANA extension in SAP Build (intent-based)
01:47 – MCP agents generate a full-stack app (reasoning + build)
02:26 – Preview UI5 app; add high-value indicator; verify code
03:58 – Pro-code with Cline in VS Code → deploy to BTP & outcomes
Watch all SAP TechEd replays: https://sap.to/60537rhBT
Explore SAP Build on SAP BTP: https://sap.to/60557rhBV
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About SAP:
As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, SAP stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit: https://sap.to/60537rhBW