Molton Brown has long been synonymous with British luxury—known for its fragrance craftsmanship, premium bath and body formulations, and commitment to sustainability.

In today’s omnichannel reality, delivering that elevated experience consistently and at scale is essential to protecting brand trust and loyalty. Peak moments like Black Friday and Cyber Monday amplify the challenge, when traffic surges and expectations for fast, personalized service are at their highest.

The team recognized that legacy systems couldn’t provide the speed, stability, or connected view required to meet those expectations at scale, prompting a shift to a modern customer experience (CX) foundation with SAP.

Modernizing the digital core with SAP Commerce Cloud

Moving from legacy technology to SAP Commerce Cloud gave Molton Brown a high‑performance engine designed for peak‑season reliability and continuous innovation. The results came quickly: 100% uptime during peak trade, even as volumes spiked to one order every three seconds during major events, freeing teams to focus on enhancing the customer experience rather than firefighting, and ensuring uninterrupted service for customers across global markets.

“Peak performance isn’t a one‑time effort; it’s about reliability. We have to rely on technology operations to achieve 100% efficiency so the business can succeed, which in turn helps our customers succeed. Technology should enable business success, not block it—and SAP has proved that multiple times.”

Naresh Krishnamurthy, Senior Manager – Business Transformation, Prestige, Kao UK Ltd

That stability also matters as product discovery increasingly begins beyond owned channels—from social platforms to emerging AI‑powered assistants—where consistent, trustworthy content and availability help the brand stay visible and credible wherever customers choose to engage. SAP’s evolving agentic commerce innovations anticipate this shift, ensuring products remain discoverable, trusted, and actionable across both human and AI agents.

A seamless luxury journey across channels

With SAP Commerce Cloud and SAP Engagement Cloud (formerly SAP Emarsys) working together, Molton Brown aligns what customers see online with what they experience in store. Product categories, storytelling, and navigation are mirrored across channels; store associates can act on online browsing signals; and store teams are enabled with real‑time insight to deliver high‑touch clienteling experiences.

The result is an unbroken, premium journey that reduces friction and reinforces trust in the brand—exactly what luxury shoppers expect.

Personalization that builds loyalty, not just transactions

SAP Engagement Cloud helps Molton Brown deliver channel‑appropriate experiences, from mobile‑first engagement to email and in‑store clienteling, aligned to evolving customer preferences. These programs are complemented by thoughtful gifting moments, personalized birthday acknowledgments, and sustainability‑focused communications that strengthen repeat‑purchase behavior.

Crucially, the team treats every holiday period as a data‑rich learning cycle: months of performance testing, UX refinements, and campaign iteration inform what customers experience in the following season. Those insights help the team refine the experience so it remains consistent, intuitive, and premium, even under peak pressure. That consistency is what sustains loyalty, not just the promotions themselves.

As Naresh Krishnamurthy explains: “Black Friday is not just about revenue; it’s about brand engagement and building the strong foundation that enhances the relationship through loyalty.”

Ready for the next era of intelligent commerce

With a dependable CX core in place, Molton Brown is now exploring SAP Business AI to anticipate risks ahead of campaigns, sharpen decision‑making, and streamline fulfillment—augmenting the experience behind the scenes without compromising luxury standards.

This direction aligns naturally with SAP’s broader agentic commerce vision, where AI systems help interpret intent and keep trusted products discoverable and transactable across new surfaces—another reason a reliable, “machine‑readable” CX foundation matters.

“Everything we’re doing ladders up to one goal: a truly connected customer experience—personal, consistent, and effortless in every channel.”

Molton Brown’s partnership with SAP CX has reset what’s possible at peak, and every day after: dependable operations, consistent omnichannel experiences, and personalization that earns loyalty. The brand now scales confidently during its biggest moments, and stays ready for what’s next as AI changes how people (and agents) discover and buy.

This transformation positions Molton Brown to adapt quickly as customer expectations and digital commerce behaviors continue to evolve.

To explore how SAP Commerce Cloud can elevate your customer experience, visit sap.com/commerce.

The Intelligent Age is marked by rapid technological progress, societal shifts and complex paradoxes. We’re more connected yet more isolated; flooded with information but uncertain of truth; empowered and threatened by technology.

As companies and governments face challenges around sovereignty, security and competitiveness, they need to embrace approaches that initially appear contradictory: investing boldly despite limited resources, sharing data while protecting it and competing while collaborating. These are not contradictions – this is the new operating model.

Against this backdrop, it becomes clear that organizations must adopt a three-pillar approach to navigate this new normal of paradoxes.

First, they must ground themselves in flexible digital foundations; second, embed AI deeply and responsibly into their operations; and third, view collaboration as a strategic advantage rather than a compromise.

These principles form the backbone of a sustainable way of working in the Intelligent Age, where progress depends on navigating paradoxes with agility and shared purpose.

Laying the foundation for flexibility

Progress is moving at breakneck speed. Technologies that seemed futuristic yesterday are mainstream today and by tomorrow, they could even be obsolete. To keep pace, organizations need a foundation that is rigid but adaptable – a platform that can evolve as quickly as the world around it.

That foundation is the cloud. A cloud migration is more than an IT project: it is the digital foundation for a thorough modernization of the entire enterprise, for moving from “good “to “great.”

Modern cloud infrastructure enables data, applications and AI to interoperate seamlessly, creating an environment where innovation can flourish. It accelerates the deployment of software updates and new applications, reduces complexity and provides the scalability needed to respond to shifting demands.

True flexibility, however, goes beyond technology. Organizations must foster a mindset that embraces change, encourages experimentation and prioritizes resilience over perfection. This means empowering teams to adapt quickly, learn continuously and view change as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Drive AI innovation on your terms

As AI rapidly reshapes how we live, study and work, no organization can afford to ignore it, yet many still have questions about how to apply it.

In the business-to-business realm, AI cannot be treated as a standalone technology. To unleash its full potential, AI must be deeply embedded in business processes. This requires three pillars:

• Modern cloud software
• Advanced data management
• A consistent stack of AI technologies

Companies that move from legacy on-premises software to integrated cloud applications unlock AI’s ability to access, understand and facilitate transactions across the enterprise. This enables AI agents to function as digital coworkers, capable of executing complex workflows spanning the business.

The power AI offers is undeniable and in today’s volatile world, this often leads to questions around digital sovereignty. True digital sovereignty is about maintaining control over critical data and assets while leveraging the best technologies available in line with national interests.

Data protection and compliance are non-negotiable. Companies and governments must ensure that sensitive information remains under appropriate jurisdictional control.

Internationally aligned sovereignty standards – such as ISO (​​International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) – would enable secure, compliant scaling across borders, unlocking the full potential of AI without compromising trust.

Not all data requires the same level of protection. Information essential to national security or public safety requires the highest levels of control. At the same time, less sensitive data can be managed in trusted cloud environments that comply with recognized cybersecurity standards.

This nuanced approach allows organizations to balance innovation with responsibility.

Compete with collaboration

The paradox of competition and collaboration is perhaps the most striking of all. In a hyperconnected world, no company or government can tackle today’s challenges alone. Cybersecurity threats, climate change and economic inequality are global issues that demand collective solutions.

The competitive advantage now lies in partnerships – across industries, sectors and borders. Public-private collaboration is essential to co-create AI use cases, build open ecosystems and invest in digital education. Such partnerships are strategic imperatives that strengthen our society and our economy for long-term growth.

Collaboration also extends to governance. Establishing shared frameworks for ethical AI, data privacy and sustainability will require dialogue among stakeholders with competing interests. Yet, this dialogue is the cornerstone of progress.

Dialogue: the operating principle

While the opportunities AI provides are immense, they are by no means guaranteed. The determining factor will be our ability to engage in meaningful dialogue – as companies and governments, technology experts and policy-makers, innovators and citizens.

In the Intelligent Age, the question is not whether we will face paradoxes, but how we face them. Dialogue must be our operating principle – the means through which we reconcile paradoxes, build trust and chart a course toward shared prosperity. The future will belong to those who embrace complexity, act with courage and collaborate across divides.

Christian Klein is CEO and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

This piece originally appeared on the World Economic Forum website.

Just two years ago at NRF, SAP introduced SAP Order Management Services, a cloud-native, composable, and modular order management solution designed to help unify data and processes for orders, inventory, POS transactions, and fulfillment management across all channels.

Since the launch, SAP Order Management Services has empowered organizations to streamline operations for increased efficiency, reduced manual workloads, and untangled multi-channel complexity. With this approach, businesses can deliver on customer promises with seamless customer experience. This momentum has also been recognized in the market, as SAP Order Management Services was named a Leader in the Order Management Market 2025 report by IHL Group for its robust capabilities and enterprise readiness.

Hornbach, a leading German home improvement retailer, is already seeing the benefits. With SAP Order Management Services, Hornbach connects digital and physical stores with full visibility into day-to-day transactions, providing omnichannel retail experience at scale to its customers.

However, the retail landscape is evolving continuously. While profitable growth is critical to businesses, earning and sustaining customer loyalty now is becoming more important. Ahead of the curve, SAP has heavily invested in expanding capabilities in the SAP Order Management Services bundle to help retailers deliver on customer promises with intelligence, scalability, and adaptability, leading to boosts in customer loyalty.

At NRF 2026, SAP is unveiling new and enhanced capabilities that power retailers to not only operate more efficiently but also achieve loyalty-led growth through every order.

AI in SAP Order Management Services

Joule in SAP Order Management Services: SAP’s AI copilot, Joule, is now available in SAP Order Management Services. Access order-related data, analysis, and insights through conversations in natural language and visual display.

Order Reliability Agent: Accelerate operational efficiency with the Order Reliability Agent in SAP Order Management Services. Proactively mitigate and resolve any potential issues and gaps, such as stock discrepancies or process bottlenecks, to help ensure every order is fulfilled seamlessly and to boost customer loyalty.

AI-assisted copy generation and translations: Create promotional copy in seconds and translate it into any language with AI assistance, helping to reduce manual workload and accelerate time-to-market.

UI enhancements

Workflow-optimized UI: The enhanced and unified UI in SAP Order Management Services can deliver a consistent user experience across order, inventory, and fulfillment operations. Teams can now work faster, reduce training time, and maintain full visibility across every step of the order lifecycle.

Watch the SAP Order Management Services retail demo video to get a closer look at the AI capabilities in action. Visit the SAP booth at NRF 2026, January 11 – 13, to learn more about SAP Order Management Services and catch an in-person demo.

Emilie Fournelle is head of Product Management for SAP Order Management Services at SAP.