The Würth Group, a subsidiary of Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG, is one of the leading players in the development, production, and sale of fastening and assembly materials.

The company manages an extensive portfolio of more than 125,000 products. Despite its strong market position, digitalizing procurement across diverse customer environments remains a key challenge, particularly in e-procurement, where large customers often have very different requirements, even when market standards exist.

To address this, Würth recognized the need to better connect procurement processes and now collaborates closely with leading e-procurement systems and platforms. The company has driven the harmonization of customer processes and ensured seamless onboarding to SAP Business Network. At the same time, Würth actively supports its customers in harmonizing and digitalizing their own internal workflows.

As the world’s largest procurement platform, SAP Business Network enables more efficient procurement and automated order processing and provides end-to-end transparency across the purchase-order‑to‑invoice flow between Würth and participating customers. This scope involves purchasing orders, delivery confirmation, and invoices, with exceptions managed through clearly defined workflows.

Save time and boost efficiency: seven minutes saved per order

Manual processing of orders, sent as PDFs or via non‑integrated channels, creates disproportionate effort, especially in relation to the order value, since indirect materials often involve smaller order values with many order items.

 With automation, Würth saves approximately seven minutes per order on average — approximately 490,000 minutes annually or about 8,167 hours. The platform enables digital order transmission, catalog exchange, and automated invoice matching, materially improving process efficiency.

Seamless customer purchasing journey

With around 3,000 sales representatives in Germany, more than 600 pick-up branches, and numerous on-site storage solutions, including automated dispensing machines, Würth offers customers a truly omnichannel purchasing experience. Through SAP Business Network, all these touchpoints can be seamlessly integrated, giving customers that adopt this approach full transparency, as every order becomes visible directly within their own system.

One construction industry leader worked with Würth to integrate dispensing machines and branch pick‑ups into SAP Business Network, digitalizing its procurement processes. This integration has largely eliminated manual activities in day‑to‑day order handling of standard processes. Exceptions are automatically identified and routed through defined workflows, while payment instructions are triggered once the purchase order, goods confirmation, and invoice are successfully matched.

Stronger supplier-customer partnership

Beyond operational savings and improved collaboration, Würth enhances the customer experience through near-real-time integration across procurement, invoicing, and logistics. Digitalized procurement processes help meet customer requirements more reliably and further strengthen the supplier-customer partnership.

As a global leader in the lifting and securement industry, Kito Crosby manufactures and distributes products like critical lifting and rigging solutions, specialized hardware, cranes, and electric hoists. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, with facilities worldwide, its mission focuses on safety, innovation, and global impact.

With a diverse portfolio of brands—Kito, Crosby, Harrington, Gunnebo Industries, Peerless, and eepos—the company has experienced rapid growth, scaling its business from millions to billions in revenue. But the number of acquisitions left the company with a fragmented IT landscape of outdated, unsupported, and unscalable systems.

To establish a unified digital core and standardize processes, Kito Crosby embarked on a RISE with SAP journey, implementing SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition to achieve its long-term single global instance strategy.

A winning strategy

Kito Crosby chose a greenfield, clean core strategy to eliminate the existing fragmentation and enable long-term scalability, Johnson Lai, Chief Digital Transformation Officer and Chief Information Officer, shared in an interview. “In the past, we did not integrate our ERP systems, and this left our IT landscape very fragmented and limited our business process capabilities,” he said. “Therefore, we wanted to refresh all of our ERP systems and really lay down a greenfield start that we can begin to create a transformational change for the entire company.”

Selecting a greenfield and clean core approach—basically standing up an entirely new system that prioritizes standard functionalities over customizations—was key to remedying Kito Crosby’s current technology landscape, so that processes like order to cash, accounting, manufacturing, and shipping could be integrated. This approach also allowed the company to take a close look at core processes and streamline operations, especially in warehouse management and S&OP, Lai said.

Considering the project scope, Kito Crosby did not have the internal talent needed to stand up the servers and infrastructure, so it decided to move forward with RISE with SAP and SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. “SAP comes with a lot of great stuff, and we wanted to take advantage of that,” Lai said.

The company began the transformation in North America, as that is its largest market and therefore posed the greatest risk in operating on a legacy, unsupported ERP system.

Never underestimate change management

While Lai shared that employees were motivated and excited to get started initially, the enormity of the project quickly became overwhelming.

Ironically, many wanted to customize the new SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition solution to act like the legacy tech. “Everyone agrees to the clean core approach until it’s their turn to look at their function, at which point they want customization. There was a piece of resistance to using ‘vanilla’ functionality,” Lai said. “Once we showed people live demos with their own data, that’s when the change resistance started to decrease,” he added.

In IT specifically, there was a strong desire to build and run their own infrastructure and servers rather than have another company step in. A sense of ownership and accountability is important, Lai said, but ultimately Kito Crosby’s need to get off the legacy system in North America quickly made it necessary to partner with SAP. And it was the right move: “Now some of the folks who questioned why we outsourced some of that to SAP are our biggest champions…We find working with the SAP team is no different than working with ourselves.”

For companies with digital transformation projects on the horizon, Lai cautions to “never underestimate the change impact that employees face.” Projects of a global scale require planning on all fronts, including allocating time for employees and business leaders to get on board.

Lessons learned and benefits gained

The ERP system revamp delivered measurable business value to Kito Crosby, including improved customer service, stronger inventory control, and more efficient manufacturing and warehouse operations. Notably, the business process improvements and enhanced system functionality drove Kito Crosby’s on-time delivery to its highest levels in more than 10 years.

“We see that benefit across the globe and we’re excited about taking what we’ve done in North America throughout the entire world, consolidating all those little ERPs that are outdated and unsupported into SAP to get to that single global instance,” Lai said. Since going live on SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition and fully embracing its native capabilities, Kito Crosby has unlocked measurable business value and operational excellence. The transformation has driven strong performance gains across critical KPIs, including higher customer on‑time delivery, meaningful reductions in back orders, improved inventory accuracy, and accelerated intercompany processing.

At the same time, warehouse operations are setting new benchmarks for efficiency, achieving record volumes for receiving and put‑away, replenishment, and shipping. These results have been delivered safely, with zero injuries and fewer resources.

To the cloud—and beyond

Following its recent acquisition by leading worldwide designer, manufacturer, and marketer of intelligent motion solutions Columbus McKinnon, Kito Crosby is continuing to build on its strong digital foundation.

“Because we started with a greenfield and kept a clean core as much as possible, we feel like the upgrades will go even faster and with less effort,” Lai said. “We want to get to the latest [SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition] version so we can take advantage of the AI capabilities of Joule.”

Next on the ERP systems consolidation docket: the SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) 6.0 system in Europe.

“This is just one example of how our IT team is empowering the broader organization to further delight our customers and end user,” Lai shared. “As we continue to scale our business, we expect even greater returns as we further capitalize on the technology, expanded capabilities, and AI tools within our SAP landscape.”

Gillian Hixson is an integrated communications specialist at SAP.

WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the creation of the new Customer Value Group, bringing together the Customer Success and Customer Services & Delivery organizations, effective April 1.

The new Board area is designed to strengthen SAP’s customer-centric operating model by delivering seamless, end-to-end experience from initial engagement through long-term value realization.

The Customer Value Group will be led by Thomas Saueressig (40), whose role expands to Chief Customer Officer. In this capacity, he will oversee the full customer journey, aligning selling, delivery, services and support driving adoption, renewal and expansion of SAP’s cloud and AI-powered solutions. SAP Extended Board members Jan Gilg and Manos Raptopoulos will report directly to Saueressig and continue to co-lead the Customer Success organization.

“In a business where adoption and renewal define success, the lines between selling and delivering disappear,” said Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE. “Bringing Customer Success and Customer Services & Delivery together is the right move now for our customers and for SAP, as we go all in on AI. Thomas combines deep product expertise with strong experience in services and customer delivery, and he has earned the trust of our customers and teams. I am convinced that under his leadership, this new organization will drive lasting customer value across the full journey.”

Saueressig is a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, having joined SAP in 2004 and been appointed to the Board in 2019. Prior to his new role, he led the Customer Services & Delivery Board area with global responsibility for long-term customer value in the cloud, including professional services, customer innovation services, support and SAP’s cloud infrastructure and operations. Earlier, he headed SAP Product Engineering, overseeing SAP’s complete application portfolio, and served as Chief Information Officer, driving SAP’s internal cloud-first transformation. He holds a degree in Business Information Technology and a joint Executive MBA from ESSEC Business School and Mannheim Business School.

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In a global economy shaped by geopolitical fragmentation, macroeconomic strain, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, the role of the chief financial officer (CFO) has never played a more pivotal part in guiding strategy amid disruption.

Economist Impact’s new report, “Beyond the balance sheet: The new CFO mandate,” sponsored by SAP, reveals how CFOs are shifting from stewards of financial accuracy to architects of business resilience, digital innovation, and long-term value. Based on input of 480 CFOs globally, the report highlights widening responsibilities, rising risk pressures, and an urgent need to adopt AI with both speed and discipline.

To lead effectively through volatility, today’s CFO agenda demands operational agility, intelligent automation, and a reimagined approach to workforce development. Here’s how today’s finance leaders are adapting.

The expanding CFO mandate

Gone are the days when CFOs focused solely on financial planning and reporting. Today, their influence extends far beyond traditional finance boundaries. Nearly 90% of CFOs report they are more involved in digital transformation and risk management than three years ago. Two-thirds are actively shaping sustainability and ESG strategies.

This evolution reflects a broader truth. CFOs are now central to decisions that impact customers, products, and talent. They are expected to anticipate disruption, mitigate risk, and enable agility—all while safeguarding profitability.

Macroeconomic, geopolitical, and technological shifts are pushing CFOs deeper into operational decision-making. As one CFO quoted in the report explained, finance leaders today must “wear multiple hats” and develop a deep understanding of business fundamentals, processes, and controls to guide transformation effectively.

With expectations rising and responsibilities converging, the next challenge is clear: aligning these expanded priorities with the capabilities required to execute them.

A sharper risk radar in an uncertain world

CFOs are on the front lines of uncertainty with increasing pressure to keep risks and costs from ballooning. In fact, more than 80% of CFOs reported that they are now more involved in risk management and compliance, with 34% significantly so.

Yet, it is not higher costs that worry CFOs most, it is unpredictability. Inflation, shifting trade rules, and increased interest rates make capital allocation more challenging, with only 37% feeling confident about meeting liquidity targets, compared with nearly 90% for revenue goals.

In response, CFOs are doubling down on what they can control. AI-enabled scenario planning is enabling faster, more sophisticated modeling, while real-time operational signals are being translated into forward-looking risk indicators. Flexibility has also become essential, from upgrading systems for adaptable production to renegotiating vendor contracts with shorter, more variable terms.

Ultimately, the mandate is clear: build organizations that can absorb shocks, respond in real time, and maintain strategic momentum despite uncertainty.

CFOs at the center of AI adoption

Digital transformation has become a core responsibility of the CFO’s role, with nearly nine in ten reporting increased involvement—much of it centered on AI. Finance leaders cite especially strong potential in compliance, where generative AI can parse complex regulations, track rule changes, and automate updates to internal systems.

But several challenges stand in the way of scaling AI’s impact:

Talent: the biggest barrier to AI acceleration

More than 60% of CFOs cited upskilling and hiring digitally fluent talent as top challenges, with fragmented systems and limited real-time data access adding further friction. As a result, CFOs are strengthening both team skills and data quality, recognizing that AI can only scale when people know how to use it and the data behind it is trusted.

The ROI paradox

CFOs must deliver quick wins from AI even though its most meaningful gains in forecasting, innovation, and growth take longer to materialize. To resolve this tension, leading CFOs are setting clear performance benchmarks, directing AI toward revenue-driving use cases, and coordinating across the business to scale capabilities that unlock sustained value.

Designing the workforce for an AI future

While AI is reshaping work, rising concerns about workforce displacement remain a real challenge for finance teams. However, nearly seven in ten CFOs see AI as a tool to augment human capability, prompting a rethink of roles, skills, and hiring decisions. Leading CFOs are redesigning early-career roles, investing in digital and analytical skills, and building blended teams that pair human judgment with AI-driven insight to strengthen the leadership pipeline.

Taken together, these shifts signal a broader evolution: finance is moving from a function rooted in historical reporting to one defined by predictive insight, real-time decision support, and enterprise-wide capability building.

CFOs who balance rapid efficiency with long-term investment in data, skills, and new ways of working will turn AI into a sustainable competitive advantage rather than a short-lived productivity boost.

Looking ahead: the new CFO playbook

Economist Impact’s research shows that the modern CFO shapes how organizations navigate risk, adopt AI, and build the workforce capabilities required for continuous transformation.

This shift demands a new playbook that unlocks capacity through automation, strengthens cross-functional alignment, builds flexibility into systems and supply chains, and reimagines finance career paths for a digital-first future. As one interviewee noted, “The modern CFO is not just the guardian of value but the architect of future value.” That future will belong to leaders who pair disciplined cost and risk management with bold investment in data, skills, and AI-driven insight.

With SAP’s financial management solutions, finance leaders can unify data, processes, and intelligence to meet the expanding demands of the role. As the expectations placed on finance continue to grow, SAP remains committed to empowering CFOs with the clarity and confidence needed to lead through uncertainty and shape a more resilient future.

Learn more about SAP financial management solutions.

David Imbert is head of Product Marketing for Finance at SAP.

New partnership empowers organizations with access to rich data insights required to power AI apps that accelerate businesses outcomes

BOZEMAN, Mont. and WALLDORF, Germany — Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW), the AI Data Cloud company, and SAP SE (NYSE: SAP), a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, today announced a new collaboration to enable organizations to leverage Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud and SAP Business Data Cloud (SAP BDC) together with semantically rich data.

The joint effort will make Snowflake’s data and AI platform available as an SAP solution extension for customers of the SAP BDC solution. The new offering, SAP Snowflake solution extension for SAP Business Data Cloud, unites SAP’s deep expertise in mission-critical business processes and semantically rich data with Snowflake’s unified platform capabilities for building AI and machine learning solutions. SAP and Snowflake are also enabling zero-copy sharing between SAP BDC and Snowflake to help customers get richer insights, build enterprise-grade intelligent applications, and unlock AI-enabled innovation that fuels business transformation.

“By tightly integrating SAP and Snowflake, we’re making it simple for enterprises to connect their critical business data with its rich context in SAP with the power of seamless AI app and data agent development at scale in Snowflake,” added Christian Kleinerman, EVP of Product, Snowflake. “Enterprises can now innovate faster with Snowflake and SAP BDC and seamlessly share data between the platforms—zero-copy and fully governed.”

SAP Snowflake brings Snowflake into the open data ecosystem of SAP BDC and the business data fabric—empowering customers with greater openness and choice while extending SAP BDC with Snowflake’s AI, analytics, data engineering, Marketplace, and collaboration capabilities. Customers can use SAP BDC with SAP Snowflake as a cloud-scale compute and storage option to extend the value of their data. Leveraging bidirectional, zero-copy data access data and AI teams can work with semantically rich SAP data products in real time, within a unified governance framework. As a result, customers can harmonize SAP and non-SAP data while optimizing total cost of ownership across workloads and build agents and AI applications in SAP Snowflake fueled by trusted SAP data products.

“Bringing Snowflake to SAP Business Data Cloud empowers our customers with openness and choice,” said Irfan Khan, President and Chief Product Officer for SAP Data and Analytics, SAP SE. “Together, we combine SAP’s decades of leadership in mission-critical business applications with Snowflake’s modern data platform to deliver a unified, enterprise-ready, and SAP-supported experience that extends the value of business data across the entire ecosystem.”

With SAP Snowflake, customers can:

• Build a trusted, AI-ready data foundation to harmonize SAP and non-SAP data: Unify their data landscape with an integrated business data fabric—enabling more seamless zero-copy sharing, enriched modeling, and a complete, business-ready view of their data in real time for all data engineering, analytics, and AI and machine learning workflows across the enterprise.
• Accelerate AI business value with semantically rich data: Simplify AI governance, ground AI in organizational knowledge, and build tailored agents—helping to ensure more secure, context-rich, and intelligent applications across the enterprise.
• Develop intelligent applications grounded in mission-critical business data: Build, deploy, and continuously optimize intelligent applications faster with a harmonized and democratized data foundation powered by semantically rich, trusted data products that accelerate the pace of innovation and production.

In addition to SAP Snowflake, the partnership also includes SAP Business Data Cloud Connect for Snowflake, a capability enabling bidirectional, zero copy data sharing with Snowflake. Enterprises already using Snowflake can leverage SAP BDC Connect to integrate their existing instances of Snowflake with SAP Business Data Cloud for more-seamless, zero‑copy access, providing Snowflake users with real-time access to semantically rich SAP data products—without duplication.

SAP and Snowflake are supporting thousands of customers, including industry leaders like AstraZeneca, as they transform their industries with this partnership.

“AstraZeneca is constantly pushing the boundaries of science and is pioneering in life-changing medicines,” said Russell Smith, Vice President of ERP Transformation Technology, AstraZeneca. “Data and AI are central to achieving this aim, and our close collaboration with SAP and Snowflake compliments our ability to access, process and analyze real-time data. This announcement will accelerate our mission and recognizes that every minute matters to make breakthroughs for patients.”

SAP Snowflake is planned to be generally available in Q1 2026. SAP BDC Connect for Snowflake is planned to be generally available in H1 2026.

Learn more

• Learn more about the power of SAP and Snowflake together here.
• Discover what makes the SAP Business Data Cloud unique here.
• For more information on SAP Snowflake, visit the SAP and Snowflake partner page and read this blog post.
• Stay on top of the latest news and announcements from Snowflake on LinkedIn and X.

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About Snowflake

Snowflake is the platform for the AI era, making it easy for enterprises to innovate faster and get more value from data. More than 12,000 customers around the globe, including hundreds of the world’s largest companies, use Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud to build, use and share data, applications and AI. With Snowflake, data and AI are transformative for everyone. Learn more at snowflake.com (NYSE: SNOW).

About SAP

As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, SAP (NYSE: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 www.sap.com.

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