NEWS 51 - The World Management

20 November

Melding “iron and tech” – that’s how world-class equipment and services company CNH is advancing the time-honored vocations of agriculture and construction workers. To improve business agility and increase productivity, the company is embarking on an HR transformation journey with the goal of fostering a culture of continuous improvement and engagement, supported by an enhanced employee experience.

With a passion for innovation and technology, CNH supplies a full range of agricultural and construction products, including smart, connected machinery and precision farming tools that maximize productivity by using seamless digital technologies such as automation, connectivity, and data analytics. CNH’s brand portfolio comprises highly respected names: Case IH, New Holland, CASE, and New Holland Construction.

A commercial presence in 180 countries, underpinned by its 42 manufacturing plants and 49 R&D centers, enables CNH to optimally collaborate with its customers to deliver technological advancements for the agricultural and construction equipment sectors. By integrating leading technologies into its products, CNH delivers on its purpose of “breaking new ground.”

“We go back a long way. All the way back to 1842, in fact,” says Giovanni Gregorutti, group lead for HRIS Digital Transformation at CNH. “That’s over 180 years of developing pioneering equipment and services for farmers and builders. And everything we do is with those farmers and builders in mind. We are striving to provide the very best machinery and technology to make their lives easier – and their businesses more efficient and profitable.”

An Efficient and Dedicated Team

Representing CNH’s commitment to developing new solutions and ideas are its 40,000 talented employees, spread over 34 countries, who work together in seamless collaboration to deliver specialized products and services for the agriculture and construction industries.

“Our employees are our most valuable asset,” says Roberto Lanzavecchia, head of Global Talent Management at CNH. “A satisfied customer reflects an efficient and dedicated team that shares the same values, holds each other accountable, and strives to deliver the best for our customers.”

The company prides itself on offering a broad range of opportunities for career development, mentorships, leadership development, and training programs. To support employees as they bring their whole selves to work, the company advances a diverse and inclusive workplace and offers work-life balance solutions to fit employees’ needs. In the marketplace for skills and talent, CNH’s reputation for providing a responsive, fair, and industrious workplace culture has earned it recognition as an employer of choice.

Empowering Employees and HR for Increased Productivity

Having used SAP’s on-premise human capital management (HCM) solution since 2009, CNH began to encounter challenges with its legacy software, which struggled to keep up with the dynamic needs of a modern workforce. This resulted in outdated goal setting, performance management, succession planning, and employee feedback. It became clear that CNH needed to move to the cloud for a comprehensive transformation of its HR system.

CNH chose SAP SuccessFactors HCM as the foundation for its cloud-based HR transformation as it offers comprehensive, scalable, and user-friendly solutions that can integrate seamlessly, as well as robust analytics capabilities. This change was necessary, according to Gregorutti, who says, “We knew it was time to make a shift in the terms of improving the employee experience and to leverage the new capabilities, including AI, and moving to SAP SuccessFactors was an obvious choice.”

CNH outlined its goals for the HR evolution, which included identifying critical factors and eliminating non-value-adding activities; improving the overall employee experience to empower employees and the business to deliver more value, better outcomes, and increased productivity; and exploring ways to empower HR to own and solve enterprise-wide issues affecting the business, the workforce, and work-related processes.

Elevating Employee Experience with Streamlined HR Processes

Expediting its vision of empowering its workforce and HR team, CNH started by implementing the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central solution as its core HR platform for 40,000 employees in 34 countries and integrating it with 10 new payroll platforms within 11 months.

To ring in the new year in January 2024, CNH introduced the SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals solution to support all employees for goal setting. The solution can connect to SAP Integration Suite to help enable seamless analytics capabilities that can lead to better data visibility and data-driven decision-making. “We are about to conclude the first year of the performance management cycle using the new module,” Lanzavecchia says, highlighting the value of SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals in streamlining processes for HR and employees. “We then went live with the succession module in September 2024, and we’ve just used it for the first time to present to our senior leadership the succession plan and the main talent indicators of our employees, allowing each manager to work on their talent pipeline creation and development.”

As CNH’s transformation journey enters a new phase, it plans to implement the SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting solution by the end of 2024 and the SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding solution by the middle of 2025. In September, it implemented the SAP Archiving and Document Access application by OpenText to make capabilities for archiving documents available. Early next year, it plans to improve integration of this application with SAP SuccessFactors solutions.

Building an Agile, Efficient, and Employee-Centric Workplace

With the first steps in its transformation journey complete, CNH is already experiencing the benefits of cloud-based HR solutions, which are bringing improved efficiency, better data visibility, and greater agility. As a result of streamlining HR processes, CNH has achieved new levels of process optimization, so that HR tasks are managed more efficiently. By reducing administrative burdens, HR teams can increase their focus on higher-level strategic initiatives and time spent with employees.

Thanks to improved data visibility, CNH is able to advance its people strategy and plan long term. Talent management, for example, has improved because succession planning based on talent data enables more effective identification and development of future leaders.

“The transformation has created a more agile, efficient, and employee-centric environment at CNH, enhancing the overall employee experience and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and engagement,” Lanzavecchia says.

Employees now have the benefits of an elevated experience – one of the primary goals of CNH’s HR transformation. With support for continuous feedback and goal setting, employees are engaged and motivated, in part because they are more connected to their goals and receive regular feedback from managers, who are now more accountable for their teams’ development and performance through timely and constructive feedback.

Making Every Employee a Success Story

With modern cloud-based HR solutions in place, CNH now has the capabilities for HR to gain efficiency and achieve greater productivity – plus deliver data-driven insights to the business for improved decision-making. An improved employee experience is leading to better engagement and career development, opening opportunities for each employee to further their success story.

As both Gregorutti and Lanzavecchia see it, this is a promising beginning in CNH’s ongoing HR evolution. Next year brings new possibilities to introduce AI capabilities for HR, as the company evaluates the benefits of implementing the talent intelligence hub in SAP SuccessFactors HCM to help power employee growth and skills development. “CNH has undergone significant and successful transformation over the last three years,” they say. “Keeping this momentum up in a tougher market scenario is imperative. The continued transformation of CNH involves embracing employees’ professional passion, achieving personal fulfilment, and simply having fun.”

Learn more about SAP SuccessFactors HCM.

19 November

BUSINESS NEWS

From Learning to Earning: How Multistakeholder Partnerships Are Shaping the Future Workforce

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An astute young person once said that while youth make up 25% of the population, they represent 100% of the future. This insight resonates when considering the challenges businesses face in developing the necessary skills for a sustainable, digitally transformed future. Empowering young people is crucial, not only for their own growth but for addressing critical challenges, such as climate resilience, and preparing them to lead in a rapidly evolving world.

The global skills and opportunity gap is a recurring topic at landmark events such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and UN General Assembly and Climate Week in New York. This is no different at the current UN Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

That’s because today’s youth are the leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers of tomorrow. However, as these gaps remain, it’s important to accelerate active engagement and enhance collaboration across sectors. Ensuring that young people are adequately prepared to enter and excel in the workforce is an investment in their future and a strategic imperative for businesses and societies worldwide. Without adequate learning pathways, young people risk unemployment and businesses may struggle to compete in the burgeoning green and digital economies due to a widening talent shortage.

Human Capital and Youth Day

For this reason, November 18 has been designated as the COP29 theme day for Human Capital Development for Climate Resilience. The initiative underscores that addressing climate change requires a holistic approach supported by healthier, better educated, and adequately skilled young people.

The Human Capital Day serves as a reminder that tackling climate change requires societal transformation – and there is no better time than now. A key component of this shift is ensuring access to quality education and skill development opportunities for youth that lead to tangible employment opportunities. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), global youth unemployment was 13% in 2023, with many young people facing limited prospects for stable and decent work. At the same time, the World Economic Forum found that 44% of businesses report difficulties in finding talent with the right skills to fill jobs.

At SAP, we believe in our responsibility to support the next generation of professionals and users with our best-in-class digital learning. We fully support the COP29 agenda for human capital and are actively involved with the global community of governments, financial institutions, and private sector entities.

SAP Education and Employment Programs

SAP has several programs and partnerships to help tackle the deepening mismatch between the supply of young job seekers and the demand for skilled talent. These initiatives focus on human capital development and provide valuable educational opportunities for youth:

SAP and UNICEF’s partnership in support of Generation Unlimited develops innovative solutions to global skilling challenges to help young people transition to earning. The goal is to generate inclusive opportunities for underserved young people worldwide, preparing them for decent work with the skills needed in the market. The program helps equip youth with essential skills and builds on UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU) signature program, the Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA), a platform developed by young Africans to tackle labor market challenges. To date, the partnership reached more than 600,000 youth with foundational and digital skills that help young people unlock opportunities in the changing global economy.
SAP Educate to Employ is one of the learn-to-earn pathways on YOMA designed by SAP to equip youth with essential competencies for the digital economy. Implemented by a local social enterprise in South Africa called UMUZI, the free program focuses on developing skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values to help prepare and bring candidates into employment within the SAP ecosystem. More than 1,000 learners completed one or more foundational skills courses, while 165 learners completed over 550 hours of critical skills development training and earned an SAP technology consultant professional certificate. The next step is to secure meaningful employment opportunities within the SAP ecosystem and beyond.
The SAP University Alliances program includes over 2,700 members in more than 100 countries. It enables academia to educate the next generation on using intelligent AI-enabled technology, engage at SAP events, build industry partnerships, and prepare graduates for the SAP ecosystem. SAP University Alliances initiatives aim to empower youth to work in digitized enterprises, shape their futures, and have a meaningful impact on the world. During COP29, SAP will engage with students and faculty members from local university partners in Baku. Planned activities include an on-campus, gamified learning experience with a focus on sustainability, dialogue on learning and skills for sustainable youth development, and student visits to SAP’s booth in the Green Zone.

To further amplify youth empowerment, SAP actively collaborates with leading youth organizations. Through these partnerships, SAP brings young voices to the forefront of decision-making, fostering intergenerational collaboration and innovative solutions to pressing global challenges.

We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) is a non-profit organization that empowers youth and brings them to decision-making tables to share ideas and innovative solutions for global problems. For instance, at COP29, WAFF, in partnership with Care About Climate and Groundswell, launched the Universal NDC Youth Clause campaign – a global call to action for governments to integrate youth voices into their updated climate plans due in February 2025. By adopting this clause, governments pledge to work collaboratively with young people to achieve ambitious climate goals.
The SAP and World Scouting partnership examines the critical role that youth-led initiatives play in advancing environmental sustainability. It provides opportunities to share insights on successful youth-driven projects and discuss challenges and the support needed to scale efforts. The engagement is based on the premise that young people are at the forefront of environmental activism and are leveraging technology, creativity, and community engagement to make tangible impacts amid unprecedented environmental challenges.

As the world grapples with urgent challenges like climate change and digital transformation, SAP believes that investing in youth and human development has never been more crucial. SAP’s contribution to building a sustainable future through initiatives that equip young people with job-ready skills underscores the importance of a whole-of-society approach.

By collaborating with global multistakeholder partners and empowering the next generation, we can help bridge the talent gap, foster climate resilience, and ensure that today’s youth are prepared to lead us into a more sustainable and inclusive future.

18 November

BUSINESS NEWS

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition Recognized in Gartner’s 2024 Magic Quadrants

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SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition has been recognized as a leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrants for both Cloud ERP for Service-Centric Enterprises and Cloud ERP for Product-Centric Enterprises, highlighting its influence in the evolving ERP landscape. According to Jan Gilg, President and Chief Product Officer for Cloud ERP at SAP, this recognition underscores […]

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16 November

BUSINESS NEWS

SAP Sovereign Cloud Enhances Data Security in the UK

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The introduction of SAP Sovereign Cloud in the UK reflects the company’s commitment to addressing the unique data security and compliance needs of highly regulated sectors. SAP has announced the official availability of its Sovereign Cloud capabilities, an offering tailored to meet the stringent data sovereignty requirements of public sector entities, critical national infrastructure, and […]

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16 November

BUSINESS NEWS

SAP Security and Compliance Solutions Expand in NorthAm

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RHONDOS and Soterion have announced a partnership aimed at delivering advanced SAP security and compliance solutions to organizations across North America. This collaboration brings together RHONDOS, an established leader in enterprise software services, and Soterion, a globally respected provider of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions tailored for SAP systems. By combining their expertise, the […]

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16 November

BUSINESS NEWS

Bringing Social Impact and Employee Development Together for Business Success

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Purpose is becoming an essential part of job satisfaction today. Almost 90% of Gen Z and Millennials say this is the case. These generations are also likely to decline future career opportunities with employers that don’t align with their values.

As these cohorts collectively account for almost half of today’s workforce, it is imperative today that businesses integrate these insights into their retention strategies.

In 2021, SAP launched the Pro Bono for Economic Equity program, a collaborative effort with Pyxera Global that supports historically under-resourced businesses and social enterprises across North America through employees participating as pro bono consultants, addressing systemic and critical strategic business challenges. Over these last three years, SAP employees have dedicated over 22,000 hours to providing pro bono consulting to more than 70 Black and Indigenous-owned businesses in Canada and the United States.

The Pro Bono for Economic Equity program is a testament to the value of integrating pro bono work into corporate development strategies. Ninety-five percent of participating business expressed confidence that the involvement in the program helped them feel more prepared to address future challenges for their organization. The exceptionally high Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 92 further underscores the program’s effectiveness and the participant satisfaction.

Anthony Wingham, co-founder of Nuez Acres, said that one of the most impressive aspects of the program was the openness and honesty from the beginning: “As an Indigenous person, I’m used to conversations about business that either come with a price tag or feel exploitative, where ideas might be taken without genuine support. However, from the start, the discussions were transparent and collaborative. We were able to share our unique strategies and delve into areas where we needed real support.”

Marsha Guerrier, CEO and founder of HerSuiteSpot, shared about the impact of the participants and the work they did together on her business: “The people that are volunteering in these programs come with a level of expertise that when we’re so small we simply can’t afford. The team that SAP gave me to support my challenges and needs was dynamite. They really went all out for me. It felt good to meet with the team.”

The program doesn’t just benefit participant businesses, but also SAP employee participants.

Pro Bono as a Leadership Development Tool

“Pro bono work provides a platform to upskill employees and grow the company’s leaders,” said Katie Booth, head of North America Corporate Social Responsibility for SAP. “Employees report significant gains in critical areas like teamwork, intercultural sensitivity, and strategic planning, which are core competencies that drive business success in a globalized economy.”

While this initiative forms part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, it also invests in employee development that pays dividends in human capital and business acumen.

In fact, 98% of SAP employees involved in the Pro Bono for Economic Equity program have reported acquiring or refining essential skills.

Verena Lommatzsch, head of Technical Services for SAP Business Technology Platform at SAP, reflected that stepping out of her comfort zone and collaborating with people from diverse cultural backgrounds was incredibly enriching: “It sharpened my ability to navigate complex, multicultural business environments.”

“On a personal level, the program prompted me to rethink my approach to new challenges, reminding me that success isn’t solely about maximizing profit,” she added. “Professionally, it was incredibly valuable as well. As a global leader, I am often distanced from day-to-day business activities. Being hands-on and working directly with two colleagues I hadn’t met before was a great opportunity to challenge myself and learn new skills. I also gained a new perspective on what it means to be an entrepreneur, including using software to establish an online store and managing wholesale connections.”

This intersection of personal growth and professional development is where the Pro Bono for Economic Equity program truly shines. Participants are not only building their own capabilities but are also contributing to the resilience and adaptability of the businesses they support.

SAP employee Rahaf Assaleh shared that the program provided a deeper understanding of Indigenous cultures and their unique business practices: “It taught me to think creatively and resourcefully with the limited resources that Indigenous business owners often have, helping me to explore innovative ways to achieve business goals and foster growth.”

The program’s impact extends beyond individual development with 74% of participants reporting that their involvement has prompted them to engage more deeply with local, historically-marginalized communities. This increased engagement enriches employees’ lives and strengthens SAP’s commitment to breaking down unconscious bias and continuing support for the social justice movement, alongside its focus on social responsibility.

“At SAP, we believe in the power of shared growth,” Booth said. “The program exemplifies how pro bono initiatives can drive innovation, enhance employee satisfaction, and contribute to economic equity. It’s a win-win that benefits our employees, the businesses we support, and society at large.”

Companies that prioritize aligning employee development with social impact initiatives are not only investing in the future of their workforce but are also positioning themselves, and the impact businesses they work with for long-term success.

The time is now to rethink corporate strategies and ensure that they reflect the values of today’s purpose-driven workforce.

Megan Smith is head of Human Resources for SAP North America.

15 November

BUSINESS NEWS

SAP Helps Roca Group Run at Its Best

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Like many other global companies, Barcelona-based Roca Group has faced supply chain and other challenges in recent years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and volatile energy prices. Founded in 1917, the company designs, produces, and distributes products in the bathroom space and has a commercial network in 170 countries, 21,000 employees, and 79 production sites – making it a truly global company.

The company has expanded its international operations in recent years through organic growth and acquisitions, says Roca Group Digital Transformation Director Jacques Nieuwland. “We have had the challenges of most industries in the last years,” he says. “My job is to help Roca leverage technology to support the different strategic objectives of the company, which are growth, innovation, operational excellence, and sustainability.”

Global Supply Chain

“We have a global supply chain for some of our components, so we need to plan in a more agile way,” Nieuwland says. “We need to update our planning and we need to be able to put in some buffers to have a resilient supply chain.”

15 November

BUSINESS NEWS

SAP Spend Connect Live Hits the Innovation Jackpot

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Nearly 1,400 customers and partners came together in Las Vegas, Nevada, to witness the power of SAP’s spend management and business network solutions at SAP Spend Connect Live. Best of all, attendees left with new ways to enhance productivity, strategically collaborate, ensure effortless compliance, and gain critical business insights.

If you missed out on the action, we unveiled the following cutting-edge innovations in our market-leading solutions:

SAP Ariba Intake Management is our newest solution that helps automate procurement request creation and orchestrate routing and support across diverse procurement landscapes and complex workflows. It can connect different systems into one central location for procurement inquiries and status updates, so employees can adhere to your organization’s policies and comply with necessary regulations.
SAP’s generative AI copilot Joule will be seamlessly integrated across SAP Ariba solutions, SAP Business Network, and SAP Fieldglass solutions. Joule can enable users to manage their most important tasks quickly and accurately across all areas of SAP’s spend management portfolio.
The promote subscription for SAP Business Network can empower suppliers to find new business, improve match potential, and build relationships with buyers using the network catalog. Available early next year, it includes generative AI tools to help suppliers load their full suite of offerings into the network catalog faster and with enhanced product descriptions and summaries.
New analytics capabilities in SAP Fieldglass solutions can deliver next-level insights into your external workforce for reporting, analytics, and market insights all within SAP Fieldglass.

Read this article from my colleague Manoj Swaminathan to learn more about our latest spend management and business network enhancements.

Leading brands such as Goldman Sachs, Kraft-Heinz, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Uber, and Warner Music Group joined us at the event to share how they revolutionized their spend management processes with our solutions. Check out SAP Spend Connect Virtual to hear these stories and view breakout sessions, strategy talks, and solution deep dives. This free, virtual event is your opportunity to learn from SAP experts, customers, and partners.

Thank You, IDC

As a leader in spend management software, SAP is dedicated to helping our customers increase control and business resilience by comprehensively managing all sources of spend. Hard work pays off, as SAP has retained the No.1 position for market share with 49.6% of 2023 market share for Travel and Expense Management Software, according to the IDC Worldwide Travel and Expense Management Software Market Shares 2023 (doc #US51658524, August 2024) report. This is growth from our 2022 market share of 49.4%.

Also exciting, SAP has retained the No.1 position for market share for Procurement Applications according to the IDC Worldwide Procurement Applications Market Shares 2023 (doc #US52580824, September 2024) report. IDC estimates that SAP holds a 27.3% market share for 2023, maintaining the top spot ahead of the next six vendors combined.

Additionally, we’re honored to win two IDC SaaS CSAT awards for Accounts Payable and Contract Lifecycle Management. These awards recognize the leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) vendors in each application market, across 23 markets, that receive the highest customer satisfaction scores based on IDC’s SaaSPath Survey.

Our Customer Awards Reach New Heights

Every quarter, G2 highlights the top-rated solutions in the industry, chosen by the source that matters most: our customers. Q3 was our most successful quarter yet regarding G2 honors, with SAP Ariba, SAP Business Network, SAP Concur, and SAP Fieldglass bringing in a whopping 93 awards across multiple categories at the Fall 2024 G2 awards!

SAP was named a Leader in the following categories:

SAP Ariba is a G2 Fall 2024 Leader in Procure to Pay, Strategic Sourcing, and Supplier Relationship Management.
SAP Business Network is a G2 Fall 2024 Leader in Supply Chain Business Networks.
SAP Concur is a G2 Fall 2024 Leader in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.
SAP Field g lass is a G2 Fall 2024 Leader in Vendor Management.

What’s more, SAP Ariba, SAP Concur, and SAP Fieldglass have also won Buyer’s Choice awards from TrustRadius. Winners of a Buyer’s Choice award are determined by 75% of reviewers selecting a solution for best capabilities, best value for price, and best customer relationship.

We couldn’t be more grateful to our customers for partnering with us on their spend management transformation journeys, and we’re honored that the feeling is mutual!

Winning awards from our customers is awesome, but winning with customers is extra special. Last month, customer and SAP Spend Connect Live in 2024 speaker Daniel Chapman of Warner Music won a SIG Future of Sourcing award in the Innovation in Sourcing category: “Creating Harmony in Music Procurement: Warner Music Group and SAP.” This award recognizes organizations and individuals that show innovation, leadership, and transformation in categories critical to the sourcing industry, and we couldn’t be happier about this win.

Last but definitely not least, I want to congratulate our customer Capgemini for winning a prestigious SuperNova2024 award from Constellation Research in the Future of Work: Human Capital Management category. The award recognizes Capgemini’s innovative use of SAP Fieldglass Contingent Workforce Management to optimize its global external workforce, resulting in improved efficiency, cost savings, and quality standards.

New Developments on the Horizon

With 2025 just around the corner, I want to thank our customers for betting big on themselves by investing in our cutting-edge spend management and business network solutions. In a time marked by supply chain disruptions and ongoing economic uncertainty, it’s all too easy for businesses to stick with the status quo. However, SAP customers are different. They tackle obstacles head-on, transforming them into opportunities. And their foresight to plan for the future is why they will continue to be successful.

Thank you for choosing SAP to help solve your biggest challenges. I enjoyed seeing so many of you at SAP Spend Connect Live and I can’t wait to catch up with the rest of you on the road.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for SAP Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

14 November

BUSINESS NEWS

For the 10th Time in a Row, SAP Named a Leader in Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce

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Gartner has named SAP a Leader in 2024 Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce, for the tenth time in a row. SAP remains the only vendor to be consistently positioned as a leader since 2014.

SAP supports businesses globally with a powerful commerce solution fit for the future. At a time when commerce trends are evolving faster than ever and customer demands continue to rise, SAP Commerce Cloud remains a reliable foundation for agility, speed, and stability.

Businesses across industries are using the solution to boost profitability and achieve sustainable growth. Carhartt, an iconic brand crafting durable, premium workwear since 1889, uses SAP Commerce Cloud to create an omnichannel e-commerce presence that matches the brand’s legacy of quality and accessibility. As Carhartt continues to expand its reach and transforms from workwear leader to fashion icon, the brand can exceed customer expectations.

“Carhartt’s job is to get products into the hands of hardworking folks, when and how they want them. SAP Commerce Cloud helps us do just that. We needed a solution that could stand up to task during the busiest times of the year,” said Donavan Marchywka, director of Digital Solutions for Carhartt Inc. “SAP Commerce Cloud holds up from an infrastructure and performance standpoint. The solution reacts to traffic so customers can connect with our products. When we transformed our e-commerce experience on SAP Commerce Cloud, not only did we get the benefits of this new technology, but we also got the chance to rethink the design of our site—and do it right.”

In addition to Carhartt, notable B2C brands and household names from Nestlé to Nokia use SAP Commerce Cloud to stay ahead of the competition in increasingly saturated and competitive markets. B2B leaders such as Miele and HORSCH keep industries moving by using the solution to stabilize and scale their e-commerce marketplaces.

Startups and innovators setting out to create a more sustainable future — like MVV Enamic and Online Metals — are using it to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies as they emerge.

Even public sector and government organizations, including Christchurch City Council, are creating standout experiences with SAP Commerce Cloud.

These brands join others, such as ALDO, Cintas, Mitsubishi Fuso, and Coca Cola HBC, that rely on SAP Commerce Cloud to drive profitable growth for their businesses.

SAP Commerce Cloud is part of the SAP Customer Experience portfolio. The combination of integrated solutions spanning commerce, marketing, sales, and service empowers businesses to connect with their customers in the moments that matter most. The SAP Customer Experience portfolio also turns AI innovations into real business outcomes with intelligent tools that employees, customers, and other users are using every day.

To learn more about SAP’s position as a Leader and see in-depth analysis of the digital commerce landscape from Gartner, read the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce here.

Ritu Bhargava is president and chief product officer for SAP Customer Experience.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce, Mike Lowndes, Sandy Shen, Jason Daigler, Aditya Vasudevan, 6 November, 2024.

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 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.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
SAP was recognized as SAP Hybris in 2014, 2016, and 2017.

14 November

BUSINESS NEWS

Customers Accelerate HR Journeys to Gain Edge on Efficiency and Skills

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With 2025 just around the corner, HR leaders are looking for ways to drive results using powerful technologies like business AI to advance skills in the workforce, improve productivity, and deliver greater efficiency. Some organizations are accelerating outcomes from HR transformations by implementing AI-based capabilities in SAP SuccessFactors HCM to gain an edge over the competition.

“We are on the brink of a revolution in HR technology,” SuccessFactors Chief Revenue Officer Maryann Abbajay said, speaking to customers recently at SuccessConnect. “AI and other new intelligent technologies are transforming the way we work. Organizations are acutely aware that having the right skills today and cultivating these skills for the future is crucial to stay ahead. So, we must focus on our people – and the technologies that enable them to bring out the best in themselves.”

SAP research found that the top three reasons why HR leaders want to use skills data across their people practices are to match people to opportunities, develop members of their organizations, and have workforce planning that makes sense based on skills. Additionally, a sample of more than 4,000 employees revealed that time savings, quality, and efficiency are the top three most desired outcomes when it comes to AI at work.

Speaking at SuccessConnect, HR leaders from five forward-thinking organizations – L’Oréal, Eurobank, BT Group, American Honda, and SAP – shared insights from their HR journeys and how new advancements in HR tech are putting people at the center of business.

L’Oréal Creates a Future-Fit Organization with Skills and Learning

Global beauty brand L’Oréal keeps its people strategy as forward-thinking as its brand. “This People Vision is to be the most inclusive, innovative, and inspiring people company,” said L’Oréal Deputy Chief Human Relations Officer Isabelle Minneci. “To remain forward-thinking, we leverage this unique people culture, which cares for each individual, and we embed diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of our HR fundamentals.”

L’Oreal’s HR community drives three actions to advance a challenger mindset within the workforce. It builds a skills-driven organization to foster people and business growth. It invents new ways of working and harnesses the best of tech to deliver inspiring people experiences. And it leads transformation for HR and rest of the organization to remain agile.

L’Oréal uses cloud-based solutions from SAP SuccessFactors – including SAP SuccessFactors Learning – to inspire amazing people experiences. For a future-fit workforce, L’Oréal invests €120 million each year in learning as it continually reskills its employees to boost agility and innovation. “Thanks to SAP SuccessFactors,” Minneci said, “we have linked the skills with the jobs and with our learning program, which enables us to really offer personalized learning journeys for our employees and to make sure that we prepare the future.”

Eurobank Ensures Compliance and Empowers the Workforce

Eurobank is one of Greece’s largest employers, with about 6,500 employees and €81.5 billion in total assets under management. It uses cloud-based solutions from SAP SuccessFactors HCM to help ensure compliance with local labor legislation, support more strategic decision-making, and deliver on its promise of a great employee experience.

Eurobank began its journey with SAP SuccessFactors over six years ago, said Maria Tachataki, head of People Technology and Internal Communications, Eurobank SA. “We have increased efficiency and eliminated paper usage,” she said. “Most of all, we have enhanced our people empowerment by providing more accountability, responsibility, and work mobility. SAP SuccessFactors has been our ally and our companion in an ongoing journey of growth and transformation.”

In April 2022, a new Greek labor law required local banks to implement a digital work card that integrated with the Ministry of Labor’s platform for real-time monitoring of work schedules, shift planning, and overtime. Effectively, it meant Eurobank’s employees needed to clock in and out at their specific work times – or the bank would incur steep penalties. The company needed a digital solution that was accurate, reliable, efficient, and scalable. It had to have seamless integration with the SAP SuccessFactors platform, payroll, and the Ministry of Labor’s platform. And it needed to have very detailed monitoring and audit trails. Eurobank chose SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking and leveraged SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) for flexibility and connectivity. As a result, it now reports 99% performance (an improvement of 75%) and 45% reduction in instances when employees forget to clock out. Read more here.

“For us the next move is AI and skills, in terms of more strategic workforce planning,” Tachataki said. “We aim to transition from merely filling positions with people to focusing on talent and strategic workforce planning based on upskilling, and skills taxonomy. This is our next big challenge.”

BT Group Builds the Digital Colleague Experience

Global telecommunications company BT Group is accelerating its HR transformation with the infusion of AI to build its Digital Colleague Experience. Recently, the organization unified core HR by moving its UK payroll of 80,000 colleagues to SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll, using SAP BTP for extensibility and innovation. The launch of the AI copilot Joule and generative AI early adopt program is another highlight in what the company’s HR Technology Director Nick Hawkes described as an “incredibly busy 12 months.” As he noted, “This is an exciting phase for us. Those digital foundations within HR were really important. We’ve gone from four HR systems, three payroll systems, down to one, which was an important milestone.”

“We’ve been on the AI journey a little while now,” he continued, underscoring BT’s commitment to security through the establishment of a responsible AI team and guardrails to evaluate and implement acceptable AI use cases. Working collaboratively with BT’s legal teams, data governance, and SAP has given the company’s HR team an edge for advancing AI use cases that elevate the employee experience. “Having those levers to pull really allowed us to achieve a quick rollout,” he said, referencing SAP Business AI.

In the shift to becoming a skills-based organization, BT aims to implement the talent intelligence hub, which can provide organizations a centralized system for skills for SAP SuccessFactors solutions, to help drive better planning and strategic workforce planning across the organization. Hawkes is optimistic about how AI will enhance the BT’s Digital Colleague Experience: “We can see in the data a 40% increase in efficiency in terms of what Joule brings to the organization, so we’ll double down on that.”

American Honda Charts Digital Journey with People-Centric Focus

American Honda is on a journey to become a carbon-zero company by 2050 – in effect, evolving from a hardware-defined company to a software-defined company. “It’s a transformation we view internally as the second founding of Honda. That means digital experience is very important,” said Rich Richardson, senior vice president, Human Resources, American Honda, describing how the new strategic direction is leading to increased focus on the employee experience. “We have developed a plan to engage our associates on a digital journey that has a number of tenets critical to making sure our associates are at the center.”

In January 2023, American Honda went live with SAP SuccessFactors HCM to provide seamless access to HR information and opportunities for upskilling. To ensure the best outcomes for its AI journey, American Honda established a Responsible AI Council to govern AI usage, evaluate use cases, maintain standards, and foster communication and transparency across the organization.

This year, the company joined an SAP early adopter program to learn how AI can accelerate its vision for a future-ready workforce. “We have four use cases that we’re piloting right now with 850 associates. They’re around Joule, compensation insights, enhanced writing, and goal creation. We’ve been getting feedback along the way with those pilots, and we’ve seen some really good results,” Richardson said.

Employees in the pilot share overwhelming positive feedback on the AI-based innovations, reporting 80% favorable feedback overall. To ensure a great employee experience that benefits all employees, Richardson wants to further understand why employees might be hesitant to fully embrace the new AI-led tools: “When we can uncover that – whether its communication, change management, or on the technical side – we think we can have a really positive rollout of these use cases to our associate population and, ultimately, save time and energy and effort.”

SAP Accelerates a Skills-First Workforce with AI

For SAP, a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, a strong people culture is integral to its mission to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. “At SAP, people are very close to our heart. And that goes back to our founder, Hasso Plattner,” said SAP Chief People Officer Gina Vargiu-Breuer, recalling Plattner’s observation that “we can be proud of our culture because our culture is very much one of customer-centricity, innovation, and people.”

SAP’s People Agenda, essential to its transformation to a cloud-first company, comprises three pillars: SAP’s growth culture, a skills-led people ecosystem, and game-changing people technology. The People Agenda is underpinned by a strong foundation: a people-centric work environment that is nurtured by employee well-being, safety, and health as well as diversity and inclusion to create a feeling of belonging at SAP.

To build a skills-led people ecosystem, SAP is using the AI capabilities of the SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite to gain visibility into the skills of the workforce and improve the employee experience. With the AI-powered growth portfolio in SAP SuccessFactors talent and learning solutions, SAP is currently focused on increasing skills transparency to help employees focus on growth and career opportunities.

“In the growth portfolio, we are relying on AI,” Vargiu-Breuer said. “Without having a market-centric skills taxonomy and without having skills transparency across the entire workforce, it’s very difficult to have, for example, personalized learning and career development opportunities. So, AI is absolutely essential.”

Making Every Employee a Success Story

As these inspiring stories show, SAP customers are using HR technology to support their people agendas and drive HR transformation in their organizations. By advancing productivity and the employee experience, customers are harnessing the power of SAP SuccessFactors solutions to make every employee a success story.

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