ASUG members and partners emerged victorious in this year’s SAP Innovation Awards, announced April 23.
Held annually to honor and celebrate the achievements of forward-thinking SAP customers and partners who leverage cutting-edge SAP product and cloud technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and business AI, the SAP Innovation Awards celebrated its 12th edition by naming winners in seven categories:
- Business Network Innovator
- Cloud ERP Champion
- Customer Experience
- People Experience
- Sustainability Hero
- Industry Leader
- Partner Paragon
- Transformation Titan
- Services Superstar
- AI Excellence
This year, 217 companies submitted entries; of that group, 46 were selected by SAP's judges as finalists, and 23 winners were named. Out of those winners, six were ASUG members or partners; their submissions are detailed below.
"Representing a variety of industries, the winners have demonstrated creativity, tangible outcomes, and, of course, innovation by applying SAP products and cloud technologies for the betterment of their customers, community, and organizations," explained Stephan de Barse, president of the SAP Global Business Suite organization, in announcing the winners.
Winners in this year's competition were assessed particularly on ideation that took advantage of applications, data, and AI to make an impact. ASUG members and partners among the finalists included American Honda Motor Co, Inc; Skybuffer; Lockheed Martin; and TATA Power.
Inside ASUG Members’ Award-Winning Submissions
Phoenix Global, named a winner in the Industry Leader category, selected GROW with SAP with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and SAP Enterprise Asset Management (SAP EAM), combined with SAP Business AI and SAP HANA Cloud, to "help take the Phoenix Group out of the dark ages as a strong, viable organization," according to their submission, which highlighted the need for Phoenix Global to "decrease the time from data to insights and action."
Access to key data provided the foundation for Phoenix Global's Data Connect initiative, a digital ecosystem that enables real-time visibility, consistent processes company-wide, and enhanced customer service. This initiative directly impacted finance, sales and services, procurement, asset management and the supply chain as the digital foundation.
Phoenix Global previously filed for bankruptcy in 2022 but within nine months were out of it, having overcome legacy-system issues including slow, fragmented systems, inconsistencies from plant to plant, and excessive time for mission-critical tasks. Through utilizing GROW with SAP, Phoenix Global achieved outcomes to remove technical and process debt, including 20-25% decrease in IT operating costs with a 10x increase in functionality, an 80% reduction in process and tech debt, decrease in time to close books, and analytic insights in minutes rather than weeks, as well as a 10x reduction in time for equipment maintenance. Read their submission here.
The Hershey Company, named a winner in the Transformation Titan category, implemented a scalable mathematical optimization framework and a comprehensive data module to streamline production portfolios and scheduling decisions. This end-to-end process, hosted on the SAP Business Technology Platform, enables faster, data-driven decisions, unlocking capabilities in complex networks and improving overall efficiency and scalability.
According to their submission, The Hershey Company had faced a disconnected process to manage its production portfolios and scheduling decisions, complicated by business silos and time-consuming process flows averaging 8-10 weeks. Through implementing the aforementioned framework and data module, The Hershey Company achieved an end-to-end process that fueled data-driven decision-making across networks and in many cases solved manufacturing problems while unlocking trapped capabilities and making it possible to produce output reports for scenario analysis, supply plan, production schedule, and comparisons.
Through this initiative, The Hershey Company achieved a 75% reduction in data analysis efforts with increased efficiencies, modeling six manufacturing networks globally resulting in an optimized product mix and increased network utilization, and integrated five SAP data sources while creating a scalable solution for additional data sources as needed. Read their submission here.
PwC Germany, named a winner in the Partner Paragon category, is leveraging AI to successfully master the requirements of the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). PwC's CSRD.AI Manager solution streamlines ESG reporting by automating data collection, KPI calculations, and report generation.
Utilizing SAP Datasphere or SAP Sustainability Control Tower for centralized data processing, the solution integrates PwC's CSRD-specific content with customizable data models to meet evolving compliance requirements. "By reducing manual effort, improving accuracy, and ensuring compliance, this solution empowers organizations to manage ESG reporting with confidence." Read their submission here.
Molex, named a winner in the Business Network Innovator category, faced challenges with outdated supply chain collaboration technology, resulting in a 30% confirmation rate for purchase orders (POs) with suppliers. Their legacy software couldn't integrate effectively with suppliers' ERP systems, causing issues with visibility and global supply chain challenges.
To address this, Molex implemented SAP Business Network as part of a broader digital transformation. Molex completed $1 billion in transactions with SAP Business Network in the firdt 18 months, quickly onboarded 1200 suppliers, and increased the order confirmation rate to 90% in a third of the time previously required.
Learn more about this story in ASUG's exclusive interview with Tony Gainsford, Director of Procurement Business Systems, Data, and Processes at Molex LLC, and read their submission here.
Capgemini, named a winner in the Transformation Titan category, faced challenges such as fragmented customer data, slow decision-making, and lack of automation due to legacy technologies.
Implementing SAP solutions, including SAP Integration Suite, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, and SAP Analytics Cloud, to integrate systems, automate processes, and gain real-time insights, Capgemini transformed application integration at its organization.
"Within a year, Capgemini’s use of the SAP Business Technology Platform enabled a significant transformation, achieving more agility in addressing organization demands, reducing operational inefficiencies," according to their submission. "SAP BTP improves our competitive advantage by enhancing both internal operations and customer-facing functions."
Among their achievements were a 50% increase in relevant data availability, a 40% decrease in integration-related issues, and a 40% improvement in time-to-market duration. Read their submission here.
General Motors, named a winner in the Cloud ERP Champion category, sought to transition from an automotive manufacturer to a technology platform provider, necessitating the elimination of legacy system complexities.
"The company required a modern, simplified application strategy to streamline operations and enable AI-driven transformation. Achieving this vision depended on a cloud-based approach and a commitment to a clean core strategy," according to their submission.
Selecting the RISE with SAP journey, SAP Business Technology Platform, and SAP Signavio solutions to modernize its business operations, GM applied a clean-core strategy via RISE and migrated critical systems to the cloud, supporting 57TB of data. Among its achievements: 40% improvement in processing times, an estimated 1,000+ hours in time savings in post-processing and validations, and over 30 billion data records transferred, increasing business visibility and control. Read their submission here.