Dec 17, 2021
•1 minute read
Since 2001, SAPinsider magazine has been the go-to, independent choice for executives, managers, consultants, and most importantly, implementation and development teams running SAP software. SAPinsider magazine showcases research gleaned from the SAP Community, case studies of successful customer projects, and insights from experts on how SAP software works and strategies and best practices using SAP solutions to help businesses achieve their objectives. It also includes thought leadership from SAP and partners on how to get the most business value from the newest SAP software, including SAP S/4HANA and intelligent technologies.
SAPinsider Executive Magazine | 2021 | Issue 4SAP S/4HANA and the cloud are clearly on technology executives’ agendas. According to SAPinsider’s latest research surveying our executive community, a move to SAP S/4HANA and moving infrastructure to the cloud were rated among the top four ways executives are driving their initiatives. Customer stories in this edition of SAPinsider’s Executive Issue make one thing clear: If companies aren’t there already, they’re moving in this direction.
This issue’s cover story explores how Casa dos Ventos Energias Renovaveis (Casa dos Ventos), a pioneer in Brazil’s renewable energy market, is expanding the company’s operations to become one of the largest energy generators in Brazil. To get there, the company’s CIO Roberto Oikawa is focused on digitizing the energy sale.
His first step was to change the culture of the company’s IT enterprise. And second, Casa dos Ventos needed a partner and IT infrastructure that allows the company to perform machine learning and artificial intelligence studies with the flexibility and agility that the business requires. Read the full story and learn how Oikawa is helping Brazil predict the wind.
Also Inside
Research on Transformation — Top strategies (p3), top drivers (p 22), and the 3 most critical skill sets (p 42).
Hybrid Future — How to prepare (p 4) and important cloud decisions (p 38).
SAP Customer Profiles — Canadian Blood Services (p 24), GraceKennedy Ltd. (p 14), Pacific Coast Companies, Inc. (p 32).
SAPinsider Magazine | 2021 | Issue 4The cover story in the Q4, 2021 issue of SAPinsider Magazine features Randstad, a global and leading provider of professional services in the HR services industry. Randstad’s mission is to be a world leader in matching demand for, and supply of, labor and HR services. Today the company and its approximately 34,680 employees represent 90% of the HR services market.
In this issue we share how Randstad is maintaining its competitive edge and maximizing its employees’ success in the new world of remote work. The company’s Manager IT Back Office Applications Detlef Richter has created a state-of-the-art self-service environment that improves employee experiences, increases employee productivity, lowers turnover, and reduces cost of services.
Richter explains how he is helping his company digitize its back-office processes for speed and agility and building the business case to move processes to the cloud.
“Our aim is to eliminate paperwork wherever possible — this is what drives us and what drives the industry.”
Other articles in this issue include:
- SAPinsider research shows that most SAP customers are moving SAP workloads to the cloud. Which factors are they considering as part of their decision and how will they measure success? Learn the answers.
- H. & J. Brüggen KG, one of the leading European manufacturers of muesli, cereals, oat flakes, and bars, explains how it achieves the best forecast for each product. Read insights from Brüggen’s Head of Supply Chain and Supply Chain Performance Manager.
- Finance and SAP Expert Birgit Starmanns breaks down how machine learning can enable SAP cash application automation. See figures and best practices to help finance and risk teams increase automation and handle exceptions.
Oct 28, 2021
•1 minute read
SAPinsider Executive Magazine | 2021 | Issue 3The 2021 September issue of SAPinsider's Executive Magazine features one of our Advisory Board Members, Hernán Guerra, who built an AI-based application to help streamline Viakem’s interview process. In just over one year the successful application has received public acknowledgement, including Viakem being recognized among Mexico’s 50 most innovative companies.
“The board really wanted us to start using AI. We looked all over the place for an initial business case. But at first, we were looking at it wrong. We were thinking what team could more easily adapt to AI, or what team would be the most supportive. That’s not the right approach. We needed to start looking at what part of our business might get the biggest benefit, and what pain could we solve,” Guerra says.
The focus on solving key business pain points brought Viakem to its HR line of business. With its new AI solution, Viakem has cut its hiring process time by almost 80%. The company has also been able to reallocate its people to higher level tasks and spend more time on final interviews. Based on time and resources saved, Viakem’s first AI project paid for itself in just over 18 months. Read the full story and learn what Guerra learned as a result of embarking on this AI project.
Also Inside
Culture — Organizational changes are required to leverage emerging technologies. On page 32, read about leading-edge trends and the strategic responses that our executive community is implementing. And on page 38, read an exclusive Q&A with one of our Advisory Board Members about how her company is developing a culture of diverse perspectives to drive creativity and better business results.
Customer — MSC Industrial (page 14), Bentley Systems (page 20), and Breakthru Beverage (page 6) are innovating in the cloud, building a roadmap for the IT landscape of the future, and becoming a fully integrated, data-driven business.
Resiliency — Developing a global presence has become a popular approach to transformation and to becoming a resilient and intelligent enterprise. Page 44 explores what is driving technology adoption and two types of transformation journeys that customers are taking.
Sep 30, 2021
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SAPinsider Magazine | 2021 | Issue 3Leading enterprises in 2021 are seizing the opportunity to combine business strategy with IT knowledge and accelerate forward into uncharted territories. Companies using SAP technology in particular are implementing next-generation technologies like analytics, SAP S/4HANA, and the cloud at an increasing rate, according to our research, requiring teams to not only develop effective business cases around these significant investments, but also put forth plans that account for a myriad of new and evolving concepts. This issue explores how companies like Hershey, Delivery Hero, and Excelitas are implementing additional skill sets, managing remote workforces during implementation projects, and breaking down the barriers between business and IT to differentiate their companies and better serve customers and employees.
Featured research in this issue provides a look into how strategies around employee experience are being adapted to accommodate workplace disruption and remote work. SAPinsider's Research Analyst Craig Powers writes: "Efforts to improve employee experience may be considered sentimental in nature as opposed to strategic, but the truth is companies want to achieve recognizable return on their people investment, and investment in experience is often about enabling more productive workers. So that begs the question — how are companies investing in employee experience?" Read his article starting on page 6 to learn the answer.
Additional articles featured in this edition include:
- The beginnings of a finance transformation for UGI Corp., a Denver, PA-based natural gas and electric utility serving over 730,000 customers in 45 Pennsylvania counties and one county in Maryland, to achieve efficiencies and cost reductions;
Getting to know SAP's President of Cloud, Brian Duffy, and his thoughts and advice about leadership, diversity and inclusion, and imagination;
- Thought leadership perspectives on what is enabling finance professionals to experiment with automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, and what leading professionals are doing to elevate the finance function within their organization and with it, the company’s entire analytics strategy; and
- What it means to commit to customer experience today, including the right research to invest in, innovating with self-service, and the value of integrating SAP and non-SAP data.
Jul 30, 2021
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SAPinsider Magazine | 2021 | Issue 2A global shift to remote working in 2020 introduced new risks, vulnerabilities, and security issues to the business landscape. The roles of security and access management have been elevated to ensure not only compliance, but a concept taken for granted prior to the pandemic: business continuity.
Apr 27, 2021
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SAPinsider Magazine | 2021 | Issue 1As SAP has accelerated its cloud strategy and acquired and incorporated various new technologies over the years, integration has become a key focus for SAP moving into 2021. This edition of SAPinsider includes a special focus on the topic of integration.
Jan 29, 2021
•1 minute read
SAPinsider Magazine | 2020 | Issue 4This special edition of SAPinsider Magazine includes a well-deserved showcase of many of the women who are leading the SAP ecosystem. The cover story is an up-close-and-personal interview with the three female executives that are steering the ship at SAP SuccessFactors: President Jill Popelka and Senior Vice Presidents Meg Bear and Amy Wilson. Each woman offers her unique perspective on how the group is leading the charge in bringing SAP SuccessFactors products to life for customers. They also share inspiring words about what their experience has been like working in the male-dominated field of SAP technology. Topics covered include: What sparked their interest in technology, what mentors or sponsors have influenced their career paths, and what type of culture SAP SuccessFactors is creating for its employees and customers.
Additional Articles Featured in This Issue
- Move to What’s Next: How SAP S/4HANA Adoption Is Changing and Why the Future of the Digital Core Is More Exciting Than Ever
- Breakthru Beverage Group Reaches New Horizon on Journey to Become a Fully Integrated, Data-Driven Business
- Demystifying SAP’s Business Technology Platform
- Strategic Workforce Management Drives Agile Decision Making at Northwest Pipe
- How to Build a Strong Security and Compliance Foundation for Your SAP Landscape
Nov 5, 2020
•1 minute read
SAPinsider Magazine | 2020 | Issue 3Before going live with one of the largest SAP S/4HANA systems in the world in just 18 months, Vodafone operated a multinational technology communications company supported by a core business model in a single instance of SAP ECC. To better support the company’s 93,000 employees, it needed to increase process automation and standardization, achieve a faster month-end close, improved user experience, and achieve better data insights. To help them enter the next digital era and achieve its goals, Vodafone created a benefits-driven business case driven by measurable key performance indicators (KPI) to support its migration to SAP S/4HANA. Learn how Vodafone built a strong business case for SAP S/4HANA, experienced minimal disruption during the migration, and implemented multiple other SAP solutions in parallel with the migration.
Additional articles featured in this issue include:
• How a Digital Integration Hub Is a Business Game-Changer in the Experience Economy
• Don’t Let Uncertainty Derail Your Finance and Accounting Operations
• The Path to an Enhanced Employee Experience
• Coca-Cola Amatil Automates Distribution Center Operations and Truckload Planning
• A Look at Version 2005 of SAP Cloud Platform ABAP Environment and the Road Ahead
Aug 17, 2020
•1 minute read
SAPinsider Magazine | 2020 | Issue 2An uncertain future in business is cause for concern, but being ill-equipped for such scenarios is a much bigger concern. No amount of forecasting or robust analytics could have helped businesses anticipate an event such as COVID-19, but SAP Analytics Cloud can enable users to practice advanced analytics based on business requirements rather than statistical proficiency for planning and forecasting purposes to allow for business continuity during these unpredictable times. Learn how in this edition's cover story.
Additional articles featured in this issue include:
• Moving Toward a Cloud Future
• Drinking Water Company Vitens Connects HR and GRC Business Roles to Achieve an 80% Automated Provisioning Rate
• Tracking Outcomes: Assessing the True Value of HCM Technology
• Learn How Hunter Douglas Achieved a Clearer View into Shop-Floor Data, Reduced Inventory, and Consolidated Purchasing with SAP S/4HANA
• How to Extend Existing On-Premise Security Infrastructures to the Cloud
May 22, 2020
•1 minute read
SAPinsider Magazine | 2020 | Issue 1Access the latest insights from SAPinsider in the 2020, issue 1 digital edition of the magazine, which includes case studies of companies using SAP technology to improve their business outcomes; best practices; expert insights; and technical columns that provide deep-dive expertise.
Apr 1, 2020
•1 minute read
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