SAP : The Journey to Intelligent Enterprise

In the digital economy, significant value will be created by reduction in cycle time. Companies want to deliver the right product, at the right place, at the right time to their customers. This means that business processes need to be connected and run in real time.

It also requires data to be collected and converted into intelligent insights that can trigger automated transactions across the business networks and thereby improve cycle time and productivity. It also means that companies must re-imagine their business models and how work is done.

SAP's intelligent enterprise framework connects the four worlds of data, intelligence, enterprise processes, and business networks. This framework lays the foundation of the Intelligent Enterprise that is going to dominate all industries in the future, and will allow businesses to achieve desired outcomes faster, with less risk, and become a smart best-run business.

The path to the Intelligent Enterprise depends on the business priorities and maturity of digital transformation. SAP's intelligent suite plays a critical role on the journey to the Intelligent Enterprise, as it offers integration-ready applications that can help manage customers, supply chains, networks, employees, and core processes - based on the top business priorities for our customers :

• Drive total customer experience: Re-imagining end-to-end processes from the point of first interaction to fulfillment to post-sales sometimes requires digitizing products and services, or completely re-imagining business models.
• Deliver step change in productivity: Through a combination of digital technologies, companies can achieve a 15 to 20 percent productivity gain, which will transform the cost structures and profit models of value chains across industries.
• Transform the way we work and engage employees: Touchless systems, automated processes, and other similar technologies will become the norm and will augment human capabilities to focus on value-added work and manage exceptions.

Depending on the business objectives, companies can start their journey by leveraging modern intelligent ERP and relevant cloud solutions. The Journey to Intelligent Enterprise document provides details on how companies can choose the right path to the Intelligent Enterprise, and SAP's commitment to its customers that are starting this journey.

The document elaborates on how SAP is investing in the right solutions and services, and can help customers embark on their digital transformation journey - with the goal to deliver significant business value while minimizing risks and disruption during the journey.

I encourage customers to change now - while they can, rather than when they will have to. The sooner they start, the more time they will have to address the challenges that are waiting ahead, and improve processes with more data and intelligence.

Aditi Chhaya is vice president of Content and Thought Leadership for the Digital Transformation Office at SAP.