EDEKA Group Empowers Business Partners With SAP and Crossgate

NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The leading grocery retailer in Germany, EDEKA Group, has chosen Crossgate and SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to help improve integration of processes and data exchange with business partners, forming an efficiently operating business partner network geared to deliver amid the day-to-day demands of the perishable goods business. A new application developed by SAP and Crossgate, a global expert in the area of business to business (B2B) integration, establishes uniform and reliable electronic data interchange (EDI) between EDEKA and its business partners. The software's introduction is closely linked to an EDEKA Group program to harmonize IT processes in close collaboration with SAP. This announcement was made at the National Retail Federation (NRF) 100th Annual Convention and Expo, being held January 9-12, 2011, at the Javits Convention Center in New York.

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"Efficiently integrating our business partners is essential for greater competitive advantage," said Dr. Reinhard Schutte, board member of EDEKA AG, responsible for finance and IT. "With the SAP Information Interchange application by Crossgate, we can communicate with our business partners nearly in real time, gain process transparency, and more quickly react to and deliver on the changing daily demands of our customers."

Connecting a Multitude of Business Partners

Application landscapes with a diverse mix of in-house solutions and standard software present one of the largest barriers to standardizing retail business processes and electronic exchange with business partners. Companies operating with such IT landscapes can be hindered by discontinuities in processes or data exchange through individually developed point-to-point connections with partners' IT systems. This leads to, among other things, long connection times and high maintenance costs, and hinders the efficiency of the business partner network.

The new application, SAP® Information Interchange application by Crossgate, delivers the relevant content for data processing, forming the foundation for information interchange between EDEKA and its business partners. For electronic data exchange, the application uses the Crossgate B2B transaction platform Business-Ready Network. Based on SAP® Business Suite software and the SAP NetWeaver® technology platform, the software empowers EDEKA with the relevant B2B process logic and information for data processing from retail partners and qualified B2B processes. Crossgate supports EDEKA's business partners whenever necessary in simply becoming EDI capable, and also eases their entry into the EDEKA Group's business partner network.

"Together with SAP, we have set a new standard in electronic partner integration," explained Stefan Tittel, CEO, Crossgate. "The combination of SAP Information Interchange by Crossgate, the B2B technology platform from Crossgate and the preconfigured SAP processes enables EDEKA to establish a next-generation business partner network."

In a first step, Crossgate and SAP will make central business processes such as order processing, dispatch notifications and invoicing electronically available on a continuous basis using the joint solution. With this step, the EDEKA Group aims to advance and enhance standard processes, eliminate dependence on EDI standards and make it easier to react to changes such as new billing regulations within the business partner network.

In addition to supporting core business processes, SAP Information Interchange, backed by the Crossgate Business-Ready Network, will allow the future implementation of further IT-supported processes in the area of retail logistics. The potential here is in executing complex, retail-unique processes such as direct store delivery, whereby a manufacturer delivers directly to a branch store; or cross-docking, by which collective deliveries are commissioned to the proper branch store at a central trans-shipment center and from there delivered to the market.

Continuous Care for the Business Partner Network

For the EDEKA Group, Crossgate is operating SAP Information Interchange in a managed services model. Experts from Crossgate are responsible, in collaboration with EDEKA's IT department, for operating and making the necessary adjustments to business partner profiles over the life cycle of the application. Thanks to managed services, the EDEKA Group gains a high degree of flexibility in shaping, adjusting and implementing processes and, at the same time, remains independent of incidental changes on the side of business partners.

"Our successful and trustful cooperation with the EDEKA Group and Crossgate is a lighthouse project in the retail sector," said Michael Kleinemeier, regional president, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and managing director, SAP Germany. "With our software and our partner strategy, we're helping Germany's leading grocery retailer run business better across its widespread business partner network."

About EDEKA Group

With about EUR 37 billion in total turnover and around 12,000 supermarkets, the EDEKA Group is No. 1 in Germany's food retail sector. In 2008, the Group succeeded in defending its leading position and setting new benchmarks: turnover in its core field of activity - the food retail trade - was up by 4.9 percent, to reach EUR 32 billion. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved by two percent year-on-year, to reach EUR 1.1 billion.

With the strategic focus on the successful distribution concepts of retailer-managed full-range supermarkets and the discount segment, the EDEKA Group is ideally positioned to enjoy continued growth in the future, both in terms of turnover and earnings, and to increase its high market share on a sustained basis.

About Crossgate

Crossgate offers the world's first Business-Ready Network, guaranteeing 100 percent integration of business partners, clients and suppliers. A single connection to the Network means electronic data exchange with any business partner regardless of their technical capabilities. With its legally compliant e-Invoicing Services, Crossgate also provides an innovative and 100 percent secure solution to cover the entire process of incoming and outgoing invoices, including signatures, global compliance monitoring, and secure automated long-term archiving. More than 40,000 business partners, representing over 10 industries, currently exchange documents and data via the Business-Ready Network.

Beginning in 2010, SAP and Crossgate extended their cooperation with a new B2B offering as solution extension for the SAP solution portfolio. The SAP® Information Interchange application by Crossgate delivers for SAP customers standardized B2B content to exchange their B2B data with their business partners globally via the Business-Ready Network. Crossgate's international customers are companies including AUDI, BASF, Continental, EPCOS, Lanxess, VW and many more.

Crossgate headquarters is located in Munich, Germany, and the company internationally represented by subsidiaries in the U.S., Great Britain, Italy and France. For more information, visit www.crossgate.com.

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 105,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more information, visit www.sap.com.

(*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, and related applications.

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