Latest Version of SAP® Sourcing OnDemand Solution Delivers Sourcing Innovation, Easy Adoption and Increased Cost Savings

WALLDORF, Germany, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- On-demand technologies are continuing to grow as an important facilitator for companies looking for cost effective solutions that can be quickly deployed. To address this increasing adoption and market traction, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the latest release of the SAP® Sourcing OnDemand solution, wave 7. The solution delivers the complete sourcing-to-contract process via an on-demand deployment model, enabling rapid time to value. Wave 7 of SAP Sourcing OnDemand includes usability enhancements, mobile device support, integration of business intelligence tools from the SAP® BusinessObjects™ portfolio, and new functionalities in the areas of sourcing, contract management and supplier management. SAP Sourcing OnDemand offers flexibility through subscription packages that deliver strategic sourcing, contract life-cycle management and supplier management components integrated with the enterprise resource planning (ERP) application SAP® ERP. This latest release demonstrates how SAP is delivering business innovation and speeding customer time to value by providing new releases of on-demand solutions twice a year.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a)

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a)

In early September 2010, SAP conducted customer workshops in which 25 companies experienced SAP Sourcing OnDemand firsthand. Participating companies responded positively to the usability enhancements and key new capabilities as well as the ease of adoption that they were able to directly experience during the workshop.

"The number one concern of our customers is the price of energy. SAP Sourcing OnDemand helps us improve customer satisfaction," said Gail DeVeau, director of supply chain, We Energies. "We have found that electronic bidding and reverse auctions lead to cost reductions that help us hold the line on energy prices. Our SAP ERP is run by We Energies while the sourcing solution is hosted by SAP. We chose the on-demand solution for sourcing because we were up and running in less than one month."

Wave 7 of SAP Sourcing OnDemand enables faster and more effective strategic sourcing, contract management and supplier management processes for accelerated savings through the following capabilities:

• Rapid and more effective sourcing decisions — Wave 7 provides significant enhancement for total cost calculations that support better sourcing decisions, including line item grouping and formula-based pricing, along with new auction types and tools for faster results and enhanced supplier management workflow. It also offers mobile device support for sourcing processes and contract approvals.
• Key usability enhancements — Users now have faster access to content and new ways to evaluate event results through new usability features, including favorites, saved searches, auto-complete, global searches, user reporting, a "Quick Create" tool and enhanced charting features. Users can also now access their most active business documents immediately. Use of SAP BusinessObjects reporting tools such as Xcelsius® software provides report views that can be modified in real time, and supplier performance dashboards provide enhanced supplier performance visibility.  
• Faster management of contract documents and enhanced globalization — An enhanced default view of contract documents allows users to quickly access contract documents and attachments, while a quick and fully searchable repository delivers enhanced accessibility to documents in different locations, and can effectively manage contract expirations and audits. The solution also maintains different currencies on master and sub-agreements. Wave 7 also enables the publishing and replication of supplier information between multiple backend ERP systems.

SAP is also providing packaged standard services such as customer success manager, on-boarding and enablement, as well as hosting and training. Additional services such as consulting services, event day support, supplier and contract support, legacy contract migration and supplier management risk profiling are also available.

"Through co-innovation with its customers, SAP is committed to delivering on the promise of on-demand solutions through rapid innovation and adoption of its solutions," said Mark Ellis, senior vice president development, SAP Sourcing OnDemand, SAP AG. "Successful companies have formal sourcing processes, and effective contract management and supplier programs. The enhancements in wave 7 enable superior supplier and contract management while providing sustainable cost savings with the rapid time to value necessary to compete in today's global economy."

Next Major Event: SAP® TechEd 2010 in Berlin, Las Vegas, Bangalore, and Shanghai

More than 14,000 SAP customers, partners and technical experts are expected to convene at SAP® TechEd 2010, the company's largest ecosystem education event series. The conference brings IT managers, software developers, administrators, and business process experts together to see, hear and share how they and their peers can stay one step ahead of business change. Choosing from hundreds of hours of expert-led sessions and hands-on training, attendees can gain the inspiration and skills they need to maximize impact on their organizations. In its 14th year, SAP TechEd 2010 is being held in Berlin, Germany, October 12-14; Las Vegas, Nevada, October 18-22; Bangalore, India, December 1-3; and Shanghai, China, December 1-2. Follow SAP TechEd on Twitter at @sapteched. For announcements, blog posts, videos and other coverage during the event series, visit the SAP TechED newsroom at www.sapteched.com/news.

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 102,500 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.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

Copyright © 2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved.

SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serve informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary.

Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

SOURCE SAP AG