ORLANDO — Based on a theme of “business beyond boundaries,” SAP AG today opened its 20th annual Sapphire user conference here, telling 15,000 attendees that their ability to construct and run “business networks” will define competitive advantage now and in the years to come.
“Business model change is more important than innovation,” said Henning Kagermann, chief executive of SAP, in a keynote address. He said the transformation to business network-based competition is being enabled by service-oriented architecture technology, which is now “in mass-adoption across all industries.”
The most important part of the business network trend, Kagermann noted, is an organization’s ability to collaborate with partners, suppliers, customers, and other constituencies.
In support of this, SAP demonstrated a new application called collaborative supplier management, scheduled to ship next year. The application, which will be focused on the strategic management of suppliers, will provide business insight and transparency on all supplier activities, allowing strategic analysis of the supplier portfolio, supply risk management, and ongoing supplier management. It will be an extension of the procurement process associated with SAP’s Business Suite.