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SAP and Ariba Transform Procurement in Middle EastSUNNYVALE, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- As little as two years ago, procurement in the Middle East could be summed up in two words: administrative task. But a transformation is underway. Procurement is fast becoming a strategic capability that beyond costs savings and efficiencies, can deliver business innovation and outcomes. And with increasing frequency, companies across the region are turning to SAP SE (NYSE: SAP (News - Alert)) and Ariba to drive it. According to a recent survey conducted by Informa (News - Alert), SAP and Ariba's cloud-based applications and business network are the most-used procurement solutions in the Gulf Cooperation Community (GCC), as forward-thinking organizations embrace them to fuel a more collaborative and integrated process that can advance their business goals. Today, SAP will join with other procurement and supply chain leaders and experts at the Procurement Leaders Forum 2014 in Dubai to discuss this trend. "Procurement today is more connected and informed than ever," said Sebastian Vitzthum, Director Business Network Marketing - EMEA, SAP. "Just as consumers connect to personal networks to learn, share and shop better, innovative procurement organizations are beginning to tap into business networks to re-invent commerce and create value." Changing the Game The value of procurement in the GCC remains in its ability to deliver cost savings and process efficiencies. According to the Informa survey, 41 percent of businesses in member countries reported savings of over $2 million through procurement in 2013/2014. But the scope of the function is broadening. Through a survey of procurement professionals in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, Informa found that:
Removing Barriers While the vision for and status of procurement has clearly been elevated, participants in the survey say they still struggle to shift from tactical to strategic activities (78 percent) and to align their objectives with business strategy due to a lack of standard processes and integrated solutions to drive them (76 percent). "The challenge of finding the right procurement system has grown," said Informa survey author Hoda Abdelhay. "There are a lot of solutions that can sharpen one aspect of the process, but very few that can tie everything together." As procurement professionals seek to achieve their top three objectives over the next two years - managing supplier relations, automating procurement and balancing quality with profit - demand for such solutions will only grow. Simplifying Business Commerce Companies need to buy lots of different products and services. And to do so effectively, they need to support different types of buying processes and connect and collaborate with many different suppliers of all shapes and sizes - and technical capabilities - in different parts of the world. With SAP, companies can manage all of their spend, suppliers, and processes in the simplest way ossible - through the Ariba® Network™. Used by more than 1.5 million companies in 190 countries to transact over half a trillion in commerce on an annual basis, the Ariba Network is the world's largest, most global business-to-business trading community. "Social networks have made it easier than ever to drive conversations, gather intelligence and manage relationships," Vitzthum said. "The Ariba Network and the cloud-based applications delivered on it make it just as easy for companies to manage all of their spend, trading relationships and commerce activities." As a truly open business network, the Ariba Network provides a single integration point that companies - regardless of the backend systems them may be using - can use to:
Delivering Results And in the process, they can enable a new, more connected way of operating that delivers measurable and sustainable results, including:
To learn more about the business networks, cloud-based applications and the transformation they are driving across industries and companies, visit www.ariba.com.
About Ariba, an SAP Company
About SAP
About Procurement Leaders Procurement Leaders is the regional platform for extensive learning on the latest practices, techniques, strategies and technologies for delivering best procurement business plan. It gathers a unique blend of procurement, purchasing and supply chain experts in the GCC and Middle East from across all industries to share their experience and knowledge. For more information, visit procurementme.informa-mea.com.
About Informa # # # 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 (News - Alert)"), 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.
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