More and more enterprises in the Philippines are leveraging SAP technology and solutions to optimize their processes, expedite business growth, and integrate sustainability into their corporate strategies.
Sustainability is becoming an integral part of the business objectives of many Philippine organizations. This shift is driven in part by a need to improve efficiency and reduce costs, but also by a growing awareness of the societal and environmental benefits of sustainable practices. As businesses in the country continue to recalibrate their operations, sustainability will play an increasingly important role in ensuring long-term success.
According to research conducted by PwC Philippines titled “Hindsights, Insights, Foresights: The Future in the Present Tense”, the majority of chief executive officers (CEOs) in the nation have the intention of increasing the amount of money their companies spend on technologies. Meanwhile , more than two-thirds of respondents want the companies they work for to boost their investments in the aspects of environmental, social, and governance (ESG).
In 2015, 193 United Nations member states — including the Philippines — adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to accelerate global progress toward a better future. The 2030 Agenda includes the 17 SDGs, which are organized under the headings of “People,” “Prosperity and Planet,” and “Peace.” With its Chasing Zero initiative, SAP in the Philippines is laying the groundwork for businesses to become intelligent and sustainable in pursuit of a future with zero emissions, zero waste, and zero inequality.
Enabling Globe Telecom’s Transformation with SAP Technology and Solutions
During a recent roundtable discussion headlined “Transform Tomorrow, Today: SAP Philippines CXO Roundtable,” business executives from SAP, Globe Telecom, and Unioil shared insights on how they are reshaping the future through innovation and sustainability to ensure their organizations’ success.
According to Suzelyn Urbano, Vice President of IT Enterprise Services at Globe Telecom, Inc., innovation is both “disruptive and life-changing”. Urbano said that the telecommunications company has constantly innovated over the course of almost 10 years, always keeping the interests of its customers in mind. Since 1999, SAP and Globe have worked together to replace multiple aging legacy systems and automate tedious manual tasks through the use of SAP cloud applications, concluding Globe’s purpose-led digital transformation journey.
Urbano stated that SAP powers 70% of Globe Telecom’s internal systems. The company found that the enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform SAP S/4HANA acted as a catalyst for change, allowing it to quickly adjust to changes in the industry. Because SAP technology and solutions were already in effect across all of its departments, Globe Telecom was able to:
- Improve business processes, reduce manual tasks, enhance decision-making by making the switch to SAP S/4HANA
- Enhance usability and data accessibility with SAP Fiori applications.
- Efficiently executing financial transactions and providing error-free reports with more use of automation in the finance department.
- Gain real-time business insights from the consolidation of accounting processes.
“Empathy lies at the heart of Globe’s innovation. We look at the problems we have now and innovate from there, making sure to solve the real issues. Globe’s vision has always been making families’ dreams come true and empowering businesses to flourish to help achieve an admired nation. As we create our products, we always anchor them in that vision,” Urbano further shared.
Unioil Accelerates Innovation and Sustainability with SAP S/4HANA
Petroleum products company Unioil is another Philippine business that utilizes SAP S4/HANA ERP system to establish better operational system integration and propel the company toward a more sustainable future. Unioil’s Digital Transformation Evangelist Nestor De Guzman has recently made public the company’s groundbreaking efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Considering the current predicament that the country is going through, De Guzman also indicated that Unioil intends to help the nation in growing its own energy supply rather than depending on the supply of energy that comes from outside the country. He thinks that Unioil is helping to bring forth a more sustainable future with its many green initiatives, such as solar farms, EV charging stations, and Smartlocker technology.
“For us, at Unioil, digital transformation involves combining the appropriate technology, leadership, and culture. Innovation begins when business executives embrace the transformation enabled by smart technologies,” De Guzman noted.
Weighing in on the topic, Gintare Zukauskaite, Innovation Lead at SAP Southeast Asia (SAP SEA), said that “disruptive thinking” is what brings about change in the world right now. She added that in order to innovate, companies need to take into account the present situation while also thinking outside the box to come up with ideas that will better their operations.
