eXXpedition and Emily Penn sent an invitation to 300 women to join them in the next phase of their journey: sail 38,000 nautical miles in 30 stages. Their mission is to explore the science of and to find solutions to address the ocean plastic problem. The initiative encourages women to become ambassadors in combatting pollution in our oceans.

Emily Penn and the team are looking to raise awareness to a higher level with help from SAP’s scientific data.

Penn shared her excitement on the partnership with SAP. She said:

“I’m incredibly excited to join forces with SAP to improve the health of our ocean by bringing together the energy of our eXXpedition community and our scientific research with SAP’s innovative technologies.”

Furthermore, Penn shared that the bigger problem is finding ways to end the plastic pollution problem by focusing more on preventing plastics from coming into the ocean. She added that businesses need to take a step forward, just like what SAP has done.

SAP will be gathering and sharing data and insights from the voyages completed by eXXpedition and provide customers, governments, non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and partners with solutions that will help reduce—eventually, eliminate—waste, maximise the productivity of resources and raise awareness on the importance of cleaning the oceans.

The SAP Plastics Cloud, a pilot program deployed in 2019, was one of the steps taken in helping reduce wastes produced by single-use plastics. It will become the foundation for a custom-built digital platform that will support Emily and the eXXpedition team in educating people on the ways they can reduce waste within their local communities.

The program will be enabled by the Ariba Network and will allow brands to connect with new recycled plastics and alternative supply sources.

One of the 300 women who will be joining Emily Penn on one of the legs of the journey is the Global Sustainability Lead for Innovation Services and solutions at SAP, Natasha Pergl.

Pergl shared that she has never experienced sailing before; however, she will be joining the Galapagos to Easter Island Pacific leg of the all-women ocean voyage next week. 

Natasha shared that she considered this an opportunity of a lifetime and that as a child, she was curious about historical expeditions. She said that she was intrigued to know how things work in voyages. She also shared that she was born a problem solver and bet her confidence in the team to solve challenges related to plastics. But she emphasised it is only possible with the right knowledge and collaboration.

Pergl also said that she understands the work done by researchers, and scientists like Emily need data to inform the business world. She also added that it would help in impacting more positive changes in the future.

One of the ways they are looking at solving the problem is the creation of a circular manufacturing and supply chain process. Pergl intends to record the experiences and participate in the science on board. She added that she is looking forward to learning more from her fellow crew members and will be sharing insights with business leaders and NGOs as well as helping in the development of the SAP solutions and services.

The post Emily Penn Sails with SAP for the Oceans appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Leading Indian pharmaceutical company Alkem Laboratories has taken the big step, as part of its growth strategy, to digitalise its procurement process as well as increase its efficiencies through SAP Ariba Solutions.

Chief Operating Officer of SAP Ariba Asia Pacific Japan, Ben Redwine, has expressed the value of digitalising procurement in not only transforming supply chains but in supporting growth strategies as well. He said:

“Alkem’s unwavering commitment is to make a difference to patients’ lives around the world – a commendable goal we hope to support by accelerating its adoption of Intelligent Spend Management. Our SAP Ariba solutions will help Alkem reduce costs, improve efficiency, increase transparency and encourage supplier collaboration while integrating with existing systems including SAP S/4HANA – which will help the business run better and, in turn, improve more people’s lives.”

 Alkem, operating for almost 5 decades in more than 50 markets around the world, aims to improve efficiency and optimise costs across all processes promising a huge competitive advantage in a cost-conscious market. As India’s generic and specialty pharmaceutical forerunner, Alkem foresees a better procure-to-pay process that transforms the buying experience with intelligent insights, better supplier collaboration, increase transparency and sustainability through the implementation of SAP Ariba Solutions.

Specifically, the SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing portfolio and the SAP Ariba Snap Program are the selected solutions by Alkem for the following benefits and features:

• Breadth: End-to-end source-to-settle platform with native integration with SAP S/4HANA
• Depth: Best-price discovery with sourcing strategies and competitive bidding
• Reach: Reduced crisis management through better supplier collaboration and order transparency

SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing

The SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing portfolio promises to optimise cost, manage risk, and ensure excellent savings. The portfolio offers streamlined solutions in managing Alkem’s sourcing, contracting and spend analysis processes across direct and indirect materials and services. The portfolio includes:

• SAP Ariba Spend Analysis
• SAP Ariba Sourcing Solutions 
• SAP Ariba Contracts 
• SAP Ariba Discovery for buyers
• SAP Ariba Savings Pipeline and Tracking

SAP Ariba Snap Program

SAP Ariba Snap Program enables midsize companies to take control of spending and enforce compliance. Alkem will be able to increase its spending control by utilising the program’s preconfigured spend categories, embedded procurement policies, business rules, and approval workflows.  Fast-growing midsize companies benefit from SAP Ariba Snap Program’s enterprise-class procurement offerings helping them move quickly to the cloud. 

As the leader in spend management, SAP Ariba, along with the world’s largest business-to-business network, Ariba Network, is, indeed the strongest go-to partner for digital transformation.

The post SAP Ariba Solutions to Digitise Alkem Laboratories LTD appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Standard Chartered Bank joined forces with SAP Ariba to capitalize on the Ariba Network, the world’s leading B2B network operating in more than 190 countries. The strategic collaboration aims to make the Bank’s financial supply chain solutions easily accessible to businesses in the Asia Pacific region through the network.

The SAP Ariba and Standard Chartered partnership intends to accelerate the digitalisation of the entire supply chain, thus, improving efficiency, transparency, and accuracy for both the buyers and suppliers. Through Ariba Network, by the end of 2019, buyers will be able to seamlessly manage their payments and supply chain finance needs with the SAP Ariba digital platform. Moreover, through Standard Chartered’s global network, suppliers will get quicker access to financing and foreign exchange.

Standard Chartered, a leading international bank with 60 markets worldwide, and SAP Ariba, the leader in global Spend Management, are committed to supporting sustainable economic growth and making financing more accessible to companies. The two global organisations aim to do so by connecting business communities and facilitating increased commerce across the globe.

Lisa Robins, Global Head of Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered said that the company’s goal is to make life easier for their clients and their ecosystems as of the bank and its customers evolve. She added:

 “We are delighted to collaborate with SAP Ariba to support our clients throughout their procure-to-pay lifecycles and beyond. As we embrace open banking, we connect communities across our footprint and provide access to integrated solutions that enable our clients to grow their businesses sustainably.”

According to Sean Thompson, Senior Vice President of Business Network and Ecosystem at SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass, with regards to procure-to-pay process, customers expect it to be easy, efficient, comprehensive and seamless.

 “We are thrilled to welcome Standard Chartered into our ever-expanding ecosystem to deliver financing options that enhance value for our customers, allowing them to complete the procure-to-pay process end-to-end on a single platform,” said Thompson.

About Ariba Network

Ariba Network allows buyers and suppliers to collaborate on transactions, strengthen their relationships, and discover new business opportunities within a single, networked platform. For buyers, managing the entire procurement process from source to settle, while controlling spending, finding new sources of savings, and building a healthy, ethical supply chain is now made possible. As for the suppliers, they can help buyers achieve their procurement transformation goals while boosting customer satisfaction, simplifying the sales cycle, and improving cash flow.

Ariba Network is forecasted to transact $3 trillion in business commerce this year. To date, the network connects over 4.1M companies worldwide, including 76{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the Fortune 2000.

About Standard Chartered

As a leading international bank, Standard Chartered offers banking services that help people and businesses prosper across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Its network serves customers in close to 150 markets worldwide. 

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges in addition to the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.

The post Standard Chartered Taps World’s Largest B2B Network appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.