12 tech startups from across the globe, including Singapore’s Portcast, have been selected to join one of the largest SAP.iO accelerator programmes hosted by SAP.iO Foundries Munich and Telaviv. As tech startups that specialise in the field of supply chain and logistics, the cohort will be developing innovative technologies that would enhance supply chain operations by harnessing SAP and Accenture technologies and expertise.

“A resilient supply chain, with risk strategies in place, predicts, responds, and recovers from unanticipated events by either returning to its original state or morphing into a state that is even better at profitably meeting customers’ needs. It is about using the right tools to make the right business decisions, even under pressure,” said Jan Gilg, President and Chief Product Officer SAP S/4HANA. 

SAP has been at the forefront of supply chain innovations since the pandemic disrupted the world and forced businesses across all industries to step into unchartered territory and face unprecedented global supply chain challenges. Planning as a service with the SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain solution and Qualtrics Supply Continuity Pulse solution are some of the free offerings that the German software giant launched during the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis in 2020.

SAP and Accenture Supporting Supply Chain-Oriented Startups

Sharing a common goal, longstanding partners SAP and Accenture have been driving innovation across various industries worldwide harnessing both of the companies’ market-leading technologies and services. Part of SAP and Accenture’s series of initiatives is supporting tech startups to scale innovation and business growth through the SAP.iO programme. In 2021, the two multinationals teamed up for two SAP.iO programmes centred on sustainability – the SAP.iO Foundries North America cohorts for sustainable solutions in the consumer and retail industry and the joint programme by SAP.iO Foundries Berlin and Munich for innovative solutions that would deliver environmental and societal impact.

This year, SAP and Accenture are once again joining forces to help startups advance their innovation and expand market presence under the joint virtual accelerator programme of the SAP.iO Foundries Munich and Tel Aviv themed “Resilient Supply Chain”. The 12 tech startups from four supply chain domains have been selected by a jury of experts from SAP and Accenture, SAP partners and SAP customers.

Under the domain of Business Planning & Resiliency are tech startups Bringoz, Craft.co, numi solutions GmbH, and Tacto. MIXMOVE AS and Portcast are tagged under the Transportation Management domain.

Five tech startups are categorised under the Warehouse and Fulfillment domain namely, CognitOps Inc., Logidot, Magazino Gmbh,Picavi Gmbh, and Verity. Lastly, startup Milkman Technologies represent the Last-Mile Delivery domain.

For 14 weeks, the supply chain cohort will have the opportunity to learn from SAP experts through curated mentorship, have access to SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs) as well as collaborate with SAP and Accenture customers.

Singapore’s Logistics Tech Startup

Singaporean tech startup PortCast, one of the 12 SAP.iO supply chain cohort, offers logistics companies a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that enhances demand forecasting and real-time vessel and container tracking to help them achieve better profitability, the total cost of operations and enable decarbonisation. Led by Founders Nidhi Gupta and Dr. Lingxiao Xia, who have extensive logistics backgrounds and deep tech research and PhDs, PortCast is backed by a group of data scientists, software engineers, and logistics domain experts as well as tech investment firms.

In September 2021, the logistics tech startup has raised US$3.2 million in a pre-series A round from early-stage venture capital firm Newtown Partners, Wavemaker Partners, TMV, Innoport, and SGInnovate. The new investment is focussed on expanding the company’s global footprint by doubling its manpower and transitioning to a prescriptive AI approach from predictive AI.

“We believe that companies with predictive visibility on cargo movements have a significantly higher preparedness to downstream planning and customer service,” Nidhi Gupta, CEO and co-founder of Portcast, earlier stated.

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Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), one of the world’s leading petrochemical producers, has been expanding its global footprint recording over 10 completed mergers and acquisitions from 2019 to present. With a growing presence across more than 35 countries, the chemicals manufacturer has tapped SAP and Accenture to design, develop, and deploy an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with SAP S/4HANA. The strategy aims to create a single source of information across IVL’s global business.

The new ERP system is expected to enhance IVL’s operations efficiency, employee-development capabilities, and customer and supplier experiences. To ensure a successful transition to the new system, Accenture will provide IVL with enterprise-wide change management services.

Deepak Parikh, IVL’s Chief Strategy Officer, said:

“With our rapid growth over the past decade, we needed one ERP system across all our platforms, so we chose SAP S/4HANA to bring together different processes across all the parts of our business.” 

“We selected Accenture because it understands how to seamlessly integrate our processes and data into one system, so we can rely on accurate and consistent operating data across all locations and manage our business optimally,” she explained.

The Platform of Choice

Bangkok-based IVL will be leveraging Accenture myConcerto, an insight-driven, digitally integrated platform that harmonises the power of new SAP solutions and technologies, including SAP S/4HANA, and Accenture’s industry and functional expertise. The platform is anticipated to standardise and orchestrate IVL’s key business functions and will be hosted on Microsoft Azure for easy scalability.

Launched in 2018, Accenture myConcerto combines the best of SAP and Accenture to amplify business outcomes for the intelligent enterprise. The solutions embed SAP Model Company and are delivered in collaboration with SAP Value Assurance services throughout all project phases. For SAP clients, the platform also uses SAP Cloud Platform and SAP Leonardo digital innovation system to accelerate time-to-value.

SAP and Accenture Partnership

Abhishek Kahol, a Managing Director at Accenture who leads the Accenture Microsoft Business Group in the Asia Pacific, highlighted that the chemical company took a great leap forward with the strategic move to a single company-wide ERP solution.

“By embracing industry best practices using Accenture myConcerto, SAP S/4HANA, and a public cloud-based architecture from Microsoft Azure, IVL will be positioned to scale globally, create cost efficiencies, and lay the foundation for future digital capabilities,” Kahol stressed.

Furthermore, to address IVL’s goal of improving the management of customer experiences, its human resources capabilities, and time and expense management, Accenture will be deploying additional SAP cloud solutions such as SAP Customer Experience, SAP SuccessFactors, and SAP Concur.

Commenting on IVL’s recent digital strategy, recently promoted SAP Southeast Asia President and Managing Director Verena Siow said:

“Innovative chemical companies focus on developing differentiating, customer-centric business models and processes to stay ahead of their competition while striving for safe and highly efficient operations. As IVL consolidates its portfolio and grows in response to market dynamics, it plans to adopt digital technologies to transform into an intelligent enterprise. This can help innovate business models to grow revenue and transform business processes and services to enhance customer and supplier experiences.”

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