The collaboration with the German enterprise resource planning solutions provider offers CII members access to the SAP Global Bharat program, which was launched in June 2020 by SAP India.

Remarking on why the organization chose to partner with SAP, Shreekant Somany, Chairman of the CII National MSME Council said:

“The pandemic has affected the way businesses used to function, pushing organizations to adopt and rely on technology to stay relevant in the market. Our purpose of collaborating with SAP and bringing in Global Bharat program for our members is to help them to the best of our ability in finding a solid footing during these unprecedented times. We truly believe that this initiative will help our Indian MSMEs to transform themselves digitally and empower them to take their business to the global level.”

SAP India’s President and Head of General Business, Subramanian Ananthapadmanabhan, expressed his excitement on this new collaboration:

“When we launched the Global Bharat program back in June 2020, we set an objective to help Indian MSMEs become globally competitive by enabling them with digital tools and solutions. We are excited that CII shares our vision to help Indian MSMEs seize this opportunity and emerge from this crisis stronger and more resilient than ever.” 

Bringing the Benefits of SAP to Indian MSMEs

As an industry-led and industry-managed organization, the CII has been working on shaping India’s development journey for over a century by assisting industries in identifying and executing corporate citizenship programs.

This year, the non-government organization is working harder to proactively transform the country’s industry engagement and pave the way for the nation’s accelerated development. With the global COVID-19 pandemic causing significant economic disruptions, the CII aims to protect Indian citizens’ jobs and livelihoods and has come up with the theme of “Building India for a New World: Lives, Livelihood, Growth” for 2020-2021.

The CII’s collaboration with SAP is part of the organization’s strategies in bringing back growth to the country’s economy and mitigating the disruptions caused by COVID-19. By enabling Indian MSMEs to reap the benefits of SAP through the Global Bharat program, the CII hopes to empower MSME owners to accelerate their companies’ digital transformation and increase their readiness and relevance in an ever-evolving environment.

Through the SAP Global Bharat program, Indian MSMEs can leverage SAP technologies and partner networks. The program offers access to the following SAP initiatives:

• Open access to SAP Ariba Discovery where buyers and suppliers can connect through the SAP Ariba Network, the largest digital B2B marketplace.
• SAP India’s Code Unnati, a Golden Peacock Award-winning digital skilling initiative that provides access to over 240 courses on Digital Financial, Soft Skills, Productivity Technologies and more.
• SAP’s Business One Starter Pack on the cloud, SAP’s world-class ERP that allows businesses to enhance efficiencies and provide more reliable products and services to customers.

About the CII

The CII works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes.

The CII had 68 offices, including 10 Centers of Excellence, in India, and 8 overseas offices in Australia, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, UAE, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 394 counterpart organizations in 133 countries. The CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.

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The Global Bharat program aims to empower Indian MSMEs on their digital transformation journey by providing them access to innovative sourcing solutions, digital skilling for the workforce, and transforming business processes. The program is part of India’s Vision 2020, and was developed in association with NASSCOM Foundation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Pratham InfoTech Foundation.

SAP India President & MD, Deb Deep Sengupta, describes the importance of this program in ensuring the country comes out of the crisis stronger than ever.

“The impact of pandemic on economy and businesses has been felt majorly by MSMEs across the country. Being a potential contributor to India’s GDP (29 per cent) and providing employment to over 111 million people, it is imperative to strengthen the sector for the revival of the country’s economy.”

SAP Ariba Network—Open to Everyone

Mid-March 2020, SAP announced that it was offering free access to SAP Ariba Discovery in response to COVID-19. The offer was originally meant to last only until the end of June. However, due to the overwhelming impact the initiative has on keeping supply chains intact as the crisis on COVID-19 persists, SAP decided to extend the free access to SAP Ariba Discovery to help connect buyers and suppliers on the SAP Ariba Network.

President of SAP Procurement Solutions, Chris Haydon, explains,

“COVID-19 disrupted global supply chains more significantly than most businesses have ever experienced. Companies realize now more than ever the power of procurement, digital networks, and the ability to find new sources of supply quickly. We are extending this offer to continue to accelerate connections between buyers and suppliers and to help ensure supply needs are fulfilled as quickly as possible during this challenging time.”

With the implementation of SAP India’s Global Bharat program, Indian MSMEs can enroll themselves as suppliers or buyers and access a global market in the SAP Ariba Network. For MSMEs, this free resource gives them the opportunity to build their sourcing networks to help their business thrive and grow.

SAP Ariba Discovery’s powerful matching algorithm matches buyers with qualified global suppliers. This not only helps MSMEs get the goods they need quickly at a lower cost, but it also improves visibility and control on spend, supplier qualifications, and product quality. Further, SAP Ariba Network adds significant value to MSMEs with a faster, more efficient sourcing discovery platform that allows businesses to maintain compliance in their sourcing process.

For MSMEs who do not have the resources to make procurement a mission-critical priority, being able to access these features with a proven solution can be the catalyst to get their companies to the next level of growth and business agility, especially in this volatile economic environment.

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