Canon Marketing Japan (Canon MJ) has been a frontrunner in adopting digital solutions to enhance business processes. Recognizing the need for a unified and efficient approach, Canon MJ integrated SAP’s cloud-based service procurement platform, SAP Fieldglass, into its operations. (InsideSAP Asia often references articles from websites in other languages to bring you as much information as possible.) This strategic move was aimed at not only standardizing service procurement procedures across various departments but also at injecting innovation into their system.

Canon MJ, known for its prowess in IT solutions, has been steering towards a vision of becoming a “professional corporate group” that leverages ICT and human expertise to address societal and customer challenges. Central to this vision is the digital overhaul, specifically targeting the management infrastructure, with SAP Fieldglass playing a pivotal role. This platform has enabled Canon MJ to efficiently manage service procurements, ranging from dispatch contracts to more complex outsourcing agreements, thus addressing diverse business requirements.

Canon Marketing Japan Selects SAP Fieldglass

Canon MJ’s choice of SAP Fieldglass wasn’t arbitrary. Four key reasons underpinned this decision. Firstly, SAP Fieldglass stood out as a platform that effectively digitalized connections with suppliers. Secondly, its compatibility with various contract types, notably dispatch and outsourcing contracts, made it an ideal choice. Thirdly, its inherent reporting capabilities allowed end-users to generate customized reports, a significant boost for operational transparency. Lastly, SAP Fieldglass’s high compatibility with Canon MJ’s newly introduced ERP system, SAP S/4HANA, sealed the deal.

The implementation of SAP Fieldglass in Canon MJ’s SI/construction segment has yielded impressive results. A notable achievement is the reduction in service order lead times by an average of six days, a significant improvement in operational efficiency. This time reduction not only streamlines the procurement process but also positions Canon MJ to better respond to the dynamic business environment.

The adoption of SAP Fieldglass has brought about a paradigm shift towards paperless operations, eliminating traditional processes such as physical sealing and document storage. Moreover, the integration with the budget performance management system has streamlined budget management tasks, enhancing accuracy in forecasting and overall project management.

SAP Spend Connect Forum Unveils How Canon MJ Overcame Challenges

Canon MJ’s journey with SAP Fieldglass wasn’t without challenges. The end-of-month processing surges, the need to adhere to various compliance requirements, and the substantial volume of monthly contracts posed significant hurdles. Furthermore, the transition required extensive efforts to familiarize suppliers and employees with the new system, underscoring the need for robust support mechanisms, such as dedicated help desks.

Despite these challenges, Canon MJ, with SAP’s support, has successfully elevated the operation and utility of SAP Fieldglass, aligning it with its initial objectives and operational expectations.

Looking forward, Canon MJ aims to leverage the data and networks accrued through SAP Fieldglass to drive further advancements in service procurement. The focus is on expanding opportunities for departmental supplier matching, enhancing skill-based evaluations of engineers, and fostering data-driven problem-solving. Although they haven’t fully utilized the bidding functions of SAP Fieldglass yet, there’s a strong commitment to exploring these avenues to transform service procurement methods further.

Canon MJ’s experience with SAP Fieldglass is more than just a case study in digital transformation. It serves as a beacon for other companies navigating the complex landscape of service procurement and system innovation. The SAP Spend Connect Forum 2023 has highlighted Canon MJ’s journey, showcasing a successful blend of strategic vision, technological adoption, and resilience in the face of challenges.

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In a recent SAP research in partnership with PR and communications market research firm Regina Corso Consulting, it was revealed that 90{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of supply chain professionals agreed that procurement plays a critical role in overcoming supply chain and sustainability challenges such as improving supply chain transparency, enhancing supplier relations and supplier diversification, enhancing payment terms for better liquidity, and reskilling talents. Etosha Thurman, Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer, Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP stated that supply chain disruptions have been immensely compounded due to ongoing shortages and delays caused by the pandemic. She stressed:

“To navigate these unpredictable circumstances, supply chain leaders must strategically leverage procurement to effectively manage supplier relationships, mitigate customer frustrations, control costs and ensure business resiliency.”

Companies Advancing Supply Chain Procurement Process 

During the latter half of 2021, hundreds of organisations from various industries across regions spanning Asia, North America, and EMEA have adopted and /or renewed SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass solutions to modernise their supply chain procurement process as well as their external workforce management.  In the Gartner 2021 “Magic Quadrant for Procure-to-Pay Suites” report, SAP was named a Leader, for the sixth consecutive time, following an evaluation of SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass solutions’ “Ability to Execute” and “Completeness of Vision.”

Here are some of the SAP customers that have rolled out SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass solutions for supply chain procurement management in the second half of 2021:

Genting Malaysia Berhad, Genting Group subsidiary, has implemented SAP Ariba Sourcing, SAP Ariba Supplier Info, Performance Management, SAP Ariba Commerce Automation, SAP Ariba Contract Management, and SAP Signature Management by DocuSign to enhance business processes as well as upskill employees within the supply chain to provide value-added services.

HP Inc., a multinational technology company known for personal computers, printers, and 3D printing solutions, has collaborated with SAP to deploy SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain applications, SAP Ariba solutions for supply chain, and SAP Fieldglass solutions for external workforce management. 

Hunya Foods, a Taiwan-based manufacturer and distributor of chocolates and cookies, tapped the enterprise software company to create a new procurement platform powered by SAP Ariba solutions to drive operational efficiency. The company aims to modernise its procurement process, including decision-making and overall planning, through a platform that can record supplier information and transactions.

R. Twining & Co., a UK-based iconic tea brand, has embarked on a supply chain transformation project leveraging RISE with SAP on Microsoft Azure, SAP Business Technology Platform, and, SAP Ariba solutions for digital procurement.

Siemens Energy AG, a global energy company headquartered in Munich, Germany, has implemented SAP Ariba solutions to automate the company’s procurement operations.

Shining Investment, a Chinese company that advocates clean energy and environmental protection, implemented several SAP applications to accelerate digitalistion. Shining Investment subscribed to RISE with SAP for a scalable, cloud-based digital core, SAP Ariba solutions, and the SAP Analytics Cloud solution for intelligent spend management and data-oriented decision-making, respectively.

Zijin Mining, a leading gold mining Chinese company, has chosen SAP Ariba solutions to back its growing global business with a focus on improving procurement processes and group governance.

“A full two years into the pandemic, business leaders understand from experience that collaborative, agile procurement operations are needed to keep up with customer demands,” said Thurman. “No one can escape supply chain disruption and the cascading consequences across industries and regions, so having visibility is crucial in managing supply shortages. Our customers continue to adopt our spend management solutions to help gain a competitive advantage by managing complexity, improving supplier relationships, and ensuring supply chain reliability.”

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Japanese IT services provider Kobelco Systems Corporation lives by its mission of responding to its customers’ diverse needs. Being known in the industry as an expert in constructing IT systems and a reliable provider of integrated and comprehensive end-to-end solutions, the surge of projects is predictable. With a growing customer base and increasing requests for IT systems projects, Kobelco Systems has been faced with the challenge to keep up with the demand due to the shortage of highly-skilled personnel in the company to carry out the projects. 

Kobelco Systems tapped SAP Fieldglass to deliver solutions that would transform the company’s contingent workforce management. The company has been relying on the external workforce including independent contractors and services providers like IT outsourcers to ensure optimal customer deliverables. 

The personnel shortage caused by the rising severity of contract terms with the company’s supplier partners and the competition for a highly-skilled IT workforce were some of the challenges that Kobelco Systems had to bring forward to SAP Fieldglass. The company has acknowledged the need to forge ahead and address these concerns to be able to increase productivity and reduce risks.

With SAP Fieldglass solutions, Kobelco Systems was able to fulfill its need for visibility into all external workers and enabled active management of this key workforce segment. In late 2019, the solutions were officially deployed to streamline the enterprise’s external workforce management.

Moving forward with SAP Fieldglass as a partner, Kobelco Systems intends to do the following:

• Standardise processes for increased efficiency in sourcing, managing and paying external workers as well as stronger compliance to regulations
• Have clear and credible insight into various data points, including occupational categories, departments, costs, project durations, contract terms and performance evaluations for better decision-making and workforce planning
• Grow an external talent pool of IT project personnel who can be matched to future work assignments with greater efficiency based on skills, cost, and quality of past projects.

Kobelco Systems’ corporate vision is “to share with customers’ vision,” and “to contribute always from IT infrastructure planning, design, and development of business applications including ERP to operation and maintenance.” With customers as the top of mind, Kobelco Systems is committed to helping other SAP Fieldglass customers with their implementation projects after the solutions’ successful rollout.

About Kobelco Systems Corporation

As an innovative company, Kobelco Systems received the SAP Award of Excellence 2020 – Project Award at the 2020 SAP Partner Summit Day convention for SAP partners of SAP Japan. The award was given after the successful implementation of the “Audio Technica Co., Ltd.: Next Core System Introduction Project”, the first SAP S/4HANA on Azure implementation project in Japan.

Kobelco Systems’ mission is to respond to its customers’ diverse needs, through the synergy between Kobe Steel and IBM. The company inherited its “dedication to ‘monozukuri’ (a Japanese approach to manufacturing) and good quality” from the 100-year old manufacturing company Kobe Steel. The Kobelco Systems’ inherited the “first-class IT know-how and processes” from IBM, a world-class leader in the information service industry. 

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Burger King Brazil and Guatemala’s Banco G&T Continental joined the growing number of global companies that utilize SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass intelligent spend management solutions in digitally transforming procurement and integrating the entire buying process across their organizations.

Two of the leading organizations that continue to choose SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass solutions are Uniper SE, an experienced international energy company from Germany, and Follett Corporation, a U.S. educational product and services provider for over 140 years.

This year, thousands of new companies have chosen SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass solutions to help digitalize goods and services procurement, manage direct and indirect spend, and source and manage external workers. Below are some of the companies that have started utilizing SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass solutions during the second quarter:

•  Banco G&T Continental selected SAP Ariba solutions to help simplify its procurement processes, establish better governance and improve its relationship with suppliers. As one of the largest banks in Guatemala and Central America, Banco G&T Continental expects that its digital transformation will help improve operational efficiency and transparency and elevate its brand.
• Burger King, one of the largest fast-food operators in Brazil, relied on SAP to support its fast growth. SAP Fieldglass solutions will be utilized in managing the growing company’s interactions with services vendors. Also, Burger King Brazil leverages SAP Concur solutions to support expense management and SAP SuccessFactors solutions to help attract, retain and develop its workforce. SAP Customer Experience solutions will soon be adopted as well by the company to support its massive customer data growth from all customer touchpoints. In 2018, Burger King in Korea has also deployed the cloud-based procurement applications and business network of SAP Ariba and S/4HANA to create an efficient digital process for managing its spend from end to end in an integrated way to fuel savings, efficiencies and business growth.
• Hospital Sirio-Libanes, a Brazilian philanthropic healthcare institution, is relying on SAP offerings to support its digital transformation road map. It has two general hospitals, five ambulatory centers and over 4,400 registered physicians in São Paulo and Brasilia. The institution has selected SAP Ariba solutions, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP SuccessFactors solutions to transform procurement, improve strategic sourcing and optimize financial closing and operational processes. The SAP solutions will create a data-driven healthcare company and provide multi-dimensional analytics to support business decisions intended to generate better results for the institution and its patients.

SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass Senior Vice President and General Manager Pat McCarthy said:

“Managing spend has never been more critical. And what better way to drive excellence into spend management than bringing spend data together across all sources and categories. From energy and education to banking, food, and healthcare, these new clients joining our community highlight just how critical smarter decision-making and better collaboration are across industries and geographies. With SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass solutions enabling an integrated source-to-pay process for managing every category of spend, coupled with SAP Concur solutions for travel and expense management, SAP delivers an Intelligent Spend Management platform unrivaled in the market.”

SAP Fieldglass helps companies manage their external workforce and services procurement spend, including nearly 170,000 statements of work in the second quarter of 2019.

SAP Ariba, the leader in spend management, connects trading partners from more than 3.6 million businesses, operating in more than 190 countries with nearly 3 trillion dollars worth of transactions each year through Ariba Network. SAP hosts customers, partners and influencers in SAP Ariba Live, bringing together a diverse community of buyers, suppliers, and partners to experience the value of Ariba Network and discuss technology, innovation, and market trends. Here are the upcoming event schedules of SAP Ariba Live:

SAP Ariba Live Singapore, August 20-22,2019

SAP Ariba Live Sydney, September 11-12,2019

SAP Ariba NOW Brazil, September 11-12,2019

SAP Ariba Live Singapore is a FREE event to be held at the Raffles City Convention Centre. Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, known as the father of social business and microcredit, will deliver an inspiring closing keynote, sharing his story of how he embraced the term “spend better” by using the power of investment to help change the world.

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Lancers has utilized the Open Talent Platform Concept to implement SAP Fieldglass, which integrated both Palaft Co., Ltd. and Persol Holdings Co., creating a database that connects individuals to a broad range of networks within the SAP community. The program uses an analytics suite to better manage their external workforce, such as contractors, temporary staff and freelancers. Recently, Shareful – an on demand matching platform – has been launched to this purpose. 

“We agreed to promote data linkage with the cloud solution SAP® Fieldglass® provided by SAP Japan.

Lancers website: https://www.lancers.co.jp/news/pr/17451/

SAP Japan confirms SAP users can now access a wide range of freelance talent while contributing to the promotion of corporate business growth. The program will allow for collaboration between companies using SAP Fieldglass, and will assist in optimizing their selection of external sources.

 “Our vision is to create a society where everyone can work in their own way with technology.”

Lancers website: https://www.lancers.co.jp/news/pr/17451/

The collaboration will benefit freelancers and part-timers, allowing them a broader scope to take advantage of opportunities offered by SAP companies. 

“SAP Japan welcomes Lancers’s announcement of the solution collaboration with SAP Fieldglass from the heart. As a means to solve the labor shortage in Japan, the collaboration of the freelancer is indispensable… We confirm that SAP users can connect with more freelancers and contribute to the promotion of freelancers at the same time as corporate business growth, and prepare training programs for SAP consultants whose needs are increasing. Also, I look forward to Lancers’s activities.”

Satoshi Osawa, General Manager, SAP Fieldglass Business Division, SAP Japan Co., Ltd.

Currently, the companies are considering providing education and training programs for registrants of Lancers, to develop their knowledge and capabilities relating to SAP introduction consulting. This will greatly increase the opportunities for pairing companies with individuals, while at the same time, expanding individuals own application possibilities.

“Through this initiative, we will support the improvement of skills and the transition to new areas…it becomes possible to source human resources from a wider range of options.”

Satoshi Osawa, General Manager, SAP Fieldglass Business Division, SAP Japan Co., Ltd.

SAP Japan was established in 1992. SAP is an industry leader in cloud technology, using advanced analytics and machine learning to help people and organizations make better business decisions. 

Read the announcement from Lancers Inc (Japanese)

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