SAP Malaysia is marking its outstanding three-decade work in the tech industry and a number of local enterprises have already reaped the benefits of its cutting-edge innovations. According to the country’s Managing Director Hong Kok Cheong, the German multinational’s focus is primarily on training and employment for young people, as well as the preparation of Malaysian enterprises for the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) and cloud-based intelligent technologies.

One example of SAP Malaysia’s efforts to contribute to nation-building is its partnership with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) on the MyUniAlliance initiative, which provides guidance and training to approximately 3,000 students per year across 18 higher education institutions, including two international universities. Aside from this program, the company also regularly teams up with the ASEAN Foundation in conducting the ASEAN Data Science Explorers contest at both national and regional levels. As part of the collaboration, the two organisations provide opportunities for young people to venture further into the tech field and gain hands-on experience in developing data-driven solutions.

“SAP is today one ofthe world’s largest provider of enterprise application software with the broadest portfolio of modular and suite solutions available on premise, in the cloud and hybrid. As such, we are in a strong position to help realise greater competitiveness for Malaysia especially in today’s era of IR4.0,” Hong shared.

Reinforcing the Important Role of SAP in Malaysia

SAP, according to MD Hong, is dedicated to supporting companies as they embark on their digital transformation journeys and transition towards becoming intelligent, sustainable enterprises. He added that this can all be accomplished by developing together the solutions and technologies — as well as best practices and guidelines — that are essential to running digital and integrated business operations in the cloud. He added:

“As a result, our customers have the agility to respond faster to market changes, unlock new sources of growth and lead in their respective industries. These enterprises are also able to collect insights from customers, employees, products, and brands at every touch point, use powerful technology to sense opportunities, risks, and trends and turn this intelligence into action across every part of the business.”

In today’s world, SAP clients contribute around 87{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of total global commerce (USD 46 trillion) and they also account for 99 of the world’s 100 largest corporations. Similarly, SAP serves 80{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the world’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the company’s initiatives are geared towards empowering the workforce of the future, accelerating economic recovery, and supporting SMEs.

Establishing Partnerships Within the Industry

MGCC is a member of the global network of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHK), which has 140 offices in 92 countries worldwide. It is now the largest bilateral European business chamber in Malaysia, and it functions as a service partner for businesses wishing to create a market presence in the country or expand their existing operations. 

Daniel Bernbeck, Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MGCC), applauded SAP Malaysia for its work in enabling local enterprises with cutting-edge technologies including advanced analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). He also urged Malaysian businesses to shift from being traditional enterprises to becoming intelligent ones. He believes that by becoming intelligent enterprises, organisations can provide best-in-class customer experience (CX), establish robust supply chains, and innovate new revenue streams and business models.

“These technologies go a long way in elevating competitiveness within today’s digital economy and they enable businesses to be better prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Bernbeck remarked.

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For Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), businesses must explore opportunities for digital transformation in Malaysia, as they are critical to the country’s economic recovery efforts and can help contribute to its long-term economic resilience. The MyDIGITAL plan intends to make Malaysia a technologically advanced and digitally-driven country, as well as a regional leader in the digital economy by 2030, he added.

Additionally, the digital economy is projected to contribute 22.6{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} to Malaysia’s GDP and generate 500,000 new jobs by 2025. Cloud services were also highlighted in the MyDIGITAL program, with a focus on a ‘cloud first’ strategy at both the federal and state levels, which will help facilitate the adoption of cloud technologies in the country.

Earlier this year, SAP Malaysia Managing Director Kok Cheong Hong has already expressed support for the initiative and described it as a major “breakthrough yet realistic” digital vision. Hong believes this approach serves as a motivation for local businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to embrace dynamic consumption, establish resilient infrastructure, and utilise cloud solutions to boost efficiencies and productivity.

“Public-private plural partnerships are also important to help drive SME readiness, which in turn further encourages innovation and flywheel digitalisation effect for all concerned,” Hong remarked.

SAP Malaysia Emphasises the Need for Digitalisation among SMEs

Furthermore, Hong put the spotlight on the significance of the SME sector today as many businesses are still lagging in terms of technology use. According to the 24th Malaysia Economic Monitor: Weathering the Surge report, SMEs in the Southeast Asian nation have been underperforming both in terms of output and productivity levels when compared against peer countries. It has also been found that the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the productivity gap. With this, SAP Malaysia seeks to raise awareness for SMEs before increasing uptake on digital platforms.

“Businesses that are adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude towards digitalisation could be left behind – and may even become irrelevant. Many solutions that were once the exclusive domain of large corporates have been scaled in capacity – and price – and are now within reach of local SMEs,” Hong stressed.

The likes of glove maker Aspen Glove Sdn Bhd and renowned spice manufacturer Baba Products Malaysia Sdn Bhd have already embarked on their digital transformation journeys towards becoming intelligent enterprises through SAP upgrade projects centered on automation and innovation to enhance productivity and cost-efficiency.

Aspen Glove’s ​​industry used to be labour-intensive but after implementing SAP solutions, it has now automated the processes end-to-end. It has selected SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Private Edition for its latest glove manufacturing plant that operates 96 production lines. On the other hand, Baba Products had migrated from its previous all-manual, paper-based operations to the SAP S/4HANA platform, which was supported by Direct Store Delivery with CRM, SAP Payroll, and SAP SuccessFactors.

“Hence, Aspen Glove is able to revolutionise the quality, customisation and speed of delivery to meet the customer demands of today,” Hong noted.

The SAP Malaysia MD further explained that businesses can become intelligent enterprises by first digitising processes where they can “do more with less”, create best-in-class customer experiences, establish sustainable supply chains, and innovate new business models and revenue streams.

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