SAP, the technology pioneer known for its enterprise software solutions, has always been at the forefront of innovation. Its venture arm, SAP.iO, is a key part of this cutting-edge ecosystem. Established to propel startups offering unique business models using SAP technology, SAP.iO operates globally through its SAP.iO Foundry, a network of top-tier startup programs, along with SAP.iO Venture Studio, which invests in and accelerates early-stage businesses.

SAP.iO also provides strategic support to its portfolio companies, dedicating resources including technology, business, and marketing expertise to empower new ventures and shape tomorrow’s industries. It is within this vibrant ecosystem that Taiwan Bay Valley Technology Co., Ltd., more commonly known as BSOS, found the platform to launch and develop a state-of-the-art working capital management solution.

Fostering the Next Revolution in Financial Management

In the inaugural Taiwan SAP.iO Innovation Accelerator, BSOS emerged as the winner of the prestigious ‘Best Solution of the Year’ accolade. The award recognized the innovative practices of the BSOS working capital management platform, a solution designed to revolutionize the management of supply chain working capital for enterprises.

Moreover, the platform was developed in partnership with China Trust Commercial Bank and integrated with the SAP ERP system, infusing a new level of financial vitality into supply chain operations. The SAP.iO Innovation Accelerator’s recognition of BSOS also underlines the potential of the platform in transforming enterprise management.

Throughout the course of their journey with SAP.iO, BSOS further gained invaluable insights into the functioning of the SAP system. The company undertook rigorous tasks such as integration, architectural planning, and verification, fortified by concrete support from SAP’s professional technologies and consultants. It was this collaborative effort that also birthed the BSOS working capital management platform.

The Next-Gen Working Capital Management Platform

The BSOS working capital management platform serves as a hub for supply chain financial adjustments. Aggregating SAP ERP system data offers supply chain enterprises a convenient avenue to effortlessly link invoice information within the SAP ERP system and express financing needs.

This groundbreaking tool streamlines financing business processes, enhancing supply chain management efficiency and bolstering supply chain flexibility. It also empowers enterprises to react to market fluctuations with increased agility, enabling them to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Simultaneously, in a bid to create a financially robust and sustainable supply chain solution, BSOS has partnered with China Trust Bank. Through the power of blockchain technology, this collaboration aims to transmit trustworthy supply chain information. This fully integrated model not only bolsters the financial sustainability of the enterprises but also fosters positive interactions across the supply chain, unlocking fresh business opportunities.

The Power of SAP Innovation: Future-Facing Collaboration

Additionally, the honor of being recognized as the ‘best new innovation solution of the year’ is a testament to the remarkable performance of BSOS in the SAP.iO innovation accelerator program. This recognition underscores the success of their innovative approach to financial management and their aptitude for developing groundbreaking solutions.

With this win as a firm footing, BSOS looks forward to fostering a deep-seated relationship with SAP. They aspire to continue creating smarter, more versatile solutions, harnessing the power of SAP innovation to help guide enterprises toward a prosperous future.

The story of BSOS is a shining example of how SAP innovation can serve as a catalyst for enterprises to develop novel, impactful solutions. With its unrelenting commitment to fostering innovation, SAP.iO continues to provide an inspiring platform for startups worldwide to redefine, reshape, and revolutionize the future of business.

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SAP.iO, German tech giant SAP’s open innovation model and a zero-equity-ask program, has recently announced its Foundry Tel Aviv cohort centered on helping enterprises drive their ESG goals, particularly carbon accounting. Designed to be conducted virtually, the Carbon Accounting program intends to harness enterprise data and tackle companies’ pressing need to further sustainability efforts in line with consumers’ and investors’ increasing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) awareness.

“Data is a critical driver toward sustainability success. Enterprise data collection is a challenge where SAP helps its customers on their journey to Net Zero,” stated Gunther Rothermel, Senior Vice President and Head of SAP Sustainability Engineering. “It is about using the right tools and the latest innovation to achieve this goal.”

Today, more than ever, sustainability has been at the forefront of many, if not, all companies regardless of industries. Businesses recognize that consumers have evolved into more socially and environmentally conscious buyers who prefer to support companies that are managing their carbon footprint and take action to support climate change.

SAP is among the global companies that have embedded sustainability measures within its operations and its programs. For instance, SAP.iO has been supporting accelerator programs such as SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo’s cohort early this year, which is focused on developing solutions to empower intelligent, sustainable enterprises.

Harnessing Enterprise Data Management for ESG

The Foundry Tel Aviv cohort has been evaluated by a jury of SAP experts, partners, investment funds, and SAP customers such as ABInBev, DSV Global Transport and Logistics. During the program, the chosen startups will have access to curated mentorship and exposure to SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs) as well as collaboration opportunities with the Foundry team and SAP customers across various industries.

Here are the six tech startups to work on the theme “Carbon Accounting” through advancing enterprise data management:

• Connect Earth. The startup leverages API frameworks to link financial spending with its carbon emissions, championing conscious consumerism through its environmental data-tracking technology.

• ESGgo. The tech company offers a one-stop-shop ESG technology tool for ESG executives, legal, compliance, HR, and communication teams. The B2B enterprise software provides internal ESG data monitoring, gap analysis, and AI-based optimization.

• ESG Enterprise. Based in Houston, Texas, ESG Enterprise offers an all-in-one ESG platform that includes data, reporting, carbon management, and supply chain data to monitor sustainability impacts and meet reporting requirements to help companies simplify ESG reporting and carbon neutrality journeys.

• SustainCert. The Luxembourg-headquartered startup is developing a software platform that supports digital verification of impact claims across carbon markets and value chains. SustainCert also provides advisory services for companies that pursue Scope3 impact verification.

• Sustain.Life. The company offers comprehensive sustainability software that helps enterprises streamline ESG reporting and carbon accounting, which includes automatically calculating emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3.

• Unravel Carbon. The Singapore-headquartered tech company is the creator of the first AI-powered decarbonization platform in Asia. Unravel Carbon offers enterprise software that converts accounting data into full supply chain carbon data in seconds.

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14 innovative B2B tech startups have been selected to participate in SAP.iO Bangalore’s accelerator program centered on delivering enhanced shopping experiences to digital shoppers. Anchored on the Future of Shopping theme, the chosen Indian companies will have the chance to develop and scale their platforms leveraging SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs). In addition, the cohort will be guided by SAP executives and leading industry experts through curated mentorship and collaborate with SAP customers.

Ritu Ranade, Vice President for Consumer Products & Life Sciences Industry at SAP Indian Subcontinent, explained today’s growing need for large consumer brands to build loyalty and get closer to customers and deliver a personalized shopping experience. 

“Within the next 13 weeks, the SAP.iO program offers these select startups the opportunity to start integrating their solutions with relevant SAP products. The goal is to make these solutions available on SAP Store and address our customer’s innovation needs,” Ranade detailed.

The Chosen Tech Startups From India

Founded in 2017, SAP.iO is the German software giant SAP’s initiative focused on enabling early-stage B2B startups to scale their innovation with SAP applications and, accordingly, accelerate SAP customers’ digital transformation. To date, there are over 400 external startups and internal ventures that have been supported by SAP.iO. 

This year’s SAP.iO Foundry Bangalore cohort, evaluated and selected by a panel of SAP experts, partners, and customers in India, joins the growing network of top-tier startup programs worldwide. Here are the 14 B2B companies, majority of which are tech startups form India, to drive innovation for the future of shopping in partnership with SAP:

• Discover Dollar Catering to all sizes of customers, Discover Dollar empowers companies to discover and capture overpayments and revenue leakages by transforming source-to-pay functions leveraging AI. The platform seamlessly, securely, and instantly integrates with a company’s ERP contracts, emails, chats, and other platforms. Discover Dollar has offices in Bangalore, India, and Delaware, USA.

• Entropik. Bengaluru-headquartered Entropik Technologies offer an Emotion AI suite comprising Facial Emotion Recognition, Eye Tracking, Speech Emotion Recognition, and Sentiment Analysis technologies. The solution offers unbiased consumer insights to help teams working on consumer research, design, and product development make informed decisions faster.

• Find.Fashion. The London-based company is the creator of the World’s First Visual Language for eCommerce Search. Find.Fashion’s visual search combines AI with emotion recognition to help shoppers find products that best suit them.

• Infilect. Bengaluru-based Infilect technologies offer solutions that offer brands and retailers real-time execution insights and store-level analytics. Powered by Image Recognition AI, the tech company’s products–InfiViz, InfiEye, and InfiArt– provide advanced retail visual intelligence to drive sales performance and growth.

• KiksAR. The Indian startup is known for its virtual try-on for eyewear platform, which is a patented technology powered with fitment, PD and styling. The KiKsAR VTO Platform offers unique customer engagement and works across various e-commerce platforms to allow digital shoppers virtually try on eyeglasses, jewelry, and apparel and also get fitment advisory.

• NextOrbit. The platform leverages advanced forecasting algorithms and predictors to help businesses predict demand peaks and troughs, enabling them to take action according to customer demand and design pricing strategies to better meet the bottom line. NextOrbit has offices in Bengaluru. New York, and Texas.

• Noos Technologies. With expertise in Anti-Counterfeit, Tamper evidence, Warranty fraud detection & Tracking, Noos Technologies harnesses Machine Vision, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to create solutions for real-world problems that consumers and businesses face. The SaaS platform can create print, and track secure codes to the last mile.

• Parallel Dots. The company’s ShelfWatch platform offers retailers Computer Vision technology to provide real-time insights for better retail execution. Aside from analyzing images of retail shelf displays, the platform also provides corrective feedback that helps CPG & Retail brands improve retail execution and customer experience.

• Rdep. Singapore-based company Rdep offers a personalized suite of AI-enabled solutions for in-store retailers to accelerate enhanced customer experience through omnichannel, endless aisle, proximity content, and contextual engagement.

• SalesAssist. The B2B startup offers an omnichannel video commerce offering live video selling, virtual shopping, and virtual engagement. Sales Assist has offices in Delhi and North Carolina, USA.

• SignCatch. Made in India, SignCatch is a cloud-based Platform as a Service (PaaS) and an omnichannel retail platform designed for large chain retailers and retail aggregators. The platform enables businesses to deploy Smart PoS Terminals and deliver value-added digital services to many retail stores under a centralized command center.

• TangoEye. The Chennai-based B2B startup offers a platform that leverages AI to provide enterprises with comprehensive shopper intelligence including shopper footfall, demographics, and concentration heat map. TangoEye converts existing CCTV footage into shopper insights to increase sales and conversions, enhance operational efficiency, and support a secure and safe environment.

• Text Mercato. The tech startup offers content-writing services levering machine learning and workflow products. The platform has a wide network of freelance content writers that specializes in various industries to help businesses effectively communicate to their market.

• Xplorazzi. The B2B startup uses advanced image recognition software to enable retailers to digitize in-store execution. The platform offers real-time shelf insight to accelerate sales for modern and general trade. Xplorazzi has offices in Bengaluru and Oregon, USA.

Alexa Gorman, SVP, SAP.iO, emphasised:

“The need of customers to embark on bold digital transformation initiatives has increased rapidly during the pandemic. On this journey, many are turning to SAP.iO to engage with innovative startups that can help make their digital supply chains more resilient or better manage their customer relationships.”

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Earlier this month, SAP.iO Foundry New York kickstarted its latest accelerator programme centred on driving innovation around the customer experience (CX) domain. Specifically centred on omnichannel CX engagement, six tech startups with global market presence have qualified to be part of the latest New York Foundry Spring 2022 cohort.

SAP.iO highlighted that the German software company acknowledges the increasing opportunity for the CX market, which would equally benefit SAP and its partners that specifically offer customer engagement solutions. A report shared by Dash Network, an independent B2B research and digital media platform focused on the global Customer Experience market, revealed that the customer experience and customer engagement market is forecasted to reach more than $100 billion in annual worldwide revenue by 2026.

Select Six Tech Experts on CX Solutions 

Passing the evaluation of a jury of SAP experts, partners, customers, and investment funds, these early-stage startups will be developing solutions that elevate the customer experience by leveraging SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs). 

Here are the six startups of the Foundry New York CX cohort:

• Bigthinx. Award-winning fashion-tech company Bighinkx specialises in mobile body scanning, digital personalised avatars, virtual try-ons, and supply chain augmentation. Used by leading fashion brands, the tech startup’s solution portfolio that leverages Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision offers retailers increased profitability and sustainability while being introduced to the Metaverse. Bigthinkx has a market presence in Bangalore, Dubai, Milan, New York, and Tokyo.

• Mad Street Den. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Mad Street Den is known for its flagship brand Vue.ai, an AI-powered experience management suite that merges the power of the product, customer, and business intelligence using Computer Vision and NLP. The tech startup funded by marquee investors has more than 220 employees across the US, Japan, and India.

• Obsess. New York-based Obsess is an experiential e-commerce platform that enables brands and retailers to deliver highly engaging virtual stores on their websites leveraging its proprietary technology that utilises HD-quality photorealistic CGI. Virtual stores become the entry point to the metaverse for brands that intends to utilise this kind of next-gen medium. Ralph Lauren, Dior, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, NARS, and Charlotte Tilbury are some of the global brands that use the metaverse shopping platform.

• SoPost. A powerful product sampling platform, SoPost enables brands to run sampling campaigns online centred on relevance, data, and analytics. The company has offices in Newcastle upon Tyne, London, Paris and New York.

• Yellow.ai. Dubbed as the world’s first conversational Total Experience (TX) automation platform, Yellow.ai helps enterprises enhance customer satisfaction and scale employee engagement leveraging its Dynamic AI agents. Domino’s, Sephora, Hyundai, Biogen International, and Siemens Limited are among the global brands that use the platform. Yellow.ai has offices in the US, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and UAE.

• Zoovu. The tech startup offers enterprises a product discovery platform that delivers rich, contextual, and personalised experiences across all channels. Amazon, AT&T, Whirlpool, and Microsoft are among the enterprises that leverage Zoovu. The company has offices in the UK, the US, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, and Poland.

The New York cohort will have the opportunity to learn from SAP experts through curated mentorship and collaborate with SAP customers during the 16-week programme.  

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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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In November, around the same month of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow, SAP launched three cohorts focussed on driving sustainability. SAP Foundries North America in partnership with Accenture selected 13 tech startups to develop sustainability solutions for the retail and consumer segment as well as for the energy and natural resources sector. Meanwhile, SAP.iO Foundry Singapore’s cohort comprised of six international startups will be working on solutions to accelerate sustainability in the Asia Pacific and Japan region to tackle climate action, contribute to the circular economy, and support ethical supply chains. 

This month, SAP.iO continues on its mission to support tech startups around the world scale growth leveraging SAP technologies and extensive exposure to the SAP ecosystem with the launch of the first accelerator program in China. The new SAP.iO Foundry Shanghai has selected the pioneer cohort comprised of five Chinese startups that specialises on intelligent manufacturing. 

Explaining about the latest SAP.iO Foundry’s focus on the manufacturing industry, Dr. Chenhong Huang, Global Executive Vice President, SAP SE, said:

“Intelligent manufacturing is not only the national policy of the Chinese government but also the only way forward for China’s economic growth and the transformation of manufacturing enterprises. Engaging with partners such as startups is critical to succeed in the rapidly growing enterprise software market. SAP.iO complements intelligent manufacturing software from SAP with startup innovation.”

Shanghai’s Pioneer 5 to Focus on Intelligent Manufacturing Solutions

Here are the selected tech startups of the SAP.iO accelerator program in China:

AI-LINK Network Co. Ltd. is a leading product and service provider that offers comprehensive solutions covering the 5G+Edge Cloud spectrum. Highly focussed on the industrial verticals, AI-LINK offers end-to-end 5G connectivity and lightweight intelligent Edge Cloud platform as well as applicable IoT use cases to local manufacturing, logistics, and energy customers.

TPSON harnesses cutting-edge big data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and fingerprint technology along with its cloud computing capabilities to provide a full range of fire protection alert systems to various sectors including construction, rail transportation, and petroleum chemical industry.

SunwayLand is a Beijing-based product and service provider of intelligent solutions and industrial Internet system architecture for the manufacturing industry. The company’s product portfolio that drives automation and supports smart factories includes HMI/SCADA automation software, industrial Internet of Things platform, and mobile smart monitoring platform. 

HiScene is one of the first companies in China that specialises in augmented reality harnessing next-generation technologies such as AI core technology, AR terminal, and the AR cloud. Headquartered in Shanghai, the company has a market presence in Beijing, Guangzhou, Kunming, Zhaotong, and the United States.

Geekplus Technology Co. Ltd. is a technology company that specialises in smart logistics for warehouse and factory operations leveraging advanced robotics and AI. The company has a global presence spanning Europe, APJ, North America, and South America.

For 12 weeks, the Shanghai 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 customers. The 10th SAP.iO Foundry in China underscores SAP’s commitment to supporting the country’s rapidly growing digital ecosystem and demonstrates the German enterprise’s expanding network of tech startups in APJ, North America, and EMEA.

“We will be working hand in hand with these amazing startups over the next three months to help them integrate with SAP technology and deliver high value to our customers,” expressed Lalitha Bhaskara, Vice President, SAP.iO Foundries for Asia Pacific Japan & China, SAP.

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The 10 SAP.iO Foundries, strategically located in key cities around the world, deliver accelerator programs that are tailored to their local markets and primarily work with regional sales teams and customers. SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo, located in SAP’s Experience Center in Ōtemachi, started in 2019 as a practical accelerator program to support the digital transformation of organisations in Japan– championing co-innovation with tech startups. Since its operation, it has already completed four cohort programs that covered various themes such as B2B technologies for consumer products in October 2020 and digital supply chain and customer experience solutions in April 2021.

For this year’s second cohort program themed “data & analytics”, SAP Japan Co., Ltd. started the qualification and recruitment process in June and has selected five startups to participate in the SAP accelerator program. (InsideSAP Asia often references articles from websites in other languages to bring you as much information as possible.) From October 4, 2021, the chosen companies will embark on a 13-week program that allows them to leverage SAP’s go-to-market and technical support to build a successful and enduring partnership with the German software enterprise. 

Five Select Tech Startups in Japan 

SAP.iO is an open innovation model and a zero-equity-ask program that enables visionary startups to use the power of SAP data, application programming interfaces (APIs), platform technologies, and new business models. To be part of the program, the selected startups had to fulfill certain conditions, which include having a clear product-market fit for an enterprise software solution developed in-house, existing enterprise customers, and sales and marketing resources to support the partnership with SAP.

Here are the five startups for the SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo Fall 2021 program:

EAGLYS Co., Ltd. Headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, EAGLYS specialises in secure data utilisation and AI analysis, accumulating a track record of social implementation with major companies worldwide. The company develops and provides software that can securely perform data linkage, search between businesses, and AI analysis on the cloud by utilising secret calculation software Data Armor series.

Sustainable Lab Co., Ltd. The company is an AI group that creates a database of corporate environmental and social contributions. It offers ESG/ SDGs non-financial big data platform ESG Terrace, a data infrastructure that provides a convincing solution for promoting SDGs / ESG of companies by using original data design, data extraction technology, and analysis by machine learning.

Synspective Inc. The Japanese startup provides solutions based on satellite data analysis and develops and operates small SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites. Synspective aims to provide solutions using SAR satellite data to help solve social issues that have been arising in recent years. The company intends to build a constellation of 6 satellites by 2023.

Trade Waltz Co., Ltd. The tech company provides a trade platform service developed by industry-government-academia ALL JAPAN using NTT DATA’s blockchain technology. TradeWaltz® enables comprehensive information sharing among trade-related players, and provides users with a new value that goes beyond the digitisation of trade documents.

Zeroboard Co., Ltd. The startup develops solutions that involve companies, local governments, and consumers so that society can become a “dashboard” for achieving zero CO2 emissions. The company offers zeroboard, a cloud service that streamlines the calculation of corporate CO2 emissions, reduction management, and response to various reports and market disclosure systems.

The culmination of the program will be during the SAP.iO Cohort Demo Day in January 2022. 

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MHP Management- und IT-Beratung GmbH (MHP), a process supplier and a subsidiary of Porsche MHP, has recently formed an alliance with software enterprise SAP to co-innovate for go-to-market, state-of-the-art industry cloud solutions to address all aspects of mobility. Employing a greenfield approach and leveraging SAP’s industry cloud, the joint strategy aims to tackle today’s fast-evolving megatrends of Connected Mobility, Autonomous Driving, Shared/Serviced Mobility, and E-Mobility.

“Mobility is a matter close to my heart. I am therefore delighted that we at MHP are planning to drive forward the exciting topic of industry cloud for mobility together with SAP. What particularly excites me about this is that we work together across several industries and put the customer at the center,” said Andreas Barth, Head of Markets and Member of the Board of Management at MHP.

MHP is one of the leading consulting firms focused on the automotive industry (manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, and importers), providing management and IT consulting services to its customers in Germany, the UK, the USA, China, Romania, and Israel. As a long-term SAP Gold partner in the SAP PartnerEdge program, the consulting firm has a proven, decade-long track record in automotive and mobility digitalisation, developing solutions based on SAP software and technologies.

Joining Forces to Build Industry Cloud Solutions for Mobility

Under the partnership, MHP and SAP will focus on developing solutions for Fleet Management, Load Management, Battery Lifecycle Management, and Mobility-as-a-Service as well as tap OEMs, energy providers, and startups to be co-innovation customers. Customers are given the opportunity to join the discussions on plans for delivery of future-proof mobility solutions, fast integration, and global scale of this new Mobility O.S. This initiative, ultimately, gives the participating customers the fortuity to contribute and influence the development of solutions that will integrate into the their SAP ecosystem.

Hagen Heubach, Global VP, Head of Automotive Industry Business Unit at SAP, stressed the growth opportunity in the modern automotive industry, with more than 80 percent of automobile manufacturers expressing commitment to electrifying their lineup in the near future and some intending to go all-electric within the next decade. He commented:

“MHP is working closely with SAP to develop plans to help deliver the promise of the intelligent enterprise to customers in the mobility industry. MHP plans to do this by combining its industry innovation with deep industry domain expertise and industry business services for the fast-growing market of mobility solutions.”

For almost five decades, SAP has been providing solutions for the automotive industry– with 15 top car manufacturers with the highest production in the world running SAP software. Now with SAP’s industry cloud, co-innovation partners and customers are able to deploy new business models to help capture opportunities for future mobility and accelerate their journey to becoming intelligent enterprises.

Extending Partnership to SAP.iO

Furthermore, this latest partnership shines a spotlight on the recently launched SAP.iO Mobility Cohort. SAP.iO Foundry Munich and MHP will be collaborating for the new accelerator program to support the nine B2B software startups to address customer objectives and challenges in the mobility sector. Throughout the program, the cohort will focus on multiple strategic areas including connectivity in transport and fleet management, battery charging, and autonomous driving.

“For sustainable, emission-free mobility, we need the innovative power of startups and the resources and opportunities of large corporates. SAP.iO Foundry Munich combines both in their new mobility program, and we at MHP are pleased to be able to actively support and promote the startups to make a joint contribution to a better future,” said Marcus Wieland, partner and strategic lead for future mobility at MHP. 

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Following the announcement of SAP Startup Studio’s fourth cohort of early and growth-stage Indian startups in September, SAP, once again, has recognised six outstanding Indian startups to join the first SAP.iO Foundry accelerator program in Bangalore.

The SAP.iO Foundries, SAP’s global network of equity-free startup accelerators, are created to help promising startups integrate with SAP solutions and accelerate their entry into a curated, inclusive ecosystem whose offerings can be easily accessed and deployed by SAP customers. This month, SAP.iO Foundry Bangalore becomes the ninth strategic location for SAP.iO following the launch of SAP.iO Foundry Singapore and SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo.

Scott Russell, President of SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) shared that SAP.iO Foundry Bangalore is a reflection of the German software company’s continued commitment to the dynamic Indian ecosystem. He stressed:

“We believe these startups have the ability to positively contribute to India’s growth potential by offering a variety of advanced solutions for SAP’s customers in India and the wider APJ region.”

The Select Six

The new Bangalore location will be the hub for the SAP.iO accelerator program, one of SAP’s innovation strategy designed to accelerate early-stage business-to-business (B2B) startups that build innovative software and deliver high value for SAP and its customers. The 13-week program is a testimony of SAP.iO Fund’s mission to funding tech startups in the early-stage phase that capitalise on emerging trends. 

The first SAP.iO Foundry Bangalore cohort is comprised of the following six early-stage B2B startups:

• Adloid is a B2B technology company that provides end-end solutions and tools for developing AR/VR applications for furniture, automobile, and retail estate sectors.
• FocusLabs, based in Kukatpally, provides a suite of logistics solutions built on artificial intelligence-based algorithms for route optimisation, load planning, and smart inspection.
• Jumper.AI, founded in 2017,  is the leader in omnichannel conversational commerce solutions for large-scale direct-to-consumer brands that value customer relationships. It is the world’s first end-to-end conversational commerce and shopper engagement platform today used by enterprises like Disney, Unilever, Jollibee, Samsung, BMW, Reckitt Benckiser, and L’Oreal. 
• Parcel Perform is the leading carrier-independent parcel tracking service for merchants worldwide with over 600 logistics carriers connected and the most comprehensive standardisation of logistics events. It offers value-added services to businesses to supercharge the postpurchase customer experience.
• Saara provides image-recognition tools to automate inventory processes and reduce supply-chain costs. With AI-powered supply chain automation, Saara promises to reduce returns by up to 30{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} and save up to 90{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of hours in managing returns and inventory.
• Schrocken Inc. is an enterprise blockchain-based SaaS that helps enterprises outsource manufacturing with unprecedented transparency, control, and compliance adherence. Schrocken is one of the Top 5 products showcased at NASSCOM conclave 2019.

“We will be working hand in hand over the next three months with these innovative startups to help them accelerate and deliver winning outcomes and incremental value to our customers,” said Lalitha Bhaskara, SAP.iO Foundries APJ Head.

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Following the recent launches of SAP.iO Foundries’ accelerator programs in Berlin, San Francisco, and Tokyo, SAP.iO Foundry Singapore kicked off its program focused on FinTech, spend management, and COVID-19 recovery.

The SAP.iO Foundry Singapore Fall 2020 program cohort includes 6 business-to-business (B2B) startups that are expected to support the investment of SAP customers in SAP Concur solutions for travel and expense management. The accelerator program’s cohort is also comprised of several startups that are founded or led by female entrepreneurs, much like the scenario of the inaugural SAP.iO Foundry Singapore program in 2019 and a representation of the SAP.iO No Boundaries initiative. 

Andy Watson, SAP Concur Senior Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific Japan and Greater China, said:

“By helping these enterprising startups in the SAP.iO program scale, we enable our customers to benefit from the value of some of these unique solutions and emerging technologies when they become available in SAP Concur App Center.”

The SAP.iO Foundries, SAP’s global network of equity-free startup accelerators, are created to help promising startups integrate with SAP solutions and accelerate their entry into a curated, inclusive ecosystem whose offerings can be easily accessed and deployed by SAP customers. 

The Cohort

During the 13-week program, the chosen startups will have access to curated mentorship and exposure to SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs) as well as collaboration opportunities with SAP customers across over 25 industries. 

Below are the selected startups for the SAP.iO Foundry Singapore Fall 2020 program:

• CardUp is a credit card enablement platform, enabling the payment or collection of big expenses using a credit card, where cards are not accepted today. The platform allows users to shift domestic and international payments made by cash, cheque, or bank transfers onto their credit cards. 
• LuggAgent creates a standardised international luggage delivery and tracking platform by widely applying radio frequency identification (RFID) while working with logistics services providers in varying countries. LuggAgent is available in over 200 cities worldwide.
• MatchMove is a Singapore-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that enables users to move digital cash securely, allowing easy spending, sending, and lending. MatchMove won the category Best Payments Innovation of the Year of the 4th Payments and Cards Awards 2019 held in Mumbai.
• Railsbank is a BaaS platform that provides FinTech companies with a range of wholesale banking services, including IBANs, receiving money, sending money, converting money, direct debit, issuing cards, and managing credit through APIs. The founders of the London-based company, Nigel Verdon and Clive Mitchell, have been in the FinTech industry since the 1990s.
• Staple offers cognitive technology that can read, interpret, and extract data from business documents faster, more affordably and more precisely than humans, at scale, and in any language. Its unique interface allows viewing and sorting of documents with ease, intuitively.
• Timeshifter is the world’s first platform for circadian (body rhythm) shifting and helps businesses empower their travelling employees to create their jet lag plans. Timeshifter translates circadian neuroscience into applications that enable people to live modern lives while staying in sync with their natural circadian rhythm to optimise safety, health, and performance. In June 2018, the company launched its first product and now the most-downloaded and highest-rated jet lag app in the world –The Jet Lag App.

Ang Chin Tah, Vice President of Singapore Economic Development Board explained how the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled many businesses to embrace digital transformation in search of growth. He added:

“The Singapore Economic Development Board is glad to support the SAP.iO Foundry Singapore Fall 2020 acceleration program, which will bring startups from all around the world to Singapore to develop products that meet the needs of the new operating environment.

Singapore’s established base of industry leaders in finance and digital, as well as connectedness to regional markets, make us a great testing ground for their ideas. It is a wonderful new addition to our thriving ecosystem.”

The SAP.iO Foundry Singapore Fall 2020 program will culminate at the SAP.iO Cohort Demo Day in December 2020.

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