The implementation of SAP Ariba marks a crucial step in AIC’s journey towards optimizing its procurement processes. As a renowned digital solution for spend management, SAP Ariba equips AIC with the necessary tools to transact with increased agility, achieve sustainable sourcing savings, and build resilient supply chains. This transformative solution empowers buyers within AIC’s ecosystem, granting them unprecedented control over the entire purchasing process while leveraging insights to drive cost savings and maintain ethical sourcing practices.

Rosette Carrao, Partner and Delivery Head at delaware Philippines, emphasized the significance of the SAP Ariba implementation, which encompasses Supplier Lifecycle and Performance, Sourcing, and Commerce Automation modules. These modules are designed to streamline operations and enhance vendor engagement, aligning with AIC’s goal of business transformation through technology.

SAP S/4HANA EAM: Elevating Asset Management

Alongside SAP Ariba, delaware Philippines successfully implemented SAP S/4HANA EAM, marking a significant milestone in AIC’s digital transformation initiatives. As an infrastructure leader, AIC recognizes the importance of prioritizing digitalization in its asset-intensive operations. SAP S/4HANA EAM also addresses the challenges faced by modern asset technicians and operators, enabling effective asset optimization strategies.

The integration of SAP S/4HANA EAM with the previously delivered Finance, Materials Management, and Controlling modules provides AIC with full control over every asset operation. All maintenance orders, including preventive, corrective, and emergency, are now processed via EAM, ensuring centralized information, risk management, and automation. This optimization of asset management processes is also crucial for AIC’s business transformation.

Fostering Collaboration and Growth

The successful implementation of SAP Ariba and SAP S/4HANA EAM at AIC is a testament to the strong partnership between delaware Philippines and AIC. Simone Pigason, Senior Vice President for Customer Success at delaware Philippines, further emphasized the importance of creating a safe, engaged, and collaborative environment for both teams throughout the project and the overall partnership.

To strengthen the relationship between the two organizations and ensure the success of the SAP Ariba and SAP S/4HANA EAM implementation, delaware also conducted a Design Thinking workshop on Business Transformation Management. This workshop focused on project management and served as a gateway to building a lasting, impactful, and valued relationship with AIC.

Raymund Ramos, Head of IT & Digital and Vice President at AIC, expressed gratitude to all individuals involved in this milestone, acknowledging their unwavering support and diligence from the project’s inception until its successful go-live. The commitment of both teams was instrumental in ushering in a new era of efficiency and growth for AIC.

The successful implementation of SAP Ariba and SAP S/4HANA EAM at Aboitiz InfraCapital marks a significant step forward in the company’s digital transformation journey. By leveraging these advanced solutions, AIC is poised to streamline its procurement processes, enhance asset management, and drive operational excellence. The collaboration between delaware Philippines and AIC has been crucial in achieving this milestone, fostering a strong partnership built on trust, innovation, and a shared vision for growth. As AIC embraces these cutting-edge technologies, it reaffirms its commitment to staying at the forefront of the dynamic infrastructure development landscape.

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During his appointment last August 2022 as Managing Director of SAP in the Philippines, Abrahams said that his focus as the new leader of the tech company is to address the most pressing challenges that the customers, partners, and communities face. Specifically, he mentioned driving business transformation in the cloud, building a resilient supply chain, and working towards a sustainable future.

Two months into the new year, Abrahams shared insights on the Philippines’ industry trends for 2023. Out of the eight industry trends that encompass business, technical, and social developments mentioned by Saueressig, Abrahams iterated some that are also evident in the country.

SAP Philippines: On 2023 Industry Trends

“These are the industry trends that we believe will share the world of business this 2023 and beyond. On our part, SAP remains committed to helping organizations transform into fully digital, resilient, and sustainable enterprises, enabled with data visibility into their business functions and processes to make the most critical strategic and operating decisions,” Abrahams said. 

Circular Economy

In the country, the government and private organizations are championing ESG initiatives in their operations to contribute to a circular economy. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the national government regulatory agency charged with supervision over the corporate sector, the capital market participants, and the securities and investment instruments market, had earlier released the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Publicly-Listed Companies to promote achieving global sustainability targets such as UNSDGs and national programs such as Ambisyon 2040. In addition, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022 (Republic Act no 11898) has also been passed to require large enterprises to recover and manage their plastic packaging waste.

SAP Philippines MD commented:

“A circular economy fosters new business prospects while preserving the environment. The advantages of implementing circular business models will significantly outweigh the existing investments that organizations must invest in.”

“Recovery is a subset of the more significant idea of EPR. This law emphasizes the obligation of organizations to ensure that the resources and waste that is generated can be recycled or decomposed sustainably instead of ending up in landfills,” he added.

Resilient Supply Networks

According to Saueressig, building a resilient supply chain means creating real-time transparency through close collaboration and data exchange among trading partners in an open yet secured digital network. Abrahams shared a similar insight on the impact of having a resilient supply chain for business operations as well as on decarbonization. He stressed:

“As disruptions still happen across various industries, digitalizing supply chains help organizations ensure that they provide consumers consistently with the goods and services they need and reduce their carbon emissions.” 

Business Transformation

Abrahams said that leveraging technology to allow for a business transformation is crucial to the adoption of ESG initiatives. AC Energy (ACEN) and Globe Group are some of the Philippine organizations that have use case scenarios wherein SAP solutions were utilized.

ACEN deployed SAP S/4HANA, which encouraged its workforce to learn new technology, and embraced a digital platform that streamlined business processes, enhanced corporate governance, reduced cybersecurity risks, and lessened paper wastage. Globe Telecom migrated to SAP S/4HANA to overcome fragmented processes and drive automation for data-driven decision making. The telco also deployed SAP Fiori for better user experience and insight gathering. 

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Sustainability is becoming an integral part of the business objectives of many Philippine organizations. This shift is driven in part by a need to improve efficiency and reduce costs, but also by a growing awareness of the societal and environmental benefits of sustainable practices. As businesses in the country continue to recalibrate their operations, sustainability will play an increasingly important role in ensuring long-term success.

According to research conducted by PwC Philippines titled “Hindsights, Insights, Foresights: The Future in the Present Tense”, the majority of chief executive officers (CEOs) in the nation have the intention of increasing the amount of money their companies spend on technologies. Meanwhile , more than two-thirds of respondents want the companies they work for to boost their investments in the aspects of environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

In 2015, 193 United Nations member states — including the Philippines — adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to accelerate global progress toward a better future. The 2030 Agenda includes the 17 SDGs, which are organized under the headings of “People,” “Prosperity and Planet,” and “Peace.” With its Chasing Zero initiative, SAP in the Philippines is laying the groundwork for businesses to become intelligent and sustainable in pursuit of a future with zero emissions, zero waste, and zero inequality.

Enabling Globe Telecom’s Transformation with SAP Technology and Solutions

During a recent roundtable discussion headlined “Transform Tomorrow, Today: SAP Philippines CXO Roundtable,” business executives from SAP, Globe Telecom, and Unioil shared insights on how they are reshaping the future through innovation and sustainability to ensure their organizations’ success.

According to Suzelyn Urbano, Vice President of IT Enterprise Services at Globe Telecom, Inc., innovation is both “disruptive and life-changing”. Urbano said that the telecommunications company has constantly innovated over the course of almost 10 years, always keeping the interests of its customers in mind. Since 1999, SAP and Globe have worked together to replace multiple aging legacy systems and automate tedious manual tasks through the use of SAP cloud applications, concluding Globe’s purpose-led digital transformation journey.

Urbano stated that SAP powers 70% of Globe Telecom’s internal systems. The company found that the enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform SAP S/4HANA acted as a catalyst for change, allowing it to quickly adjust to changes in the industry. Because SAP technology and solutions were already in effect across all of its departments, Globe Telecom was able to:

• Improve business processes, reduce manual tasks, enhance decision-making by making the switch to SAP S/4HANA
• Enhance usability and data accessibility with SAP Fiori applications.
• Efficiently executing financial transactions and providing error-free reports with more use of automation in the finance department.
• Gain real-time business insights from the consolidation of accounting processes.

“Empathy lies at the heart of Globe’s innovation. We look at the problems we have now and innovate from there, making sure to solve the real issues. Globe’s vision has always been making families’ dreams come true and empowering businesses to flourish to help achieve an admired nation. As we create our products, we always anchor them in that vision,” Urbano further shared.

Unioil Accelerates Innovation and Sustainability with SAP S/4HANA

Petroleum products company Unioil is another Philippine business that utilizes SAP S4/HANA ERP system to establish better operational system integration and propel the company toward a more sustainable future. Unioil’s Digital Transformation Evangelist Nestor De Guzman has recently made public the company’s groundbreaking efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Considering the current predicament that the country is going through, De Guzman also indicated that Unioil intends to help the nation in growing its own energy supply rather than depending on the supply of energy that comes from outside the country. He thinks that Unioil is helping to bring forth a more sustainable future with its many green initiatives, such as solar farms, EV charging stations, and Smartlocker technology.

“For us, at Unioil, digital transformation involves combining the appropriate technology, leadership, and culture. Innovation begins when business executives embrace the transformation enabled by smart technologies,” De Guzman noted.

Weighing in on the topic, Gintare Zukauskaite, Innovation Lead at SAP Southeast Asia (SAP SEA), said that “disruptive thinking” is what brings about change in the world right now. She added that in order to innovate, companies need to take into account the present situation while also thinking outside the box to come up with ideas that will better their operations.

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To ensure long-term and sustainable growth, achieve high-quality performance, and meet customer expectations, leading organisations in the Philippines have already invested in the latest cutting-edge technologies and solutions, including SAP innovations. Ayala Land Inc., Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI), Jollibee Foods Corporation, JG Summit Holdings Inc., Manila Electric Company (Meralco), PLDT Inc., and San Miguel Corporation are just some of the country’s industry leaders that have utilised SAP ERP software and applications in order to manage their large and complex operations.

Tanduay Distillers Inc., a subsidiary of Tanduay Holdings, Inc., is also one of the companies that have already invested in the German tech giant’s end-to-end business solutions. The maker of the renowned Filipino brand, Tanduay Rhum, has deployed SAP S/4HANA to optimise operations in all of its ageing manufacturing facilities — which consist of 200,000 oak barrels — and maintain its competitive advantage while establishing a global footprint.

In November last year, the liquor company finalised its partnership agreement with Horizon Beverage Group, a New England team of beverage distributors. Their collaboration is aimed at expanding Tanduay Distillers Inc.’s presence in the overseas market by including its products in Horizon Beverage Group’s portfolio. Apart from the US, the diversified beverage firm has also reached the rum industries of UAE, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, and Singapore.

Implementing SAP S/4HANA in Finance, Sales, and Production

In order to keep up with the business growth and further support its global expansion, Tanduay Distillers Inc. took the opportunity to digitalise its processes and streamline data on a unified enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform. The company selected SAP S/4 HANA, an ERP system that includes artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), advanced analytics, as well as other intelligent technologies.

Moreover, the SAP S/4HANA platform transforms business processes through intelligent automation. It operates on SAP HANA, which is an in-memory database that intends to enable real-time processing and simplified data models. Expounding more about the SAP implementation project, Nestor Mendones, Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Tanduay Distillers Inc., shared:

“SAP S/4HANA is the digital platform we need to realise our future growth ambitions. It is unifying our production, sales, and finance in a way that will allow us to bring Tanduay Rhum to the world.”

Accelerating Finance Digitalisation

Here are some of the remarkable outcomes Tanduay Distillers Inc. achieved from utilising SAP S/4HANA in finance, sales, and production:

• Allowed real-time monitoring of financial processes using the finance and controlling capabilities in the SAP ERP platform.
• Enabled faster transactions for outstanding balances and helped avoid duplicate payments and discrepancies.
• Simplified the data governance and security of financial and accounting statements.
• Reduced the days needed to perform monthly book closing processes by 50{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}.
• Made system-wide transactions data available on the first of the month.

On top of financial monitoring, the accuracy of Tanduay Distillers Inc.’s inventory tracking is also projected to improve significantly. According to the company, its sales and distribution system will also be able to increase map sales by leveraging SAP’s solutions. Meanwhile, understocking or overstocking inventory is also expected to be minimised through better procurement planning and forecasting.

SAP Philippines Managing Director Edler Panlilio said that SAP recognises the value of continuous growth for enterprises — big or small — in order to succeed and realise their companies’ goals. He remarked:

“At SAP, we do not only offer solutions, but we also offer innovations and progress for businesses, and our goal is to help them be an intelligent enterprise for the digital future.”

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Last month, Ashoka ChangemakerXChange released The Possibilists Study, which surveyed 1,000 social entrepreneurs from 16 of the world’s leading youth social innovation networks, representing 137 countries. Supported by the SAP Foundation and Google.org, the research examined the needs and challenges that young changemakers face in today’s digital world, as well as how organisations can support these Possibilists to succeed. Alexandra van der Ploeg, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP, commented:

“SAP is proud to support this research, connecting people and information to accelerate solutions for the world’s most complex challenges.”

Ryan Gersava, Founder and President at Virtualahan, participated in The Possibilists Study. Based in the Philippines, his organisation aims to break down employment barriers for disadvantaged groups of people who are often discriminated against in the workplace due to their conditions. Gersava, who mirrors SAP’s purpose of improving people’s lives, partnered with the tech giant last year through the SAP Social Sabbatical program.

Last year alone, SAP’s CSR activities reached over 4.5 million youth and 117,000 teachers across 113 countries. This is in addition to collaborating with almost 1,600 social impact organisations. In particular, the SAP Social Sabbatical program is a short-term assignment located in an emerging market in which SAP employees collaborate in small, cross-functional teams with young social enterprises or not-for-profit groups.

The Role of SAP Employees in Turning the Company’s Vision Into Action

As a portfolio of pro bono volunteering initiatives, the SAP Social Sabbatical program is designed to achieve two main goals:

• Helping nonprofit groups globally to run at their best and maximise their social impact by solving concrete business challenges and focusing on digital inclusion in various industries.
• Challenge and educate SAP leaders and talents to understand the global implications of today’s digital world, embrace the concept of lifelong learning, and serve as role models for SAP’s vision and purpose.

Since 2016, the SAP Social Sabbatical program has been helping social enterprises in the Philippines overcome pressing challenges and growth barriers. With the support of volunteer SAP employees, Teach for the Philippines (TFP) was able to conduct a brand audit focused on further enriching the branding and marketing aspects of the organisation.

The initiative improved TFP’s knowledge of what needs to be done to further promote its advocacy of recruiting young professionals to mentor students in public schools, particularly in rural areas in the country. In April this year, SAP Philippines has once again strengthened its commitment to supporting TFP by providing a US$25,000 grant for the group’s Batang Bayani Life Skills Program. The tech giant’s donation aims to boost training programs for around 100 educators, including parents, guardians, and co-teachers.

Furthermore, other Filipino social enterprises that have benefitted from SAP’s CSR projects are Messy Bessy, a producer and seller of natural cleaning and personal care products, and Cropital, a crowd-funding platform that brings people together to support farmers in raising money. Volunteers from SAP Concur in the Philippines helped streamline Messy Bessy’s accounting framework as it previously lacked cohesiveness in various functions. Meanwhile, Cropital went through a series of on-site research with SAP employees to identify and address the factors that hinder them from increasing their beneficiaries.

“We are thankful to be a part of the SAP Social Sabbatical program. It helped us gain meaningful and actionable insights to tackle our problem,” Cropital CEO Ruel Amparo stated.

Edler Panlilio, Managing Director of SAP Philippines, concluded:

“As a company, we set our goal to develop SAP leaders and talents to understand the global consequences of today’s digital shift. But more than that, we believe that this actively fulfills our purpose of helping the world run better and improve people’s lives.”

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According to the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), more than a quarter of a billion children, adolescents, and young people have no access to education systems around the world. Additionally, it has been revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation.

Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said in the report:

“Rethinking the future of education is all the more important following the COVID-19 pandemic, which further widened and put a spotlight on inequalities. Failure to act will hinder the progress of societies.”

In the Philippines, the current crisis adversely affected over 27 million learners, many of whom live in areas with minimal access to technology and poor connectivity. SAP continues to make efforts to tackle this problem by partnering with non-profit organisations to ensure learning continuity amidst the pandemic.

By collaborating with makesense Philippines in September 2020, the market leader in enterprise application software contributed to the rapid scaling of volunteer recruitment for education through the Re_action program — a COVID-19 response initiative aimed at supporting the most vulnerable Filipinos during the crisis.

Pepper Limpoco, the Asia Head of Community of makesense, commented on the donation made by SAP. She remarked:

“Through this support, we will be able to significantly aid public school students and students with special needs alike who are struggling heavily with access to equipment, platforms, and learning materials. SAP shows, yet again, their incredible commitment to positive social impact.”

SAP Philippines’ Contribution in Supporting Children’s Education

Fast forward to April 2021, SAP has once again shown its dedication to addressing today’s pressing concerns in the education sector. In celebration of its 25th anniversary in the Philippines, the tech giant has provided a US$25,000 grant to support the Batang Bayani Life Skills Program of Teach for the Philippines (TFP).

Edler Panlilio, Managing Director of SAP Philippines, said:

“SAP has always been dedicated to helping the world run better. We see it as our duty to go beyond boundaries to help create a better world and a brighter future. We will remain committed not only to helping businesses transform into intelligent enterprises with solutions like Rise with SAP but also to support programs that will shape tomorrow’s leaders.”

TFP’s Batang Bayani Life Skills Program will be boosted with SAP’s donation aimed at strengthening the training programs for around 100 educators which include parents, guardians, and co-teachers. As an organisation working to ensure that all Filipino children get access to inclusive education, TFP’s program builds students’ capabilities and parents’ capacities to support the education of their children.

Clarissa Delgado, CEO of Teach for the Philippines, stated that this partnership with SAP enables their organisation to extend the program to both public school students and their parents.

“Amid the ever-changing education context both locally and globally, we are grateful to be working alongside a strong champion of education like SAP Philippines. SAP Philippines trusts not just in the work that Teach for the Philippines does but also believes in the potential of Filipino public school students to shape our country’s future,” Delgado further said.

Moreover, the SAP University Alliances program — which has 15 member universities in the Philippines — continues to empower faculty and teachers to better equip the next generation of talents with the latest SAP technologies and relevant skills.

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SGV & Co. Philippines, the largest professional services firm in the Philippines that provides assurance, tax, transaction, and advisory services, has collaborated with SAP in developing an application that is specific to supporting the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation’s (PDRF) COVID-19 logistics and response. PDRF is the nation’s major private sector vehicle and coordinator for disaster management.

Following EY Malaysia’s deployment of SAP Customer Experience solutions including SAP Sales & Service Cloud for government-linked companies (GLC) and the government-linked investment companies disaster response network (GDRN) in May 2020, SGV & Co., a member of EY Global in the Philippines, has also deployed SAP Customer Experience Solutions such as SAP C4C. The selected technological solutions from SAP aim to provide optimum logistical support and responses to organisations assisting PDRF in supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and medicines to partner hospitals and other health-related organisations.

Bill Luz, Chief Resilience Officer at PDRF, shared his appreciation of the logistical and technological support from SAP and SGV & Co.:

“Our COVID response has required us to send a wide variety of items such as PPEs, ventilators, as well as providing meals to a large number of healthcare institutions all over the country. This technology enables us to manage our supply and deploy the resources in a timely manner to different organisations.”

Through the SAP CX integrated platform, donations from private institutions and individuals will be distributed accordingly for purchasing and distributing PPEs and medical supplies to hospitals.

Recognising the need for a platform like SAP C4C during these unprecedented times, SGV & Co. Chairman and Managing Partner Wilson Tan expressed the professional services firm’s commitment to the development and implementation of the urgently and aptly needed application from SAP.

SAP Philippines’ COVID-19 Response

SAP Philippines has recently celebrated its 25th year of operations in the country empowering many organisations to run better with innovative technology. Under the COVID-19 environment, SAP continues to provide the country with intelligent technologies that would help institutions and people survive and thrive in the health crisis. The country’s rising COVID-19 cases require a continuous supply of PPEs, hospital supplies, and medicines.

Underpinning the role of technology in the country’s relief efforts during the pandemic, SAP Philippines Managing Director Edler Panlilio said:

“SAP Customer Experience Solutions go beyond the back-end to support NGOs (non-government organizations) such as the PDRF with intelligent technologies that can drive efficiency in facilitating the donations and providing access to necessary supplies. This is an example of how we remain true to our purpose of helping Filipino enterprises including NGOs to run better and, thus, improve the lives of Filipinos.” 

For businesses, SAP Philippines MD Panlilio has also been encouraging SMEs to leverage SAP Business One and SAP Business ByDesign as they navigate the road to becoming an intelligent enterprise even in this unpredictable environment. The nation’s economic recovery post-pandemic lies in the ability of the SME ecosystem to thrive by leveraging technology since the sector is responsible for 2.5 million-job creations in the country. 

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SAP Philippines celebrated its 25th anniversary, providing solutions and services not only to conglomerates but as well as to small and medium-sized businesses in the country across many industry verticals such as real estate, banking, energy, and IT.

Edler Panlilio, Managing Director of SAP Philippines since 2017 said:

“As we celebrate our 25th year in the Philippines, we are all proud that many companies and institutions run better with SAP. We remain committed to our purpose of helping Filipino companies of all sizes to become intelligent enterprises and improve the lives of Filipinos through technology.”

For over two decades now, local and multinational companies leverage SAP’s end-to-end business solutions in streamlining their complex daily operations while increasing productivity and staying competitive in their respective markets. SAP continues to strengthen its presence in the Philippines since its operation in 1995, growing its number of employees from 10 to 2,000 now across four offices around the country.

SAP Philippines has received the 2020 Top Employer from Top Employers Institute for empowering best people practices and having exceptional employee working conditions. SAP Philippines has received this distinction for three consecutive years.

Delivering SAP’s Mission

Despite COVID-19’s global disruption, SAP in the Philippines continues to deliver SAP’s mission to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. The technology advocates technology innovation both for businesses and for the youth of the country.

SAP for SMEs

For the SME-dominated Philippines, MD Panlilio has been encouraging businesses to leverage SAP Business One and SAP Business ByDesign as they navigate the road to becoming an intelligent enterprise even in this unpredictable environment. The nation’s economic recovery post-pandemic lies in the ability of the SME ecosystem to thrive by leveraging technology since the sector is responsible for 2.5 million-job creations in the country. 

“These quarantine guidelines demonstrated how technology continues to play an important role in supporting business continuity. Organisations now rely more on digital tools and platforms to move labor-oriented practices into more automated and technology-oriented processes,” Panlilio said earlier in June.

SAP and the Filipino Youth

Recognising the youth’s creativity and innovativeness in addressing today’s pressing concerns, SAP has created programs such as SAP University Alliances. It is a global program that enables faculty and teachers at educational institutions and partners around the world to educate next-generation talents with SAP skills for the intelligent enterprise and the experience economy, engage with SAP events, build industry partnerships, launch graduates in the SAP ecosystem, and inspire young thinkers.

In the Philippines, there 15 universities enrolled in the program including De La Salle University-Dasmarñas, which has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation and SAP University Alliances earlier this year.

In partnership with the ASEAN Foundation, SAP supports ASEAN Data Science Explorers, another program designed to explore the youth’s potential in creating a positive social impact in Southeast Asia through technology. The recently concluded ASEAN DSE 2020 National Finals awarded two college students from Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology to compete at the regional level to be held in November.

“SAP’s enduring purpose is to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. Over the last 25 years, our Filipino colleagues have grown our business and operational footprint significantly in the Philippines. As we look into the next 25 years, innovation and ecosystem is going to help accelerate our efforts to achieve a Digital Philippines and drive our next wave of growth,” said Verena Siow, President & Managing Director of SAP South East Asia.

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10 months in 2020, the widespread move to virtual conferences, classes, and even competitions have become part of the new normal. Recently, the ASEAN Data Science Explorers (DSE) 2020 National Finals in the Philippines streamed live via Facebook, which attracted over 2,300 viewers. This shows that the pursuit of innovation continues even in the time of the pandemic.

ASEAN DSE is the flagship programme launched in 2017 by ASEAN Foundation and SAP designed to explore the youth’s potential and create a positive social impact in Southeast Asia. The regional competition calls for data-driven proposals from tertiary students across the 10 ASEAN Member States harnessing SAP Analytics to develop solutions towards ASEAN growth and development to improve people’s lives. 

This year, a total of 852 youths across the region competed to represent their country in the National Finals, with 4563 students and lecturers trained in SAP Analytics Cloud.

Representing the Philippines

In the Philippines, the top three teams of the ASEAN DSE 2020 National Finals came from Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, University of the Philippines – Visayas, and Ateneo de Manila University. Jairus Cairo Libunao and Alleah Eunice Tuliao of Team Incognito from Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology were declared national champions to represent the country in the regional finals this November. The duo’s project focused on waste management.

First-runner up Team Gugma comprised of Kyle Anne Villariza and Genesis Daquinan from the University of the Philippines Visayas presented a project designed to tackle the overexploitation issue of the ASEAN fisheries. Meanwhile, second runner-up Team Board Men comprised of Gabriel Carlo Gamulo and John Michel Lee from Ateneo de Manila University tackled neural community.

The Philippines ASEAN DSE 2020 representative Team Incognito shared their unforgettable experience winning the national finals and how they decided to explore data science on waste management. They said:

“Going into the national finals was really nerve-wracking and, at the same time, exciting! We remember the challenges we had to face in joining this competition. We didn’t know what data science really was. Luckily, our college conducted training on how to do data analysis. That started it all!

“From there, we came up with a storyboard on waste management because we noticed that there’s a loophole in our current waste management system. We thought that if we don’t do any actions about this now, it will continue to cause fatal consequences to us and the environment.” 

National Youth Commission Commissioner-at-Large Paul Anthony Pangilinan said:

“Now more than ever, we need the youth’s creativity and innovativeness in finding solutions and ways to solve emerging problems that our region and the world are facing.

“Their participation is paramount, especially in our recovery from this pandemic and in pushing forward our collective vision of a more resilient and sustainable future for all.”

The three winning teams were judged based on their ability to design the best all-rounded concept that tackles ASEAN socio-economic issues, driven by data insights. Aside from the team’s ability to demonstrate the solutions’ implementation, their projects were critiqued according to creativity, feasibility, and innovation.

Equipping for the New Normal

The ASEAN DSE 2020 reflects the ASEAN Foundation and SAP’s shared objective to equip today’s youth with future-ready skills and explore data science to find innovative solutions to thrive in the new normal.

SAP Philippines Managing Director Edler Panlilio shared:

“Together with the ASEAN Foundation, we at SAP strongly encourage the youth to use their newly learned skills from SAP Analytics Cloud to create sustainable innovations for current social and economic issues.” 

Panlilio encourages the youth to utilise digital skills for their self-development. He added: 

“Digital skills are more relevant now in the middle of our current pandemic situation, and as we look towards recovery. We are pleased to see that youths in ASEAN can make a difference in that goal and improve people’s lives.”

Dr. Yang Mee Eng, the ASEAN Foundation’s Executive Director also said:

“We are very happy to see so many innovative data-driven proposals presented by all National Finalists today. It is a testament to what our youths can do when exposed to and equipped with relevant digital skills and provided with an immersive platform to showcase their talents. We believe that our ASEAN youths can create impactful solutions for the community to prosper if given the opportunity.” 

The ASEAN DSE 2020 also supports Viet Nam’s ASEAN Chairmanship theme of building a “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN”.

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Harnessing the Power of SAP Analytics Cloud

With the COVID-19 global pandemic still at large, this year’s program that began in February, took place virtually. ASEAN DSE kicked off with a series of in-country and virtual enablement and data analytics training sessions organised with SAP for students and lecturers in local universities across the AMS. Apart from the goal to promote the ASEAN DSE competition, these sessions aimed to equip students and lecturers with data analytics skills using SAP Analytics Cloud.

SAP Analytics Cloud is an innovative cloud solution that connects people, information and ideas to enable fast and confident decision making. It leverages machine learning and embedded artificial intelligence technology to discover deep insights, simplify access to critical information, and empower informed decision making.

Following the enablement and digital training sessions on SAP Analytics Cloud, the students were invited to form teams of two to compete in the national finals.

Teams were required to dissect the most pressing social and economic issues in the ASEAN region across six United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG):

• good health and well-being
• quality education
• gender equality
• decent work and economic growth
• industry, innovation and infrastructure
•  sustainable cities and communities

The national finals concluded this week in the Philippines on 9 September. The country named ‘Team Incognito’ from Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology to represent the country in the ASEAN DSE 2020’s Regional Finals on 14-15 October 2020. The winning team’s project focused on waste management solutions.

After getting crowned as the Philippine’s representative, ‘Team Incognito’ said,

“Our journey in this competition was beyond our expectation! Until now, the thought of being the national winner hasn’t sunk in yet. Going into the national finals was really nerve-wracking and, at the same time, exciting! We remember the challenges we had to face in joining this competition. We didn’t know what data science really was. Luckily, our college conducted training on how to do data analysis. That started it all! From there, we came up with a storyboard on waste management because we noticed that there’s a loophole in our current waste management system. We thought that if we don’t do any actions about this now, it will continue to cause fatal consequences to us and the environment.” 

The regional finals will be hosted in Hanoi from 14-15 October. The 10 national finalists will get the opportunity to present their solutions and recommendations to a panel of distinguished representatives from the ASEAN Foundation, SAP and various government and NGO’s.

 A Catalyst for Activism and Critical Thinking

ASEAN DSE has empowered over 16,259 students, 1,420 lecturers from 370 higher education institutes in the region with data analytics skills.

The over-arching goal of the ASEAN and SAP partnership program is to build digital literacy and 21st century skills among the youth across the AMS to prepare them for the Digital Economy. It also aims to promote ASEAN awareness and support the ASEAN Blueprint 2025, the ASEAN ICT Masterplan 2020 and the ASEAN Work Plan on Youth and Education 2016-2020. 

In a statement, Edler Panlilio, SAP Philippines’ Managing Director said,

“Together with the ASEAN Foundation, we at SAP strongly encourage the youths to use their newly learned skills from SAP Analytics Cloud to create sustainable innovations for current social and economic issues. Also, youths should utilize these skills for their self-development. Digital skills are more relevant now in the middle of our current pandemic situation and as we look towards recovery. We are pleased to see that youths in ASEAN can make a difference in that goal and improve people’s lives.”

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