Twelve SAP employees have completed a month-long assignment with four Vietnam-based organisations in Ho Chi Minh City as part of the company’s Global Social Sabbatical program.
The SAP employees, from across the Americas, Europe and Asia, acted as consultants to help two social enterprises, a non-profit organisation and a registered charity address operational challenges and propose solutions in areas such as strategy, marketing, IT, HR, finance and consulting to sustain their social mandate. At the end of the program, the employees delivered a sustainable business plan to each organisation that would help them improve their operating models.
The education organisations selected for the project included Saigon Children’s Charity, a UK-registered charity that aims to eliminate poverty through education; Teach for Vietnam, a non-profit organisation under the umbrella of Teach for All; and G.A.P. Institute, a social enterprise founded by trainers who had 10 years experience in youth development.
SAP employees also worked with XanhShop, a social enterprise that helps farmers and producers develop eco-friendly products and encourages them to practice natural farming, to bring clean and chemical-free local products to every household to enhance their health and quality of life.
With the challenge of managing a perishable food supply chain, XanhShop looked at the SAP team to deliver recommendations on how they can better manage their limited resources to optimise their supply chain.
“With agriculture being one of the key sectors driving the Vietnamese economy, there is a pressing need for the industry to transform and give farmers the means to access technology that can help manage their trade and harvests; and also predict in terms of products and income,” said Maria Soledad Petrucci, finance specialist, SAP Argentina. “XanhShop delivers an innovative business model for farmers to connect with their ecosystem, and with SAP solutions, the organization is better in improving its operations, processes and communication with the supplier farms to cope with the demands of the local market.”
The SAP Social Sabbatical program allows SAP talent around the world to contribute time and expertise to assist in empowering organisations in the education or entrepreneurship sector in emerging markets, including assistance in strengthening leadership competencies, cross industry sector know-how and intercultural sensitivity.
“As a company, SAP understands the value of education in supporting the advancement of society and we are constantly looking for opportunities to partner with organizations that has this mission at the core of its purpose. We hope that the mentorship that we have provided to these organizations have enabled them to sustain their operations as they continue to bridge the gap and provide youths in Vietnam with access to education,” said Nadine Elsham, customer engagement executive, SAP UK, one of the SAP employee participants.
“SAP is committed to helping the world run better and improving peoples’ lives by making strategic social investments that have a lasting and sustainable impact on society. We are pleased to see the organizations that we have collaborated in this program benefiting from the knowledge and insights shared by our top talents. With this program, SAP wants to help social entrepreneurs and expanding educational organisations unlock their potential to create sustainable economic growth and social impact,” explains Liher Urbizu, managing director, SAP Indochina.
“Through this SAP Social Sabbatical program, our aim is to empower our best talents in skills-based volunteering. SAP is a place where the next generation of leaders can apply their talents to make people’s lives simpler and improve their future well-being. This is an important part of our social investment strategy, especially as we identify ASEAN as a growth frontier region. Giving back to our community to make this a better place to live, work and play is part of our SAP focus, here in Vietnam and around the world.”
