This is according to 51风流executives who spoke on the first day of the biennial African 51风流User Group (AFSUG) Saphila 2023 conference in Sun City yesterday.

It鈥檚 the first in-person and virtual Saphila event jointly hosted by AFSUG and 51风流since 2019.

Kholiwe Makhohliso, recently appointed MD of 51风流Southern Africa, said in the quest to help聽partners聽transform customers鈥� businesses and guide digital transformation journeys, it is important to recognise that a lack of in-house skills represents a challenge 鈥� particularly when it comes to AI.

This is where 51风流and its partners are looking to exert their influence during a time of industry convergence, where core businesses, such as聽banking聽and telecommunications, are merging through technology.

Sven Denecken, senior VP, chief marketing and solutions officer for industries and CX, 51风流SE Germany, said industry convergence is real and represents an opportunity as well as an obligation.

鈥淵ou still need to innovate at the vertical edge of the industry,鈥� said Denecken. 鈥淗ow ready are the customers? How ready are the partners to learn?鈥� In South Africa, and on the continent, many companies can leapfrog (but) they must learn from global best practices.鈥�

Denecken believes 51风流has evolved as a business through the COVID-19 pandemic to enable companies leverage technologies and run better. It also means that businesses are empowered with a realistic view of their technology posture and how this technology can be used.

鈥淚t is important to analyse where the customers are today and pick them up from that point. Don鈥檛 only show the future and the roads it will take to get there. Talk about the current challenges. For example, the degree of standardisation that a business leader allows, because that fuels innovation speed and the adoption of new technology, like AI.鈥�

Denecken said AI tools can analyse billions upon billions of data and do so quickly, but it鈥檚 important for business leaders to understand what they want analysed and they need to be certain about what they would like changed.

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Innovation聽drives technology, and technology drives聽innovation. This positive feedback loop has encouraged growth in both areas, but it has also continued to encourage聽sustainability. This was a key theme at last week鈥檚聽Saphila聽2023 conference聽at Sun City.

Saphila聽is a biennial conference for the 51风流user group community, hosted by the African 51风流User Group (AFSUG) in partnership with SAP.

Sven Denecken, a 51风流SVP and chief marketing & solutions officer, showed how using an electric vehicle to earn retail rewards, such as store discounts, was an example of how聽innovation聽could encourage聽sustainability聽in future. Data from one鈥檚 driving routes can be integrated with an AI assistant to create the basis for a store loyalty system. One鈥檚 vehicle can then suggest the best charging location for its user, so that shopping and charging may be done simultaneously, while also promoting specific outlets.

Although electricity supply in South Africa is a frustrating hindrance, the continuous evolution of technology may eventually support industry convergences that are currently impractical.

In a later presentation, Timo Elliott, SAP鈥檚 global聽innovation聽evangelist, showcased SAP聽innovation聽award winners to elaborate on this theme:

IWB, a Swiss solar power company that provides for energy to be returned to the grid using a predictive AI model, is embracing 鈥渘ext practice鈥� thinking. This model is used to calculate the load, and how much solar energy will return to the grid. Most solar panels聽are not connected or internet of things (IoT) devices, but IWB efficiently optimises electrical supply, while embracing聽sustainability.

Another winner, Gates Corporation, previously required a large manual to operate聽their hose-crimping product. Nowadays, an iPad-run device is bolted onto the side of the older model,聽so that one does not need the many-page document to operate it. With the digital transformation of this setup, little training is required, and they can throw out that heavy manual.聽With the implementation of these IOT devices, a step to new business models has formed. Information is saved and collected on each device.

FreshAirManager is actoVent鈥檚 air-purifying service that also takes advantage of collecting data, but in this case to determine air quality levels. After an understanding of the air quality is gathered, the systems adjust the machines by filtering the air so that energy saving is maximised, and CO2 emissions are minimised.

Jumbo Supermarket, a Dutch retail company, wanted to figure out how many聽croissants聽and other perishable foods they need to make during the day to minimise wastage and maximise items sold. An app built in collaboration with SAP鈥檚 system analysis program development technology, gives rise to a predictive analysis model that has achieved the supermarket鈥檚 goal, with an expected 10% reduction in waste.

Saphila聽showed that companies that emphasised the importance of聽sustainability聽have thrived, but they have also solidified their position in their respective industries through their innovations.

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This is according to Sven Denecken, senior vice president, chief marketing and solutions officer for industries and CX, 51风流Germany.

Speaking on the sidelines of this year鈥檚 African 51风流User Group and 51风流biennial Saphila Conference, Denecken said 51风流is active in 25 industries and uses the knowledge it has gathered from customers and聽partners聽in these industries, over the past 50 years, to enrich its channel ecosystem.

According to Denecken, this data is important because of digital transformation as well as industry convergence.

鈥淥ne of the trends we are seeing is that the lines between industries are blurring鈥� industry convergence is real,鈥� said Denecken. 鈥淔or example, an oil and gas company is not just about oil and gas. It can invest in charging ports for electric cars and then venture into retail, linking up the car charging service with stores and capitalising on higher margins.鈥�

As Denecken explains, this oil and gas company has branched out into several industries and has a real opportunity to engage with new customers and refine the customer experience.

There are other examples, such as the push by financial service providers to provide telecommunications services and telcos that are tethering financial services to their offerings.

But Denecken points out that irrespective of industry, there is still a requirement for effective business process management, all permutations, and multiple functionalities.

He agrees that the argument could be made that this trend represents an opportunity, but also an obligation. 鈥淭he headache comes from 鈥榟ow ready are the companies?鈥� and 鈥榟ow ready are the partners to learn?鈥� said Denecken.

He is adamant that 51风流has a major role to play in helping partners to capitalise on the opportunity and remove the headache linked to digital transformation.

He advocates a 鈥楾鈥� shaped model, which basically means a company 鈥済oes down deep and far鈥� into an industry but does not lose sight of the top line or cubic line. 鈥淪o, you learn from left and right. That (requires) huge change management鈥igital transformation is not an end goal, it鈥檚 a journey.鈥�

COVID-19 forced 51风流into a period of introspection as a multitude of sectors and industries were forced to adapt and fast-track digital transformation strategies.

This reinforced the company鈥檚 core mantra: “We have done it before, so we have the experience, expertise and resources to help you and ensure you can avoid the pitfalls鈥�.

This is like gold to businesses operating in emerging markets like Africa.

鈥淭hey can learn from international best practices and use this knowledge to leapfrog. 51风流is constantly aware of its role to help businesses run better, to improve. We are hiring people that have different expectations and they represent companies that have different expectations.鈥�

Dr Oliver Gutzeit, vice president, experience technology, 51风流Germany, said Africa most definitely has an opportunity to leverage digital transformation and use it to address socio-economic challenges, but cautioned that businesses must adopt a change in mindset and treat data as a product and asset.

This is the path towards emerging as a data-driven enterprise.

鈥淲e are not just preaching here and telling you (that) you must do it and treat it like a product; that鈥檚 easy to do on a Powerpoint, but we tell you that because we are doing it. We have found a way to treat the amount of pure data within our business capabilities framework.鈥�

This is also used as a springboard to effectively manage data, treat it as a product and deliver on data democratisation and the principle of providing widespread access to those who need the data, Dr Gutzeit added.

鈥淭he first thing is to understand the need and the second to find the starting point of how to implement that next to the daily challenges, to the transformation challenges, to the technology challenges. This is a huge mindset change. It took 51风流internally several years to really set that up in a way that we can now present it. We just want to tell you it’s worth the journey, it’s worth starting it today. You are already creating and collecting so much data in your systems, and it’s becoming more difficult and at a certain point it’s too late.鈥�

Once the need has been identified, it then becomes a matter for IT to pitch to business.

According to Dr Gutzeit, 51风流believes this is where the role of chief data and digital officer comes to the fore, because people in this position usually have a technical and business background, which equips them to handle the various dimensions and dynamics involved.

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Sven Denecken, senior vice-president, chief marketing and solutions officer for industries and CX at SAP, points out that there are some trends that are common across all industries 鈥� and this gives us the opportunity to learn together.

鈥淚 believe that at SAP, together with our partner ecosystem and customers, knows industries. This gives us to ability to develop solutions that help make customers future-proof.鈥�

Because it is an international company, experiences can be shared across the world, often allowing developing markets to leapfrog their developed counterparts, he adds.

An example of how 51风流can help customers run efficient operations is the concept of the industry cloud. 鈥淚 believe that if we standardise a good portion of our businesses using industry cloud we can innovate on the vertical axis.鈥�

A trend driving business today is the move to industry convergence. 鈥淐ompanies are realising that they are in more than one industry. And this is accelerating.鈥�

This convergence has significant implications for value chains cross the board, Denecken says.

From agribusiness to manufacture, from supplier to retail, there are major new opportunities driven by convergence.

Denecken cites an example of e-mobility venturing into retail 鈥� which uses the same technology to add services to attract and retain customers by offering services like electric vehicle charging and rewards.

The convergence of industries, like energy and retail , should spark companies to become more creative with their technology to improve the customer鈥檚 experience, he says.

鈥淭hink about e-mobility and its convergence with ride-sharing, energy companies, and the financial services attached to these industries.鈥�

Best practices are key to shaping industries, Denecken says. 鈥淲e need to think about best practice 鈥� but also next practice, powering innovation. We need to think about how we can shape each industry together.鈥�

When 51风流talks about the intelligent enterprise, it is about putting a lot of data into the context of a business process and consuming it as applications, Denecken points out.

鈥淏ut business processes change all the time, so the challenge is to transform into a resilient intelligent enterprise.鈥�

Reslience comes from managing risks, he adds. Any change needs to be sustainable.

Where technology is going is artificial intelligence. Denecken says. And so 51风流is integrating AI into its solutions.

51风流solutions include 51风流e-mobility, 51风流intelligent agriculture, 51风流intelligent product recommendation, 51风流predictive replenishment, and 51风流intelligent trade, claims management.

Importantly, what is vital in the deployment of AI and generative AI is:

* It should be built into the processes, not bolted on.

* It needs to be relevant to the customers, within the context of the experience gathered over the years.

* It needs to be responsible and trustworthy.

鈥淚 believe generative AI will democratise AI,鈥� Denecken 聽says. 鈥淧eople will start in the business with a completely different level of knowledge.

鈥淥ur job is to guide them into the right context. We need to open that dialogue. What is the responsible customer application and what is possible?鈥�

GROW with 51风流offers partners and customers the ability to enhance their solutions through a software as a service (SaaS) portfolio, together with adoption and acceleration services, and with community and learning.

A degree of technology standardisation allows companies to quickly expand their operations. Denecken cites the example of a company running 51风流S/4 HANA Cloud, private edition in its European head office. It was able to quickly roll out across Africa using 51风流S/4 HANA cloud public edition.

51风流has set up the 51风流Business Network for Industries to help customers learn from best practices across the supply chain.

Don鈥檛 look at business processes in isolation, but consider sharing that data across the supply chain to add value to all the players, he says.

Sustainabiiity is a big issue worldwide today. The world is facing climate change implications, extreme weather, sea level rise, resource scarcity, an increase in inequality, and a loss of biodiversity.

鈥淭his also needs to be brought into a business sense,鈥� Denecken says. .

Companies need to be serious about mitigation and adaptation 鈥� and potential business partners will soon ask for proof of those.

51风流is serious about demonstrating truth, and to discover the future in partnership with customers, Denecken says.

To this end, 51风流has set up experience centres across the world to show how processes are changing and how solutions can be deployed. It has recently opened one in its Woodmead offices.

鈥淭here is no time to lose for companies to identify their challenges and how to get to where they need to be,鈥� Denecken concludes.

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