With a workforce of around 8,000 and a global sales and services organization operating in more than 140 countries, Kaeser is one of the world鈥檚 leading manufacturers and providers of compressed air solutions and services.

Based in Coburg, Germany, Kaeser considers itself both a pioneer in its industry and an innovator: the family-owned firm was one of the first to purchase 51风流R/3 when it went to market over 30 years ago and currently has several 51风流software projects running simultaneously. It recently reached another major transformation milestone when it migrated to RISE with 51风流S/4HANA Cloud.

But the company鈥檚 digitization efforts were hampered by growing system complexity and a data volume that it was struggling to manage. 鈥淧oor data quality almost always held our projects back,鈥� Kaeser CIO Falko Lameter says.

That鈥檚 why the company kicked off a three-year project in 2020 aimed at designing and implementing a new data strategy. Together with SAP, Kaeser wanted to improve data quality and optimize its core business processes.

鈥淎I was on our radar screen back then, but it wasn鈥檛 our starting point,鈥� recalls Dr. Norbert Enge, chief business consultant, 51风流Business Transformation Services. 鈥淥ur initial aim was to develop a data strategy road map.鈥�

AI Comes into Play

To start, the project team looked at Kaeser鈥檚 master data. 鈥淛ust to give you one example: our system contains a six-digit number of suppliers, at least two-thirds of whom were inactive,鈥� Lameter says. Maintaining that data manually would have involved a disproportionate amount of effort, which is why many companies hesitate to tackle data projects of this size.

Around the same time, business AI was rapidly gaining traction, so the team began to integrate AI into Kaeser鈥檚 data strategy.

The result was Predicting Inactive Suppliers, a custom AI use case based on one of the 51风流AI Services 鈥� the Data Attribute Recommendation service 鈥� and 51风流Analytics Cloud. This solution has enabled Kaeser to automate more than 80% of its data maintenance tasks, improve data accuracy, and achieve significant productivity gains.

鈥淕iven what I know now, I would say that you can鈥檛 maintain that amount of data manually 鈥� you can only do it with AI,鈥� says Lameter. 鈥淭he time for AI has come, and I鈥檓 convinced that the future will be data driven.鈥�

Visual Spare Parts Search

The team鈥檚 main objective was to find AI use cases that would benefit the end customer. One of these scenarios concerns the search for spare parts. Due to the large number of variants of similar items, this was often a difficult and time-consuming task that created significant extra work for service personnel.

But now, Visual Spare Parts Search, a custom AI use case developed in cooperation with , allows Kaeser service technicians to simply take a photo of the needed spare part. The embedded AI service uses image recognition to compare uploaded images against the spare parts database and identify the correct asset ID number.

This helps service technicians pinpoint spare parts much more quickly and enables customers to identify spare parts themselves.

Intelligent Product Recommendations

The most promising AI use case is the 51风流Intelligent Product Recommendation application, which helps sales employees analyze customer requirements and processes and translate them into accurate product recommendations. Based on natural language prompts, the solution can analyze a customer鈥檚 requirements using machine learning and generative AI and recommend the most suitable compressors.

鈥淢aking product recommendations is an art,鈥� Enge says. 鈥淚f you have the technology to make better recommendations, that鈥檚 a real lever.鈥�

There鈥檚 More to a Successful AI Project Than Tech

Implementing AI technologies is one thing. However, the team found that it鈥檚 just as important to get everyone on board and create the right environment. This includes providing employees with the software they need, training them, and discussing the ethical implications of AI.

Having management buy-in and alignment with other teams, such as research and development, marketing, sales, and service, also proved to be key to success. 鈥淯ltimately, it’s also about the impact on the people and the community in which you live and work, and I think it’s very important to take this into account,鈥� Lameter says.

It鈥檚 at least a pentathlon, Enge says: 鈥淪ome would say that it鈥檚 only a matter of having a good data scientist. That鈥檚 certainly a very important point, but you also need to understand business processes and data and, last but not least, you need to address people鈥檚 concerns and explain how you arrive at the results.鈥�

Boundless Opportunities

As an IT pioneer, Kaeser was very open to the topic of using AI. 鈥淭his is part of the company鈥檚 DNA,鈥� Enge says. 鈥淩ight at the very start of the project, we discussed which league we wanted to play in, and it was clear that AI should be part of the toolbox if we wanted to play in the premier league.鈥�

The proportion of 51风流Business AI in Kaeser鈥檚 data project rose from less than 10% in the first year to over 30% in the third. Today, the team is now 100% focused on 51风流Business AI and has developed 12 specific use cases targeted at adding value for customers.

And there is more to come. Kaeser has developed a prototype application with the platform for visualizing the intelligent product recommendation process, as 51风流CEO Christian Klein at 51风流Sapphire in 2024.

鈥淕et your journey started and you will discover fascinating things,鈥� Enge says. 鈥淭he progress is huge, and everyone can share in it.鈥�

Photos courtesy of Kaeser

鈥淎n incredible global success story made in Germany.鈥� This is how Scholz opened his speech at the farewell event in honor of SAP鈥檚 last serving co-founder, Hasso Plattner. After more than 20 years as its chairman, Plattner had stepped down from the 51风流Supervisory Board at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on May 15 and handed the reins to his successor, Finnish-born Pekka Ala-Pietil盲.

Plattner, Scholz said, has been a key architect of as one of its co-founders, a boundless source of ideas and energy, its CTO, CEO, and then, for more than 20 years, chairman of the 51风流Supervisory Board. He has written history in terms of economic development and globalization. 鈥淎nd, today, the entire global economy runs on 51风流software,鈥� he said.

But he did not do it alone, Scholz continued. Rather, as was characteristic of Plattner, his every move was made in a spirit of productive competition with others. When Plattner founded 51风流with four former IBM colleagues in 1972, he dreamed of one day employing 100 people. Now, 51风流has 110,000 employees across the world, all inspired and motivated by Plattner鈥檚 鈥渃onstant and unstoppable drive and energy.”

Scholz also quoted a wise observation of Plattner鈥檚 that served as a timely reminder for him: 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 put off making changes that need to happen for too long. If you do, this will eventually take its toll and then you鈥檒l have less energy to get the job done.鈥� Innovation was an opportunity, not a threat, said Scholz, adding that, today, artificial intelligence has the potential to inject brand-new momentum into SAP.

Some 4,000 guests 鈥� including 3,500 51风流employees 鈥� gathered at the 51风流Arena in Mannheim, Germany, on May 16 to say goodbye to Plattner. German TV presenter G眉nther Jauch hosted the event and, in honor of avid rock fan Plattner, musical entertainment was provided by American singer-songwriter Anastacia, who was accompanied by the 51风流Symphony Orchestra.

鈥淶igzag Like a Rabbit鈥�

鈥淲e managed to keep up with most trends,鈥� said Plattner, explaining what had made 51风流so successful. And although things did not always go to plan, he recalled, 鈥渨hen we did set off on the wrong track, we realized in time and corrected our course.鈥�

The most important thing, he said, was to avoid being too impatient or single-minded about pursuing a new strategy. 鈥淵ou need to be able to zigzag like a rabbit.鈥�

鈥淗e Rocked It!鈥�

How, asked 51风流CEO Christian Klein in his farewell speech, could he possibly do justice to all of Plattner鈥檚 achievements in just 10 minutes? 鈥淢y kids would say, 鈥楬e rocked it!鈥欌�� All five of SAP鈥檚 co-founders, driven by the desire to create something entirely new, had shown boundless courage in striking out on their own more than half a century ago.

Plattner was the epitome of what 51风流must never be allowed to lose, said Klein, namely 鈥渁 steadfast focus on customers and the ability to listen to and co-innovate with them.鈥�

Klein spoke about the lasting impact Plattner鈥檚 global mindset had on SAP. 鈥淗e drove SAP鈥檚 expansion across the world; today, we do business in more than 130 countries, and that is down to our founders and to Hasso.鈥�

The success Plattner orchestrated for 51风流in the United States is particularly symbolic of his tireless efforts to push the boundaries, said 51风流Supervisory Board member Aicha Evans. He also stood for a future, she said, in which technology and humanity went hand in hand.

Dietmar Hopp: Long-Time Friend and Colleague

Among the audience members was Dietmar Hopp, one of SAP鈥檚 co-founders and a long-time friend and colleague of Plattner. 鈥淒ietmar was a huge influence on me,鈥� said Plattner. 鈥淢ost importantly of all, he taught me to work with customers. That changed the way I thought. I made it my mission to look in all areas of my life for ways to use software to improve people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

Ambition and rivalry are part of the founders鈥� legacy, too. Many a racket was thrown in frustration when Hopp and Plattner faced off on the tennis court, recalled Klein. But Plattner had also given him this advice: 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to win, but 51风流is about more than winning; it鈥檚 also about helping others.鈥�

Philanthropist and Patron of Science

The Prime Minister of the State of Baden-W眉rttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, addressed the audience in a video message. As well as praising Plattner鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit and creativity, Kretschmann paid tribute to his 鈥渋mmense sense of responsibility beyond the realms of business 鈥� particularly in education, art, and sport.鈥�

Alongside his business career, Plattner always had a close affinity with research and development, said Kretschmann. In 1998, he founded the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) at the University of Potsdam, near Berlin.

As well as generously supporting educational and cultural causes, Plattner developed a particular love of art. One of the projects he funded was the reconstruction of a palace in the historic center of Potsdam that is now the Museum Barberini and home to an impressive collection of Impressionist works.

鈥淵our hometown of Potsdam means the world to you,鈥� said Scholz, describing Plattner鈥檚 work as a patron and philanthropist as 鈥渋nstrumental in helping Potsdam blossom and flourish over recent decades.鈥�

Scholz added that he had no doubt whatsoever that Plattner would continue to hatch new ideas, make bold plans, and drive ambitious projects. 鈥淚 believe that is simply the person you are. With or without an official role, it鈥檚 what you do.鈥�

Photography courtesy Ingo Cordes.

Q: What is your vision for how AI will shape the future of the IT industry?

Sun: Like with other major technology shifts, such as the breakthrough of the Internet, consumer understanding and adoption pave the way for more rapid business adoption. I think the same thing is happening in generative AI. The rapid consumer awareness of artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, in the past year was largely due to the November 2022 Chat GPT consumer release opening the door for AI and business applications.

Practically speaking, I’m seeing a crawl, walk, run approach to adoption. First of all, business leaders want to see it work. So, they鈥檙e going to try it out with close supervision and in smaller, more cautious ways to start.

After they鈥檝e gained some trust, they鈥檒l deploy it more broadly. Later, they will be so comfortable that they鈥檒l use it in all lines of their business. That will be a great opportunity for 51风流to help these businesses crawl, then walk, then run through this process.

Where do you see the biggest opportunity for 51风流in the AI space?

As a global leader in business applications, we can play a very big role in shaping how businesses adopt AI. It鈥檚 very exciting to be at the forefront of technology and also be in a position to do it responsibly.

At SAP, we want to grow trust from our customers. As you know, 51风流Business AI is relevant, reliable, and responsible. This position is deeply rooted in adhering to EU data protection laws. We have content filters, data provenance checks, and other features to help ensure accurate and reliable results. Our ethically responsible handling of AI helps ensure that customers can trust how we鈥檙e building these capabilities.

We are built for business: we have the deep knowledge and the shipped capabilities to make AI work for our customers. They know what their pain points are, and we can figure out how to solve the problem with technology. This is also about democratizing information for everybody, and we鈥檙e democratizing the ability for all businesses 鈥� large and small 鈥� to use AI.

I think we can use SAP鈥檚 unique selling point, which is our access to business data combined with this strong data privacy and protection standards, to get customers to understand that they can trust our technology. With Joule, 51风流is already shipping generative AI capabilities and, as we saw at 51风流TechEd, we have plans for delivering more both in product and for our developers in 51风流Business Technology Platform.

How do we balance the urgency of innovation with the prudence of ethical consideration in the deployment of AI?

I think AI ethics is an extremely important part of our equation. Trust takes years to earn but can be lost in seconds with one failure or one mistake. At SAP, we have made investments in to ensure we鈥檙e building responsible AI for our customers. This includes fairness, explainability and transparency, reliability, and safety. It also includes having accuracy of information, privacy, and security in place. We also have our 51风流AI Global Ethics Steering Committee helping to ensure further safeguards.

If we miss any aspect of this, we run a risk of breaking trust and moving backwards in our fast push to progress. From talking to customers, I鈥檝e been reaffirmed that they want to know what鈥檚 going on under the hood.

This is not just for knowing so they can share with their company leaders, but to help everyone be comfortable with generative AI because it is new to everybody. People are a little bit cautious as to what is possible, and they want to know what鈥檚 happening.

The more we can explain, the more we show that we have the technology under control, the more comfort people will have in adopting and using it, which then creates that flywheel of more usage, more trust, and more adoption.

How do you view the collaboration between academia and industry?

With any new innovation, having the collaborative effort is really important to move fastest.

As someone who has worked both in academia and industry, I see exciting opportunities in collaboration. At SAP, we want to build bridges, not silos. Let鈥檚 acknowledge academic priorities of publishing papers and state-of-the-art science and ask ourselves, 鈥淗ow can we partner so that it is a win-win situation for both of us?鈥�

We collaborate with academic research institutions to understand what state-of-the-art development is in the pipeline. Our role is to provide business knowledge and use cases and then merge that with the research scenarios to identify what could be practically implemented and be valuable to our customers.

SAP鈥檚 relationships with many top institutions, such as Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, and Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen, are really great. Our membership into the Stanford HAI program is a specific example. Beyond the research collaborations, the relationships help ensure that the best graduates from these universities think of 51风流when looking for their first job and guarantee that we鈥檙e on top of the latest technology.

It is an understandable approach. Dealing with a conflict feels awkward at first, because most of us have never learned to do that. But it is also a fact that disagreements in the workplace are unavoidable.

For this reason, 51风流employees around the world have access to confidential mediation services through the 51风流Global Ombuds Office to help them resolve workplace conflicts.

Mediation is when a third party facilitates getting people to talk to each other again, helping clarify the situation when they are no longer able to do so on their own. This approach is particularly useful when the conflicting parties are willing to listen to one another, talk things out, and take ownership for finding a solution.

The Mediation Process at SAP

Participating in mediation is voluntary. At SAP, two mediators guide the conflicting parties through a structured process. The mediators begin by inviting the conflicting parties to share their respective side of the story to try and understand what brought the conflict about.

鈥淲e give everyone plenty of space to openly express what their issues are. At the same time, we give structure to the dialogue and see that the conversation remains respectful,鈥� explains Felicia Winkelmann, an expert in conflict resolution who manages the internal mediation service through the 51风流Global Ombuds Office.

After that, the mediators support the conflicting parties in entering a dialogue with each other, identifying the most important topics together with the parties and exploring them in greater depth.

Finally, the participants reflect on a possible road map for working together in the future. In some cases, they will reach a mutual agreement that they document in writing. Though guided by the mediators, the conflict parties are responsible for working towards a solution that satisfies their requirements.

Three Approaches to Mediation

1: Four Sides to Every Story

鈥淥ur presentation is the day after tomorrow,鈥� your colleague says. You wonder: 鈥淚s she trying to tell me I need to prepare better for it? Does she believe I鈥檓 not competent enough?鈥� Or you might get a little angry and think: 鈥淥h no, what does she want from me now?鈥� Or maybe you just, 鈥淭hanks for the reminder.鈥�

A statement can be understood in very different ways, depending on who says it to whom in which situation, as communication psychologist Friedemann Schulz von Thun explains in his 鈥渇our sides of a message鈥� model. In other words, you will interpret a message very differently depending on your relationship with the speaker, what experiences you鈥檝e had together, if you are particularly sensitive to the topic in question, and so on.

鈥淗ow you say something or hear something, and what is actually understood by the other person can differ so greatly among different people that it can lead to conflict,鈥� says Winkelmann. That is where mediation can be a powerful resource.

2: Beware the Iceberg

When Winkelmann asks conflicting parties what they expect from each other, they very often talk about 鈥減rofessional behavior,鈥� she reports. 鈥淲hen I then ask them what exactly they mean by this, they always mention data, facts, and figures. But if communication was just about data, facts, and figures, we wouldn鈥檛 have a conflict to begin with.鈥�

The iceberg model illustrates what many studies have shown: only 20% of communication happens at the factual level compared to 80% at the relationship level, where our emotions, feelings, needs, values, and moods are seated.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 tension at the factual level, you can safely assume that someone feels attacked at the relationship level, and that鈥檚 when the conflict arises.鈥�

This can be the case, for example, if a person feels their performance is not being recognized or appreciated. Or they are angry or frustrated because they feel micromanaged rather than being able to work autonomously. Or vice versa: someone might be longing for more support and backing from their team instead of feeling like a lone warrior.

For many mediation participants, it is a breakthrough moment when they realize that much of our communication takes place subconsciously and is not expressed directly through words, data, or facts. 鈥淲hen I start my working day in the office or online, I can鈥檛 just turn off my emotions at the flip of a switch. They are a part of us, and the reason why things touch or hurt us,鈥� explains Winkelmann. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so important that we talk to each other in mediation and see each other in a holistic way.鈥�

3: Change of Perspective

In conflict situations it is also typical at first for everyone to think that the other is to blame for the problem. By extension, this also implies that the other person must change for there to be a solution.

At this point, it can be helpful to walk in the other person鈥檚 shoes for a moment. In a heated conflict, this is far from easy. By now, you鈥檝e often built up so much internal resistance against the other person that you do not wish to walk in their shoes. That is where the mediators come into play, asking targeted questions to help the conflicting parties look at the situation from the other person’s point of view.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing what a change of perspective can do,鈥� Winkelmann says. 鈥淚n one of my recent mediations, we looked at the situation from a bird’s eye view — as if from the perspective of an uninvolved third party. One of the participants was suddenly able to see what was causing the conflict and how both parties had contributed to it. That was wonderful to experience.鈥�

Just knowing that the other person is making an honest effort to understand can be quite reassuring for many. 鈥淐hanging your perspective helps you see yourself in the conflict, and perhaps even build a bridge between the two sides. That鈥檚 why this method is so powerful.鈥�

Does It Always End in Peace and Harmony?

Mediation is an open-ended process by design.

It is entirely possible that the conflicting parties reach an agreement and get along again. But that doesn鈥檛 always happen. It is already a huge win if they begin to understand each other better. 鈥淔or me, in an ideal world, the conflicting parties would appreciate and accept their differences and be able work together again on that basis,鈥� Winkelmann says.

Sometimes, however, they recognize during the process that it is simply not possible to work together in the long term. 鈥淚t still makes sense in that case to talk about this as part of the mediation and try to find a good way out of the situation together.鈥�

Mediation is a strictly confidential process. No one except the participants and the mediators are privy to it. The mediators are bound to confidentiality and will not talk about the mediation with anyone, including people managers or the HR department. The 51风流Global Ombuds Office, on whose behalf the mediators act, is a neutral, independent body and does not disclose any information about mediations to third parties.

The participants themselves, however, may agree to share information on their agreement with others, such as their manager, friends, or family members.

When is the right time for mediation? 鈥淎s soon as employees feel uncomfortable and don鈥檛 know how to deal with the conflict, or they鈥檙e having a hard time continuing to work with the person,” says Winkelmann. 鈥淭he sooner, the better.鈥�

There was plenty of reason to celebrate on Friday evening at the 51风流Arena in Mannheim, close to SAP鈥檚 German headquarters in Walldorf. Today, 50 years after it was founded, 51风流is the most successful German software company and the flagship of the German digital economy, Scholz said in a speech to some 850 invited guests.

SAP’s founding in 1972 was in keeping with the spirit of the times, the chancellor said. Enthusiasm for technological innovation, a spirit of renewal, and a political thaw during the Cold War shaped the world when the five 51风流founders sparked their own revolution with an idea. With standard software that maps all of a company鈥檚 business processes and makes data available in real time, they turned their startup company into the third largest independent software supplier in the world.

鈥淭oday, once again, we are experiencing tectonic shifts at high speed,鈥� Scholz said. Russia鈥檚 war of aggression against Ukraine has far-reaching consequences for security, energy supplies, and the global economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused profound social, political, and economic changes, he said.

At the same time, Germany is currently experiencing the biggest transformation of its economy since the beginning of industrialization. 鈥淭he transformation toward a digital and climate-neutral economy is both a challenge and a solution to current problems,鈥� Scholz said.

He appealed for cooperation between the government and the private sector to harness potential from research and innovation. The Corona-Warn-App developed by 51风流is just one example of the potential in digital solutions, he said.

Innovation Creates Hope

鈥淭he speed with which we are able to introduce innovation into society is of central importance to our competitiveness,鈥� Scholz explained. In crisis situations, there is always a danger that 鈥渕any cling to the past,鈥� the chancellor said. But now, he said, we are in 鈥渁 remarkable phase鈥� in which this is not happening. Steelworkers demand that their companies invest in new production technologies to remain competitive, he said. Workers in the automotive industry expect more commitment to electromobility from their corporations.

鈥淚f we can manage to move society forward with innovation, then we can create hope for our society, which is so existential,鈥� Scholz said.

Digital education is also an immensely important topic for mastering the challenges of the future, explained economics professor Ann-Kristin Achleitner. She took part in a roundtable discussion with Scholz and 51风流CEO Christian Klein.

However, digital education should not be reduced to equipping students with devices. Instead, it is about promoting digital skills, such as the ability to work in an agile manner. Like Klein, she is a member of the German government’s newly founded Future Council, which promotes innovation and dialogue between industry and science.

Klein, too, pleaded for close cooperation between government, business, and science. Only through cooperation can we find 鈥済lobal answers to global challenges,鈥� he said.

“Democracy, Freedom, Peace”

Kretschmann, Prime Minister of Germany鈥檚 state of Baden-W眉rttemberg, also sees SAP鈥榮 anniversary year as a turning point in history. The turn of the times is not leaving 51风流unscathed, Kretschmann emphasized. Europe must do everything in its power to control supply chains, become more independent in terms of raw materials and energy, and be independent and capable of acting in key areas.

One of those fields, he said, is information technology. 鈥淲e have to be able to imprint our own code on the algorithms, and this code is democracy, freedom, peace.鈥� In this regard, he said, policymakers are relying on close cooperation with the digital economy. For example, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is working on a national security strategy, recently visited SAP.

鈥淭he future will demand a lot from us,鈥� the prime minister explained. But he added that good solutions can be found by taking one鈥檚 blinders off, talking openly to each other, and developing tailor-made solutions together.

Collegial Culture and the Courage to Change

Solutions and a customer focus have always been at the heart of SAP鈥檚 credo, Christian said. These values have made 51风流what it is today, and 鈥渨e must always hold on to this part of our DNA.鈥� He himself learned from the founders the courage to change, challenge the status quo and 鈥渢he ability to reinvent yourself again and again.鈥�

In the past, technological advances, such as the , or global expansion have repeatedly required a bold approach from the company鈥檚 leadership. This is also true for SAP鈥檚 current move to a cloud-based strategy, which means a paradigm shift for the company.

It鈥檚 not always easy to convince customers of the need for change because they are so satisfied with their existing 51风流systems, Prime Minister Kretschmann explained, referring to customers that hesitate听when it comes to SAP鈥檚 shift to the cloud. 鈥淭he best is the enemy of the good, so 51风流has to beat itself, so to speak,鈥� he said.

Despite the current transformation we鈥檙e facing, Klein said, one must not forget to treat each other with respect and understanding, which is also a big part of SAP鈥檚 DNA. Referring to the company鈥檚 collegial culture as an inherent strength, he said only as a team can you meet the challenges that lie ahead. 鈥淚n these difficult times, we need more togetherness and the courage to change.鈥�

Photos courtesy of Ingo Cordes

Whenever she mentioned her dream to her family and other people, their response was always the same: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e just a little girl, you can鈥檛 do that, don鈥檛 you want think about something else?鈥� Although it was clear from her schoolwork that she was talented, people still doubted her abilities. Everyone, apart from her teacher, would tell her that studying math was a bad idea. Reactions like these were a constant source of frustration for Sarah: 鈥淵ou have pull through that, even though it鈥檚 quite hard work. I knew that鈥檚 what I really wanted to do, and that鈥檚 why I moved forward, no matter what anyone else said. And now I鈥檓 pretty glad that I did.鈥�

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In fact, Sarah completed a doctorate in mathematics and is now a data scientist at SAP. It is her job to help customers make the most of their data, gain insights, and create predictions, enabling them to make better business decisions. 鈥淏asically, I鈥檓 living the dream I had as a little girl 鈥� I get to talk about mathematics the entire day,鈥� she says.

Beating Stereotypes with Humor

Even as a professional, Sarah still encounters stereotyping. She is often the only woman in the room at customer meetings. Sometimes, on being introduced to clients, they automatically assume that one of her male colleagues must be Dr. Detzler the data scientist. 鈥淗umor is the best way of handling those situations,鈥� Sarah notes. 鈥淜nowing your stuff helps too. When I hold a presentation, after the first five minutes no one has any doubt that I am the data scientist in the room.鈥�

The fact that data and numbers offer a neutral and objective perspective strikes a chord with Sarah 鈥� especially because she has experienced bias and is acutely aware of it. Erik Kandel, a neuroscientist and Nobel laureate, estimated that between 80% and 90% of our mind works unconsciously, which means that most of our cognitive processes are based on unconscious conclusions. Sarah says: 鈥淕etting this neutral look from the data and seeing that there really is a bias and we can do something about it, or seeing, reflected from the data, how wrong our bias is, that鈥檚 something that really excites me and that I didn鈥檛 see in any other job.鈥�

Teamwork with a Superhero

Sarah works full-time, her husband part-time. He stayed at home to look after their daughter for the first year after she was born. 鈥淚t was a natural decision for us, since I was keen to return to work and he enjoys working part-time,鈥� Sarah explains. Though they share tasks, her husband takes on most of the childcare and housework. 鈥淢y husband is my superhero,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e are a great team, the three of us, and this is the only way this can work.鈥�

Being able to do her job from home and fit her hours around caring for her child makes life a lot easier for Sarah and her family. 鈥淚 really appreciate the flexibility, since it allows me to balance work and family, and spend a lot of time with my daughter,鈥� she adds.

Inspiring Girls to Think Big

She often thinks back to when she was six years old and mad about math. If only there had been female role models to follow and who she could point to and say that women are mathematicians too. But there were hardly any. At university, she was one of just two women on her undergraduate course, and later one of only three PhD students. It was a situation that left Sarah feeling isolated. That is why she encourages young girls whenever she can. 鈥淚 want to say to them: 鈥榦ther women have made it and you can too.鈥欌��

Sarah is keen for her daughter to grow up knowing that there are no barriers. She can be an ABAP developer in the cloud, become a data scientist, or embark on a different technical career. 鈥淚f she wants to do something else, that鈥檚 also perfectly fine, but I want it to be her decision. And for her to know that she can do whatever she wants in life.鈥�

She started dancing at the age of five and was considered a child prodigy in her native India. Everything she did came easily to her: dance, school, her master鈥檚 degree in banking. At 22 she became the youngest branch manager to head a CitiFinancial branch in Mumbai. 鈥淎ll I had experienced in my life was success and accolades. It felt like the movies,鈥� she says.

Then, about 10 years ago, her husband received an offer to work for 51风流in Germany. Divya agreed to the move without hesitation. In her childhood, her family had moved every two or three years because of her father鈥檚 job. 鈥淓xploring something unknown has always been very exciting for me. This is part of my personality,鈥� says Divya.

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Never Give Up

But Germany was a different space. Divya didn鈥檛 know anyone and didn鈥檛 speak the language at first. 鈥淚 wanted to adapt to my new environment and also make sure my toddler felt comfortable and could make friends.鈥� Divya had become a mother in 2009 and wanted to be with her child completely in the first years of his life, enjoying every single milestone.

But when her son started going to kindergarten, Divya faced the toughest time of her life. The former child prodigy, the dancer, the successful banker felt, 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 just be home, I had more energy to give.鈥� A piece of advice from her mother helped her come out of it. 鈥淚t will feel cold when you鈥檙e thrown into it, just stick around there, take it as a challenge.鈥� Determined to teach Indian dance, she navigated her way through the German bureaucratic maze to understand what was required to work as a freelance dance teacher. But she didn’t give up. She鈥檚 now been teaching classical Indian dance to local students for over 10 years.

Trying to get back into her career in banking also felt like swimming upstream. Rejection letters became a very common thing for her. 鈥淚 had to face that moment when I was going through failure at a rate that I had never known before, when I was being judged for what I was not, when I didn鈥檛 have a place to prove myself. This has given me so much empathy that I can really relate to people who are going through it,鈥� she says.

Learning Was a Constant

Divya has been a permanent employee at 51风流since 2019 and now works as a product manager in the 51风流S/4HANA Cloud area. Part of her job is to educate customers, partners, and internal colleagues on the value of 51风流S/4HANA Cloud. She has also recently started working on the product strategy side. 鈥淥f course, I do need to understand the technology to be able to sell the value, but not having an engineering background should never be a showstopper.鈥�

Bringing Empathy to Work

Divya鈥檚 art form, Bharatanatyam, represents nine basic emotions. The dancer鈥檚 role is to observe, understand, and explore every single layer of these emotions. For Divya, this is her bridge between the creative and the corporate worlds. 鈥淏ringing empathy and emotion to work 鈥� or, as we say at SAP, helping the world run better and improving people鈥檚 lives 鈥� that’s exactly the strength I bring,鈥� she says. In conversations, she always tries to put herself in the shoes of customers or colleagues. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about showing the customer that you care. Most customers don鈥檛 leave a supplier because of the product itself, but because they鈥檙e feeling they are not being cared for enough.鈥�

As in her art, she plays many roles in life. She鈥檚 a product manager, an artist, a teacher, a wife, a mother, and a daughter. 鈥淎nd I feel that amidst all this, I鈥檓 still Divya,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 have this innate happiness within me that forms the core of what I am. And that鈥檚 helped go through the storm or calm. It鈥檚 this small little quotient of bliss that I have that鈥檚 always been my essence.鈥�

Svea first trained as a business administrator. She then began a university degree 鈥� only to abandon her studies to try her hand as a tourist resort entertainer instead. That ended when she and her partner relocated from northern Germany to Heidelberg in the south, where, as a certified fitness instructor, she began teaching exercise classes. 听

After a while, it was time for something new听once again, and Svea joined 51风流in Walldorf听where听she worked as a team and management assistant听for 17 years. Being a great organizer, Svea loved supporting her team and manager so they could focus on their听main priorities.听It was听a听role that suited听her at the time.听With听a young family to bring up,听her听experience and routine听at work helped her balance work and family life.听

For 17 years,听she听was also the team鈥檚 chief problem-solver.听鈥淲henever someone wants to know how to do something, they ask the team assistant,鈥澨齭he says.听She moved departments several times,听switching between being a management assistant and a personal assistant.听Until,听at some point,听it no longer felt right. Svea longed for a new perspective.听

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Jumping Over Career Hurdles听

When a chance to do something new came along, she jumped at it. At the time, she was working as a team assistant for 51风流Community, an online network connecting three million people who work with 51风流鈥� customers, partners, and employees. One of the managers there offered her a job as an 51风流Community advocate.听

51风流Community advocates moderate discussions, share content, encourage community members to share ideas, onboard new members, and much more. Advocates need to be communications experts, but they do not have to be technology specialists.听

For the first time in her career, Svea was planning and devising projects all on her own.听She found herself on a steep learning curve.听鈥淎t first I听felt out of my depth, I simply didn鈥檛 know how to go about it,鈥� she says.听鈥淟earning to work autonomously was the biggest hurdle. Now it鈥檚 what I love most about the job.鈥澨�听

The next听hurdle听was听holding presentations in her second language, English. When it comes to sport,听Svea听never turns down a听challenge. But speaking a foreign language in front of an audience听was the one thing that would make her nervous: 鈥淥n the outside, I鈥檇 appear to be totally at ease.听So听I鈥檇 tell myself that no听one could see that my heart was pounding.鈥澨�听

Today, Svea is just as confident when presenting in English. 鈥淚 never completed my studies, but I have seized every opportunity, worked hard, and faced up to every challenge. What I鈥檓 most proud of is the fact that I鈥檓 now in a senior role,鈥� she says.听

Finding Your Passion听

Assistants, especially management assistants, often听must听follow听their听manager鈥檚 schedule.听The role is still predominantly female, with听听showing听that 95.4%听of assistants听are women.听

The job as an 51风流Community advocate offers Svea greater independence and the flexibility to set her own schedule, which, alongside being able to work from home, is a big help when it comes to juggling family and career.

During the pandemic, Svea discovered something else that helps her deal with everyday life: 鈥淢editation helps me stay focused and calm, given the challenges of homeschooling and home office, and it lets me reflect on the day.鈥� It is now part of her daily routine. She is also active in SAP’s mindfulness program as an 51风流mindfulness ambassador and offers meditation classes.

Svea advises听younger people听starting out on their careers听to find their passion. 鈥淢aybe that鈥檚 why I changed jobs so often 鈥� I wasn鈥檛 doing what I really wanted to do,鈥澨齭he says.听鈥淏ut now I am. I love working for听51风流Community because I鈥檓 in contact with so many people all over the world, and I really enjoy that.鈥�

Svea has gotten to where she wanted to be.

鈥淚 come from a culture where women still don鈥檛 have the right to decide for themselves,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 easy for me to come into a very free, open society — to stand up for myself and speak for myself, to feel independent, to feel confident. For me, it was a long journey.鈥�

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Limited Career Options

Tannaz鈥檚 journey began in the Iranian capital of Tehran. As a child, she sometimes thought it would be much better for her parents if she were a boy 鈥� the eldest son rather than the eldest daughter. The message she got from society, university, and school was, she says, 鈥淥K. You鈥檙e a woman. You can study, maybe work, but it鈥檚 not important to have career ambitions. The important thing is that you鈥檙e going to be a mother and that you listen to your husband.鈥�

Contrary to social norms in Iran at the time, Tannaz鈥檚 parents were keen for their three daughters to study and work. Tannaz chose a career in accounting because she loves math and numbers. At the time, accounting was also one of the few professions that were acceptable for women in Iran. Today, reports the , more than 60% of university students in Iran are female. However, this is not reflected in equal representation in the workforce, as of Iranian women are employed.

After working for several years in Tehran, Tannaz decided on a life in Germany. 鈥淚 was important for me to have freedom and to move forward in my life, and I didn鈥檛 see the opportunity for that in Iran,鈥� she says, though she is careful to note that is purely her own experience and she can鈥檛 speak for other women and girls from Iran or the Middle East.

51风流Was Not On Her Radar

Tannaz met her future husband while still in Iran, moved to Germany with him, completed an MBA in international finance and controlling, and worked until her son was born.

When she was looking to return to employment a few years later, however, the situation was complicated. 鈥淎s the mother of a small child, I wasn鈥檛 able to work full time,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淏ut the companies I applied to wouldn鈥檛 even consider part-time employment.鈥� Except 51风流in Walldorf, where she was offered a part-time (75%) post. 鈥�51风流wasn鈥檛 on my radar at all to start with,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 thought they only needed software developers.鈥�

Tannaz started at 51风流in project management and controlling. 鈥淎fter a few years, I found that working as a controller and in reporting wasn鈥檛 the only thing I can do. I can lead teams and bring people together,鈥� she says. She tried her hand at various roles, working as a project lead and as a scrum master before exploring agile transformation and training at 51风流to become an agile coach.

Flexiblity for a Single Mother

That sounds like a smooth career journey. Rewind four years, when Tannaz and her husband decided to separate, and things were far from easy. Suddenly, in her late thirties, she was a single, working mother and completely on her own for the first time in her life. She and her son moved into a new apartment when his new school year began. The challenge then was that he wanted her to be there when he got home from school, often at completely different times of the day. The new situation required her to be very flexible, and Tannaz, who was back to working full-time, needed support from her colleagues and her manager.

鈥淔or me, and in my situation, 51风流plays a major role in my journey towards independence and in the way I live and the person I am right now. When I decided to live my life as a single mom, I knew that I鈥檇 have the support of my employer, and that helped me to make the decision and to go this way.鈥�

Now, several years later, she says, 鈥淚 can organize my working day very effectively. My son is almost 14 now and much more independent. We鈥檙e a team.鈥�

Managing People Is Her Thing

Today, Tannaz co-leads the 51风流S/4HANA Agile Center of Excellence, a role that includes managing people. 鈥淟eading a team and achieving something together makes me unbelievably happy,鈥� she says. 鈥淩ight now, I鈥檓 really happy that I can decide on my own about my life, my career, my child,鈥� says Tannaz.

For her parents, who are getting older, Tannaz has become the go-to person. 鈥淣ow I can say that being a daughter and living my life the way I鈥檓 living it is a big help to them.鈥�

As soon as participants arrive at the stables, they鈥檙e exposed to new impressions: grassy meadows, the scent of hay and stables, the sound of horses neighing. The place seems a thousand miles away from a work desk. The horses draw mixed responses initially; some participants are wary around them, while others approach them with confidence. But all are curious about the four-legged co-trainers.

Inhibitions fade fast. 鈥淛ust being around horses, stroking or feeding them, triggers positive emotions among the participants,鈥� explains Machmeier. That鈥檚 due partly to oxytocin, one of the happy hormones, which floods our bodies when we interact with horses or pets.

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鈥淲orking with horses for thousands of years has given us a special affinity with them,鈥� explains Anabel Schroeder, founder of听horsesense, which . 鈥淧eople open up when they are around horses. Horses have a different brain wave pattern to humans and exhibit a Zen-like calm that humans can only reach through meditation. They also have a lower heart rate 鈥� just standing next to a horse and touching it makes you feel more relaxed.鈥�

Experts in Human Body Language

At first, the coaching exercises don鈥檛 sound that difficult. Participants are asked to guide their horse around a short obstacle course or lead it from point A to B without using their hands. But there鈥檚 a catch: Horses don鈥檛 always behave how we鈥檇 like them to.

These exercises are very insightful for the coaches because, as Machmeier explains, 鈥減articipants always act exactly as they would in everyday life.鈥� Some quickly feel the pressure, become impatient, or pull on the lead rope. Others are timid and try to coax the horse around the course using friendly encouragement. 鈥淚n stressful situations, we cannot pretend and always revert to our familiar patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving,鈥� Schroeder shares.

According to Machmeier, 鈥淗orse-assisted coaching is a really effective way to mirror such behaviors.鈥� With the exercises and joint reflection sessions, they help participants recognize what lies behind their outward reactions. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about understanding why something triggers you or stresses you out,鈥� she says. The coaches often go through various exercises before they reach this point, and always following a four-step cycle: mirror behavior, encourage reflection, challenge, support.

Feedback from Horses Doesn鈥檛 Hurt

鈥淗orses are sensitive creatures and have learned to read people; it鈥檚 their survival mechanism,鈥� explains Schroeder. With keen senses, they react to people鈥檚 body language and pick up even the smallest emotional cue. 鈥淭hey gently mirror us without judging, and that doesn鈥檛 hurt as much as the feedback from our colleagues or managers. At the same time, people don鈥檛 resent the horse鈥檚 feedback, and that allows them to appreciate and accept it.鈥�

Interacting with the horses can be an emotional learning experience. How does it feel when you complete your task perfectly, when the horse refuses to follow you, or when you fail to set boundaries? 鈥淭hese things don鈥檛 just happen in your head, you听feel听them, and you anchor those feelings in a completely different way,鈥� Thiel explains.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e more likely to remember what you learn through emotions than what you鈥檙e taught in a classroom,鈥� Schroeder says. The two 51风流coaches confirm that participants often still recall their experiences months or even years later.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 really great is that when someone experiences an insight, wants to change a behavior, and we repeat the exercise, the horse immediately reacts differently,鈥� reports Thiel. 鈥淗orses are always in the here-and-now and mirror the smallest change in behavior. That makes it very tangible for the participant.鈥�

51风流employee Harald Monihart took part in horse-assisted coaching program while working for his previous employer: 鈥淟ooking back, horse-assisted coaching was by far the best training I attended at the beginning of my leadership career. The process of self-reflection that you experience when you attempt to communicate with a horse is a truly unique experience. Almost six years later, I still remember the positive effects.鈥�

鈥淟eading Blind鈥�

Machmeier and Thiel offer coaching sessions for teams, managers, and individual employees, including colleagues who return to work after burnout. Individual coaching sessions often focus on dealing with stress, setting boundaries, defining priorities, or learning to say 鈥渘o,鈥� while typical leadership topics include managing diverse or remote groups.

Teams that attend coaching are often looking to improve collaboration, mutual appreciation, and communication, to get to know each other鈥檚 strengths, and to address areas of conflict. Another focus is psychological safety. A听听found that highly effective, high-performing teams have one thing in common 鈥� they nurture a culture of trust in which employees feel it is safe to make and admit to mistakes.

鈥淥ne of the ways we help teams build trust is with the 鈥楲eading Blind鈥� exercise,鈥� Thiel shares. Here, one participant leads both a horse and a blindfolded colleague. Navigating the obstacle course while leading the horse and the colleague is a complex task that doesn鈥檛 always go smoothly. It鈥檚 important to communicate well and look out for each other. This provides plenty of scope for joint discussion and reflection afterwards.

鈥淭eams operate on a functional level and a relationship level,鈥� explains Machmeier. 鈥淔or a team to be truly effective, you need both levels to be strong.鈥�

In coaching, it is generally believed that those being coached are responsible for their own growth, and horse-assisted coaching is no different. The participant is the expert, and he or she decides what topics they want to address or which insights they derive from the program. 鈥淲e can only provide the framework and give guidance,鈥� Machmeier says. 鈥淭hose being coached own the process.鈥�

To round off the coaching session, participants are invited to reflect on what they鈥檝e learned, how they plan to adopt the desired behaviors, and what the next steps are.

鈥淵ou can really hear the mental cogs turning, it鈥檚 the beginning of a process,鈥� says Thiel. And when the participants go home? 鈥淓veryone leaves with a huge smile on their face,鈥� Machmeier confirms.

Is one day of coaching enough? 鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly enough to provide an impulse,鈥� says Schroeder. 鈥淧eople go home feeling deeply touched. Ideally, they will continue their coaching journey, but this doesn鈥檛 have to involve horses. This type of coaching is so powerful that even one day will set a lot of things in motion.鈥�

The winds of change are blowing through the financial world too. One prominent example is Larry Fink, CEO of investment management company Blackrock, who said in that 鈥渃limate risk is investment risk.鈥�

Businesses, too, are expected to operate more sustainably. So far, however, expressing sustainability successes in monetary terms — in the balance sheet — has not been easy. Enter QuartaVista, an innovation project led by SAP and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

鈥淭he idea behind QuartaVista is to measure corporate success not only in financial terms, but to integrate other dimensions in the balance sheet, such as ecology, knowledge, and society,鈥� says Reiner Bildmayer, QuartaVista project manager at SAP.

The project ran from November 2018 to February 2021 and recently presented its results at a closing event in Berlin.

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Pioneer Work

The QuartaVista methodology was jointly developed by 51风流and Regionalwert AG, Freiburg, a citizen shareholder company that channels citizens鈥� money to build up regional sustainable enterprises. What鈥檚 new about QuartaVista is that sustainable business practices, as well as risks, are shown on the assets or the liabilities side of the balance sheet.

The first prerequisite for this was to translate sustainability efforts into quantifiable metrics.

鈥淲ithin the project, we developed 180 sustainability KPIs, thus creating the basis to capture these values in the balance sheet,鈥� explains Christian Hiss, founder and CEO of Regionalwert AG, Freiburg.

One example is knowledge retention. According to the QuartaVista methodology, training new employees does not only incur costs to the company. Instead, the knowledge that is built up and retained can be booked as an asset in the balance sheet.

The partners involved in the QuartaVista project were seed producer听,听, organic grain product manufacturer听,听and . They tested the methodology in practice. SAP鈥檚 role was to map the QuartaVista accounting approach to a dashboard. In addition, , an artificial intelligence-enhanced software specialist and the charitable research and teaching organization visualized the KPIs in a forecast tool.

鈥淨uartaVista has built a prototype that demonstrates how sustainability KPIs can be integrated in the accounting process and in corporate management as well,鈥� says Annika Woltjen, QuartaVista project lead at BODAN.

鈥淲e broke it down into the smallest details, which is what ultimately sets this project apart,鈥� Bildmayer shares.

Holistic corporate management involves combining financial and non-financial key figures, adds Martin Heinig, head of New Ventures and Technologies at SAP, at the event in Berlin. 鈥淵ou have to collect the data, make it assessable and comparable. In this respect, QuartaVista has taken a big step in the right direction.鈥�

True Prices

One example of how QuartaVista might play out in practice is prices.

鈥淨uartaVista gives us the opportunity to reach true prices,鈥� stresses Philip Luthardt, sustainability manager at Bohlsener Muehle. 鈥淚t is a chance for producers of organic products to show how much value we add to society as a whole.鈥�

Isabelle Sanchez, commercial manager at Bingenheimer Saatgut, believes that price transparency helps to drive customer acceptance: 鈥淲hen we explain the values we are creating and what goes into the product, then consumers are more likely to agree.” As an example, she cites organically created seedfast varieties, whose seeds spawn the same plants repeatedly. This saves consumers from having to buy new seeds in the following year.

鈥淲hat is cheap today is expensive tomorrow,鈥� explains Jenny Lay-Kumar, QuartaVista project lead at Regionalwert AG, Freiburg. “Adding risks and damage to the balance sheet, as well as crediting efforts toward sustainability, means much more than just making products more expensive. It means realigning the market economy based on a new way of measuring success.”

QuartaVista does not necessarily mean making organically produced products more expensive. 鈥淪ustainable management is an investment that is capitalized as an asset in the balance sheet. If QuartaVista is implemented, I can achieve completely different prices,鈥� Hiss concludes.

Experimentation and Thinking Space

Even though the project has now officially concluded, it is not the end of the line, but rather a starting point. The partners are determined to drive their methodology forward in collaboration with businesses, academia, and politicians. A lot of work remains to be done; the project was set up as an experimentation and thinking space.

鈥淲e have a tool with which we can practice thinking. We can do something and see the results of our actions. This is the beginning of a larger change, not only in finance,鈥� Professor Karin Graeslund from the Wiesbaden Business School and German-speaking 51风流User Group DSAG, said at the closing event.

鈥淲e opened up a wealth of potential with QuartaVista. We are determined to continue,鈥� Bildmayer emphasizes.

Two hybrid trucks pull out of the yard at BODAN, an organic food wholesaler located at Lake Constance in Ueberlingen, Germany. In addition to being more fuel-efficient than conventional vehicles, these hybrid trucks are also extremely quiet 鈥� causing less disturbance for local residents, especially at night.

These benefits don鈥檛 come cheap, and the additional cost of 鈧�45,000 compared to a conventional truck hits profits. The fact that BODAN buys hybrid trucks anyway reflects the self-image of this pioneering organic business.

Given that conventional accounting methods only measure the financial dimension, businesses tend to perceive sustainability solely as a cost factor. This issue 鈥� particularly as it applies to agriculture 鈥� is what interests Christian Hiss, founder and CEO of Regionalwert AG Freiburg, a citizen shareholder company that channels citizens鈥� money to build up regional sustainable enterprises.

鈥淚 realized more than two decades ago that there is a disconnect between the reality of how agricultural businesses operate and how their operations are recognized in accounting and reporting, which fail to adequately consider social, ecological, and other factors,鈥� says Hiss.

At the same time, we鈥檙e witnessing a shift of values in society: The global community is setting new standards through the . On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragile nature of global supply chains and increased demand for regionally-produced, eco-friendly goods.

But if you want to incentivize businesses to commit to climate and environmental protection, regional production, and training and educating their workers, sustainability has to be more than an ideal; it has to be translated into the language of business: financial accounting.

QuartaVista: A Holistic Accounting Model

This is what the QuartaVista, or 鈥渇our perspectives,鈥� innovation project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is all about.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e seeing the beginning of a movement,鈥� says Reiner Bildmayer, project lead for QuartaVista at SAP. 鈥淪ustainability will become such a key business decision factor that, pretty soon, a traditional profit margin will no longer be considered as important as it once was.鈥�

As an 鈥渆xperimentation space,鈥� QuartaVista expands the view of a company from one to four perspectives: finance, ecology, society, and knowledge. The partners involved in the project are seed producer , , organic grain product manufacturer , AI-enhanced software specialist , charitable research and teaching organization , , and SAP. Together, they are looking at how sustainable behaviors can be translated into quantifiable metrics.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 new about QuartaVista is that it shows achievements for sustainable management, but also risks, on the assets or the liabilities side of the balance sheet, encouraging more sustainable business practices,鈥� Hiss says.

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Visualizing Sustainability in a Way the Finance World Understands

But which targets and performance metrics need to be measured? And how, critics ask, can you put an objective monetary value on sustainability efforts?

Regionalwert AG Freiburg and other project partners have made a start and have defined specific KPIs (key performance indicators) derived partly from the 17 UN SDGs. Taking the example of Goal 4: Quality Education, you can ask, 鈥楧o companies build up and keep their knowledge capital, or is it lost?鈥� Sustainability practices can be accounted for, says Hiss. 鈥淭he key thing is to identify the right way of quantifying them, the right account to post them to 鈥� in QuartaVista, we show how it鈥檚 done.鈥�

SAP’s role in the partnership is to map the QuartaVista accounting approach to a dashboard. The dashboard visualizes sustainability in a way that the world of finance understands. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to quantify sustainability efforts, to make them accessible to the financial community 鈥� and thus create visibility,鈥� says Bildmayer.

Fair Prices and Transparency for Consumers

If efforts in the three dimensions of 鈥渒nowledge,鈥� 鈥渘ature,鈥� and 鈥渟ociety鈥� are seen as business assets, they can be factored into prices. BODAN, for example, has been competing against businesses in the conventional food industry since it first began trading. Right now, if you only compare prices, eco-products come off badly.

Yet the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that , such as origin, freshness, and transparency. In spring this year, BODAN recorded revenue increases of up to 40 percent per month, which cannot be attributed solely to more home cooking and increased stockpiling by private households.

鈥淚f you factor the non-financial aspects of ecological farming into your calculation, such as soil conservation or water pollution control, then organic products are already cheaper today than conventionally manufactured ones,鈥� argues Sascha Damaschun, one of the managing directors at BODAN, which invests in organic plant breeding, sustainable seed development, and more.

鈥淭he genetic diversity of our crops is a relevant economic value,鈥� he explains. Sustainably bred plants are often more resilient to climate change than high-performance varieties used in conventional farming, and do not require synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. On the QuartaVista dashboard, BODAN can show sustainable investments of around 鈧�70,000 made between 2014 and 2019.

The debate reaches far beyond the QuartaVista project. In an on German TV channel ZDF, Professor Maja G枚pel, political economist and sustainability scientist, insisted that, 鈥淧rices must tell the ecological truth.鈥�

So far, companies that externalize their environmental costs have been at an advantage, she said. So, how can we rejig tax and levy systems so that companies with sustainable business models can be competitive?

鈥淥ne very, very important change would be to adopt environmental pricing,鈥� G枚pel explained. 鈥淭hat way, ecologically sustainable companies could differentiate themselves from their competitors, and we鈥檇 see technologies that facilitate sustainable business entering the market.鈥�

Sustainability KPIs as Strategic Management Tools

Companies like BODAN have engaged in sustainability reporting for years. But a sustainability report reflects the past and has not been an integral part of the corporate balance sheet. The QuartaVista model, on the other hand, offers insights at the point when investment decisions are made and provides a future perspective. As such, QuartaVista functions as a kind of navigation system that helps companies adopt a future-oriented management approach.

Bohlsener M眉hle makes a point of deriving all of its raw materials from organic sources. Overall, 40 percent of its sources are regional and for grain, its main raw material, that figure is 85 percent. Sustainability has been part of the company鈥檚 DNA since its founding in 1979 and lies at the heart of its operating model, which includes using green energy. The company鈥檚 own spelt hull pellet heating system generates sufficient heat from the by-products of spelt wheat processing to supply 75 local households, producing a saving of 400 tons of CO₂ in 2019 alone. Bohlsener M眉hle is also one of the many businesses seeing a rise in demand for regional and organic products as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The QuartaVista method is at the heart of Bohlsener M眉hle鈥檚 business operations. It has defined KPIs for knowledge acquisition and retention, climate footprint, and quality of work in the supply chain. These sustainability KPIs should rank equally with economic KPIs in the balance sheet, says Philip Luthardt, sustainability manager at Bohlsener M眉hle.

This is a big challenge for employees. 鈥淣ow, all of a sudden, they鈥檙e having their performance measured not only against sales and production targets, but also against sustainability KPIs.鈥� But at the same time, sustainability is gaining a new level of appreciation at the company. 鈥淭his is a new way of thinking that enables us to integrate sustainability into the key areas of corporate management and evaluation,鈥� says Luthardt.

Real Consequences Drive Real Change

Bingenheimer Saatgut has also made sustainability one of its company goals. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not just selling a product,鈥� says Commercial Manager Isabelle Sanchez. 鈥淎s a company, you need a culture, a guiding vision.鈥� In pursuing its vision, the company sources primarily from regional suppliers, uses renewable energy, and aims to reduce the number of employees on temporary contracts. The huge wave of orders it received during the pandemic 鈥� about twice as many as in the same period last year 鈥� shows that consumers are headed in the same direction.

If society truly wants a shift toward more sustainability, however, incentives must be put in place. 鈥淎 company that uses green energy, for example, should enjoy tax breaks or other financial incentives that are not open to a competitor that uses nuclear-generated power,鈥� says Sanchez.

The logical consequence of that would be a shift in the balance of power in the market. 鈥淚f companies are obliged to account for risks, if there are standards that apply to everyone and are audited, then every company will be forced to act,鈥� adds Sanchez. 鈥淥therwise, they would no longer be competitive.鈥� In the long term, Sanchez sees QuartaVista as an instrument 鈥渢hat will help us get climate change under control.鈥�

The project partners want QuartaVista to 鈥渒eep strictly to the logic of business,鈥� says Hiss, and thus create a vision for a genuine economic transformation. The project, which began in the fall of 2018, will run until the end of February 2021.

One new use case developed by 51风流supports employees at specific points in their working lives and receives feedback from them, with the goal of improving their experience.

Employee experience was a top priority in human resources (HR) long before 51风流acquired Qualtrics. However, with the company now part of the 51风流family, new possibilities have opened up. One result has been the joint project between HR and the Best Run TopX Experience Management program designed to fuel growth through improving the experience for 51风流customers, partners, end-users, and employees.

The project looks at how Experience Management solutions from 51风流can improve company processes; in this case, those that serve employees.

What X+O Means in HR

So far, HR has developed three use cases: candidate experience, onboarding experience, and employee benefits optimizer. More are planned to follow in the course of the year.

The HR team at 51风流in South Korea is already using the benefits optimizer to help rethink employee benefits by first finding out which benefits individual employees actually prefer.

These preferences 鈥� or experience data (X-data) 鈥� were captured, analyzed, and linked with operational data (O-data). As an example, operational data might include how far employees commute, their family situation, or their age group.

鈥淏y linking the two data sets, the Total Rewards team is able to tailor benefits to specific groups of employees,鈥� says Christian Liebig, global head of People Insights for HR at SAP.

What is good for employees is good for HR: Offering the right benefits helps retain people, the ultimate goal.

Feedback: Every Piece Is Valuable

Having a continuous stream of X-data means that HR will know what employees really appreciate as well as what they are less keen on.

From Liebig鈥檚 point of view, Experience Management solutions enable a completely new way of thinking and approach and thus offers a great opportunity for HR: 鈥淚t allows us to understand contexts and think systemically and systematically about them.鈥�

Receiving feedback, of course, is not always pleasant, whether from employees or customers. As Oliver Staudenmayer, program manager for Best Run TopX Experience Management and head of Employee Experience Management at SAP, notes: 鈥淵ou have to be open-minded in order to truly appreciate every piece of feedback and gain something positive from it, even if it may be unfounded.鈥�

At the same time, he says, organizations must be set up for agile decision-making: 鈥淚f changes or decisions first have to pass a large committee, then you lose the very momentum that enables you to react to feedback and keep pace with users.鈥�

Demonstrating Benefits to Customers

Using Experience Management solutions internally is good for SAP鈥檚 own business, but it is also the best way to show customers how it can benefit theirs too.

鈥淲e show customers how they can gain a new and highly valuable data dimension that aligns their company鈥檚 decision processes more closely with what their customers are really experiencing,鈥� Staudenmayer explains. 鈥淚f the user tells us at that very moment that something delights or disappoints, we know why they feel that way and can take action. This is not just an innovation in technology, but in culture too.鈥�

Staudenmayer believes this can lead to more democratic decision-making.

鈥淚n the future, we鈥檒l know what the majority of users want, not just those who make the most noise,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 believe there is a huge opportunity here.鈥�

Staudenmayer also liaises closely with the Data Protection and Privacy Office as well as the IT Security department.听 鈥淲e are guided by SAP鈥檚 rigorous policies,鈥� he confirms.

Where employees are concerned, transparency is key, according to Liebig: 鈥淣o one is forced to take part in any survey or disclose their data. However, if we are open and honest about what we鈥檙e doing, and people recognize clear benefits for themselves, then they will be happy to share.鈥�