This recognition is based on our Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute in the cloud ERP market for service-centric enterprises.

As businesses navigate constant change, they need systems that connect every function, scale intelligently, and provide infrastructure for continuous innovation. I believe this recognition underscores ������’s commitment to deliver exactly that.

51����Cloud ERP is the foundation of our broad portfolio of applications, and the centerpiece of the . It’s an out-of-the-box enterprise management solution with embedded AI, real-time insights, and the agility to support growth at any stage. Verticalized from day one with industry-specific best practices and capabilities, 51����Cloud ERP helps organizations scale intelligently, stay compliant, and adapt quickly.

When we speak to customers, they appreciate that 51����Cloud ERP is part of a broader portfolio, including our cloud platform 51����Business Technology Platform (51����BTP), and that it allows customers to quickly take advantage of the latest AI innovations with Joule. In addition, 51����stands out for our extensive, global network of implementation partners.

For us, this recognition is a milestone, but it also pushes us to keep innovating and delivering even greater value to our customers. We hear from customers that we need to be clearer in our value proposition, make adoption easier, and speed up innovation delivery. We take this feedback seriously:

• Cross-functional complexity: We are accelerating the 51����Business Suite strategy to deliver tighter native integration, a unified user experience, and simplified end-to-end processes across finance, supply chain, procurement, HCM, and CX.
• Live customers in complex organizations: Building on global deployments like Bain & Company, we are expanding programs, references, and accelerators to further invest in our industry and geographic scale.
• Pricing clarity: To make planning and TCO more predictable, we have launched persona-based bundles that simplify pricing and clarify the path to adopting AI and extensibility at scale.

Pursuing innovation

Today, the need for clarity and alignment across every business function is critical. Businesses run on a unique mix of applications and data sources, often creating heterogenous landscapes that are difficult to connect. To meet their goals, businesses need a solution that goes beyond isolated applications for individual challenges. 

51����Business Suite offers a path to connecting every business function, including: an end-to-end portfolio that unifies connected applications, powerful AI agents, and contextualized data on 51����Business Technology Platform. Together, they orchestrate cross-functional processes across an interconnected landscape.

And as the foundation of 51����Business Suite, 51����Cloud ERP ensures seamless integration across finance, supply chain, procurement, and more. With 51����Cloud ERP at the core, 51����Business Suite streamlines critical business functions into a unified system. Our scalable, flexible solutions ensure businesses of all sizes benefit from modern, tailored ERP. 

I believe this recognition from Gartner highlights the need for intelligent, modular cloud ERP. With ������’s integrated approach, organizations can harmonize data, automate at scale, and expand across regions and industries. As we celebrate this recognition, we remain focused on continuing to lead through innovation and impact. 

.

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing officer of 51����Business Suite and CPO Globalization & Industries at SAP.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Cloud ERP for Service-Centric Enterprises, 13 October 2025, Robert Anderson Et Al.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from SAP.

As CHS CEO Tom Lynch described it: “You walk into a hotel, you go to your room, you open the door — just about everything inside that room we sell to hotels.”

A decade ago, American Hotel Register (AHR) was a billion-dollar enterprise with global expansion plans, which led the company to adopt 51����S/4HANA. As strategic as this investment was for AHR, the system slowly began to transform into a heavily customized, complex, and expensive resource. 

“What happened was AHR took the best of SAP, then added the best of everything else,” explained Soumyo Mukherjee, director of IT at CHS.

While not necessarily the most efficient strategy, it worked well enough for AHR — until COVID-19.

The pandemic forced virtually all hospitality facilities to close, leaving AHR with millions in inventory and shrinking its revenue to under $200 million. In 2021, CHS acquired the American Hotel Brand and its IT assets.

Among other things, this necessitated a reduction in IT spending, all the while needing to stay resilient and ready to ramp operations back up in a post-pandemic world.

Forced into action, CHS began looking for a new approach, and found it with 51����and partner ASAR Digital.

Turning point for CHS and SAP

That approach was to adopt 51����Cloud ERP. 

At the very least, moving to 51����Cloud ERP would help CHS greatly streamline its IT landscape, eliminate complex customizations, simplify processes, and enable the organization to embrace the latest 51����innovations.

The pandemic highlighted the need for CHS to modernize its operations, maintain cost-efficiency, and position the company for future growth, which served as additional reasons for selecting 51����Cloud ERP.

“The cloud and innovative AI solutions could simplify business complexity and lower costs with the least amount of technology-heavy lifting for CHS associates,” noted Mukherjee.

CHS is now in the process of implementing 51����Cloud ERP, planning to go live late in 2025.

“Moving to a clean core will help CHS not only reduce costs and IT burdens, but also lay a strong foundation for leveraging next-generation AI and digital capabilities,” said Sanjjeev Singh, president and CEO of ASAR Digital. “Our partnership is all about turning challenges into opportunities for innovation and sustainable growth.”

AI use cases and innovation

CHS is also excited about the future of AI and latest 51����innovations, particularly around 51����Business AI. According to Mukherjee, “We are definitely looking to utilize as much AI capabilities as we can. In order to do that, we are trying to stick with the best practices of SAP, which is keeping the clean core principle, so that as AI evolves, as Joule evolves, we can make full use of that.”

Lynch further explained how CHS might be able to benefit from AI, saying, “Whether it relates to pricing, inventory management, timing of transportation — there are so many things that we could potentially benefit from. There’s tremendous opportunity to use our own data to be more powerful.”

By shedding complexity and embracing a clean core philosophy with 51����Cloud ERP, CHS is not just recovering; it is strategically rebuilding for a future that is leaner, smarter, and powered by innovation.

Eric van Rossum is CPO of Industries and Globalization and chief marketing officer for 51����Business Suite at SAP.

The  helps bring renewed focus on the cloud transformation journey by enabling smooth, secure migration of on-premise 51����ERP Central Component (51����ECC) and 51����S/4HANA customers to the cloud.

One of the key pillars of the program is RISE with 51����Methodology. The methodology is designed to provide a consistent approach — from planning to go-live to ongoing operations and evolution — that can meet customers’ business transformation goals leveraging specific implementation stages and success KPIs.

To support customers’ RISE with 51����transformations, 51����is and collaborating closely with these partners on quality and consistency. By following the methodology, customers can drive predictable timelines for implementations and provide progress transparency with key milestone assessments.

51����customers with complex 51����ERP landscapes starting their journey to RISE with 51����can now identify their ideal cloud transformation partner through the new RISE with 51����Validated Partner recognition.

These select partners meet elevated capability and experience criteria for the , have proven experience in large enterprise engagements, and demonstrate their implementation approach is aligned with RISE with 51����Methodology. Using this methodology, the validated partners can ensure customers are cloud compliant and innovation ready, with an accelerated time to value.

Partners that have been validated as part of this program include Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, EY, IBM, Infosys, NTT DATA, and PwC.

In addition to adhering to the principles of RISE with 51����Methodology, these validated partners complement it in several ways, such as by leveraging specialized tools, templates, architecture patterns, and pre-configured solutions that speed up transformation of our enterprise customers. Additional eligible partners will be validated in the second half of 2024. 

“Empowering our partners with RISE with 51����Methodology isn’t just about alignment; it’s about forging a standardized path to success,” said 51����Chief Partner Officer Karl Fahrbach. “By formalizing our engagement model, we reinforce a commitment to excellence, ensuring every project delivers with precision and consistency, driving unparalleled results for our most valued customers. Our partners can lead the way with our support, igniting a paradigm shift in how we approach innovation and collaboration.”

Companies also have the option to leverage and the to find the expertise they need, no matter their business challenges, company size, industry, or location. Partners that have attained the essential level have met the minimum training and delivery requirements for delivering RISE with 51����implementations. This gives customers confidence that the partner has the necessary level of maturity and has demonstrated customer success through effective project delivery.

RISE with 51����Validated partners are required to attain the expert level of multiple competencies, including RISE with 51����S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, 51����Business Technology Platform, and 51����Business Process Transformation. These designated partners must also maintain bi-annual performance requirements and eligibility checks with a focus on clean core quality gates.

For additional information regarding the RISE with 51����Migration and Modernization program and the importance of partners, read “.”

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing officer for Cloud ERP at SAP.

With the introduction of RISE with 51����add-on packages for critical lines of business, customers using RISE with 51����can reap significant value from their cloud ERP investment. Each targeted package augments the complete offering of cloud solutions, infrastructure, and services, creating a strategic arsenal for addressing uniquely nuanced challenges and opportunities. 

The first two sets of packages that are now available focus on the needs of finance and supply chain organizations. To advance critical functions from digital banking and treasury and risk management to product lifecycle management and logistics, these packages are designed to be versatile allies in the quest for greater efficiency, sustainability, and growth. 

Strengthening Financial Empowerment for Business Growth 

Financial management stands as a critical pillar for business growth. Within RISE with SAP, its impact can be heightened with add-on packages finely tuned for the office of the CFO. 

Digital Banking: Simplify connections with customers, banks, and payment service providers while meeting the highest security standards.

The digital banking package streamlines financial transactions and helps ensure a comprehensive and secure banking interface, supporting payment processes integrated with 51����S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. .

Treasury and Risk Management: Invest, borrow, and hedge exposures more confidently with a comprehensive solution for centralized treasury and risk management.

Through the RISE with 51����advanced treasury and risk management package, smooth integration with trading platforms allows finance organizations to streamline, automate, and unify trading activities and make more strategic decisions with real-time and predictive cash insights. .

Financial Three Lines of Defense: Let standardization and automation take center stage to address key activities in enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance, and audit processes.

The three lines of defense package empowers finance professionals to anticipate and respond to potential economic risks, identify and resolve issues faster, and gain near-real-time visibility into their company’s compliance status and control effectiveness. .

Billing and Revenue Innovation Management: Accelerate the monetization of innovative business models and billing processes for bundled-usage services, products, projects, and recurring services billed on a single invoice.

Using the billing and revenue innovation management package helps establish the foundation for supporting subscription order management, convergent charging and invoices, and contract accounting. It also facilitates incentives and revenue shares for business partners with high-volume customer billings. .

Building Resilient Bonds Across the Supply Chain 

Companies that connect their processes, contextualize their decisions, and collaborate with each supplier, partner, and stakeholder are well-positioned to run risk-resilient and sustainable supply chains. RISE with 51����brings this competitive edge by setting the proper foundation with the following add-on packages.

Advanced Product Lifecycle Management: Empower your development organization with the best capabilities for collaboration, visualization, requirements definition and specification, and change management.

The RISE with 51����advanced product lifecycle management (PLM) package equips product-centric companies with solutions that keep information flowing across each PLM activity and engage suppliers through digital networks. In return, design decisions are made more accurately, and delays give way to accelerated time to market. .

Advanced Supply Chain Planning: Build an agile, intelligent, and risk-resilient supply chain.

With the RISE with 51����advanced supply chain planning package, supply chain organizations can automate and tightly coordinate their planning processes, leverage AI-driven intelligence and planning capabilities, and identify disruptions and shortages early to respond faster and more effectively. .

Advanced Logistics: Increase resilience against constant change and deliver as promised at the right time – every time.

Through the RISE with 51����advanced logistics package, supply chain organizations gain best-practice logistics capabilities in warehousing, transportation, robotics, and yard management to reduce costs, avoid stock-outs, and improve order accuracy and on-time delivery. .

Advanced Manufacturing: Drive productivity safely and sustainably with intelligent manufacturing planning and execution.

The RISE with 51����advanced manufacturing package assists supply chain organizations in meeting demand with automated, flexible manufacturing processes that support risk-resilient operations and improve sustainability performance. .

Advanced Asset and Service Management: Enter a new world of optimized, AI-powered maintenance and service capabilities.

The RISE with 51����advanced asset and service management package opens the door to innovative technologies that maximize asset performance, reduce maintenance costs, and deliver service excellence. This approach allows asset owners and service providers to handle everything from asset strategy and planning to maintenance scheduling and field service management on mobile devices. .

Navigating the Future with Digital Synergy 

The RISE with 51����offering is not only emerging as an enabler for migrating on-premises ERP systems to 51����S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition; it’s also a transformative force shaping the future of businesses.

And with the addition of add-on packages meticulously crafted for finance and supply chain challenges, the offering stands to become a strategic partner, propelling 51����customers into a new era of efficiency, resilience, and sustained growth.

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for Cloud ERP at SAP.

51����is pleased to introduce add-on packages for the GROW with 51����offering, which are uniquely tailored to the needs of finance and HR functions. These packages integrate the latest cloud solutions, infrastructure, and services into a strategic toolkit, addressing the challenges and opportunities growing companies face. 

The add-on packages provide a dependable, company-wide view that strengthens financial and HR management practices as strategic pillars for growth. In return, businesses can operate more efficiently, sustainably, and effectively — even when expanding their operations. 

Here is a summary of our new add-on packages.

Digital Banking Package for GROW with SAP

Connect your banks, financial institutions, and payment service providers directly to 51����S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition through a single, centralized platform: The digital banking package provides a multi-bank, digital channel between ERP systems and banks with optional embedded SWIFT connectivity. Integrated payment and statement processes are also available, bringing more comprehensive visibility across the payment value chain. 

With the digital banking package, businesses gain critical capabilities; for example:

• Smooth connectivity to financial and payment services to accelerate the onboarding of providers and strengthen compliance with PCI DSS standards  
• A cloud service for processing incoming credit cards, incoming and outgoing payments, and API-based instance balances 
• Reduction in cash reconciliation efforts while optimizing IT costs and increasing flexibility when choosing providers

.

GROW with 51����Advanced Treasury and Risk Management Package �į�į&�Բ�����;

Invest confidently and mitigate financial risks while doing more with fewer resources: The GROW with 51����advanced treasury and risk management package gives treasurers the comprehensive solution they need to capture exposure data, classify and qualify risks, and trigger trade actions. Predefined connectivity and integration capabilities are available as well, connecting businesses to trading platforms and providers and supporting cash, investment, and risk processes in 51����S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition.   

The package includes proven solutions, such as: �į�į&�Բ�����;

• Financial risk management 
• Debt and investment management  
• Advanced treasury analytics and executive dashboards 
• Hedge management and hedge accounting in compliance with IFRS and U.S. GAAP requirements  
• Smart trading using 51����Business Technology Platform and smooth integration with an external trading platform

.

GROW with 51����Advanced Compliance Automation Package

Address evolving regulatory and industry compliance requirements with greater ease and confidence: The GROW with 51����advanced compliance automation package empowers finance teams to transform and standardize their processes globally while adhering to local standards efficiently. Furthermore, the package helps meet e-invoicing mandates while keeping order-to-cash processes efficient and internal controls adequate. 

The advanced compliance automation package features proven compliance offerings, including:

• 51����Document and Reporting Compliance solution to fulfill local compliance mandates and automate compliance processes
• 51����Risk and Assurance Management application to centrally manage internal controls over financial reporting, improving performance and protecting core data and processes

.

GROW with SAP, Core HR Add-On 

Drive continuous alignment between HR and finance to achieve better business outcomes: The GROW with 51����core HR add-on provides a modern cloud-based core HR system that serves as the source of people data in 51����S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. It contains the 51����SuccessFactors Employee Central solution, allowing organizations to use a common data model for HR and finance.   

The core HR add-on helps businesses realize key benefits, such as:   

• Improve people and financial data quality with pre-delivered integration
• Drive more effective workforce planning with holistic real-time insights
• Embrace the latest innovations, such as AI, with a single cloud platform
• Engage users with consistent experiences across HR and finance applications
• Get up and running quickly with pre-configured processes and best practices

.

Business Growth with the Best of Finance and HR

Add-on packages for GROW with 51����provide fast-growing organizations with the tools they need to not only enhance their finance and HR operations, but also lay a solid foundation for future success. They can navigate an increasingly complex and competitive landscape with the insight and power to confidently embrace change, fuel innovation, and achieve ongoing growth in an ever-evolving economy.  

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for Cloud ERP at SAP.

enables organizations – however complex, across however many channels, and regardless of which CRM they run – to produce quick and accurate quotes, accommodating the most advanced configuration and pricing requirements, helping to result in a better sales experience and faster sales cycles.

Gartner evaluated 16 vendors and named 51����a Leader based on our “ability to execute” and “completeness of vision.” We believe this recognition serves as an acknowledgment of ������’s continued commitment to providing our customers with a CPQ solution that can meet all their needs.

51����CPQ is an essential component of SAP’s portfolio of products that help automate the quote-to-cash process, which enables organizations to convert sales opportunities into paying, profitable, and repeat customers. Leveraging a modular cloud approach, 51����brings together 51����S/4HANA Cloud, 51����CPQ, 51����Subscription Billing, and 51����Billing and Revenue Innovation Management to enable customers to accelerate monetization of their subscription business.

With SAP’s quote-to-cash products, customers can transform to “everything-as-a-service” with innovative revenue models, can quickly adapt to changes by offloading operational complexities, and can achieve accuracy and compliance with end-to-end automation.

In under 15 minutes, the sales team at is creating sales quotes for its complex boiler systems. The company has been using 51����CPQ since 2005 to help automate and scale its legacy quoting process, generating more than 20,000 quotes annually by 750 salespeople.

“You basically give the salesperson one to two days of their week back by using 51����CPQ. When you give time back to salespeople, you are encouraging them to sell solutions to customers instead of just reacting to specifications,” noted Dominic Kasten, director of Sales Technologies, Cleaver-Brooks.

, a manufacturer of equipment, software, and services that help companies transform 5G cloud-native and fiber-optic networks, reduced the time it took to approve customer discounts by 50% to less than 24 hours while the number of sales quotes created per month increased by 70%.

EXFO has created a new quote system with a 360-degree view of customers to slash response times, improve quote accuracy, and enhance customer experiences. It has also created a new revenue stream by combining products and services in a single quote.

“51����CPQ underpins an intuitive system that helps sales teams produce speedy, accurate quotes, letting them concentrate on what matters most to customers,” said Sheila Thibodeua, CRM Solutions and Digital Sales manager of EXFO.

Hear from other customers and learn more about how 51����helps to automate quote-to-cash with , , , and .

Eric Van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for 51����Cloud ERP.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

First, the 2023 release of 51����S/4HANA Cloud, private edition is now available. This is a major milestone for 51����and our customers, making it easier for them to move to the cloud. It delivers enhanced functionality built on a cutting-edge, cloud-based ERP system that is collaborative, intelligent, networked, and sustainable.

Second, we’ve launched a new premium plus package for RISE with SAP, combining AI technology with sustainability and advanced finance solutions to help businesses innovate faster, make more informed decisions, and unlock the value of enterprise data.

Third, to support customers in their move to the cloud, we’ve created a conversion and modernization program for RISE with 51����to bring together tools, expert services, and conversion incentives.

51����Delivers Latest Release of 51����S/4HANA Cloud, Private Edition

The 2023 release of 51����S/4HANA Cloud, private edition not only delivers the full capability scope of 51����ERP Central Component, it brings finance, manufacturing, operations, and suppliers into a single cloud platform with line-of-business applications based on the newest architecture.

Additionally, as part of RISE with SAP, the private edition of 51����S/4HANA Cloud now follows a two-year release cycle with easy-to-consume innovations and enhancements, generally delivered every six months. Maintenance will also increase from five to seven years, giving customers more value for their investment.

51����Unveils New Premium Plus Package for RISE with SAP

Amid rapid market changes and complex, evolving regulatory requirements, customers in every industry and geography need cloud-based systems and processes. customers can choose which package best drives business results for them, including a new premium plus package with more tools to power faster, better decisions, and maximize the impact of AI across business processes. The premium plus package will:

• Offer more sustainability insights by embedding carbon and other resources into core business processes,calculate and share that data across the value chain, and address rapidly evolving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting standards.
• Add new AI capabilities for ERP with the help of our recently announced AI copilot Joule. Joule quickly sorts through and contextualizes data from multiple systems to surface smarter insights.
• Empower finance leaders to make decisions faster with solutions that streamline planning operations, improve forecast accuracy with financial and non-financial business unit data, and enhance invoice management and cash collection processes.
• Equip customers to create a networked ERP with a supplier portal that simplifies spend compliance by enabling close collaboration with a broad network of suppliers as well as automating procurement and invoice transactions.

During ������’s recent event, we heard from RISE with 51����customer Mahindra & Mahindra. The company is not only moving to the cloud, it is also transforming its  business with the power of cloud ERP.

According to Mahindra Chief Information Officer Rucha Nanavati, “Agility is critical to maintain and increase our leadership position amid a dynamic industry landscape. Moving to the cloud improved time to market and enhanced both the customer and employee experience. RISE with 51����also allows us to have quick access to innovations like AI that will help us innovate faster and stay competitive.”

51����Supports Customers’ Journey to the Cloud

The new conversion and modernization program for RISE with 51����features offerings tailored to each customer’s unique starting point. The program includes:

• RISE with 51����adoption framework to plan your conversion and the 51����Signavio Process Insights solution to build your business case.
• , a new, free service that offers 1:1 sessions with dedicated 51����experts to evaluate how to best convert to 51����S/4HANA Cloud. The kit delivers a personalized and actionable transformation plan within a very short timeframe. .

.

To recognize the contribution of on-premise 51����S/4HANA customers, who helped lay the foundation for our modern ERP, 51����will be offering customer-centric conversion support plans that may unlock compelling incentives to help accelerate the move to a modern cloud ERP.

“This year’s events are, yet again, a reminder that companies that can digitally transform the fastest have the highest odds of long-term success,” said Geoff Scott, CEO and chief community champion at Americas’ 51����Users’ Group (ASUG). “������’s latest announcements and innovations are in lockstep with digital transformation necessities, giving customers a clear path to achieve more value from their enterprise technology investments in progressively shorter time frames.”

Additionally, we are working on a new service that provides expert help for RISE with 51����customers to support their upgrade to a current release of 51����S/4HANA Cloud. The service is planned to help customers upgrade by reducing technical hurdles and streamlining business processes, making sure their systems are best set up to run in a cloud-optimized model.

It’s clear that now is the time to move to the cloud and we are excited to be your trusted partner on this journey!

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for Cloud ERP at SAP.

This is all thanks to our completeness of vision and ability to execute in the cloud ERP market for product-centric enterprises. As those enterprises transition mission-critical ERP processes to the cloud, they are looking to recognized vendors to help them realize business value.

According to Gartner, “Leaders demonstrate a market-defining vision of how ERP product-centric systems and processes can be supported and improved by moving them to the cloud. They couple this with a clear ability to execute their vision through products, services and go-to-market strategies. They have a strong presence in the market and are growing their revenue and market share. In the cloud ERP suite market, Leaders show a consistent ability to win deals with organizations of different sizes. They have a good depth of functionality across all areas of operational and administrative ERP. They have proof of multiple, successful deployments by customers. Their systems integrator partners frequently use their offerings to support business transformation initiatives.”

We’re honored to be recognized in this space. We believe it reflects our relentless focus on helping product-centric manufacturing companies solve their most pressing challenges.

Tapping into the AI Revolution

In today’s shift to Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technology are accelerating business change. And generative AI is a particularly potent force, revolutionizing the way companies run — increasing productivity of employees, optimizing business decisions, and delivering relevant customer experiences.  

51����customers recognize the potential; most are jumping to get started. Yet the technology brings challenges too, especially around bias, ethics, and data privacy. And companies must navigate the change amid economic uncertainty and constrained IT budgets. To ensure success, leaders must carefully prioritize their AI use cases.

As an example, look at the way , a joint venture of Porsche and Schuler that is using 51����S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, and 51����Digital Manufacturing to support intelligent automotive manufacturing. By shifting to 100% cloud-first, Smart Press Shop was able to introduce AI-powered innovations like automated checks for component defects.

Driving up Efficiency with Automation

Data-driven automation continues to be embedded across enterprise IT, processes, and value streams, enabling operations that are autonomous and accelerating business innovations. For example, automatically scanning invoices, using IoT sensors and RFID technology for real-time inventory information, and leveraging real-time machine performance information for preventative equipment maintenance, will enable companies to accelerate business innovations.      

Automation brings a multitude of benefits that can significantly enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and drive overall business growth. By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, organizations free up their workforce to focus on more strategic, creative, and value-added activities. This not only increases employee satisfaction but also improves productivity and accuracy, leading to higher-quality outputs. Additionally, automation enables businesses to scale their operations rapidly and respond to market changes more effectively, thereby staying competitive in a fast-paced world.

Consider how , a Swiss technology company has automated its key processes and consolidated a complex network of legacy systems by switching to 51����S/4HANA Cloud. It means the company now operates on stable, reliable, and innovative cloud ERP software. And it can more easily drive process standardization and simplification to maintain its position as an industry leader and pursue new business growth — including quickly integrating new acquisitions.

Boosting Supply Chain Resilience

Supply chain disruptions continue to impact many markets. If it is not the war in Ukraine and its effect on energy markets, it is threats and tensions in China impacting semiconductor supply chains, and the increasing climate change impacts, and also the economic effects of inflation and interest rates. It all adds up to complexity and challenges in managing a predictable and consistent supply chain. 

The result is that resilience remains the priority. Finding a better balance of global, regional, and local solutions means shortening supply chains where possible and diversifying to reduce risk. New approaches for boosting resilience, such as multisource orchestration and multi-scenario adaptation, are increasingly important. Better visibility, agility, and greater automation are also critical.

Cloud ERP is central to this. Bathroom specialist unified business processes and visibility by standardizing on 51����S/4HANA Cloud, which means it benefits from a more complete picture of inventory to optimize manufacturing operations, as well as greater consistency across product data and pricing.

Proudly Leading the Way

I believe our recognition as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud ERP for Product-Centric Enterprises is a testament to our unwavering commitment to helping companies address these core challenges.

With 51����S/4HANA Cloud, we are enabling companies to not only standardize and simplify but also innovate and grow. It’s a journey we are proud to be on with our customers, and we look forward to helping their businesses thrive in the cloud.

You can read the , and to learn more about the manufacturing capabilities of 51����S/4HANA Cloud, public edition.

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for 51����Cloud ERP.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

To that end, we’re pleased to announce the 51����Build portfolio is now included in the RISE with 51����and GROW with 51����offerings.

The 51����Build portfolio includes unified, low-code solutions built on 51����Business Technology Platform (51����BTP). It enables people closest to the business problems – the finance managers, supply chain gurus, and manufacturing experts – to create and augment amazing Web and mobile enterprise applications, design business sites, and automate tedious and repetitive processes, all with drag-and-drop simplicity. With a growing library of pre-built connectors, the 51����Build portfolio allows you to natively integrate with 51����applications, allowing high scalability while cutting out complexity in your IT landscape.

Low Code Is the Future of Development

Organizations are reimagining their cloud-first strategy to become more resilient and flexible. However, despite high demand for digital transformation initiatives, there remains a significant shortage of workers capable of developing business processes and cloud-native applications.

Historically, business experts have partnered with their technical colleagues to create technical solutions, followed by mock-ups, wire frames, development, testing, and staging for deployment. This process simply does not meet the needs of the modern business unit. Today, business experts need to be able to quickly create applications on their own timelines and without the need for mastery of code languages like Python, JavaScript, or Swift.

Businesses today…

How 51����S/4HANA Cloud Customers Succeed with 51����Build 

With the availability of low-code solutions like the 51����Build portfolio, organizations are closing the gap between their business needs and development requirements. This is especially important for ERP customers because these processes are mission-critical and optimizing them is equivalent to optimizing how your business runs. Business users understand what is working – and what isn’t – and the best improvements to propose. The 51����Build solutions support 51����S/4HANA Cloud business experts to:

• Optimize ERP processes with 51����Build Process Automation: For over 50 years our customers have trusted 51����with their mission-critical processes. With 51����Build Process Automation, customers can optimize these processes with robotic process automation (RPA) for automation, workflows, and business decisions. 51����Build Process Automation includes pre-built bots and workflows for common 51����S/4HANA Cloud scenarios to help jump-start your automation projects. Learn how sped up its financial closing process by automating repetitive tasks.
• Augment 51����S/4HANA Cloud with 51����Build Apps: 51����Build Apps lets everyone build enterprise apps without professional coding experience. Empower users to create easily, integrate seamlessly, and scale fast on both iOS and Android devices while saving on development costs. about how it significantly improved customer experience and engagement by optimizing its onboarding process.
• Create business sites with 51����Build Work Zone: Create role-based desktops for employees that need access to multiple applications, including 51����S/4HANA Cloud. It also allows organizations to grant secure and curated 51����S/4HANA Cloud access to external stakeholders like suppliers. For example, a distributor portal can show order status, allow credit limit extension requests, and provide product training can dramatically improve distributor satisfaction and effectiveness.

Let’s look at a simple business scenario like invoice management, which typically requires multiple manual steps and complex approvals. To start, a mobile app can be built with 51����Build Apps so invoices and receipts can be conveniently uploaded. This action will automatically trigger an approval workflow in 51����Build Process Automation, where the embedded artificial intelligence (AI) extracts the pertinent invoice details. Once the purchase is approved, 51����S/4HANA Cloud can be updated and the payment process kick-started.

This type of pre-processing can happen before the standard 51����S/4HANA Cloud workflows are invoked and customized for your organization. Beyond that, required approvals and other tasks can easily be shared in 51����Build Work Zone so business users can track all their actions in one place. The best part is that you don’t need to start from scratch. Based on the most common automation scenarios with our 51����S/4HANA Cloud customers, we’ve created to help you get started.

See 51����Build with 51����S/4HANA Cloud in action with our .

Get Started Today

Learn how to for 51����S/4HANA Cloud, visit the to learn more, and explore 51����S/4HANA-specific pre-built content in this .

JG Chirapurath is chief marketing and solutions officer for 51����BTP.
Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for 51����Cloud ERP.

“Buyers have many options for the Enterprise Resource Planning Systems category,” said Megan Headley, vice president of Research at TrustRadius. “51����S/4HANA Cloud earned Winter Best Of awards for Best Feature Set, Best Value for Price, and Best Relationship based entirely on feedback from its customers.”

During the three-month awards process, TrustRadius looked at customer reviews from the last two quarters of 2022 to determine awards using the following criteria:

• Best Feature Set: Based on the highest percentage of respondents who were happy with the product’s feature set
• Best Relationship: Based on Key Insight data in the product reviews for Would Buy Again, Implementation Expectations, and Sales and Marketing Promises
• Best Value for Price: Based on the highest percentage of respondents who were happy with the product’s value for the price

For 51����S/4HANA Cloud, “97% of reviewers on TrustRadius said they were happy with the feature set, 100% stated it delivered good value for the price, and 99% said they would buy the product again,” said Headley. “Many reviewers praised the low cost of the cloud ERP system and its facilitation of their digital transformations.”

As SAP, we set out to never dictate to a customer how they should run their enterprise software. And there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and that’s why we want to give our customers flexibility to choose what works best for them.

“No matter what industry you are in, there is no greater benchmark of success than customer feedback,” said Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of 51����SE, 51����Product Engineering. “The more feedback we get from our customers, the better we can serve them with innovations that help companies solve today’s business problems and take on tomorrow’s challenges. With 51����S/4HANA Cloud, they are best positioned to do so impactfully and sustainably.”

51����S/4HANA Cloud is a complete, modular cloud ERP system, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics, that helps customers run mission-critical operations in real -time from anywhere and gives them the insight and information they need to steer their business through changing and challenging times. It enables them to digitally transform their business by building flexible value chains with end-to-end processes, introduce new business models in their industry, and expand globally yet sustainably with a trusted partner in SAP.

As an 51����S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, customer, , a Netherlands-based manufacturer of marine engines for sailboats and powerboats for both recreational and high-speed boat operations company, has seen firsthand why choosing the right cloud ERP solution matters.

Yanmar needed a scalable cloud ERP solution that could match its growth aspirations and help ensure it has all the right information from across its business to drive decision-making.

With 51����S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, of having all of its employees working with consistent processes, based on industry best practices from SAP. Yanmar now has real-time visibility to accurately plan working capital and has reduced financial close from three days to just half a day.51����S/4HANA Cloud has been a catalyst for change and has helped businesses transform and navigate their way to becoming intelligent and sustainable enterprises.

We thank all our 51����S/4HANA Cloud customers for their continued support and for placing trust in SAP. And we thank all the customers who took the time to provide thoughtful feedback on peer-review platforms like TrustRadius.

We understand the importance of making the right investment decisions when it comes digital transformation, and we believe a strong digital backbone is the centerpiece. With ������’s cloud ERP solutions, we continue to focus on growth and value generation for businesses and their customers and we are here to be a partner on this journey.

Learn more about how 51����S/4HANA Cloud can help your company accelerate its journey to the cloud at .

Jan Gilg is president and chief product officer for 51����S/4HANA.
Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for Cloud ERP at SAP.

.

51����CPQ enables organizations — however complex, across channels, and whichever customer relationship management  (CRM) they run — to produce quick and accurate quotes, accommodating the most advanced configuration and pricing requirements, resulting in a better sales experience and faster sales cycles.

According to the Gartner Magic Quadrant, providers that qualify as Leaders “have the ability to execute their vision through products, services and demonstrably solid business results in the form of revenue and earnings. Leaders have significant successful customer deployments in a wide variety of industries and with multiple proofs of deployments for more than 500 users. They achieve consistently above-average customer experience satisfaction scores. They are often the vendors against which other providers measure themselves.”

51����CPQ is an essential component of our portfolio of products that automate the quote-to-cash process, which enables organizations to convert sales opportunities into paying, profitable, and repeat customers. Leveraging a modular cloud approach, 51����brings together 51����S/4HANA Cloud, 51����CPQ, 51����Billing and Revenue Innovation Management, and 51����Business Technology Platform (51����BTP) to create an end-to-end quote-to-cash process and enable organizations to accelerate monetization of their subscription business.

With quote-to-cash products from SAP, customers can transform to “everything-as-a-service” with innovative revenue models, quickly adapt to changes by offloading operational complexities, and achieve accuracy and compliance with end-to-end automation.

ServiceNow, a provider of software as a service to help companies manage digital workflows for enterprise operations, is one customer that is , as the company scales for the future and seeks to grow to a $10-$15 billion company.

As part of the initiative, ServiceNow selected 51����CPQ to support faster sales deal velocity, offer guided selling to drive ACV growth and improved price realization, and increase customer renewals and future purchases. In addition to 51����CPQ, ServiceNow is using 51����Entitlement Management, part of 51����Billing and Revenue Innovation Management, to keep track of and manage all the subscriptions and services each of its customers owns and is entitled to use.

With these two 51����products, ServiceNow is setting its sales teams up for success with more effective renewals, cross-sell, and up-sell opportunities. The teams go into every customer situation knowing exactly what the customers own and how likely they are to renew or buy other products, providing a smoother customer experience. Additionally, ServiceNow has seen a reduction in costs related to things like customer over-entitlement, data management, and renewal process preparation. .

Hear from other customers and learn more about how 51����helps to automate quote-to-cash with , , , and .

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for Cloud ERP at SAP.

51����was named a Leader in “” and “” reports.

The reports note: “As technology executives modernize their old technology to meet modern business needs of agility and innovation, they are replacing their old enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems with modern choices — which are versionless, cloud-based, and built with AI at the core.”

51����S/4HANA Cloud is our cloud ERP for every business need. It sits at the heart of our modular cloud portfolio, providing the foundation for businesses of all sizes, in any industry. It does not matter if you are a small, newly minted company looking to move fast and challenge the competition or a storied industry leader that needs continuous, incremental innovation.

The Forrester reports note that “51����remains the largest vendor in the DOP market and services dozens of industries in nearly every geography… Key strengths include their product vision and execution roadmap as they’ve laid out a very clear, modern vision for helping customers get to the ‘intelligent enterprise.’ It continues to invest in not only the right features but also customer adoption and success.”

51����S/4HANA Cloud enables customers to take the lead and set themselves apart with industry innovation for top-line, bottom-line, and green-line growth.

Drive Top-Line Growth

Industry lines are blurring. So are traditional business models. Companies that were once purely product-centric are adding service offerings to take advantage of previously untapped revenue opportunities. This is one way 51����S/4HANA Cloud can help companies boost their top-line: by enabling an easy transition from product- to service-based business models. The ability to dynamically change business models in real time, based on consumer data, is one of the greatest differentiators of 51����S/4HANA Cloud.

is a new business venture launched by GM to provide products and services to meet the needs of first and last mile delivery operations. The company needed an autonomous, rapidly deployed ERP environment to support the launch of its business, which it found in 51����S/4HANA Cloud. With and 51����S/4HANA Cloud, Brightdrop has the speed, flexibility, and scalability needed to meet customer demand in this rapidly growing market.

Achieve Bottom-Line Growth

Business process optimization is a key driver of operational efficiency and bottom-line growth. With 51����S/4HANA Cloud, customers can enable their people to work better together with instant and personalized insights, available from anywhere. Customers are empowered to continuously improve margin with intelligent automation across their end-to-end business processes.

Pairing this with the business process transformation tools from , which are included in , offers a powerful way to get a handle on business processes to drive bottom-line growth.

is a great example of a customer that leveraged 51����S/4HANA Cloud to improve operational efficiency. Topcon designs, manufactures, and distributes precision measurement and workflow solutions for the global construction, geospatial, and agriculture markets. With 51����S/4HANA Cloud, the company was able to consolidate all seven of its systems into one ERP system, enabling it to scale and standardize. Now, Topcon sees real-time data across its business. Total cost of ownership is down, productivity is up, and processes are smoother and more streamlined.

Deliver Green-Line Growth

Sustainability has become a business imperative, and there is increasing regulatory pressure. But how do customers even begin to shift their entire business toward things like less waste and fewer emissions? 51����S/4HANA Cloud allows customers to get a grip on their green line and build sustainability directly into their business via adaptations to existing operations and processes. And those regulatory requirements? 51����S/4HANA Cloud supports customers in proactively managing these with company-wide controls and in-depth reporting.

Based in Lisbon, Portugal, not only repurposes forestry waste and uses wind and solar power to meet the world’s growing need for energy, but it also sells sustainable energy plants, which the company operates and manages as a service for its customers. With S/4HANA Cloud, GreenVolt helps these customers realize the power of technologies for process optimization, automation, and more on the path to a sustainable future.

Grow Without Limits

Ultimately, customers want the confidence to take their business where it needs to go. They don’t want to be limited by things like compliance or security, and they want to have the capabilities to continuously innovate and scale. 51����S/4HANA Cloud enables them to stay on top of compliance and security with global standards built in and always up to date. It allows them to keep innovating with a scalable platform complemented by ������’s unmatched network of partners that are always bringing new value.

Learn more about . Download a copy of “” and “.”

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for 51����S/4HANA.

The commercial, competitive, and operational demands on companies are intense. They are facing an unprecedented speed of change — digitalization strategies have to adapt rapidly and profoundly. Customers must continually innovate, while at the same time adapting their business processes and reinventing their business models. Cloud technology has become pivotal to keep up with the change.

The release 2023 of 51����S/4HANA, available in October of 2023, represents a go-to release for next-generation technology and compatibility with legacy software. From this release, 51����S/4HANA will change to a two-year release cycle, a longer seven years of mainstream maintenance per release, and more easily adoptable feature packs.

In support of this major milestone, 51����will offer customers on releases 1709, 1809, and 1909 of 51����S/4HANA an extended maintenance option, which will enable customers to directly upgrade to the 2023 version.

������’s announcement that until 2040, there will always be at least one release of 51����S/4HANA in maintenance remains unchanged.

The 2023 version of 51����S/4HANA represents an evolutionary step in product maturity and supports our ability to offer a growing range of services, best practices, and business process optimization to help existing and new customers realize their full potential.

The flexibility to drive innovation at their own pace is important to customers. That is why 51����responds to their needs by offering the extended maintenance option as a path to the cloud from wherever they are in their cloud ERP journey — even if that path has yet to be charted. 51����S/4HANA is at the center of this transformation.

Innovation at the Core, with No Customer Left Behind

Since 2015, 51����S/4HANA has delivered innovative solutions to customers and encourages them to upgrade their installation frequently, including the upcoming 51����S/4HANA 2022 release. Next year’s 2023 release of 51����S/4HANA will mark a new chapter for customers,with next-generation technology and many alternative 51����S/4HANA capabilities for legacy compatibility scope items for ������’s legacy software.

By adopting the 2023 version of 51����S/4HANA, customers may find it easier to bring their 51����environment up to date and keep it current. This upgraded environment offers greater opportunity for continuous innovation without disruption and helps organizations becoming cloud-ready if and when they need to be.

To make it easier to stay up to date, 51����is taking steps to reduce the number of upgrades for customers and deliver even greater value:

• The product will move to a two-year release cycle starting with 51����S/4HANA 2023.
• 51����will deliver more application innovation to meet customer needs via minimally disruptive. Easy-to-adopt feature packs are currently planned to be delivered every six months in the first two years of a release. The combination of two-year release cycles and more feature packs should offer more opportunities for co-innovation with customers without the need to upgrade the product, easing adoption and reducing total implementation costs.
• Beginning with 51����S/4HANA 2023, each release will stay in mainstream maintenance for seven years per release, up from five years in previous releases.
• Early adopters of ������’s new releases will have a longer productive use time frame of the product, increasing their return on investment.
• 51����S/4HANA 2023 retains the zero-downtime capabilities of its predecessors.

More Flexibility for When and How to Upgrade

To make it more convenient for customers on lower release tiers to upgrade to the 2023 version of 51����S/4HANA, 51����is offering an optional extended maintenance option for legacy versions of 51����S/4HANA that will be reaching the end of their five-year mainstream maintenance soon. The option will be available for the time of 2023 to 2025 and can be renewed quarterly within this specific time frame.

Customers on versions 1709, 1809, and 1909 of 51����S/4HANA, on-premise and subscription models, will be able to benefit from extended maintenance in one of two ways:

• Customers having subscribed to RISE with 51����or legacy subscription models, for example, subscription for 51����HANA Enterprise Cloud, take advantage of the option where extended maintenance is included at no additional fee. It is also the recommended transition for 51����S/4HANA customers from on premise to RISE with SAP. This will then require only a change in infrastructure and allows customers the same flexibility they are used to with their on-premise version.
• For customers running one of those 51����S/4HANA legacy versions in an on-premise environment and that wish to remain there, extended maintenance is an option and will require an additional fee of four percent of their respective core 51����S/4HANA maintenance base.

51����respects and understands that there are important factors to consider when customers choose to become an intelligent and sustainable enterprise. 51����embraces and recognizes these factors by offering a solution that adapts to any organization’s unique needs.

To learn more, visit  (login required)

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for 51����S/4HANA.

Historically, such uncertainty has catalyzed organizations to invest in modernizing the technology behind their business operating models. But traditional approaches to enterprise resource planning (ERP) modernization have too often fallen short in maximizing business value, leaving C-suite priorities like corporate strategy and organizational mindset as afterthoughts.

To address this, 51����and McKinsey have drawn on their individual strengths to create a strategic alliance that merges technology modernization with strategy execution, thereby driving business results and addressing critical business challenges. With an initial focus on the consumer products, retail, automotive, and manufacturing industries, 51����and McKinsey now offer an end-to-end design for a migration to 51����S/4HANA. The alliance is part of McKinsey’s designed to advance client impact in a rapidly changing world.

Most recently, Merck KGaA, a world-leading life sciences company, worked with 51����and McKinsey to transform its complex ERP system, moving from a collection of legacy platforms to a consolidated global system, complete with a new organizational structure and governance model.

“In a world that is constantly changing, companies must continually evolve to stay competitive. As part of that, having the right cloud ERP in place is crucial for any business to address this challenge. Building on our history of strong collaboration, our strategic alliance helps ensure that McKinsey and 51����can work side by side, enabling customers to derive sustained value from technology investments and tap into new areas of growth,” said Christian Klein, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of 51����SE.

This alliance has already delivered compelling impact for a range of clients, including a renowned European grocer that was able to counteract increasing cost pressures from competitors while fulfilling the increasing digital demand of customers. Within the four-month initiation phase, the grocer set up a transformation management function that evaluated outside-in perspectives on current trends and future requirements for all business functions. This helped determine a target operating model for the future ERP landscape. As a result, the grocer developed target operating models for retail, supply chain, category management, and finance, establishing a new future-proof business model.

“Technology enables speed, and it can play an outsized role in driving sustainable, inclusive growth,” said McKinsey Global Managing Partner Bob Sternfels. “51����and McKinsey’s relationship brings together strategic thinking with technical implementation, helping the boldest leaders find enduring solutions to our most urgent challenges.”

Merck Customer Feature

Merck worked on an ERP transformation with 51����and McKinsey. According to Alessadro de Luca, Group CIO at Merck, the company initially approached the effort as a technical project. They had not considered the fundamental strategic challenges of cross-sector business objectives, including disconnects between system architecture and operational reality.

Through physical and process redesign efforts, 51����and McKinsey helped Merck identify possible complexities and develop a global ERP road map that resulted in an integrated business case that addressed business value and IT changes. Overseen by an organizational structure and supported through CEO governance, the effort consolidated Merck’s ERP landscape while decommissioning legacy systems.

“The combination of ������’s technical skills and McKinsey’s consulting expertise has boosted Merck’s ERP strategy and roadmap, helping us deliver more value for Merck’s business divisions and enabling functions,” said de Luca. “Working with both organizations for this project was critical. Without the seamless integration of their teams, we would not have been able to achieve the level of impact we did.”

Eric van Rossum is chief marketing and solutions officer for 51����S/4HANA at SAP.
Bjørnar Jensen is senior partner and global co-lead of the 51����Alliance at McKinsey.

Once seen as futuristic, technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, chatbots, and blockchain are increasingly becoming commonplace, especially among nimble, digital-first new entrants. The emergence of the “human cloud” may be the biggest disrupter of all. Attracting $80 billion in annual investment, according to the Staffing Industry Association, the human cloud includes digital labor and staffing platforms that eliminate the need for manual intervention in the staffing process.

The rise of managed service provider (MSP) programs is also having a direct impact on staffing firm revenue and profitability. MSPs typically manage staffing processes and systems for large corporations and interact with several vendors providing staffing services. In response, some staffing firms have developed their own managed service programs.

These are among the issues explored in a . The paper highlights how tomorrow’s staffing industry leaders will be those that embrace the transformation imperative today and develop bold and creative action plans in a few key areas.

“Digital disruption comes to every industry, and staffing is no exception,” said Michael Liss, vice president, Managing Principal Services Industries, SAP. “Our view is that now is the moment to lay the foundation for future-state business models and a vision for growth. While the competitive threat from tech-driven startups is real, traditional firms can use enabling technology to build on their strong relationships and enhance their value proposition.”

“The future of work is taking shape today, and staffing firms have an opportunity to provide leadership and prioritize their innovation investments to drive future growth,” said Michael Yadgar, Americas 51����leader at EY. “From the war for talent and the rise of the human cloud to new business models and richer client and candidate experiences, there are many exciting innovation opportunities.”

Based on many engagements with staffing leaders, we believe the following megatrends are among the most powerful in redefining the industry:

• Process automation: Technology innovations enable staffing firms to replace manual tasks, such as resumé scanning, background checks, and onboarding. While automation reduces errors and increases efficiency, it can also lay the groundwork for richer client and candidate experiences, which ultimately help build stronger relationships.
• Digital marketplace platforms: New market entrants use these platforms to offer direct search and matching of talent. Other capabilities include candidate profiles, automated assignment matching, self-selection of assignments, availability tracking, candidate and client ratings, and automated billing and compensation. While this model works well for commoditized positions, higher-skill roles still require high-touch service and trust-based relationships.
• An evolving workforce: Millennials and Generation Z will represent more than 75% of the global workforce by 2025. These “digital natives” want instant communication and information access via their phones. They are also open to reskilling through online learning and training, which gives staffing agencies a chance to create talent and offer more value to both clients and candidates.

In response to these and other disruptive forces, staffing companies must prioritize a number of strategic actions and challenge their thinking by addressing a range of critical questions. The paper from EY and 51����highlights the following three key areas of focus for firms that are ready to embark on a journey of transformation.

1. Digital Delivery Platforms and the Shifting Role of Finance and Operations

Finance and operations can no longer be a back-office or support function primarily focused on data entry and reporting. Rather, it should embrace AI and process automation so that it can evolve into the higher-value roles of business analyst and strategic advisor. For example, sales operations and finance leaders should work to proactively identify market trends and development that can impact profitability and growth. Beyond the bottom line, insights provided by finance can help move the needle on candidate satisfaction — by better matching candidates and opportunities — and operational efficiency — by reducing the number of touches to fill positions.

• Critical question: If 90% of data entry were automated, how could finance and sales operations add value and provide competitive advantage?

2. Innovative Business Models and Diversified Pricing Models

A hypercompetitive market requires staffing firms to differentiate their offerings and value propositions. Ideally, a staffing firm’s sales force should be able to leverage AI to design competitive pricing structures and attractive packages. Subscription models offering on-demand access to advisory and staffing service in exchange for a set fee are likely to grow. So are outcome-based and performance-driven contracts, which will complement traditional by-the-hour pricing. Analytics and modeling tools will also help firms develop such customized pricing based on the evaluation of different criteria, including the suitability of such offers to both clients and talent.

• Critical question: Which information about candidates and clients defines the optimal pricing and compensation models?

3. Candidate Satisfaction, Client Experience, Experience Management

Staffing firms recognize the importance of experience to relationships with both candidates and clients. A quality experience pays off in the form of increased loyalty, deeper engagement, and, ultimately, more revenue for staffing firms. These benefits will only get more important as new entrants offering intuitive experiences continue to gain traction. Incumbent firms must ensure they understand what clients and candidates are looking for and then design an experience that delivers just that.

• Critical question: How can firms deliver an amazing user experience by applying data and AI to identify client and candidate preferences and enable automatic matching?

Profound digital-driven change is disrupting the staffing industry, just as it has for other sectors in recent years. The experience of those industries confirms that the market leaders will be those firms that think the biggest and act most boldly in embracing technology, focusing on experience, and exploring new business models.

EY and 51����Focus on the Staffing Industry

Both EY and 51����have provided solutions to the staffing industry for many years. 51����solutions have automated back-office processes, enabling streamlined operations and increased efficiency for the staffing industry. EY’s industry knowledge combined with its consulting, tax, and risk expertise has helped transform staffing firms to optimize their operations. EY has also transformed its own capability to drive staffing requirements for engagements in the marketplace.

With the amount of profound change that is taking place in the staffing industry, EY and 51����together can offer complete solutions for firms facing disruption and enable them to transform into intelligent enterprises. By combining the proficiencies of 51����solutions with machine learning, AI, and RPA, EY can help staffing firms achieve digitalization in order to transcend disruption and operate as a firm of the future.

Eric van Rossum is senior vice president and general manager of Services Industries at 51����and Dean Hansen is partner at EY.