The partnership has continued to this day with a mission to make great wines and spirits that bring people together. Now, the company has over 2,000 hectares of vines under cultivation in 12 wine-growing regions of Spain, Chile, and Mexico, where the producer deploys sustainable agricultural techniques to bring indigenous vines back into production.

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Running a Responsible Business

鈥淔or us, everything revolves around sustainability,鈥� said Elisabet Braza Valle, head of 51风流Supply Chain and Finance at Gonz谩lez Byass, during an interview at 51风流Sapphire Barcelona. 鈥淥ur goal is to be a reference in the wine sector and also in the field of sustainability, and we鈥檙e using technology to do that.鈥�

Valle explained that digitalization is helping to drive efficiency by improving processes and that people are already noticing a more expeditious service. 鈥淎ll the processes are connected,鈥� she said. 鈥淐lients notice that we are preparing their packages and managing their invoices faster than before. That鈥檚 because, thanks to SAP, we have all the data in the same place.鈥�

In addition to its core 51风流ERP system, Gonz谩lez Byass recently implemented , a solution that helps enterprises calculate extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations and define corporate commitments to optimize material choices. It鈥檚 also designed to help address all the requirements of the new plastic taxes in Europe.

To help promote a more circular economy, for example, Spanish law mandates an indirect tax levied on plastic in packaging. Calculating the taxable amount is particularly complex and burdensome. Companies must know how much non-recycled plastic is in the non-reusable plastic packaging contained in the shipments they receive. This information should be furnished by the suppliers that now find themselves in a challenging situation as they did not have to comply with this type of requirement before. Collected data must be reliable and verifiable to ensure accuracy when sharing with customers or if it should be questioned by the Spanish tax authorities.

鈥淪AP鈥檚 solution not only helps us comply with the law, but it also helps us manage our materials more efficiently,鈥� said Valle, who believes one of the greatest assets of the solution is the visibility it provides into the company鈥檚 supplier landscape. 鈥淲e are encouraging all of our suppliers to commit to being more sustainable, and we assess them every year. We also work together to improve our environmental behavior.鈥�

Valle cited several examples of collaborative engagement, such as reducing the weight of glass bottles and using recyclable packaging materials. The company has already substituted some materials with more sustainable alternatives and is buying cardboard boxes and wood sourced from certified forests.

鈥淲e have all the information about our materials in 51风流Responsible Design and Production, so we can see how much plastic we are using and how much of it is recycled. That determines the amount of tax we pay,鈥� Valle explained. 

All these improvements are part of the company鈥檚 People and Planet program that is designed to ensure a nature-friendly, energy-efficient foundation for future generations. The efforts are paying off.

Simplifying a Complex Landscape

According to its sustainability report for 2022, Gonz谩lez Byass already reuses or recycles 99% of the waste it generates and 79% of the energy it consumes comes from renewable sources. Water conservation efforts include using rainwater for irrigation, underground irrigation, and satellite-controlled irrigation.

Gonz谩lez Byass has already reduced carbon emissions by 20% and is committed to a 55% reduction by 2030. Besides managing its own regulatory obligations in Spain, the company must also be compliant with other regulations in the EU and the UK that impact its business. For example, recycling glass packaging waste is mandatory in all EU Member States. In Spain, this process is driven by Ecovidrio, a non-profit entity managing the Collective System of Extended Producer Responsibility (SCRAP).

鈥淥ne of our next projects is to set up Ecovidrio in the 51风流Responsible Design and Production solution, where we manage all our tax declarations and reports,鈥� Valle said. 鈥淎nother critical report is the declaration for the Ministry of Ecological Transition. Technology is helping us become a global reference in the sector because now we鈥檝e integrated all relevant information needed for compliance.鈥�

Four of its wineries have received the Wineries for Climate Protection certification, the first of such credentials specific to the wine industry targeting environmental sustainability. The certification recognizes sustainability activities in wineries in four key areas: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing water, reducing waste, and increasing energy efficiency.

Valle is confident that with the aid of technology Gonz谩lez Byass will not only be a leader and a reference in the sector, but, most importantly, it will secure its place as an exceptional winemaker for posterity. After all, since its most iconic wine , it鈥檚 a good thing Gonz谩lez Byass is doing everything to continue producing the best wines and spirits for future connoisseurs. 

鈥淲e started six years ago in the basement,鈥� explains Peter Brezani, Be Lenka鈥檚 chief operating officer, 鈥渨ith seven in the office and only two collections of shoes.鈥� Dedicated to high-quality craftsmanship, innovation, and sustainability, Be Lenka now has more than 100 employees, offers 250 collections of shoes, and delivers products to over 70 countries.

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Transforming to the Next Level

With production now based in three European countries 鈥� Portugal, Czech Republic, and Slovakia 鈥� and in Vietnam, Brezani says the biggest challenge is 鈥渢o change into a bigger company.鈥� He says 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition was a natural fit to help the young company 鈥渟cale new processes and new brands.鈥�

Be Lenka continues to grow rapidly and needed a software partner to help it transform to the next level. Brezani says the key to this transformation is harmonizing local solutions and local ERP systems, which is why Be Lenka chose GROW with 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition.

Best Practices and Benefits

Brezani鈥檚 advice for fast-growing organizations like Be Lenka is to 鈥渇ocus on the business, focus on the product, and focus on the added value鈥� and not get distracted by processes that are not core to the business or do not add value to the customer.

Be Lenka is simultaneously managing rapid growth and is on track for a rapid implementation of GROW with 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. SAP鈥檚 best practices tailored for global scalability will help Be Lenka harmonize its ERP landscape and automate key processes while still remaining true to the Be Lenka mindset that is keenly focused on adding value to its customers.

颅颅颅鈥淲e are a local club in Bavaria, but have fans around the globe,鈥� says Stefan Mennerich, the club鈥檚 director for digital media and communications. In addition to its 1,200 employees in Munich, New York, Shanghai, and Bangkok, the club has around 175 million followers on its social media and its own media platforms.

Mennerich says the club鈥檚 digital and media platforms are very important because fans expect to be able to interact with their club wherever they are. 鈥淭hey want to send us their feedback and they want to receive feedback.鈥�

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Fans Are Everything

The fans are at the center of everything FC Bayern does, Mennerich confirms: 鈥淥ur aim is to optimize all the processes for them, so they have the best user experience. Technology helps us with personalization, with the sales processes, with content 鈥� with everything.鈥�

He says the club chose 51风流as its technology partner for several reasons, including the fact that FC Bayern has different businesses. 鈥淲e have ticketing, we have merchandising, we have fan experience, we have digital platforms, and 51风流is able to deliver the best solutions for all these areas.鈥�

He also cites SAP鈥檚 commitment to continuously develop its cloud-based platforms and says this makes the digital experience 鈥渂etter and better every day.鈥�

The club uses the 51风流Emarsys Customer Engagement solution to capture fan data and create newsletters and personalized content for them, and the 51风流Customer Checkout application for point-of-sale management and real-time sales and stock updates.

鈥淲e have around 50,000 transactions every match day in the Allianz Arena, and we use 51风流Customer Checkout for that,鈥� Mennerich explains. 鈥淔ans can buy their merchandise articles, they can buy food or beverages, they can walk into our restaurants and pay there with 51风流Customer Checkout.鈥�

Separately, 51风流Event Ticketing software handles ticketing at FC Bayern; not just for football fans, but also for its basketball team and museum. The club also uses 51风流tools for its employees. For example, the AI-infused 51风流SuccessFactors HCM suite gives employees and managers access to an expanding array of human capital management tools.

Personalization

Looking ahead, Mennerich says he believes personalization will become even more important.

鈥淲e want to become better and better and better with personalization. We want to be able to really contact the people one by one, and not to speak about target groups in the future. We want to interact in a truly personal way with the fans.鈥�

He believes that embedding artificial intelligence capabilities in 51风流solutions will help achieve this aim and that overall, AI will help FC Bayern become more efficient, lower costs, and meet the expectations of the fans.

鈥淥ur biggest aim for the future on the horizon of FC Bayern is to meet every single expectation of any single fan around the globe, be it in Tokyo, be it in Rio de Janeiro, or be it in Munich,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e want to meet the expectations of the fans, and this expectation should be met in real time. This is our big aim for the future.鈥�

Lessons Learned at FC Bayern

If other organizations want to learn from FC Bayern, Mennerich says one lesson is that with a good technology partner like SAP, even midsize companies with broad business activities like FC Bayern can cover all the bases and be able to be competitive.

鈥淚 think what we are good at is meeting fan expectations via digital platforms,鈥� he says. For that, interactive communication is very important. 鈥淵ou always have to take into account what the fans, other organizations, and customers really expect and want from you. You have to be able to deliver that via digital platforms.鈥�

Its efforts didn鈥檛 go unnoticed: in 2021, the United Nations and Bloomberg named BayWa one of the 鈥�50 Sustainability and Climate Leaders鈥� worldwide, thanks largely to the company鈥檚 big push into renewable energies, which now make up more than half of BayWa鈥檚 annual earnings.

The Challenge of Transformation

BayWa鈥檚 journey with 51风流began in 2000 when the company implemented the on-premise ERP system, 51风流ERP Central Component聽(51风流ECC). However, as the business evolved it became apparent that their processes and technology could no longer keep pace. BayWa鈥檚 four business units operated in silos, which became unfeasible for a company striving to become more streamlined.

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鈥淲e want to move to a process-oriented company, so that means we want to implement one ERP template,鈥� Lars Pischke, global enterprise architect at BayWa, explains. 鈥淲e have to transform all four business units into a single ERP template, which is a significant challenge.鈥�

To address this, BayWa set out to migrate from 51风流ECC to 51风流S/4HANA Cloud, the foundation of its new . This transition marked a critical step toward unifying the company鈥檚 operations under one streamlined template. Additionally, BayWa implemented a digital platform, with 51风流Business Technology Platform (51风流BTP) as a key component.

“A clean core strategy for BayWa means we leave our ERP solution, 51风流S/4HANA Cloud, as standard, and we implement BayWa鈥檚 specific requirements on our digital platform side by side, where we rely heavily on 51风流BTP as our main module,” says Pischke.

Lessons Learned and the Value of a Clean Core

The concept of a “clean core” is central to understanding the benefits of BayWa’s transition. Imagine a shared grain silo system on a farm. If each farmer keeps their grain in separate, uncoordinated silos, tracking quality, utilizing storage space efficiently, or distributing the grain becomes a cumbersome task. However, when all the grain is stored in a unified system, it becomes significantly easier to manage, access, and maintain quality. Similarly, having a clean core in business processes ensures that all parts of the organization work harmoniously, preventing inefficiencies and missed opportunities that arise from working in silos.

For BayWa, establishing a clean core was crucial. The standardized, non-differentiating functions 鈥� such as accounts payable, tax, and treasury operations 鈥� constitute approximately 75% of business processes across companies, regardless of industry, size, or location. These functions are essential but do not differentiate one company from another.

In the past, over-customization in these areas led to inflexibility and slowed down business operations. But in today’s fast-paced, competitive environment, agility is key and maintaining a clean core is vital to achieving this agility.

“Keeping the core clean is also key when it comes to security issues. BayWa is part of the critical infrastructure in Germany,” Pischke explains. “To use a standard software like 51风流BTP allows us to rapidly adapt to new business models and technologies.”

Gaining a Competitive Edge with 51风流BTP

With BayWa鈥檚 clean core firmly in place, the focus shifted to building a competitive edge around their operations. This is where 51风流BTP comes in. The platform lets businesses create extensions and innovate in areas that really set them apart. Pischke says, 鈥淎 shift toward standard also means simpler processes for our employees. This allows us to reduce training costs and speed up onboarding.鈥� BayWa is leveraging these efficiencies to direct more resources toward innovation.

These days, companies need to know what makes them unique and lean into those strengths to stand out. While core functions are standardized and crucial for running smoothly, the elements that drive customer choice often come from the innovative, customizable features built on top of this clean core. By optimizing these standard processes, companies like BayWa can channel more energy into innovation and long-term success, keeping them ahead of the curve.

Looking Ahead: The Role of AI in BayWa鈥檚 Future

BayWa鈥檚 forward-thinking approach doesn鈥檛 stop with ERP transformation. The company is already exploring the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to further enhance its operations.

Pischke says BayWa has started piloting AI use cases, focusing on 51风流BTP鈥檚 Business AI. 鈥淲e believe AI should be integrated into the applications and business processes where the data is located,鈥� he explains. This integration is central to BayWa鈥檚 strategy, and the company has a growing list of AI use cases it plans to implement in the near future.

Attending industry events like 51风流Sapphire in Barcelona provides BayWa with valuable insights into the latest technologies and trends. Pischke acknowledges the accelerating pace of technological change, noting that each year brings new ideas and innovations that could be applied within BayWa. While not every use case or 51风流module is a perfect fit, these events offer inspiration and guidance for selecting the right tools to meet BayWa鈥檚 unique requirements.

Through partnership with 51风流and the switch to 51风流S/4HANA Cloud, BayWa has not only streamlined its operations, but also set itself up to keep leading in sustainability and innovation. The clean core approach has allowed BayWa to focus on what truly sets the company apart, helping it continue its mission to meet the essential needs of people worldwide.

Bridges in Norway have an excellent safety record, but the nearly 80-year-old Stav氓 bridge along Norway鈥檚 main north-south highway has been a constant cause for concern to NPRA鈥檚 engineers. Like so many older bridges worldwide, the concrete arch bridge was built for less than half the traffic volume and loads experienced today. Even before the April event, trucks were required to cross the bridge at reduced speed in one direction at a time.

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Video by John Hunt

When Sletten arrived at the bridge, he felt the reinforced-concrete structure moving under him.

鈥淚 saw the end of the bridge moving up and down with each truck passing and thought to myself, 鈥楾his doesn鈥檛 look good at all,鈥欌�� Sletten recalled. Realizing that one of the bridge abutments was floating free of its support, Sletten coolly blocked traffic in the northbound lane with his vehicle and called a road crew to manage traffic.

In the meantime, an interim bridge has been put into operation while a new bridge is under construction.

Detect, Understand, and React in a Critical Situation

Sletten was able to react quickly thanks to a solution from 51风流that combines IoT sensors, digital twin technology, and asset intelligence to deliver insight into bridge behavior in real-time. is a new class of tools that authorities can use to monitor their road assets remotely, plan maintenance, and 鈥� in extreme cases 鈥� predict structural failure.

The average age of Norway鈥檚 5,800 bridges is 36 years, and they undergo routine inspections every five years. The bridges are considered safe, but it was a mixture of intelligent foresight and good fortune on NPRA鈥檚 part that the Stav氓 bridge was being used to test a new real-time monitoring and prediction system using digital twin technology.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to think about what might have happened if we didn鈥檛 have this instrumentation on the bridge,鈥� said Trond Michael Andersen, director of Technology, division for Operation and Maintenance, NPRA. 鈥淚t gave us a lot of insight into the integrity of the bridge and enabled us to detect, understand, and react in a critical situation.鈥�

Much of the wear and tear on bridges is not visible to the human eye. But the latest digital twin technology can recognize stresses before they result in damage to a structure.

鈥淲ith the cloud solution from SAP, NPRA can react immediately to abnormal behavior and also localize the problem at an early stage in development in locations where engineers cannot inspect visually,鈥� said Marit Reiso, senior project manager for 51风流Enterprise Product Development. 鈥淭his has added benefits, because during routine inspections traffic has to be stopped to look at the entire bridge, and structural problems may not be recognized during non-operational conditions.鈥�

It is important to note that later discovery of the Stav氓 bridge鈥檚 defect would not have resulted in a collapse, but it likely would have resulted in greater damage and required shutdown of the structure and blockage of one of the country鈥檚 most important north-south transit routes. As NPRA鈥檚 Andersen puts it, 鈥淏ridges are not only important because they shorten travel times. They are critical for healthcare services and disaster relief efforts that save lives.鈥� An example of the potential impact on transport is exemplified by the

The clock is ticking on millions of aging bridges around the world. In the U.S. alone, are also sounding the alarm that without proper monitoring and maintenance, more bridge failures like that of the , Italy, can be expected.

The as the expanding development in BRIC countries and other growth markets increase the use of roadways.

More Digital, Intelligent, and Automated Roads

Andersen recognizes the advantages of technology for keeping Norway鈥檚 roads open and safe. Being a rugged country of islands, peninsulas, and mountains, it has a complex network of 94,000 kilometers of road connected by bridges and tunnels 鈥� many of them in remote terrain. NPRA will soon introduce an asset management system for inspection, monitoring, and repair.

鈥淭he roads are becoming more digital, intelligent, and automated and the requirements for an asset management system to manage all of the data will only increase. We expect this system to help us become more predictive,鈥� says Andersen. The introduction of an asset management system for a national road system is no simple task, but Andersen takes the long-term view, because he knows that technological change across NPRA must be accompanied by a cultural change.

鈥淲e have to adapt best practices and take the lessons learned from other asset-intensive industries to develop our organization, our tools, our methods, and we are integrating all of these aspects,鈥� he says.

As he puts it, technology and data are 鈥減art of a large formula鈥� to achieve the needed result: 鈥淲e are in the middle of this process and it requires a big effort, but we will get there.鈥�

Although Mother Earth could take a deep breath, we still need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would have to be reduced by around 7% every year for the next 30 years in order to not exceed the 1.5 degree Celsius temperature limit set by the . Climate scientists have not therefore stopped sounding the alarm: The largest greenhouse-gas-producing economies must hit the ground running to veer off a destructive path.

Drivers for Sustainable Business

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered an example of how quickly countries can mobilize against a common threat. Some leaders see a to the pandemic as an opportunity to forge a better world by reducing dependency on fossil fuels and stemming global warming. A new administration in the U.S. under president-elect Joe Biden has , which is almost certain to spur renewed global impetus in the battle against climate change. Biden鈥檚 transition team has already launched their , which carries the same name as SAP鈥檚 Climate21 initiative to help companies become sustainable businesses.

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There are number of drivers 鈥� ecological, economic, and societal 鈥� currently motivating businesses to make their operations more sustainable. Customers are demanding visibility into the carbon footprint of the products they purchase, as are shareholders and employees, who are looking for purpose and sustainability in their investments and livelihoods. Producers are taking notice, not least because national and international regulations may soon require such environmental impact information be provided on product labels and descriptions.

But does transparency have to come at the expense of profitability? No, says Toby Croucher, solution manager for Climate 21 and Sustainability at SAP.

鈥淪ustainable businesses have the ability to measure the carbon footprint of their manufacturing processes and are able to direct investments to the right parts of their business in a timely fashion, enabling them to achieve both strong financial returns and decarbonized business models,鈥� Croucher says. With the introduction of carbon pricing, he predicts strong demand for such solutions.

For those companies aiming to improve their carbon footprint across the supply chain, establishing GHG transparency is not something achievable overnight.

鈥淚t is about establishing long-term value in a carbon-constrained world,鈥� Croucher explains.

Footwear Industry Takes a Step in the Right Direction

Every industry has exemplars of sustainable business practice, but few have gained as much attention as the shoe industry. The world consumes about 25 billion pairs per year, an average of three pairs per person. The result is _e, contributing about 1.4% to total global greenhouse gas emissions.

A pair of . This includes greenhouse gas emissions generated from conception and design, until it is eventually used and discarded or recycled. Some manufacturers are making strides to reduce the footprint of their shoes significantly. , have already gotten off on the right foot by targeting the zero-carbon shoe made of recycled, recyclable, or natural materials.

In 2019, Nike was able to reduce the average carbon footprint of its footwear and apparel products to 7.33 kg CO_2e per pair. As part of its , it plans to power its facilities with 100% renewable energy by 2025, reduce carbon emissions across its global supply chain by 30% by 2030, and divert virtually all of its footwear manufacturing waste from landfills.

It remains to be seen whether sustainability initiatives like Nike鈥檚 will gain traction with Generations Y and Z, but such strategies take time to develop and companies that get off to an early start are likely to reap the benefits sooner. Others may be forced to catch up by regulatory measures.

Carbon Emissions Accounted for Along the Entire Value Chain

In early 2020, 51风流introduced a product that delivers transparency on the carbon emissions of a product across the entire value chain of a business, including production, raw materials, energy use, and transport. 51风流Product Carbon Footprint Analytics makes it possible to compare each activity of a value chain to determine the amount of GHG released to make the product in each location.

鈥淚n the future there will be no difference made between cost, revenue, and GHG performance,鈥� says Bettina Zedlitz, solution manager for Climate 21 and Sustainability at SAP. 鈥淲e think that end-to-end ERP processes need to support multiple sustainability-related attributes of products and services, to gain insights for understanding and optimize the GHG footprint. We can give you the tools to analyze your business models and identify tangible actions to minimize emissions.鈥�

51风流Product Carbon Footprint Analytics is part of SAP鈥檚 Climate 21 program. .

Celebrated climate researcher, author, and expert on climate change Professor Hans-Joachim (John) Schellnhuber stands out as a that calls the shots the way he sees them. As founding director of the and former chair of the , Schellnhuber is an independent global authority on climate change and, at 70, has no career ladder to climb or political ax to grind.

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51风流recently invited Schellnhuber to a virtual event and discussion on the topic of climate change and sustainability. Sustainable business practices are for its own operations, and those of its customers. A聽2019 company-wide survey showed that 94 percent of the more than 100,000 51风流employees agree that sustainability is an important business objective.

Software Code Rules, But Nations and Industry Must Act

51风流employees are proud that the business software they deliver can help reduce carbon emissions 鈥� touches an 51风流system. While software code rules the world, it will take the will of nations and industry action to reverse the destructive path along which climate change is already progressing.

This is both a tall order and not a topic for weak stomachs. Schellnhuber began with a ray of hope, announcing results from a soon-to-be-published scientific paper in Nature Communications: During the first half of 2020, there was an 8.8 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions globally.

Now for the sobering news: The world would have to reduce its carbon emission by around seven percent every year for the next 30 years in order to keep global warming below the 1.5-degree Celsius limit set by the . Considering the world is currently at 1.1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, keeping to that goal is virtually impossible, Schellnhuber says.

Even in a pitch-black room, Schellnhuber will always find a light switch. 鈥淩educing emissions by seven percent every year is almost unthinkable, but we have the money and the technology to do it,鈥� the self-professed agnostic says. For example, consumers can reduce their CO₂ footprints by sourcing energy from renewable sources, eating less beef, and taking the train instead of the plane, he suggested.

The Promise of a 鈥淐yborganic Age鈥�

The most important factor driving global warming is not the energy industry, agriculture, or transportation. According to Schellnhuber, it is the building industry. Some 40 percent of CO₂ emissions results from the construction and operation of homes, offices, skyscrapers, airports, train stations, and other structures. If conventional materials like steel and concrete continue to be used in construction until 2050, this will use up most of the CO₂ budget incorporated into the 1.5-degree Celsius target.

As a 鈥渟ilver bullet鈥� for throttling CO₂ emissions, Schellnhuber suggests switching to building with wood instead of cement, steel, and concrete, which are extremely energy-intensive in their life cycles by comparison. Wood is more sustainable, because it sequesters CO₂ for centuries and acts like a pump, with replanted trees extracting carbon continuously from the atmosphere, he explains. Combining wood construction with new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) could enable autonomous operation of buildings to optimize energy efficiency.

Schellnhuber is calling for a revolution in architecture, the combination of construction with organic materials and intelligence through digitalization to launch the 鈥淐yborganic Age.鈥� Climate scientists like him are pointing to real opportunities to alter the current course of climate change.

It is up to consumers and policy makers to take them seriously and adopt needed changes.