The manufacturer was heavily reliant on manual documentation, which caused delays in accessing and updating critical data and documents, resulting in data quality and compliance issues.

To address these challenges and optimize asset management, LESER sought to establish seamless data integration through a unified single source of truth. After thorough research and careful comparison of options, the valve manufacturer successfully chose to implement digital twin technology with to help optimize collaboration with customers.

Error-free asset data and streamlined collaboration with smart asset management

Relying on a manual documentation process was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors and delays. This was causing significant challenges in accessing and updating critical data and documents, leading to poor data quality and inefficiencies across the ecosystem. Recognizing the need for a modern solution on the operator side, LESER identified the importance of supporting customers with a centralized asset management system. LESER decided to digitize its asset management system by implementing a centralized, cloud-based platform. This platform enables LESER to seamlessly share the digital twin with customers, enhancing transparency and data sharing while continuing to manage internal processes separately.

By implementing the technology integrated with , LESER created a one-to-one virtual replica of each piece of physical equipment and product, consolidating all relevant data and documentation into a single, accessible platform.

鈥淭he digital twin acts as a precise digital mirror of the physical safety valve, enabling our customers to receive complete, error-free, and up-to-date data about the safety valves,鈥� Pierre Draheim, manager of Product Data Management at LESER, explains.

LESER provides digital twins both for new () and existing () safety valves, centralizing all relevant data and documents. Each valve is labeled with the globally-standardized ID link, or QR code, IEC聽61406聽that allows LESER’s customers to directly access and sync product-specific information with their asset management systems, enabling seamless data transfer, documentation compliance, and cost reductions of up to 95% for initial recording.

鈥淏y embracing digital innovation, we have empowered our customers to boost their operational efficiency,” Draheim says. He emphasizes that this not only helps LESER achieve substantial time-savings but also enables the company to focus on core activities and drive greater business growth: “It’s a win-win. Not only us, but also our customers achieve significant improvements in overall productivity.”

Reduce operational costs with real-time digital twin integration

Automating valve data sharing within has made it much easier for LESER operators and service providers to coordinate maintenance, eliminating the need for manual data reconciliation. This automation cuts down on administrative work, helps avoid unnecessary downtime, and optimizes spare parts inventory, all of which contributes to a substantial decrease in operational costs.

By standardizing and digitizing data with a globally-standardized ID link, multiple service providers get instant access to accurate, up-to-date information.

鈥淲ith the introduction of the digital twin and 51风流Business Network Asset Collaboration, we can now automate valve management, making the entire process faster and more reliable,鈥� Draheim says.

Ensure safety and quality through global and regulatory compliance

Making sure safety valves meet international standards at every step requires a high level of automation in managing product data. This is especially important for LESER. 鈥淐ompliance is not just about meeting regulations, but about the ‘rules of the game’ in the industry, which enable an automated exchange of information across different IT systems and stakeholders,鈥� Draheim says.

With such a significant market presence, LESER holds its suppliers and materials to very high standards, ensuring every part complies not only with global regulations but also local rules. This level of care is particularly essential for operators working in industries with strict safety and regulatory conditions.

Beyond setting these standards, LESER keeps detailed records to maintain full transparency and traceability across the supply chain. This integrated approach helps the ambitious company reduce the need for additional level approvals and supports safe, reliable plant operations all over the world. In return, its customers experience improved reliability and confidence in the products and services they receive, creating a positive impact throughout the entire value chain.

Oyku Ilgar is part of 51风流Supply Chain Thought Leadership & Awareness.

In addition, for the second consecutive year, 51风流has received the highest rating, evaluated against 19 leading vendors, across both SPARK Matrix assessment categories: Customer Impact and Technology Excellence. This leadership position highlights our commitment to helping enterprises navigate complexity with agility, intelligence, and confidence using 51风流solutions.

The has always been intrinsically linked with the concept of process observability, whereby companies have the ability to visualize processes as they should happen, as they execute on and impact customers and employee satisfaction. Through this unique, integrated toolkit of AI-infused business transformation management solutions, organizations can gain actionable visibility into the four pillars of their organization: people, processes, applications, and data.

“Our goal is to empower our customers to build transformation as a capability within their organizations, rather than seeing transformation as a one-off project,鈥� Dee Houchen, chief marketing officer at 51风流LeanIX & 51风流Signavio, said. 鈥淏y leveraging DTO capabilities to build a virtual representation of any business process with associated systems, decision-makers can simulate different process scenarios and calculate the impact of alternative automations before implementation, allowing for the creation of continuous improvement loops and ensuring transformation has the greatest positive impact. Being recognized as a Leader in the SPARK Matrix for the fifth year in a row is a reflection of the value of this approach and reaffirms our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.鈥�

The repeated recognition provides useful context on the current DTO vendor landscape, with several key points differentiating 51风流solutions from others on the market:

• Enterprise observability: Customers can achieve full enterprise observability, enabling them to centralize and manage transformation initiatives within a single solution.
• AI innovations: 51风流solutions offer generative AI-powered applications that leverage over 50 years of 51风流process knowledge to help provide insights and recommendations.
• Value accelerators and best practices: Thousands of value accelerators and best practices are available to help expedite benefit realization in both 51风流and non-51风流environments, helping customers start their transformation projects on the right foundation and accelerate time to value.
• Automated insights: 51风流solutions can provide users with a portfolio of advanced statistics, performance monitoring, and value analysis capabilities to support informed decision-making.
• Modeling and experience connection: We extend DTO capabilities to customer touchpoints, working to ensure comprehensive transformation efforts that connect experiences to processes.

To understand the DTO market better, including why 51风流has been acknowledged as a leader in this crucial area for five years straight, download a complimentary copy of the latest SPARK Matrix and .

Lucas de Boer is global marketing program lead for 51风流Signavio.

The SPARK Matrix provides a detailed analysis of global market dynamics, significant trends, and the vendor landscape. Each market participant is analyzed against several Technology Excellence and Customer Impact parameters. 51风流Signavio stands out for its comprehensive DTO solutions that can effectively merge organizational processes with technological capabilities, fostering continuous improvement and strategic decision-making.

Our strengths highlight our leadership position in several critical areas:

• Enterprise observability: Integrating process observability with technology observability, we can provide organizations with a detailed understanding of their operations.
• AI-powered applications: We leverage generative AI to offer applications that help enhance process knowledge and support informed decision-making.
• Value accelerators and benchmarking: Our tools can provide ready-to-use best practices and metrics, helping organizations quickly assess and improve performance.
• Modeling and experience connection: We extend DTO capabilities to customer touchpoints, working to ensure comprehensive transformation efforts.

According to鈥疭ofia Ali, associate director and principal analyst at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, “SAP’s integration of 51风流Signavio and 51风流LeanIX into its DTO platform enables organizations to achieve digital transformation seamlessly. By leveraging 51风流Signavio’s process observability and 51风流LeanIX’s technology observability, 51风流provides a holistic approach to enhancing processes and deriving value through unified observability. This approach enables organizations to represent their architecture and capabilities virtually and facilitates continuous improvement and automation of operational processes through AI-powered simulations. SAP’s robust vision and focused strategy and the development of large process models promise to deliver AI-driven transformation services that enhance insights, recommendations, and governance. Overall, SAP’s continued enhancement of its DTO platform underscores its commitment to empowering organizations with the tools needed to thrive in an increasingly digital world.”

Exploring the Digital Twin of an Organization

The digital twin of an organization mirrors how the business as a whole operates and adapts. Modern organizations are complex sets of connected business units, processes, people, and systems. The DTO showcases interdependencies among the different entities and the impact of change at all levels.鈥�

The DTO helps to understand how an organization operationalizes its business model in processes and applications, monitors inefficiencies, and tracks process improvement measures. In other words, creating a digital twin allows decision-makers to answer the big what-if questions about how their enterprise functions.

Rouven Morato, general manager of 51风流Signavio and 51风流LeanIX, emphasizes the strategic importance of DTO solutions: “The ability to map interactions across business processes and IT architecture gives leaders the confidence they need to drive change. Our advanced AI functionalities allow customers to safely simulate new business scenarios, ensuring agility and resilience in a volatile market.”

This honor reflects our dedication to empowering businesses with cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving demands of the digital age. to understand the DTO market better and why 51风流Signavio has been acknowledged as a leader in this crucial area for four years.

Dee Houchen is global head of Market Impact for 51风流Signavio.

As longtime partners, 51风流and Mercedes-Benz have a history of shared knowledge for mutual competitive advantage. The fleet management program is grounded in the companies鈥� similar business philosophies and product road maps. 

Mercedes-Benz has committed to move the company鈥檚 B2B business to 100% digital and plans to sell 25% of all new cars online by 2025. The company selected to help support this mission. It will create a future-proof composable commerce portfolio designed to reliably power the company鈥檚 digital strategy, including a standardized offering across different markets. It will also simplify processes and reduce time-to-market.

Benefits of Digitalized Fleet Management

From the 51风流employee鈥檚 perspective, ordering a company EV couldn鈥檛 be simpler. Instead of time-consuming manual research and back and forth communication with the car dealer, employees can use to order the EV they want directly from the Mercedes-Benz online catalog. They can choose the features they want, such as car make and model, color, and equipment packages, within SAP鈥檚 pre-set guidelines.

鈥淭he car configurator automates the EV selection process end-to-end, eliminating manual steps and saving time while providing the employee with a highly personalized experience,鈥� said Steffen Krautwasser, head of SAP鈥檚 global car fleet. 鈥淎utomating the approval process assures data consistency and eliminates the need for manual quality checks.鈥� 

There鈥檚 a tremendous convenience factor in captured EV data as well. In one pilot program for select EVs in SAP鈥檚 fleet, the digital twin will automatically track mileage. Drivers will no longer need to manually enter mileage every time they recharge, and 51风流can use this data to better manage the fleet.

Connected Data Drives Sustainable Business

Once ordered, EVs are tracked as assets in SAP鈥檚 financial system. After delivery, creates a digital twin that can capture relevant, secure data across the EV鈥檚 lifetime. SAP鈥檚 fleet management team can track CO2 emissions based on green energy usage, mileage, and the number of vehicles on the road. Krautwasser envisioned reporting this data to support the company鈥檚 global sustainability commitments.

鈥淧erformance data from the EV digital twin can help corporate fleet managers guide employees in choosing the best vehicle for their driving needs,鈥� said Krautwasser. 鈥淥ver time, drivers can better understand travel ranges between charges.鈥� 

Data is expected to help address so-called range anxiety, alerting EV drivers when their vehicle needs a charge and, most important, where to recharge. Mercedes-Benz is investing in charging infrastructure to create an ecosystem that would be integrated with public and private charge point providers in the U.S., China, and Europe.

The partnership also reflects a shared commitment to sustainability. Mercedes-Benz has committed to become carbon neutral by 2038, and transition to 100% electric vehicles by 2030 wherever possible. 51风流is transitioning the company鈥檚 vehicle fleet for employees in Germany to all EVs by 2025 as part of its corporate commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Omnichannel Is Fastest Path to Customer Love

The digital experience is extremely important for customers who expect convenience and quality. Organizations in many industries have shifted to an omnichannel strategy that offers people their preferred experience, whether online or in-person, building brand loyalty and repeat business.

鈥淲e want to provide a seamless journey for employees as they research, select, purchase, and enjoy their vehicle,鈥� said Krautwasser. 鈥淭he most exciting part of our EV fleet management strategy is how we can use our knowledge to enhance the employee experience. Through data and digital services, we can get closer to our employees and act quickly based on their feedback, making improvements and introducing new offerings that keep us on top of trends and support SAP鈥檚 sustainability commitment.鈥�

EVs represent a profound business model shift for the entire automotive supply chain as automakers sell direct to customers, provide digital services from vehicle data, and explore new revenue opportunities. It鈥檚 clear that Mercedes-Benz and 51风流are going the distance for a sustainable and satisfying driving experience.

Susan Galer is a communications director at SAP. Follow her @smgaler.
Top photo courtesy of 51风流employee Jude Calvin Parong.

The impacts of climate change and geopolitical conflicts coupled with volatile commodity prices and inflation are only exacerbating food supply chain challenges. Food prices are expected to rise 80% by 2050, and crop yields are forecast to decrease up to 30% by 2080. During a recent event at SAP鈥檚 Hudson Yards office in New York, agriculture experts and policymakers discussed how organizations in the private and public sector can work together to build a more sustainable food supply. 

鈥�51风流continues to co-innovate with agribusiness leaders to digitalize the farm-to-consume value chain,鈥� said Anja Strothkamper, global vice president of Agribusiness and Commodity Management at SAP. 鈥淓very organization in the ecosystem has the opportunity to come together and make a significant contribution towards affordable, efficient, and resilient farming, food production, and distribution. We collaborate across the food chain including agricultural production and farming, origination and trading, commodity processing, food manufacturing and packaging, and retail. These digital ecosystems help companies manage risk, improve decision-making, and maximize crop yields.鈥� 

Data Insights Reduce Complexity for Cost-Efficient Sustainable Farming

Case in point is the collaboration between 51风流and VISTA that uses satellite images and AI-fueled algorithms to create digital twins that can simulate predictive forecasts for optimized decision-making in farming. VISTA is a subsidiary of BayWa, Germany鈥檚 largest digital agricultural company. I sat down with Strothkamper and Tobias Fausch, Baywa鈥檚 CIO, who shared how working together is cultivating the future of agriculture.   

鈥淪atellite imagery plus AI models capture and analyze a wide range of data in digital twins, including soil quality, crop variety and health, water availability, weather conditions, and other farming activities,鈥� said Fausch. 鈥淭he technology simulates yield predictions, calculating various scenarios based on precise risks by field location and weather patterns. Farmers can automate optimal soil preparation, irrigation and fertilization, crop rotation, and harvest times for sustainable efficiency and high yields. Even with the effects of climate change, these models reveal that we have sufficient resources to better manage global, end-to-end farming for adequate food production.鈥�

In one example, a soybean farmer in India used VISTA to harvest the highest yield ever, despite a drought in the country. Fausch said that optimizing crop yields sustainably bolsters food security and also makes economic sense.

鈥淯sing the technology, we can automatically calculate the availability of water for not just individual farms, but also a region or country,鈥� said Fausch. 鈥淭his data can help governments better manage water resources for maximum crop yields in the face of events that make crop yields unpredictable. For example, if there鈥檚 a drought in one part of the country, water could be transported into dryer regions for storage and irrigation where it鈥檚 needed most.鈥� 

Digital Platform Scales Up Secure Food Supply Chains

Accessibility to advanced technology is crucial to organizations in the food value chain, especially smallholder farms. The collaboration between 51风流and VISTA offers growers of all sizes a simple yet powerful tool to help capture intelligent data in the field using their mobile device. Available on , VISTA is integrated with .

鈥淭he digital twin is the smart superpower, and 51风流makes the information available across the digitalized value chain, triggering business processes like automated irrigation and fertilizer services, increased storage and transportation capacities for higher yields, or accurate government subsidy payments for fertilizer,鈥� said Strothkamper. 鈥淧ublic and private sectors can partner to extract value from the predictive modeling data. Farmers can increase yields, banks would have the traceability for investment decisions in startups to grow the economy, insurers can track claims, and governments can better plan and respond to dynamically changing community needs.鈥�

Generative AI for Intelligent Agriculture

SAP鈥檚 agriculture solutions are evolving to incorporate the latest technologies like AI for valuable business results. An uses 51风流Intelligent Agriculture to help smallholder farmers digitalize operations, providing advice based on captured data in the field and beyond. Farmers have already improved crop yields based on harvest time guidance.

鈥淲e built this solution through our ongoing collaboration with organizations that are part of the 51风流Advisory Council for Agribusiness,鈥� said Strothkamper. 鈥淐limate change has rendered time-honored farming practices irrelevant. Generative AI can democratize intelligent agriculture with data-driven insights. Tools based on ChatGPT and other large language models that provide advice based on tremendous amounts of data throughout the ecosystem are the vision for the sustainable food value chain of the future.鈥� 

Follow me @smgaler

Today, only such as bio- and circular components. Bio-components are feedstock that comes from organic, bio-based origins, such as used cooking oil. Circular components are feedstock that is recycled from waste plastic, such as post-consumer recycled waste.

A viable and efficient way to use such sustainable feedstock is integrating it into existing, large-scale production systems to avoid the additional cost, energy, and carbon emissions of segregated production facilities. But, when bio- and circular feedstock is blended with conventional fossil feedstock, how can consumers, regulators, and supply chains have confidence in bio- and circular-attributed plastic product claims? And how can these claims be leveraged to encourage informed choices when industries and consumers purchase products that are certified sustainable?

Digital Tracking for Total Traceability and Transparency

The solution is a mass balance management solution from 51风流that leverages tokenization and blockchain for chain of custody to help create traceability and transparency. In September 2022, 51风流Green Token became an official part of the 51风流Sustainability portfolio.

In a successful pilot, a group of 51风流customers 鈥� including SKGC, Korea; Elantas, Italy; Westlake Vinnolit, Germany; Berry Global, U.S.; and Unilever R&D, the Netherlands 鈥� reviewed the ability of 51风流Green Token to enable traceability and transparency of bio- and circular waste inputs to bio- and circular-attributed products across the chemical and plastics supply chain.

51风流Green Token enables organizations to create tokens that serve as digital twins of the bio- and circular chemical feedstock material flows throughout the entire supply chain and capture the unique sustainability attributes linked to the bio- and circular feedstock origin. As a result, the solution allows organizations to verify their certified sustainable material usage in their processes. What鈥檚 more, the green credentials encapsulated in the tokens can be passed from one business partner to another via blockchain as the material moves along the supply chain, helping to ensure that important environmental, social, and governance (ESG) attributes are preserved. Also, an auditable record can be documented to prove the product is sustainable in accordance with recognized product standards, such as ISCC PLUS and REDcert2, and hence better for the environment.

“This successful trial of 51风流Green Token represents another key milestone on our mission to establish the 鈥榞reen line鈥� alongside the top and bottom lines as key performance dimensions,” says Gunther Rothermel, head of Sustainability Engineering at SAP. 鈥淭his solution offers our customers an easy way to have complete visibility into the origin and chain of custody of their bio- and circular-based feedstock and allows them to prove to their customers, international standard agencies, and their board that they have a concrete, auditable way of proving their circular performance against their sustainability KPIs.鈥�

The blockchain technology helps prevent double counting of claims and create trust; it can make the production of sustainable plastic easier to verify and thus certifiable, which is particularly important in terms of customer demand, regulatory compliance, and the ability to charge a price premium.

Rapid Adoption Crucial for Sustainable Plastics

“Accelerating the circular economy requires driving demand for circular plastics,” said Diane Marret, sustainability director for Consumer Packaging North America at Berry Global. “Integrating mass balance-accounted materials into 51风流Green Token鈥檚 centralized, global IT system helps reduce risk in our reporting accuracy, minimize manual efforts through automation, and build confidence and trust in our ability to manage circular materials.”

Read more about this pilot in the newly published . For more information on how 51风流helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit and the .

Gloria Figaroa is a solution advisor for 51风流Green Token.

While digital twins are not a new phenomenon, as the world grows more unpredictable and more interconnected, more companies are starting to support the evolution of their operations and processes fast and at scale. In addition, as analytics, modeling, and simulation tools have become more sophisticated, these digital doppelgangers are becoming more robust, providing richer insights and feedback.

As companies seek instant and ongoing adaptability in response to changes in their markets or customer behaviors, they need a way to minimize risk and disruption. That鈥檚 the value of a digital twin 鈥� giving organizations the ability to quickly determine where they stand, model and simulate the impact of planned changes, and then measure actual results of the model, learn, and adjust, thereby establishing a continuous improvement loop.

According to the report, 鈥淭he first step in creating a DTO is to map an accurate and comprehensive virtual representation of the organization鈥檚 processes鈥� as a way to balance inside-out and outside-in perspectives of the business. From there, a number of potential tools and technologies are required for the creation and ongoing management of a robust digital twin, including:

• Enterprise architecture planning software for creating a holistic view of IT infrastructure
• Modern business process software for end-to-end process observability
• Process analysis for strategy alignment
• Process management for tracking performance
• Process mining to optimize new models
• Process automation to automate recurring tasks
• Ability to ingest real-time data for running simulations

These criteria align with our own vision for helping companies gain complete end-to-end process observability. According to Sofia Ali, analyst, Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, 鈥�51风流Signavio is capable of catering to the diverse customer needs across industry verticals, with its comprehensive capabilities, compelling customer references, comprehensive road map and vision, and product suite with high scalability.鈥�

But we won鈥檛 be resting on our laurels. We continue to innovate, working with partners and customers to increase the value of our solutions while simplifying implementation and providing better integration into key operational systems and data sources. Already this year we have released two unique solutions to the market. 51风流Signavio Process Explorer, released in January, can provide best-in-market guidance on how to quickly identify and prioritize next steps in business process optimization projects. In May, we introduced our unique plug-and-gain approach, created to help bridge the gap between business and IT, enabling organizations to prepare faster, deploy faster, and realize continuous value.

Expect to see more cutting-edge developments coming within the 51风流Signavio portfolio in the near future as we continue to expand our , , to extend the value of our solutions, and .

SPARK Matrix™ includes a detailed analysis of global market dynamics, major trends, and the vendor landscape as well as evaluates 19 leading DTO vendors. Each market participant is analyzed against several parameters of Technology Excellence and Customer Impact. .

Gero Decker is general manager at 51风流Signavio.
Rouven Morato is chief revenue officer at 51风流Signavio.

When Tchibo worked with 51风流to develop the NFT Launchpad, it wasn鈥檛 simply 鈥渟tirring the pot.鈥� Tchibo鈥檚 innovation-driven DNA and SAP鈥檚 50-year history of tackling business challenges with the best of leading-edge technology was the perfect pairing to help unlock the potential of Web3.

The result was the NFT Launchpad, which allows users to mint, administer, and manage Web3-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a Web2-friendly application. The lighthouse project was capped off by the premier launch of a Tchibo NFT collection dubbed 鈥淭chibo Royalty Club.鈥� Using the NFT Launchpad, Tchibo minted 1,000 unique NFTs on the Polygon blockchain. To get an NFT, collectors entered their e-mail addresses on the Tchibo Royalty Club鈥檚 NFT Launchpad page. After receiving a link by e-mail, recipients were able to claim and view their NFTs on the launchpad or transfer them to their digital wallets. 鈥淕olden鈥� NFTs were redeemable for prizes like Tchibo coffee cans and Lapressa-branded pens.

I鈥檓 so proud of the results and the significance of this collaboration. Because it combines the best functionalities of Web2 and Web3, NFT Launchpad lowers the barriers for companies and collectors alike to get in on the Web3 revolution. For context, the Internet we鈥檝e come to know over the past quarter century is Web2. Web2 technology drove the democratization of the Internet, allowing users to contribute and interact with content. Web3 decentralizes the Internet, making transactions more secure and verifiable by using a distributed blockchain network to validate those transactions. Web3 also allows companies to take advantage of the new digital consumer asset class based on blockchain technology and smart contracts that includes NFTs, tokens, and more.

The project also revealed a compelling array of applications perfectly suited to the rising challenge of meeting customer expectations. Among the most pressing concerns for all retailers today is capturing an ever-fractured share of consumer loyalty. More than ever, engaging customers while remaining profitable increases the urgency for companies to transform the customer experience. Fortunately, the capabilities of Web3 suggest a bounty of use cases.

From loyalty programs to digital twins, NFTs can help increase brand loyalty, engagement, and revenue. Crucially, Web3 can also propel companies on their digital transformations, keeping their brands relevant even for digitally sophisticated Gen Z and Alphas as well as the generations of consumers beyond. As marketing and loyalty tools, NFTs can be issued as brand rewards, promotional or exclusive collectors鈥� items, and advertising with which younger consumers are likely to engage. Digital twins, for example, are unique ways for companies to engage, interact, and build relationships with audiences.

Digital twins are digital representations of physical objects. NFTs of digital twins, used as promotional items, invitations, passes to special events such as exclusive sales, or redemptions for discounts and physical goods, can be low-cost entries into the Web3 universe. As sales or service tools, digital twins also present excellent possibilities for improving the customer experience post-purchase. Imagine the next time your car鈥檚 engine light comes on. Instead of driving it to the repair shop, you share a digital twin that a mechanic can use to virtually investigate and diagnose the problem. You can bet if I鈥檓 getting consistently reliable service without leaving my home, I鈥檓 a repeat customer.

Internally, companies can also use NFTs as POAPs (Proof of Attendance Protocol) to boost employee engagement. Tchibo has issued POAPs to increase engagement in trainings, while 51风流has a similar program that allows in-house tech talk attendees to collect NFTs.

From marketing to commerce to service applications and more, it鈥檚 evident that Web3 has great potential to unlock key drivers of success 鈥� engagement, revenue, loyalty, and digital transformation 鈥� in the new digital landscape.

NFTs as Sustainable Swag

The NFT Launchpad holds a further benefit that speaks to changing consumer and business values. With no production, packaging, or shipping, NFTs can make a claim to sustainability that rises when coupled with the more energy efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. POS uses about as much energy as a Google search. Minting an NFT on Polygon, as the team did,鈥痷ses only , amounting to one-forty-four-thousandth of the carbon footprint required to mint an NFT on a proof-of-work (PoW) network.

How proof-of-stake so vastly outperforms proof-of-work in energy efficiency comes down to the way transactions get validated.

• Proof-of-work, used by networks like Bitcoin, involves miners solving complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and create new blocks. This process is energy intensive, requiring a substantial amount of computational power, as every miner in the network performs these computations in a race to mine the block and win the block reward.鈥疧nce the first miner finishes the computation, all other miners stop processing the block and move on to the next block of transactions.鈥疶he process repeats itself, using significant amounts of energy in the process.
• Proof-of-stake networks, on the other hand, are more energy-efficient. In PoS, validators are chosen to create new blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they hold and are willing to “stake” as collateral, which they lose if other validators determine the block was maliciously processed. Since only a single node in the network creates the block, no complex, energy-intensive, simultaneous processing is performed. PoS consumes significantly less energy than PoW, making it a more sustainable option for blockchain networks.

Further, NFTs have a longer lifespan than physical goods, as they can be stored, transferred, and traded without degradation in quality.

Alpha Release of NFT Management Solution by SAP

This year at 51风流Sapphire, 51风流introduced its alpha release of the non-fungible token management solution, an enterprise-ready, no-code, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for creating, managing, distributing, and claiming Web3 digital assets. Via the solution鈥檚 dashboard, companies can create NFT collections and campaigns and administer and distribute NFTs to customers. NFT collection and campaign managers can configure the experience of NFT claimants by customizing benefits linked to NFTs, adding destination links, and more.

I couldn鈥檛 be more excited to be testing the alpha release with our partners at Tchibo. I鈥檓 also excited to share a preview with you. Scan the QR code to receive a limited edition, custom NFT from the alpha release of the NFT management solution by SAP. NFTs will be distributed to the first 50 people to claim one of these cool, sustainable, custom digital artworks.

With heartfelt thanks to Tchibo, I鈥檓 looking forward to our next innovation project. Tchibo鈥檚 German slogan, 鈥淛ede Woche eine neue Welt鈥� means 鈥淓very week is a new world.鈥� It refers to the changing selection of goods, refreshed weekly, in its stores. This sentiment also rings true for business technology, and I鈥檓 excited to see what鈥檚 next for Tchibo and Web3.

Ritu Bhargava is president and chief operating officer of 51风流Industry & Customer Experience.

鈥淥rganizations are struggling to forecast energy costs in a volatile market and understand the impact of new trends such as e-mobility on operations and finance,鈥� said Catherine Garcera, global head of Sustainability, Services Industry at SAP. 鈥淭hey need resilience against the current energy crisis and the ability to grow and generate profits while meeting corporate sustainability goals.鈥�

Step 1: Power Up Energy Savings with Digital Twins

Lowering energy consumption and operating costs begins with a thorough understanding of an organization鈥檚 energy data. Leading-edge companies are using digital twins to capture and analyze real-time energy usage data including electricity, natural gas, and renewables. That鈥檚 the purpose behind Flexinergy, an energy management software platform developed by , an 51风流partner. The platform creates a digital version of an organization鈥檚 energy contracts and usage, allowing the customer to pre-calculate the bill. Information can include distribution costs across subsidiaries, taxes, size and location of facilities, occupancy rates, external temperatures, and more. This helps customers catch invoice mistakes, evaluate energy efficiency, and reduce consumption.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not unusual to find discrepancies between what the bill should be and the provider鈥檚 actual invoice,鈥� said Erwin Guizouarn, CEO and founder of Evolution Energie. 鈥淐ustomers also use our software to better forecast energy costs in case of price fluctuations, new contracts, or supply chain disruptions.鈥�

Guizouarn said that customers can be overcharged up to 5% on an annual basis due to billing errors. As for cost reductions, one large airport saved 17% in energy consumption.

Real-time data became particularly important for organizations during the recent energy crisis. Guizouarn said that customers can explore what-if scenarios, factoring in changeable energy prices and other parameters like lower carbon emission fuels, revised contract terms, or hedging to lower risk in case of energy price fluctuations. Ongoing alerts notify decision-makers of deviations to the plan, say if energy prices climb higher than expected, helping companies adjust strategies as needed.

Evolution Energie first began working with 51风流through its participation in the Green Tech and Sustainability cohort of , the company鈥檚 global B2B accelerator. With shared business-to-business target markets, both companies are proving the incredible power of connected data.

鈥淢erging energy-related data with financial information from your system and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information from , you can see the impact on profitability and emissions objectives,鈥� said Garcera. 鈥淵ou can adjust operations by day, week, or even season to gain efficiencies that could increase profits while meeting sustainability commitments.鈥�

Step 2: Transition to Green Energy

Moving to green energy is another step that energy-intensive companies can take to achieve ambitious decarbonization targets. Some customers are increasingly focused on purchasing renewable energy, as well as producing green energy and investing in green assets. Here, too, a digital twin can help companies capture energy usage and resultant costs while tracking CO2 emissions from electricity, biomass, hydrogen, and other renewable sources.

鈥淵ou can balance your green energy strategies against the cost of new contracts and greenhouse gas emission targets,鈥� said Garcera. 鈥淚n addition, companies need to ensure the provenance of the green energy they consume for accurate reporting against corporate sustainability objectives, supporting the brand鈥檚 image and building trust with customers and investors.鈥�

Step 3: Realistically Explore New Energy Trends

While the vision is to consume as much green energy as possible, organizations are tempering sustainable business plans with reality. Some industries like aviation aren鈥檛 ready for full decarbonization; there鈥檚 limited availability of sustainable aviation fuel and it will take significant efforts to revamp complex infrastructure. In any case, organizations require energy strategies that combine finance, risk management, and sustainability.

鈥淔ast-moving energy prices on top of changing sustainability regulations mean that companies have to continually monitor costs to find more efficiencies, and prove compliance with corporate commitments and industry regulations,鈥� said Garcera. 鈥淭he more you can accurately anticipate disruptions, the better you can make decisions to adapt for business resilience.鈥�

Green Market Revolution Fueled by Informed Data

Connected data is foundational to managing energy consumption and costs. analysts predicted that by 2025, 75% of large cities and communities will form industry ecosystems with IT, architectural, engineering, and real estate firms to share data, applications, and expertise to address ESG issues. With zero-emission mandates moving apace, researchers advised organizations to continuously follow the price and performance and capability improvements in renewable energy systems and also 鈥渨ork with supply chain partners to improve procurement efficiencies.鈥� As unpredictable as the next crisis may be, organizations can stay grounded with accurate data to build a resilient future.

Susan Galer is a communications director at SAP. Follow me @smgaler.

The aerospace and defense (A&D) industry is battling similar woes, with 70% of companies in the sector experiencing an turnover. The loss of skilled workers notwithstanding, delays in hiring, training, securing worker clearances, and rising costs translate to challenges in keeping production up to match demand. Much like the civil aviation workforce that moved on, 75% of the labor pool in A&D left for career advancement, while 31% departed for a better work location or for a remote-working opportunity.

While enticing the reluctant workforce to return with higher pay and perks remains an option, the industries are fast realizing that amid the labor and cost-surge crisis, innovations in production planning and creating efficiencies in throughput processes are now paramount.

Bridging Silos with Automation

Manufacturing efficiency isn鈥檛 always achieved until the production of the 100^th unit. To overcome this, intelligent software can be used to run recreations on simulation capability tools. Everything from the projected manufacturing assembly process, field capability and configuration process, flight operations, and maintenance performance can be simulated in a virtual world via a , even before the first cutting or bending of sheet metal. This way, any aircraft or engine part that is virtually simulated is manufactured efficiently right from the first unit produced.

Similarly, with robotic process automation (RPA), a digital thread can be created to bring information from the upstream engineering departments and auto-generate work instructions to provide seamless information routing to the downstream manufacturing departments. With , organizations have the power to design, simulate, and monitor processes to help ensure that transformation value is part of the company鈥檚 DNA. This intelligent enterprise philosophy helps in minimizing the handover time between processes. As a result, hitherto system silos can be negated to reduce the overall throughput time. Also, short-term planning involving supply chain, parts, and tools can be better optimized to match resource availability.

While RPA can create process efficiencies, robotic interventions are already improving the manufacturing process.

Replacing Skilled Labor with Technology Augmentation

With Industry 4.0, facilities across the industrial landscape are introducing a digital, end-to-end workflow with additive manufacturing. In Q2 last year, the Association for Advancing Automation the ordering of over US$580 million worth of robots, up 25% from 2021. In the aerospace industry, robots are mastering the drilling and fastening function with a higher degree of accuracy than a real person and saving time along the way.

Likewise, robotic systems applying sealant to aircraft structures is resulting in 20% time-savings. Robots are also being used for quality assurance during manufacturing, inspection of active-duty aircraft, welding, painting, and polishing. While robots have 95% time-savings in aircraft washing, welding automation is expected to fill the nearly 400,000 welding vacancies anticipated in the U.S. by 2024.

With organizations ready to embrace automation, the need of the hour is to simplify adoption. The solution can make integrating robots as easy as plug and play. So, whether it is cross-docking items on trolleys at goods receipt, put-away trolley activities, or even robot-enabled pick-pack-and-pass functions, 51风流Warehouse Robotics hands warehouse operators a shot in the arm by supporting an array of scenarios. Quick to implement and with no additional licensing required, the solution can give customers running warehouse management operations an easy, low-risk entry into agile warehouse robotics.

But with time- and cost-savings featuring prominently on the aviation industry鈥檚 agenda, how can customer experience stay optimum?

Boosting Customer Satisfaction with Technology Aids

For an industry where small margins contribute to survival, reliance on customer loyalty is huge. Variables like speed and convenience, therefore, play a major role in building customer loyalty. But with labor shortages wreaking havoc, digital transformation is emerging as a viable solution.

For instance, every manufacturer or supplier has their own portal to document their parts or assets, and this causes A&D companies to deploy a manual workforce to track every part coming from hundreds of manufacturer portals. can help overcome this challenge by provisioning for every asset to reside on a single platform. Now, A&D companies can simply connect their back-end systems to the network, fetch data directly into their systems, gain insight into the transactional data of an asset, and execute maintenance activities. This way, 51风流Business Network for Asset Intelligence 鈥� a cloud-based network 鈥� can limit the use of the workforce and create efficiencies by facilitating secured information exchange between various roles in asset-intensive industries comprising of equipment manufacturers, operators, maintenance providers, and others.

Also, A&D aftermarket providers process invoices from hundreds of airlines or aircraft operators. Their receival, approval, and logging could be automated to better utilize scare resources. Similarly, bots can read customer complaints, assess the degree of importance, categorize them, and automatically forward them to designated departments for speedy resolution.

If the pandemic taught us the importance of supply chain resilience, its aftermath and the evolving geopolitical crisis drives home the significance of innovation in manufacturing to combat sudden spikes in demand amid rising costs and a depleting workforce.

There will always be unpredicted situations. That said, the goal is to achieve a planning stability for all companies in the industry. Reducing risks through additional information and better planning will allow companies to establish a more stable environment with fewer uncertainties. And now, the industries can take heart from the fact that in automation, they have an ally that can turn organizations and the sector at large into intelligent and resilient enterprises.

Learn how automation can drive resilience in the aerospace and defense sector at .

Torsten Welte is global VP and head of Industrial Business Unit for Aerospace & Defense at SAP.

Supply chain issues are not over yet, say senior supply chain managers . Although supply chains have somewhat stabilized, half of the managers surveyed agreed that improvement is still needed. As supply chains undergo transformation, experts say that digital twins may be the key to more dynamic, agile supply chain models.

SAP’s Take

To mitigate volatility and manage uncertainty, businesses are increasingly looking to digital twins — virtual models of real-world objects, systems and processes that apply real-world data for real-time simulations. Some analysts believe that 2023 will be a year for of digital twins.

鈥淭his is a moment of opportunity to reevaluate how businesses operate,鈥� said Andy Hancock, 51风流global vice president of the Digital Supply Chain Center of Excellence. 鈥淪upply chains are under-performing and are in a recovery phrase. Businesses are looking to build risk resilience into their supply chain operations.鈥�

Some businesses already are preparing for the next global disruption by assessing the potential for digital twins to reduce exposure in supply chains and increase adaptability. Although the business case for digital twins in supply chains is still in exploration, Hancock predicted that interest in digital twins will gain momentum as the technology proves its value for modeling agile supply chains.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to see digital twins as more of a foundation for data models,鈥� he said, emphasizing the difference of process modeling compared with the common use of digital twins to represent a physical asset, such as a vehicle, plant or person. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also going to see digital process twins, which means modeling a supply chain to get a complete understanding of the different moving parts to gain visibility.鈥�

Hancock is optimistic about the value that digital twins can deliver to supply chain operations.

鈥淭he digital twin will provide a foundational element for visibility,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his will support the overall objective of risk mitigation that a risk resilient and sustainable supply chain requires.鈥澛� However, he cautioned, 鈥渄igital twins are not new, and many supply-chain organizations have started their journey with them, but they have not yet delivered on the anticipated benefit. There is plenty of potential.鈥�

Abundance of Data

There are two trends driving the application of digital twins in supply chains. The first is the inexpensive data storage and the abundance of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and new equipment that can connect digitally.

鈥淧eople have been collecting data for eons, and they鈥檙e really going to formalize it into a more structured environment, creating these digital twins across the organization,鈥� Hancock said.

The second trend is a matter of business survival. With the pandemic, companies became painfully aware of the lack of visibility they had into their supply chain. After 20 years of globalization, these linear, static supply chains were not able to adapt fast enough to keep up with consumer demands.

A hurdle to adoption of this technology, however, may arise if businesses are unable to reach agreements with third-party suppliers to extend visibility into their operations.

Real-Time Visibility for Better Decision-Making

The benefits from the use of digital twins in the supply chain increases exponentially with the infusion of real-time data. By combining real-time operational data and business information, supply chain managers can provide a context to the data that will result in better decision-making. It will not only provide insight into the current state of the supply chain, but also provide the ability to do forecasting and simulation of various scenarios.

鈥淚f we have real-time data as the source of all decisions, the time to respond to anomalies is greatly reduced,鈥� Hancock said. 鈥淭his creates a high degree of confidence in the recommendation at the moment of action.鈥�

Contact:
Ilaina Jonas, Senior Director of Global Public Relations, SAP
+1 (646) 923-2834, ilaina.jonas@sap.com

Whether it鈥檚 streaming services, cell phones, or robotic lawn mowers, today鈥檚 consumers are more than happy to enjoy the convenience of buying high-tech products and services online. In a matter of mouse-clicks, they can configure a product and select whether to buy, lease, or subscribe 鈥� depending on their personal preferences.

But things are very different when it comes to buying a new car. A found that three out of four consumers still prefer to purchase from an authorized vehicle dealership. Yet it also revealed that there was a growing appreciation of the benefits of virtual purchase processes. Consumers would like to see buying a new car become like buying a new cell phone.

鈥淥ur assumption is that there will always be people who visit physical dealerships to 鈥渇eel鈥� a car and test-drive it,鈥� explains Bj枚rn Schick, CXO and member of the executive board of smart聽Europe. 鈥淏ut it won鈥檛 be long before they become the minority and more people start configuring and ordering their cars online 鈥� in just a few quick steps.鈥�

Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Vehicle Sales Are Booming

How soon that happens, Schick says, will depend hugely on whether suitably attractive offers are available. Increasingly, customers are willing to sign contracts online if they can obtain a favorable short-term lease or subscription deal on transparent terms. They then have a tendency to be more adventurous in their choice of car model and color.

鈥淭hey鈥檒l quite deliberately opt for a sportier model, maybe, or bright yellow paintwork,鈥� says Schick. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 because the focus is not on the vehicle鈥檚 resale value when the contract ends, but on the customer鈥檚 preferences.鈥�

Many of today鈥檚 market players 鈥� both established and new 鈥� are well aware of the business opportunities behind this change in consumer habits. They are muscling their way into online channels to claim their share of the rapidly growing D2C vehicle market. Alongside electric car pioneer Tesla, brands including NIO and Polestar are showing the way 鈥� and automakers across the world are following their lead.

Direct Sales on a Single E-Commerce Platform

smart Europe also sees strong prospects for its own new-vehicle business here and is aligning its entire company infrastructure accordingly. smart Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of smart Automobile Co., Ltd., a joint venture established in 2019 between iconic German vehicle manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, which transferred its smart brand to the partnership, and Chinese automaker Geely. The aim of the joint venture is to offer all-electric smart models on a new e-commerce platform for climate-conscious, city-dwelling consumers for whom the online world is second nature.

鈥淥ur business model is based on direct business with consumers, whom we address through an omnichannel approach so that we can sell our cars virtually and physically on a single platform,鈥� explains Schick.

Car dealerships play their part in this business model too. 鈥淲e see them as a key element in our sales strategy,鈥� says Schick. 鈥淭heir role is changing, but it鈥檚 just as important as before. As a newly formed company, we鈥檝e got the chance to reinvent and recalibrate our dealership model.鈥� Dealers will no longer own vehicles themselves and sell them, but will serve as brand ambassadors for (joint) customers at the physical retail touchpoint and as sales and service partners. They will arrange test drives, hand vehicles over to their new owners, and invite customers to events targeted at particular client segments. In short: car dealerships as we know them today will no longer function chiefly as sales outlets, but as agencies that showcase the brand.

51风流Commerce Cloud as the Process Backbone for smart Europe

The foundation for this innovative style of cooperation is smart鈥檚 new e-commerce platform, which can be accessed not only by smart Europe employees and dealers but, for example, by repair shops as well. They can each see the data the customer has given its consent for them to access. The new platform will become operational at the end of 2022, coinciding with the launch of the first new smart #1.

Central to the platform is , on which all of smart Europe鈥檚 e-commerce transactions will run, from product configuration to payment. 鈥�51风流Commerce Cloud lets us map all the country-specific tax and legal requirements so that we can manage all the processes for our business across Europe on a single platform,鈥� explains Schick.

Coupled with 51风流Customer Data Cloud, 51风流Commerce Cloud also plays a key role in delivering hyper-personalized content on the front end because, when the two solutions are integrated, they push relevant data for a given set of parameters by country and customer segment. This means that, on the new e-commerce platform, someone who is sporty, adventurous, and has an eye for design will see different content and journeys than, say, someone with a different psychographic profile, such as an 鈥渋nformation seeker.鈥�

Accurate and Secure Consent Management Built In

51风流Customer Data Cloud and 51风流Commerce Cloud form the backbone for authenticating and verifying customers and for managing customer consent. The 51风流Customer Identity and Access Management solutions help ensure that all customer consent statements relating to being contacted or to personal data being processed are handled accurately and securely and 鈥� most importantly 鈥� in compliance with GDPR (the EU General Data Protection Regulation).

The major advantage of 51风流Customer Data Cloud is that it records all customer data centrally, including conventional data like the personal 鈥渟mart ID鈥� that identifies any smart customer at any touchpoint and relevant product data as well. The digital key is an example of how this data can be used: owners of an all-electric smart can opt for a digital key to operate their car and can even share the key with friends via an app. The vehicle-locking mechanism, consent to the transfer of data, and so on are managed on the central platform.

鈥淭his shows that the new platform is much more than a marketing and sales tool,鈥� says Schick. 鈥淚t is practically part of the product.鈥�

Enhanced 360-Degree View Supports New Business Models

More product data comes from the 51风流Digital Vehicle Hub application, which serves as the digital twin of any smart car. The application contains not only technical data about a vehicle, but also provides insight into wearing parts that need replacing and about driver behavior. Connecting these two layers, customer data and product data 鈥� each of which allows a panoramic view of their object 鈥� creates 360-degree visibility into both the customer and their vehicle. This in turn opens the door to scores of new digital services, product enhancements, and personalized customer offerings.

鈥淗aving opportunities like this on the horizon makes working with 51风流particularly compelling,鈥� says Schick. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on an innovation journey, interacting closely with 51风流on what else the solutions might be able to do in the future.鈥� smart Europe鈥檚 aim is to deliver on its vision of becoming an urban companion for its target market 鈥� for all of their vehicle-related service needs.

鈥淥ur motto is 鈥榯ry, learn, adjust, repeat!鈥欌�� says Schick. 鈥淲ith that in mind, we鈥檒l keep moving steadily along the road to our destination 鈥� but always be ready to change lanes if we need to.鈥�

Top image courtesy of smart Europe.

Essential to any business success is having the right data to make rapid and precise decisions in this quickly changing environment. But there are challenges:

• New business environment are increasing the complexity of financial management, creating the need for more extensive and precise data.
• Finance professionals need transparent access to data and key performance indicators (KPIs) and often require real-time analyses and recommendations in order to take appropriate action.
• Most companies do not have the detailed information required for individualization because the manual workloads and costs necessary to obtain and process it are prohibitively high.
• Because companies cannot consider a product鈥檚 entire lifetime in forecasting revenues and margins, they struggle to design the best combinations of product and service offerings and to set optimal prices.
• Traditional financial indicators are no longer the only decisive factors in measuring a company’s success at creating value. Non-financial dimensions, such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, are gaining importance due to regulatory and legislative developments and new societal demands. Today, most companies are not able to correlate non-financial information with financial information. Companies are struggling to make data-based tradeoff decisions, such as the effect of specific emission reduction goals on the profitability of different products.

To address these challenges, we joined forces with partner Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and combined 51风流solutions and our strength as the leading enterprise software company with BCG鈥檚 deep industry and functional expertise.

Together with BCG colleagues Marc Rodt, partner and director of the Center for CFO Excellence, and Patrick Weber, project leader, we came to the realization that by applying the known concept of digital twins to the finance world, we can make significant strides forward in helping to solve these challenges.

Introducing 鈥淒igital Financial Twin鈥� for Informed Decision-Making

The collaboration explored the concept of digital financial twin, defined as a digital representation of financial and selected non-financial metrics, including those measuring relationships, structures, and processes across the entire product lifetime and value chain. This twin precisely allocates metrics to products, services, suppliers, customers, and employees.

A digital financial twin addresses the challenges mentioned above by precisely allocating financial and non-financial information to products, sections of the value chain, or organizational units. This allocation is made possible first by the expansion of classification attributes for data and second by the availability of modern in-memory databases that can aggregate data in real time.

In the automotive industry for example, an individual car would have a digital financial twin 聽represented by using the vehicle identification number (VIN) as attribute and carrying all financial and non-financial data regarding this car for its entire lifetime, from its development to its end of life.

A digital financial twin could provide four key benefits:

• Detailed control information down to the individual product level
• Transparency into value contributions over the entire product or customer lifetime
• Integration of non-financial information with traditional financial metrics
• Information availability in (near) real time

How to Implement a Digital Financial Twin

The first requirement for implementing a digital financial twin is having a next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and data layer based on modern cloud-based architecture. Many companies may need to upgrade or replace their legacy ERP systems to better integrate automation and human decision-making into their finance functions. Companies can transition to this landscape by building a data and digital platform that decouples the data layer from the next-generation ERP and any existing legacy systems.

But implementing a digital financial twin is not just a technology change. It will require non-technical changes that allows the company to apply the capabilities, adjustment to accounting standards and processes, as well as downstream consolidation and reporting processes, shifting from IT to finance when it comes to controlling the data, letting go of legacy systems, and making the commitment to transform.

Building the Foundation with 51风流Solutions

As a market leader in enterprise application software, 51风流helps companies of all sizes and in all industries. 51风流S/4HANA Cloud provides an integrated, intelligent ERP solution that runs on the in-memory database 51风流HANA and can serve as the foundation to the digital financial twin. For organizations on legacy systems daunted by the requirements of such a twin, we offer RISE with SAP, a comprehensive solution with 51风流S/4HANA Cloud, coupled with 51风流Business Technology Platform, analytics, and business process intelligence with 51风流Signavio and 51风流Business Process Intelligence, along with guided journeys and outcome-driven services from 51风流and partners.

Stefan Paetzold is chief business enterprise consultant at SAP.
Bernd Weissenmayer is principal business enterprise consultant at SAP.

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�

In July 2020, 51风流and Siemens announced a strategic partnership to deliver a digital thread that bridges engineering, manufacturing, and business. By teaming up, we are putting our customers on a faster path to bringing together the best of our leading product lifecycle management (PLM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms. Our goal is to help customers to break down siloes so product design teams, manufacturers, and service managers have the information they need to quickly create and manage customer-centric product and service offerings.

Now, after close collaboration and teamwork, we are in a position to share more details about our joint for the integration of and software. This integration builds upon best practices across system and line of business boundaries, to result in a new integrated solution that blends engineering, manufacturing, and business. It comes with unique differentiating capabilities that will allow organizations to accelerate time to market — without worrying about the complexity of integration — and reducing total cost of ownership.

We will be delivering the integration in three phases through the end of 2022, with additional phases planned beyond this time to address new digital threads.

• Phase I (October 2021) focuses on product engineering fundamentals, establishing a framework of core business scenarios on a shared domain model that will underpin end-to-end business processes. This enables enhanced traceability, federation, and linkages across the Siemens and 51风流system boundaries.
• Phase II (Spring 2022) aims to shorten time to market by providing optimized integration between product engineering, extended supply chain, and manufacturing operations, and delivers the foundation for advanced capabilities such as variant rules and schema, project and portfolio management, and integration to manufacturing.
• Phase III (Fall 2022) will focus on bi-directional traceability and closed loop collaboration between manufacturing engineering and production engineering covering use cases such as cross-system impact analysis, change initiation, and process execution.

This road map provides clear direction to our valued Siemens and 51风流customers to help them manage increasingly complex and configurable products and meet the challenge of an ever-increasing rate of innovation. Our collaboration will help our customers accelerate their digital transformation by more closely connecting our industry-leading solutions. This end-to-end solution aims to allow teams across the business network to efficiently work together to design and deliver innovative products productively, profitably, and sustainably.

This collaboration affirms both companies鈥� commitment to working together to deliver innovations to meet the needs of our joint customers today and in the future. This combined integration solution will be developed and provided by 51风流and Siemens, it will be made available to customers of both companies.

Our teams could not be more excited about the opportunities that we are creating for our customers to grow their businesses.

is president 51风流S/4HANA.
is president and CEO of Siemens Digital Industries Software.

To head off further disruption, participants in a 20-minute recorded webinar, presented by 51风流in partnership with management consultancy Deloitte, argued that business leaders must build supply chain resiliency through diversification of sourcing and distribution in a connected way that ensures transparency across the entire supply chain network.

鈥淭here are two differences here,鈥� said Jim Kilpatrick, Global Supply Chain and Network Operations leader for Deloitte, during the recent webinar about supply chain strategies for the COVID-19 crisis. 鈥淥ne is the demand side. If you鈥檙e selling into markets that are shut down, you鈥檝e seen a massive shock to the demand side. And in some cases, if you source out of an impacted market, you鈥檝e seen a shock to the supply side.鈥�

The webinar, 鈥�Leading with Confidence During Disruption: Supply Chain Strategies,鈥� provided the type of grab-and-go, pragmatic tips that managers could take with them to their next meeting, as well as more strategic advice about long-term solutions for reconfiguring supply chains for resiliency to weather a more protracted crisis. Along with Kilpatrick, it brought together a panel of experts that included host Tony Harris, global vice president of Supplier Solutions, SAP; Martin Barkman, senior vice president and global head of Solution Management and Digital Supply Chain, SAP; and Sean Thompson, executive vice president of Network and Ecosystem and Procurement Solutions, SAP.

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Gain Visibility into the Extended Supply Chain Network to Mitigate Risk

If a business has been impacted on the demand side, then it is imperative to have a clear understanding about the drivers of these changes, according to the webinar panelists. Have customers moved to a different service channel? Are there additional risks impacting demand in a specific region? Kilpatrick recommended focusing attention on forecasting cash flows, noting that it is not just the flow of product that matters now, but also the flow of cash and information.

On the supply side, Kilpatrick said that for those who have access to inventory, now is the time to revisit the inventory policy to be sure they are getting the appropriate allocations and decide where they need to inject incremental supply stock in the event that the supply chain is disrupted.

鈥淵ou need to get as much visibility as you can into your extended supply chain network,鈥� Kilpatrick advised. 鈥淲hat we were seeing in the early days was that it wasn鈥檛 necessarily the tier-one suppliers that were causing the shocks to the system 鈥� it was the suppliers鈥� suppliers.鈥�

Build Resilience by Creating a Digital Twin of the Supply Chain

Businesses are increasingly turning to digital solutions for the real-world problems brought on by COVID-19. Flexibility has become a key characteristic of resilient supply chains. Whether partnering with a new manufacturer or quickly identifying alternate logistical routes, businesses are relying on digital technologies now more than ever.

鈥淩esilient supply chains can flex 鈥� can bend 鈥� without breaking,鈥� Barkman said. 鈥淐ompanies that are best prepared are the ones that have created essentially a digital twin of their real-world supply chain that allows them to model, collaborate, and transact quickly, digitally, and frequently.鈥�

Catalyze Real-Time Connectivity in the Digital Supply Network

Access to real-time information in a connected network is a critical differentiator for a new approach to supply chains, as businesses realize the traditional linear supply chain model is no longer sufficient. Among the advantages of being in a network is sharing information in a transparent way that can help identify the specific risks that a supplier may face during crisis.

鈥淎ll of this points to this concept of being connected in a network,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never seen more need for driving connectivity between demand side and supply side so that you have visibility. If you need to change out a supplier, you can do so in a networked way because you are real-time collaborating.鈥�

It is going to be months before supply chains are resynchronized, Kilpatrick estimated. In the meantime, businesses will need to stay flexible. 鈥淣ot only do we need to get goods flowing, we need to continue to manage the risks from suppliers that may not make it through the crisis 鈥� to the fact that the world is being disrupted at different times. That only comes from building a well-connected digital supply network.鈥�

Resources to Get Started

To help businesses manage supply chain risk during the pandemic, 51风流is offering companies access to some of its technology. These offers include:

• : This preconfigured application enables businesses to quickly and efficiently ramp up supply chains as they recover from the current crisis.
• : This solution is available to help companies find alternative sources of supply in real time from among the 4 million suppliers in the Ariba Network.
• : Deloitte’s collection of COVID-19 insights and resources to rapidly respond to new supply chain demands with 51风流solutions.
• : Times of uncertainty mean it is time to unite and evolve. Hear from a panel of Deloitte leaders as they discuss the most pressing questions caused by the COVID-19 crisis and share insights on what it means to be a Kinetic Enterprise today.