SAP Spend Connect Live: Spend Management Solutions Unveiled
SAP has unveiled a number of exciting updates to its spend management solutions, aimed at helping companies collaborate strategically, increase productivity, manage compliance effortlessly and gain business insights.
The announcements were made at SAP Spend Connect Live, the industry's premier spend management conference, which is being held 14-16 October in Las Vegas.
Embedding generative AI across spend management and business network solutions
SAP is infusing its generative AI (Gen AI) copilot, Joule, across the SAP Ariba source-to-pay solution portfolio – making it easier for customers to manage routine enquiries, such as status updates, summarisation and frequently asked questions. Gen AI will be further infused in SAP Ariba solutions to recommend buying bundles and provide comprehensive supplier summaries.
Joule will aid SAP Fieldglass solutions customers perform time-consuming hiring tasks and service requests with speed and accuracy. Joule can provide users with recommendations of best-fit templates to generate job postings and statements of work (SOWs) with pre-filled information – such as start date and the number of skilled workers needed.
With Joule embedded across SAP Business Network, it will facilitate tasks in logistics and asset management. Gen AI will analyse, categorise and transform unstructured invoice rejection errors into structured, actionable insights to reduce the cost of resolving exceptions. The Gen AI capabilities within SAP Business Network Discovery solution will help match suppliers with new business opportunities.
Joule is currently available within SAP Ariba solutions and will debut in SAP Fieldglass solutions and SAP Business Network in the fourth quarter of 2024. Joule will manage 80% of the most frequently performed tasks in the portfolio of intelligent spend management and business network solutions from SAP starting in the fourth quarter 2024 with a phased approach.
Delivering simplicity in procurement
SAP's introduction of the SAP Ariba Intake Management solution will help transform how businesses handle employee requests and process orchestration, and it starts with procurement.
With the Intake Management, employees will be provided with one place to go for procurement enquiries and visibility on status. This solution collects employee requests, orchestrates processes across heterogeneous landscapes and applications, including all necessary stakeholders and provides visibility on status while shielding employees from process complexity yet keeping them informed.
Through the use of a more intuitive user experience, it will help drive adoption and improve compliance.
SAP plans to make SAP Ariba Intake Management available in the first quarter 2025.
Helping suppliers grow their businesses
In the first quarter of 2025, SAP Business Network will launch a new promote subscription with value-added features to help suppliers differentiate themselves, attract new buyers and grow their businesses.
With millions of companies conducting nearly US$6tn in commerce annually on the SAP Business Network, this will present a sizeable opportunity for suppliers to accelerate growth.
Elsewhere, SAP Fieldglass solutions will also harness a new analytics add-on with AI capabilities that will assist procurement, vendor management and HR professionals to quickly implement more agile multi-channel talent strategies.
This add-on enables business users to benchmark and predict external talent scenarios.
"With SAP Business AI as the foundation of our intelligent products, customers can improve productivity and gain insights from their spend data no matter where it sits," says Manoj Swaminathan, President and Chief Product Officer, Intelligent Spend and Business Network, SAP.
"Whether it is managing cost, mitigating risk or supporting scope three emission reduction, SAP empowers companies with the right solutions for agile and effective spend management and supply chain functions."
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