SAP's Bid to Boost Retail with Raft of Cloud Solutions

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SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, retail, fashion, and vertical business solutions
Technology giant SAP has introduced advanced retail-specific functionalities for personalised customer experiences and integrated operations

Recent research by SAP reveals that a staggering 83% of US consumers feel their favourite brands undervalue them. This disturbing trend points to a broader issue within the retail sector, where consumers are increasingly demanding interactions that are not only personalised but also more relevant and rewarding.

Retailers failing to meet these expectations risk losing customer loyalty, which can adversely affect both their financial performance and their prospects for sustainable success. In response, SAP has unveiled new solutions and capabilities specifically designed for the retail sector.

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Revolutionary retail solutions by SAP S/4HANA Cloud

The introduction of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition for retail, fashion and various business verticals is a game-changer for the retail industry. This platform provides resource planning (RP) capabilities tailored precisely for global brands across different sizes, addressing specific retail needs directly.

Leslie Hand, Group Vice President for IDC Retail Insights, praises the platform: “SAP’s announcement of an all-in-one platform tailored for retail represents a meaningful differentiator in the market.” She notes that many retailers battle with piecemeal solutions which might excel in certain areas but fail to integrate end-to-end, which is crucial for smooth retail operations.

Leslie Hand, Group Vice President for IDC Retail Insights. Credit: Global Supply Chain Excellence Summit

To offer truly personalised experiences, retailers require an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system equipped with retail-specific processes that can handle the intricacies of merchandising, store operations and retail supply chains. Most generic ERP systems lack the necessary comprehensive retail processes and the flexibility demanded by today’s digital shopper.

The latest offerings from SAP help address these gaps. Powered by a flexible public cloud architecture, these solutions also provide out-of-the-box integrations for unifying industry-specific processes, data and AI. This new suite also boasts features for streamlined management of finance, procurement and merchandising, aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering sustainable growth.

Balaji Balasubramanian, SVP and Global Head, Commerce and Consumer Industries at SAP, asserts: "With SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, retail, fashion and vertical business, SAP brings the same best-in-class functionality trusted by market leaders and recognised worldwide, now tailored to meet the scale, price and time-to-value required by fast-growing organisations."

Balaji Balasubramanian, senior vice president and global head, Commerce and Consumer Industries at SAP SE

Enhancing customer loyalty with data-driven personalisation

Considering numerous US consumers are re-evaluating their brand loyalty, SAP is set to launch a loyalty management solution targeting retailers and consumer packaged goods companies by the second half of 2025.

This solution is designed to enhance brand loyalty through experiential journeys and personalised, real-time offers, powered by integration with SAP’s suite of retail solutions including SAP Commerce Cloud, SAP Service Cloud, SAP Emarsys and SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition.

Key features include:
  • Loyalty profiles connecting every shoppers with a cloud-based loyalty wallet
  • Multi-brand loyalty management and shared loyalty programmes
  • Omnichannel promotion planing and real-time redemption
  • Loyalty journey planning with experiential omnichannel journeys tailored to customer needs
  • Quantifyable metrics to track promotion performance and loyalty-related liabilities

AI transforms online shopping experience

SAP is poised to revolutionise online shopping with its AI shopping assistant set to be released in the second half of 2025, utilising the SAP CX AI Toolkit to expand the existing AI capabilities of SAP Commerce Cloud.

It promises to make online shopping more intuitive than ever by facilitating natural language interaction, allowing customers to find products effortlessly.


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