We live in a new world - a world in which companies can move beyond
traditional supply chain management and leverage the power of social and
business networks and advanced analytics to enhance collaboration, gain
new insights, and drive new levels of productivity. Tim Minahan, Senior
Vice President of Network Strategy for Ariba,
an SAP Company, helped to create this world, providing the vision for a
new, more connected and collaborative way of operating and the
leadership to make it a reality. And for this, he has been named to the
2013 Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know.
“The number of issues that can present themselves in today’s global
business environment truly run the gamut—from a dysfunctional product
component found within a manufacturer’s tier three level of the supply
chain to clarifying a business’s procurement strategy for reduced
costs,” said Barry Hochfelder, Editor, Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
“The ‘Pros to Know’ awards are designed to provide recognition for the
efforts that leading executives are making to overcome these challenges
by improving business functionality and in turn, progressing the global
supply chain.”
Over the past few decades, companies have spent billions of dollars in
personnel, reengineering, and systems to improve their internal process
and information flows. They’ve made great strides in sharing information
and collaborating internally between departments and employees. But
these islands of efficiency remain disconnected from the outside world
and often fall down where it matters most – when buying, selling, or
exchanging cash with other businesses.
Industry research finds that, despite the advances business applications
have made within the four-walls of the enterprise, more than 80% of POs,
Invoices, and other business-to-business transactions still take place
offline - involving lots of paper, people and inefficiency. By some
estimates, this inefficiency costs business hundreds of billions of
dollars each year in missed sales opportunities, higher operating and
supply chain costs, and slower cash flow cycles. And that’s a huge
problem.
But it’s one that Minahan knew Ariba could help to solve if the company
could convince executives that the social tools and networks they use to
manage their personal lives could drive fundamental improvements in
their business.
So Minahan set about painting the vision for a new, more collaborative
operating model for business – one where companies and their systems are
connected to digital communities of existing and potential partners. A
model through which sellers can quickly find new business opportunities
with a network of prospective buyers, with budget, in the buying cycle.
A model that enables buyers to efficiently discover and qualify new
sources of supply and track and coordinate orders across their supply
chain – all in real-time. A model where any company can have
transparency into payables and receivables status to make informed
working capital decisions.
And slowly, but surely, this vision began to take hold. Just as Facebook
is the destination for people looking to more efficiently manage their
personal networks and activities, business networks are the destination
for companies looking to better manage their trading relationships and
commerce activities.
Nearly one million companies, for instance, use the Ariba®
Network to discover, connect and collaborate with a global network
of partners. And they transact more than $400 billion in commerce on an
annual basis.
“Perceptive supply chain executives have come to understand that
creating value means embracing networks of suppliers, customers, banks
and other partners to gain new insights, drive new levels of efficiency,
and deliver results faster,” Minahan says. “Far from your kid’s
Facebook, business networks provide an ideal platform for companies to
connect with employees, customers, partners, and suppliers and leverage
those connections as a community to solve their most important business
problems.”
Now in its 13th year, the Supply & Demand Chain Executive
“Pros to Know” awards recognize both ends of the supply chain. This
includes honoring the “providers,” which includes individuals from
software firms, service providers, consultancies or academia who helped
their supply chain clients or the supply chain community prepare to meet
industry challenges. This also includes honoring the “practitioners,”
e.g., those supply chain executives who demonstrated leadership by
managing risk in the supply chain; provided competitive advantage; and
delivered value to the bottom line.
Supply & Demand Chain Executive issued a call for entries in
Q4 of 2012. Beginning in January 2013, the publication’s editorial
selection committee reviewed close to 400 entries to find the applicants
that best fit the criteria. The full list of 2013 “Pros to Know” awards
winners is available today on www.sdcexec.com.
Expanded awards coverage will appear in the March 2013 issue of Supply
& Demand Chain Executive magazine and online thereafter.
About Supply & Demand Chain Executive
Supply & Demand Chain Executive is the executive's user
manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, utilizing
hard-hitting analysis, viewpoints and unbiased case studies to steer
executives and supply management professionals through the complicated,
yet critical, world of supply and demand chain enablement to gain
competitive advantage. Supply & Demand Chain Executive is a
publication of Cygnus Business Media. Visit us on the Web at www.SDCExec.com
and on smart phones and tablets at www.SDCExec.com/mobile.
About Cygnus Business Media
Cygnus Business Media reaches millions of professionals annually. As one
of America's top business to business (B2B) media companies, Cygnus is
leading the way in providing targeted content to top decision-makers and
organizations. The company's corporate initiatives and organizational
architecture are built with one goal: fully engaging audiences in
Aviation, Building & Construction, Public Safety & Security, Agriculture
vertical markets and a variety of other industries. For more
information, visit www.cygnus.com.
About Ariba, an SAP Company
Ariba is the world’s business commerce network. Ariba combines
industry-leading cloud-based applications with the world's largest
web-based trading community to help companies discover and collaborate
with a global network of partners. Using the Ariba® Network,
businesses of all sizes can connect to their trading partners anywhere,
at any time from any application or device to buy, sell and manage their
cash more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Companies around
the world use the AribaNetwork to simplify inter-enterprise
commerce and enhance the results that they deliver. Join them at: www.ariba.com
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP)
helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office
to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP
empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and
use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition.
SAP applications and services enable more than 232,000 customers to
operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more
information, visit www.sap.com.
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,”
“estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,”
“predict,” “should” and “will” and similar expressions as they relate to
SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject
to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's
future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's
most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of their dates.
© 2013 SAP AG. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as
their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG
in Germany and other countries. Please see http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx#trademark
for additional trademark information and notices.
Note to editors:
To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press
photos digitally, please visit www.sap.com/photos.
On this platform, you can find high resolution material for your media
channels. To view video stories on diverse topics, visit www.sap-tv.com.
From this site, you can embed videos into your own Web pages, share
video via email links, and subscribe to RSS feeds from SAP TV.
Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.
For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global
Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800)
872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)
