The Industry 4.0 Revolution powered by the SAP Intelligent Enterprise

Today customers are connected, informed and always on. They demand high-quality individualized products and delivery within shorter timeframes. To meet these market requirements, customers need to synchronize their demand chain with their supply chain.

Companies need to recognize that a great customer experience hinges on a delightful product experience. The traditional boundaries between R&D, Manufacturing,  Logistics and Operations are dissolving within the enterprise and across the supply chain.

With Industry 4.0, companies look to break silos in their processes, gain visibility, and drive customer centricity to achieve much higher levels of efficiency, optimization, and ultimately deliver on new business models. As a result. many organizations are on a journey to digitally transform their manufacturing processes.

Developing smart connected factories with advanced automation and integration of shop floor processes that optimize performance  and ensure compliance. Operational excellence in manufacturing and the supply chain becomes a key differentiator for companies, allowing them to address complexity, risk, and cost challenges across the extended supply chain.

SAP is uniquely positioned to provide operational excellence by eliminating the black box, siloed nature of shop floor solutions. Manufacturing has become a integral part of the extended supply chain with real-time insight into work in process status, financials, supply chain, logistics, and change impact analysis.

The rise of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology, blockchain, and machine learning infused in business applications builds on much higher computing and processing power; it also precipitates the rise of a fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0).

Digital Supply Chain Design to Operate
The Digital Supply Chain that is integrated from design to operate acts more like a network.  Visibility, communication, planning, analysis, and execution are all orchestrated across critical operational phases based on real-time inputs and requirements.

Connecting Digitally is enabled through leveraging Innovative Technologies

• Blockchain, IOT, Big Data, Machine Learning, Blockchain, AI, Analytics (all SAP Leonardo), sentiment analysis and 3D printing
• IOT and unstructured data such as sentiment analysis are generating previously unimaginable levels of Supply Chain Big Data.  
• This Big Data is leveraged to drive smart assets and products with Machine Learning, and AI, and improve the end user experience and ability with Predictive Analytics.
• Blockchain can increase data security and trust with increased transparency, auditability, and regulatory compliance
• 3D printing has great potential across digital supply chain from rapid prototyping of designs, through additive manufacturing and in the rethinking of after sales services spare parts inventory through reduce inventory costs, increased flexibility and responsiveness and printing on demand services

Perfecting Reality - Requires the operational visibility and customer intelligence to manage your entire supply chain digitally and execute flawlessly today, while transforming your business for the future.

Leveraging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, and predictive maintenance embedded into your end to end business processes from:

• The Design of new smart products and assets
• To the handover to Manufacturing (MAKE)  
• Through the delivery via multi-model and omni-channel logistics processes.
• And including the after sales maintenance and service (OPERATE) of the operational assets in the field
• At all times, having integrated business planning processes (PLAN) across the end-to-end supply chain 

The SAP Digital Supply Chain helps companies fully deliver on their Industry 4.0 aspirations. Spanning design, manufacturing, logistics and asset management, SAP’s Digital Supply Chain plays a critical role in ensuring positive customer experiences. But to get there, leading organizations are integrating across traditionally siloed business areas that include R&D, manufacturing, supply chain planning, logistics, and after sales service and maintenance.

The goal is to connect everything digitally to perfect operational reality as much possible.

Design with the customer in mind
In the design phase, organizations need this level of connection to monitor trends and innovate in the direction customers want. Increasingly, organizations want to design smarter, Industry 4.0-enabled products and assets that have built-in sensors to capture real-time data once they are in use in a live environment. It’s also important to think in terms of compliant product lifecycle management – which requires product development to be integrated into the supply chain from the beginning.

Plan with visibility across silos
To be more responsive and reduce the time of planning cycles, organizations need to connect across departmental silos for a unified view of real-time supply and demand that helps balance inventory and service levels. To speed planning cycles and react faster to change, planners want synchronized planning processes that break down silos and tools to quickly run simulations for better decision-making.

Manufacture with flexibility, speed, and efficiency
When it comes to manufacturing, sophisticated digital supply chain capabilities and greater connectedness can help organizations increase shop floor visibility, identify process bottlenecks, and manage operations with greater agility. This, in turn, facilitates smart factory capabilities where rigid production lines are transformed into flexible manufacturing cells – making it possible to shift from mass production to mass customization.

Deliver on time
The delivery phase is a critical aspect of the supply chain that can make or break the customer experience. With Industry 4.0 capabilities, organizations can streamline logistics and ensure better delivery experiences. Connected vehicles, for example, can optimize delivery routes based on real-time weather and traffic conditions, support real-time tracking, and monitor conditions such as the temperature in freezer compartments. Next-generation warehouse technology, meanwhile, can leverage robots and augmented reality to assist staff, increase productivity, and get the goods to customers faster.

Operate with new business models
Finally, many organizations are transforming the operating phase with IoT-connected assets that plug directly into the digital supply chain. This helps drive new business models where the manufacturer owns the asset and charges the customer for usage, uptime, or some other metric. With such a model, the onus is on the manufacturer to provide the most-cost efficient maintenance – which is now possible with advanced analytics that help companies monitor asset health, predict issues, and respond proactively.

The Digital Supply Chain that is integrated from design to operate acts more like a network.  Visibility, communication, planning, analysis, and execution are all orchestrated across critical operational phases based on real-time inputs and requirements. Work and data flows span functional silos – leading to greater flexibility and consistency. Benefits include reduced financial and operational risk through early detection and greater customer satisfaction through quicker resolution of issues.

Read the full blog post on www.approyo.com

Approyo Announces Expansion of Company’s Staffing Numbers and Global Reach Strategy

Approyo is excited to announce two new hires to our growing team. The first is Alexandra Goudy as the firm’s new Marketing and Advertising Coordinator. Her responsibilities will range over video, audio, graphics and events. Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and will be deeply involved in the strategy of selecting platforms and creating Approyo’s advertising campaign.

On the sales and technology side, Approyo is onboarding  Lance Kucifer as the new SAP Sales manager for the western region. Lance brings 10 years of sales experience to Approyo and will be working with companies to assist them in their journey on implementing and using SAP to further their business processes and growth.

“As Approyo expands we will be adding human resources across the globe in order to provide a ‘follow the sun’ system of support which is the natural evolution of growth in the support vertical. I am excited about what the future holds and we continue to see that the team members that we are bringing into the fold are outstanding and second to none. We will continue to strive to expand our reach,” said Christopher Carter CEO of Approyo. “We are currently at 27 staff members and look forward to adding more talent depth as we grow the firm.”

Carter further stated, “Finding rising stars is key in our strategy to have the best and brightest employed at Approyo, and we are proud to also announce a job fair which will be held at our corporate headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin in the next few months. We are excited to be inviting several of the major universities in and around the area so we can find those star players right in our own backyard.”our own backyard.”

SAP and Microsoft Announce Project Embrace to accelerate adoption of SAP S/4HANA

Building on a joint commitment to simplify and modernize customers’ journeys to the cloud through project “Embrace,” SAP SE and Microsoft Corp. announced an extensive go-to-market partnership — from conceptualization to sales — to accelerate customer adoption of SAP S/4HANA and SAP Cloud Platform on Microsoft Azure.

Today’s new, preferred cloud partnership brings together SAP and Microsoft, along with a global network of system integrators, to offer holistic bundles that provide customers with unified reference architectures, road maps and market-approved journeys to illuminate a clear path toward the cloud. As part of this simplified customer journey, Microsoft will resell components of SAP Cloud Platform alongside Azure. This unique offering is aimed at more easily migrating SAP ERP application and SAP S/4HANA customers from on premise to public cloud.

Under the banner of project ‘Embrace’, SAP, Microsoft and a global ecosystem of system integrators including Approyo will combine to offer “holistic bundles” designed to provide customers with unified reference architectures and strategic roadmaps in the context of cloud.

SAP will lead with Microsoft Azure to move on-premise SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA customers to the cloud through industry-specific best practices, reference architectures and cloud-delivered services. This includes future deployment and migration of existing direct SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud customers leveraging hyperscaler infrastructure. However, SAP continues with its long-standing policy of supporting choice for those customers who request alternatives based on business requirements.

"I am proud to have the Approyo team working with Microsoft Azure and SAP on Project Embrace" added Christopher M. Carter, CEO of Approyo. 

Specifically, project “Embrace” on Microsoft Azure will provide customers with:

• A simplified move from on-premise editions of SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA for customers with integrated product and industry solutions. Industry market bundles will create a road map to the cloud for customers in focused industries, with a singular reference architecture and path to streamline implementation.
• Collaborative support model for simplified resolution. In response to customer feedback, a combined support model for Azure and SAP Cloud Platform will help ease migration and improve communication.
• Jointly developed market journeys to support customer needs. Designed in collaboration with SAP, Microsoft and system integrator partners will provide roadmaps to the digital enterprise with recommended solutions and reference architectures for customers. These offer a harmonized approach by industry for products, services and practices across Microsoft, SAP and system integrators like Approyo.

Read the Full Announcements:

From Microsoft:
https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2019/10/20/new-cloud-migration-pairing-offers-enhanced-customer-experience/

From SAP:
https://news.sap.com/2019/10/sap-microsoft-partnership-cloud-migration-offerings/

You're invited! A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909 Webinar

Back by popular demand! Did you miss SAP TechEd in Las Vegas? Our CEO Christopher Carter delivered a popular session at the event, A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909, to a standing room only crowd. The Approyo team has moved many different companies to S/4HANA and now is your chance to learn about real-life situations and scenarios for moving to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909 in this SAP TechEd bonus webinar.

A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909
Presenter: Approyo CEO Christopher Carter
Date: Wednesday, October 30
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST

Join us for a discussion of the methodology and the process used to migrate to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909. We will discuss the pitfalls, the success, and the overall project. We will not dig into the details on failed activities but will give everyone a sense of the timing and skill set needed to be able to accomplish such a herculean task.

Don't miss out, Register today! 

Approyo Welcomes New Client Services Manager Jason Hilderbrand

Approyo is proud to announce that after an extensive search Jason Hilderbrand has been selected to be the company’s next Client Services Manager. Jason brings an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and over 4 years of extensive SAP Basis experience across a host of support dependencies including managing projects, fixing any service issues, tracking service metrics, and helping lead the professionals responsible for getting services delivered to clients.

As the Client Services Manager, Jason’s role focuses on keeping clients satisfied with the Approyo's services, while working with businesses and end-users to help them resolve issues and answer questions. Jason is the liaison between an Approyo and its customers.

“The relationship with our customers is always our first priority,'' said CEO of Approyo Christopher Carter. “Jason’s appointment only bolsters our argument that great people build long term relationships, and that's how we do business with our customers.”

SAP announces new leadership team

SAP announced that Bill McDermott has decided not to renew his contract and is stepping down from his position as chief executive officer. In activating the company’s long-term succession plan, SAP Executive Board Members Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein have been appointed co-chief executive officers, effective immediately, with the approval of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE. McDermott will remain in an advisory capacity until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition Read the full announcement on www.sap.com.

“SAP would not be what it is today without Bill McDermott,” said Professor Hasso Plattner, chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE. “Bill made invaluable contributions to this company and he was a main driver of SAP’s transition to the cloud, which will fuel our growth for many years to come. We thank him for everything he has done for SAP.

“Every CEO dreams of being able to transition a company to its next generation from a position of significant strength,” said McDermott. “When you look at where we were and where we are, I simply could not be prouder of what this company has achieved over the past decade. I am thankful for the opportunity to lead one of the world’s finest companies. Now is the moment for everyone to begin an exciting new chapter, and I am confident that Jennifer and Christian will do an outstanding job. I look forward to supporting them as they finish 2019 and lay the foundation for 2020 and beyond. To every customer, partner, shareholder and colleague who invested their trust in SAP, I can only relay my heartfelt gratitude and enduring respect.”

With the formal endorsement of the Supervisory Board, the company activates its leadership succession plan, designed to preserve continuity and empower its next-generation leaders in advance of the formal kickoff to calendar year 2020.

“As they have already demonstrated, Jennifer and Christian complement each other perfectly and will be strong co-CEOs, a leadership model that is time-tested at SAP with multiple prior instances of success.” Plattner added.

Morgan and Klein bring decades of experience in the enterprise applications software industry. Both serve on the Executive Board. Morgan, who joined SAP in 2004, most recently served as president of the Cloud Business Group, overseeing Qualtrics, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass, SAP Customer Experience and SAP Concur. She was named an Executive Board member in 2017.

"We are sad to see Bill go. He was a fantastic leader but it also is great to know who is taking the helm at SAP. Jennifer is a fantastic leader and will lead the organization with Chris in the right direction and keep building upon what Bill has built as a base over the last 10 years," added Christopher M. Carter, CEO of Approyo.

Read the full announcement at www.SAP.com 

SAP Fiori 101 (Updated - 2019)

SAP Fiori is a framework that provides the porting of applications on mobile devices and was released in 2013. It enables applications to be used on desktop computers, tablets and smartphones. SAP Fiori supports HTML5. The initial release had few applications to start and gradually increased to complete the SAP Business Suite.

SAP Fiori is the UX of the Intelligent Enterprise that changes the way you work. It equips designers and developers with a set of tools and guidelines to create apps for any platform faster than ever – providing a consistent, innovative experience for both creators and users. SAP Fiori enables you to turn new ideas into great apps as quickly as the market demands.

Three types of Fiori apps:

• Transactional apps - which allow users to perform SAP transactions on mobile devices as well as desktops. For instance, there is a transactional app for creating a leave of absence request and another for approving a purchase order.
• Fact sheets - which display information about key business objects in SAP. For example, there is a fact-sheet app for viewing a central purchase contract; it allows users to also drill down into related entities, such as vendor contacts, items under contract, and terms.
• Analytical apps - which allow users to display key performance measures and other aggregate information about the business.

SAP Fiori 2.0
SAP Fiori 2.0 was released in October 2016 and is the leading design for all SAP applications providing a harmonized user experience across on premise and cloud solutions. A new visual theme – named Belize – comes along with light and dark flavors. Using SAP S/4HANA, the UI Theme Designer allows you to adapt the theme to your corporate identity.

SAP Fiori 3 - September 2019 update 
SAP has chosen to deliver the SAP Fiori 3 innovations in a stepwise approach. With SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1908 and SAP S/4HANA 1909, the very first step becomes available to end users: the new Quartz theme as a successor of the Belize theme used with SAP Fiori 2.0, and the new shell header bar, which also replaces the viewport introduced with SAP Fiori 2.0.

Designed and developed by all SAP product teams, SAP Fiori 3 offers a more consistent and integrated experience across the entire SAP portfolio. This helps decrease training time, increases application effectiveness and provides consistency of use across devices from anywhere. Embedded artificial intelligence in SAP Fiori 3 provides intelligent home pages that show everything a user needs to focus on, and supports proactive business situation handling, which offers explanations, insights and proposed actions.

The new SAP Fiori 3 theme “Quartz Light”
The new Quartz theme is lighter and more neutral, to blend more into the background, giving application content the center stage. It is simple and minimalistic, making it easy for customers to theme it to their brand.