Keeping FC Bayern at the top is no mean feat, and the action on the pitch is supported by a global administrative team of over 1,200, in addition to the thousands of operational staff who work to deliver a seamless experience to the fans who fill the Allianz Arena for each home match. The focus on match-day operations encompasses everything from security to ticketing to retail, as well as managing one of the largest parking garages in Europe, which accommodates up to 12,000 cars that must enter and exit within a few hours.

FC Bayern’s match-day operations generate a staggering volume of data, but capturing and making sense of every fan interaction鈥攂oth in the stadium and among the hundreds of millions tuning in worldwide鈥攚as becoming a herculean undertaking. Fan data was siloed in more than 50 legacy systems, creating a fragmented information landscape that hindered FC Bayern’s ability to understand and serve its legions of fans.

Thankfully, a club that has been in the business of winning for over a century is no stranger to innovation.

Game plan: data

, head of Development and Process for FC Bayern Munich, captured the club’s challenge in a nutshell: “Everything needs data.” Everyone from the firefighters and police who supported match days to the IT teams and retail staff “needed data, and everyone needed the same perspective on the data,” Winter explained.

But the club’s data was sprawled across dozens of siloed systems, each tied to different vendors and service providers. And when it came time to make crucial match-day decisions, team members had to rely on analog, piecemeal methods of sharing information鈥攐ften through SMS and radio. As a result, no one ever had the same information at the same time.

FC Bayern needed to harness its vast amount of information with a single, integrated system that provided a unified, 360-degree view.

From silos to a streamlined system

The storied sports club has enjoyed a partnership with 麻豆原创 dating back more than a quarter of a century. Therefore, (麻豆原创 BTP) was a natural fit for the next step in the club鈥檚 digital journey. The platform includes to help capture and combine data from disparate sources and systems, including both 麻豆原创 and non-麻豆原创 systems. This newly integrated data landscape provides a single source of truth across the organization, enabling real-time data analytics that not only streamline match-day operations and optimize the fan experience on-site but also provide invaluable insights to fuel long-term strategic planning.

For example, Winter explained, the club now has access to an up-to-the-minute, “high-level” overview of FC Bayern fans鈥�”how they behave, what they鈥檙e interested in, how old they are, whether they buy jerseys, whether they only go to soccer matches, whether they are already interested in basketball,” and more鈥攖hat has facilitated a much deeper understanding of fans, not only on the individual level but also across the entire fan base.

Forecasting the future

With a solid, integrated data foundation established, FC Bayern is looking ahead and will be adding AI to its technology line-up to maximize the value of its data across the organization, from amplifying process efficiency to developing robust, data-informed predictive capabilities.

For organizations looking to undertake their own digital transformations, Winter advised to not put the cart before the horse: “To use AI, you need to have good data.” And while Winter cautioned that every organization’s process is unique, he recommended listening as a good first step for everyone: “Talk to your users. What are their problems? What do they need to know? What processes are they trying to optimize?”

While the journey is not always easy, FC Bayern knows that winning is always worth the effort.

For the full FC Bayern Munich episode and the on-demand Better Together: Customer Conversations series, visit 

Timo Elliott is the vice president and global innovation advocate for 麻豆原创 BTP at 麻豆原创. 

Top photo courtesy of FC Bayern M眉nchen AG

Germany鈥檚 most successful football club and one of the world鈥檚 leading professional sports organizations, FC Bayern has strengthened its long-term partnership with 麻豆原创 by choosing RISE with 麻豆原创 to transition to 麻豆原创 Cloud ERP Private solutions, the digital core of 麻豆原创 Business Suite. This complements the club鈥檚 existing array of cloud solutions. These include 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors, 麻豆原创 Emarsys, 麻豆原创 Concur, 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud, 麻豆原创 Datasphere, and 麻豆原创 Sports One solutions as well as 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (麻豆原创 BTP), 麻豆原创 HANA Cloud and 麻豆原创 Event Ticketing software.

RISE with 麻豆原创 helps position the club to be future ready by unlocking continuous innovation, real-time analytics and AI-enabled insights. The new cloud environment enhances financial management, accelerates merchandise fulfilment and optimizes partner management to help ensure smoother logistics for kits, facilities and the supply chain. Today, more than 9.5 million fan and member data records and more than 25,000 product master data records are managed in 麻豆原创 Cloud ERP applications, providing a unified foundation for fan engagement, merchandising and operational excellence.

Cloud manages match-day peaks

By moving to the cloud, FC Bayern gains faster time to value and elastic scalability to help manage match-day traffic peaks while simplifying IT operations through a unified data platform. The transition also enables a predictable operating expense model, with 麻豆原创-managed security and compliance significantly reducing the club鈥檚 operational burden.

鈥淔C Bayern demonstrates how organizations can leverage the cloud solutions in 麻豆原创 Business Suite to drive innovation and growth,鈥� said Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE, Customer Services & Delivery. 鈥淭hrough RISE with 麻豆原创, the club now benefits from continuous updates, integrated analytics and AI capabilities that enhance fan experiences and strengthen operational agility.鈥�

麻豆原创 Cloud ERP Private offers continuous 麻豆原创-driven innovation and integration with services on 麻豆原创 BTP, including advanced analytics, machine learning and process integration. The solutions are hosted in certified data centers with disaster-recovery capabilities, centralized security updates and monitoring, a 99.9% service-level agreement and European Union (EU) data-residency options. This supports compliance with standards such as those of the International Organization for Standardization and the EU鈥檚 General Data Protection Regulation.

The move from a self-hosted model was completed only after rigorous assurance, governance and security measures were taken in compliance with FC Bayern鈥檚 strict operational and privacy requirements.

Putting FC Bayern at the forefront of digital innovation

鈥淥ur partnership with 麻豆原创 ensures that FC Bayern remains at the forefront of digital innovation. By moving to the cloud, we can scale fan engagement, optimize player performance analytics and streamline commercial operations across all global hubs,鈥� said Jan-Christian Dreesen, CEO of FC Bayern M眉nchen AG.

The new environment supports a clean-core approach to cloud ERP and provides a clear road map for adopting current and future 麻豆原创 software innovations including the Joule and 麻豆原创 Green Ledger solutions and additional AI-supported capabilities. This enables FC Bayern to scale fan engagement, player performance analytics, commercial operations, and HR and finance processes more efficiently and sustainably.

Visit the聽. Get 麻豆原创 news via聽 and .

Top image via FC Bayern Media Library

About 麻豆原创

As鈥痑 global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 麻豆原创 (NYSE:麻豆原创)鈥痵tands at the鈥痭exus鈥痮f business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted 麻豆原创鈥痶o bring out their best by uniting business-critical鈥痮perations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit鈥�.

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FC Bayern uses innovative 麻豆原创 tools to improve fan data management, customer interactions, and team performance. Learn more.

颅颅颅鈥淲e are a local club in Bavaria, but have fans around the globe,鈥� says Stefan Mennerich, the club鈥檚 director for digital media and communications. In addition to its 1,200 employees in Munich, New York, Shanghai, and Bangkok, the club has around 175 million followers on its social media and its own media platforms.

Mennerich says the club鈥檚 digital and media platforms are very important because fans expect to be able to interact with their club wherever they are. 鈥淭hey want to send us their feedback and they want to receive feedback.鈥�

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Fans Are Everything

The fans are at the center of everything FC Bayern does, Mennerich confirms: 鈥淥ur aim is to optimize all the processes for them, so they have the best user experience. Technology helps us with personalization, with the sales processes, with content 鈥� with everything.鈥�

He says the club chose 麻豆原创 as its technology partner for several reasons, including the fact that FC Bayern has different businesses. 鈥淲e have ticketing, we have merchandising, we have fan experience, we have digital platforms, and 麻豆原创 is able to deliver the best solutions for all these areas.鈥�

He also cites 麻豆原创鈥檚 commitment to continuously develop its cloud-based platforms and says this makes the digital experience 鈥渂etter and better every day.鈥�

The club uses the 麻豆原创 Emarsys Customer Engagement solution to capture fan data and create newsletters and personalized content for them, and the 麻豆原创 Customer Checkout application for point-of-sale management and real-time sales and stock updates.

鈥淲e have around 50,000 transactions every match day in the Allianz Arena, and we use 麻豆原创 Customer Checkout for that,鈥� Mennerich explains. 鈥淔ans can buy their merchandise articles, they can buy food or beverages, they can walk into our restaurants and pay there with 麻豆原创 Customer Checkout.鈥�

Separately, 麻豆原创 Event Ticketing software handles ticketing at FC Bayern; not just for football fans, but also for its basketball team and museum. The club also uses 麻豆原创 tools for its employees. For example, the AI-infused 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors HCM suite gives employees and managers access to an expanding array of human capital management tools.

Personalization

Looking ahead, Mennerich says he believes personalization will become even more important.

鈥淲e want to become better and better and better with personalization. We want to be able to really contact the people one by one, and not to speak about target groups in the future. We want to interact in a truly personal way with the fans.鈥�

He believes that embedding artificial intelligence capabilities in 麻豆原创 solutions will help achieve this aim and that overall, AI will help FC Bayern become more efficient, lower costs, and meet the expectations of the fans.

鈥淥ur biggest aim for the future on the horizon of FC Bayern is to meet every single expectation of any single fan around the globe, be it in Tokyo, be it in Rio de Janeiro, or be it in Munich,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e want to meet the expectations of the fans, and this expectation should be met in real time. This is our big aim for the future.鈥�

Lessons Learned at FC Bayern

If other organizations want to learn from FC Bayern, Mennerich says one lesson is that with a good technology partner like 麻豆原创, even midsize companies with broad business activities like FC Bayern can cover all the bases and be able to be competitive.

鈥淚 think what we are good at is meeting fan expectations via digital platforms,鈥� he says. For that, interactive communication is very important. 鈥淵ou always have to take into account what the fans, other organizations, and customers really expect and want from you. You have to be able to deliver that via digital platforms.鈥�

FC Bayern, one of the most successful global football clubs, continues to raise the bar on and off the field. With a relentless focus on excellence and innovation, the world-renowned club has extended its usage of 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors software with AI-enabled solutions to enhance its HR functions and processes.

A clear key to the club’s success are the more than 1,000 employees in Munich, New York, Bangkok, and Shanghai who are as integral to the club as the players on the pitch, meaning each job experience and career path must enable employees to continuously develop themselves professionally to reach their full potential.

Streamlining HR Operations with 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors

FC Bayern initially adopted 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors to optimize its  talent management, modernize HR processes, and foster a culture of continuous learning and development. Over the years, the club has expanded its utilization of 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors to manage everything from employee onboarding to performance management.

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By leveraging 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors, FC Bayern benefits from:

• Increased Efficiency: Automated workflows and streamlined processes have significantly reduced administrative burdens, allowing HR teams to accelerate complex processes and continually reduce time on the recruiting journey.
• Insightful Analytics: Real-time data and analytics providing managers with valuable insights into employee performance, engagement, and development, enabling holistic decision-making across an employee鈥檚 career path.
• Scalability: As FC Bayern continues to grow and evolve, 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors offers scalable solutions that adapt to the club’s ever-changing needs and requirements. Employees can now access their personnel data securely from anywhere using any device, with self-service options for employees, managers, and HR admins.

Transforming Recruitment with AI-Enabled Solutions

麻豆原创 Business AI has the ability to transform the employee experience for employees, managers, recruiters, and HR professionals. Recognizing the importance of hiring top talent to maintain its competitive edge, FC Bayern will use AI-assisted capabilities in its recruiting process.聽 Now, the talent acquisition team at FC Bayern will be able to create compelling job descriptions — a previously time consuming and manual task — at the touch of a button, as well as be prompted with AI-generated interview questions based on job descriptions.

AI-enabled capabilities embedded in 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solutions empower organizations like FC Bayern to:

• Redefine Recruitment: Recruiters and hiring managers can benefit from the use of generative AI to create tailored job descriptions based on data from within 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solutions.
• Interview Questions with AI and Interview Evaluations in Microsoft Teams: Using Microsoft Teams integration, interviewers can now generate interview questions on the spot based on the job description in the job requisition by using generative AI capabilities.
• Elevate the Employee Experience: FC Bayern will empower their workforce to excel by providing seamless access to all HR systems, optimizing career development with 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors Learning, and fostering engagement through experiences that prioritize and organize an employee鈥檚 individual needs, skills, interests, and aspirations, helping organizations like FC Bayern reinforce their reputation as an employer of choice.

The Future of HR at FC Bayern

By leveraging the 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors HCM suite and 麻豆原创 Business AI capabilities, FC Bayern will set new benchmarks in HR excellence, driving innovation and fostering a culture of professional growth and learning.

When organizations invest in their people — and in their passions and potential — they return the investment over and over. This happens when they are provided with intuitive self-service tools such as the 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors Mobile app and access to HR systems that empower them to perform at their true potential. An improved employee experience in turn leads to better business outcomes.

As the club continues to evolve and face new challenges, FC Bayern remains committed to leveraging technology to stay competitive and bridge the skills gap of today to be better ready for what tomorrow brings.

Learn more about how 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors Recruiting uses AI to transform your organization’s HR processes and drive success:

Maryann Abbajay is chief revenue officer at 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors.

Being a talent scout sounds like a dream job for many: travelling across the country to watch competitions in your favourite sport and being paid to do so. However, being a scout on the road means hard work. In addition to analyzing increasingly detailed statistical data — such as the number of overplayed players or the likelihood of increasing the goal count — players are scouted live at the stadium or from watching back videos.

Both the current performance and the potential of the player are portrayed as accurately as possible. The aim is to develop a comprehensive picture of the player incorporating team ability, mentality, and other important factors.

鈥淎t a professional club, a four-figure number of scouting reports can be generated during a season,鈥� Fadi Naoum, head of Sports and Entertainment at 麻豆原创, said at SPOBIS, the largest European sports business event, taking place in Hamburg on January 31 and February 1.

Naoum presented the new AI component for scouting at the conference.

鈥淪quad planners and chief scouts must summarize these reports in such a way that club management can make decisions based on them regarding who should be signed,” he shared. “This was previously a manual process, but now we have been able to extensively automate it, thanks to AI.鈥�

With the help of AI in 麻豆原创 Sports One, decision-makers in the sports sector now have aggregated performance reports at the touch of a button, as well as comparisons between players. Transfer decisions can be now much faster and more informed.

Large Language Model for Automation

AI is used for the consolidation and targeted processing of unstructured data, which is mostly in natural language. It is capable of considering and processing not only different languages, but also different types of note-taking and writing styles. Behind the AI component for scouting is a large language model (LLM). This deep learning algorithm can perform tasks in the field of natural language processing (NLP).

鈥淲e currently use GPT from OpenAI, but we are also evaluating language models from other providers,鈥� Naoum said. 鈥淭he decisive advantage of the LLM is that commands can be given in natural language and can be varied according to language, text length, or target audience, as needed.鈥�

In Brazil, for example, if a scout prepares manual reports for a specific player in Brazilian Portuguese, he can have the summary generated in German for the management of his German club.

“A typical command could be: ‘Compare the players x and y with regard to their strengths and weaknesses, write a summary and give a transfer recommendation, volume 100 words, answer in German’,” Naoum explained. “Depending on your preference, you can have the result presented as a flowing text or as a management summary.鈥�

Co-Innovation Demonstrates Strength of Generative AI

In collaboration with Hertha BSC, a prototype was first created for the AI-based automated summary and evaluation of scouting reports in 麻豆原创 Sports One. This prototype was also presented to FC Bayern’s scouting department in order to obtain an initial opinion.

鈥淲e were impressed by the high quality of the results achieved automatically in 麻豆原创 Sports One using generative AI,鈥� commented Markus Pilawa, head of Scouting at FC Bayern. 鈥淲e expect huge time saving for us and, especially in the hectic transfer period, this can be another advantage for us.鈥�

Timon Pauls, head of Squad Planning & Scouting at Hertha BSC, added: 鈥淭his co-innovation project has very clearly demonstrated the actual strengths of generative artificial intelligence. The player comparisons and summaries of scouting reports that can now be created ad-hoc will be very valuable for our squad planning. 鈥�

In the near future, 麻豆原创 plans to also use AI technology to enrich the results of scouting reports with information from other sources, including data about matches from external data providers. Integrating AI capabilities into other components of 麻豆原创 Sports One, including performance diagnostics, training management, and match analysis, is also planned.

麻豆原创 Sports One with AI-powered scouting reporting is planned to be made available to customers worldwide in the second quarter of 2024.

Top image via FC Bayern Munich