Muhammad Alam鈥檚 opening keynote supercharged 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live with the announcement of and how it can help businesses see and analyze their spend across all categories. We also saw how 麻豆原创 is using artificial intelligence (AI) to drive scope 3 carbon reporting within total spend management.

On the procurement side, we鈥檝e had so much news to share. This includes demos of ; the ; and Joule, the embedded AI copilot in 麻豆原创 Ariba Sourcing. We also provided a sneak peek at the future of supplier management 鈥� we’re referring to as “the new supplier 360” that can deliver instant access to risk data, AI-powered sustainability information, and operational evaluation to help track metrics like price variance.

We put the world on notice that 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions are the future of procurement, and that future is already a reality. We鈥檝e taken the investment, innovation, and integration across our product lineup 鈥� successes we relived together 鈥� to deliver a complete portfolio. Everything procurement at 麻豆原创 is now 麻豆原创 Ariba.

Eliminate the Mundane. Elevate the Strategic.

You may have noticed that while others in the market were making noise about AI, 麻豆原创 has been relatively quiet. But we鈥檝e been very busy, with many use cases in production today and more on the way.

Our goal is to streamline procurement processes to remove mundane, manual interventions, elevate strategic activities, and accelerate decision-making and approvals. At 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live, we announced a series of procurement innovations focused on this goal.

Enhancing 麻豆原创 Ariba Category Management with the Power of Generative AI and Joule

In August, the new solution became generally available to our customers. It helps empower category managers to use data insights strategically to help identify trends, develop and implement strategies, and evaluate success relative to tangible business metrics.

Now, we are pleased to announce the integration of 麻豆原创 Ariba Category Management with large language models through 麻豆原创 Business AI. This can empower procurement professionals to jump-start category strategy development and planning.

By harnessing generative AI, we are enhancing our market analysis tool, offering valuable, visual insights into supply and demand, risk, opportunity, and top suppliers. Additionally, we will be simplifying category segmentation, powering up cost structure analysis.

These innovations help streamline content creation, saving category managers weeks of time and expediting strategy development. General availability is planned by the end of 2023, representing a substantial leap in enterprise-level category management efficiency.

Embedding Spend Analysis Capabilities in 麻豆原创 Ariba Solutions for More Informed Decisions

To make it easier for procurement professionals to make timely, informed decisions, new dashboards in 麻豆原创 Ariba Sourcing and 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying embed near real-time insights where they鈥檙e most useful 鈥� within key process workflows.

These capabilities are available today and built on a new architecture that helps create the foundation for future innovation. Advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend 鈥� in 麻豆原创 cloud ERP solutions, 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions, and 麻豆原创 Concur solutions 鈥� can help uncover cost-saving opportunities in the new 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower solution beginning in the first quarter 2024.

Delivering Risk-Aware Procurement by Embedding AI-Infused Risk Assessment in Source-to-Settle Solutions

Successfully managing third-party supplier risk often comes down to the ability to answer basic questions accurately. Does the supplier have the ongoing capacity to satisfy the needs of the business? Do they meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards? Are their risk scores in danger of slipping below the acceptable corporate risk standard?

There are software solutions that offer information to answer these questions via dashboards, reporting, and alerts. But this approach can be risky, requiring savvy business users to check the information and assess the risk profiles of suppliers within a specific context. This approach can also waste resources because it allows unqualified suppliers to slip into RFx events, even though they鈥檒l ultimately be eliminated through resource-intensive due diligence.

鈥淩isk-aware procurement鈥� refers to the embedding of risk knowledge into source-to-pay decision processes via software solutions. 麻豆原创 has embedded AI-powered supplier risk assessment capabilities into its source-to-settle solutions to help business users make smarter decisions faster.

This can make it possible to assess risk profiles within the sourcing, contracting, and buying solutions as an integral part of these processes to determine third-party risk. Supplier risk assessment capabilities are available today in 麻豆原创 Ariba Sourcing, 麻豆原创 Ariba Contracts, and 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying.

AI-powered supplier risk assessment capabilities within 麻豆原创 solutions can offer numerous benefits across the procurement process:

• Supplier management: Improved user decision-making throughout supplier lifecycle processes
• Sourcing: Exclusion or warnings when high-risk suppliers are included in sourcing decision-making
• Contracting: Systematic reference risk scoring to include mitigation clauses and activities in authoring and contract signature as needed
• Buying and invoicing: The inclusion of risk workflow if the risk score drops below an acceptable standard

A great example of this activity in action is Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG), the German supply chain act focused on human rights due diligence. With this, information is not only available to support the due diligence activities with suppliers, it also helps business users make natural decisions that help prevent non-compliant activities from occurring systematically.

Continuing to Lead in Procurement Innovation

Of course, the innovations and use cases we demonstrated at 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live are just the tip of the iceberg. The coming year promises to be just as exciting, as we continue to roll out new features and capabilities to enhance our comprehensive set of procurement solutions.

We hope you will be along for the ride!

Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president, chief product officer, and head of Engineering for 麻豆原创 Procurement.

麻豆原创 Continues to Innovate with Generative AI and Its New Copilot Joule

The newly released will be enhanced with the power of generative AI to help procurement professionals build comprehensive and effective category strategies faster. This capability will help jump-start the market analysis process and offer a suggested category strategy for procurement professionals to refine and execute, saving category managers weeks of valuable time and increasing strategy validity. General availability is planned by the end of 2023. 麻豆原创 will also embed Joule, its new generative AI copilot, throughout its cloud solutions, with availability in its spend management software planned for 2024. 麻豆原创 is also developing in collaboration with customers, with availability planned for the first half of 2024. 鈥淭hese are just some of the examples of how we are thoughtfully integrating generative AI technology with our market-leading spend management solutions to help our customers be more productive,鈥� said Muhammad Alam, President and Chief Product Officer, Intelligent Spend and Business Network, 麻豆原创. 鈥淎s with all of 麻豆原创 Business AI solutions, we are developing these new spend management AI innovations with security, privacy, compliance, ethics and accuracy in mind.鈥�

麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower to Deliver Comprehensive Spend Analysis Capabilities

The new 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower solution will include advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend to help customers uncover cost-saving opportunities and discover process improvements. These capabilities will be available starting in the first quarter of 2024. New dashboards in the 麻豆原创 Ariba Sourcing and 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying solutions also give customers near real-time information within key process workflows, making it easier for procurement professionals to help make timely, informed decisions. These capabilities are available today and built on a new architecture that creates the foundation for future innovation.

AI-Infused Risk Assessment Embedded in Source-to-Settle Solutions

麻豆原创 has embedded AI-powered supplier risk assessment capabilities into its source-to-settle software to help business users make smarter decisions faster. The new features make risk assessment profiles an integral part of sourcing, contracting and buying solutions, helping users better determine third-party risk. Supplier risk assessment capabilities are available today in the 麻豆原创 Ariba Sourcing, 麻豆原创 Ariba Contracts and 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying solutions.

AI-Powered Supplier Discovery from Scoutbee to Integrate with Guided Sourcing

麻豆原创 and GmbH, a leading AI-powered supplier intelligence and discovery platform company, plan to integrate an AI-powered supplier search solution with the 麻豆原创 Ariba Sourcing solution. solution, called Scoutbee Discovery, quickly identifies suppliers aligned with complex requirements, such as production capacity, quality standards and certifications. Through the integration, short-listed suppliers will be imported automatically into guided sourcing events, enabling sourcing professionals to make decisions with more confidence. The integration will be available in the first quarter of 2024. Scoutbee Discovery complements the 麻豆原创 Business Network Discovery solution capabilities to help sourcing professionals quickly find new suppliers that are aligned with their requirements but are outside the network.

Expense Payment Manager Saves Time and Money

麻豆原创 Concur solutions now offer a new Expense Payment Manager service that offers customers the ability to reimburse employees in more than 25 currencies. A streamlined payment process saves hours, money and headaches in the expense reimbursement process. Contracting directly with third-party payment providers increases flexibility. Expense Payment Manager, which also gives customers the opportunity to select their payment provider, is now generally available.

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of 麻豆原创鈥檚 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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These days, business buyers need to think very differently about how they buy, who they buy from, and the impact of their buying decisions. The five 鈥渞ights鈥� still apply. But there are other factors at work, requiring a more elevated buying experience.

Consider personal online buying, where it gets easier all the time to find and purchase the goods we need. Today鈥檚 casual business buyers and procurement professionals want that same experience 鈥� one that is personalized for them and their role as well as predictive, offering suggestions based on the work they do. They also want intelligent recommendations to help them make informed decisions and weigh the sustainability and environmental impact of their purchases.

Elevating the Guided Buying Experience for Today

The guided buying capability in 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions remains the gold standard for purchases of goods and services. At 麻豆原创 Sapphire, as we incorporate 麻豆原创 innovations and other leading-edge technology. The buying 360 capability is the latest step in this evolution. It adds new services that help make purchasing more predictive, personalized, and sustainable.

Buyers are directed to goods and services based on their role and the organization鈥檚 procurement and sustainability policies. This helps make procurement more targeted and strategic. Additionally, integration between 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions and 麻豆原创 S/4HANA enables a seamless fulfillment experience by converting purchasing requests into purchase orders and then tracking the fulfillment process.

Our plan is to make the new buying 360 capability available in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, public edition during the third quarter of 2023. For existing 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying customers, the buying 360 capability is available via the standard 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying cloud upgrade process.

A More Flexible, Personalized Buying Experience

The buying 360 capability is built using 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (麻豆原创 BTP) services to make it highly flexible. We are planning other innovations to enable smooth adoption by existing customers.

The new capabilities leverage artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent recommendations, and machine learning. This creates a holistic view of what the buyer is purchasing and how the purchase stacks up against their organization鈥檚 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.

A Personalized Buying Experience

With the buying 360 capability, 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying and 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, public edition can deliver a buying experience that is personalized for individuals and their roles. As soon as the user logs on, they are greeted with a clean and friendly user interface. They are directed to goods and services based on their role and their organization鈥檚 procurement and sustainability policies.

Predictive Recommendations

Leveraging AI and machine learning, the buying 360 capability offers intelligent recommendations to help users make informed decisions for their role. We鈥檙e designing the user interface so these recommendations display at the right time and the right place 鈥� for example, in catalogs, in contracts, in the marketplace, or even as a spot quote 鈥� using automation to reduce the manual work required of buyers. In the future, we plan to add functionality that will help buyers make purchases that comply with the procurement and sustainability policies of their business.

Here are some of the predictive capabilities being made available via the standard 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying cloud upgrade process and that are planned for availability with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, public edition:

• 鈥淩ecommended for You鈥�: Guided buying is extremely helpful for buyers who know what they鈥檙e looking for. But sometimes they need more information. The buying 360 capability understands the user鈥檚 role and the roles of their peers, and it uses AI and algorithms to determine what people in similar roles have ordered to make recommendations.
• 鈥淚ntelligent Search鈥�: The buyer types a search term and our Intelligent Search 3.0 sorts through connected marketplaces and supplier-connected catalogs to show the best options. This helps provide relevant entries that have been sorted and personalized to their role.
• 鈥淎lso Bought Together鈥�: After the buyer selects the item they want, the system displays other items their colleagues purchased with that item. These are chosen based on previous shopping carts with the help of a powerful machine learning algorithm.

Environmentally Aware Buying Decisions

As the needs and priorities of business evolve, so will the guided buying capability. Today, organizations are being challenged to balance cost savings against the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions. To help them, we are designing enhancements for future releases to provide sustainability information, including carbon footprint, packaging footprint, and energy consumption.

The Future of Buying

While the buying of yesterday was just about price and policy, future purchasing also needs to be personalized to the user, predictive to reduce manual effort, and done with an eye on sustainability.

The buying 360 capability represents the next wave in the evolution of guided buying services from 麻豆原创. As we roll out these new capabilities, we will continue to focus on the individual and their buying needs, the organization and its objectives, and the ESG aspirations of both with a holistic, 360-degree view of the purchasing process.

Look for more developments moving forward. In the meantime, current 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying customers are already seeing many innovations provided through 麻豆原创鈥檚 standard cloud upgrade process. We also plan to make the new buying 360 capability available in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, public edition during the third quarter of 2023.

and see it in action along with more 麻豆原创 spend management innovations at .

Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president, chief product officer, and head of Engineering for 麻豆原创 Procurement.

Royal DSM utilized and to enhance the sustainability of its global indirect procurement. As a result, the company learned several valuable lessons that can be applied by other organizations looking to transform their procurement practices in a sustainable manner.

DSM has set ambitious sustainability goals, which include making a positive impact on people, the planet, and communities through its “purpose-led, performance-driven” strategy. This includes transitioning to a net-zero economy, fair supplier arrangements, and ensuring adequate access to healthy food for all.

To support these goals, DSM implemented a transformation of its global, indirect sourcing and buying operations. This was essential for the company to create truly sustainable end products. It is not possible to be a sustainable business without having sustainable partners.

buy.SMART Program

DSM’s buy.SMART program aimed to not only achieve cost savings but also digitize and automate procurement transactions to align its spending on indirect goods and services with its sustainability and supplier diversity policies. Through this process, the company learned several valuable lessons.

1. Leverage a Business Network

To achieve the buy.SMART vision, DSM integrated 麻豆原创 Business Network with an upstream, indirect source-to-contract process. The company did this using 麻豆原创 Ariba Sourcing, 麻豆原创 Ariba Contracts, 麻豆原创 Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance, and 麻豆原创 Ariba Supplier Risk. For the downstream, indirect procure-to-pay process, DSM chose the 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying solution.

This setup offers multiple advantages, including faster identification of suitable trading partners in your supply chain, such as suppliers, logistics service providers, asset operators, and maintenance contractors. Thanks to automation, you can perform many tasks more efficiently or even automate them completely. Automation enables more efficient and even fully automated processes as well as increased visibility into all supply chain processes.

The integration of automation and sustainability in procurement can bring several benefits. For example, automation can facilitate the collection and analysis of supplier sustainability data, which can help in making more informed decisions when selecting suppliers. Additionally, automation can help in monitoring and tracking the sustainability performance of suppliers over time, which can help in identifying and addressing sustainability issues more quickly. Automation can also help in reducing the environmental impact of procurement activities, such as by decreasing paper usage and transportation emissions.

“Thanks to 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, DSM has strengthened collaboration with suppliers, improved the user experience of all participants, automated the transaction flow, and significantly reduced errors,” says Andries Feikema, global director of Procurement Digitalization & Transformation at DSM.

2. Leverage Independent Sustainability Ratings

Using criteria from external vendors is crucial for enhancing procurement processes with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. Having transparency into the sustainability performance of your supply chain is crucial for modern business. DSM utilizes EcoVadis, which is integrated with 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, to provide the necessary sustainability solutions to enhance procurement processes with ESG. This allows DSM to obtain reliable ESG ratings on its trading partners and efficiently evaluate suppliers based on specific sustainability criteria. Additionally, DSM continues to expand its sustainability assessments to provide procurement professionals with greater insight into their business partners.

“Sustainability is in DSM’s DNA. It therefore plays a major role for our procurement organization. It is an important element in the selection of our suppliers, and we test that directly in 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions. It is important that we select the right suppliers to do business with. This is directly embedded in our process design,” says Feikema.

3. Do the Pilot in the Most Challenging Market

It may be tempting to test a procurement solution in an easy market, but it’s not always the best approach. DSM adopted a different strategy: it started with the most challenging market. By doing so, it was able to identify and address potential issues early on. The company piloted the new procurement system in Brazil, which has a complex tax system. This approach helped it learn a lot about the solution and processes, making the global rollout much smoother.

Brazil has a complex tax system with multiple federal, state, and local taxes. The country has implemented several tax incentives to promote sustainability and environmental protection, making it an interesting pilot case.

4. Standardize Where Possible

Standardizing the pilot process design across all countries led to immediate efficiency gains for DSM. The design was only modified to comply with local tax or regulations. This standardization streamlined procurement processes globally, accelerating rollouts and increasing transparency and efficiency.

Procurement processes that include sustainability focus on buying products and services with positive environmental and social impact. This includes using sustainable materials, choosing suppliers with a strong sustainability record, and considering the entire lifecycle of a product or service. Standardization enables easy replication of processes and, by incorporating sustainability and standardizing their procurement processes, organizations like DSM can scale their sustainability impact.

5. Don’t Forget Change Management

Digitization relies on the implementation of new technologies and processes, and success in this endeavor is contingent on the participation of all employees. Without their buy-in, return on investment will be negatively impacted. Therefore, change management must be a key component of any transformation program.

To that end, DSM dedicated significant attention to change management by establishing an expert desk to support suppliers and assist with contract implementation, as well as a global team of 270 “champions” to help with adoption and guide users through new procurement processes. These champions were able to communicate in the local language and provide training to end users. Many young employees and the new generation of workers desire to be a part of sustainable business practices and goals, which has also contributed to the success of the adoption of these new technologies and processes.

“We made communication, training, and change management part of program management. We approached our program not as the implementation of a tool, but as a real business transformation. Users are central to the success of our transformation program,” concludes Feikema.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 麻豆原创.