麻豆原创 is expanding the Joule solution across 麻豆原创 Concur solutions and introducing new automation capabilities:

• A new integration between Joule and Microsoft 365 Copilot, now available, embeds travel and expense tasks into everyday productivity tools. Employees can create and submit expense reports, upload receipts, book travel and receive policy guidance in 麻豆原创 Concur solutions without leaving Microsoft applications.
• Two new Joule Agents further streamline expense compliance and reporting.
  • Expense Automation Agent automatically creates and populates expense reports for employees so all they have to do is review, refine and submit.
  • Expense Pre-Submit Audit Agent validates receipts and flags discrepancies before submission to reduce report rejection and reimbursement delays.
  • Both agents are currently available through the 麻豆原创 Early Adopter Care program with general availability expected later this year.
• New AI-based rule creation tools simplify the complex task of managing policy rules in the Complete by 麻豆原创 Concur and Amex GBT, Concur Travel and Concur Expense solutions.
• The 麻豆原创 Sales Cloud solution now integrates with Booking Agent to streamline workflows and enhance productivity for sales teams.

麻豆原创 Concur and American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) , an AI-enabled codeveloped solution for booking, servicing, payments and expensing. New capabilities include AI-enabled travel support with handoff to a live travel counselor and a specialized home page for travel managers. Concur Expense also integrates with Amex GBT Egencia for customers worldwide.

Joint customers of 麻豆原创 Concur solutions and can now create and manage American Express Virtual Cards in Concur Expense, supporting employee spending with controls and added security. The virtual cards can also be used in Concur Travel. This capability is available now to select U.S.-based American Express庐 Corporate and Business customers using Concur Expense with availability for all such customers planned for Q3 2026.

麻豆原创 Concur teams up with Visa to integrate Concur Expense and Visa through the Visa Commercial Integrated Partner program. Initially, real-time notifications (RTN) from Visa card swipes will automatically create expenses in Concur Expense. This capability is planned to be available through 麻豆原创 Early Adopter Care in Q3 2026. 麻豆原创 Concur solutions will now support RTN from all major credit card networks.

Additionally, 麻豆原创 Concur solutions are advancing corporate travel with enhanced booking, expanded global access and intelligent traveler support. The new experience in Concur Travel supports guest bookings, expanded Cleartrip content in India and additional airline options. TripIt Pro adds Image to Plan with Apple Intelligence and expanded Risk Alerts to help travelers organize itineraries and monitor disruptions.

Learn about鈥痶hese or join the . 

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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 2025 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
漏 2026 麻豆原创 SE. All rights reserved.
麻豆原创 and other 麻豆原创 products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 麻豆原创 SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

Heartland Dental is the largest dental support organization in the United States, with over 3,000 supported doctors in more than 1,900 supported practices across 39 states and Washington, D.C. But beyond numbers, what sets Heartland apart is its tight knit community and people culture. As Jerome shared, “The first thing I associate with Heartland is community; we鈥檙e doctor-led. In our support role, we don鈥檛 tell dentists how to practice. Our role is to make their lives easier鈥攅nabling dentists to concentrate on patient care.”

Making lives easier is a vision Heartland shares not only for its supported dentists but for its own operations. The company’s digital journey began “backwards” starting in 2018 with 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (麻豆原创 BTP), instead of with ERP, to resolve disparate data from all over. Once 麻豆原创 BTP was established and adopted by the organization, it then began to incorporate .

What makes this journey truly stand out is how Heartland is using technology to serve people, supported through seamless integration with tools like 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, embedded聽AI鈥攕uch as smart invoice management鈥攁nd embedded analytics. These features are freeing up time and resources so teams can focus on what matters most: supporting doctors and improving patient care.

The team has rolled out聽麻豆原创 Build Work Zone across its supported practices and is investing in聽AI tools like 聽to help employees access information faster, automate repetitive tasks, and focus on what really matters鈥攑atient care and experiences. Jerome explained, “Just like we take the administrative burden off our supported doctors, 麻豆原创 takes the tech burden off us, so we can focus on supporting doctors and their teams.鈥�

Heartland’s next big milestone is going live with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition聽and taking AI a step further to automation.

Heartland Dental鈥檚 story shows that with the strategic adoption of technological innovations, it鈥檚 possible to build a future-ready healthcare support organization grounded in people and purpose.

Chris Putvinski is a communications specialist at 麻豆原创.

For 麻豆原创 Design, this mindset has been a guiding principle that informs how we build experiences for businesses globally.

As part of my , I had the opportunity to speak with Nisha Balaraman, a user researcher here at 麻豆原创. Our conversation took a deep dive into the essential role of user perspectives in shaping the design process.

While her career began in cognitive science and human-computer interaction, Nisha has taken a nonlinear path to user research by moving through content strategy and product management first. Since Nisha has always been passionate about research and design, her focus on the craft has stemmed from a curiosity of understanding people鈥檚 interactions with different products and hearing their stories.

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Listening as the foundation of design

For me, one of the highlights of our discussion was when I asked Nisha to explain user research in terms that a six-year-old could understand. She likened the process to watching a child play with their favorite toy, understanding why they are playing with that game, observing how they interact with it, and what causes their frustration. This outlook mirrors the design process of observing users in their own environment and then taking those insights back to make the next version even better.

This conversation brought me back to a time earlier in my career when I had to explain user research to my grandmother. She was a great chef who got a lot of joy from feeding her family. I explained that my work was like asking people what they loved about a dish and refining the recipe to just for their preferences.

At 麻豆原创, we aim to use this same approach.聽 We play, listen, and experiment, always with the end user in mind. It鈥檚 about pinpointing the things that we can add to products and solutions that will make it sticky for users to use it more and more. For example, initiatives like the makes customer feedback an integral part of the user experience, keeping real user voices at the center of how we design and build at 麻豆原创.

Observing real users in their context

This mindset is essential as we navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of enterprise technology. User expectations have been shifting, and our role as designers is to meet those expectations with solutions that come from a thoughtful understanding of their needs.

Relating to shifting user expectations, Nisha shared her work on redesigning a travel and expense homepage at 麻豆原创 Concur, where observing users in their own context helped the team strike the right balance between helpful personalization and respecting user privacy.

She watched users search for travel options, seek assistance, and interact with the homepage, and took note of those insights. Seeing firsthand how people were using their expense and travel page helped Nisha see where personalization enhanced the experience and where it crossed into intrusion. It was important for her to see users in action and get customer feedback in their context and habitat.

Real user feedback provides critical guidance on creating solutions that are both effective for executing process and intuitive for users.

Diversity as the secret sauce

We also discussed the challenges and rewards of inclusive research. Building global, universal experiences means actively seeking diverse perspectives, even when recruiting participants is tough or deadlines loom large.

Having a diverse set of participants can mean different things depending on the project. It can be where the participant is from, their level of expertise, their professional background, or a few other characteristics. Despite these obstacles, the payoff is worth it. One of our jobs in the 麻豆原创 Design organization is to build universal experiences, and for this diversity can be the secret sauce behind meaningful experiences.

These principles are reflected in our 鈥攁 testament to our commitment to making diversity the driving force in our design work and ensuring our solutions can support users across geographies, industries, and roles.

By listening attentively to our users, we can gain access to the insights that drive innovation in our products. My conversation with Nisha reaffirmed a core belief that thoughtful, inclusive user research isn鈥檛 just an add-on, it鈥檚 the foundation of better design.

At 麻豆原创, design is a form of play grounded in empathy, experimentation, and the voices of our users.

Arin Bhowmick is chief design officer of 麻豆原创.

In times of uncertainty, spend is one of the levers companies can actively control. Leaders are expected to deliver not only savings, but also resilience, sustainability, and risk-aware processes.

At , we introduced several new AI capabilities to bring more automation, deeper integration, and smarter insights across our . These innovations are focused on improving outcomes: reducing risk, strengthening supply chains, increasing productivity, and freeing people to focus on higher-value work. They ensure spend continues to fulfill its elevated role as a driver of business growth and resilience while helping customers stay ahead of evolving demands.

Next-gen 麻豆原创 Ariba brings deeper AI integrations and new AI assistants in Joule

麻豆原创 is rolling out the next generation of solutions for source-to-pay to automate the power of procurement, improve cost savings, ensure compliance, and build supply chain resilience. Next-gen 麻豆原创 Ariba is the world’s most modern source-to-pay solution designed to power the future of procurement.

The first AI-native source-to-pay suite redefines what is possible today and sets the course for the future. With businesses facing ever-present change, our customers can take advantage of a solution that’s built to endure — intelligent, integrated, and scalable. The capabilities delivered as part of next-gen 麻豆原创 Ariba will empower businesses to tackle today’s challenges and excel in the future.

Next-gen 麻豆原创 Ariba is built on 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (麻豆原创 BTP), and has a completely redesigned user experience, embedded analytics, and seamless integration with 麻豆原创 Cloud ERP public and private applications.

The advanced capabilities and benefits of next-gen 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions offer the following:

• Accelerated value realization: Faster adoption with intuitive interfaces and guided workflows
• Deeper insights: Actionable analytics that translate into tangible savings and operational improvements
• Empowered teams: A more productive experience for procurement professionals

Next-gen 麻豆原创 Ariba capabilities will be rolled out starting in Q1 2026.

麻豆原创 also introduced new agentic and generative AI capabilities across the 麻豆原创 Ariba suite to help organizations optimize productivity and decision-making. Planned for release in Q1 2026, a new Joule Agent for bid analysis automatically compares supplier bid data, including total cost, to give procurement teams insight and recommendations for award decisions.

麻豆原创 also added three AI features to the 麻豆原创 Ariba procurement portfolio:

• AI supplier-response summary will use to help review, analyze, and summarize supplier responses to questionnaires, helping procurement specialists make more informed decisions. This is planned to be generally available in Q1 2026.聽
• Joule for simplified invoice creation will help employees outside accounts payable to easily submit invoices from for processing with minimal input. The feature will be generally available in Q4 2025.
• Intelligent contracting will use Joule to automatically extract key information, generate summaries, and search historical contracts for discrepancies and compliance issues. This feature will be generally available in Q4 2025.

As part of the broader 麻豆原创 Ariba portfolio, is now globally available. The solution provides a single-entry point for all procurement requests to simplify intake, improve compliance, and give employees full visibility into status updates. With Joule, users can easily submit requests or follow guided steps, while the system orchestrates processes across 麻豆原创 and non-麻豆原创 systems.

Learn more at our upcoming webinar, on November 20, 2025. to see how organizations can streamline intake processes and drive meaningful results.

New AI enhancements in 麻豆原创 Fieldglass connect the right external talent to the right roles

New AI enhancements to the portfolio make it easier to match potential external workers with available positions by automatically analyzing role descriptions to determine the skills required for each position.

The new skills-based hiring feature automatically analyzes role descriptions to determine the skills required for each position, reducing the time to source potential candidates by up to 50 percent. By accelerating candidate matching, organizations can count on a faster, more cohesive, and efficient hiring process.

This feature is generally available and works in conjunction with existing AI features, including resume analysis and job description creation.

麻豆原创 Concur and American Express Global Business Travel make business travel easier, smarter and more impactful for organizations everywhere

with American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT). Complete by 麻豆原创 Concur and Amex GBT is a co-developed solution that will combine booking, servicing, payments, and expensing into one experience with AI at its core. The solution will benefit from 麻豆原创 Concur and Amex GBT technology and business travel expertise. Complete customers will also have access to Amex GBT鈥檚 unmatched marketplace, software, and services via Complete, offering greater incentives and cost savings.

Smarter AI for travel and expense management in 麻豆原创 Concur

We also introduced new AI capabilities for that will streamline reporting, strengthen fraud prevention, and simplify travel planning, helping organizations better control costs while improving the employee experience.

These innovations include:

• The Receipt Analysis Agent, a newly embedded Joule Agent in , will go beyond basic receipt scanning, automatically completing missing information, determining expense types, and verifying vendor details, even for unknown vendors, to deliver accurate results without iterative learning. General availability for these features is expected for Q4 2025.
• , the automated expense-audit service from 麻豆原创 Concur now features an AI-generated receipt checker that flags receipts likely created by AI or online generators, helping auditors stop fraudulent claims. The service is currently generally available.
• A new pre-spend planner tool uses generative AI to estimate trip budgets based on policies and itineraries, while also providing relevant travel advisories to keep travelers informed. General availability is planned for early 2026 and Concur Expense customers can take advantage of the pre-spend planner at no extra cost. It will be available to Concur Travel customers later in the first half of 2026

Partnerships and integrations

麻豆原创 Concur has enhanced its integration with to further automate how ride and meal expenses are processed, providing better visibility to executives and business users. Ride and meal receipts are automatically routed into , with detailed tax, tip, and itemization data, resulting in cleaner data, fewer manual corrections, and faster reimbursement.

Looking ahead

麻豆原创鈥檚 latest innovations across procurement, external workforce, and travel and expense help customers achieve positive outcomes such as cost savings, reducing risk, strengthening supply chains, creating value, improving productivity, and freeing people up to do higher-value work.

Etosha Thurman is chief marketing officer for 麻豆原创 Finance and Spend Management.

Whichever side of the fence you fall on, business travel remains vital to build working relationships and drive growth. Yet, there are certain topics relating to company travel initiatives that don鈥檛 have full stakeholder agreement. To understand the perspectives, challenges, and opportunities, it鈥檚 vital that leaders know where the disconnects lie.

The asked 3,750 business travelers, 700 travel managers, and 600 chief financial officers (CFOs) about friction points in business travel. These are the main areas where we found some disagreement.

The need for business travel

The overwhelming majority (94%) of business travelers believe travel is helpful, if not essential, to success in their roles. Yet, 43% of CFOs say more than half of their company鈥檚 business travel could effectively be replaced by teleconferencing or other communication methods that don鈥檛 require travel. A third (33%) of travel managers view the tilt towards virtual meeting options as a direct threat to their company鈥檚 business travel.

Employee willingness to travel

There鈥檚 a disconnect over a perceived lack of enthusiasm to travel. Seventy percent of business travelers are very willing to travel over the next 12 months, marking an increase from 67% in 2023. Yet, this optimism is not universally shared within organizations. Thirty-five percent of travel managers view employees鈥� unwillingness as a potential threat to business travel and nearly half (45%) of CFOs believe employee reluctance or refusal to travel could negatively impact company health within the next year. While many employees are very willing to hit the road, concerns remain among CFOs and travel managers about whether travel enthusiasm is widespread enough to fully support business goals.

Changes in travel budgets

Each role has a different view on how travel budgets are evolving. Nearly half (48%) of business travelers are worried that their company鈥檚 travel budgets will remain stagnant or decrease this year. On the bright side, only 24% of CFOs and 22% of travel managers say budgets will be reduced or stay the same鈥攕uggesting a disconnect between employee fears and management鈥檚 financial outlook.

The roles that hold the most influence

There鈥檚 a perception gap over who influences business travel decision-making. Business travelers believe travel managers (37%) and CFOs (36%) have similar influence, significantly ahead of their own at 28%. However, travel managers are broadly aligned in feeling they (43%) have nearly the same amount of influence as CFOs (41%), compared to only 16% for business travelers. CFOs strongly disagree, with 69% believing they are the most influential decision-makers, significantly ahead of travel managers (21%) and travelers (9%).

The impact of budget limitations

Although they see travel as critical to their roles, two-thirds (66%) of business travelers say important trips have been curtailed due to costs. In alignment, 69% of travel managers believe their company travel budget fails to reflect the importance of business travel to their organization鈥檚 success. And whilst CFOs acknowledge the problem, there鈥檚 dissent in the ranks. Fifty-one percent of CFOs somewhat agree that budget limitations stop employees from traveling as much as they need to do their jobs well, while just 29% strongly agree.

How data can help to solve the business travel debate

These findings highlight the different perceptions between travelers, travel managers, and CFOs, for the first time in our 麻豆原创 Concur Global Business Travel Survey. To empower employees to develop professionally and create new opportunities on the road, it鈥檚 vital that every role in the organization aligns on common goals.

Bridging these gaps requires more than dialogue鈥攊t demands visibility. Organizations need a shared source of truth to understand behaviors, align priorities, and make informed decisions. Integrated travel and expense solutions offer companies the data and insights they need to steer their travel programs and budgets in a complex multi-stakeholder environment. 麻豆原创 Concur solutions can help analyze employee spend, drive cost-savings, and ensure efficient business travel.

in the seventh annual 麻豆原创 Concur Global Business Travel Survey.

Charlie Sultan is president of Concur Travel at 麻豆原创 Concur.

The 麻豆原创 Concur Global Business Traveler Survey was conducted by between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets: U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Spain, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia), Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, Brazil, SEA (Singapore, Malaysia), South Africa, Portugal, Switzerland, and Austria.
The 麻豆原创 Concur Global Travel Manager Survey was conducted by between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 700 travel managers, defined as those who direct or administer travel programs for businesses, across seven markets: Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), UK, and U.S.
The 麻豆原创 Concur Global CFO Survey was conducted by between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 600 CFOs across six markets: Germany, Canada, Japan, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), UK, and U.S. 

As part of the collaboration, Alibaba Group will leverage 麻豆原创 Cloud ERP Private for its enterprise infrastructure, as well as a joint go-to-market strategy aimed at delivering accelerated value for customers worldwide.

Alibaba, the Chinese multinational technology company focused on e-commerce and cloud computing, will leverage 麻豆原创 Business Suite for faster maintenance, smooth upgrades and easier integration of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into core business processes. Alibaba Group also plans to deploy 麻豆原创 Business AI, 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform, and 麻豆原创 Ariba, 麻豆原创 Integrated Business Planning, 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors, 麻豆原创 Concur, and 麻豆原创 Emarsys solutions to further optimize its technological backbone, enabling greater agility and resilience in serving its vast ecosystem of businesses and consumers.

鈥淥ur collaboration with 麻豆原创 reinforces our commitment to empowering global businesses with world-class technologies,鈥� Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai said. 鈥淏y combining 麻豆原创鈥檚 enterprise software with Alibaba Cloud鈥檚 robust infrastructure and AI capabilities, we can help customers build smarter, more agile operations.鈥�

The collaboration marks the next chapter in Alibaba鈥檚 and 麻豆原创鈥檚 longstanding partnership focused on enhancing operational efficiency and accelerating innovation for joint customers. A core component of this strategic alliance is a joint go-to-market initiative.

Under the collaboration initially focused on the China market, enterprises will be able to implement 麻豆原创 Integrated Business Planning and embark on the RISE with 麻豆原创 and GROW with 麻豆原创 journeys. It is also planned to be rolled out in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With Alibaba Group as a certified hyperscaler for 麻豆原创 software workloads, Chinese enterprises will also be able to deploy 麻豆原创 Cloud ERP and 麻豆原创 Cloud ERP Private solutions, empowering them with scalable, more secure and intelligent solutions tailored to local business needs. Marking a significant step in enterprise AI integration, 麻豆原创 is also exploring the integration of Alibaba鈥檚 large language model, Qwen, to the generative AI hub in 麻豆原创 AI Core in China to enable enterprise users to access localized generative AI capabilities within 麻豆原创 software applications and Custom AI applications. In parallel, 麻豆原创 is exploring the deployment of its AI Foundation on Alibaba Cloud to bring powerful, scalable AI tools to customers operating in China. Alibaba also will be part of the latest infrastructure-as-a-service certification program to support customers running 麻豆原创鈥檚 enterprise solutions.

鈥淥ur collaboration with Alibaba Group is a testament to the power and flexibility of 麻豆原创鈥檚 cloud solutions,鈥� 麻豆原创 CEO Christian Klein said. 鈥淥ur joint go-to-market strategy can unlock new opportunities for enterprises by providing them with access to a comprehensive suite of tools and services. Together, we can help our joint customers drive innovation, improve operational performance and create new competitive advantages. We look forward to working with Alibaba to shape the future of cloud-powered digital transformation.鈥�

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Media Contact:
Lesa Plingen, +49 622 776 9000, lesa.plingen@sap.com, CET
麻豆原创 麻豆原创 Room; press@sap.com

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 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
漏 2025 麻豆原创 SE. All rights reserved.
麻豆原创 and other 麻豆原创 products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 麻豆原创 SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

This is true for each function within an enterprise. Teams within HR, Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Spend are positioned to drive impact in every aspect of business — from revenue growth to cost management to overall business agility and resilience.

The innovations shared at 麻豆原创 Sapphire in 2025 reflect our commitment to bringing out your best, providing a clear path to guide organizations toward certainty in a time where that is rare. These innovations will empower organizations to navigate the complexities of the current landscape and emerge stronger, more adaptable, and better equipped to face the future. 

Here are a few innovations that we announced that support Finance and Spend teams in delivering increased value.

Introducing embedded virtual cards in 麻豆原创 Ariba

Many organizations work to be nimble as it relates to finding the right supplier at the right time, which can mean introducing one-time vendors into the supplier landscape. While this helps with business agility, it often comes with a cost: time-intensive supplier onboarding processes that involve manual effort that is better used elsewhere. Traditional payment methods, like checks and physical credit cards, not only require more work, they can introduce fraud risk and security vulnerabilities.

That is why 麻豆原创 is embedding virtual card payments into 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying and . We are supporting the flexibility and agility needed to help businesses run at their best. At no additional cost, our customers can now use virtual credit cards for pay on purchase order transactions. With virtual cards, customers can:

• Prevent overcharges and fraud
• Enjoy payment flexibility
• Better manage spend security
• Reduce manual effort of supplier setup processes
• Enhance vendor payment efficiency
• Maintain control of payments made outside of procure-to-pay ERP processes

Using virtual cards requires minimal change management efforts, giving buyers the ability to adjust card parameters based on enterprise-wide objectives without disruption.

麻豆原创 integrates WalkMe Premium with 麻豆原创 Ariba and 麻豆原创 Concur

In a time when digitalization is imperative, minimizing obstacles and reducing change management efforts is key to a smooth business transformation. Time and time again, I hear leaders report that one of the biggest challenges of implementing new software is employee change management.

Introducing WalkMe Premium for 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, a platform that provides real-time, in-app guidance for users to reduce the time and effort associated with adopting new technology in the workplace, empowering employees to maximize business value with 麻豆原创 Ariba. Customers can also take advantage of , which offers users valuable, easy-to-follow training content, all within the 麻豆原创 Concur user interface.

The WalkMe solution is a digital learning platform that helps users apply process knowledge in real time to navigate complex software tasks. With WalkMe Premium integrated directly into 麻豆原创 solutions, employees can access in-app prompts for standard tasks, like creating purchase orders or managing approvals, with pre-configured industry templates that eliminate the need to learn overly technical processes.

The in-app workflow guidance can be adjusted as needed to keep processes up-to-date, allowing for little to no change management effort to ramp employees up faster than ever — all while preserving process compliance. At 麻豆原创, we know that clear, concise user guidance is key to accelerating technology adoption. I expect that the integration of the WalkMe solution into 麻豆原创 solutions will be a gamechanger for organizations experiencing technology updates and changes.

New Joule Agents enhance finance and spend functionality

New agentic AI capabilities are coming to finance and spend solutions with Joule agents that will be integrated across 麻豆原创 Business Suite. These new agents include:

• Expense Report Validation Agent: Uses alerts and guided experiences to help employees fix issues based on past data, company policy, and patterns before submitting reports
• Sourcing Agent: Uses past event data and supplier information to autonomously create sourcing events tailored to specific needs and users can easily modify these events to efficiently manage supply chain disruptions.
• Dispute Resolution Agent: Analyzes dispute details and relevant business records to validate cases and propose solutions
• Accounts Receivables Agent: Uses data related to overdue receivables to perform appropriate follow-up tasks with customers

Additionally, 麻豆原创 Ariba Procurement customers will soon be able use Joule to enhance daily tasks such as retrieving supplier bids, displaying past purchases and approvers, and providing easy access to supplier information. Joule innovations will also be available soon in 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions, enabling users to accelerate existing workflows and processes.

麻豆原创 Taulia Receivables directly integrated into 麻豆原创 finance solutions

Embedded finance capabilities have been expanded with the integration of Receivables Finance, powered by , in 麻豆原创 finance solutions. Finance teams now have a fast, scalable way to unlock capital from outstanding receivables in a time when businesses are battling inflationary pressures, tariffs, and supply chain volatility. This capability can be activated immediately in .

Once activated, 麻豆原创 Taulia Receivables enables users to:

• Dynamically manage working capital
• Accelerate receivables through true sale
• Use Joule-powered insights to make informed liquidity decisions

New 麻豆原创 Ariba Procurement and expense management offerings in 麻豆原创 Business Suite

In keeping with our promise to deliver a connected, suite-first experience for our customers, 麻豆原创 Business Suite includes extended 麻豆原创 Ariba and 麻豆原创 Concur functionality.

The newly announced 麻豆原创 Business Suite application packages align with the strategic business needs of our customers with line of business-specific bundles, delivering an improved buying experience. With strategic sourcing package, our procurement customers can manage the source-to-contract process from start to finish. Within the 麻豆原创 Finance Premium package, customers have access to operational procurement capabilities, including requisitioning, invoice management, and B2B collaboration, along with expense management capabilities from 麻豆原创 Concur.

Achieving success in a new era of procurement

Amid the unpredictable nature of today鈥檚 finance and spend landscape, agility is the secret to long-lasting success. 麻豆原创鈥檚 advanced AI capabilities, powered by harmonized data and paired with an integrated suite of applications, ensure productivity, accuracy, and an optimized employee experience.

With 麻豆原创, you can handle anything that comes your way.

If you did not get a chance to attend 麻豆原创 Sapphire, access .

Etosha Thurman is chief marketing officer for Finance and Spend Management at 麻豆原创.

These changes bring vast challenges but large potential rewards for those who can upskill their teams and tackle the looming talent crunch.

To set up their organizations for growth, CFOs will need to be nimble in executing their strategies, evaluate the technologies they invest in, prioritize cybersecurity, integrate ESG reporting, and tackle talent crunch.  

1. Bringing to life 2024 growth plans 

In 2024, many CFOs focused on devising growth and reinvention plans to scale their businesses in a sustainable manner. In this quest, they had to be nimble and creative: according to , over 80 percent of CEOs thought that their company would no longer be viable if it did not try to reinvent itself. In order to succeed in 2025, CFOs will need to continue building trust with CEOs to partner on executing these plans successfully. 

To sell their vision in 2025, CFOs will also need to build their leadership image with the wider business, internal and external stakeholders. This is why they will need to dedicate resources to mastering their storytelling skills. This will enable finance leaders to ensure that peers and colleagues are aligned with the business鈥� short- and long-term planning, especially as it undergoes reinvention in challenging market conditions.  

2. Evaluating technologies for long-term benefit and efficiency 

According to the recent CFO Insights research by 麻豆原创 Concur, 94 percent of finance leaders say that AI has already helped improve decision-making. Also, 73 percent see a positive impact on cost and risk reduction. In 2025, CFOs need to lead the business-wide charge on delving deeper into the technologies they are investing in. As a number of companies are rushing to adopt AI, CFOs are uniquely positioned to ensure this adoption is truly valuable to the company. To do so, they can drive establishing ROI measures to ensure it is used productively and ethically.聽聽

They will need to be involved in critically evaluating the technologies that businesses invest in, ensuring that risks are properly assessed and in accordance with compliance or responsible-use frameworks.

With AI becoming an essential business tool across many industries, CFOs will need to make sure that it adheres to federal and international AI regulatory frameworks. They should also continue investing in new capabilities to strengthen their compliance, auditing, and planning toolkits. Because CFOs have a holistic view of their business鈥� data and needs, they have a unique insight into the most efficient ways to use .  

3. Prioritizing cybersecurity  

The global average cost of a data breach in 2024 is $4.88 million 鈥� 10 percent up on 2023, according to . The ubiquity of generative AI provides bad actors with more tools to commit complex fraud schemes. Consequently, in 2025, CFOs will need to dedicate resources to protecting their organizations from cybercrime in the coming year and onwards. According to CFO Insights research, 59 percent of finance leaders plan to increase their cybersecurity budget to respond to growing threats.

Because CFOs understand business risk and reporting, they are well-placed to take an oversight role. This best positions them to work with their business鈥� Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) to assess investments and the maturity of security arrangements, as well as budgets dedicated to this. 

Another way that CFOs can protect their organizations鈥� financial assets and data is to appropriately prepare their teams. Since human error remains the biggest risk for a cyber-attack, it is essential that CFOs educate their teams on best practices and develop incident response plans.  

4. Integrating ESG reporting 

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks are becoming increasingly important for businesses as wider regulation schemes are established globally. For CFOs to set up their business for success in 2025, they should embrace ESG as more than just a set of rules, but as a means to build a data base and strengthen their business鈥� profile. 

Forty-eight percent of finance leaders are focusing on sustainability and ESG to drive growth this year. Not only does collecting ESG data help boost a business鈥� revenue, but it presents them with a unique opportunity to see how they are performing and inform future related decisions. For example, giving employees sustainable business travel options and recording their decision can help inform future reporting. CFOs 鈥嬧�嬧�媠hould also set measurable goals for how sustainability data will be used to enhance the business鈥� performance and value creation. These goals will guide the development of the organization鈥檚 staff and its infrastructure. 

A CFO鈥檚 focus on integrating ESG reporting is one element of an even bigger shift 鈥� a shift from carbon counting to carbon accounting. In the future, organization鈥檚 entire carbon impact is going to become an integral part of its balance sheet, measured and managed with the same precision as the financial bottom line. A will form part of a more integrated view of reporting that goes way beyond financials. Adding this green ledger will help companies to a more holistic approach uniting financial and carbon accounting, making sustainability profitable and profitability sustainable.  

5. Retaining employees despite the “talent crunch“

In 2025, the workforce will continue to evolve, as baby boomers retire and young finance professionals re-evaluate their working priorities. CFOs will need to retain employees and keep them enthusiastic. They can do this by better understanding younger employees鈥� values and adapting development, training, and recruitment policies accordingly.  

They will also need to collaborate with HR to foster continuous learning, reskilling, and adaptability for staff. This same flexibility should be applied to bringing in new technology. By accepting to adopt these, businesses can drive more competition for the right talent.  

Similarly, CFOs can embrace using technologies such as AI to automate certain tasks, freeing people for more meaningful work. This not only resonates with the values of younger workers but will highlight to employees that their time is valued, boosting retention.  

A CFO鈥檚 role continues to evolve in challenging market and macroeconomic conditions, so adaptation and flexibility are key to unlocking rewards for themselves, their teams, and their organizations. Embracing the outlined strategies promises CFOs can continue to secure the business鈥� future and steer it toward success.

is chief financial officer for 麻豆原创 Concur.

As our world demands organizational adaptability at warp speed, business travel also is transforming in a fast-paced and complex environment. At our annual flagship event for 麻豆原创 Concur users and experts, we delved into the power of AI, sharing insights and experiences. Whether customers and partners attended in person in Seattle, Washington, or virtually, they all gained new perspectives on how to navigate the complexities of tomorrow鈥檚 business landscape with confidence.聽

Global participation and experts on-site

Customers and partners joined 麻豆原创 Concur Fusion from all over the world, representing 75 countries. At the Seattle Convention Center, attendees could explore the new Fusion Pavilion in the exhibition hall and talk to 麻豆原创 Concur experts and 43 exhibiting partners. We offered over 180 unique learning opportunities including Ask the Expert and breakout sessions, micro forums, and product trainings to explore how 麻豆原创 Concur solutions can deliver innovation in travel and expense while unlocking efficiencies.

Debut: Integrating Joule with 麻豆原创 Concur to enhance user experience

During the event鈥檚 day one keynote, we announced new generative AI innovations and an expanded partnership with American Express.

麻豆原创 is embedding its generative AI copilot Joule into 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, bringing the portfolio one step closer toward a fully automated travel and expense management process.

In the Concur Expense solution, Joule will help answer employees鈥� questions and work to ensure that expense reports are ready for submission with minimal effort. For example, Joule can assemble a timeline view of expenses, review for mistakes or missing expenses, and make recommendations for how best to complete the expense report. General availability is expected in the second quarter of 2025.

In the Concur Travel solution, Joule will be embedded to help plan locations for off-site meetings, providing meeting location recommendations and high-level flight and hotel cost estimates based on meeting attendees鈥� origination points. Once the meeting site and hotel options are selected, Joule will create an e-mail template to send to team members with a link to book directly in Concur Travel. Joule with Concur Travel is now in the 麻豆原创 Early Adopter Care program with general availability expected later this year.

Automating expense management in Concur Expense

On stage, we also announced an expanded partnership with American Express to help simplify expense management for shared customers. 麻豆原创 Concur and American Express are launching a real-time authorization data capability whereby American Express Corporate Card purchases automatically generate and categorize expenses in Concur Expense at the time of spend. This feature will first be available for meal expenses. It also will include mobile notifications that send the employee expense policy reminders in the moment.

We also are working to expand access to our integration with Mastercard, which automates expense entry at the time of purchase, so more Mastercard customers can benefit from a simpler and more efficient experience.

Additionally, American Express Global Business Travel has integrated its hotel marketplace, featuring over 2 million properties across 180 countries with competitive rates, into the new Concur Travel solution, providing customers with access to comprehensive hotel content, including negotiated programs and preferred partner rates.

Announcing 麻豆原创 Concur Innovation Award winners

On day two of the event, . These companies have leveraged 麻豆原创 Concur solutions to revolutionize their travel and expense processes, enhancing efficiency and visibility. The 2025 winners include L’Or茅al Groupe, which streamlined user provisioning between HR and expense systems, and Weatherford, which automated its global travel and expense program, significantly improving data integrity and compliance.

UST, Coca-Cola, E.ON, and Mayekawa also have demonstrated exceptional innovation. UST consolidated its T&E processes; Coca-Cola unified its travel booking and expense systems; E.ON automated data collection for GDPR compliance; and Mayekawa reduced its finance team’s workload by more than 12,000 hours. These successes highlight the transformative power of 麻豆原创 Concur solutions in driving business efficiency and growth. We are very proud to recognize these exceptional organizations as 2025 麻豆原创 Concur Innovation Award winners.

Move to future T&E: Spotlight on generative AI

麻豆原创 Concur is creating a world where travel and expenses practically manage themselves. 鈥攚ith touchless, intuitive experiences enabled by industry-leading 麻豆原创 Business AI and close partnerships with top payment providers. The Concur Travel and Concur Expense solutions are part of 麻豆原创 Business Suite, 麻豆原创鈥檚 comprehensive portfolio of integrated solutions that combines our core cloud ERP and line-of-business applications, fueled by unmatched business data and actionable AI.

Chris Juneau is SVP and head of 麻豆原创 Concur Product Marketing.

麻豆原创 is embedding its generative AI copilot Joule into 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, bringing the portfolio one step closer toward a fully automated travel and expense management process:

• Joule in the Concur Expense solution will help answer employees鈥� questions and ensure that expense reports are ready for submission with minimal effort. General availability is expected in the second quarter 2025.
• Joule in the Concur Travel solution — now in the 麻豆原创 Early Adopter Care program with general availability expected later this year — will help plan locations for offsite meetings, providing meeting location recommendations and high-level flight and hotel cost estimates.

麻豆原创 Concur also announced an expanded partnership with American Express to simplify expense management for shared customers. 麻豆原创 Concur and American Express are launching a real-time authorization data capability whereby American Express Corporate Card purchases automatically generate and categorize expenses in Concur Expense at the time of spend. This feature will first be available for meal expenses. It will also include mobile notifications that send the employee expense policy reminders in the moment.

麻豆原创 Concur is also working to expand access to its integration with , which automates expense entry at the time of purchase, so more Mastercard customers can benefit from a simpler and more efficient experience.

Additionally, , featuring over 2 million properties across 180 countries with competitive rates, into the new Concur Travel solution, providing customers with access to comprehensive hotel content, including negotiated programs and preferred partner rates.

With its Concur Travel and Concur Expense solutions, 麻豆原创 remains the market share leader for worldwide travel and expense management software, * These leading solutions are part of , 麻豆原创鈥檚 comprehensive portfolio of integrated solutions that combines our core cloud ERP and line-of-business applications, fueled by unmatched   business data and actionable AI.

To learn more about  or to join the virtual event, visit the .

Visit the . Follow 麻豆原创 at .

Media Contact:
Kelly Sheldon Murray, +1 (978) 708-6821, kelly.murray@sap.com, ET
麻豆原创 麻豆原创 Room; press@sap.com

*IDC Worldwide Travel and Expense Management Software Market Shares, 2023: Resurgence of Business Travel Heralds a New Chapter in Travel and Expense Software, doc #US51658524, August 2024

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 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
漏 2025 麻豆原创 SE. All rights reserved.
麻豆原创 and other 麻豆原创 products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 麻豆原创 SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

As we dive into 2025, 麻豆原创 is already making waves in the spend management arena. Building on last year’s momentum, we are constantly innovating our market-leading solutions so you can reduce costs, mitigate risks, improve collaboration, and make sure every spend decision is aligned with your business strategy to help drive your business forward.

Q4 Breakthroughs: Highlighting Our Latest Innovations

It was an honor to collaborate with so many of you last year. When your business is at its best, so is ours, and this mutual partnership is what fuels our commitment to innovation. In Q4, our solutions鈥斅槎乖� Ariba, 麻豆原创 Business Network, 麻豆原创 Concur, and 麻豆原创 Fieldglass鈥攎ade significant strides, particularly in 麻豆原创 Business AI. Here are just a few highlights:

• : Now generally available, this solution can provide a single source of truth for all payment and supplier data, enhanced with AI-enabled spend classifications and supplier insights. It helps streamline spend processes, cut procurement costs, manage supplier risks, and track sustainability goals.
• Generative AI in 麻豆原创 Business Network Discovery: We鈥檝e introduced generative AI capabilities to help accelerate supplier search and improve network catalog product descriptions and summaries with .
• AI flight recommendations in Concur Travel: This new feature can suggest policy-compliant flight options based on user preferences, loyalty programs, available inventory, and other factors.
• Joule, 麻豆原创鈥檚 AI copilot, got cozy in 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions this past quarter with the introduction of , including:
  • Interactive guidance for creating and scheduling new reports through natural conversation, helping to navigate report creation, searches, and data insights
  • Quick answers to issues or questions with concise and easy-to-digest summaries of relevant information and helpful links to learn more
  • AI-assisted job posting and statement of work template selection, recommending the most relevant one and pre-filling data fields to save you time

These innovations align perfectly with the findings. The study highlights data and analytics reporting as the top priority for procurement transformation, a need we鈥檙e addressing head-on with our AI-enhanced solutions.

New Customer Stories and Honors

We built our solutions to elevate spend management from the most mundane part of your day to the most strategic. But don鈥檛 just take my word for it. Discover how companies like , , , and leverage 麻豆原创 solutions for better control and business resilience.

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And if customer stories aren鈥檛 enough, how about customer reviews?

Every quarter, G2 publishes Grid^庐 and Index Reports that rate products based on feedback collected from the user community, along with data compiled from various online platforms and social media networks. In December, G2 announced its Winter 2025 Reports, with 麻豆原创 spend management solutions topping the leaderboards:

• : Leader in Procure to Pay, Strategic Sourcing, and Supplier Relationship Management
• : Supply Chain Business Networks
• : Leader in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing
• : Leader in Vendor Management

In the , 麻豆原创 moved up to sixth place on G2鈥檚 top 10 companies list. In the Winter 2025 G2 Reports alone, 麻豆原创 Ariba, 麻豆原创 Business Network, 麻豆原创 Concur, and 麻豆原创 Fieldglass won 107 awards across multiple categories. Only 4% of software and services on G2 receive a Leader badge, making this recognition truly special!

Media and Analyst Accolades

Our innovations continue to garner industry recognition. Here are a few key highlights:

• won the  in the Procurement/ERP Software category from Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
• 麻豆原创 Ariba was inducted into Spend Matters鈥� for being listed on its “50 Providers to Know” list for 10 years or more.
• Over the holidays, 麻豆原创 was named a Leader in the .* The report is based on IDC MarketScape鈥檚 comprehensive assessment of 麻豆原创 and feedback from our customers. Explore the findings and why 麻豆原创 was recognized in this article from my colleague Baber Farooq.
• 麻豆原创 Concur received the , which bases its Top Rated awards solely on customer feedback. Over 1,500 verified praised 麻豆原创 Concur for its positive user experience, clear budget visibility, mobile receipt capture, time-saving features during usage and reimbursement processes, seamless integration with productivity tools, and the convenience of its mobile app.

See you at 麻豆原创 Concur Fusion

We鈥檙e thrilled to announce that the 麻豆原创 Concur Fusion event is back in 2025 and will be held in beautiful Seattle, Washington. As the premier travel and expense event, 麻豆原创 Concur Fusion offers over 200 learning opportunities, access to experts and consultants, and hands-on training to help you unlock the full potential of your 麻豆原创 Concur solutions. It鈥檚 an experience you can鈥檛 miss.

Looking Ahead

As we move further into 2025, we remain committed to delivering innovation that addresses your most pressing business needs. We鈥檙e excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and look forward to partnering with you to drive your business forward. Whether it鈥檚 through our AI-enhanced solutions, our comprehensive spend management suite, or events like 麻豆原创 Concur Fusion, we鈥檙e here to support your success every step of the way.

Thank you for your continued trust and partnership. Here鈥檚 to a transformative and successful 2025!

*IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Direct Spend 2024 Vendor Assessment, #US52734424e, December 2024

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

Looking ahead to 2025, several key trends are poised to reshape the landscape, promising both challenges and opportunities for forward-thinking organizations. To gain insight into what lies ahead, we鈥檝e reached out to Intelligent Spend and Business Network executives at 麻豆原创 for their predictions.

The AI-Powered Procurement Revolution

Etosha Thurman, chief marketing officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 麻豆原创, envisions a future where artificial intelligence (AI) takes center stage in procurement:

鈥淚n 2025, AI and cloud-based solutions will position procurement at the heart of data-driven decision-making, enabling real-time insights and freeing teams to focus on high-impact initiatives. The future belongs to procurement professionals who blend strategic thinking with relationship management and a combination of functional and technological expertise. These skills will be crucial in fostering cross-functional collaboration and advancing corporate goals, from supply assurance to compliance to sustainability. In the digital age, spend management expertise extends to not just supporting, but also steering the business.鈥�

This prediction underscores the critical role that AI will play in transforming procurement from a support function to a strategic driver of business value.

Streamlining Processes Through Orchestration

Manoj Swaminathan, president and chief product officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 麻豆原创, highlights the growing importance of process orchestration:

鈥淭he technology landscape is rapidly evolving, and organizations are grappling with a heterogeneous mix of solutions. Many companies now employ multiple systems to meet their end-to-end business needs, leading to siloed processes and confused employees. Procurement, in particular, often suffers from fragmented systems handling everything from purchase requests to supplier onboarding, creating inefficiencies and frustration.

To address this challenge, we鈥檙e seeing a shift toward process orchestration 鈥� a centralized approach that connects disparate systems, streamlining procurement inquiries and status updates. Our newest solution, 麻豆原创 Ariba Intake Management, can tackle this head-on by automating request creation and providing a single point of entry so that organizations can empower employees to adhere to policies and regulations without the burden of manual corrections. This approach can not only save valuable time and resources but also drive user adoption and increase compliance and efficiency, positioning companies to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.鈥�

The Rise of a New Generation of Procurement Leaders

Jeff Collier, chief revenue officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 麻豆原创, predicts a significant shift in procurement leadership:

鈥淚n 2025, a shift will occur in the procurement landscape as a wave of fresh faces step into the chief procurement officer role. AI-driven procurement strategies, ever-evolving requirements, and changing demographics have created the perfect storm for new leaders to emerge. As the industry stands on the precipice of transformation, organizations must prioritize nurturing existing talent, upskilling their workforce, and attracting bright young professionals to the procurement function. The stage is set for junior procurement leaders, who have proven their mettle during the challenging COVID-19 years, to rise to the occasion, particularly those who can showcase tangible achievements in sustainability, AI integration, or risk management. Brace yourselves for a year marked by new names, fresh perspectives, and a reshaped procurement industry in 2025.鈥�

The Power of AI Across Business Networks

Val Blatt, chief revenue officer for 麻豆原创 Business Network, offers insights into how AI will transform business networks:

鈥淚n the near term, AI is already making waves by optimizing process efficiency and information sharing within and across companies in a supply chain. As we move into 2025 and beyond, we鈥檒l see AI do more to synthesize intelligence and efficiency across areas like risk, demand, and inventory planning, as well as manufacturing and delivery. This evolution becomes even more relevant because no business does business alone, and AI can synthesize and be predictive across company boundaries. We鈥檒l see AI decision support evolve into decision-making 鈥� and, ultimately, automated process execution. These advancements will occur as the need for AI to sense and predict situations with proposed planning recommendations grows, spanning across related functional areas and processes that involve trading partners in a supply chain.

In its Network Adoption Research Study* sponsored by 麻豆原创, IDC found that 鈥淒igital Champions鈥� who use modern, cloud-based tools like AI, analytics, and business networks have grown over 140% in revenue and profit performance indices from 2016 to 2021. As AI capabilities expand to sense, predict, and execute across organizational boundaries, businesses will gain next-level efficiency, visibility, and compliance. This will enable them to maintain a resilient supply chain that delivers on customer promises, especially in times of disruption, by leveraging the collective intelligence of their entire business network.鈥�

The Evolution of Travel and Expense Management

Christopher Juneau, SVP and head of 麻豆原创 Concur Product Marketing, Intelligent Spend and Business Network Marketing & Solutions, (T&E):

鈥淎s leaders strive to position their company for growth in 2025, they will still attempt to maintain employee spending at 2024 levels. Inflation drove higher spending beginning in 2023, resulting in fewer trips in 2024. As inflation slows, many leaders are likely to expect that their T&E budget 鈥� even if flat year over year 鈥� will go further in 2025.

Meanwhile, finance teams and travel managers will adjust their T&E policies to account for AI as more tasks and processes become automated. Will managers need to approve every expense report? Will they need to review them at all? How can policies and rules be modified so that travelers spend as little time in T&E tools as possible? These are some of the questions they will start to ask in 2025.

Investments in technology innovation and security infrastructure will be top priorities. The risks associated with security and privacy incidents will only continue to grow, which means companies are looking for technologies that deliver greater value to customers with lower risk. It is really a balancing act to move fast without disregarding the very important aspects of security and privacy when architecting solutions 鈥� internally and for customers.鈥�

Looking Ahead

As we look to 2025, it鈥檚 clear that the world of spend management and supply chain is on the brink of transformative change. The convergence of AI, sustainability imperatives, and interconnected business ecosystems will reshape how organizations operate and compete.

At 麻豆原创, we鈥檙e not just observing these trends 鈥� we鈥檙e actively shaping them, working to ensure our customers are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of tomorrow鈥檚 business landscape.

For a deeper dive into the future of procurement, be sure to check out . We will also be hosting a global webinar on these findings on February 4, 2025 titled 鈥�.鈥� This is an excellent opportunity to gain comprehensive insights and stay ahead of the curve. We encourage you to read the report and sign up for the webinar to learn more about the exciting developments shaping the industry.

The future may be uncertain, but one thing is clear: those who embrace these emerging trends and technologies will be best positioned to thrive in the dynamic world of 2025 and beyond. As we continue to design and deliver spend management and business network solutions that drive efficiency, leverage AI responsibly, and create greater visibility for businesses of all sizes, we look forward to partnering with our customers on this exciting journey of transformation and growth.

Cindy McKendry is a director for Intelligent Spend and Business Network Corporate Communications at 麻豆原创.

*Source: 鈥淚DC Network Adoption Research Study eBook: Driving Best-in-Class Supply Chain Collaboration with a Business Network,鈥� #US5084723, August 2023, page 18

With more change on the horizon, it is vital to keep these bets in mind to prepare for potential challenges head-on. Over the past year, we鈥檝e witnessed how spend management professionals who stay confident and bet big achieve remarkable results. In fact, according to the , C-suite confidence in the procurement function has increased by 14% in just one year, with 84% of executives now agreeing that procurement is essential for organizational strategy.

As we gear up for 2025 and beyond, let鈥檚 explore these five bets that will solidify spend management’s role as an indispensable part of an organization.

Bet #1: Strategic Collaboration

The first bet that spend management professionals should place is on strategic collaboration. As procurement becomes increasingly integrated with other critical business functions, it is up to procurement professionals to lead these collaborative efforts. Your colleagues are looking to you to take the initiative and ensure that procurement is involved in strategic initiatives that keep your organization agile in the face of uncertainty.

Whether you are partnering with HR to or implementing a in partnership with supply chain, 麻豆原创 is here to support you. Our solutions are designed with collaboration at the forefront, working to minimize miscommunication and simplify business processes so you can focus on what truly matters.

Bet #2: Effortless Compliance

The mere mention of compliance can evoke stress and worry in anyone who has ever worked in spend management. Ensuring every detail is accounted for can be nerve-racking, especially when considering local regulations and sustainability goals. At 麻豆原创, we believe that compliance should not just be simple; it should be truly effortless.

For example, can enable employees to select in-policy vendors from the start. with 麻豆原创 Business Network helps you understand and comply with evolving tax regulations. From complex tax requirements to travel policies, 麻豆原创 can help you eliminate these points of concern before they cause issues.

Bet #3: Seamless Integration

While intraorganizational strategic collaboration is key for an efficient operating model, your software must also be seamlessly integrated to make the most of our connected solutions. Fragmented processes and tools won鈥檛 get you where you need to go, which is why 麻豆原创 is committed to a suite-first strategy that aims to reduce the number of systems used to manage spend.

Whether you are an all-麻豆原创 customer or use third-party technology, we can offer a seamless experience regardless of where you are in your 麻豆原创 journey. From , your single source of truth for all spend data, to that can streamline all your procurement processes, our out-of-the-box solutions help deliver powerful business outcomes across the entire spend management process.

Bet #4: Increased Productivity

The next bet to place is on increased productivity. In recent years, we have seen firsthand how productivity gaps can be detrimental to an organization. Add in unexpected geopolitical and economic events, and you have a recipe for disaster. As the procurement landscape evolves, it is imperative to upskill your workforce to meet evolving demands.

麻豆原创鈥檚 newest innovations, like , can help automate mundane tasks, freeing up bandwidth for making strategic decisions that really count. And increased productivity is not just reserved for key decision-makers 鈥� it benefits every employee at every level.

Bet #5: Informed Decision-Making

Finally, spend management professionals should bet big on informed decision-making. More than ever, it is essential to make choices quickly and confidently, knowing that your decisions are supported by data. That鈥檚 where 麻豆原创 comes in 鈥� solutions like and can deliver the best recommendations for you, helping to take the guesswork out of decisions amid timeline pressure.

With data-informed reports and suggestions, you can be confident that your choices are backed by best-in-class insights. 麻豆原创 helps reduce complexity and can deliver only the insights needed to make the best choices for your business.

New Ways to Streamline Critical Business Processes

To learn more about the innovations shared at 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live in 2024, I encourage you to read this article by my colleague Manoj Swaminathan, president and chief product officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 麻豆原创.

I say it every year, but there is something truly special about spending time with our incredible customers, hearing transformation stories and tales of success across so many organizations. The 麻豆原创 community鈥檚 resilience, drive, and commitment to excellence inspire me greatly.

When it comes to the right tools, best integrations, and data-driven insights, 麻豆原创 is your go-to partner. Our solutions, informed by your feedback, are here to help you win big. As you close out this year and head into a new one, remember that 麻豆原创 is here for you. When you rely on 麻豆原创, you secure the future success of not just your business function, but your entire organization.

Etosha Thurman is chief marketing officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 麻豆原创. 

If you missed out on the action, we unveiled the following cutting-edge innovations in our market-leading solutions:

• is our newest solution that helps automate procurement request creation and orchestrate routing and support across diverse procurement landscapes and complex workflows. It can connect different systems into one central location for procurement inquiries and status updates, so employees can adhere to your organization鈥檚 policies and comply with necessary regulations.
• 麻豆原创鈥檚 generative AI copilot  will be seamlessly integrated across 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, 麻豆原创 Business Network, and 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions. Joule can enable users to manage their most important tasks quickly and accurately across all areas of 麻豆原创鈥檚 spend management portfolio.  
• The can empower suppliers to find new business, improve match potential, and build relationships with buyers using the network catalog. Available early next year, it includes聽generative AI tools to help suppliers load their full suite of offerings into the network catalog faster and with enhanced product descriptions and summaries.聽
• New can deliver next-level insights into your external workforce for reporting, analytics, and market insights all within 麻豆原创 Fieldglass.

Read this article from my colleague Manoj Swaminathan to learn more about our latest spend management and business network enhancements.

Leading brands such as Goldman Sachs, Kraft-Heinz, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Uber, and Warner Music Group joined us at the event to share how they revolutionized their spend management processes with our solutions. Check out to hear these stories and view breakout sessions, strategy talks, and solution deep dives. This free, virtual event is your opportunity to learn from 麻豆原创 experts, customers, and partners.

Thank You, IDC

As a leader in spend management software, 麻豆原创 is dedicated to helping our customers increase control and business resilience by comprehensively managing all sources of spend. Hard work pays off, as 麻豆原创 has retained the No.1 position for market share with 49.6% of 2023 market share for Travel and Expense Management Software, according to the . This is growth from our 2022 market share of 49.4%. 

Also exciting, 麻豆原创 has retained the No.1 position for market share for Procurement Applications according to the . IDC estimates that 麻豆原创 holds a 27.3% market share for 2023, maintaining the top spot ahead of the next six vendors combined.

Additionally, we鈥檙e honored to win two IDC SaaS CSAT awards for Accounts Payable and Contract Lifecycle Management. These awards recognize the leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) vendors in each application market, across 23 markets, that receive the highest customer satisfaction scores based on IDC’s SaaSPath Survey.

Our Customer Awards Reach New Heights

Every quarter, G2 highlights the top-rated solutions in the industry, chosen by the source that matters most: our customers. Q3 was our most successful quarter yet regarding G2 honors, with 麻豆原创 Ariba, 麻豆原创 Business Network, 麻豆原创 Concur, and 麻豆原创 Fieldglass bringing in a whopping 93 awards across multiple categories at the Fall 2024 G2 awards!

麻豆原创 was named a Leader in the following categories:

• is a G2 Fall 2024 Leader in Procure to Pay, Strategic Sourcing, and Supplier Relationship Management.
• is a G2 Fall 2024 Leader in Supply Chain Business Networks.
• is a G2 Fall 2024 Leader in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.
• is a G2 Fall 2024 Leader in Vendor Management.

What鈥檚 more, 麻豆原创 Ariba, 麻豆原创 Concur, and 麻豆原创 Fieldglass have also won Buyer鈥檚 Choice awards from TrustRadius. Winners of a Buyer鈥檚 Choice award are determined by 75% of reviewers selecting a solution for best capabilities, best value for price, and best customer relationship.

We couldn鈥檛 be more grateful to our customers for partnering with us on their spend management transformation journeys, and we鈥檙e honored that the feeling is mutual!

Winning awards from our customers is awesome, but winning with customers is extra special. Last month, customer and 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live in 2024 speaker Daniel Chapman of Warner Music won a in the Innovation in Sourcing category: 鈥淐reating Harmony in Music Procurement: Warner Music Group and 麻豆原创.鈥� This award recognizes organizations and individuals that show innovation, leadership, and transformation in categories critical to the sourcing industry, and we couldn鈥檛 be happier about this win.

Last but definitely not least, I want to congratulate our customer Capgemini for winning a prestigious from  in the Future of Work: Human Capital Management category. The award recognizes Capgemini鈥檚 innovative use of 麻豆原创 Fieldglass Contingent Workforce Management to optimize its global external workforce, resulting in improved efficiency, cost savings, and quality standards.

New Developments on the Horizon

With 2025 just around the corner, I want to thank our customers for betting big on themselves by investing in our cutting-edge spend management and business network solutions. In a time marked by supply chain disruptions and ongoing economic uncertainty, it’s all too easy for businesses to stick with the status quo. However, 麻豆原创 customers are different. They tackle obstacles head-on, transforming them into opportunities. And their foresight to plan for the future is why they will continue to be successful.

Thank you for choosing 麻豆原创 to help solve your biggest challenges. I enjoyed seeing so many of you at 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live and I can鈥檛 wait to catch up with the rest of you on the road.

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

麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower can enable business leaders to answer questions, like where and how much did my organization spend? With what suppliers? Can we break that down by normalized categories? Where are my cost-savings opportunities? What about compliance with environmental and social regulations?

I am happy to announce that 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower is now available for all businesses.

Addressing Your Spend Data Challenges

I frequently discuss spend management challenges with CPOs and CFOs. They consistently seek visibility and insights into their spending, key suppliers, and ways to enhance savings and cash flow, which enable them to make better-informed decisions.

This aligns with our formal market research. In a new Economist Impact study sponsored by 麻豆原创 鈥� 鈥� 44% of all respondents and 49% of CPOs identified spend analytics as the top driver of digitization in procurement in 2024.

Of course, it鈥檚 not just about procurement spend. It鈥檚 about all enterprise spend. And that鈥檚 our sweet spot. 麻豆原创 delivers intelligent spend solutions covering the entire enterprise 鈥� from procurement to travel and expense to contingent labor and beyond.

As we鈥檝e worked to bring together spend data across the enterprise, it鈥檚 become clear to me that many organizations face similar challenges:

• Poor data quality
• Too much data for individuals to process
• Lack of visibility into cost-saving opportunities and ways to improve cash flow

麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower is specifically designed to help address these challenges. It can provide visibility and actionable insights into enterprise spend that flows to 麻豆原创 solutions, such as 麻豆原创 S/4HANA or 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component (麻豆原创 ECC), and non-麻豆原创 systems. Spend information can then be further enhanced with data from 麻豆原创 Ariba, 麻豆原创 Fieldglass, and 麻豆原创 Concur solutions.

How We Do It

麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower helps address the challenges of spend data management by providing:

• A single location for all spend data: Enterprise data for all spend-related applications is centralized in a single 鈥渄ata layer.鈥� This can provide visibility into your overall organizational spend while allowing users to drill down and see data within specific solutions, for example 麻豆原创 Ariba, 麻豆原创 Fieldglass, or 麻豆原创 Concur solutions.
• Data analysis driven by AI and machine learning: Embedded 麻豆原创 Business AI solutions can enable users to analyze spend data, clarify categories, and make data-driven decisions.
• Data harmonization and enrichment: Systems use a variety of formats to store data, which makes it difficult to combine or compare data sets. 麻豆原创 standardizes data into a unified structure, making it possible to analyze a cohesive data set. Additionally, data enrichment helps improve accuracy by adding supplemental, third-party data to your own, then comparing them to ensure completeness and accuracy.

Six Ways 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower Helps Drive Spend Performance

The process of driving enterprise spend performance is a journey. First you need to explore what you鈥檙e spending and where you鈥檙e spending it. Then you uncover opportunities for savings. Finally, you measure regulatory compliance and how your spending programs stack up against your industry competitors.

麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower can help every step of the way, providing visibility into accurate data sets that can enable you to:

Consolidate Spend, Category, and Contract Data

Spend across your enterprise is a maze of suppliers, invoices, and contracts. How many suppliers do we really have? Which invoices fall into the 鈥渙ther鈥� bucket? 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower can produce a consolidated list of suppliers and categories by employing artificial intelligence and machine learning classification and matching algorithms.

Improve Compliance and Deliver Savings

Once you identify categories and suppliers, you can look for opportunities to increase compliance and achieve cost savings. For instance, you may find that your business has five contracts with smaller suppliers, all under the same global ultimate parent company. This information allows you to consolidate your contracts, resulting in cost savings and improved cash flow.

Drill Down for Efficient Spend Visibility

With 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower, you can have visibility across all areas of your enterprise spend 鈥� for example, contingent labor, maintenance, repairs and operation, or travel and expense 鈥� providing a single view of all spend from 麻豆原创 or non-麻豆原创 systems while enabling visibility into the source of spend via 麻豆原创 Ariba, 麻豆原创 Fieldglass, or 麻豆原创 Concur solutions.

Identify Cost-Savings Opportunities and Provide Actionable Insights

麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower utilizes 麻豆原创 Business AI to help guide you toward relevant and timely savings opportunities. Data from 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower can seamlessly integrate with the spend profile. Furthermore, within opportunity analysis, AI can identify opportunities for end users in 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower, which are accessible to 麻豆原创 Ariba Category Management. This integration allows category managers to set goals and develop effective category plans. By leveraging 麻豆原创 Business AI, category managers can efficiently narrow down suppliers and deliver procurement opportunities within categories, streamlining the process and optimizing cost saving.

Drive Enterprise-Level Diversity and Sustainability Compliance

Even if you know who your suppliers are, it鈥檚 likely you don鈥檛 have direct access to all their corporate social responsibility credentials. Through data enhancement using generative AI and the solution, 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower can layer compliance and diversity data onto your supplier and spend data. This can help enable the evaluation of spend for compliance with diversity requirements and sustainability measures like Scope 3 emissions.

Achieve Best-in-Class Spend Performance Based on Industry Standards

A significant portion of the world鈥檚 business runs through 麻豆原创 systems. We leverage this information to help provide realistic benchmarks from leading businesses in your industry. For example, a consumer products company may direct 22% of its total spend on marketing. Using 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower, they can find out that for leading competitors of similar size and revenue, the average marketing spend is much lower. This will help inform decisions about how to align their costs with the competition.

麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower is now available to all businesses to help drive enterprise spend performance effectively. or register for and watch the 鈥溾�� webinar on 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower.

Join the 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live virtual event on October 24 to catch the latest in technology, innovation, and ideas on-demand.

Manoj Swaminathan is ISBN president and chief product officer at 麻豆原创.

Now, I鈥檓 thrilled to share that 麻豆原创 was the only company that was positioned in the Leaders category of all three IDC MarketScape reports 鈥� (doc #US51740824, July 2024); IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Accounts Payable Automation Software for Midmarket 2024 Vendor Assessment (doc #US52378624, July 2024); and (doc #US52378824, July 2024). 麻豆原创鈥檚 accounts payable solutions, built with AI-first principles, continue to enable the accounts payable function to embrace its strategic role as it becomes a top priority for business operations in today鈥檚 challenging macro environment.

IDC analyst Kevin Permenter adds: 鈥溌槎乖�’s performance in the IDC MarketScape for Accounts Payable Automation Software reports across all three market segments is a testament to the breadth, depth, and reach of 麻豆原创 Ariba and 麻豆原创 Concur accounts payable offerings. 麻豆原创鈥檚 accounts payable offerings infused with AI-first principles, complemented with a strong ecosystem and the unique value proposition of 麻豆原创 Business Network as a frictionless mechanism for buyer and supplier collaboration, show 麻豆原创鈥檚 strength in this market. 麻豆原创 Ariba and 麻豆原创 Concur invoicing offerings help enable companies of all sizes to move to autonomous processing and enable accounts payable and procurement teams to leverage invoices as a strategic asset for growth and profitability.鈥�

Why 麻豆原创 Is a Leader

The IDC MarketScape reports are divided by market size, evaluating for large enterprise and upper midmarket and for small business and lower midmarket. I believe 麻豆原创鈥檚 positioning speaks for itself 鈥� this recognition showcases our role as a leader in the accounts payable automation space as we work to help our customers modernize critical business processes to transform the way they approach financial management. Here鈥檚 why I believe IDC MarketScape positioned 麻豆原创 as a Leader across all three markets:

Strong Ecosystem and Seamless Integration

The IDC MarketScape Worldwide Accounts Payable Automation Software for Large Enterprises report notes that vendors should 鈥渃onsider 麻豆原创 if you are looking for a well-established provider with a robust ecosystem of financial management products that can fit needs of any size business in virtually any industry.鈥�

麻豆原创 Business Network Is a 鈥淭rue Differentiator鈥�

Additionally, the report highlights as a 鈥渇rictionless mechanism鈥� for buyer-supplier collaboration. Our robust network of trading partners helps make it easier than ever for businesses to ensure invoicing accuracy and compliance while staying connected to their trading partners through our extensive network. The report further notes that, 鈥溌槎乖� Ariba source-to-pay suite combined with the network provides accounts payable teams an effective, intelligent, and near-touchless way to manage the invoice-to-pay cycle, helping buyers and suppliers digitize and modernize their source-to-pay processes.鈥�

麻豆原创 Helps Accounts Payable Run Better

The accounts payable function finds itself in a complex landscape of rising interest rates, tightening monetary policies, and supply chain disruptions. Among these challenges, many companies have become accustomed to curveballs that threaten their agility and future success. 麻豆原创 offerings can help accounts payable teams address core pain points:

• Reduce lengthy invoice approval times. With 麻豆原创鈥檚 AI-infused, end-to-end business processes across source-to-pay and ERP solutions, our customers can cut through cycle times with autonomous processing 鈥� from invoice submission to reconciliation. can capture header and line item data fields, finding patterns from historical data to help increase accuracy with each invoice capture.
• Minimize high percentage of exceptions. With global e-invoicing mandates on the rise, customers can reduce exceptions upfront while ensuring compliance. 麻豆原创鈥檚 business rules can validate invoices in real time against local government portals as needed. With 麻豆原创 Business Network, suppliers can submit invoices electronically, streamlining the process and reducing costs.
• Avoid late supplier payments. With working capital management and our early payment offerings within the portfolio, accounts payable teams can pay suppliers on time while leveraging invoices as a strategic asset for growth and profitability, strengthening their relationships with suppliers.

Customers Report Incredible Outcomes

Here are a few examples highlighting what customers have achieved after using 麻豆原创 Ariba and 麻豆原创 Concur solutions to help improve accounts payable processes:

• looked to 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions to reduce its average invoice approval cycle time to just 1.5 days with 50% of supplier invoices transacted electronically in the first year.
• achieved an 84% first-pass invoice-matching rate.
• processes 99% of invoices automatically for over 9,000 vendors.
• achieved 75% invoice-count compliance for 48,000 annual invoices.
• now completes its end-to-end invoice management process in half the amount of time.

I believe this recognition as a Leader in the 2024 IDC MarketScape reports for Worldwide Accounts Payable Automation Software for Small Business, Midmarket, and Large Enterprise markets emphasizes our commitment to driving a new era in redefining accounts payable automation.

Learn more about our accounts payable solutions at .

Baber Farooq is senior vice president for Market Strategy Procurement Solutions at 麻豆原创.

At 麻豆原创, we鈥檝e designed our spend management and business network solutions with this in mind. , , , and help you spend less time bogged down by tactical work, giving you more time to focus on strategic initiatives.

Our market-leading solutions help provide complete visibility into your company spending, so your decisions are smarter and your time and money saved. And with AI becoming ubiquitous, we鈥檙e automating repetitive tasks and analyzing enterprise-wide spend analytics to identify tail spend, improve compliance, and identify rapidly increasing costs.

Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Everything About Enterprise Software

AI is revolutionizing the global business landscape and 麻豆原创 is at the forefront. We continuously embed new AI capabilities into our software to deliver intelligent spend management solutions to our customers. With our AI-infused products, work 鈥� and your workforce 鈥� can be more productive and supply chains more resilient.

At 麻豆原创 Sapphire in June, we announced more time- and cash-saving product enhancements that provide generative AI capabilities. Here are several of them:

• help procurement departments streamline the recruitment of external workers. Hiring managers can generate and maintain effective job descriptions, while project managers can deliver detailed statements of work (SOWs) more rapidly with the press of the 鈥淓nhance with AI鈥� button. This can enable businesses to quickly identify and engage contractors with the right skills and qualifications.
• Business owners and sales executives can now benefit from to help generate accurate and timely RFI responses to potential buyers consistently. This can result in a 2-4 times* increase in lead conversion and can reduce effort in responding to requests by up to 75%*.
• , which can quickly sort and contextualize data from multiple systems to help advance automation and improve decision-making, is expanding throughout 麻豆原创鈥檚 portfolio and will be embedded in 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions to help improve procurement processes and supply chain planning by the end of 2024.

The AI enhancements mentioned above are only a few examples of how we鈥檙e transforming spend management and how businesses approach procurement through AI. Check out our to see which new features will soon be available at your fingertips.

With the , I would be remiss in not mentioning that ! Released in April, connected customers can book tickets directly on the Amtrak website or mobile app, select the business booking path, and see their company鈥檚 negotiated rates while browsing. With skyrocketing airline ticket prices and the extra legroom, I鈥檓 on board with taking Amtrak to my next customer meeting.

Our Customers Are Winning

I could talk all day about how our customers are winning with 麻豆原创 spend management and business network solutions, but these customer examples speak for themselves:

• needed to meet growing demand as a global leader in autonomous mobility with business units for robotaxi, robotruck, and personally owned vehicles. After implementing 麻豆原创 Business Network and 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, procurement cycle times were reduced by one week on average and the supplier qualification verification process sped up by three times.
• With the introduction of Japan鈥檚 electronic bookkeeping law, , a logistics real estate company, seized the opportunity to digitalize its expense reimbursement process and align with the new regulations simultaneously. It selected to help automate processes and eliminate manual workflows and now spends 80% less time on the expense reimbursement process.
• When wanted to gain deeper insights into its services-based spend activity and align procurement with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments, the firm embraced 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions. With rich data on how suppliers deliver against an agreement, Accenture can now effectively tie services spend to individual contracts.

It’s Great Being #1

New honors from Ardent Partners, Procurement Magazine, and TrustRadius have us buzzing with gratitude.

Ardent Partners has positioned 麻豆原创 Fieldglass as a Market Leader in its .** It reads, 鈥溌槎乖� Fieldglass has consistently set the bar for the extended workforce solutions industry through a blend of innovation, advanced analytics, and total talent management functionality.鈥� For a more in-depth view of this win, check out this article from my colleague Vish Baliga.

Ardent Partners has also positioned 麻豆原创 as a Market Leader in its report.*** The firm evaluated 麻豆原创 Ariba Spend Analysis, 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, determining that 鈥溌槎乖� has a very broad and deep set of solutions that expand well beyond strategic sourcing. Within strategic sourcing, 麻豆原创 has one of the strongest functional offerings, covering the needs of most user groups.鈥�

Procurement Magazine is an established, trusted, and leading voice on all things procurement, and we are honored that our 麻豆原创 spend management solutions are ranked No. 1 in two of their recent lists:

• on the Top 10 Mobile Procurement Apps List.
• on the Top 10 Spend Analyst Platforms List.

In May, TrustRadius announced that 麻豆原创 is the winner of 11 Top Rated awards in 2024. This includes all our flagship offerings in our spend management portfolio:

•  鈥� Procurement, Expense Management, and Supply Chain Management
•  鈥� Leader in Workforce Management, Vendor Management Systems (VMS), Contractor Management, and Freelance Management
• 聽鈥� Leader in Expense Management, Accounts Payable, and
•  鈥� Supply Chain Visibility Procurement

The  are annual awards that recognize the most trusted and reliable vendors on TrustRadius, based solely on customer satisfaction ratings in customer reviews. 麻豆原创 owes this recognition to our valued customers. Thank you for constantly inspiring us to be better. 

Join Us at 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live

I hope to see you at the world鈥檚 premiere spend management conference, , which takes place October 14-16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is a sure bet to learn how to achieve full visibility into your enterprise spend through 麻豆原创鈥檚 spend management solutions for procurement, external workforce, travel and expense, and business network.

Meet me at the intersection of procurement and supply chain to learn how analytics and 麻豆原创 Business AI can provide visibility into both. 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live is a unique, in-person networking experience, where you鈥檒l connect with procurement and supply chain leaders from businesses and industries worldwide to share ideas, learn from each other’s success, and discuss best practices.

To learn more and register, visit the .

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

*Disclaimer: Values mentioned in this blog post are estimates based on average industry benchmark numbers, resulting from an 麻豆原创 analysis. Customers interested in a specific business case calculation can consult their 麻豆原创 account team.
**Ardent Partners鈥� 2024 Vendor Management System (VMS) Technology Advisor is designed to help procurement, human resources, human capital, and talent acquisition executives navigate the complex and mature VMS solutions marketplace. This report analyzes and assesses the primary VMS solution providers in the marketplace today. You can .
***Ardent Partners鈥� 2024 Strategic Sourcing Technology Advisor is designed to help sourcing and procurement leaders navigate the strategic sourcing solution provider market. This report analyzes and assesses solution and market leaders in the strategic sourcing space today. You can .

Many influences are driving 鈥� and sometimes stalling 鈥� the business travel industry. To ensure maximum productivity and well-being for travelers and travel managers, businesses must support them with the right education and tools in 2024 and beyond. To ensure smooth running and maximize their investments in business travel, business leaders must understand its friction points. The sixth 麻豆原创 Concur Global Business Travel Survey explores some of the most pressing challenges facing business travelers today. These are the top five takeaways:

1. The Threat of Disruption

• Eighty-eight percent of travelers have been forced to make last-minute changes in the past year because of unexpected delays, cancellations, or the need to re-route.
• Eighty percent opt to add 鈥渂ooking buffers鈥� to the start or end of their journey, or both, incorporating extra time to counteract unexpected schedule changes. This frustrating cycle discourages business travel altogether.

2. Traveler Safety Concerns

• Business travelers cite safety (44%) or political or social (35%) concerns about the destination as the most common reasons that would cause them to decline a business trip.
• Many travel managers experience burnout due to the range of aggravating factors they must consider when planning and provisioning for business trips. A third feel like they are expected to take on a more strategic role without further training.

3. The Toss-Up Between Sustainability and Costs

• Over a quarter of business travelers are willing to decline a business trip due to the environmental impact or the inability to choose sustainable options.
• Twenty-seven percent, on the other hand, claim their company has cut back on paying more for sustainable travel options over the past 12 months.
• Over a third of travel managers face difficulties because they are expected to provide more sustainable travel options without an adequate budget.

4. Unequal Access to Travel Opportunities

• Two in three business travelers say that travel is critical for their career advancement 鈥� but the same proportion feel they haven鈥檛 received equal opportunity to travel compared to their colleagues.
• Staff cite reasons for unequal access such as their level of seniority (19%), age (18%), and gender (11%).

5. The Need for AI Solutions and Education

• Most travelers (95%) are open to using AI-enabled options when arranging travel, but there is a prevailing 鈥渨ait and see鈥� attitude. Fewer than one in ten are comfortable using AI-enabled options currently.
• Eighty-nine percent of business travelers want more company support, including assurances for personal data protection, potential biases, and protection from repercussions if AI-assisted bookings contravene company policy.

Leaders won鈥檛 be able to solve current travel disruption overnight 鈥� but they can make it more manageable for staff. By introducing measures to improve travel flexibility, training opportunities, and next-generation software solutions, organizations can adapt to a challenging market and future-proof their business travel posture for the long term.

For more information about the survey, including additional findings, please download our , , and whitepapers.

Charlie Sultan is president of Concur Travel at .

The 麻豆原创 Concur Global Business Traveler Survey was conducted by between April 5-26, 2024, among 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets: U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Spain, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia), Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, Brazil, SEA (Singapore, Malaysia), South Africa, Portugal, Switzerland, and Austria. Data has been weighted to facilitate tracking.
The 麻豆原创 Concur Global Travel Manager Survey was conducted by between April 5-26, 2024, 2024, among 600 travel managers, defined as those who direct or administer travel programs for businesses, across 6 markets: Germany, Canada, Japan, ANZ Countries (Australia and New Zealand), UK, and U.S.

Like at home, identifying every dollar you spend and getting the most out of it is more critical than ever for your business. And as we continue to roll out 麻豆原创 Business AI technology, the teams behind 麻豆原创 solutions are working on ways to help you reduce the time spent on mundane tasks so you can focus on executing your strategy, unlocking spend potential, and unleashing efficiency.

The first quarter of 2024 was among the most productive in my 18 years at 麻豆原创. We debuted new AI capabilities in various 麻豆原创 spend management solutions. Check out some of these highlights:

• 麻豆原创 Ariba Category Management: We鈥檝e incorporated that can assist category managers by generating recommendations in the solution鈥檚 category segmentation, market dynamics, and cost structure tools.
• Scoutbee Discovery: 麻豆原创 partnered with Scoutbee, a leading AI-powered supplier intelligence and discovery platform, to launch . This 麻豆原创 endorsed app can rapidly identify qualified suppliers that meet specific criteria and can help advance strategic business imperatives. of me participating in a recent LinkedIn Live with the Scoutbee team.
• Concur Request: Now, this service uses generative AI to help provide for trip planning.
• ExpenseIt: Users can upload receipt images to the ExpenseIt solution, which taps AI to help with several key fields prepopulated. Plus, ExpenseIt can now itemize hotel folios using generative AI.
• Generative AI search: A new capability within Concur Support allows 麻豆原创 Concur customers to type questions in natural language and get quick answers using generative AI, .

麻豆原创鈥檚 market-leading spend and business network solutions are getting even smarter, working to unlock greater value for our customers. We have many resources devoted to spend management and that鈥檚 why we continue to deliver innovation in spend management.

And we are only getting started. By the end of 2024,  is planning the following enhancements:

• Generative AI RFI/RFP responses in 麻豆原创 Business Network Discovery: With generative AI-enabled responses for postings in 麻豆原创 Business Network Discovery, suppliers will be able to respond to RFIs promptly and more accurately, helping to save time and reduce costs associated with manual labor and resource allocation.聽聽
• Catalog enrichment using ChatGPT recommendations: This feature can enable suppliers to generate and improve product descriptions and overall catalog quality based on prompts and keyword recommendations from ChatGPT.聽
• Intelligent error simplification using generative AI:聽This feature uses machine learning and a large language model to interpret and categorize invoice rejection reasons, allowing suppliers to reduce the number of failing invoices, improve rapid invoice submission and payment, and optimize cash flow.

For more on how AI is transforming business networks, read this recent article from my colleague Joern Keller.

But What Are Our Customers Saying?

Each quarter, G2 highlights the top rated solutions in the industry, chosen by the source that matters most: customers. Spring 2024 is no different, and once again our suite of spend and business network solutions scored extremely well.

• is a G2 Spring Leader in Vendor Management.
• is a G2 Spring Leader in Procure to Pay, Purchasing, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, and Contract Lifecycle Management.
• is a G2 Spring Leader in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.

What鈥檚 more, G2 recently announced its , with 麻豆原创 Fieldglass and 麻豆原创 Concur receiving high honors:

• 麻豆原创 Fieldglass came in at No. 26 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards across all products and No. 12 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards for best midmarket products.
• 麻豆原创 Concur came in at No. 4 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards for the account and software product category.

My colleagues are also getting their flowers. Etosha Thurman, chief marketing and solutions officer of Intelligent Spend and Business Network, and Steve Seide, global head of Adoption for Intelligent Spend and Business Network, were named Top Procurement Pros in the . A big congratulations also goes out to Darcy MacClaren, CRO for 麻豆原创 Digital Supply Chain, who received a Pros to Know Lifetime Achievement award.

Driving Success for Our Customers

Hearing me spotlight our direct and indirect procurement, external workforce, and travel and expense management solutions is one thing. Seeing them in action is something way more powerful. Here are a few recent customer success stories to take in:

• American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), a leading global specialty retailer offering high-quality on-trend clothing, accessories, and personal care products through its portfolio of brands, needed to evaluate indirect purchasing processes and vendor relationships to maximize efficiency. See how helped simplify processes and deliver compliant purchasing protocols across the company.
• Power provider to over 900,000 electric customers, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (OG&E) faced challenges with the complexity of third-party and cross-department management of contingent workers. After transitioning 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions to internal management, OG&E gained the visibility to make more informed financial decisions, like supplier negotiations.
• Vestas Wind Systems, the world鈥檚 largest manufacturer of wind turbines, launched a large-scale quality initiative powered by 麻豆原创 Business Network to help mitigate product defects in a highly complex supply chain. Now, using 麻豆原创 Business Network, suppliers complete predefined quality tests and document them before confirming or sending an order. This enables Vestas employees to be warned in advance of any quality issues further up the supply chain, so they can take corrective action.
• Most KUKA employees are based in Germany, where tax regulation is complex and submitting hotel and entertainment expenses is anything but simple. The KUKA team worked together to develop a simple process using 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, connected to 麻豆原创 ERP, that allows employees to create hotel and entertainment expenses with fewer errors and fewer rejected expense reports.

Join Us at 麻豆原创 Sapphire!

麻豆原创 Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference is June 3-5 in Orlando, Florida, this year and I can鈥檛 wait to meet with customers, partners, and my fellow colleagues. This is the best event in the industry in my opinion and you don鈥檛 want to miss out. Join us by registering on the , where you can also save your spot at the 麻豆原创 Sapphire Virtual and 麻豆原创 Sapphire Barcelona events. See you there!

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

These announcements were made at , the flagship conference for 麻豆原创 Concur users and experts, from March 19-21 in Las Vegas.

AI is only as good as the quality and breadth of the data it draws upon. 麻豆原创 Concur is one of the global market leaders in travel and expense solutions with more than 92 million end users booking travel and/or processing expenses.

麻豆原创 debuted new business AI capabilities in 麻豆原创 Concur solutions to help customers save time and improve accuracy when managing business travel and expenses:

• Concur Request: Now uses generative AI to provide intelligent cost estimates for trip planning.
• ExpenseIt solution: Customers can upload receipt images to ExpenseIt web, where it taps AI to automatically create a new expense with several key fields prepopulated. Plus, ExpenseIt now itemizes hotel folios using generative AI.
• Generative AI search: A new capability within Concur Support allows 麻豆原创 Concur customers to type questions in natural language and get quick answers using generative AI without having to submit a support ticket.

The evolution of Concur Travel, featuring a consumer-grade user experience, now offers new content and features:

• Hotel and rail content: New direct integrations to American Express GBT, BCD, CWT RoomIt, FCTG and HRS designed to enhance the traveler鈥檚 shopping experience by providing more options, clarity and transparency. Additionally, users can search, book and purchase UK rail content.
• Microsoft Teams integration: Travelers can share a reservation from their Concur Travel trip list to a Microsoft Teams chat, so that coworkers can book the same trip.
• Sustainability-based travel decisions: Through an integration with , one of the travel industry鈥檚 leading independent sustainability intelligence platforms, evolution of Concur Travel users can view and sort the greenhouse gas emissions of each flight segment, as well as rail and car rental options, and browse hotel providers by emissions, certifications and sustainability scores.

The new, reimagined Concur Expense experience is AI-powered, optimized for mobile and already being used by early adopter customers. In the new experience, expense reports are automatically created and easily managed thanks to the following capabilities and a :

• Automatic expense entry, itemization, and categorization with ExpenseIt
• Timeline view of expenses
• Intelligent notifications such as missing receipts, missing attendees or expense reports ready for submission
• Attendee suggestion based on expense type and amount
• Automated expense creation for Mastercard transactions

To learn more about at 麻豆原创 Concur Fusion or to join the virtual event, visit .

Visit the . Follow 麻豆原创 at .

Media Contact:
Kelly Murray, +1 (978) 708-6821, kelly.murray@sap.com, ET
麻豆原创 麻豆原创 Room; press@sap.com

This material is provided by 麻豆原创 SE or an 麻豆原创 affiliate company for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind, and 麻豆原创 or its affiliated companies shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the material. The only warranties for 麻豆原创 or 麻豆原创 affiliate company products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without the express permission of SE or an 麻豆原创 affiliate company. 麻豆原创 SE or its affiliated companies have no obligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this material or any related presentation, or to develop or release any functionality mentioned therein. This material, or any related presentation, and 麻豆原创 SE or its affiliated companies鈥� strategy and possible future developments, products, and/or platform directions and functionality are all subject to change and may be 漏 2024 麻豆原创 SE or an 麻豆原创 affiliate company. All rights reserved. See Legal Notice on www.sap.com/legal-notice for use terms, disclaimers, disclosures, or restrictions related to this material. 3 / 3 changed by 麻豆原创 SE or its affiliated companies at any time for any reason without notice. The information in this material is not a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. Some software products marketed by 麻豆原创 SE and its distributors contain proprietary software components of other software vendors. Please note the national product specifications may vary. 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 2023 Annual Report on Form 20-F.

漏 2024 麻豆原创 SE. All rights reserved.
麻豆原创 and other 麻豆原创 products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 麻豆原创 SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

That鈥檚 why we鈥檝e built our industry-leading suite of spend management solutions that span direct and indirect procurement, external workforce, and travel and expense management. These solutions help you gain visibility into your supply chains, procure what鈥檚 critical to get the job done, and protect your bottom line 鈥� whether you鈥檙e simplifying expense, travel, and accounts payable processes, or finding the right talent to ensure your company鈥檚 profitability.

With our core commitment to 麻豆原创 Business AI, we are focused on applying generative AI technology to all categories of spend. Like my colleague says, we鈥檙e 鈥渄riving efficiency, quality, and insight into processes that cut across spend management.鈥� Here are we鈥檙e hard at work on.

Our spend management and business network solutions continue evolving and improving with time 鈥� and 2024 will be no different. But before I get ahead of myself, let鈥檚 reflect on the incredible last half of 2023, which has laid the foundation for all the amazing innovation to come in 2024.

Enhancing Your Control over Company Spend 

New enhancements to 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, and 麻豆原创 Business Network can take spend management from the most mundane part of your day to the most strategic. Here are a few enhancements we announced late last year:

• Region-specific strategy and planning for category management: Different regions of the world require different procurement strategies. The ability to in 麻豆原创 Ariba Category Management is now a reality. With its advanced analytics, AI-driven insights, and integrated frameworks and tools, users of 麻豆原创 Ariba Category Management can reap the benefits of data-driven decision-making, identification of strategic sourcing opportunities, and mitigation of risks.
• The biggest Concur Travel release to date: As we continue rolling out the globally, the new end-to-end booking experience became available for customers whose travel management companies use the Sabre GDS from the U.S. point of sale for air, hotel, and car rental bookings. Congratulations to all our customers that made the strategic switch.
• Supplier catalogs within 麻豆原创 Business Network: With the newly released , suppliers can upload a catalog that is publicly searchable and viewable by buyers on the network. With a network catalog, suppliers can maintain a single list of all the products they offer, creating high-quality buyers looking for the exact items listed. More improvements to the catalog and user demos are coming your way soon.

Customer Love

With Valentine’s Day coming up, it鈥檚 only right to brag about all the customer love we鈥檝e been receiving. Words of affirmation is our love language.

• 麻豆原创 Fieldglass is the .
• 麻豆原创 Ariba is the .
• 麻豆原创 Concur is the in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.

To top it off, , , and swept the 2023聽鈥淏est Of鈥� Awards from TrustRadius! TrustRadius, the most trusted review site for business technology, also released more wins for our spend management solutions:

• is Top Rated in Workforce Management, Contractor Management, Freelance Management, and Vendor Management Systems (VMS).
• is Top Rated聽in Procurement, Expense Management, and Supply Chain Management.
• is Top Rated in Expense Management, Travel Management, and Accounts Payable.

麻豆原创 Recognized by IDC MarketScape

I am also thrilled to announce that 麻豆原创 was positioned as a Leader in the聽IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2023 Vendor Assessment.*

According to the assessment report, 鈥溌槎乖� Business Network is a comprehensive B2B collaboration platform that connects people, processes, and systems across multiple enterprises, digitizing transactions and creating transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.鈥�

The report highlights these 麻豆原创 strengths:

• Depth and breadth of product features, functionality, future road map covering all major B2B collaboration categories (indirect, direct material, MRO logistics, financial, services, sustainability), and scenarios in an end-user, persona-based manner
• Integration and extensibility capabilities including integration between 麻豆原创 ERP, 麻豆原创 procurement modules, and other applications (other ERP, SCAM, and customer applications) and technologies (machine learning, AI, blockchain) through 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform
• Global adoption and breadth of collaboration among the industry’s largest, highly adopted B2B collaboration platforms, enabling trading partners to collaborate in real time
• Ongoing efforts to harmonize commerce, asset intelligence, and logistics continue to enhance the power of the connected economy.

Thank you to our customers and my colleagues for collaborating on this fantastic win.

Customer Success Stories

Al Dahra, one of the world鈥檚 largest agribusiness logistics companies, manages food and animal feed supply chains from its home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to countries around the globe. to gain greater visibility into daily operations and as its digital solution to connect the company with its partners and clients.

Building material manufacturer Heidelberg Materials AG knew that visibility across its supplier base was key to enabling the smart decision-making that would help it improve financial performance while meeting sustainability goals. See how it achieved this by .

Watch how Chobani, America’s top Greek yogurt brand, uses to fully automate its expense processes.

BT Group aims to be the world鈥檚 most trusted connector of people, devices, and machines. Read how it to deliver a modernized, connected colleague experience.

Register for 麻豆原创 Concur Fusion

If you鈥檙e lucky enough to attend this year, don鈥檛 miss my colleague Etosha Thurman, chief marketing & solutions officer for 麻豆原创 Intelligent Spend and Business Network, presenting in the keynote. She will be demonstrating transformative AI in 麻豆原创 Concur travel, expense, and invoicing solutions, and how we鈥檙e creating a world where travel and expenses can practically manage themselves.

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

*Source: 鈥�,” by Simon Ellis, December 2023, IDC #US49948423.

It was also the year when business leaders worldwide decided enough is enough. They began taking steps to future proof their supply chains. And we can鈥檛 forget that 2023 was the year when generative AI came to dominate every conversation about technology.

Now it鈥檚 time to look ahead. Where will world events, business developments, and technology innovations take spend management in 2024? What strategies and technology will business leaders employ to bring greater resilience and efficiency to their supply chains?

Here are predictions for 2024, from 麻豆原创鈥檚 intelligent spend and business network leaders.

鈥淚n 2023, generative AI was like a bolt of lightning that compelled every business and technology leader to sit up and take notice. We鈥檙e no longer asking if businesses will adopt AI technology, but rather how quickly they can deploy it and realize its benefits. In 2024, businesses leaders will look beyond the industry buzz for solutions that deliver real-life, AI-based use cases. They鈥檒l also see firsthand that AI is only as effective as the quality and availability of data. With the huge number of data and transactions running through our and , 麻豆原创 is uniquely positioned to help organizations access the data they need, visualize it, and take decisive action to drive their success.鈥�

鈥� , President and Chief Product Officer,
麻豆原创 Intelligent Spend and Business Network,
and General Manager for 麻豆原创 Business Network

鈥淎s we enter 2024, procurement organizations will continue to focus on cost containment and supply continuity in order to bring value to their businesses. These have traditionally been the primary value drivers and, in today鈥檚 economic environment, I see this continuing. The opportunity will be maintaining the expanded voice earned with stakeholders during the volatile, crisis-riddled past few years, given the resurgence of hyper focus on cost containment. I believe that the scope of procurement will not contract back to a sole focus on supply stability and cost containment. In fact, I think procurement鈥檚 remit will continue to evolve to lead broader supply chain risk management, given the growing variety and number of risks faced such as geopolitical tensions, sustainability expectations, the need for more diverse sources of supply, and lingering labor availability concerns. The challenge facing procurement will be how to tackle all of this successfully. What we’ll see is the use of innovation like generative AI, spend analysis, and category management solutions to not only provide relevant, real-time business insights, but, importantly, to increase the efficiency and productivity of procurement teams, giving more capacity to focus on the strategic work stakeholders now expect.鈥�

鈥� , Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, 麻豆原创

鈥淭he more things change, the more they stay the same. Or do they? Last year we were talking about how businesses needed to grapple with economic, political, and environmental uncertainty. That hasn鈥檛 changed. What鈥檚 different is how quickly new strategies and technologies have emerged to help businesses deal with these challenges. In 2024, I expect business leaders to continue pursuing supply chain resilience and to look for solutions such as AI that enable them to make big leaps. There will also be a continued focus on cost savings. With economic concerns looming as central banks raise funds rates to counter inflation, I foresee leaders being asked to deliver higher margins for their enterprises. To do this, traditional cost-focused sourcing and procurement cost compliance will be essential.鈥�

鈥� , Chief Revenue Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, 麻豆原创

鈥淎s enterprises continue on their journey to digitalize procurement processes, the need for an even more intuitive user experience will increase. Procurement professionals are looking for ways to spend more time on value-adding tasks and are looking to generative AI and analytics to support them at the point of decision. Moving into 2024 and beyond, we expect the demand for these technologies to increase, as well as for new use cases to arise. At 麻豆原创, we are already evaluating further ways to embed generative AI and analytics into solutions throughout our 麻豆原创 Ariba portfolio to help make our customers鈥� business lives easier than ever.鈥�

鈥� , SVP, Chief Product Officer,
麻豆原创 Ariba Procurement Solutions, 麻豆原创

鈥淎s technology evolves, pragmatic business leaders are looking for ways to leverage these new developments to help streamline and simplify their processes. Managing a workforce that can be comprised of up to 40% external workers demands tools that can simplify the user experience and offer broad visibility to both external and full-time workers. I predict that in 2024 we will see more organizations lean into total workforce management strategies to address this need for greater visibility across full-time and external workers, allowing businesses to align the skills they have with the work they need to complete. Along with a more holistic approach to managing their workforce, these same companies can leverage innovative AI tools designed to offer efficiencies and improve the user experience. In 2024, 麻豆原创 Fieldglass customers will be able to leverage powerful AI tools, including AI-enhanced statement of work creation, translation capabilities, and our new powered by generative AI. These offerings are just the beginning, with many more use cases to come.鈥�

鈥� , Chief Technology Officer,
麻豆原创 Fieldglass Solutions, 麻豆原创

鈥淚n my conversations with customers and prospects about their plans for 2024, they consistently voice concerns about supply chain disruption and economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, most seem to appreciate that artificial intelligence is vital to maintaining their competitive edge, yet many are unsure how to distinguish the actual value from the ample hype. In 2024, we will see more of the value that AI can deliver to organizations with capabilities to support their value chains. These include generative and predictive AI capabilities to help forecast disruptions, recommend alternate sources of raw materials, detect errors in invoices, extract pertinent data from requests for information, predict shipment and delivery times, and complete catalogue details. Trading partners need the ability to enter into additional collaborative relationships, such as those between buyers and suppliers spanning 麻豆原创 Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration and material traceability and freight collaboration solutions. Also in 2024, we see network convergence taking center stage to give organizations a shared onboarding experience across all network applications, as well as a set of common data federation services to support data residency requirements.鈥�

鈥� , Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, 
麻豆原创 Business Network

鈥淚n 2024, generative AI will deliver trillions in economic benefits. It will help companies realize greater top-line growth, be more productive, and safeguard supply chains. At the same time, resiliency will continue to be a major focus. The combination of AI and business networks will drive game-changing resiliency and productivity by facilitating improved demand forecasting and more efficient inventory management. These technologies will empower businesses to respond proactively to market changes, allowing them to source new suppliers quickly. In times of supply chain disruptions or demand surges, the nimblest companies will benefit most. Business networks will help them anticipate challenges with real-time information sharing and enhanced supply chain visibility. And there鈥檚 more good news for midmarket and smaller companies: as enterprise adoption of these technologies may begin to lag behind due to complex and unique use cases, segments like the midmarket and smaller companies will start to gain the competitive edge, building more resilient, predictable, and sustainable supply chains at scale.鈥�

鈥� , Global Head, 麻豆原创 Business Network
Customer Success and Go-to-Market, 麻豆原创

鈥淲e鈥檒l see business digitalization efforts go a level deeper 鈥� and become substantially more integrated 鈥� in 2024. Continued adoption of AI, automation, and virtual forms of payment will drive streamlined processes in travel, expense, and invoice. Instead of using a company credit card, employees will be able to expand their use of virtual payments for all business expenses, including travel. In turn, we鈥檒l start to see two types of transactions emerge: trusted and exceptions. Most transactions will use trusted payment methods, and AI will quickly validate them as compliant, enabling near-immediate reimbursement. Exceptions will trigger AI-driven, automated audits to ensure compliance. In both cases, payments will be issued faster with more ease, and employees will have more time to focus on what matters most to them and the organization.鈥�

鈥� , Head of 麻豆原创 Concur Market Strategy,
麻豆原创 Concur

“After another year of significant disruption caused by economic and geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain optimization has risen up the agenda as companies seek to better manage their working capital. Embedded finance has emerged as a solution, promising to reshape the way we do business and interact. Embedded finance has the power to expedite transactions, facilitate financing between trading partners, and lower trade barriers. By harnessing embedded finance, companies have the potential to optimize processes and access financing solutions seamlessly through B2B platforms. Ultimately, this will result in more streamlined payments, faster credit decisions, and expanded access to working capital.鈥�

鈥� , Chief Product Officer, Taulia

鈥淎s organizations, especially midmarket companies, continue to navigate today鈥檚 dynamic business environment, they are realizing the need to work with solution partners to create more value for their customers and themselves. A strong relationship between organizations and their partner ecosystems is critical to success, and I expect we will continue to see more businesses, both large and small, looking to establish these relationships. With the cost of managing sustainable supply chains continuing to increase, companies should turn to their partner ecosystems to leverage their expertise, skills, and services. This approach can help unify a company鈥檚 operations to provide a greater experience for its buyers and sellers, enabling stronger collaboration, greater visibility and transparency, risk mitigation, and more efficient operations.鈥�

鈥� , Head of Intelligent Spend and
Business Network Partner Ecosystem, 麻豆原创

One More Prediction

Recent times have shown that unexpected disruptions aren鈥檛 the only reason businesses struggle in times of crisis. It鈥檚 also about their readiness to deal with disruption, to adapt, and to come out stronger when the crisis subsides. Many business leaders have learned this lesson. They鈥檙e taking action to ensure 鈥� to the best of their ability 鈥� that their businesses are prepared for what comes next.

Of course, that鈥檚 easier said than done. Sometimes it feels like we need a crystal ball to see into the future. Or, to use a more common term, we need 鈥渧isibility.鈥� Visibility into market trends. Visibility into world events. Visibility into every corner of the supply chain.

Here鈥檚 a prediction you can take to the bank: in 2024, 麻豆原创 will continue to design and deliver and solutions that can drive efficiency, leverage AI in ways that are relevant, reliable, and responsible, and create greater visibility for every size business.

Mike Conners is a communications specialist for the 麻豆原创 Spend Management Communications team.

Having so many brilliant customers, partners, and colleagues in the same place at the same time is incredibly special. What鈥檚 doubly special is how my own enthusiasm was often eclipsed by our customers about our latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI).

New Intelligent Spend Management Solutions from 麻豆原创

At 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live, we showed how 麻豆原创 is infusing generative AI technology into our suite of spend management solutions. This includes , which became generally available to customers in August.

麻豆原创 Ariba Category Management can empower category managers to use data insights strategically to help identify trends, develop and implement strategies, and evaluate success relative to tangible business metrics. And with the upcoming integration of large language models through 麻豆原创 Business AI, it can empower procurement professionals to jump-start category strategy development and planning.

Speaking of new solutions, from 麻豆原创 Concur launched in September. It helps automate the reimbursement process so you can securely, accurately, and quickly pay corporate cards or employees directly. This efficient service can free accounts payable teams to focus on high-value activities while helping to reduce the errors that accompany repetitive, manual tasks. With economic uncertainties like inflation and the slowdown of global growth, Expense Payment Manager can help ensure your dollars work on your terms.

Hear from Our Customers

Also at 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live, an amazing lineup of customers demonstrated the power of effective spend management. I鈥檇 like to share stories from two of our customers, Save the Children International and Medical Procurement of Ukraine, that were featured in the keynote:

(SCI) is working to build a world where every child can thrive, grow up healthy, educated, and safe, and look forward to a future full of promise. Working in the world鈥檚 most challenging environments, the quicker and more efficiently it responds, the more lives it reaches. SCI transformed its operations from spending US$400 million a year for procurement using Microsoft Excel and paper to having 100% supplier visibility and a 30% reduction in procurement lead times with 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions.

Medical Procurement of Ukraine (MPU) is a state-owned entity responsible for centralized procurement of medical supplies and equipment on behalf of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine. It uses digital procurement solutions from 麻豆原创 to help rapidly source medicines and medical supplies through a challenging supply chain impacted by war. 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions provide access to a huge international market, allowing MPU to cooperate with manufacturers of the latest high-quality medical products. It is doing all of this while ensuring compliance with international standards, including anti-corruption, which is an important driver for MPU.

I鈥檇 be remiss to not share two more customer stories that showcase the potential for organizations of all sizes to achieve significant improvements in their operations:

Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and paper receipts are now a thing of the past at (MRN). This UK-based, market-leading clinical trial support organization wanted a single solution for expense and invoice management processes. Before implementing 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, it used to take two to three working days a month for a team of five people to process invoices manually. Now, MRN has halved the amount of time spent on this process and can focus more on strategic activities.

Global science and technology company knew it was time to adopt advanced technology capabilities in its business to address growing customer expectations and increasing business complexities. In the 12 months since implementing 麻豆原创 Business Network and 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, Merck has seen a 40% uptick in sales in B2B channels. It has also increased the share of its digital channels by 15%, helping reduce operating costs. With 麻豆原创 as its technology centerpiece, we make Merck run better.

We Are Honored

Out of all 麻豆原创 solutions, 麻豆原创 Ariba is reaching Meryl Streep-status when it comes to winning awards. Last quarter, Procurement Magazine placed us as either No. 1 or No. 2 in the following lists:

Congratulations dsm-firmenich!
Sourcing Industry Group, the premier global sourcing association, recently awarded 麻豆原创 and our customer dsm-firmenich the at its Future of Sourcing Awards celebration. This prestigious award honors our work with them in building a cutting-edge procurement process that champions sustainability.

G2 Leaders
麻豆原创 Concur and 麻豆原创 Fieldglass joined 麻豆原创 Ariba as G2 Leaders in its fall 2023 awards.

• is named a leader in Expense Management, Invoice Management, and Travel Management.
• is named a leader in Vendor Management.
• is named a leader in Procure-to-Pay, Strategic Sourcing, Purchasing, Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), Contract Management, Invoice Management, Supplier Relationship Management, and AP & Spend Analysis.

TrustRadius Corporate Social Responsibility Honor
I鈥檓 also thrilled that 麻豆原创 Concur is this year鈥檚 , which is only awarded to companies that have an outstanding commitment to corporate social responsibility in the tech industry.

Take Advantage of the Virtual Experience!

麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live was only the beginning! By , you can receive on-demand content available through the end of the year. This is your opportunity to see what鈥檚 on the horizon for intelligent spend management solutions from 麻豆原创 and 麻豆原创 Business Network with full keynote presentations, more than 20 breakout sessions for those interested in procurement, supply chain, or external workforce management, and additional on-demand learning opportunities.

The best part is that it鈥檚 completely free, so use this resource to your advantage.

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

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 Global LoB Partner Excellence Awards are a partner recognition program focusing on 麻豆原创鈥檚 strategic business priorities for the following lines of business: 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors, 麻豆原创 Customer Experience, and Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

麻豆原创 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Awards select finalists and winners for their valuable contributions in realizing 麻豆原创鈥檚 vision for cloud growth based on data and key performance indicators.

Winners and Finalists

麻豆原创 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Sales Success 鈥� Large Enterprise

• Winner: Accenture
• Finalist: Deloitte
• Finalist: PwC

麻豆原创 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Sales Success 鈥� Midmarket

• Winner: NTT Data
• Finalist: Nitor Partners
• Finalist: Premikati

麻豆原创 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Delivery Quality

• Winner: PwC
• Finalist: Accenture
• Finalist: Deloitte

麻豆原创 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Customer Success Management

• Winner: IBM
• Finalist: Accenture
• Finalist: NTT Data

麻豆原创 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform Customer Success

• Winner: Stratesys Tecnologias da Informacao
• Finalist: Cordis Solutions Ltd
• Finalist: Thomson Reuters

麻豆原创 Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for 麻豆原创 Fieldglass Managed Service Provider

• Winner: Monument Consulting
• Finalist: Allegis Global Solutions
• Finalist: Kelly OCG

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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.
漏 2023 麻豆原创 SE. All rights reserved.
麻豆原创 and other 麻豆原创 products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 麻豆原创 SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

For the past year, Alam, president and chief product officer of 麻豆原创 Intelligent Spend and Business Network, and his team have been speaking with 麻豆原创 customers, gaining an intimate understanding of their spend management challenges and envisioning solutions to address them. This includes carefully assessing the buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) to separate what is the usual tech hype from the true promise.

They also mobilized their team of spend management-focused developers to deliver the very innovations he was about to unveil. 鈥淭he bottom line is we deliver more spend management innovation than anyone else in the industry because we have more resources devoted to spend management than everyone else in the industry,鈥� Alam told the audience.

With its 鈥渕assive force of engineers鈥� and deep commitment at the highest levels of the business, he reminded everyone that 麻豆原创 is singularly focused on helping businesses solve their urgent and critical spend imperatives 鈥� whether they are practical or existential. This includes:

• Improving visibility into the supply chain and taking action to counter an ever-changing trade landscape
• Doing business in a socially and environmentally responsible manner
• Finding the right talent, at the right time, for the right job

鈥淭he common theme in all of this, of course, is your spend鈥he biggest lever you have to help your business achieve the results it needs to achieve,鈥� he said.

Applying Generative AI Technology to Spend

As 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live moves forward, there will be a lot of talk about generative AI and how it can help businesses address urgent and critical imperatives. In his keynote, Alam noted that we are seeing a step change around AI 鈥� not just in the technology, but also in the willingness of customers to adopt AI to drive strategic transformation across business processes and functions.

But what does Alam consider the underlying promise and purpose of AI? 鈥淭he ability to harness data to drive insights and make decisions鈥hat is the promise of AI and it鈥檚 what鈥檚 driving all of the AI the momentum and excitement,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a matter of if anymore with AI. It is a matter of when or perhaps how quickly businesses can adopt these technologies and feel the impact.鈥�

With its intelligent spend management solutions, 麻豆原创 has made it a mission to enable businesses to use generative AI to harness data for greater insights and decision-making. Which brings us to two of the important innovations Alam announced during his 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live keynote: 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower and 12 new generative AI scenarios to be deployed across the spend management portfolio.

Introducing 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower

鈥淚n the hundreds of conversations I鈥檝e had with customers in the last year, the No. 1 ask I get from them is the ability to see and analyze their spend across all categories,鈥� Alam said. 鈥淎nd by 鈥榮pend鈥� I mean more than just the financials. Today, spend also means the carbon emissions impact across all categories.鈥�

Then he unveiled , which offers advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend 鈥� in 麻豆原创鈥檚 cloud ERP solutions, 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions, 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, and 麻豆原创 Business Network 鈥� to help uncover cost-saving opportunities and process improvements, beginning in the first quarter 2024. Alam said he was also 鈥渆xcited about AI driving scope 3 carbon emissions reporting in 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower.鈥�

All of the spend data is rationalized in a unified data model as part of our next-generation data lake, the supplier data platform. Three years in the making, it is the backbone for all of our spend analytics. In addition to fueling 麻豆原创 Spend Control Tower, it also enables embedded spend insights in our applications and powers our generative AI innovations.

12 Generative AI Scenarios for Spend Management

Alam noted that each day, individuals spend a significant amount of time doing mundane tasks because they need to be done. These take time and focus away from tasks that are more strategic and of higher value.

鈥淕enerative AI has the potential to eliminate the mundane and elevate the strategic in the daily lives of you and your team members,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is our moment to unleash productivity gains that have been lacking for years.鈥�

He announced designed to help 鈥渄rive efficiency, quality, and insight into processes that cut across spend management.鈥� Here鈥檚 a high-level view of how these scenarios can help businesses:

• In 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, they can provide a better understanding of suppliers鈥� sustainability position, enabling businesses to make the right decisions.
• In 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions, they can make it possible to write better, more comprehensive statements of work (SOW) and job descriptions in seconds versus hours.
• In 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, they can help users estimate the potential trip cost and better understand travel and expense policies.

Find out more about the new generative AI scenarios .

Virtual Experience

If you were unable to attend 麻豆原创 Spend Connect Live in Vienna, you can still take part in our virtual experience on October 24. for details.

Mike Conners is a communications specialist for the 麻豆原创 Spend Management Communications team.

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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Media Contact:
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麻豆原创 麻豆原创 Room; press@sap.com

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.
漏 2023 麻豆原创 SE. All rights reserved.
麻豆原创 and other 麻豆原创 products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 麻豆原创 SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

This year is especially notable as we marked new milestones in the return to business travel. Concur Travel bookings are up eight percent from the second quarter of 2022, ticking ever closer to pre-pandemic levels. Employees are keen to get a jump on their career: the fifth annual 麻豆原创 Concur Global Business Travel Survey finds that nearly all respondents (94%) are willing to travel for business in the next 12 months and 92% say the future of their career depends on successful business travel, because it鈥檚 important for maintaining client relationships (42%) and starting new ones (41%).

Business travel is changing. So are we. At 麻豆原创 Concur, we鈥檙e continuing to roll out new experiences as part of the evolution of Concur Travel — a journey that will reshape corporate travel programs as we create a world where travel and expenses practically manage themselves.

Evolution of Concur Travel

Reinventing the world鈥檚 leading online booking tool is no small feat. We are evolving Concur Travel to better address the current and future needs of our travelers, customers, and partners more quickly and effectively, by leveraging new, adaptable technology. Next quarter, we will introduce a new end-to-end booking experience across air, hotel, and car rental bookings for Sabre GDS from U.S. point of sale.

Our customers are at the center of everything we do — as their needs change and the corporate travel industry continues to advance — so do we. The evolution of Concur Travel rises above a flashy user interface. We鈥檝e designed it to be scalable and ready for future innovation, capable of quickly deploying new features, functionality, and UI enhancements to benefit the entire corporate travel ecosystem.

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The new booking experience within Concur Travel features a consumer-grade user experience (UX), robust content, and smart solutions. It aims to make everyone involved in booking and expensing business travel more productive. Customers can expect:

• Content and Images: Increased global content coverage including NDC, better imagery, and richer descriptions, all consolidated into one view. The new UX will make browsing content seamless and intuitive, with the ability to easily view sustainability ratings and cost information.
• User Experience: A streamlined booking and checkout process, including a more user-friendly and intuitive UI, makes the experience more like that on consumer sites and apps. The new UX is adaptable on both mobile and desktop, designed to give users the ability to meet their needs and drive compliance across the end-to-end process.
• Sustainable Options: Sustainability continues to be a major priority for our customers. With the new Concur Travel experience, travelers can view information and filters to help limit their carbon footprint and make sustainable choices, making it easier to comply with company policies and limit the environmental impact of business travel.
• Search Capabilities: Omni-search capability that automatically merges options for many locations, such as airports, city centers, or company locations, delivered by a robust travel ecosystem. Companies have the freedom to choose from among a wide range of suppliers, sources and content to support global travel requirements.
• Time Savings: Optimized booking workflows and faster checkout process. The new experience integrates with Concur Expense for a seamless end-to-end travel and expense process — from planning and booking to expensing, auditing and reimbursement all the way to the company general ledger.

麻豆原创 Concur has been working closely with Delta Air Lines and other airlines to revamp our new airline shopping experience in Concur Travel. We are pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with our airline partners to deliver the best travel experience for our customers in a modern travel management solution.

鈥淭he evolution of Concur Travel is an exciting breakthrough moment for booking tool displays,鈥� said Steve Sear, executive vice president of Global Sales at Delta Air Lines. 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to contribute to 麻豆原创 Concur鈥檚 modernization and provide feedback based on our experiences and conversations with corporate customers.鈥�

Sabre, Amadeus, and Travelport+ Users

The new booking experience will be available first on Sabre, for customers whose configurations use the settings and features available at release time and whose TMCs are ready for migration. For organizations that need more time, we will help them manage through the transition period and maintain their current experience until they are ready.

Amadeus customers can expect the new booking experience within Concur Travel in 2024.

Additionally, 麻豆原创 Concur will add connectivity to Travelport+ to the road map for the evolution of Concur Travel for delivery in 2024. Connectivity will include support for both legacy/EDIFACT and NDC, as well as full access to the Travelport+ hotel and car rental content and services.

The addition of Travelport+ means that the enhanced Concur Travel will be available to users of Sabre, Travelport+, and Amadeus in 2024.

Charlie Sultan is president of Concur Travel at .

鈥淲e do that by using the biodiversity of this region, the Cerrado in Brazil,鈥� Francisco de Blanco, S.Oleum co-founder and CEO, told 麻豆原创 at the company鈥檚 headquarters, an innovative farm just outside Jo茫o Pinheiro.

Why the Brazilian outback? This tropical savanna is home to the maca煤ba, a highly adaptable oil-producing tree with a penchant for scrubbing harmful CO2 from the air. Maca煤ba fruit yields advanced vegetable oils (AVOs) and high-protein food 鈥� and it can be 15 times more productive than soybeans.

鈥淲e are restoring the landscape that was deforested…Macau虂ba was native here many, many years ago,鈥� Felipe Morbi, S.Oleum co-founder and Agroforestry VP,聽 said. 鈥淣ow we are bringing back these trees, and also all the other species, to restore this biodiversity.鈥�

S.Oleum seeks to accomplish this scientifically, using maca煤ba and other crops in an integrated crop-livestock-forest approach, according to Morbi. The goal is to create working farms that rejuvenate degraded, low-yielding soil 鈥� and that sequester into the soil more carbon than they generate.

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Science-Based Approach to Reforesting the Cerrado

鈥淲e are looking for the balance of the system,鈥� Morbi said in a new . 鈥淲e will measure the amount of carbon in the soil, the moisture, the biodiversity in terms of the plants we have, and also native animals coming back to the area.鈥�

Toward that end, S.Oleum is starting small, but aiming big. Most of the current crop grows on a 700-hectare, or more than 1,700-acre, pilot farm. But S.Oleum intends to plant more than 65 million additional maca煤ba trees by 2029, which would reforest 180,00 hectares 鈥� about 444,800 acres 鈥� in Brazil鈥檚 southeastern state of Minas Gerais.

Over time, maca煤ba trees also help improve the nutrient and moisture capacity of the soil, making it easier to grow other crops, according to de Blanco. And S.Oleum increases farm productivity by growing carefully chosen crops in between rows of maca煤ba trees, such as sunflowers, peanuts, and yucas.

鈥淚f you do it right, agriculture as a system is positive for the environment,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淧lants that were deforested a few decades ago, they are currently in a poor state because they were depleted by poor management…We believe there are better ways, and that鈥檚 what we are pursuing here.鈥�

An innovative case in point: maca煤ba trees increase a biome鈥檚 carbon sequestration levels. Removing this greenhouse gas helps more than the planet; S.Oleum also generates revenue by selling carbon credits and building trust via its data.

Any Little Bit of Data

鈥淎ny little thing, any generation of data that R&D is currently developing, is extremely important,鈥� Mirelle Santos, S.Oleum Agroforestry R&D manager, said. 鈥淲e want to deploy technologies as dictated by those urgent needs.鈥�

This could include remote sensing via drones that run fruit-recognition software, according to Santos. This would help S.Oleum gather and compile data quickly, without human error 鈥� and without sending workers, who must dress in personal protective equipment (PPE) to defend against snakes, mosquitos, the brutal Cerrado sun (even in winter), and dangerous maca煤ba thorns, which grow even on seedlings.

S.Oleum鈥檚 intricate business model combines agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, and carbon offsetting 鈥� and that leads to a lot of complexity. 麻豆原创 technology will be an important differentiator for this small enterprise, as well as a foundation for its future growth.

鈥淲e have a big project to run; so, a lot of people, a lot of machines, a lot of suppliers,鈥� Morbi said. 鈥淎nd we need everything in the right moment, in the right way.鈥�

How to Best Manage ESG Metrics

鈥溌槎乖� is different because it is recognized as one of the most reliable ERP systems on the market, not only based on the technology,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淎lso, because it has well-established and well-defined processes.鈥�

Standardizing processes was 鈥渆xtremely important鈥� for S.Oleum both internally and to inspire customer, stakeholder, and regulatory confidence, according to de Blanco. 麻豆原创 will also enable S.Oleum to run its circular enterprise as well as record, report, and act on its sustainability data.

鈥淲e have a very integrated system, and a very circular way to produce things,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淔inding out where waste is generated 鈥� and where it鈥檚 being used 鈥� is very important to ensure the carbon intensity and the circularity of our systems at our entire site…This is where 麻豆原创 helps us.鈥�

麻豆原创 S/4HANA, 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, 麻豆原创 Concur solutions, and 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solutions will help standardize all of S.Oleum鈥檚 processes, which will improve transparency and compliance, according to S.Oleum IT Director Marcio Propp. To help better manage and understand its myriad environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics, the company has also begun implementation of and .

鈥淚t is super important that we have a very robust core system in place because it will serve as the basis for all our other processes…and practically all niche applications focused on digital agriculture connect with this core with 麻豆原创,鈥� Propp said. 鈥溌槎乖� is an agribusiness market standard, and it makes perfect sense for S.Oleum to be part of this ecosystem.鈥�

That鈥檚 a big deal because compliant, transparent ESG metrics are crucial to S.Oleum鈥檚 success, according to de Blanco.

A Matter of Trust

鈥淪omewhere around one-third of our revenues come from carbon credits,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淭his is our, let鈥檚 say, core business…to convert sustainability into revenues and financial results.鈥�

That will require trust. 麻豆原创 core technologies, such as 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud and , will help S.Oleum keep that trust, thanks to a reliable foundation of sustainability data and robust, auditable ESG metrics for reporting.

鈥淢y advice for companies that are starting their sustainability endeavor: do it as quick as you can,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淎nd do it attached to science.鈥�

For more information on how 麻豆原创 helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit聽.

Top photo credit S.Oleum

At 麻豆原创 Concur, AI technology underpins our core travel, expense, and invoice solutions. It鈥檚 also what powers Verify, our self-serve audit service within Concur Expense that can automatically check 100% of expense reports to help identify potential compliance issues. It uses AI and machine learning from 麻豆原创 Concur to tap decades of expense user data that helps identify hard-to-detect spend issues and anomalies.

Verify is a great example of how humans remain an important part of today鈥檚 workforce and of how humans plus AI technology can deliver better results than either could independently. Even the most advanced AI systems have gaps. For those, at 麻豆原创 Concur, we augment the technology with a 24/7 team of human auditors to keep accuracy high and false positives low.

Verify Auditors

In the past year, Verify performed over 38 million audit checks on expense reports submitted through Concur Expense. Each month, on average, one-third of expense reports analyzed by Verify are flagged for organizations to review potential errors and policy violations.

Before errors are flagged to organizations, the AI results are validated by a team of Verify auditors. The team represents a special part of our workforce because most of them have some form of hearing loss. Not only has AI created their roles, but as technology becomes more and more accessible, it鈥檚 provided valuable career opportunities to the deaf community. We rely on these workers to help 麻豆原创 Concur drive a strategic part of our innovation strategy to help make auditing easier for Concur Expense customers.

鈥淭he Verify auditors are very special to us,鈥� said Tom Olsen, VP of Managed Business Services at 麻豆原创 Concur, who works directly with the team. 鈥淲e partner with Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) to create a diverse, inclusive, and accessible workplace that includes a sign language interpreter to develop training and work materials, even down to fire safety and emergency plans.鈥�

New Audit Checks

We鈥檙e thankful for our team of Verify auditors as well as our customers, whose feedback makes us run our best. As we continue to learn from Verify customers, we鈥檝e recently added 10 checks that can alert customers of potential issues prior to reports being paid. Scenarios include duplicate receipts 鈥� even across employees 鈥� old dates, personal use of a company card, unreasonable amount, improper merchant category, and more.

These additional checks, inspired by the companies using Verify, help increase the amount of policy variation that can be enforced by the service. It can also help improve the speed to reimbursement by allowing common issues to be identified early in the workflow. Additionally, it can create efficiency for auditors by reducing the need to manually check reports for noncompliance.

That鈥檚 not all that鈥檚 new. Verify is now generally available for enterprise customers as well.

Tim Lebel is vice president and head of Spend Products at 麻豆原创 Concur.