We believe this recognition reflects 麻豆原创鈥檚 continued focus on helping organizations run resilient, efficient, and increasingly intelligent transportation operations in a rapidly changing global logistics environment.

Magic Quadrant reports are a culmination of rigorous, fact-based research in specific markets, providing a wide-angle view of the relative positions of providers in markets where growth is high and provider differentiation is distinct.

We believe 麻豆原创鈥檚 placement as a Leader underscores our commitment to ongoing innovation across transportation, logistics execution, and supply chain orchestration.

Addressing today鈥檚 transportation challenges

Transportation operations are under constant pressure, from cost volatility and capacity constraints to sustainability requirements and rising customer expectations. Organizations need solutions that help them plan, execute, and adapt across increasingly complex networks while maintaining visibility and control.

and are designed to support these needs through a holistic, end鈥憈o鈥慹nd approach. By connecting freight procurement, planning, execution, and settlement on a single platform, 麻豆原创 helps organizations respond more effectively to disruptions, align transportation decisions with broader supply chain objectives, and support compliance with regional and industry鈥憇pecific requirements.

A platform built for complex, global operations

麻豆原创 Transportation Management supports organizations operating across multiple modes, regions, and industries. Built to scale with business growth, the solution is designed to support complex, global transportation networks while enabling standardization and process consistency across operations.

Customers across industries鈥攊ncluding consumer products, chemicals, agriculture, mining, retail, wholesale distribution, and industrial manufacturing鈥攗se 麻豆原创 Transportation Management to manage complex transportation networks at scale. Industry鈥憇pecific capabilities from 麻豆原创, such as support for automotive and mill and mining operations, along with integration with , help organizations address specialized requirements while accelerating time to value. Dedicated industry business units further tailor go鈥憈o鈥憁arket strategies and solutions to industry鈥憇pecific challenges.

Advancing transportation management with AI

Data-driven decision-making is increasingly essential for transportation operations. 麻豆原创 continues to invest in AI-driven capabilities that help automate processes, improve responsiveness, and increase productivity.

Recent innovations include AI-assisted use cases such as goods receipt processing, as well as the integration of conversational planning into transportation planning workflows. These capabilities are designed to help planners and operators work more efficiently by reducing manual effort and supporting faster, more informed decisions across execution and settlement processes. 麻豆原创 Joule for Consultants is another recent AI innovation that accelerates solution adoption by offering instant, expert-level guidance and best practice recommendations for solution configuration.

Supporting a connected logistics landscape

Transportation does not operate in isolation. 麻豆原创鈥檚 logistics portfolio brings together transportation, warehousing, and business network collaboration on a cohesive foundation.

This includes the recent general availability of , a new solution designed to support regional and local distribution operations by combining transportation execution, warehouse processes, and carrier collaboration in a single offering. 麻豆原创 Logistics Management complements 麻豆原创 Transportation Management by helping organizations extend standardized logistics processes to satellite locations and growing operations, supporting broader adoption while reducing complexity. 麻豆原创 Logistics Management can be deployed alongside 麻豆原创 Transportation Management to support multi-tier transportation operations, providing the right tool for each level of complexity.

麻豆原创 Transportation Management, together with other logistics solutions from 麻豆原创, helps organizations modernize their logistics operations in a way that aligns with their broader ERP and supply chain strategies as they progress on their transformational journeys via or .

Why organizations choose 麻豆原创 Transportation Management

Organizations choose 麻豆原创 Transportation Management to support complex transportation requirements across global and regional operations. The solution offers broad functional coverage, deep integration across the 麻豆原创 supply chain portfolio, and the flexibility to support both advanced transportation networks and evolving business needs.

With continued investment across 麻豆原创 Transportation Management, 麻豆原创 Logistics Management, warehousing, and 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics, 麻豆原创 remains focused on helping organizations operate resilient transportation processes while supporting both global complexity and localized execution models.

Explore how 麻豆原创 Transportation Management can .

Till Dengel is global head of Product Marketing for Logistics and Asset & Service Management at 麻豆原创.

*Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Transportation Management Systems, Brock Johns, Oscar Sanchez Duran, Manav Jain, 30 March 2026.

Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Gartner and Magic Quadrant are trademarks of Gartner, Inc., and/or its affiliates.

Headquartered in Homberg (Ohm), Germany, with worldwide locations, in 2024 KAMAX generated 鈧�1 billion in revenue and employs 4,000 people dedicated to serving OEMs globally.

To maintain its competitive edge, the ambitious company embarked on a transformative journey to streamline its supply chain through digitalization and intelligent logistics management. This transformation centers around the deployment of (麻豆原创 EWM),  (麻豆原创 TM), and a comprehensive 麻豆原创 S/4HANA platform, supporting superior logistics efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.

Optimizing logistics at scale

Handling approximately 400 transports daily across multiple global plants, KAMAX manages two distinct logistics flows: goods pre-packed and stored in warehouses, and a “pack-to-order” system where items are packaged just before shipment. Currently, three plants operate on 麻豆原创 S/4HANA with 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management and one pilot plant with 麻豆原创 Transportation Management integrated, while others are transitioning from 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component (麻豆原创 ECC).

The implementation of the advanced shipping and receiving process dramatically improved logistics transparency and efficiency.

“The use of the unified package builder, which leverages real data instead of estimates, allows us to provide precise shipping information to freight forwarders earlier in the process,” Jens Hoidem, director of IT Business Solutions at KAMAX, explained. This improvement enhances truck planning and communication with carriers, positively impacting the company’s logistics operations daily.

KAMAX collaborates exclusively with freight forwarders, working with approximately 20 carriers globally. At the advanced shipping and receiving pilot plant, about 60 deliveries per day are coordinated, involving around 2,000 handling units across five to six trucks. This network supports operational responsiveness without compromising control.

On premise today, cloud-ready tomorrow

Currently, three of KAMAX鈥檚 plants run on 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, with the remaining plants on 麻豆原创 ECC, all on an on-premises basis designed to be cloud-ready for future transitions.

Hoidem pinpointed the critical process improvements brought by advanced shipping and receiving in combination with 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management and 麻豆原创 Transportation Management: 鈥淭he shipping registration now uses the unified package builder, relying on accurate, real data rather than estimated figures. This has substantially improved truck planning and early communication with our freight forwarders, impacting around 60 deliveries and about 2,000 handling units daily at our pilot plant.鈥�

Over 95 percent of KAMAX’s transport is by truck. “We maintain a global footprint close to our OEM customers to optimize delivery times and costs,鈥� Hoidem added. 鈥淲e currently engage about 70 to 80 different freight forwarders worldwide, facilitating diverse and dynamic transport needs.鈥�

Sustainability and process automation

KAMAX has a bold strategy for sustainability and aims for carbon neutrality by 2037. Implementation of 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management and 麻豆原创 Transportation Management plays a crucial role in supporting KAMAX’s goal by enabling better route planning, efficient truck utilization, and minimizing empty runs.

鈥淩educing CO2 emissions through smarter transport management is a key project outcome,鈥� Hoidem added.

The German company is also actively advancing in automation. In China, KAMAX has piloted RFID technology integrated with automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to automate intra-logistics, reducing manual labor and enhancing productivity.

the company’s digital subsidiary, has developed an Operator Cockpit linked with 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management for real-time monitoring and automated production order management. Using laser technology, KAMAX automated piece counting, saving about 40 labour hours in May at their Slovakian plant across 1,200 containers.

KAMAX plans to roll out 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management, 麻豆原创 Transportation Management, and advanced shipping and receiving across all seven plants, progressively improving automation and digitalization of intralogistics processes. 鈥淲e aim to integrate AI for advanced receiving and transportation management, continuing to optimize costs and capacity,鈥� Hoidem shared.

Curious about how KAMAX鈥檚 journey to streamline and future-proof its supply chain? .

Using RISE with 麻豆原创, BMW Group converted the factory鈥檚 operations to modern cloud software, which also enables greater integration of AI. The successful go-live among this complex shift operation was the result of an extraordinary team, a strategic partnership lasting more than 30 years, and seven years of co-innovation between BMW and 麻豆原创.

Creating a new standard as partners

Following the initial rollout of the new solution at BMW Group鈥檚 MINI plant in Oxford, England, the Regensburg plant is the first full-scale BMW Group facility to transition to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA.

The rollout of the new cloud solution for the parts process chain (abbreviated as PKT in German) affected the entire logistical process chain for the digital control of parts supply in vehicle production — from ordering required components from suppliers, receiving, and warehousing to delivering them to the production line.

In addition to purely logistical processes, the solution also covers the plant鈥檚 quality and maintenance processes. For the first time, the new PKT template for 麻豆原创 S/4HANA enabled unified management of parts supply across all production technologies required to build a vehicle.

The project鈥檚 success is rooted in a team that worked across corporate boundaries toward a shared goal. Customer Services & Delivery and Product & Engineering teams from 麻豆原创 partnered with BMW to create a blueprint for holistic digital transformation in production logistics — from the press, body, and paint shops to final assembly.

Awareness of the importance of this transformation project was palpable among every 麻豆原创 employee involved. 鈥淲e made one thing clear to everyone on the team: every single car counts,鈥� says Carola Schoenfelder, chief project expert, Strategic Customer Innovations at 麻豆原创, and program lead for 麻豆原创 at BMW. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 only about IT; it was about the factory, the people, and the result.鈥�

Transformation as a staircase

Around one-third of employees at the BMW plant in Regensburg work directly with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA components, including and 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management. Involving those affected in the change process was critical to success. Another factor in the project鈥檚 success was learning from experience. The smaller MINI factory in Oxford had already completed its go-live, which helped guide the project team as it worked on the bigger Regensburg project.

Instead of designing the transformation as a metaphorical 鈥渞ock face鈥� that had to be climbed without any safety equipment, the team viewed it as a 鈥渟taircase鈥�: an incremental, guided transition. In addition, satellite support points were set up within the factory to offer support at any time.

Identifying optimization potential

Six months after go-live, it is clear that the transition to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition is more than just a technical upgrade; it鈥檚 noticeably changing daily operations. In particular, the new 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management application is proving to be a key technology that supplies important data and identifies potential for optimization.

Thanks to the new data foundation, the potential for optimization can be more precisely identified, for example, by the use of tugger trains and reduction of internal transport kilometers.

Standardization brings not only efficiency but also flexibility. Employees can switch between tasks more easily, and even between factories, because less specialized knowledge is needed. The processes are more streamlined and more transparent.

鈥淭he global digitalization of our production logistics significantly increases transparency and standardization, allowing us to respond more quickly to changes in demand or supply shortages,鈥� explains Michael Nikolaides, head of Production Network and Logistics at the BMW Group.

Ready for an AI-driven future

Strategically, the new IT infrastructure has brought significant changes. The cloud provides speed and flexibility, without users having to worry about the technology in the background. Moreover, the introduction of standardized cloud solutions is a crucial step toward fully harnessing the potential of AI in the future. To benefit sustainably from AI, standardized software solutions that can be quickly enhanced with new capabilities are needed.

鈥淲ith the next stage of digitalization in production logistics — enabled by consistent, unified data structures and standard process templates — we have significantly advanced the AI enablement of the BMW Group,” explains Alexander Buresch, CIO and senior vice president of BMW Group IT.

Over a seven-year period of co-innovation, BMW shared its automotive-specific requirements while 麻豆原创 mapped large sections of these requirements in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA and in the industry solution 麻豆原创 S/4HANA for manufacturing logistics. 鈥淎s part of our partnership with 麻豆原创, we have transferred key corporate processes to a service-oriented, cloud-based platform, achieving a new level of efficiency, quality, and automation,鈥� Buresch says.

Those who use a shared standard can also find solutions collectively, share them, and co-develop solution designs. If other automakers configure on the same standard in the future, BMW will also benefit from new 麻豆原创 releases.

The strategic collaboration to develop the PKT template began in 2018 as a project driven by deep expertise and strong commitment. The go-live in Regensburg is a key indicator that 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Private Cloud can meet the complex demands of a high-volume vehicle plant. Together with BMW, the 麻豆原创 consulting team demonstrated that with meticulous preparation, a lossless go-live in a complex shift operation is possible. The rollout process works and can be adapted and expanded plant by plant.

Hendrik Haas, senior vice president, general manager, and head of Customer Services & Delivery Middle and Eastern Europe at 麻豆原创, adds: 鈥淭he collaboration with our lighthouse customer BMW is making waves in the market and demonstrates how digital transformation in production logistics can be successfully implemented. BMW鈥檚 Regensburg factory was an important step, with extraordinary commitment from both sides of the partnership. We will continue the RISE with 麻豆原创 transformation at the main factory in Munich this summer, together with BMW.鈥�

.

We believe this recognition represents 麻豆原创鈥檚 unwavering commitment to building sustainable, risk-resilient supply chains capable of withstanding the ever-shifting landscape of logistics operations.

A Gartner Magic Quadrant is a culmination of research in a specific market, offering a wide-angle view of the relative positions of the market鈥檚 competitors. 麻豆原创鈥檚 positioning as a Leader is based on our ability to execute and completeness of vision.

Our winning strategy

As global logistics continues to face complex and volatile conditions, companies require a 360-degree view of their operational processes. Businesses are now managing more data and disruptions than ever before while simultaneously striving to meet sustainability goals. At 麻豆原创, we understand the critical need for greater visibility to effectively manage demand shifts, evolving consumer expectations, and local regulations. Our transportation management strategy takes into account key trends affecting businesses, enabling us to deliver innovative solutions tailored to their needs.

is a holistic, end-to-end solution that empowers businesses to efficiently manage their transportation operations. In an environment where many factors are beyond your control, you need a solution that can adapt to changes in routes, carriers, or demand, putting the power back in your hands. To achieve this level of control and agility, 麻豆原创 Transportation Management leverages AI and a single-view, panoramic platform.

Innovative AI use cases
Data-driven insights, , lead to faster decision-making and increased efficiency. Our AI-first strategy helps businesses remain responsive and proactive, ensuring a smooth flow of goods even — and especially — in the face of disruption. From automated goods receipts processing to conversational planning, AI drives new avenues for growth while providing improved productivity for transportation operations.

Supply chain convergence strategy
麻豆原创鈥檚 logistics portfolio orchestrates processes between 麻豆原创 Transportation Management, , and on a cohesive cloud platform. This single view across the logistics function helps eliminate blind spots and reduce complexity. With the power of 麻豆原创 Business Network, businesses can maintain a constant understanding of the operational landscape and collaborate with carriers in real time.聽

Why companies choose 麻豆原创

Today, companies worldwide and in dozens of industries trust 麻豆原创 Transportation Management to enhance their logistics management strategy.

Unparalleled partner ecosystem
Digital collaboration is key to building relationships with implementation and technology partners. Our unmatched partner ecosystem enables point-to-point connection at every step. The ecosystem includes implementation and technology partners in every region of the world, providing support for 麻豆原创 Transportation Management customers. Furthermore, 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics allows businesses to transact on a continuously expanding network of partners, tapping into collective expertise and resources to ensure on-time delivery of goods while meeting sustainability goals. The true power of the network lies in streamlined communication and collaboration.

End-to-end visibility
Risk identification and mitigation is only possible with a comprehensive view across every point of the supply chain. 麻豆原创 Transportation Management provides crucial data to other parts of the organization, from warehousing to customer service and accounting. Its planning capabilities allow organizations to promptly respond to disruptions such as production delays, carrier shortage, or delays at suppliers. Additionally, organizations can model constraints to ensure that transportation operations adhere to relevant laws and regulations, from customs to environmental regulations. Lastly, in combination with 麻豆原创 Business Network, 麻豆原创 Transportation Management includes visibility to goods in transit, providing stakeholders the necessary information to drive performance and customer satisfaction.

Recent innovations

The latest releases of 麻豆原创 Transportation Management include new capabilities, such as:

• Generative AI in the transportation cockpit, leveraging natural language for conversational planning, providing more human-centric work environment, and adapting to individual user needs
• AI-assisted goods receipt analysis for faster freight receiving, reducing manual efforts and waiting times and improving productivity
• Freight planning based on not just cost or time constraints, but also on minimizing CO2 emissions with the ability to allocate CO2 data down to the item level
• Expanded 3D load planning capabilities
• Continued enhancement of advanced shipping and receiving, orchestrating communication between 麻豆原创 Transportation Management and 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management
• Industry-specific innovations expanding on integration for just-in-time (JIT) and just-in-sequence (JIS) processes

Learn more about .

Till Dengel is global head of Product Marketing for Logistics and Asset & Service Management at 麻豆原创.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Founded in 1926 and with headquarters in southern Germany, STIHL has been the world’s top-selling chain saw brand since 1971. With a workforce of almost 20,000 employees, the family-owned business generated 5.3 billion euros in revenue in 2023.

Siloed Supply Chain Planning Insufficient for Informed Decision-Making

In the past, STIHL鈥檚 subsidiaries and production companies relied on their own 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component (麻豆原创 ECC) systems, deployed on premise, with a heterogenous landscape for supply chain planning processes across 35 sales and eight production companies that were tailored to the needs of each subsidiary.

鈥淲e lacked an end-to-end, consolidated view and overall transparency to improve decision-making for the company as a whole and not only for one subsidiary,鈥� said Lena Domhan, global process owner for Integrated Planning at STIHL. 鈥淧reviously, we spent a lot of time analyzing and verifying data and had no single source of truth. In addition, disconnected planning systems hindered collaboration and coordination between subsidiaries.鈥�

Market Trends Drive Change

With the introduction of new product lines with integrated batteries, STIHL found itself in a new business, selling to end customers also. 鈥淭his VUCA world required us to react even faster to volatility and changing demand,鈥� explained Axel Erhard, senior vice president, global ONE STIHL program lead. 鈥淭o optimize planning, we needed a better overview of the different production and sales companies.鈥�

The company established the ONE STIHL program with the goal to consolidate all subsystems across all sales and production companies into one integrated 麻豆原创 S/4HANA system. Moreover, STIHL aims to bring several solutions into one hybrid ecosystem, such as the solution (麻豆原创 IBP) with the applications for sales and operations and response and supply, the , and 麻豆原创 Transportation Management. 鈥淥ne goal of the ONE STIHL project is to reduce fixed capital and get more transparency on different management levels. 麻豆原创 IBP with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling play crucial roles in this process, serving as the starting point for planning,” Erhard said.

Synchronized Planning Approach for Distribution Center Refills

鈥淲e were one of the first customers to introduce 麻豆原创 IBP in combination with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling and 麻豆原创 Transportation Management,鈥� explained Fabio Fender, interim global process owner for Integrated Planning at STIHL. 鈥淲ith real-time integration, our planners can quickly react. For example, when tackling issues on the planning or production side, they immediately see the impact on the distribution side and vice versa. That provides confidence and trust.鈥�

Georg Fuchs, director of Integrated Planning and global solution architect, ONE STIHL project, added: 鈥淥rder-based planning and real-time integration are the heartbeat of our production. For instance, in Austria, finished goods are produced and then shipped to distribution centers in Germany or the Czech Republic. The order-based planning process in 麻豆原创 IBP is used to allocate, prioritize, and schedule the delivery of these goods. We are decoupling this from our production plan in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling.鈥�

With this synchronized planning approach, STIHL consolidates supply planning, distribution planning, and production planning into one seamless process, enabling a holistic workspace for planners. Detailed scheduling results from 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling are visible in 麻豆原创 IBP in real time, helping to ensure maximum transparency. In addition, the integration of 麻豆原创 Transportation Management allows for the creation of freight orders to ship STIHL鈥檚 finished products. 鈥淪TIHL鈥檚 vertically integrated supply chain gives us the potential for end-to-end control,鈥� Erhard said.

Higher Transparency Enables Accurate Planning

麻豆原创 IBP is live at two production sites in Austria and Switzerland and is used by several planners and others utilizing its reporting capabilities. 鈥淭he integration with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling and 麻豆原创 Transportation Management was the most effective solution to meet our business needs,鈥� Fuchs said.

STIHL already recognizes and anticipates a range of immediate and long-term benefits, including:

• Better visibility across subsidiaries, enabling accurate and feasible plans that can adapt to production constraints
• Increased efficiency with sales and production teams using the same system with one source of truth for all relevant data
• End-to end transparency for global planning processes with optimized planning for the network 
• Time savings for planners who see real-time impact of changes and can instantly make better-informed decisions
• Creation of feasible production plans to meet customer demand
• Real-time integration with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling ensures planners and production teams are using the same data for decision-making
• Logistics planners can efficiently plan truck load orders and promptly fulfill logistics requirements
• Improved customer service while reducing inventory costs through network planning
• Enhanced decision-making between quantity and revenue planning provides a crucial element to business processes and reporting

Future Plans and Leveraging AI

鈥淲e have four to five rollouts ahead of us on our journey. Over the next few years, we will integrate about 43 global subsidiaries into one network planning solution,鈥� Domhan said.

In relation to the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI), Erhard said, 鈥淪TIHL will invest in AI in the future. That is a clear focus of our owners.鈥�

鈥淲e are starting to explore potential opportunities to determine what would benefit us. However, regarding 麻豆原创 IBP, we are already fit for the future,鈥� Fender concluded.

Karin Fent is senior director of global Customer Success Digital Supply Chain at 麻豆原创.
Top photo courtesy of STIHL

On another day, this would be one of many alerts that supply chain logistics professionals see from 麻豆原创 Business Network鈥檚 logistics collaboration solutions. Unfortunately, on this day there is more to the story than the indicator on the map can tell us.

By now, we鈥檝e all seen photos and videos of the cargo ship Dali striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing a section to collapse into the Patapsco River in Baltimore鈥檚 outer harbor on Tuesday, March 26. They tell the story on a human level.

This event was a terrible tragedy where people lost loved ones. We are also mindful of the thousands of people whose livelihoods have been affected and of the impact this tragedy will have on the City of Baltimore and surrounding areas for years to come. It is a reminder that transportation logistics is not just a routine process of moving goods from point A to point B. It鈥檚 high stakes, dangerous work that we depend on to keep the world鈥檚 economic engine running.

Recovering from the Disruption: Three Scenarios

Another reality to the tragedy is that even as events were unfolding in Baltimore, supply chain and logistics professionals were compelled to act quickly to address a shockwave of related disruptions. As one of my colleagues noted, 鈥淕lobally, companies immediately devoted extra resources to determine what inventory they have at the Port of Baltimore, what鈥檚 on the water headed there, and what鈥檚 leaving their factories that can be rerouted.鈥� Buying organizations looked closely at inbound shipments, while their suppliers were checking how the disruption would impact outbound deliveries.

Increasingly today, buyers and suppliers rely on technology to gain visibility into the global supply chain. This makes it possible to track shipments, reroute them as needed, or take other remedial action. To explain this further, I鈥檇 like to address three port disruption scenarios and how suppliers and buyers can use 麻豆原创 solutions, including , , and , to recover and be more resilient through adversity.

1. Identifying and Tracking Outbound Shipments Impacted by a Port Closure

When a port is closed, especially unexpectedly, suppliers immediately turn their attention to outbound shipments and their committed delivery dates. Through logistics collaboration on 麻豆原创 Business Network, suppliers and shippers can receive alerts about high-risk events affecting their shipments. They can also get alerts about deviations from planned or expected estimated deliveries. 麻豆原创 solutions can generate these alerts based on global risk data from services like and from global positioning and event data from carriers and logistics visibility service providers.

However, knowing about delays is only one part of a business plan for supply chain resilience. To respond effectively, shippers also need to know the business impact. Which deliveries are impacted? Which customers? 麻豆原创 Business Network Global Track and Trace helps keep global logistics visibility in the context of the business. This can enable shippers to identify and contact affected customers and prepare a recovery plan.

Similarly, buyers using 麻豆原创 solutions can track inbound shipments. They can see how changes to the delivery date of a purchase order or stock transfer order will impact their inventory levels and production plans. This helps them avoid stock-outs and production delays that can ripple through the supply chain to their customers.

2. Adjusting for Shipments That Are Routed Away from a Closed Port

When a port is closed by a disruption, shipments headed there must be rerouted to another port. In many instances, new arrangements must be made for ground transportation from that port.

With 麻豆原创 Business Network Global Track and Trace, shippers can see that the ocean vessel carrying their shipment has been rerouted. Then, they can use 麻豆原创 Business Network Freight Collaboration to cancel ground transport out of the closed port and tender an order from the new port to the desired destination.

3. What About Shipments Stuck at a Port Suddenly Closed by Disruption?

If a port is suddenly closed, containers will remain piled up at the port, waiting either for pickup by another ocean vessel or for urgent ground transport to another hub. When a port is closed for an extended period, shippers must make alternative plans.

To do this efficiently and effectively, shippers can use 麻豆原创 Transportation Management. The application helps them develop new plans to move their goods through new routes or with new carriers. This can include everything from load planning and balancing to leveraging new lanes and delivery methods.

Then, with a new plan in place, shippers can use 麻豆原创 Business Network Freight Collaboration to collaborate digitally with carriers to execute the plan.

Anticipating and Avoiding Future Disruptions

Using technology to react to a supply chain disruption is not new. Inventory and production planning solutions have long helped businesses adjust when supply is affected. However, it may be even more important to understand how technology enables organizations to anticipate and even avoid disruption before it impacts their supply chain. This is the essence of .

Recovery and Resilience

Unexpected tragedies like the one in Baltimore Harbor are never easy on the many people impacted personally and professionally. As its effects ripple out across the world, we are reminded of the power of resilience. Building resilience is an axiom of supply chain management. Unfortunately, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is yet another resilience test for the world鈥檚 supply chains.

In the end, I believe the people of Baltimore and surrounding communities will show us what resilience really means. I also know that as recovery is achieved, supply chain practitioners around the world will do what it takes to make safety a top priority as they deliver what is needed to keep world economies running.

Doug DeLuca is an 麻豆原创 Business Network product marketing manager.

麻豆原创 is positioned in the Leaders Quadrant based on our Ability to Execute and for the Completeness of our Vision.

We believe that this recognition confirms our strategy in Logistics, which is based on three pillars:

• Connecting every process and providing synchronized logistics execution to support highly efficient and fast paced fulfillment cycles
• Collaborating with a single network of carriers, digital forwarders, and visibility providers to spot risks and avoid disruptions and thereby provide best-in-class delivery experience
• Contextualizing every decision, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to optimize operations and to provide business insights

麻豆原创 Transportation Management is an integral part of the overall 麻豆原创 strategy and gives companies the ability to manage their end-to-end transportation processes from procurement through planning and execution to freight settlement with analytics to support each step.

We continue to innovate in 麻豆原创 Transportation Management based on our market analysis and even more importantly based on feedback from our global install base and ecosystem. Recent innovations include advancements in areas like sustainability, planning and optimization, supply chain execution, and generative AI.

麻豆原创 Transportation Management and 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics enable logistics partners to collaborate with each other and provide visibility to all stakeholders throughout the shipment lifecycle and help manage risks as they arise through intelligent insights. We continue to grow 麻豆原创 Business Network, adding more carriers and additional networks to provide expanded coverage around the world and across all transportation modes.聽

As more customers evaluate 麻豆原创 Transportation Management, we continue to strategically expand our partner network to ensure our customers have access to an ecosystem that supports their operations no matter where they are in the world or how they move their freight. Our global partner network made up of systems integrators, business consultants, and technology providers help our customers manage their transportation transformations, whether they be system replacements, upgrades, greenfield deployments, or part of larger enterprise transformations.聽

鈥淥ur customers use 麻豆原创 Transportation Management and 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics to manage transportation operations in more than 20 industries and in every corner of the world,” said Till Dengel, global head of Logistics and Manufacturing Product Marketing at 麻豆原创. 鈥淏ecause we look at logistics holistically, clients can confidently confirm their orders, knowing that fulfillment can be executed as promised, since ERP, warehousing, and transportation are always in sync.鈥�

鈥淎dopting logistics solutions from 麻豆原创 across our facilities in all our markets allowed us to optimize freight transportation,鈥� said Carlo No猫, Global Process and Applications Manager for Trade, Transport, and Logistics Division at Hitachi Energy Ltd. 鈥淲e can interact with our stakeholders and carriers in a digital way, helping us manage supply chain risk, enhance agility, and build supply chain resilience.鈥�

For more details on the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for TMS .

Bill King is senior product marketing manager for Logistics at 麻豆原创.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

(麻豆原创 EWM) leverages robust automation technologies and optimization techniques in combination with logistics and fulfillment processes. It covers all facets of warehouse and distribution management, including multichannel fulfillment and distribution, inventory management and control, cross-docking, integration to manufacturing execution, labor management, and billing for companies of various sizes and industries. 麻豆原创 continues to enhance 麻豆原创 EWM based on feedback from the global install base as well as market analysis.

麻豆原创 EWM combined with 麻豆原创 Warehouse Robotics helps automate warehouse operations with quick onboarding of robots from multiple vendors for optimal decision making and efficient task orchestration. Combined with 麻豆原创 Warehouse Insights, it helps visualize, analyze, simulate and optimize warehouse operations. 麻豆原创 EWM combined with 麻豆原创 Transportation Management and 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics provides a platform for companies to collaborate with their logistics partners to gain end-to-end visibility and insights across their logistics operations.

The global 麻豆原创 partner network includes systems integrators, business consultants, and technology providers that expand the breadth and depth of how 麻豆原创 EWM helps customers manage their warehouse operations. We continue to strategically expand our partner network to help ensure that our customers have access to an ecosystem that supports their operations no matter where they are in the world.

鈥淲e are delighted that our WMS solutions have once again been recognized as a leader,” said Till Dengel, global head of Digital Logistics and Manufacturing Solutions at 麻豆原创. “The rating is a testament to the trust our large customer base has placed in us to manage their warehouse operations in over 20 industries and in every region of the world. It is further validation of our innovation capabilities and road map.”

鈥淏y bringing all of our businesses together into one central facility, we knew we needed to efficiently streamline our operating systems, platforms, and processes to reflect our newly integrated business model,鈥� said Brent Fiecken, general manager of Logistics and Distribution at Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited. 鈥淭he deployment of 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management has been a key enabler in helping us bring all our technologies together, including our voice-picking solution and RF scanners. It has enabled us to be as effective as we are today. With so many variations in product mix, distribution routes, and routes to market, we needed a solution that allows to really leverage all of those and deliver. 麻豆原创 EWM has helped drive that efficiency and increased our overall customer base.鈥�

.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

That is what we solve at 麻豆原创 with our unique approach to AI.

Built-In, Relevant, Responsible Business AI

At 麻豆原创, we deliver AI that is available from day one, as it is already built into the 麻豆原创 applications that power the most critical business processes. It works for an entire business because it is developed using extensive industry-specific data and deep process knowledge. Organizations can use it with confidence, as it is created using responsible AI practices. In essence, 麻豆原创 AI is AI built for business.

Today at 麻豆原创 Sapphire, we are announcing 15 new business AI capabilities, many powered by generative AI. We have also expanded our partnership with Microsoft on generative AI.

Let鈥檚 have a closer look at a few of these new capabilities.

Strengthening Human Capital Management

A company鈥檚 greatest asset is its workforce. Our focus for human capital management (HCM) is to use AI to help organizations attract, retain, and skill their employees. New generative AI capabilities in 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors Recruiting enable hiring managers to create compelling and accurate job descriptions that capture the desired skills and attributes of each role. Integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word allows them to fine-tune further and then seamlessly publish back in 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors software. Generative AI capabilities in the 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solution also generates interview questions tailored to specific job descriptions and candidates鈥� resumes, helping ensure inclusive language. The combined effect of these business AI capabilities saves hiring managers precious time and improves interview quality, maximizing the effectiveness of the hiring process.

We are also announcing talent intelligence hub in 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors software, which leverages people鈥檚 skills, competencies, capabilities, interests, work styles, and learning preferences to formulate recommendations that help employees develop and grow. These recommendations inspire, guide, and support employees by suggesting learning choices, roles, mentoring programs, and peer connections. Organizations also gain a better understanding of skill sets in their workforce to improve internal mobility, retention, and workforce agility.

Both of these business AI scenarios are planned for availability this year.

Growing Supply Chain Resilience

In supply chain, we are using AI to help predict, prepare, and respond to rapidly evolving demands. New generative AI capabilities in 麻豆原创 Transportation Management enable automotive and manufacturing companies to automatically process the tens of thousands of delivery notes they receive daily in different formats. The automation avoids data entry errors and works out of the box without requiring curated training data.

Additionally, in 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management, we are introducing an intelligent slotting capability that uses AI to suggest how to optimize warehouse organization, stocking, and replenishment based on a product鈥檚 characteristics, demand, or forecasts. This capability helps maximize warehouse space and increase the efficiency of warehouse management.

Users can take advantage of the intelligent slotting capability today; intelligent goods receipt is planned for availability later this year.

Increasing Efficiency and Compliance in Procurement

In procurement, we are using AI to help users contain costs and increase compliance across different markets. The new intelligent invoice conversion capability in 麻豆原创 Business Network makes it easier for procurement teams to onboard new suppliers by automatically extracting and processing relevant information from supplier invoices. A close feedback loop improves the mapping accuracy over time, further expediting invoice processing and accuracy.

We are also using AI to enhance the employee purchase experience with personalized recommendations in 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying. The guided buying capability uses data, such as employees鈥� roles, to suggest products and services chosen by peers and other pertinent products from the company catalog to improve the buying experience and curb maverick spend.

The guided buying capability in 麻豆原创 Ariba Buying is available today; the intelligent invoice conversion on 麻豆原创 Business Network is planned for availability later this year.

Reducing Risks and Controlling Costs in Finance

In finance, we are using AI to transform all finance operations with insights, recommendations, and automation. The new intelligent collections in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA helps collection specialists forecast the risk of a late payment on an invoice and better prioritize which customers require follow up. This not only streamlines an extremely time-consuming task, but also simplifies risk management and makes it easier for corporate treasury to manage liquidity and capital levels.

Intelligent collections in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA is available today.

Improving Employee & Customer Experience 聽

麻豆原创 Digital Assistant provides a unified natural language interface for 麻豆原创 solutions. We are adding new generative AI capabilities to provide users with tailored assistance based on their context, helping new and experienced users be more productive with the tasks at hand.

麻豆原创 Digital Assistant is also expanding its capabilities to provide users with proactive and contextual assistance inside their applications, starting with 麻豆原创 Customer Experience solutions. With the new 麻豆原创 Digital Assistant for customer experience, sellers and support teams can easily get holistic insights, create recommendations, and automatically generate content to personalize customer experiences.

Both these capabilities are planned for availability later this year.

Increasing Agility and Foresight Across your Business

We have covered just a few of the many business AI capabilities we are announcing at 麻豆原创PHIRE. The figure below summarizes all of them — including the ones that bring value to several business functions, such as generative AI scenarios in 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud and 麻豆原创 Signavio Process Manager.

New AI Capabilities

Delivering AI with Trust and Transparency

Responsible AI has been integral to our AI strategy since its inception. We follow a holistic approach to delivering AI that puts humans at the center of our products and processes. To do so, we have established an ethics policy and compliance processes to put responsible AI into practice. The AI in our applications is transparent, so we can understand how it makes inferences and builds recommendations. It respects the privacy of sensitive data and helps users avoid bias in your decisions. Altogether, we ensure you remain in control.

Learn more about these announcements and how 麻豆原创 AI is built for business:

Bharat Sandhu is senior vice president of Application Development and AI at 麻豆原创.

麻豆原创 is positioned in the Leaders quadrant based on our ability to execute and for the completeness of our vision.

The 麻豆原创 Transportation Management application enables companies to manage their end-to-end transportation processes from procurement through planning and execution all the way to freight settlement. 麻豆原创 continues to enhance the application based on feedback from the global install base and based on market analysis. We provide innovations in areas such as sustainability, planning, and optimization, as well as a continued focus on integrating 麻豆原创 Transportation Management more deeply into our warehouse, logistics, and enterprise solutions for more tightly connected business processes.

麻豆原创 Transportation Management combined with 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics provides a platform for companies to collaborate with their logistics partners, gain visibility into their shipments via the multiple connected visibility networks, and manage risks through intelligent insights. 麻豆原创 continues to expand 麻豆原创 Business Network by adding more carriers and partner networks in order to provide truly global coverage for all transportation modes.

The global 麻豆原创 partner network includes systems integrators, business consultants, and technology providers that expand the breadth and depth of how 麻豆原创 Transportation Management helps customers manage their transportation. We continue to strategically expand our partner network to help ensure our customers have access to an ecosystem that supports their operations no matter where they are in the world or how they move their freight.

鈥淥ur customers use our transportation management system to manage transportation operations in over 20 industries and in every region of the world,鈥� said Till Dengel, global head of Digital Logistics Solutions at 麻豆原创. “Because of our focus on logistics convergence, our clients are able to holistically manage their transportation operations to help ensure those transportation plans can be executed by other parts of the logistics process like warehousing and by our logistics partners.”

鈥淏y leveraging the 麻豆原创 S/4HANA ecosystem — and specifically with 麻豆原创 Transportation Management, 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics, 麻豆原创 Integrated Business Planning, and 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud — we have created the ideal foundation for an intelligent, data-driven cooperative that provides the best value for our growers,鈥� said Steve Birgfeld, vice president of Information Technology and Services at Blue Diamond Growers.

Find more details on the latest .

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The company was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from聽Unilever and its mission is to deliver plant products for healthier lives and happier people for a better planet.

鈥淯pfield is a quite new company that operates in a very dynamic market environment sensitive to social integrators and economic indicators,鈥� said Anand Mathew, platform lead, Supply Chain Applications at Upfield. 鈥淚n terms of planning and logistics, key objectives are to ensure a high service level. Moreover, we aim to reduce product cost while ensuring minimal obsolescence as customer demands are ever changing.鈥�

Upfield set specific targets along its supply chain. 鈥淔or example, as plant-based is part of our formulations and product development, we must be sure to move towards a 100% natural formulation. Not meeting this goal in particular markets can impact us with negative publicity around packaging or product quality. Also, recent disruptions due to COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine 鈥� the biggest producer for sunflower oil, which is a key product ingredient 鈥� forced us to change and update formulations very quickly and pass that information on to manufacturing, transportation, and our customers,鈥� Mathew explained.

鈥淥ther requirements related to sustainability are to be plastic free for our packages or disclose our methane footprint, including the CO2 product footprint. All this deeply implicated our IT systems and how we run our supply chain. It must be reflected in our product development, manufacturing, and distribution, and ultimately be reported,鈥� the executive added.

The Need for Integrated Solutions along the Supply Chain

The IT solutions portfolio taken over from Unilever didn鈥檛 meet Upfield鈥檚 needs to align objectives along the entire supply chain and had to be updated to ensure the highest level of integration.

鈥淭o achieve our product strategy goals, we have been fostering integration of disparate systems with as the backbone. This integration allowed us to be where we are now,鈥� Mathew said. 鈥淔or instance, we manage around 4,000 specifications for ingredients and up to 2,500 recipes with 麻豆原创 Product Lifecycle Management.鈥�

For supply chain planning, Upfield is using for demand, response, supply, and sales and operations planning (S&OP). Mathew explained: 鈥淭wo hundred of our business users use 麻豆原创 Integrated Business Planning in 95 countries. The regions have slight variations in managing the solution, but all countries are using demand planning so that we get our S&OP numbers entirely through 麻豆原创 Integrated Business Planning.鈥�

The executive added: 鈥淲e are looking to use machine learning-based statistical forecasting via capabilities that the latest 麻豆原创 Integrated Business Planning version provides. Then we can build Python scripts into our end-to-end planning process. For the future, 麻豆原创 Sustainability Control Tower will be another important 麻豆原创 Integrated Business Planning component in our strategy as it enables exception-based planning, and we also evaluated demand-driven materials resource planning (DDMRP).鈥�

鈥淪ourcing is done via 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions to identify appropriate suppliers, also for plastic-free materials. New targets are constantly impacting which suppliers to work with or what criteria to meet when working with a new supplier,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ithin the 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, we use sourcing, supplier selection and supply selection criteria, and contract management, completing contracts via DocuSign before handing off to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA or the supply chain for execution. We use it for direct procurement for our products and indirect procurement,鈥� Mathew remarked.

For its logistics processes, Upfield is leveraging 麻豆原创 Transportation Management and . Ocean movements are managed via 麻豆原创 Transportation Management and land movements with both.

鈥淲e use for calculating transportation movements, planning shipments, and route optimization. Resulting freight orders are passed on to the carrier. Settlements are then done within 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics. There, our carriers can either log directly into the carrier tenant to accept or reject preorder or use the booking functionality to specify preorder execution,鈥� Mathew explained. 鈥淭he network supports fixing settlements after freight order execution. Overall, 麻豆原创 Business Network for Logistics provides better communication with our carriers.鈥�

Achieving Higher Agility and Resilience

Upfield is also tracking the life cycle of each product until its retirement. 鈥淎t each stage, every system has to be aligned to avoid the risk of obsolescence, and we have been able to reduce cost with help from 麻豆原创 solutions,鈥� Mathew said. 鈥溌槎乖� S/4HANA and supply chain solutions helped us be more agile. The main advantage is the integrated planning capability we have across our supply chain. Thanks to native integration or interfaces we built across different tools, we are able to react much faster to any kind of disruption. It鈥檚 all about agility.鈥�

With 麻豆原创鈥檚 synchronized planning approach, production schedules can be updated quickly, helping to ensure the right ingredients are in place at the right time.

Future Plans to Foster Even More Integration

End consumers benefit from Upfield鈥檚 ambitions enabled by this holistic approach with higher quality plant-based products as well as unified messaging and branding.

鈥淥ur vision is to have end-to-end integrated planning, from supply chain planning to execution, including finance. We chose 麻豆原创 because of the completeness of its vision,鈥� Mathew concluded.

Discover how planning can be the cornerstone of a sustainable supply chain and make sure you check out the planning and sourcing report, 鈥�.鈥�

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success for Digital Supply Chain at 麻豆原创.

The Mississippi river is a vital transport route for U.S. agricultural commodities, carrying 92% of U.S. agricultural exports and 78% of the global exports of feed grains and soybeans. But water levels in some parts of the river are now so low that commercial traffic has been halted and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been called in to begin emergency dredging.

With no sign of an end to the drought in the Midwest, water levels in the Mississippi are now near 30-year lows because of a lack of rain in the Ohio River Valley and the Upper Mississippi. As a result, U.S crop exports at Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals were at their lowest level in nine years for the first week of October, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and shipping prices have soared.

麻豆原创’s Take

Historically, shipping along the Mississippi river and its tributaries has been less expensive than other forms of transportation, but this hasn鈥檛 been true in recent weeks. As Richard Howells, vice president of solution management for digital supply chain at 麻豆原创 notes: 鈥淲e plan in the perfect world and we execute in the real world.鈥�

With parts of the river unpassable for big barges, he says grain shippers in particular have been forced to look at alternative modes of transport to move the grain to the port. 鈥淵ou may be able to use trains to take the load part way and trucks for the last mile,鈥� he says.

That, he suggests, is easier if the shipper has clear and up-to-date information. Providing that kind of data visibility, control and risk resiliency is the purpose of聽. 鈥淲ith connected data — including freight, fleet and logistics — you can re-plan with an updated schedule based on available routes and vehicles.”

鈥淲hen there鈥檚 a disruption, companies have to move quickly to identify which trucking companies and railways offer the right services and are available on short notice,鈥� Howells says. In particular shippers need to establish whether they have contracts with these logistics service providers already, or contacts that could broker introductions to new vendors.

鈥淚deally, you want to foster relationships with a trusted network of business partners so you have more choices and a faster response when the unexpected happens,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f your grain is sitting in a stranded barge waiting for the dredger to deepen the water, which customers are expecting that order?鈥�

Once contingency plans are in place, the next step is to figure out whether the grain will arrive on time for each handover between trains, trucks and the outbound ships sitting in the ports. 鈥淯pdated information and visibility at every leg of the journey helps you keep customers informed, resetting their expectations so they can adapt their operations as well,鈥� says Howells.

Contact:
Joellen Perry, Head of聽Global Public Relations, 麻豆原创
+1 (626) 265-0370,聽joellen.perry@sap.com, PT

These were the words of Pepijn Timmermans, vice president of Digitalization at VDL Nedcar,聽who I recently had the chance to speak to about how the company modernized and digitalized its yard operations.

What Is VDL Nedcar?

is not just the only independent contract manufacturer in the Netherlands but also one of the most advanced vehicle manufacturers in Europe. The 50-year-old company builds high-quality cars for major brands such as BMW, as well as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) variant of the MINI Countryman. And as a company that banks on strong partnerships and innovation, VDL will also build electric vehicles for their newest customer, the U.S. company Canoo.

How to Manage a Yard Full of Moving Products

VDL Nedcar faced the challenge of managing the movement of vehicles, parts, and materials. 鈥淲e have 1,000 parts suppliers, 12,000 parts numbers, and seven carriers who bring all these parts by truck to our plant, which results in an inbound of 270 full trucks per day coming in and going out,鈥� Timmermans explained.

鈥淭he automotive industry has a closed loop where packaging material is brought back to the supplier. This means transport can arrive at any moment and within only one hour the driver drops a trailer, picks up another with packaging materials, and leaves the yard,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e have to manage 350 trailers in our yard. Basically, it鈥檚 a warehouse management system for trailers.鈥�

The process to do this was very manual. When a carrier came in, they picked an empty spot in the yard, filled out papers, and took them to the office where the information was put into the system. This was a very labor-intensive and error-prone process, and, as Timmermans explained, 鈥淚f we missed only one trailer, the impact could be dramatic and costly.鈥� A missed trailer of a vital part could harm the production processes and even lead to major stoppages of the plant for a full day, which relies on a just-in-time approach.

The Answer? Warehouses on Wheels

The answer was to analyze business processes. 鈥淲e have a very unique inbound logistics supply chain concept. I think we are the only one of the OEMs in Europe who has control of inbound transport fully in our own hands,鈥� Timmermans said. 鈥淚n our material requirement system, we also integrate the whole of inbound logistics transport planning as part of the , which makes us unique and enables us to have very efficient inbound logistics.鈥�

鈥淲e established a 鈥榳arehouse on wheels鈥� concept, which optimizes our transport efficiency,鈥� he said. 鈥淚nstead of booking a time slot days ahead with the risk of long waiting times at the gate and manual management of documents in the past, carriers can arrive at our plant 24/7, sign in at the gate, get a parking location assigned for the trailer, and receive a note where to pick up an empty trailer with packaging materials.鈥�

Managing the Logistics of the Yard

To get full control and transparency of this warehouse on wheels, VDL Nedcar implemented .

鈥淏ased on聽听补苍诲听, we developed a solution where our six dock master trucks that drive the trailers from the yard to the loading dock and empty back to the yard can be steered fully automatically,鈥� Timmermans explained. 鈥淭he trucks are equipped with industrial flat screens and connected to the solution. All movement triggers are visualized for the dock masters and they get automated priorities for which trailer to transport where, including an optimization algorithm to indicate which truck is close to the trailer to be picked up. Getting this process automated and optimized saved one employee per shift.鈥�

鈥淧reviously, we also did a manual weekly inventory of all trailers on the yard for which we needed one man day per week. That has all gone,鈥� he added.

鈥溌槎乖� Yard Logistics helps us cooperate with our suppliers much better. We have an easier, digitalized, and transparent process at the gate for our carriers, which boosts efficiency, reduces waiting time, and eases administration,鈥� he said.

Tangible benefits听颈苍肠濒耻诲别:

• Increased process transparency
• Reduced administrative effort of one day per week
• Time savings thanks to inventory automation
• Efficiency gains due to automated and digitalized processes on the yard saving one employee per shift
• Reduced waiting time for carriers and enabling them to plan better
• Streamlined and transparent processes at the gate
• Almost no incidents or administrative mistakes
• Standard solution that is integrated with聽

鈥淚n the future, we plan to connect our yard logistics processes with聽 to provide a self-service portal for the carriers, automate gate processes with cameras, and leverage聽聽to get full transparency across the entire supply chain,鈥� Timmermans concluded.

To learn more about how to achieve efficient and sustainable processes with 麻豆原创 Yard Logistics, .

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success Digital Supply Chain at 麻豆原创.

Vendors were analyzed across procurement, supply chain execution and supply chain planning and, for the second year in a row, 麻豆原创 ranked No. 1 across all three categories.

In addition, 麻豆原创 was also recognized as a Leader in both the 鈥溾�� report and the 鈥溾�� report. These recognitions illustrate 麻豆原创鈥檚 continued influence on the future of resilient digital supply chains.

鈥淚n our opinion, this trio of recognitions from Gartner reflects our commitment to improving outcomes for our customers,鈥� said Franz Hero, head of 麻豆原创 Digital Supply Chain Development. 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked to ensure they are empowered to rapidly respond to changing market conditions, and that invested commitment is being recognized.鈥�

The 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management application helps customers manage high-volume warehouse operations and integrate complex supply chain logistics within their warehouse and distribution processes to deliver visibility and control.

The 麻豆原创 Transportation Management application supports customers across all major industries, with a focus on consumer products, agriculture, mining, construction, chemical and retail. The application helps customers dramatically reduce transportation complexity by integrating fleet and logistics management throughout their network.

Visit the . Follow 麻豆原创 on Twitter at .

Media Contact:
Angela Feher, +1 (347) 882-1689, angela.feher@sap.com, ET
麻豆原创 麻豆原创 Room; press@sap.com

Gartner, 鈥淢arket Share Analysis: Supply Chain Management Software, Worldwide, 2020,鈥� Balaji Abbabatulla, Satyam ., Neha Gupta, Amarendra , Christian Titze, Micky Keck, 15 July 2021.
Gartner, 鈥淢agic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems,鈥� Simon Tunstall, Dwight Klappich, 30 June 2021.
Gartner, 鈥淢agic Quadrant for Transportation Management Systems,鈥� Bart De Muynck, Brock Johns, Oscar Sanchez Duran, Carly West, 30 March 2021.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. GARTNER and Magic Quadrant are registered trademarks and service marks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 鈥渁nticipate,鈥� 鈥渂elieve,鈥� 鈥渆stimate,鈥� 鈥渆xpect,鈥� 鈥渇orecast,鈥� 鈥渋ntend,鈥� 鈥渕ay,鈥� 鈥減lan,鈥� 鈥減roject,鈥� 鈥減redict,鈥� 鈥渟hould鈥� and 鈥渨ill鈥� and similar expressions as they relate to 麻豆原创 are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. 麻豆原创 undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect 麻豆原创’s future financial results are discussed more fully in 麻豆原创’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including 麻豆原创’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
漏 2021 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.

麻豆原创 believes the recognition demonstrates its ability to help global businesses stay resilient in times of supply chain disruption with its customer-centric products.

According to recent reports, 麻豆原创 has been:

• Placed in the Leaders Quadrant of the Gartner 鈥淢agic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems鈥� for the sixth time in a row
• Placed in the Leaders Quadrant of the Gartner 鈥淢agic Quadrant for Transportation Management Systems鈥� for the sixth year in a row
• Ranked by Gartner as the number one market share leader in supply chain management software, worldwide, for the 18th year in a row
• Ranked by IDC as number one by market share for supply chain management applications

Additionally, all of the and all four of the Gartner Supply Chain Masters are 麻豆原创 customers.

鈥淎s 2020 has shown us, supply chain disruptions can present immediate and long-lasting threats without warning,鈥� said Franz Hero, head of development for 麻豆原创 Digital Supply Chain. 鈥淐ompanies must operate resilient supply chains that are agile, predictive and intelligent in order to make informed decisions quickly and confidently. These third-party recognitions show 麻豆原创鈥檚 leadership in helping organizations continue moving forward 鈥� even in times of disruption.鈥�

According to Gartner: 鈥淭he supply chain management software market grew 8.6% in 2019, exceeding $15 billion in vendor revenue. Cloud revenue grew 2.5 times faster than the overall market, accounting for nearly 34% of the market as all leading vendors transitioned their new product strategy to cloud.鈥�* In the same report, 麻豆原创 ranked as the number one market share leader in supply chain management software, worldwide.

Gartner鈥檚 2020 鈥淢agic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems鈥�** report lists 麻豆原创 in the Leaders Quadrant for its SCM extended warehouse management solution. The application covers all the facets of warehouse and distribution management, including multichannel fulfillment and distribution, inventory management and control, cross-docking, labor management and billing for companies of all sizes and industries.

Gartner鈥檚 2020 鈥溾�濃�� report lists 麻豆原创 in the Leaders Quadrant for its transportation management solution. The application, which experienced significant revenue growth in 2019, reduces transportation complexity dramatically by integrating fleet and logistics management throughout networks.

In its 鈥淚DC Semiannual Software Tracker 2019H2,鈥濃�犫�� published in April 2020, IDC again ranked 麻豆原创 number one in supply chain management revenue and overall market share.

Visit the . Follow 麻豆原创 on Twitter at .

Media Contact:
Angela Feher, +1 (347) 882-1689, angela.feher@sap.com, ET
麻豆原创 麻豆原创 Room; press@sap.com

Gartner Disclaimer: Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

*Gartner, 鈥�,鈥� Hai Swinehart, Balaji Abbabatulla, June 2020.
**Gartner, 鈥淢agic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems,鈥� Simon Tunstall, Dwight Klappich, May 2020.
鈥燝artner, 鈥�,鈥� Bart De Muynck, Brock Johns, Oscar Sanchez Duran, March 2020.
鈥犫�營DC Semiannual Software Tracker 2019H2 Final Historical, April 2020. Supply Chain Management Applications is an IDC secondary market. Based on 2019 Worldwide Revenues. IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide software market when there is a difference of 0.5 percentage-point or less in rounded revenue market share among two or more vendors.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 鈥渁nticipate,鈥� 鈥渂elieve,鈥� 鈥渆stimate,鈥� 鈥渆xpect,鈥� 鈥渇orecast,鈥� 鈥渋ntend,鈥� 鈥渕ay,鈥� 鈥減lan,鈥� 鈥減roject,鈥� 鈥減redict,鈥� 鈥渟hould鈥� and 鈥渨ill鈥� and similar expressions as they relate to 麻豆原创 are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. 麻豆原创 undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect 麻豆原创’s future financial results are discussed more fully in 麻豆原创’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including 麻豆原创’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
漏 2020 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.

Following is the Q&A from that discussion, moderated by Andrea Stokvis of 麻豆原创 and featuring Harald Muley, of Corporate Functions IT at Doehler, and Horst Ebert, vice president of Global IT from Goodyear.

Q: Let鈥檚 begin by telling us a bit about each of your organizations and your role.

Ebert: Goodyear is one of the world鈥檚 largest tire companies. We employ about 64,000 people and manufacture products in 47 facilities in 21 countries around the world. I鈥檓 responsible for all 麻豆原创 activities at Goodyear globally, with focus on centralizing our 麻豆原创 support structure, harmonizing our application architecture across geographies, and defining together with 麻豆原创 strategic roadmaps to move toward the Intelligent Enterprise.

Muley: Doehler is a global producer, marketer, and provider of technology-driven natural ingredients, ingredient systems, and integrated solutions for the food and beverage industry. We have over 7,000 employees worldwide and serve customers in more than 130 countries with 45 production sites.聽 As head of Corporate Functions IT, I am responsible for all IT aspects regarding finance, controlling, and HR.

Both companies have been long-standing 麻豆原创 ERP customers and have decided to move to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA on premise, supporting very complex system landscapes. What was the key driver for embracing 麻豆原创 S/4HANA as your digital core?

Muley: Doehler had run its operations on the 麻豆原创 ERP application since 1993, which resulted in a highly customized and specialized system with more than 33,000 custom objects and roughly 3.7 million lines of code. To accelerate growth, the company needed to update our ERP. We made a strategic decision to use 麻豆原创 S/4HANA. We knew it was the future of 麻豆原创 and that development and investment were being made.

Ebert: Goodyear is running separate ERPs to support our business units in North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. We identified a couple of key drivers to start our 麻豆原创 S/4HANA journey. First, we want to leverage the latest 麻豆原创 technologies, including machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). Second, we wanted to harmonize our applications architecture and drive standardization and simplification to support new business requirements quicker. Finally, 麻豆原创 S/4HANA will be the core of the 麻豆原创 architecture surrounded by cloud solutions, and we need to stay within maintenance windows.

Many are interested in how you moved to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA. Can you describe your journey and where you are in the process now?

Muley: We were previously using 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component with 麻豆原创 MaxDB. Our journey began by first moving to 麻豆原创 HANA with a technical upgrade. Then we did a system conversion to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA 1610 with 90 percnet automation of custom code conversion. Currently, 17 companies are running on our central 麻豆原创 S/4HANA 1809 system. We鈥檝e been doing yearly upgrades to keep on the latest and greatest version of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA.

Ebert: Our journey started with 麻豆原创鈥檚 announcement to cancel maintenance for 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component by 2025. We went live with finance initially, deploying a technical foundation last year and now we continue to add more business processes and innovations. We don鈥檛 consider our 麻豆原创 S/4HANA journey in isolation; it鈥檚 part of the digital enterprise transformation where we have a strategy of leveraging as many cloud solutions as possible.

How did you decide the path to deploy 麻豆原创 S/4HANA?

Muley: We decided a system conversion was the way to go because a greenfield project would have taken too long for our fast-changing industry. We decided to perform process redesign on the new 麻豆原创 S/4HANA data model. Also, it allowed us to reuse valuable custom developments.

Ebert: We are taking a hybrid approach since we are running multiple ERP systems. Our first deployment was a new implementation for functionality we wanted to globalize and standardize, like finance. However, since we are not moving all our business processes into a single instance, we will do system conversions of existing ERPs, where processes are market-driven and might differ by geography. We are making that decision in close collaboration with our business functions.

What did you consider when deciding whether to deploy on premise or in the cloud?

Muley: We decided to keep our data on premise, because our own data center is very efficient. It allows us to keep our financial data as well as valuable intellectual property like development recipes on our on-premise instance of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA.

Ebert: We are not ready yet for 麻豆原创 S/4HANA in the public cloud, but we are deploying 麻豆原创 S/4HANA on 麻豆原创 HANA Enterprise Cloud. This allows us to focus on our own capacities to improve core processes and drive new innovations while leaving the management of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA hosting to 麻豆原创 as part of our hosting strategy. In APJ, 麻豆原创 HANA Enterprise Cloud only had a center in Japan and we decided that we needed a location closer to our markets in Australia and New Zealand, so we have deployed on Amazon Web Services in Singapore.

What was your biggest challenge?

Muley: Being an early adopter at that time presented us with great challenges. We could not leverage 麻豆原创 tools like 麻豆原创 Readiness Check, documentation was missing, and there was a shortage of consultants with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA knowledge. Also, 麻豆原创 S/4HANA support from third-party add-ons and consulting solutions was a challenge, as some were not ready yet for the journey. Nevertheless, we made it on time within six months, including necessary retrofits due to parallel projects, two FPS 麻豆原创 S/4HANA upgrades, and around 230 implemented OSS notes.

Ebert: 麻豆原创 continues to invest in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA with the consequence of significant annual release upgrades. While we are increasing the utilization of the system, we need to plan for those annual upgrades.

What were some of your magic moments that worked well during your deployment?

Muley: I have to say the collaboration with 麻豆原创 during our project was one big magic moment. The commitment of the team involved was outstanding 鈥� from our customer care coordinator to the support consultant during our production system conversion weekend, working on an unexpected serious issue during migration. Everybody was very committed to make this a success story. It was a big success for team Doehler and 麻豆原创.

Ebert: The robustness of the application is really impressive. We replicated 5 billion universal journal items records into 麻豆原创 S/4HANA and had zero rounding difference.

A specific question for Doehler: What is your strategy with the yearly 麻豆原创 S/4HANA upgrades?

Muley: There are always so many new capabilities, like embedded 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management; embedded 麻豆原创 Transportation Management, our key driver for 1709; embedded master data quality, our key driver for 1809; or group reporting for 1909. Also, we see many innovations like machine learning with 麻豆原创 Leonardo 鈥� 麻豆原创 Cash Application extended functionality under 1809, GR/IR monitor 鈥� so we decided that we need to do the 麻豆原创 S/4HANA upgrades each year. Furthermore, our upgrades are comparable to enhancement package upgrades in 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component times. We will now try the next upgrade with 1909 within five weeks. From our perspective, the sooner you start, the better it gets!

What capabilities of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA are you currently using, and what other solutions do you have connected to it?

Ebert: Currently we are using finance and plan for central procurement in 2020. We have 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud to leverage real-time analytics and eventually, planning. Furthermore, we integrate with 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors, 麻豆原创 Concur, and 麻豆原创 Fieldglass solutions. Digital supply is under evaluation.

Muley: We are using all the classical 麻豆原创 麻豆原创 S/4HANA modules like finance, supply chain, inventory, etc., but we also implemented 麻豆原创 Financial Closing cockpit, and the embedded 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management and 麻豆原创 Transportation Management. We integrate 麻豆原创 S/4HANA with the 麻豆原创 Data Maintenance by Vistex, pricing option for 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, 麻豆原创 Sales Cloud, 麻豆原创 Ariba software, and just recently acquired 麻豆原创 Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain to also strengthen our supply chain footprint in connection with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA. We are also implementing live reporting with 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud.

Now a Goodyear-specific question: You mentioned finance as a key driver for why Goodyear moved to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA. Can you share what your users are telling you and what benefits they鈥檝e received?

Ebert: The availability of information has been amazing. It鈥檚 the first time in history we can provide comparable data globally with full transparency to the lowest level of detail. Our finance professionals don鈥檛 have to make decisions based on yesterday鈥檚 or last week鈥檚 reporting. They鈥檙e getting real-time numbers 鈥� what鈥檚 actually happening in the business. All of this means they can make better, more informed decisions.

What are some of the benefits you鈥檙e realizing with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA?

Muley: We didn鈥檛 focus on before-and-after metrics or focus on the percentage increase of productivity, etc. However, we had a definite increase of performance implementing 麻豆原创 HANA already by more than 30 percent. We are also seeing with 麻豆原创 Cash Application that 30 percet or more of the postings are automated, so that gives folks in finance more time to focus on more strategic activities versus just posting items. Overall, 麻豆原创 S/4HANA gives us a foundation to run new business processes and create innovative business models that deliver even more value to partners and customers.

Ebert: We quickly identified opportunities and benefits for finance. We didn鈥檛 have a global chart of accounts or global cost center structure, so this was really an opportunity to implement global standards and gain real-time visibility into financial data.

What advice would you give other customers that are considering deploying 麻豆原创 S/4HANA?

Ebert: Take your time to implement 麻豆原创 S/4HANA and make sure you understand the full potential in combination with other applications like 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud. Make sure your internal support team is building the required capabilities and learn how to leverage all the new functionalities.

Muley: A conversion project can be done fast, and the sooner you start, the smaller the gap between 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component and 麻豆原创 S/4HANA. As with every release, there are new simplifications implemented, which make the conversion more complex if you start with 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component as basis. And expect and be prepared for the unexpected.

We hear a lot from our customers about the importance of change management. How did you approach it? Whether from a business user or IT professional perspective?

Muley: Since our approach was to perform only mandatory adjustments for the system conversion, such as the implementation of 麻豆原创 Business Partner for 麻豆原创 S/4HANA or rebate settlement management and keeping 麻豆原创 GUI as user front end, there was not much change management necessary initially.

Ebert: Most important is the support of the executive leadership. Second is to demonstrate to users what is possible; don鈥檛 implement just the as-is. Lastly, train your internal IT professionals and make them hungry for new technologies.

Thanks to Harald Muley from Doehler and Horst Ebert from Goodyear for sharing valuable insights about their respective 麻豆原创 S/4HANA deployment and journey to become an Intelligent Enterprise.

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