SAP Mobile Business Gains Market Momentum Across Multiple IndustriesGlobal Companies Utilize mySAP(TM) Mobile Business Applications to Increase Efficiency, Profitability and Competitive Advantage BASEL, Switzerland, Oct. 1, 2003 -- SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that customers across the globe in the manufacturing, services, oil and gas, and chemical industries are leveraging the benefits of mySAP(TM) Mobile Business to connect employees more effectively to their work. Bopack Systems in Belgium, Global Enterprise Management Solutions (GEMS) in the United States, Infraserv Hochst in Germany, and Messer Griesheim in Austria recently implemented mySAP Mobile Business applications to ensure the flexibility, scalability and security of their enterprise mobile solutions. SAP also stated that it is working with key partners, such as Intel, in the mobile enterprise market to bring mobile solutions to joint customers. Today's announcement was made at SAP(R) TechEd '03 Europe and the concurrent SAP NetWeaver(TM) Conference, being held in Basel, Switzerland from Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2003. mySAP Mobile Business applications are based on SAP(R) Mobile Infrastructure, a technology foundation that is powered by SAP NetWeaver, the company's open integration and application platform that drives lower cost of ownership across heterogeneous IT landscapes. This open platform allows companies to extend key SAP business processes to a variety of mobile solutions across multiple systems and applications. SAP Mobile Infrastructure has also recently been recognized as a market leader in the mobile software vendor category of the 2003 IDC Mobile Middleware study. "In addition to offering mobile applications, delivering mobile infrastructure solutions as part of a broader portfolio to deploy business resources into mobile environments is a key to success in emerging mobile software markets," said Stephen Drake, mobile infrastructure software program manager, IDC. "Such comprehensive solutions are important drivers in enterprise mobility adoption." Bopack Systems Bopack Systems, a barcode and labeling machine company based in Belgium, is using the mobile asset management application from mySAP Mobile Business to increase reaction time for servicing repair requests and to improve its billing process. In the past, service technicians completed service order confirmations by hand and the central office then manually processed the paperwork. Changes increased each time a new employee began filling out forms. With the help of mobile asset management, Bopack now sends out service orders directly to technicians via their mobile devices. Once they receive the order, technicians complete the repairs and return the service confirmation immediately to the central office. Since updates are more accurate and occur immediately, Bopack now tracks projects more efficiently and can send out a bill as soon as a machine has been serviced. The company is also using the solution to manage the repair department's tools, with the system confirming stock replenishment immediately. "With the help of SAP's mobile asset management solution, we have streamlined our order and billing departments," said Tim Van Heyste, project manager, Bopack Systems. "We have reduced error handling by 85 percent and reduced the administrative responsibilities for service technicians, thereby increasing productivity." GEMS Global Enterprise Management Solutions (GEMS), a Dallas, Texas-based provider of business process expertise and technology solutions support, has increased accuracy and productivity with mySAP Mobile Business. The company has implemented mobile service for handhelds based on mySAP(TM) Customer Relationship Management (mySAP CRM) and has developed a custom scenario on top of SAP Mobile Infrastructure that integrates with the standard solution for territory management. These solutions assist the sales force with faster, better service to customers, and more accurate information internally within the company. Previously, professional consultants in the field logged their time on spreadsheets and faxed the sheets to the central office. An office administrator then manually keyed the information into the system. Following the mobile service for handhelds implementation, time confirmations and service-related information are now captured electronically in the field via handheld devices. In addition, the company was able to reduce labor by a full-time employee and redirect the employee to more essential tasks. The GEMS sales force can now share customer information immediately, resulting in increased efficiency and accuracy. Furthermore, the company has fewer lost business leads and faster scheduling of service. "With the help of SAP's mobile service application, and the flexibility of SAP Mobile Infrastructure, we have already realized an increase in productivity of 10 to 15 percent," said Suresh Ketha, CEO, GEMS. "We have saved at least 15 to 30 minutes of processing time per consultant per week, allowing our office staff to focus on more important tasks. And the new system has eliminated at least a week of data lag for both consultants and account management. We are now looking forward to implementing SAP's mobile time and travel solution so that billing-related data can be streamlined as well." Infraserv Hochst Based in Germany, Infraserv Hochst is an industrial service provider for the chemical and pharmaceutical-related process industries that is utilizing the mobile asset management application from mySAP Mobile Business to increase efficiency and improve response times. With the help of the SAP solution, the system now identifies the technician that has been assigned to a specific service location that requires servicing, and automatically generates a maintenance order directly to that technician's mobile device. Before servicing, the technician identifies the technical workplace via barcode. Once the maintenance is complete, the technician scans the barcode of the technical workplace for confirmation. The completion of the service call is synchronized into the back-end SAP(R) R/3(R) system later that day. Infraserv Hochst benefits from a faster response time since the technician is automatically notified at the first signs of a problem. Additionally, the system helps to ensure all aspects of the services are completed, verifying each critical component has been examined. "With the help of the mySAP Mobile Business, we now have a significantly more transparent view of our service maintenance process, resulting in recognizable increases in efficiency," said Joachim Litzinger, project manager, Infraserv Hochst. "We expect to save at least 4,500 man hours a year with the help of mySAP Mobile Business. We plan to increase the size of our implementation and extend it to include additional users in the near future." Messer Griesheim GmbH Messer Griesheim GmbH, an industrial gas company with production in more than 30 countries, has achieved in its Austrian subsidiary a substantial return on investment with mySAP Mobile Business. The company has developed a customized mobile service solution on top of SAP Mobile Infrastructure, which is powered by the SAP NetWeaver technology platform. Using mobile devices, the truck drivers scan the barcode on each container of gas, thereby keeping better track of the containers that have been delivered to the customer, or returned by the customer. The solution eliminates stacks of paperwork and customers now receive their gas orders more quickly. The delivery and the billing departments now have more accurate records, can better assess customers' needs and complete the billing cycle faster. "The mobile infrastructure from SAP has removed the need to log containers in and out manually, streamlining processes and creating seamless integration," said Marc Dierckx, CIO, Messer Griesheim. "Because of the many benefits of mySAP Mobile Business, we plan to roll it out in Europe, in the short term at our sites in the United Kingdom, Belgium and France, to more than a thousand users." mySAP Mobile Business applications enable companies of all sizes to mobilize their existing technology and software investments to all popular devices such as laptops and personal digital assistants (PDAs), in both connected and disconnected environments. Through a universal infrastructure and ready-made scenarios, mySAP Mobile Business delivers software applications such as mobile asset management, mobile sales for handhelds, mobile service for handhelds, mobile time and travel, mobile business intelligence, mobile warehouse management, mobile direct store delivery, and others directly to the point of service. Through this combination of applications, mySAP Mobile Business allows faster sales processes and improved customer service overall. "mySAP Mobile Business solutions have extended the back-end business processes for a growing number of customers," said Peter Kirschbauer, member of the extended management board, SAP AG. "By taking advantage of the deep integration and key capabilities of SAP's mobile applications, companies are able to increase response times, improve processes and dedicate more resources to essential projects." Industry Partnership SAP works with key partners, such as Intel, in the mobile enterprise market to bring mobile solutions to joint customers. "As two industry leaders, Intel and SAP share a common vision for a mobile enterprise," said Deborah Conrad, vice president of solutions market development group, Intel Corporation. "Our engineering collaboration on the SAP NetWeaver technology platform offers customers a robust set of SAP mobile solutions optimized on the Intel(R) Architecture, thus providing customers with a competitive advantage by extending enterprise applications, increasing workforce productivity in connected and disconnected modes, and lowering TCO and maximizing ROI." About mySAP Mobile Business mySAP(TM) Mobile Business extends the mySAP Business Suite family of generic and cross-industry solutions to users anytime, anywhere. The ready-made solutions of mySAP Mobile Business are built upon an open standards-based platform, the SAP Mobile Infrastructure, which is a central component of the SAP NetWeaver integration and application platform. mySAP Mobile Business is comprised of a range of applications and connectivity options that support mobile devices, including laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and iMode phones. mySAP Mobile Business connects employees to their work more effectively by extending key business processes and allows employees to use a new kind of tool-in the form of a mobile device-to seamlessly exchange information, automate data entry and perform a range of transactions anytime, anywhere. For more information on mySAP Mobile Business, please visit: http://www.sap.com/mobile About SAP SAP is the world's leading provider of business software solutions. Through mySAP(TM) Business Suite, people in businesses around the globe are improving relationships with customers and partners, streamlining operations and achieving significant efficiencies throughout their supply chains. The unique core processes of various industries, from aerospace to utilities, are supported effectively by SAP's 23 industry solution portfolios. Today, more than 20,000 companies in over 120 countries run more than 64,500 installations of SAP(R) software. With subsidiaries in over 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." (Additional information at http://www.sap.com ) 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 "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP 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 SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2002 filed with the SEC on March 21, 2003. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. NOTE: SAP, mySAP, mySAP.com, xApps, xApp, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.
For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)
SOURCE SAP AG Web Site: http://www.sap.com |