SAP Adds to Its Vertical Offerings

SAP AG today announced it has released a new version of its mySAP CRM suite that has been specifically designed for the needs of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. "Customers kept saying that if we wanted to succeed in CRM, we needed to help them solve their unique problems," says Gary Adams, product director of mySAP business suite syndicated solutions. SAP says the new vertically focused solution aims to streamline key marketing, sales and service, and supply chain processes. It is designed to help companies increase revenue by better understanding customers and better targeting and executing marketing campaigns and trade promotions. "We focused on the primary business process that CPG companies are struggling with today, insuring that all the pieces of the suite work together the way the industry needs them to," Adams says. "Our customers were asking for something that was mostly out of the box and ready to go, meeting their industry needs." Many CPG companies deal with unique business challenges, Adams says, such as diminishing brand loyalty, quickly outdated product lines, complex trade promotion processes, and the need to operate individual product categories as separate strategic business units. To solve these varying challenges, mySAP CRM includes integrated solutions that focus on trade promotion management, brand management, category management, and account management. "Our success relies on close collaboration with retailers, insight into the market and increased brand loyalty among consumers," Tan Ang Meng, CEO of F&N Group, a beverage retailer based in Malaysia, said in an SAP statement. "SAP Trade Promotion Management will help us keep track of perception and performance of our products in the market, derive better results from promotional activities and dramatically reduce inventory levels to improve our cash flow." The company says mySAP CRM will be available as part of SAP Consumer Products, an industry-specific portfolio offering consumer products companies additional mySAP Business Suite solutions. The company says its customers in the sector include the top 10 beverage companies and consumer electronics firms, nine of the top 10 health and personal care companies, eight of the top 10 food companies, and seven of the top 10 apparel and footwear companies. SAP has more than 2,400 customers in the consumer products industry.