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In Foundries, Announcements

New Startup Solutions Available on SAP Store : May 2023

200+ SAP.iO startups deliver their apps, add-ins, and integration kits to SAP’s global customers through SAP Store. SAP Store is the online marketplace where customers around the world can discover, try, buy, and renew enterprise solutions from SAP and its trusted partners. We are excited to share with you the latest startup technologies to be added to the store! You can check out all of our portfolio technologies that integrate with SAP solutions on the SAP Store.

 

SignCatch Beyond Dark Stores

bySky Innovation Tech Labs Pvt Ltd.

Why disrupt when you can collaborate with supply chain?

With the aid of a distributed network of retail stores, the solution enables Brands to link with SAP Commerce Cloud and process online orders. Helps D2C brands access a wider audience and fill online orders cheaply and locally, allowing them to engage with customers more effectively. A partner that is a member of SAP’s curated startup ecosystem. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Commerce Cloud. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

 

ThroughPut.ai Supply Chain SKU Rationalization

By ThroughPut, Inc.

Accelerate Material Flow and Free Cash Flow

Leveraging and enriching existing transactional data from SAP S/4HANA and earlier editions, obtain holistic visibility into the state of end-to-end supply chain operations in an easy to digest format with prioritized recommendations impacting free cash flow and creating supply chain leverage. A partner that is a member of SAP’s curated startup ecosystem. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Data Warehouse Cloud. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

 

iCoupon

by Shanghai Freemud Network Technology

A low cost, highly efficient coupon platform

The integration with SAP Customer Data Platform closes the loop for the precision marketing process, starting from the precision segmentation of customers provided by your SAP system through SAP BTP, our solution handles the precision distribution and tracking. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Extension Suite and/or SAP Integration Suite, SAP Customer Data Cloud. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

 

Land Displacement Monitoring

By Synspective Inc.

Analysis of ground risks through millimeter-scale surface change monitoring

InSAR analysis technology and satellite monitoring enable continuous monitoring of large areas at a lower cost than actual surveying. By linking with the SAP Business Intelligence Network, wide-area, weather-independent information can be used for facilities management. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Asset Intelligence Network. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

 

LIVEBUY

By LIVEBUY GmbH

Boost sales with shoppable videos & live streams. Directly in your online shop.

Unlock the power of shoppable video with LIVEBUY, a game-changing SaaS for leading, forward-thinking retailers that lets you effortlessly infuse interactive video content into your online shop. Ignite your sales and by delivering an immersive, fun shopping experience for your customers. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Commerce and SAP Commerce Cloud. Check them out on the SAP Store here.

 

Digital Product Passports for E-commerce

By Arianee

Unlock the power of digital product passports for E-commerce

Arianee makes it easy for you to generate a Digital Product Passport on the fly for every order. Powered by web3 technology, your passports come with native interoperability & enriched CRM features. Get ready for EU Ecodesign regulations & pave the way for a circular business model. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Commerce Cloud. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

 

Replika Software

By Replika Software Inc.

Brand-Centric Remote & Selling Platform

Replika Software is designed to help brands achieve greater e-commerce success by leveraging the power of their network of sellers/influencers to inspire online sales and providing a curated shopping experience for customers. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Commerce and SAP Commerce Cloud. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

 

Discover Dollar Resolve

By Discover Dollar Technologies Pvt Ltd

Uncover hidden profits in the procure-to-pay process using AI

Help enterprises identify and recover overpayments by analyzing price and discounts negotiated over e-mails and contracts using AI. Fortune 500 companies have recovered more than $504M using our solution, which is integrated with SAP S4/HANA and SAP BTP. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP S/4HANA, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, and SAP ERP. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

 

Sense Messaging Platform

By Sense Talent Labs, Inc.

AI-powered mass texting solution designed for the enterprise

Message natively inside SAP SuccessFactors. Texting accelerates hiring, enhances branding, and exceeds recruiting targets while delivering an automated, yet personalized candidate experience. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

 

In Awards

Ernst & Young Announces Michael Fitzsimmons of Crosschq as an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Bay Area Award Finalist

Ernst & Young announced Michael “Mike” Fitzsimmons, CEO of Crosschq was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Bay Area Award finalist. Now in its 37th year, Entrepreneur Of The Year is one of the preeminent competitive business awards for transformative entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies who are building a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world for all.

Entrepreneurs are evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, among other core contributions and attributes. Selected by an independent panel of judges, Fitzsimmons was noted for his history of creating innovative companies that disrupt the status quo. Through his work as co-founder and CEO of Crosschq, he is challenging the $45B hiring market by shifting the industry mindset to quality in hiring decisions using data, analytics and insights.

As a result, Crosschq’s customers and partners include Deloitte, WPP, Allegis, Pinterest, HubSpot, Saks Fifth Avenue, Workday, SAP, and Greenhouse, among others. Investors include GGV Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Tiger Global, SAP, Okta and Salesforce. Fitzsimmons also helps individuals who’ve faced barriers to employment get back to work through The 941 Project, a partnership with Golden State Warriors All-Star Klay Thompson, The Thompson Family Foundation, CareerCircle and Defy Ventures

Read More…

In New York, CRM & Customer Experience

Zoovu Chosen as Lead Partner in SAP’s Industry Cloud to Help Customers Digitize their Sales Environments

Zoovu, the AI-powered product discovery and e-commerce experience platform leader, announced it has been selected by SAP as its recommended industry cloud solution for manufacturers looking to accelerate their digital transformation in product sales and self-service procurement.

The partnership is expanding as global companies increasingly look to unlock new revenue streams and lower direct selling costs through more automated and intelligent e-commerce platforms. Until now, given the complexity and number of products offered by most manufacturers and large-scale B2B organizations, deeply knowledgeable sales teams were required to educate customers and convert inquiries into sales. By harnessing the power of SAP and Zoovu technology, customers can easily transform large, complex product catalogs into highly accurate and continuously optimized digital selling environments.

Zoovu was invited last year to join the SAP.iO Acceleration Partner Program and the platform quickly jumped to within the top 2% of performers in the SAP® Store. Building upon this strong market demand, Zoovu has been elevated to an SAP partner for SAP’s industry cloud portfolio.

“Our customers are realizing significant cost savings and revenue growth by bringing their complex product offerings into a digital commerce environment powered by Zoovu,” said Stephan G. Braun, Executive Industry Advisor, SAP. “We look forward to continued collaboration with the Zoovu team to help customers with this business transformation,” he added.

“We are excited about deepening our SAP partnership and helping global B2B customers create significant business value with our AI-driven platform,” said Lamees Butt, Senior Vice President, Global Alliances & Channels, Zoovu. “SAP is the leader in helping companies drive business transformation and we are honored to have been chosen as their lead partner in solving these sales-enablement problems, especially for the manufacturing sector,” she added.

The no-code Zoovu cloud platform integrates seamlessly with the SAP Business Technology Platform, allowing B2B and D2C customers to automate product data cleansing, standardization, solution bundling, and intelligent product searches from disparate data sources, including PDFs, PIMs, CRMs, even YouTube product videos. Zoovu’s AI-driven platform then applies its product ontology, syntax and sales insight gleaned from more than 70,000 product categories to ensure buyers are always presented with exactly the right product. It’s guided selling tools, assistants, and product configurators can then create powerful self-service customer experiences at scale.

Read More…

In Tel Aviv, ERP & Finance

AI Unlocks Energy Savings And Revenue From Smart Meter Data

Which home appliances consume the most energy? What renewable energy sources would save households serious money? When are the best times for people to cost-efficiently charge their new EVs? These are some of the burning questions that NET2GRID answers for energy-conscious utility providers and consumers.

“Customers want affordable and easy-to-use options to better understand their energy consumption and manage resources in the most beneficial ways,” said Berend Olde Rikkert, commercial director at NET2GRID. “We provide accurate residential energy insights and predictions from energy data, helping utility providers find new revenue streams and guide customers on their journey to renewable energy.”

I talked with Olde Rikkert at the International SAP Conference for Energy and Utilities in Basel about how NET2GRID’s cloud-based data platform provides energy retailers and their customers with sustainable energy strategies in a volatile market. He told me that one energy provider in Germany tripled self-service, reducing service calls by 60% and churn by 40% within customers that adopted services. He said that consumers can save up to 30% in energy costs by following energy-saving recommendations.

Based in The Netherlands, NET2GRID analyzes smart meter readings from residential households, either collecting data directly from the meter or provided by the energy company. The company’s AI-based algorithms calculate energy consumption patterns of household appliances. Energy retailers can turn these insights into services, providing personalized offers to consumers for cost-savings.

“If people are producing solar power or home charging their EV, we can detect from only meter readings how much energy each device used and when the consumer used it,” said Olde Rikkert. “Knowing that a customer began charging their EV at home for the first time, the energy retailer can offer a special tariff. Similarly, they can alert the consumer if data shows the household is spending more on home heating to comparable households. The retailer can offer sustainable energy suggestions, such as installing additional insulation or a heat pump.”

Read More…

In Awards, HR & People Engagement

Plum Wins 2023 Globee® Awards for Disruptors

Plum Talent Platform has been honored as a winner in the prestigious 3rd Annual 2023 Globee® Awards for Disruptors. The Globee® Awards, recognized globally as the foremost business awards and ranking lists, bestow these esteemed accolades to celebrate and acknowledge exceptional disruptors in every industry.

The Globee Awards for Disruptors is an esteemed program that recognizes and celebrates organizations and individuals who have made significant contributions in driving disruptive innovation across various industries. These awards acknowledge the trailblazers who have challenged the status quo, introduced groundbreaking ideas, and transformed traditional practices through their disruptive approaches. The Globee Awards for Disruptors highlight the achievements and impact of disruptive leaders, companies, products, and technologies that are shaping the future of business and society. It serves as a platform to honor those who have redefined norms, created new market opportunities, and revolutionized industries through their visionary thinking and innovative solutions.

With a universal design, Plum uses objective data to measure and match human potential to job needs, enhancing talent decisions across the employee journey. Featuring unmatched scalability, Plum empowers organizations to quantify job fit, improve quality of hire, identify potential, provide personalized career insights and create high-performing teams from one platform.

Read More…

In Foundries, Article

How Startups Can Maximize Their Partnership With Corporates

The partnership between a startup and a corporation is all about balance. Startups harness their agility to identify new market opportunities but often struggle to scale. On the other hand, corporations have successfully scaled but can miss new market opportunities. This is not to say that either can’t do the other successfully – they can and have – but there’s a benefit to partnering up.

There’s a reason 94 percent of tech executives think innovation partnerships are an essential component of their strategy. Partnerships offer access to new markets and customers. They can lower development costs, provide valuable insights into experimental technologies and the talent required to build them, and, importantly, accelerate innovation. The problem is that these partnerships are anything but a sure thing.

Let’s dive into what corporates look for in a partner and how startups can increase the chances of a successful collaboration.

Corporates offer more than funding

While many corporates ask for equity in startups, entering the partnership with a no-equity stake goes a long way in establishing clear parameters and trust for both parties. Although seemingly counterintuitive, financing is not among the top three reasons startups engage in corporate partnerships.

Startups are primarily interested in access to the corporate’s customers and market. In exchange, startups help solve a broader range of customer problems and expand a corporation’s product offerings. More partners also mean a more extensive ecosystem and the chance to offer customers a curated selection of startup solutions.

Understand what makes you unique

Startups should acknowledge that there is often a chasm in work cultures and styles. Corporates plan, budget, and approach risk differently. They also have different types of customers.

Mark Osborn, GVP Business Development & Strategy, SAP Consumer Industries, advises startups approaching corporate customers should find others with a similar mindset. “It helps when you can identify the innovators in those organizations – people who are willing to take some risk on new products in exchange for innovation,” says Osborn. “Startups need to understand that the value they bring to a corporate customer is the opportunity to innovate and get ahead of the competition, even if it means taking a risk.”

Not all partnerships work out

The stakes will always be higher for startups than for corporations. Most startups don’t succeed, and more than two-thirds of them never deliver a positive return to investors. So having access to a corporate partner’s market and customers while sending a positive signal to investors can help. Despite the benefits, not all partnerships work out. For example, an integration won’t strengthen anyone’s value proposition if the startup’s ideal customer doesn’t use the corporation’s products.

Read More…

In Bangalore, HR & People Engagement

Delhi startup is using AI to fix challneges in the hiring process

At a time when security concerns and cyber threats are plaguing organizations, employee background verification has become more important than ever. TraqCheck, a Delhi-based startup launched in 2021, aims to make employee background verification more efficient and cost-effective. Founded by Jaibir Nihal Singh and his childhood friends Armaan Mehta and Rishabh Jain, the startup uses AI for the background verification of employees and helps organizations onboard the right people. It uses technology and automation to increase speed, enhance efficiency, reduce human error, and help companies maintain compliance to streamline the background verification process.

“Despite initial feedback from several industry experts suggesting the infeasibility of automating background checks in India, we persisted in building our product and discovered that it was indeed viable. This realisation motivated us to focus on developing the technology and advancing ahead,” Jaibir Nihal Singh, Co-founder of TraqCheck, tells YourStory.

The founders initially invested Rs 6 lakh from personal savings to bootstrap the startup. Currently, the team has about 20 employees. Automating verification solution TraqCheck is an ‘Application Programming Interface (API)-first product that is customizable and can be integrated with any Human Resource System (HRMS) with just a few lines of code.

Singh explains that after getting information about the candidate, it runs a background verification with the data gathered. It then produces results that can be viewed on the dashboard or the client’s HRMS system. The product authenticates and aggregates an individual’s historical information, including their criminal record, education history, previous employment, identity, address, and psychometric results, with meticulous accuracy and a fast turnaround time. It also includes a myriad of bots and algorithms such as the Identity Matching Algorithm, the Employment Verification Bot, and the Forgery Detection Algorithm, amalgamated with an end-to-end automated system, providing organizations with complete background check solutions.

“Our streamlined approach is designed to minimize any additional workload for HR teams, providing them with a convenient and seamless experience, while their advanced system handles the entire background verification process expeditiously,” Singh asserts.

The startup has partnered with OpenAI to build various features such as categorizing criminal records, computer vision for current address verification, and more.

Read More…

In Interview, CRM & Customer Experience

SAP Startup Spotlight Series: Velou

In today’s installment of e3zine’s SAP Startup Spotlight Series, we’ll be taking a look at Velou, an SAP.iO Rising Stars startup which improves the online retail shopping experience.

Sadee Gamhewa is the Founder and CEO of Velou, an AI-powered retail technology startup. He has 22 years of industry experience in product and engineering with expertise in data science, AI/ML, and ecommerce. Sadee previously led product, innovation, Machine Learning, AI strategy, and engineering at multiple startups and Fortune 100 companies, including Sysco, Accenture, and Fujitsu. He holds patents in ecommerce and has published research papers on Machine Learning and AI. He received his BSc in Computer Science with First Class Honors from Edith Cowan University, Australia.

1. What is Velou and what do you offer?

Velou is an AI copilot tailored for brands and retailers that automates ecommerce functions, all backed by industry-specific data. Ecommerce teams lose precious time, incur significant expenses, and miss opportunities due to the inefficiency of manual reviews of product catalogs, and blindspots created by lack of access to retail data and analytics. Velou’s AI is fine-tuned for ecommerce to offer industry-specific solutions. It reviews a retailer’s entire product catalog, identifies missing metadata, auto-generates product descriptions, and enriches and standardizes ecommerce data. Velou increases productivity for ecommerce teams and revenue through powerful analytics so retailers know how they’re converting and losing customers.

Our services are available globally with offices in San Francisco, Munich and Paris at Station F through the LVMH accelerator.

2. How does your solution work?

Velou applies three AI technologies to automate and optimize online retailers’ ecommerce business. Velou’s Computer Vision Models automatically analyze product images to identify the product attributes related to things like color, style, fabric, and shape that resonate with shoppers. Combining this technology with our proprietary industry-specific data sets, which serve as the foundational models, Velou’s Product Data Enrichment builds out online retailers’ product pages, automatically creating product descriptions and feeding discovery features. Finally, Velou’s Natural Language Processing uses all this information to understand search phrases that convert more customers, while taking the stress off ecommerce teams.

3. Do customers need special technology/devices to access your service?

Velou is already tightly integrated with the largest ecommerce platforms. Velou does all the work while retailers have full control, so no special technology or expertise is required.

4. Why did you start Velou?

AI in online retail is exciting because it can be applied today. We want ecommerce teams to have control over how it’s working while boosting their efficiency. Velou believes online retail is an ideal application for AI because it addresses two crucial challenges for online retailers: manual management of product catalogs and the need to analyze and optimize conversions and retention.

5. How are you connected to SAP? Can your solution be integrated in SAP systems and if so, how?

Velou is a SAP.iO Rising Stars startup and our solution is available through the SAP Store. You can visit us at the SAP Experience Center in Paris and play around with our demo store!

We work closely with SAP engineering to make the SAP Commerce Cloud + Velou integration seamless. Velou is a one-click deployment. This makes using Velou on the SAP platform super easy!

Read More…

In New York, Supply Chain Management

How To De-Risk Supply Chains In An Unpredictable World

Supply chain collaboration is one of those every day business terms that’s easy to dismiss until a catastrophic disruption strikes like material shortages, product design flaws, production delays, and more. But what if organizations across the supply chain could quickly huddle to pinpoint problems and take action together, staving off anything from minor setbacks to potential disaster? This is the concept behind Inspectorio, a cloud-based solution designed to help suppliers, manufacturers, brands, and retailers work together to reduce supply chain risk through digitalized quality management, ESG compliance, production tracking, and lab testing.

“Automating activities on a centralized data platform helps companies make fast and strategic adjustments in a way that is incredibly collaborative with their supplier base,” said David Klein, president and co-founder of Inspectorio. “Organizations can become more agile and resilient to supply chain disruptions, able to shift sources, product materials, and production locations to address problems and improve productivity and efficiencies.”

After digitalizing manual activities on Inspectorio, Klein said that organizations have averaged 95% time savings in administrative data entry, and 100% time savings in reporting. Customers have improved quality pass rates by approximately 8% on average. Some have reduced defect rates by 14% on average.

Digitizing quality control for accuracy and efficiency

Quality management spans numerous groups, including factories that conduct self-inspections and third-party inspectors who visit facilities. According to Klein, digitizing quality management activities helps suppliers, retailers, and others work together on standardized quality control. Inspectorio incorporates artificial intelligence to monitor facility risk, leading to valuable business insights and cost-savings.

“With data integrity, you can better understand your supplier base and benchmark their performance,” said Klein. “When you designate factories and products by risk factor, you can adapt quality controls appropriately. For example, maybe lower-risk factories can manage self-inspections on their own. High-risk factories producing high-risk products require tighter controls. Over time, you’re able to maximize your resources and lower costs while increasing quality outcomes.”

Read More…

In Paris, Supply Chain Management

Shippeo Recognized in the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms

Shippeo, a global leader in real-time multimodal transportation visibility, announced it has been recognized in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Real-time Transportation Visibility Platforms.

“I am pleased to see many of Shippeo’s recognitions over the past 12 months reflected, we believe, in our positioning in this year’s Magic Quadrant,” says Shippeo co-founder and COO, Lucien Besse.

Shippeo has a 95% willingness to recommend rating on Gartner Peer Insights™, receiving the overall rating of 4.8/5*. “These are highly important metrics for us, and reassure us that we are providing our customers with the best value, and delivering what we promise,” says Besse, adding “we believe this high customer satisfaction was helped by the fact we are the only provider to offer a triple SLA, which contractually guarantees rapid carrier onboarding, high tracking rates, and high ETA accuracy, as well as the tremendous progress we have made across all aspects of our business over the last 12 months.”

The company recently raised a record $50m in fundraising, with all existing investors taking part. “This fundraising round is the largest ever for a supply chain visibility software in Europe,” explains Besse. “It will help us bolster our sound financial position for many years to come, and accelerate our ongoing North American and APAC expansion, while giving customers and partners confidence in the longevity potential of our partnerships with the strong path to profitability we’ve laid out as a company.”

Existing investors taking part included Battery Ventures, Partech, NGP Capital, ETF Partners, Bpifrance Digital Venture and SAP.io. Notable new strategic investors include Hong Kong-based LFX Venture Partners and Japan-based Yamaha Motor Ventures, whose investment is helping to ramp up operations across Asia-Pacific, as well as Orlen VC, based in Poland, and Shift4good, a global VC fund dedicated to impact investing in smart mobility and circular economy businesses.

Read More…

In Event

SAP.iO at SAPPHIRE 2023

Sapphire 2023 hosted 8,579 customers and partners, up 60% over 2022. The feeling of positivity was palpable concluding with a powerful keynote featuring tennis legend Serena Williams. The message across the show was consistent and focused on SAP’s strong commitment to diversity and sustainability demonstrating to the world what we stand for. Sapphire news reverberated across global tier-one publications (Bloomberg, CNBC, CIO.com, Forbes, MarketWatch, Reuters, etc.) as many focused on SAP’s Vision for Future-Proofed Business in the Age of AI Comes to Life: SAP Sapphire in 2023.

 

Show Highlights​

 

  • Alexa Gorman of SAP.iO and Alberto Rebolledo of Colgate-Palmolive presented on the  strategic focus areas for startups in 2023 and how you can pilot startup solutions to solve challenges facing your business. The Next Frontier: Augment Your SAP Solutions with Startup Innovation
  • 5,473 Total Customers Attended
  • 78% of those who attended are decision makers
  • Virtually, the event had over 208,000 unique viewers
  • SAP News generated 15,588 Total Content Views

 

Media

 

In Tel Aviv, CRM & Customer Experience

SAP Startup Spotlight Series: Mention Me

In this installment of e3zine’s SAP Startup Spotlight Series, we’ll be taking a look at Mention Me, a referral engineering platform which integrates first-party advocacy data directly into your SAP ecosystem.

Kat Wray is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Mention Me. As Director of Strategic Partnerships, Kat oversees the SaaS company’s strategic partnerships, working with leading partners to identify opportunities to accelerate growth for their customer base of over 600 clients. With a career spanning sales, business development, and partnerships, Kat has honed deep expertise into how brands can harness the power of customer advocacy to exponentially grow their business.

1. What is Mention Me and what do you offer?

Mention Me empowers businesses to turn word of mouth and brand advocacy into an unstoppable driver of sustainable, organic growth. Using cutting-edge technology and expertise gathered over 10 years in referral marketing, we’ve built the world’s first Advocacy Intelligence Platform that identifies, recruits, nurtures, and activates loyal brand fans. Established in the UK with offices in London and Boston, we’ve so far delivered more than 1.8 bn USD in revenue for 500 brands globally, including ASOS, PUMA, Charlotte Tilbury, ManyPets, and Nutmeg.

2. How does your solution work?

While your fans have always been the most authentic and trusted promoters of your brand, until now it wasn’t possible to harness their potential.  And so while they were busy recommending your brand and products in the background, you weren’t able to target, nurture or reward them so they advocate more often and more loudly with everyone they meet. For the first time, Mention Me’s Advocacy Intelligence Platform and technology changes that.

3. Do customers need special technology/devices to access your service?

In order to track earned acquisition and gather the first-party data required to fuel the Advocacy Intelligence Platform, you’ll need to deploy a high-quality referral program with Mention Me.

Mention Me’s Advocacy Intelligence Platform integrates first-party advocacy data directly into your marketing automation and personalization platforms (including, of course, Emarsys and SAP). Aside from integrating our platform into your martech infrastructure, no special devices or tech is required.

4. Why do you believe thinking advocacy-first is so important for brands in 2023?

Business reliance on digital marketing today is at an all-time high. In the US, Google, Meta and Amazon now account for 64% of all ad spend. Meanwhile, acquisition costs are rising, iOS changes are ramping up the pressure, and we’re in an economic downturn. All that makes it no easy feat to acquire high-quality customers.

Winning in the times ahead requires a different approach: earning growth instead of paying for it. By taking an advocacy-first approach that prioritizes your existing customers—and delighting them enough to share your brand with friends and family—you’ll drive organic, sustainable growth without busting your marketing budget.

5. How are you connected to SAP? Can your solution be integrated in SAP systems and if so, how?

Integrated with Emarsys, Commerce Cloud, and CDP, Mention Me delivers the best Advocacy Solution for the SAP CX portfolio. Our solution equips brands to leverage referral as a sustainable growth channel while gathering rich first-party data that enhances performance across marketing channels. These unique advocacy insights integrate across the martech stack, enabling brands to identify current and future advocates and serve personalized omnichannel experiences that keep customers coming back, spending more, and bringing their friends.

6. How has SAP.iO’s involvement impacted your journey?

With SAP.iO, we’re maximizing the joint value we’re delivering to clients, while educating more CRM and CX leaders on the power of brand advocacy. Looking ahead, we’re excited to build on the success we’ve achieved so far as a recently appointed SAP Spotlight partner.

Read More…

In Foundries, Inclusiveness, HR & People Engagement, Inspiring Innovators

Inspiring Innovators: Alex Lamb Chief Executive Officer and Founder of BOLDLY-Get A Couch, On Being BOLD

At SAP.iO, we work with innovators and new technologies that positively impact our world every day, and we think it’s time to share their stories with you! In our series, “Inspiring Innovators,” we hear how founders, CEOs, and presidents of cutting-edge startup technologies overcame, thrived, and pursued their goals. SAP.iO’s Alexa Gorman sat down to discuss the road to success and lessons learned with some of our most inspiring startup founders.

Meet Alex Lamb

People described as bold tend to listen to their gut, prioritize, take action, and demonstrate courage. Boldness inspires and energizes, both of which are important qualities in a leader and a coach. As the Chief Executive and Founder of BOLDLY, these are traits that Alex Lamb personifies. In addition to her leadership role at BOLDLY, Alex is also a fractional Chief People Officer, organizational psychologist and executive coach, and has a deep understanding of how to create an environment to develop people’s skills. We were excited to have the opportunity to speak to Alex about her path, starting with looking for career advice, to coaching, to becoming a Founder and Chief Executive.

Working in Shanghai and Hong Kong for Korn Ferry over seven years, Alex honed her skills in various positions, from client management to product development. To get direction for her next career move, Alex started searching for a framework for decision-making which led her to studying evidence-based coaching practices and becoming a coach herself.

Observing an appetite for customized solutions suited to Asia, Alex moved to Singapore and started a consulting service designed to nurture domestic leadership talent. The service grew rapidly, taking on 11 consultants, and she quickly realized they needed a coaching technology platform to build BOLDLY beyond the reach of consulting. Alex launched the BOLDLY platform in 2017 to democratize coaching.

BOLDLY is a global coaching marketplace of qualified executive coaches and career coaches who are trained to develop staff and impact business performance using evidence-based coaching practices. Coaching is an evidence-based career development method proven to nurture professional growth, enhance workplace performance and provide targeted support for vocational confidence, competence, and leadership development. Their mission is simple: to ensure everyone has equal opportunity in the future of work.

“I figure if I don’t show up and have a try at something, somebody else will. And so, why not me? I often do things that scare me or might be a bit awkward at first, but this is where I learn. So being bold and finding courage has meant that we’ve taken the business further than we expected.”

Read More…

In Foundries, Portfolio News

New Startup Solutions Available on SAP Store : April 2023

200+ SAP.iO startups deliver their apps, add-ins, and integration kits to SAP’s global customers through SAP Store. SAP Store is the online marketplace where customers around the world can discover, try, buy, and renew enterprise solutions from SAP and its trusted partners. We are excited to share with you the latest startup technologies to be added to the store! You can check out all of our portfolio technologies that integrate with SAP solutions on the SAP Store.

 

Woocar

By Woolabs S.A.

Safe and sustainable fleet management with 100% mobile telematics

We take care of fleet management starting with driving behavior. Reduce road accidents and carbon footprint while optimizing road maps, SAP LBN API-integrated providing enterprise composability. 80% reduction in road accidents and 15% in fuel costs, with carbon footprint reduction worldwide. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Logistics Business Network. Check out a product video here, and find them on the SAP Store here.

YZR

By YZR

YZR leverages AI to clean and enrich product data

YZR automatically standardizes, enriches and categorizes product data for digital commerce. The solution is integrated with SAP Commerce Cloud via ImpEx. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Commerce Cloud. Check out a product video here, and find them on the SAP Store here.

AI Driven Dynamic Pricing

By Nextorbit Platforms and Solutions Private Limited

AI-driven pricing drives sales while maintaining margin goals

Our dynamic pricing engine enables profitable growth by ensuring optimized pricing to influence shoppers’ buying decisions. The pricing decisions are put on autopilot to drive sales, margins, and loyalty and integrates seamless with SAP S/4HANA. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO SAP S/4HANA. Check out a product video here, and find them on the SAP Store here.

Soil Pathogen Risk Alert System

By Solena Ag, Inc.

Get soil pathogen risk alerts and detect crop diseases early

Soil pathogen risk alert system API integrates with SAP Intelligent Agriculture to detect crop diseases early, enabling farmers to take timely action and maximize yield. Prometheus AI platform helps farmers optimize ag management and increase profitability. Choose a sustainable future. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Extension Suite and/or SAP Integration Suite. Check out a product video here and find them on the SAP Store here.

Supply-Chain Collaboration Solution

By Shanghai Yunli Information Technology Co.,Ltd

Streamline your supply chain with a collaborative solution

This solution integrates with SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud to help automate and streamline the process of invoicing and settling payments between buyers and suppliers. It’s a platform for buyers and suppliers to manage their invoicing and payment processes in a centralized, automated manner. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP S/4HANA and SAP ERP.  Check out a product video here, and find them on the SAP Store here.

KINEXON OS – Order Tracking and Process Management

By KINEXON Industries GmbH

Automate operations in manufacturing with location intelligence

Accelerate the processing of production orders by providing real-time visibility and increasing the level of automation and quality. The solution is fully integrated in SAP Digital Manufacturing to enhance the digital twin of all movable assets. Check them out on the SAP Store here.

SORGA Transparency on e-commerce

By AGENCE MAP

Bring inviolable proof of your commitments & regain the trust you deserve

Our innovation allows brands to provide transparency and traceability to their customers and retailers. The only carbon-neutral and digital sovereignty blockchain solution. Easy to use, it makes responsible consumption accessible to all. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP Commerce Cloud. Check out a product video here, and find them on the SAP Store here.

SoPost Product Sampling Platform

By SoPost Limited

Product sampling integrated anywhere online

We make it easy to run highly effective product sampling campaigns anywhere online. Integrate into any channel, collect valuable first and zero-party data, personalize every experience to achieve any campaign objective, and sync data with SAP Customer Data Platform (CDP). Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

SPARETECH

By SPARETECH GmbH

Unlock the full potential of your spare parts data

The leading data platform for industrial spare parts, our software solution automates spare parts management processes for manufacturing companies to ensure maximum transparency and data accuracy along the supply chain in an effective, reliable, and collaborative manner with SAP S/4HANA. Check a product video here, and find them out on the SAP Store here.

Andonix

By Tripi Connected Tech, Inc.

A.I. connected factory workers to hold machines and processes accountable

Boost quality, processes, and factory productivity in just days by connecting your workers to their machines and supervisors through an artificial intelligence-enabled alarm, escalation, and collaboration platform (digital andon cord) to quickly identify, track, and resolve operating problems. This solution was incubated and/or funded by SAP.iO and works with SAP ERP. Check out a product video here, and find them on the SAP Store here.

In Funding Announcement

Venture Activity April 2023

SAP.iO’s ecosystem of successful raises and exits

April 2023

 

SAP.iO has curated over 525 startups in SAP’s startup ecosystem. We’re proud that many of the startups from our programs continue to raise VC funding and have successful exits. This demonstrates that SAP startup technologies are addressing the rapidly changing requirements of the marketplace and have risen to the occasion of meeting customer needs. Here are the latest raises and exits you should know about!

Funding

4.screen, a driver interaction platform company, announced the successful closure of its €21 million Series A funding round led by S4S Ventures and Continental Corporate Venture Capital. 4.screen enables brands to interact with drivers in real-time via their car screens using in-car technology and unique data signals only accessible through their platform. The funding round will be used to accelerate 4.screen’s global expansion plans and further advance its platform.

Chekkit, Nigerian anti-counterfeiting startup, has secured additional funding to help it scale its blockchain-powered drug safety and tracking solution. Chekkit’s platform tracks product movement and has helped secure over 50 million pharmaceutical and consumer goods products to date. The funds will help Chekkit onboard more manufacturers across Nigeria and other regions in Africa, while also expanding to new markets in India, UK and the Middle East.

Accredify, a Singapore-based verifiable technology solutions provider, raised USD$7M in Series A funding. The company intends to use the funds to expand its regional presence across APAC by scaling its services and diversifying use cases of verifiable technology solutions across various industries.

Lilz has announced they have completed 590-million-yen Series B round funding. With these new funds they plan to promote the development and mass production of explosion-proof IoT cameras that are in high demand in the chemical plant and gas industries. In addition, continue to develop of products that can be expanded overseas, focus on organizational structure, and strengthen recruitment in all positions.