By Muzna Siddiqi, Business Development Manager
SAP.iO unlocks numerous opportunities for startups in our portfolio to connect with SAP customers and expand the reach for their solutions. One of the most sought-after experiences in 2023 was the opportunity to showcase startup innovation at one of SAP’s Industry Customer Advisory Council meetings.
This year, SAP.iO secured invites for select startups to engage directly with CIOs, CTOs and VPs of IT to highlight their innovations at SAP Industry Customer Advisory Councils for the Fashion and Consumer Products industries. The SAP.iO team also represented select SAP.iO startups at the Industrial Manufacturing, and Aerospace & Defense Industry Council meetings. These councils meet twice a year to provide input to SAP, network with colleagues, and learn about new innovations in the market.
Fashion Industry Customer Advisory Councils
Starting off in the spring in New York City, over two dozen of SAP’s strategic customers in Fashion came together to discuss their industry’s latest innovations and pain-points, with a specific focus on sustainability, supply chain, and marketing. To showcase innovations in these areas SAP customers participated in a role-play workshop where they analyzed startups with a common challenge of sustainability in mind. SAP.iO startups, Obsess, Ecocart, and Inspectorio, were chosen to take part in the engaging workshop, where they showcased their solutions and impact on sustainability initiatives.
“SAP.iO put on a dynamic session with three of their startups during the recent SAP Fashion Council. It was a super engaging session and we experienced firsthand some of the exciting innovations SAP is adding to its ecosystem”
Ralph Vibhustien, Executive Director – Global GIS Retail, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
These customers also had an opportunity to engage with Mention Me, .arinaee, and YZR in Istanbul this fall. In another role-play workshop, the three startups had to make the case for why they should be selected as the top contender for a pilot at a fictitious fashion brand. All three startups made their case and, following a brief collaborative exercise and presentation among the customer attendees, a winning team was selected.
Consumer Products Industry Customer Advisory Councils
In May of this past year at a Consumer Products Advisory Council, Wisy, an SAP.iO startup, participated in a panel discussion along with a leading consumer products company. As part of the discussion Wisy’s CEO and Founder shared both how the company collaborates with its customers while the executive representative from the SAP customer company offered best practices for evaluating startups for potential pilots.
To round off the year, the SAP Consumer Products Customer Council also hosted a session with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), where Mention Me and ChAI showcased how they are using AI in their applications to support the needs of consumer products companies.
Industrial Manufacturing and Aerospace and Defense Customer Advisory Councils
In addition to our longstanding showcases at the Fashion & Consumer Products councils, SAP.iO had the opportunity to collaborate with two new SAP Industry Councils in 2023. We presented the concept of open innovation and how SAP is building an ecosystem of innovative startup partners relevant to Industrial Manufacturing and the Aerospace and Defense Industries. Relevant SAP.iO startups were showcased for each council laying the groundwork for exciting future collaborations in 2024.
Engage With SAP.iO in 2024
Interested in engaging with the SAP.iO team to learn more about the potential to leverage startup innovations? Reach out to Paul White, VP of Business Development, SAP.iO Foundries (pa.white@sap.com) or Muzna Siddiqi, Business Development Manager for more details as to how you can engage with our startups.
We were thrilled to connect with industry leaders, demonstrate our startup partner solutions, and highlight how they fit seamlessly into SAP’s strategy. Take a look at the 
