WALLDORF, Germany, July 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Demonstrating the evolution of its supply chain strategy, SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the launch of four new, cloud-based applications that enable companies to more quickly develop, orchestrate and execute integrated business plans with real-time information.

In the "new normal" marketplace, the power is in the hands of the end consumers and customers who increasingly demand individualized products and services delivered with a higher sense of urgency. Supply chains are evolving into demand networks, where demand information is captured through new signals and fulfilled through the orchestration of a complex network of internal and external partners. As a result, companies require the ability to capture, interpret, plan and quickly act on real-time information in a fast, efficient and profitable way.

To meet these challenges, the new SAP® Integrated Business Planning solution comprises SAP Integrated Business Planning for sales and operations, SAP Integrated Business Planning for inventory, SAP Integrated Business Planning for supply and SAP Supply Chain Control Tower. The applications were developed to deliver analysis and share alerts of real-time information across the end-to-end supply and demand network, with the speed of the SAP HANA® platform and fast adoption through SAP Cloud. They also offer a collaborative environment for sales and operations planning across global functions, new optimization algorithms and supply chain monitoring capabilities.

"SAP clearly 'gets' supply chain, both in terms of understanding the challenges facing manufacturers in their efforts to better manage demand, supply and product innovation delivery; as well as in providing agile and comprehensive applications to help to manage these challenges," said Simon Ellis, Practice Lead for Supply Chain at IDC Manufacturing Insights.

The release of these four applications for integrated business planning enables companies to:

• Harmonize planning across corporate functions
• React more quickly to changes in demand and capture more sales with the speed of the SAP HANA platform
• Enable more consistent and actionable plans with one common data model
• Manage the complexity and uncertainty of the demand network
• Simplify the effort  to achieve business value with the SAP Cloud portfolio

"The supply chain of today must evolve to operate in the global marketplace, and must have the tools to meet the consumer's demand for products in real time," said Hans Thalbauer, senior vice president, Line-of-Business Solutions for Supply Chain, SAP. "This latest group of offerings demonstrates SAP's commitment to the supply chain in its evolution to a demand network, and supporting our customers with the capabilities of the SAP Cloud portfolio and the SAP HANA platform, to ensure their continued success."

For more information, visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

Media Contact:
Janice Edman, +1 (650) 223-4817, j.edman@sap.com, EDT

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SOURCE SAP SE