SAP Trade Insights Podcast Highlights of 2021 with Host Tom Raftery – Digital Enterprise & Enterprise Analytics

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I not too long ago had the chance to sit down down with Tom Raftery, host of the SAP Trade Insights Podcast (amongst others!) to debate among the highlights and customary themes in final 12 months’s episodes. The subjects lined all kinds of various industries, with a number of nice, concrete examples of how SAP’s prospects and companions are utilizing know-how to innovate.

Right here’s a hyperlink to the episode itself, adopted by an abridged and edited model of our dialogue — and you will discover the total listing of episodes, with hyperlinks, on the finish of this publish.

 

Tom Raftery: Hi there everybody, work into the business insights podcast by SAP. My title is Tom Raftery, and with me on the present at present, I’ve my particular visitor Timo Elliott—would you prefer to introduce your self?

Timo Elliott: Hi there everybody! I’m an innovation evangelist for SAP. It’s a bit little bit of a wierd title, nevertheless it principally means I work with our prospects on the vanguard of innovation, attempt to collect the teachings discovered after which share that with as many individuals as potential in order that we will all be extra profitable.

Tom Raftery: What do you imply it’s a wierd title?! I’ve precisely the identical one! We all know that you just’re a rabidly enthusiastic listener to this podcast, so we’ve invited you to this explicit episode as a result of it’s the round-up episode, we’ve had eight or 9 episodes printed now since September of 2021, you’ve listened to all of them… Thanks for that. So we needed to succeed in out and chat, and for individuals who haven’t possibly heard all the episodes, possibly give them a bit abstract for people who find themselves keen on their themes that we’ve lined. So over to you to — what did you’re taking from the episodes you’ve listened to?

Timo Elliott: Let me begin by turning it round — what have been YOUR  favourite episodes? If you assume again, which episodes soar out, and why?

Tom Raftery: There have been so many. I feel the one about getting good about charging electrical vehicles must have been my favourite. I imply, I run plenty of podcasts, this one, the local weather 21 podcast, the digital provide chain podcast, and anybody who listens to these will probably be conscious that electrical autos are a specific ardour of mine.

I’ve been speaking about them for a very long time. I drove my first totally electrical automobile again in 2010, it was a prototype-ness and leaf, it was certainly one of two completely different on the planet on the time, so this has been one thing that I’ve been banging on about for ages, and that exact episode was actually fascinating as a result of it was with a start-up firm, so loads of occasions if we now have firms on their companions or their large prospects, however this was a small firm, a small German startup primarily based out of Munich, ChargeX. And so they have give you a approach for make it simpler to roll out electrical automobile charging infrastructure. It’s a bit like an influence strip — you initially get an electrician to come back alongside to put in your very first charger however then if you wish to set up extra chargers for extra autos that you just prolong your electrical automobile fleet, you are able to do it your self, you don’t must get an electrician again as a result of they have already got the infrastructure in place. And the software program manages the entire thing, so for organizations who’re beginning out with possibly one or two electrical autos, however plan on additional down the road including extra to their fleet, this can be a unbelievable answer

Corporations who’re doing this could then handle charging and billing, and all the opposite facets of getting electrical automobile fleet.

One other spotlight was the corporate Lizee, who arrange a platform for retailers to do rental the place they might usually be doing simply straight buying. They defined every thing within the episode Renting is the brand new shopping for.

One of many examples they utilized in that episode was they work with Decathlon in France. If you wish to go tenting to the countryside, as a substitute of spending a number of cash on a tent and sleeping bag and so forth — gear that you just won’t use once more for a very long time — Decathlon makes use of the Lizee platform to allow you to ebook a tent for nonetheless lengthy you want it, after which give it again. After which it may be utilized by any person else per week later, and so it’s about getting much more utility out of the assets that went into the manufacture of that tent. And naturally they refurbish it each time, and you’ll depart suggestions, and rankings.

There was additionally an episode on the round economic system that was nice, with SAP’s Stephen Jamieson. It was the primary time I heard the expression Regenerative Enterprise.

General, it’s actually exhausting for me to select a favourite, however should you put a gun to my head, it must be {the electrical} automobile charging one, as a result of that’s such a ardour of mine, as you already know…

Timo Elliott: I dwell on this metropolis and I haven’t owned a automobile in over 20 years. So my favourite electrical automobile is an electrical bus! 🙂.

Tom Raftery: I used to be wanting on the Bloomberg New Power Ventures web site not too long ago on electrical autos, and totally 40% of recent bus gross sales now are totally electrical buses globally, so that you’re not alone.

Timo Elliott: It’s great. I dwell in within the coronary heart of Paris, and there’s loads of loud vehicles and motorcycle after which large bus, packed full of individuals, simply glides cross virtually  noiselessly.. I actually hope the way forward for transport is much more alongside these strains.

So my favourite was additionally Renting is the brand new shopping for.  Most individuals hire skis slightly than shopping for, as a result of it’s simpler and cheaper and extra handy — so why not apply that mannequin to extra issues? The logic of the argument was very convincing.

I additionally beloved the episode The Race to Zero: Regenerative Enterprise Fashions for a Sustainable Future.

I discovered lots out of each of these episodes after which my final favourite was concerning the Way forward for Work  and the The Rise of the Contingent Workforce
with the CTO of SAP Fieldglass. Once more, it was as a result of I discovered lots about one thing I didn’t learn about — simply how a lot of the work that goes on in firms world wide is completed by individuals apart from your workers, and simply the way it vital it’s to take that under consideration.

Tom Raftery: He stated round 40% or one thing that was contingent?

Timo Elliott: He estimated about 50% of the work that will get executed is completed by those that don’t give you the results you want straight — so it’s vital to know who these persons are. That is very true as we begin transferring in direction of the gig economic system, when persons are altering careers much more usually and also you’re speaking about community of networks. As you consider individuals being able to maneuver from job to job and between initiatives over time, after which having the ability to preserve observe of that throughout an ecosystem, you could possibly see why that makes an enormous quantity of sense.

Tom Raftery: And it makes us make sense for the staff as properly, to have in a single place all of the information of all of the work they’ve executed. I bear in mind a couple of years in the past a speaker at an occasion mentioning that his father had had one job his complete life, whereas he had had seven jobs at the moment in his lifetime, and he stated he totally anticipated his children to have seven jobs concurrently of their lifetimes… And that was again in 2006 when no one had but heard of the expression “gig economic system”. No it’s on everybody’s tongue, and that episode was actually, actually, actually fascinating.

Timo Elliott: Effectively, I’m probably not certified to speak about that as a result of I’ve been the identical firm now for 30 years! Let me ask you one other query: what did you get pleasure from most about internet hosting these episodes?

Tom Raftery: You understand, I feel it’s the variability. I host the local weather 21 podcast, as I discussed earlier, and that’s actually fascinating as a result of it’s one other subject that I’m fairly keen about, nevertheless it’s fairly slender, and I additionally host the Digital Provide Chain Podcast, and once more, that’s actually fascinating as a result of it’s individuals speaking about stuff that’s actually vital proper now. It’s fairly broad as a result of we outline provide chain as every thing from the planning, engineering and manufacturing, the supply, the operation of units, and many others. so the entire gamut, however nonetheless, the industries podcast subjects are so broad. You talked about among the episodes there. We additionally did one on rail, for instance, one other on telecoms, a bunch of them on retailing…

Timo Elliott: Certainly one of issues I discovered fascinating is among the frequent themes that got here out that there are some areas the place everyone has been fighting the identical factor, basically. Clearly, one is change. I can’t actually consider a interval that has been topic to extra change within the final and a half, due to the pandemic — on prime of all of those different traits that have been already accelerating.

Tom Raftery: I feel we’ve referred to it already, sustainability was an enormous one, and I feel that’s going to be an enormous pattern going ahead, as a result of the rules round sustainability are altering enormously. Right here in Europe, we now have agreed to a 55% discount in emissions by 2013, which is extremely bold, and I feel lots of people don’t understand the type of degree of systemic change that can require. And that different 45% after 2030 to get to internet zero can be even tougher to get, which implies much more adjustments. Up till now,  sustainability has been fairly often a “good to have”, however going ahead, it’s going to be a requirement. For instance, we’re see every kind of laws requiring firms to measure set targets, measure and report their emissions, for instance.

We talked about sustainable journey with rail in one of many episodes, as a result of 2021 is formally the 12 months of rail. There’s an important quote by a man known as Gustavo Petro, former Mayor of Bogotá, the place he says that “a developed nation shouldn’t be one the place poor individuals who have vehicles, it’s one the place wealthy individuals take public transportation.”

I like that quote as a result of it speaks to the significance of public transportation as a lever for getting situations down. The quantity of individuals you will get on a bus or on a practice is extraordinarily excessive in comparison with private transportation, and should you get the emissions down on these, then right away, that’s an enormous win for everybody.

Timo Elliott: There are another episodes that speak about sustainability… For instance, the episode about how companies can take motion after COP26, which featured Michael Groves of Topolytics.

There have been some nice quotes. “It’s all about analyzing garbage information” , “Waste is  only a useful resource within the mistaken place” — the concept is that one particular person waste is one other particular person’s enter. And your quote about “individuals speak about throwing issues away, there’s no such place as ‘away’ — it finally ends up underground, or leaks into the atmosphere, except you progress to a extra round economic system the place you employ the outputs of 1 factor into the inputs of one other. Or, as you talked about, nothing in nature is wasted, it at all times goes into the subsequent a part of the cycle, so how can we mimic that with the world economic system? I assumed it was fascinating.

And going again to the episode concerning the Regenerative Enterprise Fashions, I needed to place in an additional plug there for SAP Accountable Design and Manufacturing. We try to assist with applied sciences that assist organizations get rid of waste, and create connections, so to join the waste of 1 business with the implementer after which drive new enterprise fashions. It’s basically digital, and it’s basically about networks, so it’s very a lot one thing that we’re enthusiastic about.

Tom Raftery: Yep, completely. Different subjects or different themes that I feel have been talked about throughout a number of of the episodes have been the usage of information. We had an episode concerning the enterprise fashions of streaming content material and buyer expertise, and naturally, that may be very a lot round information… I hate the expression “information is the brand new oil “as a result of I don’t assume that’s an excellent factor given the place we’re a local weather change at present. However the significance of information has now develop into extraordinarily apparent to everybody, I feel, and the truth that increasingly units have gotten linked and good means they’re producing information and transmitting information. If you wish to actually reap the benefits of of your investments, that you must seize that information and switch it into actionable insights. And that’s occurring throughout each business — we’re positively going to see an growing significance round information and methods to behave on that information.

Timo Elliott: Completely. Information was talked about in virtually each episode — for instance, you talked about how automation helps Maple Leaf Meals save money and time. They’re making use of machine studying to create extra clever commerce claims administration.

Tom Raftery: It’s once you get a promotion for some retailer that you just go to — it could be coupons is a newspaper, however extra usually it’s now one thing digital, otherwise you get a reduction off one thing that you just may go shopping for, akin to 10% off your subsequent buy of one thing.

So that you go to the shop, author, bodily or on-line, you make your purchases, you enter your low cost code or your hand over your coupon, after which that needs to be associated, so the shop proprietor who has given us that promotion to all the shoppers or a subset of the shoppers then claims that again in opposition to the corporate who manufactured no matter it’s. The producer has to get all these claims again after which has to match the claims in opposition to the promotion, and it’s a horrific guide menial activity.

Timo Elliott: Paul Smith of SAP gave us the business common — it takes round fifty days to do the reconciliation and it value round 5 thousand {dollars} to do a thousand claims. So it’s costly, and though Maple Meals is already higher than the typical, they’re seeing some nice outcomes with the pilot use of machine studying know-how, and so they’re hoping to get that all the way down to 1 / 4 to a fifth of the time and the prices.

Tom Raftery: And what the know-how does is it does the automated matching, so it’ll match as much as about 80% of the claims robotically, after which if it’s undecided, it would push the the final 20% for somebody to do it manually.  That’s 80% of the work executed. Robotically, that’s an enormous time-saving

Timo Elliott: One other episode about utilizing information was with with Michael Scheibner of GK Software program, a associate of SAP that has a platform that helps create actually customized new channel experiences — principally the type of experiences that all of us anticipate now.

Certainly one of my favourite components of that episode was really an instance that touched on sustainability. Cameras can have a look at contemporary produce akin to strawberries, after which algorithms detect when the standard goes down and decide at what level the retailer ought to begin discounting in order that that product will get out of the shop earlier than it goes off—enhancing margins with much less wastage.

To try this, you’ve given a reduction, however possibly the algorithms may you additionally assist you enhance the value of an corresponding annex product. Michael gave the instance of decreasing the value on strawberries however elevating it on whipped cream, which are usually bought the identical time, in order that your general profitability stays the identical. I assumed that was a beautiful win-win alternative utilizing know-how.

He additionally cited the Costco instance of utilizing analytics and machine studying to create algorithms to optimize bread manufacturing, once more utilizing cameras. They detect when the bread that’s left might be not sufficient to cowl the demand that’s anticipated for the remainder of the day. So that they calculate how rather more bread to bake, with out leading to waste on the finish of the day.

In actual fact, do you know that the very first enterprise use of computer systems was within the UK, in 1951, in Lyons Tea Outlets? And that the very first profitable run of that know-how was calculating what number of sandwiches to make for the subsequent day to attempt to reduce waste?  The usage of that know-how in that exact space has been occurring for a very long time.

Tom Raftery: I had no concept! Dwell and be taught. Nice, I beloved as properly. They have been utilizing machine studying to do issues like “Cling on— you’re getting spaghetti? Would you like some pasta sauce with that?” Actually intelligent stuff.

Timo Elliott: After which going again to the ChargeX instance: there are extra vehicles that may be charged concurrently, in order that they attempt to work out which of them want charging first — for instance, if a automobile is charged to the airport and you already know that particular person’s gone for per week, you possibly can cost it very slowly, as a result of it’s not a precedence. But when any person’s simply stopped for 5 minutes to have a espresso, they should cost now. They’re engaged on algorithms to have the ability to determine all this robotically, and I assumed that was a really fascinating use case as properly.

Tom Raftery: Sure—and if it’s in an worker automobile park, workers can say what time they’re leaving, or if it’s in a carpark in a single day, individuals can program in what time they’re planning to go away within the morning, so the the system can optimize charging round that as properly. So a number of actually fascinating issues you are able to do there with information and clever algorithms

Timo Elliott: And one of many large subjects for me: we speak lots about know-how, however the finish of the day, it’s all about individuals, and a minimum of a few episodes touched on individuals. One was Episode 49 on how human expertise administration can probably assist the trucking business. The opposite one was, as we’ve talked about, Episode 45 about the way forward for work and the rise of the contingent workforce. Each of them actually emphasised how vital persons are for industries and for all of this innovation that’s occurring.

Tom Raftery: And one level on the trucking: there was a remark which I assumed was essential, that the cash given to truck drivers hasn’t stored tempo with the price of dwelling, and that’s been an enormous issue. Their relative revenue has fallen drastically during the last 20 to 30 years, so no marvel we now have a scarcity of truck drivers.

Timo Elliott: And the working situations are an vital a part of an ecosystem, not simply the pricing. It’s the best way they’re paid—they’re not paid for after they’re ready round or in the event that they’re loading the truck, solely whereas they’re on the highway. And the amenities are vital—if you’re spending your life in a truck, you then’d prefer to go someplace clear when it’s important to go right into a service station as so on.

And we’ve been speaking lots about machine studying and the significance of making efficiencies and doing issues in new methods, however one of many issues that I’d like to emphasise—as a result of I’ve come throughout this many occasions speaking to prospects—is each time it’s been a possibility for the prevailing employees to cease doing work they hate: the drudge work. It may be advanced, nevertheless it’s not fascinating, so these applied sciences are releasing them as much as do extra fascinating issues. Once more, have a look at the Maple Leaf Meals instance. Proper now, there are large groups of those that take care of this paperwork, however they’re now going to be free to work on the extra advanced circumstances, which they at present simply write off. And so they can spend time really enhancing the entire system and making it extra environment friendly.

The ultimate factor that I’d like to say is co-innovation—the entire level of this business collection is to emphasise the alternatives of organizations working collectively in a specific business. Expertise is vital, however there’s additionally context and know-how and connections and networks and bringing that collectively is how we get the innovation. And that’s the place the SAP Trade Cloud initiatives are available—for instance, we’re a part of the Catena-x car community.  It’s principally attempting to assist all the gamers within the automobile or automotive business work collectively to create the way forward for what the business seems like, as a result of it’s clearly going to be very completely different from at present. And one other instance is GK software program—the omni-channel method is an extension to the SAP platform. We all know that we will’t cowl every thing, so we wish to work lots with our companions and prospects to create these add-on options that work for particular business and makes use of.

Tom Raftery: Nice, we’re coming in direction of the tip of the podcast now. Is there something that we’ve not talked about that you just assume it’s vital for individuals to conscious of, or any questions I’ve not requested you that you just want I had?

Timo Elliott: We spend loads of time and our assets for these sorts of reveals speaking about what individuals actually care about, so one factor that I’d encourage individuals is: please give us suggestions! Inform us what you’d like to listen to extra about, and when you have an important story to inform, please contact us and we’ll attempt to get you on the present.

Tom Raftery: You possibly can attain out to me at any time on any of my social networks. I’m very seen on Twitter, I’m very seen on Linkedin, or simply ship me an over-fashioned e-mail to tom.raftery@sap.com at any time.

Okay, Timo. That’s been unbelievable. Thanks one million for coming in to podcast at present.

Timo Elliott: Thanks! I’m wanting ahead to the subsequent episode!

Tom Raftery:  If you wish to discover our business portfolio to seek out the options that you must run your enterprise higher, please go to us at SAP.com/industries

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Appendix: an inventory of Trade Perception episodes hosted by Tom Raftery in 2021:

Episode 40: The Race to Zero: Regenerative Enterprise Fashions for a Sustainable Future

Within the first episode of Season 2 of the Trade Insights by SAP podcast, new host Tom Raftery speaks with Wesley Spindler, International Round Economic system Lead at Accenture and Stephen Jamieson, SAP International Head of Round Economic system Options.

Episode 41: Seven Key Traits Driving the Way forward for the Shopper Merchandise Trade

Host Tom Raftery and Sunny Neely, SAP International Resolution Director for Shopper Merchandise, talk about insights from a latest analysis examine which revealed 7 key traits which can be driving the Shopper Merchandise business at present.

Episode 42: The Way forward for Sustainable Procuring

This week, host Tom Raftery sits down with Achim Schneider, International Head, SAP Retail Enterprise Unit and Michael Scheibner, Head of Technique, GK Software program to learn how retailers can construct again higher from the pandemic.

Episode 43: Getting Sensible About Charging Electrical Automobiles

Tobias Wagner (CEO/co-founder, ChargeX) and Hagen Huebach (Head of Automotive business, SAP) talk about how the shift to electrical mobility will impression the grid and the way companies can put together.

Episode 44: Streaming Companies: Nice CX is the Key to Buyer Loyalty

Streaming providers noticed speedy development throughout covid – however which is able to prospects stick round as soon as life returns to regular? Richard Whittington, International Head of Media at SAP and Erik Vogel, International Head of Excessive Tech & Telco at SAP Qualtrics, share their ideas.

Episode 45: Way forward for Work – The Rise of the Contingent Workforce

Vish Baliga (CTO, SAP Fieldglass) talks concerning the challenges companies face, throughout industries, in sustaining visibility and reference to an more and more contingent workforce in a risky and quickly shifting market.

Episode 46: Modernizing Rail For A Digital and Sustainable Future

2021 is the 12 months of Rail, an EU extensive initiative to advertise rail as “a sustainable, progressive, and protected mode of transport.” Alicia Gutierrez and Kevin Schock from SAP talk about what this implies for SAP, our prospects, and their prospects.

Episode 47: The Way forward for Telecommunications – 5G

Domen Rakovec, SAP Basic Supervisor for Companies Industries, Center & Jap Europe, talks concerning the previous, current, & way forward for the telecommunications business and the alternatives for telcos to leverage 5G know-how to diversify their income streams.

Episode 48: Retailers: Why Renting Is The New Shopping for

On this week’s episode, Tanguy Frécon, Co-Founder & Chairman at Lizee shares how Lizee helps manufacturers and retailers attain each their development and sustainability objectives by increasing their rental enterprise and lengthening the usage of their merchandise.

Episode 49: How Can The Trucking Trade Retain and Entice Drivers To Forestall Provide Shocks?

Attracting and retaining drivers are two prime trucking business points, particularly in context of the present driver scarcity. Corporations should discover an efficient method to innovate in opposition to these points. Can HXM know-how assist with world provide chain points?

Episode 50: How Automation is Serving to Maple Leaf Meals Save Time and Cash

This week on the podcast, our friends Manny Ki (Dir, Data Options, Maple Leaf Meals) and Paul Smith (SAP) share with us how client merchandise firms can automate commerce claims administration to save lots of money and time.

Episode 51: After COP 26 – how companies can take motion

Michael Groves (Topolytics) and Natasha Pergl (SAP) to debate how firms can use information science modelling to trace supplies throughout the provision chain for sustainable decision-making.

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