SAP AG used the first day of the eBusiness Conference and Expo in New York yesterday to flesh out its e-commerce strategy announcing version 2.0 of its business-to-business procurement software and a new internet sales module to enable both B2B and B2C on-line sales.
The German software giant said the latest release of its buy-side application is now available for non-SAP customers. In the past, users of its procurement software had to be running R/3 as their back end enterprise resource planning system, but this latest version enables companies to link to any ERP suite, from rivals such as Oracle Corp, PeopleSoft Inc or JD Edwards – something which SAP customers had been calling for. Alternatively, the software can run as a standalone application, without connecting to any back office suite, SAP said.
The integration is enabled via SAP’s new XML-based Business Connector, which as well as allowing the application to link to non-SAP ERP software, also lets it connect to any sell side application to transmit orders, invoices and other documents. SAP announced a partnership with Intershop Communications Inc, but according to SAP’s Thomas Mezger, director corporate marketing, e-commerce, more partnerships with web store front vendors are in the pipeline.
The other major change with version 2.0 is that it can link to multiple SAP, or non-SAP, servers whereas the first release required a separate instance of the procurement software per SAP server. So if a company had multiple R/3 servers running different parts of the their business they had to buy the same number of B2B procurement licenses.
Other enhancements include a new integrated bidding facility which allows an employee using the procurement software to post a public bid for services or products on the mySAP.com marketplace (SAP’s on-line trading exchange) and wait for the best offer. Alternatively, a private bidding facility allows them to focus on a small number of handpicked partners and deal with the bids on an individual basis.
To handle the sell side, SAP introduced its Internet Sales module, version 1.2, which it’s also billing as one of the first available components of its customer relationship management suite (see separate story). SAP already has a web store front application, called Online Store, but Mezger said the new module is designed for companies that view the internet as a vital sales channel. The software, which effectively replaces Online Store, offers capabilities for business to business, business to consumer and business to reseller indirect sales. It includes product catalogs, one-to-one marketing functionality and on-line product configuration and pricing. It also features a catalog management facility via a partnership, announced last week, with Requisite Technology Inc. Internet Sales is available in beta with general availability due next May, Mezger said. SAP Business-to-Business Procurement is available now. Both applications are being sold using SAP’s new roles-based pricing module, as defined under its new mySAP.com internet strategy.
