analysis and what-if optimization. These gaps grew in significance as demand and supply variability increased. Inside-out. By design, the focus is on using enter- pt yr, i tshe edsaht iaf ,t bwuat swt iot hu st he emi na rc kr ee at sdea it na imn aarnk ea tg vi l ae rpi al abni l -i - ning platform. SAP did not make that shift. Network Laggard. The purchase of ARIBA in 2012 smt reennt g. St ht iel ln, et hd eS iAnPd’ us spt or ys i ltei oa nd ei nr fianidl ei rde tcot pp ar or lcauyr et h- e purchased assets into the management of direct procurement (materials associated with manufac - turing products based on the bill of materials). Failed Co-Innovation Projects. Over the past two dt i ea ct iavdees s. ,Wwee kt nr aocwk eodf nmounl et i pt hl ea tc ow- edreev es ul ocpc me s es nf ut l i. nTi h- e anbeislsit.y to innovate with business leaders is a weak- How Did This Happen? Ss uAcPc’ es sps rf ui ml wa ri yt ha tuhdei eI nT ctee ai smt hs et hCaInO .t hT eh eb uC soi mn epsas nl ye ai sd emr so hr ei p groups. For me, the story is an old one: Industry Analyst Complicity. Gartner Group lists SS Au pPpal sy eCiht ha ei nr Ma laegaidc eQr uoardar acnhtasl.l eTnhgiesreinndtohres pe ma set nf itv e da gr oa ivnesbt ua ymi nagr kbeethsahvai or er. lAesa da enrains aclhy as tl l, etna kg ii nn gg aa nsdt a n c e often career-limiting.
Greed. SAP garnered the support of significant consultants using selling strategies such as “80% is good enough.” The SAP solutions fit the consulting model well: the solutions were higher price points and more extended implementations. Each major ca onndsfuolut agnhct yc obmu ipl teat i “t ibveenbcaht”t loefst troa iwn ei nd di me pplloeymmeennt ot sr.s The focus was on deployment. Few asked, “Is this planning solution yielding a better answer for the organization?” Arrogance. Within SAP, there is deep talent and commitment to customer success. However, the fsliygwn ihf ieceal not f l bi ceecnosme irnegv ea nmu ea sr kf eu te sl ehda raen l ee na dv ierro an nmde tnht e of arrogance low on self-reflection. SAP’s failure in planning benefited other players like Ki - naxis, O9 Solutions, and OMP. Summary Ap rgi soeo rdessui lpi epnl yc ec hb ay i pn rpolvaindni ni nggi ns soilguht itos .nI ni mt ipmr oevs eosf evnatrei ar -b i l - ity, the value of supply chain planning grows. Inni etsh de ef apceen do fi nt gh isrot yl e- sl ye voennSmA Po nf ot husn od f t dh iastr tuhpet isoonl ,uct oi omn pwa a- s not equal to the challenge. Note: This article was published in Forbes in May 2023. Forbes pulled the piece based on a phone call with SAP. When I asked SAP in the writing of this article for comment, I received none, Forbes guidelines are to list the fact that SAP failed to comment in the first paragraph. I failed to include this fact in the first paragraph. Here, I modified the article to include that despite contacting SAP twice for comment and checking for factual accuracy, there was no feedback.
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