Deutsche Version
The concluding keynote address by Dr. Heiner Geißler brought the 46th Symposium on Purchasing and Logistics to a successful close. This year's event saw more than 2,200 participants come together to exchange information over three days, in 18 expert sessions, 9 special morning sessions, 8 workshops and 8 round-table discussions on megatrends in purchasing and logistics. The apsolut stand was also the location of much lively discussion, and we took this opportunity to strengthen our existing relationships and forge many new ones. All visitors to the apsolut stand had a chance to preview new SAP developments in the form of the latest new features of SAP SRM, and to gain an initial impression of the benefits and efficiency offered by these.
SAP SLC innovation: the new “Supplier Lifecycle Management” product from SAP supports the entire supplier management cycle, as an enhancement of SRM or ERP (available from Q1/2012). SAP has also announced other interesting functional enhancements to SRM 7.2 for Q1/Q2 2012. The SAP eSourcing/CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management) solution helps you identify the right partners and achieve better conditions with existing suppliers. Under the motto "Always a step ahead", we also presented our solution modules (apsolut SAP SRM add-on solutions), as well as functions such as catalog buying, RFx/reverse auctions, service procurement, supplier collaboration, and many more in the form of live demos. In addition, apsolut provided input on specific project approaches relating to the questions of how to optimize the organization of purchasing processes and how manual processing can be automated as far as possible. There is still a vast amount of potential to be tapped in these areas in many companies. The following SAP SRM services offered by apsolut are of relevance here:
- As-is analysis and process consulting in the purchasing area
- New introduction of SAP SRM across all relevant modules
- SAP SRM implementation and optimization
- Upgrades to the current version, SAP SRM 7.0 EhP1
- apsolut SAP-SRM add-on solutions tailored to your needs
- Supplier integration and catalog management
- Flawless and solution-oriented integration with the existing SAP system landscape
Keynote speeches were given by the following attendees at Europe's largest purchasing convention: Edwin Eichler, Member of the Board at ThyssenKrupp AG; Hansjörg Rodi, CEO of Schenker Deutschland AG; and Dr. Gertrud R. Traud, Chief Economist at Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen.
The award ceremony for the BME Innovation Prize was another highlight. The BME selected two prize-winners this year. The winning concept by MGL METRO GROUP Logistics GmbH was entitled “From Ramp to Shelf: How to achieve a balanced optimization of costs and service level along the supply chain”. The other winner was ZF Friedrichshafen AG, which received the Innovation Prize for its initiative “ZF-The Year of the Supplier”. With this initiative, ZF launched a new communication and strategy concept, to run for an unlimited period, with the aim of raising the profile of the role and relevance of the ZF materials management organization.
apsolut and more than 130 other exhibitors, from Germany and further afield, presented their concepts and solutions for optimizing procurement and logistics processes in the trade exhibition that ran alongside the Symposium.
We hope you'll come and visit us again next year at the apsolut stand. We look forward to seeing you there!
Your apsolut trade fair team: Thomas Herbst, Tim Kollmeier and colleagues!
