BWI: SAP® Ganges Connects the Last mile In Retail to the Business Network on a Mass Scale

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: SAP
Wednesday, December 11, 2013 01:30 PM IST (08:00 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Commodities & materials, Heavy industries, Information technology, Major diversified industrial groups, Retailers; Technology
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SAP® Ganges Connects the Last mile In Retail to the Business Network on a Mass Scale
SAP Launches New Cloud Based Solutions for CPG Companies, Distributors, Banks and Retail Stores on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform

Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Wednesday, December 11, 2013 -- (Business Wire India) -- Continuing to deliver on its innovation agenda, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced SAP® Ganges, a business network built on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform that connects the last mile in retail consisting of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies, distributors, banks, and retail stores.

"Software and communication technologies are reshaping the world around us and amplifying our ability in the process in unprecedented ways," said Dr. Vishal Sikka, member of the Executive Board of SAP AG, Products & Innovation. "With SAP® Ganges, we have shown that SAP HANA has the ability to transform and evolve entire industries in India. SAP HANA is helping connect businesses of all sizes in real-time: from the millions of kirana stores; to the large CPG companies serving them, and the financial institutions supporting them; by bringing new value to all points along this network and empowering people to conduct businesses in a totally open, transparent and real-time way."

SAP® Ganges Enables Seamless Connectivity Across the Entire Value Chain

Technology is reshaping the world around us and is removing barriers across geographies and businesses. Customers are seeking out the best offers, the best prices, and the best service levels with the help of real-time data. It has become imperative for CPG companies to work off a foundation of optimal processes across their entire value chain. The SAP HANA Cloud Platform powers the business network with real-time data on a massive scale.

Developed in India for the Indian market, SAP® Ganges is a business network offering seamless connectivity for CPG companies to the last mile of their supply chain, which consists of millions of unorganized retail stores. Other partners in the business network are: distributors of the consumer product companies; banks, which provide credit to the retailers; value-added services providers; telecom services providers which enable remote connectivity; and manufacturers of affordable point-of-sale (POS) devices. Conceptualized through intensive design thinking-based co-innovation with leading industry players, SAP® Ganges offers a range of holistic offerings for different stakeholders including:

-- CPG companies: enabling visibility through reporting and forecasting based on sales information aggregated from the retail stores. In addition, they can use SAP® Ganges as a direct marketing channel to reach retail stores

-- Distributors: providing the distributor to take orders, track inventory at the retail stores, and to allow them to receive payments digitally

-- Banks: enabling banks to assess credit eligibility of retailers and to adjust credit limit periodically based on retail store sales

-- Retail Stores: enabling retail stores to connect to business network using PoS devices and to access business services

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, the Indian fast moving consumer goods sector consisting of personal care, household care, and food products was valued at $36.8Bn in FY2011-12; and is one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world. Following the release in India, SAP plans to roll out SAP® Ganges to other retail-intensive economies such as Brazil, South Africa, China and Indonesia.

For more information, visit the SAP Newsroom.

SAP® TechEd in 2013: Las Vegas, Amsterdam, and Bangalore

SAP customers, partners, and technical experts are expected to convene at SAP® TechEd in 2013, the company's premier technical conference. Hands-on workshops, demo-driven lectures, and Q&A sessions on the latest developments in analytics, mobile, cloud, database, and in-memory computing enable SAP TechEd attendees to enhance their skills while making valuable connections with peers and IT experts from the SAP community. SAP TechEd was being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, from October 21-25, and in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from November 5-7, and is being held in Bangalore, India, from December 11-13. Follow SAP TechEd on Twitter at @SAPTechEd and join the conversation at #SAPTechEd.

About SAP

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device - SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 251,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

© 2013 SAP AG. All rights reserved.
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CONTACT DETAILS
Rathnam Subramanyam, SAP India, +91 7829411779 IST, rathnam.subramanyam@sap.com
Sandeep Deb Varman, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, +91 9916020191 IST, Sandeep.varman@bm.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, COMMODITIES, HEAVY INDUSTRIES, GROUPS, RETAIL, TECHNOLOGY

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