Who's bought what - November 09
Leading global air cargo company buys Ariba’s SaaS solution
Ariba, the leading spend management solutions provider, announced that it has signed a new agreement with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, a global leader in air cargo assets and services. Under the terms of the agreement, Atlas Air will leverage Ariba’s SaaS offerings to drive savings across its operations and ensure that they make their way to the bottom line. “At Atlas Air, we are committed to delivering game-changing solutions that enable our customers to drive business growth, and in order to do this, we must diligently manage our costs and operate at the highest levels of efficiency,” said Larry Gibbons, Vice President, Procurement, Atlas Air. “Ariba’s SaaS solutions provide us with flexible technology and best-practice processes that we can use to negotiate best-value contracts. But perhaps more important, they enable us to drive compliance with these agreements across our operations to ensure that the value we negotiate actually materialises.”
As part of its Continuous Improvement initiatives, Atlas Air will implement Ariba® Sourcing On-Demand™, Ariba Contract Management On Demand™ and Ariba Procure-to-Pay™. “In order to keep pace in today’s volatile and fiercely competitive market for global cargo services, Atlas Air must operate more efficiently and cost effectively than ever before,” said Daryl Rolley, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, North America and Asia Pacific Operations, Ariba. “In implementing Ariba’s SaaS solutions, Atlas Air can enable this agility by dialing up the technology, expertise and services it needs as it needs them to control its costs, minimise risk, improve profits and optimise cash flow and operations.”
Ariba are proud sponsors of 'The AP Automation Summit', taking place 9th-11th December 2009 in Paris.
Ariba are also proud sponsors of 'Attaining F&A Shared Services Process Excellence', taking place 9th - 12th March 2010 in London.
Siemens unexpectedly renews its maintenance contract and adopts further SAP solution
Rumours that Siemens, a major global SAP customer, would end its maintenance contract and seek SAP application support from a third party have finally been dispelled. SAP announced in a statement the “completion of Siemens’ contract renewal for SAP maintenance support services for all SAP solutions based on SAP’s maintenance standards for large customers for a duration of three years.” SAP also expanded its services to Siemens, agreeing to offer its Supplier Relationship Management solution, which automates processes along the procure-to-pay chain for indirect material. “Coupling its maintenance support renewal with selection of our SRM solution is a clear indication that Siemens trusts in the ability of SAP to provide global services for its enterprises,” said Erwin Gunst, SAP’s chief operating officer. “SAP has been, and will continue to be, a strong strategic supplier to Siemens.” The maintenance renewal contract is also an expansion, since Siemens signed up for the MaxAttention service, which “provides onsite intensive custsmized support services,” according to SAP.
The issue of maintenance value has received plenty of attention over the past 18 months. The Siemens episode is perhaps the most high-profile test for SAP’s maintenance offerings since the company, under pressure from customers, rolled out a plan in June that holds SAP liable for meeting certain benchmarks for maintenance deliverables and also delays a schedule of fee increases. SAP finds their maintenance revenue streams under threat from multiple fronts, as third-party providers, including Rimini Street and big services companies such as IBM, ply discounted maintenance services and SaaS vendors reinvent the software deployment model by rolling maintenance costs into monthly subscriptions fees.
Allweiler selects ReadSoft to automate its procurement process
ReadSoft is to deliver its SAP-certified Purchase to Pay solution to Allweiler AG, Germany's oldest manufacturer of pumps and complete pump systems, to optimise and automate its procurement process. The solution will initially cover the processing of 1,000 purchase requisitions monthly, and will be integrated into its existing SAP system. The new ReadSoft web-based solution, Process Director, accelerates the procurement processes by enabling any authorised employees to create, circulate, and approve purchase requests via a secured web connection. The requisitions are then automatically registered as orders into the company's existing SAP system. As the company is already using ReadSoft for the automation of its invoice processing, requisition handling and invoice approval are now integrated in the same interface.
"With ReadSoft, we have more time to complete other valuable tasks," says Boris Mueller, Chief Procurement Officer of the purchasing department at Allweiler. "Most importantly, we have gained significant control and visibility into our procurement process. This both strengthens supplier relationships and creates a better basis for negotiations over prices and conditions…Since requisitions are registered electronically, we are able to keep track of all purchases in the organisation," says Mueller. "One of the biggest advantages of using Process Director is the improved optimisation of our invoice processing, as the number of invoices with purchase orders increases. Even trivial purchases like taxi trips are entered into the SAP system. In the future, we plan to extend the implementation to cover project requisitions, which requires a far more extensive approval workflow.
Sun Chemical selects Brainware for its global invoice processing
Intelligent data capture and enterprise search solution Brainware announced that Sun Chemical has selected the company’s Brainware Distiller(TM) solution for the processing of invoices around the globe. Sun Chemical is the world’s largest producer of printing inks and pigments and a leading provider of materials to packaging, publication, coatings, plastics, cosmetics, and other industrial markets. With annual sales over US$4 billion, Sun Chemical has more than 11,000 employees supporting customers around the world through a network of 250 locations in 65 countries. Sun Chemical will also implement Brainware Visibility(TM) for real-time statistics and reporting on the invoice processing cycle.
Under this multi-year agreement, Sun Chemical will leverage Brainware’s intelligent data capture solution to automatically extract and validate complex header and line-item data and access real-time key performance indicators and business metrics pertaining to suppliers and related invoices. Brainware Distiller’s seamless integration with other technologies will enable Sun Chemical to leverage its existing investments in OpenText workflow and SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Brainware Distiller will be deployed in three financial shared service centres (Cincinnati, OH, Wroclaw, Poland and Bangalore, India) which process invoices in 14 different languages.
Sun Chemical decided to implement Brainware Distiller after facing challenges with its previous document processing solution. “Even with technology, we were essentially still doing manual processing. Our invoice verifiers were forced to key in a majority of the information off documents, and we were devoting a significant amount of time and resources to keying in line-items,” said Ray Baer, Director of Corporate Accounting for Sun Chemical. “Brainware’s ability to achieve 80-90% extraction rates out of the box and its automated line pairing reduces the labour involved with one of the most time-consuming responsibilities within accounts payable.” “At the heart of driving cost efficiency and better managing working capital are technologies that automate and optimise business processes such as accounts payable,” said Melissa Webster, Program Vice President with IDC. “Very high extraction and accuracy rates are key to enabling large organisations to truly automate these processes.”
Brainware are proud sponsors of 'The AP Automation Summit', taking place 9th-11th December 2009 in Paris.
Brainware are also proud sponsors of 'Attaining F&A Shared Services Process Excellence', taking place 9th - 12th March 2010 in London.
UK Research Councils chooses Science Warehouse for its Shared Services eProcurement solution
RCUK Shared Services Centre Limited has awarded its e-procurement catalogue and spend management contract to Science Warehouse in a deal that will drive multi-year savings across all seven of the UK’s Research Councils. The contract represents the first major shared services project of its kind in the public sector and integrates the Science Warehouse solution with RCUK SSC Ltd state-of-the-art Oracle E-Business Suite. Science Warehouse is a leading provider of on-demand procurement and catalogue solutions. RCUK SSC Ltd is wholly owned subsidiary of the seven Research Councils, which together invest some £2.8 billion in research each year. RCUK SSC Ltd provides joint support services in Human Resources, Procurement and Finance to the UK Research Councils.
Nicola Dunne, Commercial Director at RCUK, said: “The implementation of Science Warehouse will further develop the strategic tools in support of our Category Management strategy and increase our operational effectiveness. It will help to optimise collaboration between the Research Councils through leading edge spend management and reporting capabilities. It is ‘win-win-win’ as it will deliver major cost and efficiency benefits for customers, the Shared Services Centre and our suppliers without cutting into the resources we need to drive world-class research.” Mark Holroyd, Head of Procurement Systems Implementation at RCUK SSC Ltd, said: “This is a flagship shared services project. We had to be certain that the chosen provider would deliver a best-in-class service to our tight deadlines. Science Warehouse won the tender from a competitive field of global providers based on the high quality of its solution and its impressive track record of successful rollouts in the research sector. We know our world-leading researchers will benefit from the use of a solution designed with them in mind. However, the wider community of RCUK customers in all disciplines will also be able to take advantage of our one-stop-shop approach to catalogues”.
Dr David Hames, Chairman at Science Warehouse, commented: “The UK Research Councils have world-class status across a wide spectrum of research – from astronomy to economics to medical sciences – and needed a spend solution to address this. We are delighted to have been chosen as their e-procurement provider to help deliver a key shared services initiative. The project will realise the substantial savings that the government is targeting and act as a valuable benchmark for the rest of the public sector.” RCUK SSC Ltd joins a growing community of leading European research organisations using Science Warehouse’s procurement and catalogue solutions.
Amplifon selects Trintech for its account reconciliation
Amplifon has selected Trintech’s ReconNET software for financial process compliance. ReconNET is a component of Trintech’s Unity platform, a suite of modular software that enables companies to meet their financial governance, risk management and compliance goals. Amplifon is worldwide leader in the distribution and fitting of hearing aids and related services. Through a network of over 3,000 points of sale and 3,500 service centres, Amplifon is active in Italy, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Egypt and North America (USA and Canada) and Belgium.
Through a suite of software modules, Trintech’s Unity platform enables companies like Amplifon to increase the accuracy and transparency of financial reporting, reduce operational costs, shorten cycle times and reduce the risk of material weaknesses and restatements. Trintech’s ReconNET module, the world’s leading account reconciliation software solution for high-volume account matching, automates daily, monthly, and periodic reconciliation and balancing of financial accounts. With ReconNET’s customisable business rules and automated reconciliation, staff can process accounts and transactions quickly, accurately, and consistently in compliance. Amplifon joins over 600 leading global organisations benefiting from Trintech’s configurable and highly scalable solutions.
Basware to deliver Connectivity services to Veolia Environmental Services
Basware will deliver Basware Connectivity Services to the UK’s Veolia Environmental Services. The value of the deal is approximately €650 000 over the next 3 years. Veolia Environmental Services is the leading UK waste management organisation, with almost 12,500 employees and revenues above £1.3 billion (€1.4 billion). Veolia Environmental Services serves 73,000 commercial customers and provides services to 16 million customers through its contracts with local authorities. Basware Connectivity is a new set of services which enables suppliers and buyers of all sizes and maturity to transact electronically. The service to be delivered includes Basware Scan and Capture services.
"Basware Connectivity Services has in a short time become our fastest growing solid fundamental revenue generator. Our solutions are industry-independent and this agreement with Veolia Environmental Services further strengthens our position on the UK market across various industries. Basware Connectivity service allows companies to handle purchase to pay processes online and to achieve fast return on investment,” says CEO Ilkka Sihvo, Basware Corporation.
The Basware Connectivity services include the ability to deliver e-invoices and purchase messages with Basware Business Transactions, an outsourced Basware Scan and Capture solution to convert all paper invoice to electronic format, the ability for suppliers to key-in invoices, receive orders electronically, send order confirmations as well as upload and create electronic catalogs via Basware Supplier Portal and an outsourced Basware Supplier Activation service to communicate with the suppliers, assist and activate them to connect to the buyers’ purchase to pay process.
Basware are also proud sponsors of 'Attaining F&A Shared Services Process Excellence', taking place 9th - 12th March 2010 in London.
