ORLANDO, Fla., Feb 26, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Further delivering on its commitment to provide software solutions enabling companies to increase visibility into essential information and simplify collaboration with their global network of business partners and customers, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today introduced the upcoming new release of its industry-leading supply chain management solution. In today's global economy with its accelerated speed of change, a company's business network is becoming its primary source of competitive differentiation. By transforming its network of employees, suppliers, customers, partners and distributors into a collaborative, customer-focused, demand-driven community, a company can intelligently adapt to changing market conditions and gain competitive advantage through accelerated innovation. A flexible supply chain management solution builds the foundation for the seamless integration of geographically dispersed business partners and optimized planning, execution and coordination of business processes within such a network. The announcement was made at the SAP Insider Conference for Logistics and Supply Chain Management, being held in Orlando, Florida, February 25-27.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a)

"Managing relationships with geographically dispersed customers, suppliers and partners has resulted in a need for increased levels of adaptability, collaboration and visibility when dealing with supply chain solutions," said Andrew White, research vice president, Gartner. "As companies expand their operations globally and outsource production, they are faced with the challenge of maintaining timely and accurate supply chain data, responding to shifting customer demand, and reducing costs to remain competitive. The more that these companies can optimize their supply chain software solutions to better collaborate with the various parties involved, the better positioned they are for long-term success."

New Capabilities Will Help Companies Meet Global Business Challenges

Developed in close collaboration with existing SAP customers to address challenges such as supply chain responsiveness and integration with partner ecosystems, the latest release of the SAP(R) Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM) application will include enhanced functionality for supply network collaboration (SNC), extended warehouse management (EWM) and enhanced planning. Highly targeted business benefits will include:

    --  Closer collaboration with business partners to improve visibility
        --  Enhanced capabilities for outsourced manufacturing in SNC to
            improve supply network inventory and work order collaboration.
        --  Functionality for supplier collaboration enables suppliers to
            create Web-based invoices, leading to quicker response times for
            improved product turnaround.
        --  Enhanced replenishment collaboration (vendor-managed inventory)
            with new and broader capabilities and a unique menu approach
            displayable in various levels of detail, depending on the
            supplier's needs.
    --  Maximized workforce planning to increase productivity
        --  Enhanced labor management functionality to maximize the
            productivity of the warehouse workforce with out-of-the-box
            reporting, designed for direct and indirect labor.
    --  Enhanced planning to improve efficiency
        --  Enhancements to advanced planning and optimization, mainly in
            supply network planning as well as production planning and
            detailed scheduling to help businesses create new innovative
            planning scenarios that optimize capacity utilization and help
            ensure timely delivery.
        --  New features such as capacity reservations help shorten delivery
            times to strategic customers.

"SAP is dedicated to providing solutions that meet and predict the needs of our customers, enabling them to solve business challenges across diverse industries," said Lori Mitchell Keller, senior vice president, suite solution management, SAP AG. "SAP is the trusted partner for companies facing emerging challenges such as the broader geographic dispersion of partners, which stretches the supply chain and increases fulfillment risks. SAP SCM further underscores our commitment to support customers in their accelerated effort to innovate their supply chains to gain competitive advantage."

SAP has more than 14,500 SAP SCM customers in all market segments, and Gartner, Inc. has ranked SAP as the worldwide market share leader in the SCM software marketplace based on total software revenue for 2006(1). SAP SCM is part of and fully integrated with the SAP(R) Business Suite family of business applications, including SAP(R) ERP. All SAP Business Suite applications are based on the SAP NetWeaver(R) technology platform, which enables companies to leverage existing IT resources and thereby reduce the total cost of ownership across the entire IT landscape.

Leveraging enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA), the functionalities of the new release will be delivered as services, enabling customers to deploy and adapt solutions specifically to their individual business needs. Customers will be able to, for example, deploy functionalities such as supply network collaboration and extended warehouse management without installing and deploying the complete SCM solution. This delivery approach will enable rapid deployment and faster return on investment.

    SAP SCM will be generally available to customers in the middle of 2008.

    (1) Gartner, Inc., "Market Share: SCM Software, Worldwide, 2006" by Chad
        Eschinger, Chris Pang, Yanna Dharmasthira, Koji Motoyoshi, June 2007

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software*. Today, more than 46,100 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP(R) applications -- from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small businesses and midsize companies to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver(R) technology platform to drive innovation and enable business change, SAP software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including high tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." (Additional information at http://www.sap.com)

    (*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource
        planning and related applications such as supply chain management,
        customer relationship management, product life-cycle management and
        supplier relationship management.

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.

Copyright (C) 2008 SAP AG. All rights reserved.

SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serve informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary.

     For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
     Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
     United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

     For more information, press only:
     Saswato Das, + 1 (212) 653-9571 das.saswato@sap.com, EST
     SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET; +1 (610) 661-3200, EST;
      press@sap.com
     Jim Sarlo, Burson-Marsteller, +1 (312) 596-3525, jim.sarlo@bm.com, CST
     Amanda Lietz, Burson-Marsteller, +49 69 238 09-54, amanda.lietz@bm.com,
      CET

SOURCE SAP AG

http://www.sap.com/

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