Visibility is important for supply chain management.
With visibility, your business can pivot and adjust so that disruptions along the chain don’t significantly impact operations or customers. Without strong visibility, each link in the chain is a vulnerability that can halt or hinder operations at any time.
Supply chains are complicated. You need end-to-end visibility to make it work. And with SAP Business Suite, you get this needed end-to-end supply chain visibility.
SAP Business Suite is a cloud-based business platform that unifies ERP, business applications, data management, and advanced AI into a comprehensive whole.
At the core of SAP Business Suite is SAP Cloud ERP, formerly known as S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. SAP Cloud ERP is a thin application core that orchestrates and brings together all the data and applications that power your business.
This ERP core connects with the Business Data Cloud, a fully managed and centralized cloud data management solution that houses and governs all business data for use elsewhere in the system.
On top of this foundation sits all the applications needed to run your business. These applications might be part of the core ERP, or they might be add-on applications added from or integrated with the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) marketplace. Your business can also create custom applications via the BTP and connect them to the overall platform.
Connected to this data and application stack is SAP Business AI, an artificial intelligence layer that enables AI engines such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Anthropic’s Claude to work with your business data or even operate applications to automatically carry out tasks set by your company or authorized by employees.
Together, these elements within SAP Business Suite provide a comprehensive foundation for business today and as it evolves.
SAP Business Suite helps your business gain full supply chain visibility by leveraging its integrated architecture and combining it with real-time data processing capabilities and seamless partner collaboration tools.
Supply chain visibility starts by ensuring that all data lives in a single place. All business applications share the same master data for materials, suppliers, customers, plants, and locations, with process continuity across functions so a purchase order in procurement will automatically flow into inventory, production planning, and accounts payable without re-entering data. This end-to-end process linking ensures that your business can track a product’s journey from supplier sourcing to manufacturing to delivery to the customer in one continuous chain.
This integrated visibility means that cross-functional analytics, AI, and automation can be applied, and a disruption at one point in the chain can automatically cascade updates to all impacted areas down the line for better visibility and faster response.
Essentially, the integrated architecture serves as a central nervous system for the supply chain, with every process feeding information into the same brain so your business and partners along the supply chain can act in unison.
The real-time data processing capabilities of SAP Business Suite are what transforms end-to-end supply chain visibility from a static snapshot into a living, dynamic view of operations.
Because the platform connects with sensors, RFID tags, scanners, and IoT devices in addition to all software applications, orders, production, inventory, and shipment data flows into the system in real-time.
From this real-time reporting, your business can get immediate awareness of supply chain events and dynamically monitor supply chain operations through a centralized tower dashboard that displays live KPIs such as order fulfillment rates, inventory turnover, and transport status, and see exceptions for quick manual or automated resolution.
With this real-time visibility, you also can make faster, more informed supply chain decisions, such as rerouting shipments if a distribution center is overloaded, rescheduling production if raw materials are delayed, or reallocating inventory to meet high-priority orders.
SAP Business Suite enables end-to-end supply chain visibility with Supplier Network Collaboration (SNC) by connecting suppliers directly into your planning, procurement, and fulfillment processes so both sides share real-time, actionable information instead of operating in isolated systems. The visibility from the platform is not limited to just what is happening within your business.
The SNC makes it possible to share real-time supply chain data so both you and your partners see the same purchase orders, forecasts, inventory levels, and quality requirements for deeper visibility and coordination.
It also allows collaborative planning and forecasting so both parties can align demand plans and coordinate stock levels for proactive replenishment, and share real-time order and shipment visibility.
It comes with integrated quality and compliance tracking so suppliers can upload certificates, inspection results, and compliance documents directly into the shared platform, and it makes possible end-to-end process traceability for handling defects or verifying processes and materials used.
With SNC, visibility doesn’t have to stop at Tier 1 suppliers either; Tier 2 or Tier 3 partners also can connect and integrate with the broader supply chain network.
SAP Business Suite’s supplier collaboration tools transform the platform from an internal supply chain tool into a shared control tower that both you and your suppliers can operate from.
Managing supply chain dynamics in today’s geopolitical environment can be tough. But with the right tools, you can stay ahead of disruptions and drive additional efficiencies through better visibility.
To learn more about SAP Business Suite or specific supply chain applications and how they might be able to help your business, contact one of our experienced ERP consultants by calling 642-0123 or by writing us at info@nbs-us.com.