CMRC deal........
SAP CEO Says Company Is
Internet Savvy
(06/14/00, 7:10 p.m. ET) By Antone Gonsalves, TechWeb News
SAP Co-CEO Hasso Plattner met critics head-on
Wednesday, declaring that the business-management
software maker is ready to provide technology for
customers moving to the Internet and announcing a
$250 million investment in e-marketplace maker
Commerce One.
SAP (stock: SAP) and Commerce One (stock:
CMRC) will be building a yet-to-be-named
marketplace suite that will adopt CommerceOne's
XML Common Business Library (xCBL) for
cross-platform integration of applications.
As further proof of SAP's success in addressing the
technology needs of e-commerce, Plattner also
announced during his keynote at Sapphire 2000 Las
Vegas, attended by 11,000 users and partners, that
SAP had sold its mySAP.com Internet software to
Nestle -- SAP's biggest software order to date.
SAP, the largest supplier of ERP software, has suffered
criticism over the last couple of years for selling overly
complex software that is difficult and costly to install
and maintain.
In the first quarter, the Walldorf, Germany, company
reported that sales in the United States fell 3 percent. In
addition, several companies, including Whirlpool,
Hershey Foods, and Stanley Works, complained of
product delays and lost revenue because of problems
with SAP software.
Plattner dismissed the negative attention as the forgotten
past, focusing instead on SAP's recent reorganization
that makes mySAP.com the product cornerstone of the
company's Internet strategy.
"The new e-marketplaces are an opportunity for us as a
software company," Plattner said. "We want to build
software for the new e-market economy."
SAP's $250 million stock purchase in Commerce One
raises its stake in the Pleasanton, Calif., company, to 2
percent from 1 percent. Under the deal, the companies
will share the revenue from their venture over a
three-year period, starting immediately.
Mark Hoffman, chairman and CEO of Commerce One,
Pleasanton, Calif., joined Plattner on stage to discuss
the deal, which was two months in the making. As part
of the agreement, both companies will work together in
developing software for electronic marketplaces and
exchanges between buyers, suppliers, and business
partners.
The executives said the companies will combine
technologies, build new applications, and embark on a
joint marketing effort.
"The development paradigm is we will have engineers at
your sites, working together with your engineers,"
Hoffman said during a brief Q&A in which Plattner
asked the questions.
"SAP/Commerce One, or Commerce One/SAP, are a
team," Plattner said, shaking Hoffman's hand as he left
the stage.
Commerce One, which built General Motors' online
market, gives SAP access to potential customers in the
e-business market. Commerce One competes with
Ariba (stock: ARBA), Oracle (stock: ORCL), and
other companies in creating centralized Internet sites in
which enterprises can buy and sell parts and goods, run
supply auctions, or post orders.
In the Nestle win, the world's largest food maker will
use mySAP.com software to manage manufacturing,
finance, customer relations, e-commerce, and other
functions. The software will be accessible to all
231,000 Nestle employees.
"We believe you are the company that has the right
vision for us," said Jean Claude Dispaux, Nestle chief
information officer, to Plattner onstage. "And you are
the company that can deliver."
Among SAP partners who made appearances during
the keynote were Sun Microsystems CEO Scott
McNealy and Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina,
who addressed the crowd on videotape.
Plattner said mySAP.com has 400,000 users, and is
projected to reach 80 percent of the company's sales
next year from the current 22 percent. In three years,
the combination of CRM, sales management, and
e-business software would be used by 75 percent of
SAP customers, Plattner predicted.
Seeing a market for small and midsize businesses, SAP
planned to host mySAP.com, making its application
services available over the Internet.
"I predict that mySAP.com as a hosted service has a
very bright future," Plattner said.
At the end of his keynote, Plattner focused on the need
for SAP to simplify the marketing message for its
complex product line. Martin Homlish, SAP's new chief
marketing officer and a former Sony executive, joined
him on stage.
Homlish said SAP will simplify its marketing pitch and
the company will speak with "one voice."
"As a marketing guy, my religion has always been
marketing," he said. "SAP's religion has been product.
If we bring them together, this sleeping giant will
awaken and I think all of our competitors should watch
out." |
