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To: Shane M who wrote (932)	11/10/1998 9:08:00 AM
From: cm	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2339

Shane, Here's The Weird Part... About SAP, that is. It's a not too guarded secret that SAP has either already or is about to launch a PR and advertising offensive regarding SCM. I have a exactly two connections in the media biz who have now confirmed that SAP is brewing up something. There are hints in this regard. erpsupersite.com... which is a SAP-centric ERP resource and news site... has had a SAP banner ad for about two months advertising for Supply Chain Professionals. Usually, in well-run companies that is, you start filling the hiring pipeline in advance of major product pushes. Now, SAP's had a banner ad at www.erpsupersite.com virtually since its inception. But, NOT an ad looking specifically for Supply Chain Professionals. (In general, fellow intelligence gatherers, checking the EMPLOYMENT sections of various public companies' sites can give you very revealing clues about their newest product initiatives, etc. I used to find extremely cool--and supposedly confidential stuff--about SEEK software products by using this trick.) Clearly, the NY Times Sunday business section piece, titled "Software That Can Make A Grown Company Cry" was "seeded" by SAP Public Relations because once you get past the negative headline and a couple of references to the corporate equivalent of a root canal, i.e., ERP, it's a giant promotions piece for SAP case histories and installations. (One of the SAP ERP case histories is Visteon, which , of course, is an ITWO SCM case history.) The article is peppered with numerous quotes from one SAP executive. I'm sure though that SAP didn't bargain on such a negative spin. Most of the damage is done in the first 10 paragraphs on Page 1... And this Compaq New Zealand press conference about SAP could probably not be more poorly timed vis a vis SAP's specific designs on the supply chain market. Their efforts in SCM are at the fledgling level... And I know that their executives, beginning with SAPPHIRE 98, which was spun this year into a supply chain management event (as personally unbelievable as I found that to be), are hoping to build momentum in this space. Interesting developments, indeed. And, THANKS MOHAN for digging that Compaq article up. If I may ask, where did you find it? Best Regards to all good ITWO threadizens, c m