SAP acquires SmartOps to boost real-time SCM
SAP has unveiled plans to acquire inventory and supply chain management (SCM) vendor, SmartOps, as part of efforts to build and improve real-time tools for its Hana platform.
In a statement released Friday, the German software giant said both companies had been business partners since 2006 and the acquisition would enable SAP to enhance the real-time performance of SCM, allowing customers to analyze, predict and react more swiftly.
Amid volatile market environments and increasingly complex logistics, companies need better understanding of demands for their products and of their supply network. "To reduce the demand uncertainty, better predictability and increased short-term forecast accuracy is needed. Only this will keep inventory as low as possible during day-to-day operations." said SAP.
It added that SmartOps had built algorithms based on predictive analytics to manage global distributiom networks as well as complex supply chains. When run on its Hana analytics platform, SmartOps' technology can process high data volumes in real-time and complement SAP's existing SCM offerings such as SAP Demand Signal Management and Advanced Planning & Optimizatio, the vendor said.
Founded in 2000, SmartOps' current customer base include Fortune 1000 and Global 2000 companies in manufacturing, chemical, pharmaceutical, and retail industries. The acquisition is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2013, subject to the usual regulatory conditions.
SAP did not provide financial details about the deal, but said SmartOps employees will join the company. In its fourth-quarter earnings, SAP reported profits of €1.1 billion (US$1.45 billion) on revenue of €5 billion (US$6.6 billion), up 12 percent from a year ago. Hana clocked revenue of almost €400 million (US$527.73 million) in 2012.
At a media briefing last month, SAP underscored its focus on developing real-time capabilities with the introduction of Business Suite on its Hana database, touting itself as the only software vendor with offerings which analyze transactional data in real-time, on a single in-memory platform.