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Strategic partnership: Bosch and SAP aim to simplify corporate processes with a new standard

Boosting Germany as a digital location

  • Bosch-SAP collaboration delivers solutions for further standardization and automation along entire value chains.
  • Bosch contributes industrial expertise and experience with pioneering technologies for refining SAP solutions.
  • Thanks to networks across companies and industries, external stakeholders will also benefit from increased efficiency and flexibility.

Walldorf and Stuttgart, Germany – Bosch and SAP have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at simplifying digital corporate processes. The partners’ objective is to further develop a digital industrial standard that governs, for example, the exchange and usage of company data along the value chain. This would harmonize and further automate processes, both within and between companies – thus achieving substantial efficiency gains. Given the strength of both companies’ networks across different sectors, the whole economy stands to gain from their collaboration. “We need strong partnerships if we are to advance digitalization in Germany. By creating a standard together with SAP, we are offering added value for customers, partners, and suppliers,” explains Dr. Michael Bolle, Bosch board of management member and CDO/CTO of the Bosch Group.

The partnership holds special promise for the manufacturing industry, and offers a particular benefit for the global automotive industry, with its highly interwoven supply chains and numerous production locations that are often still managed individually today. At the core of this collaboration is the transfer of Bosch business processes into SAP S/4HANA, SAP’s software suite for enterprise resource planning (ERP). The suite is used in the planning, management, and administration of resources for a range of processes, including order entry, production, delivery, and invoicing. “Due to its industrial expertise and technology leadership in several fields, Bosch plays a key role in global supply and value chains. Together we are pursuing the goal of translating this expertise into digital form, using SAP S/4HANA as a basis. In doing so, we hope to define a uniform industry standard that will open up the advantages of the digital transformation to other industry players as well,” says Christian Klein, the CEO of SAP SE. Process, technology, and development experts from both companies are working closely together as they focus all their efforts on driving internal digitalization forward at Bosch. For example, the rollout and transformation with SAP S/4HANA is intended to cut the number of ERP systems in half. In Bosch Mobility Solutions alone, the productive systems are to be reduced to just one. This will facilitate a considerable increase in the options for real-time analysis and control optimization.

Greater competitiveness, more agility in a dynamic environment

With its in-depth expertise in multiple business fields and processes, Bosch will help shape the further development of SAP S/4HANA – to its own benefit but also to the benefit of SAP’s large customer base. SAP will play a crucial role in the integration as partner and advisor, thanks to its multifaceted experience and market leadership in managing ERP systems. The goal of standardizing and automating processes is to significantly simplify the global system landscape, continuously optimize workflows, and increase confidence still further in dealing with real-time analysis. There is considerable potential for optimizing the exchange of requirements, planning, and needs, especially at the interfaces to suppliers and to customers. For the first time, the latest technologies make this possible in real-time across the entire value chain and involving all parties. This leads to a permanent improvement in competitiveness and agility, from the corporate management level all the way to production.

Tags: SAP, digitalization, S4/HANA, ERP, digital industrial standard

Contact person for press inquiries (Bosch):

Simon Schmitt,
Phone: +49 +711 811-6478
Twitter: @5imonSchmitt

Contact person for press inquiries (SAP):

Björn Emde,
Phone: +49 6227 7-55107
E-mail: b.emde@sap.com

Dana Rösiger,
Phone: +49 6227 7-63900
E-mail: dana.roesiger@sap.com

About Bosch

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 400,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2019). The company generated sales of 77.7 billion euros in 2019. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. Bosch is pursuing a vision of mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to facilitate connected living with products and solutions that either contain artificial intelligence (AI) or have been developed or manufactured with its help. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiary and regional companies in 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. Bosch employs some 72,600 associates in research and development at 126 locations across the globe, as well as roughly 30,000 software engineers.

The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861–1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.” The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant upfront investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com, www.twitter.com/BoschPresse.

About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As the market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world’s transaction revenue touches an SAP® system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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