Verlin Youd Senior VP, Trading Industries SAP

Demonstrating ongoing leadership in providing innovative solutions to retailers worldwide, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that Grupo Pão de Açúcar, the largest retailer in Brazil selling food and general merchandise, has selected SAP solutions to consolidate its IT infrastructure to gain increased visibility into its business operations. With 64,000 employees and 573 stores, the company will use SAP solutions to gain increased control over corporate governance processes, helping it comply with strict regulatory controls.

“We anticipate a return on investment with SAP – both qualitatively as well as financially,” said Joaquim Dias Garcia, IT Manager, Grupo Pão de Açúcar. “SAP knows the retail business, and this was the determining factor in our decision. As soon as the system is in production, we will obtain gains in agility and information quality because all our business operations will be consolidated on a single platform.”

Following the SAP implementation, Grupo Pão de Açucar is expecting to achieve its goal of consolidating 10 in-house IT systems in order to manage and gain visibility across its entire business operations. The company will utilize an integrated platform and various applications from SAP, including the company’s flagship enterprise resource planning application, SAP® ERP, to better manage risks, prepare for future trends and market changes and customer demands. In turn, Grupo Pão de Açucar’s customers will experience increased support because its employees will have the tools they need to trace products more efficiently and reduce delivery time. 
The implementation project consists of SAP applications for financial accounting and controlling, material management for indirect suppliers, plant maintenance and the solution for business planning and simulation, which will allow Grupo Pão de Açucar to improve business process control and provide accurate planning.

“Leading retailers throughout the world are turning to SAP because of our industry strength and proven technology and solutions,” said Verlin Youd, senior vice president, Trading Industries, SAP AG. “Retailers in Latin America are facing increased pressures from within and outside of their country. Grupo Pão de Açúcar is a fine example of an innovative retailer that is leveraging technology to address internal transparency issues, but at the same time focus on delivering quality service and products to its customers.”

SAP is the leading provider of application solutions for the retail industry. SAP helps retailers of all sizes to understand, anticipate and inspire their customers, employees and shareholders by delivering results. The SAP® for Retail solution portfolio provides specific solutions for retail companies in the food, fashion and hardlines businesses. The solution portfolio consists of building blocks that cover the areas of merchandising (including demand management - price, promotion and markdown optimization); store operations (including a portfolio of POS solutions); supply chain, finance and human resources. SAP allows companies to implement solutions in a step-by-step approach, and provides an easy, cost-effective means to connect information across the business.

For more information go to www.sap.com/retail

SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software*. Today, more than 43,400 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP® applications—from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small businesses and midsize companies to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver® technology platform to drive innovation and enable business change, SAP software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including high tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol “SAP.” 

For more information go to  www.sap.com