SAP Customers Tap Dedicated Offerings to Quickly Address Critical Business Challenges

May 13, 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. - May 13, 2009 - When it comes to addressing today's most pressing business challenges, such as reducing overall operating cost and increasing visibility to better manage revenue and margins, a rising number of companies worldwide are finding a clear path forward with Best-Run Now offerings from SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), specifically designed to help customers navigate through volatile economic times. Continuing this momentum, SAP today announced that Banner Pharmacaps, Belden Inc., Coca-Cola Enterprises and Tasty Baking Company are among the latest companies to identify and implement Best-Run Now packages to address immediate business needs and realize timely return on investment. The announcement, arriving just as new Best-Run Now offerings become available, was made at SAPPHIRE® 2009, being held in Orlando, Florida, May 11-14.

Research firm IDC notes that the need for effective business information to guide key decisions has never been greater.
“On a worldwide basis, firms of all sizes are under pressure to sharpen business practices and capitalize on operational efficiencies,” said Ray Boggs, vice president, Research, IDC. “This means coordinating islands of information to optimize cash flow and understand the interactions of different business elements. SAP’s Best-Run Now initiative offers a problem-solving rather than product-selling perspective, helping customers sort through the software, services and financing they need.”

Banner Pharmacaps Finds Prescription for Future Growth
When Banner Pharmacaps, a leading producer of encapsulated pharmaceutical and nutritional products, needed an enterprise business platform to manage processes, drive profitability and align activities, budgets and resources with business strategies, it turned to the SAP® Resource and Portfolio Management application, and a talent visualization solution from SAP—all part of the Best-Run Now offerings.
“As a new customer, the superior industry experience, customer references and executive alignment that SAP offers were a compelling choice to support our ambitious growth strategy,” said Roger E. Gordon, president and CEO of Banner Pharmacaps. “The Best-Run Now packages from SAP will enable us to staff up quickly, sense and respond to sudden market changes, and provide a higher degree of supply chain visibility with our retail and supplier customers.”

Coca-Cola Enterprises Refreshes Visibility into Product Performance
To support growth and expansion plans, better manage projects across the business and analyze large volumes of data faster, Coca-Cola Enterprises tapped SAP NetWeaver® Business Warehouse Accelerator (SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator) software. Thanks to a cost-effective implementation that will primarily rely on internal resources, Coca-Cola Enterprises expects to significantly reduce response time for queries and build a sustainable platform to accommodate future growth in the SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator environment.
“One of our strategic priorities is to increase the value of our existing brands and to expand our product portfolio,” said Kemal Cetin, director, Business Information Services, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. “SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator gives us clear and quicker visibility into our performance and the insight we need to reach these objectives.”

Tasty Baking Company Refines Recipe to Gain Competitive Edge
To meet rising product demands and support efficient manufacturing operations, Tasty Baking Company is moving to a brand-new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The $270 million independent baking company that produces snack cakes, pies and other baked goods also set its sights on the SAP® Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence application (SAP MII) to increase throughput while maintaining the highest quality.
“Capturing accurate real-time information is a key component of our operational strategy,” said Brendan O’Malley, chief information officer, Tasty Baking Company. “SAP MII helps us achieve that and supports the rising demand for our products. Making smart investments now will put us in a great position when the economy turns around.”

Belden Streamlines Global Sales Process With Quick ROI in Mind
In order to create greater visibility across its sales pipeline, improve the qualification process of leads and create a common sales procedure within different regions across the globe, Belden Inc. turned to the SAP® Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application. With an eye towards realizing a quick return on its investment, the $2 billion global manufacturer of electronic cable and wireless technology successfully implemented SAP CRM (phase I) in just three months.
“By streamlining global sales processes with SAP CRM, our Sales and Marketing team can now monitor the pipeline performance in real time and focus on the right deals,” said Ming Wei, CIO, Belden.
“SAP CRM provides tools and infrastructure that will make our sales force more efficient and effective,” said Steve Biegacki, senior vice president, Global Sales and Marketing, Belden.

New Best-Run Now Offerings Bolster End-to-End Strategies
With more than 35 years of industry experience and deep domain expertise, SAP is a trusted advisor to companies of all sizes. The Best-Run Now offerings not only underscore the commitment SAP has for its customers, but also serve as stepping stones to implementing the company’s end-to-end business processes that are also designed to complement a customer’s overall business and IT strategy (see "SAP Helps Customers Weather Economic Cycle With Unique Offerings Addressing Most Timely Business Challenges"). Bolstering this initiative, SAP will expand its Best-Run Now offerings—which already consist of software, financing options and relevant SAP professional services—to include the following:

Product Compliance REACH addresses the European "Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals" (REACH) regulation and assists customers that must meet product and material compliance regulations for all industries.
Fast Financial Close allows customers to resolve their lack of automation and lack of integration with source systems and manual data input.
Maximize Customer Revenue and Retention enables companies to anticipate, predict and proactively retain customers and their share of wallet through high-yield marketing campaigns.
Supplier Risk Management Accelerator provides needed risk assessment tools for greater understanding of supplier risk and financial viability.
Retail Price Optimization helps companies use pricing as a strategic merchandising method to increase profitability and lower inventories.
Explore Your Business at the Speed of Thought supports a company's need to explore business data quickly and intuitively (see "SAP to Revolutionize Business Intelligence With New Solution that Delivers Insight at the Speed of Thought").

To learn how Best-Run Now offerings can be quickly implemented and deliver a fast return on investment, visit the Best-Run Now village on the SAPPHIRE 2009 show floor, located in booths 301–316.
Best-Run Now packages are available via SAP® EcoHub (see " SAP Launches SAP® EcoHub – A Community-Powered Solution Marketplace"), which provides an updated online solution marketplace that makes it easier for customers to discover, evaluate and buy solutions.

SAPPHIRE® 2009 Orlando
More than 10,000 customers, partners and technical experts are convening at SAPPHIRE® 2009 to discover how SAP and its thriving partner ecosystem are delivering IT solutions that help today’s best-run businesses achieve clarity in every area of their operations. SAP’s premier educational and networking event, SAPPHIRE is the one occasion where senior executives, business managers, and decision-makers can come together every year to explore how innovative business solutions foster long-term, profitable growth. SAPPHIRE 2009 is being held in Orlando, Florida, May 11-14. For more information, please visit www.sap.com/sapphire. Join the conversation via Twitter at #sapphire09.

Based on the success of last year’s events, SAP and the Americas’ SAP Users’ Group (ASUG) are co-locating their premier events in Orlando, where the 2009 ASUG Annual Conference takes place May 11-14.

In addition to SAPPHIRE 2009, SAP is also hosting SAP® World Tour 2009, a series of local events in more than 70 cities through Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. For more information, visit the SAP World Tour event page on sap.com.

Note to Editors:
Webcasts, announcements, media roundtables, keynote presentations and podcasts from SAPPHIRE 2009 will be available in the event’s virtual newsroom at: www.sap.com/about/newsroom/sapphire. To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit www.sap.com/photos. On this platform, you can find high-resolution material for your media channels. To view video stories on diverse topics, visit www.sap-tv.com. From this site, you can embed videos into your own Web pages, share video via e-mail links and subscribe to RSS feeds from SAP TV.

About SAP
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 86,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more information, visit www.sap.com.

(*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning and related applications.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “should” and “will” and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.