In yesterday’s post, we discussed how the Sap Business Network is a helpful tool in the system SAP RISE. As a crucial tool for communication for supply chains, finance, procurement, and other logistics, SAP Business Network has undergone some significant changes over the past year. Ultimately, these updates aim to further simplify otherwise complex business and communication processes.

SAP Business Network for Industry

As a new focus to the SAP Business Network introduced around May 2023, the SAP Business Network for Industry emphasizes providing tools and services adapted to various industries.¹ The solution includes an accelerators to aid customers in their implementations and other capabilities adapted to industries such as high tech and consumer products. Additionally, an SAP Business Network Industry Advisory board regularly assesses customer and business needs to ensure that the solution continues to work well for various industries.

Generative AI

SAP is starting to introduce generative AI to the SAP Business Network this year, which will identify mistakes, offer intelligent insights, and provide invoice summaries.² This way, trading partners can communicate more efficiently and complete transactions more accurately.

Component Planning Collaboration

Introduced around late 2022 during the 2211 Business Network Release,³ component planning collaboration is a layout that visualizes goods, the supply chain, and complex interactions among trading partners.⁴ Additionally, the technology can easily predict and notice supply chain issues, resolving them promptly in response.

2311 Business Network Release

The SAP Business Network regularly provides a release that describes updates and technology aligning with current business needs. For the release of November 2023, some of the improvements for the network as a whole included an SAP Business Network Catalog, intelligent invoice conversion, and various updates for Supply chain, Logistics, and Asset Collaboration.⁵ In December of 2023, SAP Business Network for Logistics published a slightly more recent release, in which they mainly disclosed ways they improved navigation.⁶ 

¹“SAP Business Network for Industry Helps Meet Unique Business Needs.” https://news.sap.com/2023/05/sap-business-network-for-industry-meet-unique-business-needs/ 

² “With AI, Business Networks Set to Transform Core Operational Processes.” https://news.sap.com/2023/10/with-ai-business-networks-transform-processes/

³ “SAP Business Network 2211 Release: What’s New?” https://blogs.sap.com/2022/12/10/sap-business-network-2211-release-whats-new/

⁴ “Component Planning Collaboration with SAP Business Network.” https://www.sap.com/assetdetail/2023/05/585c0fc7-737e-0010-bca6-c68f7e60039b.html?campaigncode=CRM-Y123-ISM-1980086&source=blog-glo-SAPLeaderinIDCMarketScape 

⁵ “SAP Business Network 2311 Release – What’s New?” https://blogs.sap.com/2023/11/17/sap-business-network-2311-release-whats-new/ 

⁶ “SAP Business Network for Logistics 2312 Release – What’s New?” https://blogs.sap.com/2023/12/14/sap-business-network-for-logistics-2312-release-whats-new/