The "SAP Transformation Awards" of the year, given by SAP Turkey, found their owners at the special event. SAP brought together the leaders of technology and digital transformation with the theme "Getting Closer", focusing on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, smart businesses, customer experience and sustainability. 

TURKEY - SAP Turkey brought together the leading representatives of the business world and technology leaders at the SAP Executive Summit event organised on October 31. The "SAP Transformation Awards" of the year, held for the second time this year and given to the most innovative and successful technology transformation projects in their fields, also found their owners at the event. In 15 different sectors, Awards were presented to companies that pioneered digital transformation with their successful work utilising and applying technology to achieve sustainable growth, perfect customer experience and effective results.

At the event attended by SAP Southern EMEA Region President Manos Raptopoulos, SAP Southern Europe Senior Vice President Carlos Lacerda and SAP Global Digital Innovation Spokesperson Timo Elliot, emphasis was placed on staying connected against uncertainties and SAP's activities such as cloud, productive artificial intelligence and big data management were discussed. The innovative and world-shaping technologies of the future offered in these fields were discussed.

The event, where SAP Turkey General Manager Uğur Candan made the opening speech, started with the presentations of SAP regional managers and the "Pioneers of Transformation" panel. After parallel sessions on different topics, it ended with the ceremony where the awards were presented.

“It is a pleasure to be together as those who shaped the Turkish economy in the first days of the second century of the Republic”

Uğur Candan, who started his speech by expressing his satisfaction in being together with leaders from different sectors of Turkey in the first days of the second century of our Republic, also shared important statistics about SAP's 22 years in Turkey. Stating that the SAP usage rate in the 100 largest companies in Turkey exceeds 90% and that more than 85% of the exports in the 500 largest companies in Turkey are carried out through SAP systems, Candan said, “We continue to carry our country to the future with the power of this success we have created together with you. We will continue together. “Our ecosystem in Turkey has over 15 thousand human resources that can carry out projects.”

Türkiye offers unique opportunities with its ideal location

Speaking at the event, SAP Southern EMEA Region President Manos Raptopoulos started his speech by celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. They said, “We are in the age of artificial intelligence and cloud. "Turkey offers unique opportunities as a trade and business centre with its ideal location, especially considering the global supply chain problems, on the path to smart and sustainable businesses," he said and stated that companies in Turkey are closely following the rapid digital transformation, and welcomed his guests, who are representatives of almost every sector. He also congratulated them on their success. Raptopoulos also highlighted the 46% female employee rate in SAP Turkey. Stating that the active work of the BWN (Business Women Network) Business Women Network in Turkey, which is a part of the global structuring as one of the most inclusive companies in the world, is precious for SAP, Raptopoulos said that in addition to empowering female employees, they also support the transformation in diversity and inclusion. He stated that they will continue to increase the rate of female leaders within the institution.

In the innovation journey, we should duet with artificial intelligence, not duel

In his presentation titled "Top Trends and Opportunities in Business Innovation", SAP Global Digital Innovation Spokesperson Timo Elliot focused on five critical areas: Artificial intelligence, data management, sustainability, empowering employees with technology and "automated" automation. First, he defined artificial intelligence with the metaphor of "the elephant in the room”. He pointed out that productive artificial intelligence is now in the middle of our lives and business processes.

Elliot said that in a research conducted by McKinsey, 60% of the respondents stated that they experienced an increase in revenue with the use of artificial intelligence in their companies, and 40% stated that they could reduce costs, and stated that SAP offers companies a valid, reliable and responsible artificial intelligence approach. Pointing out that millions of people use SAP artificial intelligence solutions, Timo Elliot emphasised the benefits of artificial intelligence and human beings acting in a duet, not a duel, and stated that SAP stands by its customers in this innovation journey.

Executives of leading institutions talked about their digital transformation journeys and visions for the future

Journalist and columnist Volkan Akı said in the Pioneers of Transformation Panel that he moderated, "In the past, there were management gurus whose knowledge we trusted. Companies would benefit from the models they offered. Now, the era of gurus is over. There are no gurus; there are success stories because everyone has a unique business model. "It creates the success story. We are now living in a period of collaborative competition where everyone is inspired by each other; experiences are shared. The closer companies are to each other, the more they develop together by interacting through business networks, the greater success they have." He started by saying.

One of the panel speakers, Eczacıbaşı Group Group CEO Atalay Gümrah, stated that the volleyball sport, which they have been supporting as a group since 1966, carried our country to the world championship, which is the best point it can reach in team sports, and expressed their pride that this success coincides with the 100th anniversary of our Republic.

Gümrah stated that they aim to complete the projects of transferring the infrastructure of all group companies to cloud technology in mid-2024 and stated that they are satisfied with the savings they achieved in the costs of being a multi-centre and multi-brand structure, as well as the efficient results they achieved in process optimisation, thanks to the SAP cooperation.

Anadolu Efes CEO Can Çaka, one of the other speakers on the panel, stated that he found it very valuable to draw attention to sustainability in the speeches at the event and said: “We all know that we have to take action so that our children can live in a better world in the future, and we are researching how to combine this with technology. In our collaboration with SAP, we saw that technology is the most important tool that accelerates our existing processes and enables us to measure and improve our work.”

Çaka continued: “As Anadolu Efes, we set out 4 years ago with the goal of digital transformation and met with SAP on this path. We planned this project as a cultural rather than a digital transformation project. Cultural change leadership and cultural change teams were also involved. Therefore, today, when you want to make any digital transformation, you need to touch the whole team.”

The event's platinum sponsor was Amazon Web Services (AWS), Çözümevi + SOA People, Detaysoft, Google Cloud, Nagarro + MBIS, and NTT DATA Business Solutions. At the same time, BTC, Golive, IBSS, SPRO, S4C, and Vektor supported the gold sponsorship.

Awards were given to leading institutions in their sector at a ceremony

SAP Turkey General Manager Uğur Candan expressed the importance of the SAP Transformation Awards with the words, "such awards are both an appreciation of success and effort, as well as a source of inspiration and motivation for the new projects of technology leaders" and added that the main category of the award ceremony was "SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year". He expressed their satisfaction that the number of companies receiving the award is increasing yearly. This year, 6 brands received this award: Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt San. A.Ş., Eren Holding A.Ş., Getir Retail Logistics A.Ş., Martur Fompak International, Sanko Holding A.Ş., Yaşar Holding A.Ş.

SAP Digital Transformation Ambassador Awards of the year, which were given for the first time last year and evaluated companies that guided their digital transformation journeys by sharing the knowledge they gained in digital transformation processes with other institutions and shared their stories sincerely and openly in both domestic and international platforms, Koç Holding, Martur Fompak International, Penti Giyim, Unifree Duty-Free Management and Yılport Holding.

The SAP Academy Award of the year, which is given for the first time and evaluates companies that show extraordinary commitment and provide investment support to young people's education and participation in business life by encouraging creativity and technical skills, went to Coşkunöz Holding.

Innovation, cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, the power of data, integrated solutions, customer experience, etc., were discussed at the event. In parallel sessions on topics such as Nagarro SAP Cloud Solutions Director Carl-Philip Müller and Nagarro + MBIS PMO Director Gizem Sönmezler Çallı, They explained what companies that have been using SAP ERP for a long time should pay attention to when planning future cloud transitions. They reinforced the advantages of cloud technology with customer examples such as Balsu and Komagene.

In the NTT DATA Business Solutions customer experience session, Anadolu Efes CIO Murat Özkan, LC Waikiki CDO & CIO Şerafettin Özer and NTT DATA Business Solutions Turkey & MENA Sales and Marketing General Manager Fatih Irak talked about how to stay in mind thanks to digital transformation. It was discussed that a permanent customer experience could be created.

Google Cloud SAP Business Unit EMEA General Manager Steve Wainwright talked about the strategic partnership between SAP and Google Cloud and how companies can make intelligent business decisions thanks to the end-to-end data they need by integrating SAP systems and the corporate data within them with Google Cloud's data cloud and technologies. He talked about what they could get. Stories and achievements of customers such as Carrefour, Metro, Home Depot, AES Energy and Paypal, which are SAP and Google Cloud customers using these technologies, were shared. In addition, it was mentioned how companies can complete weeks-long activities in seconds with Google's advanced artificial intelligence technologies, how they automate their processes, and the great potential that artificial intelligence poses for companies.

Detaysoft Sales Director Can Nalbantoğlu emphasized that the key to staying competitive and growing is to rediscover the changing role of the modern CFO, go beyond financial knowledge, turn it into a strategic advantage by setting priorities well while managing change and taking advantage of smart technologies. Nalbantoğlu, who conveyed the motivation that leaders need to cope with change and be ready with customer success stories, explained how CFOs can manage this process, in which they need to act agile, in a risk-free, easy and fast way by using artificial intelligence, automation, smart decision support solutions and innovation.

In the session titled Innovation, SOA People Group Product Development Manager Mohammed Merkachi, who provides services through Çözümevi in Turkey, talked about SAP integrated solutions developed on SAP's Business Technology Platform and the value they can create and how their customers benefit from these solutions to make decisions and optimise daily operations. He explained how these innovative solutions shape the future of the industry.

“SAP Transformation Awards 2023” Award List:

·     SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year:

o   Anadolu Efes Biracılık and Malt San. A.Ş.

o   Eren Holding A.Ş.

o   Getir Perakende Lojistik A.Ş.

o   Martur Fompak International A.Ş.

o   Sanko Holding A.Ş.

o   Yaşar Holding A.Ş.

·      Global Transformation Special Award:

o   Türkiye Şişe and Cam Fabrikaları A.Ş.

1.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Metal Industry: Çolakoğlu Metalurji A.Ş.

2.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Furniture Industry: Doğanlar Mobilya Grubu İm. Singing. Tic. Inc.

3.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Automotive Industry: Ford Otomotiv San. Inc.

4.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Finance Sector: Garanti Bankası A.Ş.

5.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the FMCG Industry: Hayat Kimya San. Inc.

6.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Chemical Industry: KordSA Teknik Tekstil A.Ş.

7.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Textile Industry: LC Waikiki Mağazacılık Hizmetleri Tic. Inc.

8.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Automotive Industry: Norm Holding (Subsidiary Industry)

9.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Telecom Industry: Turkcell İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş.

10.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the E-Commerce Industry: Owner Bilgi Tekn. Market and Trade. Inc.

11.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Petrochemical Industry: Socar Türkiye Enerji A.Ş.12.   Perakende Sektöründe Yılın SAP Dijital Dönüşüm Ödülü: Koçtaş Yapı Marketleri Ticaret A.Ş.

13.      Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Construction Industry: Rönesans Holding A.Ş.

14.     SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in the Energy Sector: ZES Digital Trade Inc.

15.      SAP Digital Transformation Award of the Year in Small Home Appliances Industry: Arzum Elektrikli Ev Aletleri San. and Tic. Inc.

SAP Academy Award of the Year: Coskunöz Holding A.Ş.

In this category; Companies that provide extraordinary commitment and investment support to young people's education and participation in business life by encouraging creativity and technical abilities are evaluated and rewarded.

·       SAP Digital Transformation Ambassador of the Year Awards:

In this category; Companies that guide their digital transformation journeys by sharing the knowledge they have gained in digital transformation processes with other institutions and share their stories sincerely and openly in both domestic and international platforms are evaluated and rewarded.

o   Koç Holding A.Ş.

o   Martur Fompak International

o   Penti Giyim Ticaret A.Ş.

o   Unifree Duty Free İşletmeciliği A.Ş.

o   Yılport Holding A.Ş.