SAP Hybris Releases a New Omnichannel Solution
Today, SAP SE announced a new version of its SAP Hybris Commerce solution that says it enables organizations to deliver convenient, contextual, and relevant shopping experiences by personalizing each customer's needs. The new omnichannel solution is designed to help both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) organizations better engage their online consumers with a simplified technology landscape.
“Omnichannel commerce and the ability to deliver exceptional digital experiences are more important than ever,” said Brian Walker, Chief Strategy Officer, SAP Hybris. “With this latest release of SAP Hybris Commerce, we have continued to drive the industry-leading commerce platform forward with integrated enterprise customer experience management tools, improved customer service solutions, and a new, robust omnichannel promotions capability. Our commerce platform has a tremendous breadth of capability across both B2B and B2C, which extends beyond commerce to encompass the full front office through the SAP Hybris suite of customer engagement and commerce solutions.”
The new release of SAP Hybris Commerce contains several upgrades, including:
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A redesigned content management system with a new user interface (UI) enables marketers to create personalized sites, easily manage content through all channels, and deliver more intuitive customer experiences.
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A new promotions engine that allows business users to design and implement promotions with a dynamic appearance, eliminating IT involvement.
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A new back-office UI that leverages customer service and sales support across all touch points.
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An enhanced back-office framework which provides a capability of building customized online tools.
SAP officials expect over 30% of all customers to be on the latest version by the end of this year, noting that more than 100 customers have signed up for the new version of SAP Hybris Commerce. “With SAP Hybris Commerce, we’re providing a rich shopping experience across multiple platforms, including mobile, that caters to customers around the world and helps us drive sales and increase brand awareness,” said Jim Ferolo, Vice President of Digital and Marketing Technologies for Maui Jim, a U.S.-based manufacturer of sunglasses. “We connected SAP Hybris Commerce on the front end with SAP ERP on the back end so that when customers place orders online, the software updates and stores customer records, inventory and other information in the ERP system and our on-premise CRM solution.”
When it comes to deployment, SAP claims that the solution is also quick to deploy, whether on-premise, in a private cloud, or through software-as-a-service, due to its single-stack architecture which is designed for enterprise-scale performance, extension, and maximum flexibility. Riad Hijal, Global Vice President of Omni-Channel Commerce Solution and Strategy at SAP Hybris, says: “Mid-market companies with limited complexities can be up and running in as quickly as six weeks,” and adds: “Typical large enterprise deployments will fall in the three- to six-month deployment range, given the possibility of complexities associated with their requirements.”
Andy Hoar, a Principal Analyst focusing on B2B E-Commerce at Forrester Research Inc., comments on the new release:
“To some extent, this is about SAP Hybris responding to customer feature requests and closing some functionality gaps,” Hoar says. “But to a greater extent, this is about back-office-centric SAP Hybris re-positioning itself to take on front-office-centric vendors Adobe and Salesforce. All three vendors are endeavoring to produce a full stack solution and offer a complete digital experience and commerce platform.”
As CMS-Connected reported in early June, one of the SAP’s rivals Salesforce acquired an enterprise cloud e-commerce software provider Demandware for $2.8 billion in cash. “Demandware is an amazing company—the global cloud leader in the multi-billion dollar digital commerce market,” said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce. “With Demandware, Salesforce will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce as part of our Customer Success Platform and create yet another billion dollar cloud.” Although with this deal, Demandware will plug the e-commerce gap that Salesforce has had for so long, there is still an obvious omission on the Salesforce portfolio which can’t be improved by Demandware’s capabilities. This missing part is “content”. On that note, since the updated software will help SAP Hybris better connect e-commerce software with content and customer management system, the company will be able to better compete against the other vendors.
Forrester Consulting has recently conducted a study on behalf of SAP Hybris with a focus on Omnichannel of insights received from over 900 key decision makers in sales, marketing, commerce, and customer service, at some of the world’s biggest brands, in eight global markets:
According to the study, 91% of marketers are prioritizing improving customer experience through personalization over the next year. On the other hand, the research findings underline a challenge that marketers are utilizing an average of 11 siloed channels, resulting in inconsistent experiences. Therefore, with the new release, SAP aims to deliver an enhanced capability to individualize commerce interactions.
For more information on the e-commerce industry and platforms, on July 28th, Industry Analyst, Scott Liewehr and CMS-Connected Host, Tyler Pyburn will welcome featured guest, Arthur Lawida, President at Commercetools, to explore how ecommerce platforms are now offering content management and whether or not these platforms can offer enough to deliver a unique experience that builds loyalty, attracts repeat customers and cultivates customer advocacy. Or are they best served to leave it alone and let traditional content management systems fill these web ecosystem holes.
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Venus Tamturk
Venus is the Media Reporter for CMS-Connected, with one of her tasks to write thorough articles by creating the most up-to-date and engaging content using B2B digital marketing. She enjoys increasing brand equity and conversion through the strategic use of social media channels and integrated media marketing plans.