Microsoft Reinvents Supply Chain with SAP Ariba and Intrigo Systems

November 15, 2017

Company leverages cloud-based applications and business network to
improve collaboration and execution, lower costs

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Microsoft
Corp. has one of the most complex supply chains in the world. And to
keep it humming and ensure supply keeps up with demand for its hottest
products, the company is reinventing its supply chain. In a newly
released webinar,
the company discusses how it is teaming with SAP
Ariba and Intrigo
Systems to create a scalable, modern platform to support the
efficient, cost-effective manufacturing of its most popular products,
including the Xbox and Surface.

“At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organization
on the planet to achieve more. And our strategy to achieve this is to
build best-in-class systems and platforms and productivity systems,”
said Ali Khaki, Principal PM, Supply Chain Engineering, Microsoft. “When
we looked at our supply chain, it was clear we needed to build a
flexible, scalable platform that could support the complexity of our
hardware business.”

And it is using SAP Ariba solutions for direct
spend to do it. “The Ariba®
Network is the backbone for Xbox and Surface line of products supply
chain,” Khaki said.

Through the Ariba Network and the cloud-based applications delivered on
it – including SAP
Ariba Supply Chain Collaboration™, Microsoft has created a modern
platform from which it can safely and easily collaborate with multiple
tiers of contract manufacturers and suppliers across key supply chain
planning and execution processes, including:

Sharing production forecasts, orders, quality, and inventory
information.
Anticipating and resolving supply assurance problems.
Onboarding suppliers.

And the company is seeing results. Since implementing the solutions with
Intrigo’s support, Microsoft has:

Enabled multi-tier planning and collaboration with contract
manufacturers and suppliers.
Reduced the supplier commit process from three days to 30 minutes.
Cut the time it takes to onboarding for suppliers from four months to
four days.
Standardized vendor engagement through B2B, flat files and web-user
interface.

“It’s a very clear and transparent process because of all the
communication that happens within the SAP Ariba system itself,” Khaki
said. “And it has allowed us to create a very positive user experience
for everyone involved in it.”

To hear more from Khaki on Microsoft’s supply chain transformation,
click here.
To learn more about SAP Ariba’s direct spend solutions and the value
they can deliver, visit www.ariba.com.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and
productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its
mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet
to achieve more.

About SAP Ariba

SAP Ariba is how companies connect to get business done. On the Ariba
Network, buyers and suppliers from more than 2.8 million companies and
190 countries discover new opportunities, collaborate on transactions
and grow their relationships. Buyers can manage the entire purchasing
process, while controlling spending, finding new sources of savings and
building a healthy supply chain. And suppliers can connect with
profitable customers and efficiently scale existing relationships –
simplifying sales cycles and improving cash control along the way. The
result is a dynamic, digital marketplace, where nearly $1 trillion in
commerce gets done every year. To learn more about SAP Ariba, visit www.ariba.com.

About SAP

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP)
helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office
to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP
empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and
use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition.
SAP applications and services enable approximately 365,000 customers to
operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more
information, visit www.sap.com.

About Intrigo Systems

Intrigo Systems, Inc. is a SAP partner and a leading provider of
Advisory, Implementation, and Managed Services. Intrigo has partnered
and co-innovated with SAP in the design of the SAP Advanced Planning and
Optimization component, SAP Integrated Business Planning, and the SAP
Ariba® Supply Chain Collaboration for Buyers solution. Intrigo has a
hands-on leadership team who collectively have over 120 successful SAP
software implementations to their credit. These include: SAP Integrated
Business Planning, SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization, SAP Ariba
Supply Chain Collaboration for Buyers, SAP ERP (including SAP S/4HANA®
and SAP Hybris® solutions) and analytics for industries as varied as
High-tech, Fashion, Consumer Products, Manufacturing, Chemicals, Pharma,
and Automotive. Our clients include Broadcom, NVIDIA, Dolby, Nike,
Clorox, Albemarle, CP Kelco and ASR among others. Visit www.intrigosys.com.

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