sap hybris award write up
TRANSCRIPT
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© Frost & Sullivan 2016 2 “We Accelerate Growth”
Contents
Industry Challenges .............................................................................................. 3
Business Impact ................................................................................................... 6
Conclusion........................................................................................................... 7
Understanding Company of the Year ............................................................................. 8
Key Benchmarking Criteria .................................................................................... 9
Best Practice Award Analysis for SAP Hybris .................................................................. 9
Decision Support Scorecard ................................................................................... 9
Visionary Innovation & Performance ..................................................................... 10
Customer Impact ............................................................................................... 10
Decision Support Matrix ...................................................................................... 11
Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 12
About Frost & Sullivan .............................................................................................. 14
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Background and Company Performance Industry Challenges
For well over a decade, eCommerce has been on a streak of buoyant growth. In 1999,
eCommerce accounted for less than 1% of retail sales in the United States. By early 2015,
this figure had risen to about 7%.1 This surge is a reflection of ubiquitous connectivity as
much as of increasing trust of consumers in online retailers. While online obviously still only
accounts for a fraction of the sales of bricks-and-mortar retail, there is no doubt that the
importance of eCommerce will continue to claim an ever increasing share of retail sales.2
It might be tempting to think online retail will increase in prominence simply at the expense
of traditional, offline retail. While the overall tendency is hard to deny, the reality is less
black and white. Even though eCommerce still has enormous potential to grow by replacing
offline sales, eCommerce has already become an indispensable part of retail customer
engagement. Retail customers are no longer just going either online or into stores to shop.
The customer journey is no longer a linear or otherwise predictable path. Shoppers
invariably investigate products, services and retailers online by checking other customers’
experiences on social media before purchasing online, on their mobile, on their tablet, or in-
store. However, while the role of the retail stores is being transformed, they are remaining
just a vital part of the customer journey and a cornerstone of brand experience. Amazon's
recent announcement to open (additional) physical stores is no less a testament to the
latter.3
Shoppers today are used to roaming in and out of channels, browsing on one device and
ordering from another, or ordering online and picking up in-store. Ongoing technological
progress in augmented reality, for example, can blur the boundaries between online and
offline as the online shopping experience can increasingly get enhanced with virtualized
elements from the offline world. Conversely, the information and multi-media richness of
online shopping is finding its way into the store through mobile devices and digital signage.
While creating fully immersive sensorial experiences will continue to be only possible in
physical shop environments, both physical and digital are indispensable parts of a holistic
customer experience.
Retailers need to be able to provide a seamless customer journey across touch points and
mobile, tablet, desktop and physical channels. ECommerce platforms play an essential role
in enabling retailers to respond to, and embrace, these trends. Important characteristics
of eCommerce platforms include multi-/omni-channel capabilities that bridge otherwise
frequently disjointed channels, the ability to integrate with native developments,
1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-15/e-commerce-sales-are-surging, accessed on 01 Sep. 2016 2 Compare: https://www.frost.com/q296690090, accessed on 14 Sep. 2016 3 See, for example, http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/18/11699544/amazon-new-retail-locations-prime-bezos,
accessed on 14 Sep. 2016
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scalability, content and experience management, and flexible licensing/pricing options.4
Visionary Scenarios through Mega Trends
The emergence of eCommerce and omni-channel capabilities fall squarely into what Frost &
Sullivan tracks as the Connectivity and Convergence Mega Trend; this is a key facilitator of
the retail sector’s endeavors to merge the physical, digital and virtual into one integrated
model. Moreover, the increasing convergence of offline and online retail is what Frost &
Sullivan’s Bricks and Clicks Mega Trend monitors and sees as set to become the norm.
Beyond the common topic of shoppers roaming in and out of traditional channels at will,
consumers are increasingly buying across national borders; they search and order from any
location, from any device and at any time. These forces of convergence bring a need for
congruence and consistency like never before to provide shoppers with a seamless journey
and convey a single, cohesive brand identity. The governing retail paradigm is evolving from
multichannel to omni-channel, with customers at the heart. Customers do not see channels;
they see brands. Retailers (and their solution providers) need to ensure they look at it the
same way.5 SAP Hybris has made great strides in ensuring the latest release of SAP Hybris
Commerce Suite enables its customers to capture and capitalize on these fundamental shifts
and its implications for the retail sector. This will be further demonstrated in subsequent
sections.
Addressing Unmet Needs
The importance of providing outstanding omni-channel customer experiences has become
one of the most prominent retail industry topics. Alexandre Aubry, CIO at SAP Hybris
customer Groupe Galeries Lafayette, once aptly captured the essence: “it’s not especially
visionary, we just listen to the customers and do what they want. And what the customer
wants today is to be able to buy from any channel, to interact with any channel, and to
still be able to be recognized as a Galeries Lafayette customer.”6
The journey of the retail sector towards becoming capable of offering genuinely seamless
omni-channel experiences will be long and laborious, though. Few retailers can pride
themselves to have advanced far.7 More than ever, the most recent SAP Hybris Commerce
Suite 6.0 makes the enablement of retailers’ multi-/omni-channel strategies front and
center. Important amendments in the most recent release include the integration of tools
for enterprise customer experience management and multi-/omni-channel promotions
capabilities. SAP Hybris aims to make it simple for retailers to create personalized
shopping experiences for each shopper as it provides the capability to integrate traditional
4 Compare: https://www.itcentralstation.com/categories/ecommerce-platforms#top_rated, accessed on 06 Sep.
2016 5 Compare: http://www.frost.com/q296797627, accessed on 14 Sep. 2016 6 http://hybris.com/medias/sys_master/root/he0/h47/8806819233822/Case-Study-Lafayette-EN.pdf, accessed
on 13 Sep. 2016 7 Compare: https://www.frost.com/q296690090, accessed on 14 Sep. 2016
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physical touch points (such as POS and print) with digital touch points (such as desktops,
mobile devices, call centers and social media).
Design
Held in high esteem by retailers and industry observers, SAP Hybris Commerce
indisputably has its place amongst the best eCommerce platforms in the world. Key
functionalities of Hybris’ B2B and B2C commerce applications include multi-/omni-channel
capabilities, product content management8, order management, marketing conversion,
and merchandising.
SAP Hybris Commerce Suite provides a platform that has proven itself across multiple
verticals. It is particularly valued by companies that depend on scalability, flexibility and
require a high level of customization. Even though many customers still choose on-premise
implementations, the growth rate of customers adopting it as a private cloud deployment indicate that in the mid-term most prospects are adopting the cloud offerings of SAP Hybris.
Particularly notable in this context is SAP Hybris’ YaaS (‘Hybris-as-a-Service’) offering that
is being rolled out globally. This is a business process platform as a service offering which
the non-standard approach of delivering cloud-based enterprise software capabilities via a
flexible and modular microservices architectural approach. This allows partners and
customers the ability to extend the functionality of the commerce platform in the cloud.
Fast-changing consumer demand and a seamless service is expected by customers across all
communication channels – online or in-store. This puts pressure on businesses to adapt their e-
commerce platforms to this need. Developers can create new services and apps faster from scratch using
microservices available on the YaaS.io marketplace.
Implementation of Best Practices
SAP Hybris not only enables business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer
companies (B2C) to up the ante in the way they engage with their customers. As a
comprehensive, unified data and transitional platform, it also allows companies to
substantially simplify their technology landscape.
Notable improvements in SAP Hybris Commerce Suite’s most recent release 6.0 include
simplified and more flexible promotion generation capabilities for business users that don’t
require involvement of IT, customer experience management, real-time optimization of
merchandising (‘contextual merchandising’) and improved tools for business users to
improve their experience at the back end as well. SAP Hybris has also redesigned its
content management system that now provides marketers with a unified tool for the
management of content across all channels. It enables marketers to easily generate
personalized sites and experiences. Beyond this shopper-facing element, SAP Hybris
Commerce has worked on improved validation capabilities and widgets that simplify and
8 Also widely referred to as Master Data Management or Product Information Management
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speed up development of new tools and applications at the backend. Compared to earlier
versions, SAP Hybris Commerce Suite 6.0 also puts a greater emphasis on simple and
rapid deployment, as well as integration of the various components of the portfolio.
In customer experience, context is king. Organizations must realize that good customer
experiences depend on timing and customer journey cycles. All elements of the customer
experience must be context-aware and totally relevant. In other words, understanding the
context of a customer is the foundation for an effective engagement.9 SAP Hybris is
proposing a way for companies to embrace this new reality and the requirements that
come with it.
Business Impact
Customer Purchase Experience
SAP Hybris Commerce customers include retailers Auchan and Darty, telecommunications
operators 3, EE and Vodafone, construction material and equipment supplier Hilti and tyre
manufacturer Pirelli. David Dentry, senior general manager of customer experience at
Nikon noted in 2014 that “[a]s an early adopter and consumer-centric brand, we want to
take more control of our customers’ e-commerce experience … Partnering with [H]ybris,
an industry leader with expertise in both B2B and B2C e-commerce, enables us to keep
pace with market trends and easily tailor our site to meet customer expectations, which
ultimately drives sales and loyalty.”10
The previously-noted emphasis on accelerated deployment is echoed when SAP Hybris
advertises its solutions under the tagline: “Kick-start your commerce project in just a few
months through the [H]ybris Commerce Accelerator. Omni-channel solutions are pre-
configured for B2C and B2B, and for specific regions and industries.”11 Indeed, Alexander
Schrödel, Head of E-Business/E-Services at SAP Hybris Commerce customer REHAU Gruppe,
acknowledged “I have never experienced such a smooth go-live.”12
Customer Ownership Experience
SAP Hybris has succeeded in architecting an eCommerce platform for B2C and B2B that
brings enhanced integration of commerce with other front office cornerstones of customer
engagement including marketing, sales and billing. With release 6.0, SAP Hybris
Commerce Suite offers its customers the opportunity to transition from systems of record
to systems of engagement. What SAP sees as differentiating the portfolio is the
cohesiveness of the data management layer that links together all of the solution domains
and provides a consistent view of products, customers and orders (although the
9 Compare: http://www.frost.com/q295170541, accessed on 14 Sep. 2016 10 http://hybris.com/en/news-events/press-releases/140304-nikon,, accessed on 13 Sep. 2016 11 https://www.hybris.com/en/commerce 12 Freely translated from: http://www.sybit.de/referenzen/projekte/sap-hybris-commerce-rehau/, accessed on
14 Sep. 2016
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applications / solution domains can be deployed on a stand-alone basis).
Customer testimonials have long spoken for themselves. For example, Alexandre Aubry,
CIO at Hybris client Groupe Galeries Lafayette, noted of Hybris that “It was the right
choice for the company, it was the right choice at the time, and it’s still the right choice.
The challenges ahead are to update the experience so we can get more out of the product
and create a visionary omni-channel experience for our customers.”13
Conclusion
Retail is at a crossroads where eCommerce, rather than bricks-and-mortar stores, is
setting customers’ expectations and shaping the customer experience. In a world where
most retail customer journeys already have a digital component, retailers depend on their
vendors to provide them with the capabilities to deliver coherent and cohesive experiences
across channels, devices, and locations. Held in high esteem by retailers and industry
observers, SAP Hybris Commerce indisputably has already had a place amongst the best
eCommerce platforms in the world. The most recent improvements in SAP Hybris
Commerce Suite 6.0 make the solution increasingly a ‘must’ on vendor selection short-
lists especially for the largest-scale and most demanding eCommerce platform
requirements. With its strong overall performance, SAP Hybris has earned Frost &
Sullivan’s 2016 Company of the Year award.
13 http://hybris.com/medias/sys_master/root/he0/h47/8806819233822/Case-Study-Lafayette-EN.pdf, accessed
on 14 Sep. 2016
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Significance of Company of the Year To win the Company of the Year award (i.e., to be recognized as a leader not only in your
industry, but among your non-industry peers as well) requires a company to demonstrate
excellence in growth, innovation, and leadership. This kind of excellence typically
translates into superior performance in three key areas: demand generation, brand
development, and competitive positioning. These areas serve as the foundation of a
company’s future success and prepare it to deliver on the two criteria that define the
Company of the Year Award (Visionary Innovation & Performance and Customer Impact).
Understanding Company of the Year
As discussed above, driving demand, brand strength, and competitive differentiation all
play a critical role in delivering unique value to customers. This three-fold focus, however,
must ideally be complemented by an equally rigorous focus on visionary innovation to
enhance customer value and impact.
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Key Benchmarking Criteria
For the Company of the Year Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently evaluated
two key factors—Visionary Innovation & Performance and Customer Impact—according to
the criteria identified below.
Visionary Innovation & Performance
Criterion 1: Addressing Unmet Needs
Criterion 2: Visionary Scenarios Through Mega Trends
Criterion 3: Design
Criterion 4: Implementation Best Practices
Criterion 5: Financial Performance
Customer Impact
Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value
Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience
Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience
Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience
Criterion 5: Brand Equity
Best Practice Award Analysis for SAP Hybris
Decision Support Scorecard
To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance
categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This tool
allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to
the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that
basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance evaluation;
ratings guidelines are illustrated below.
RATINGS GUIDELINES
The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Visionary Innovation & Performance and
Customer Impact (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the
definitions for each criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team
confirms the veracity of this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which
confirms that small changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a
significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies.
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The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the
interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players
as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3.
DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD
Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)
Company of the Year
Visionary
Innovation &
Performance
Customer
Impact Average Rating
SAP Hybris 9 9 9.0
Competitor 1 7 7 7.0
Competitor 2 8 7 7.5
Visionary Innovation & Performance
Criterion 1: Addressing Unmet Needs
Requirement: Implementing a robust process to continuously unearth customers’ unmet
or under-served needs, and creating the products or solutions to address them effectively
Criterion 2: Visionary Scenarios Through Mega Trends
Requirement: Incorporating long-range, macro-level scenarios into the innovation
strategy, thereby enabling “first to market” growth opportunities solutions
Criterion 3: Design
Requirement: The product features an innovative design, enhancing both visual appeal
and ease of use
Criterion 4: Implementation of Best Practices
Requirement: Best-in-class strategy implementation characterized by processes, tools, or
activities that generate a consistent and repeatable level of success.
Criterion 5: Financial Performance
Requirement: Strong overall business performance in terms of revenues, revenue growth,
operating margin and other key financial metrics
Customer Impact
Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value
Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price, compared to similar
offerings in the market
Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience
Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution that
addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints
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Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience
Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company’s product or service, and have a
positive experience throughout the life of the product or service
Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience
Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high quality
Criterion 5: Brand Equity
Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high brand loyalty
Decision Support Matrix
Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard,
analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to
visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones are not yet operating at
best-in-class levels.
DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR PRODUCT LEADERSHIP AWARD
High
Low
Low High
Cu
sto
mer I
mp
act
Visionary Innovation & Performance
SAP
Competitor 1
Competitor 2
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The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best
Practices Awards
Research Methodology
Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree research
methodology represents the analytical rigor of
our research process. It offers a 360-degree-
view of industry challenges, trends, and issues
by integrating all 7 of Frost & Sullivan's
research methodologies. Too often, companies
make important growth decisions based on a
narrow understanding of their environment,
leading to errors of both omission and
commission. Successful growth strategies are
founded on a thorough understanding of
market, technical, economic, financial,
customer, best practices, and demographic
analyses. The integration of these research
disciplines into the 360-degree research
methodology provides an evaluation platform
for benchmarking industry players and for
identifying those performing at best-in-class
levels.
360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN
THE CHAOS
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Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices
Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate award candidates and assess
their fit with select best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity of the Awards are
based on close adherence to this process.
STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT
1 Monitor, target, and screen
Identify award recipient candidates from around the globe
Conduct in-depth industry research
Identify emerging sectors Scan multiple geographies
Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all best-practice criteria
2 Perform 360-degree research
Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline
Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners
Assess candidates’ fit with best-practice criteria
Rank all candidates
Matrix positioning all candidates’ performance relative to one another
3
Invite thought leadership in best practices
Perform in-depth examination of all candidates
Confirm best-practice criteria Examine eligibility of all
candidates Identify any information gaps
Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates
4
Initiate research director review
Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles
Brainstorm ranking options Invite multiple perspectives
on candidates’ performance Update candidate profiles
Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper
5
Assemble panel of industry experts
Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders
Share findings Strengthen cases for
candidate eligibility Prioritize candidates
Refined list of prioritized award candidates
6
Conduct global industry review
Build consensus on award candidates’ eligibility
Hold global team meeting to review all candidates
Pressure-test fit with criteria Confirm inclusion of all
eligible candidates
Final list of eligible award candidates, representing success stories worldwide
7 Perform quality check
Develop official award consideration materials
Perform final performance benchmarking activities
Write nominations Perform quality review
High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees’ successes
8
Reconnect with panel of industry experts
Finalize the selection of the best-practice award recipient
Review analysis with panel Build consensus Select winner
Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria
9 Communicate recognition
Inform award recipient of award recognition
Present award to the CEO Inspire the organization for
continued success Celebrate the recipient’s
performance
Announcement of award and plan for how recipient can use the award to enhance the brand
10 Take strategic action
Upon licensing, company may share award news with stakeholders and customers
Coordinate media outreach Design a marketing plan Assess award’s role in future
strategic planning
Widespread awareness of recipient’s award status among investors, media personnel, and employees
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About Frost & Sullivan
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