I’m back in Sodom and Gomorrah in the desert, AKA Las Vegas, to speak at another SAP IoT conference: SCM CRM IoT 2016, and to live blog again!

Keynoters: Hans Thalbauer, sr. vp of extended supply chain solutions at SAP, and Dr. Volker G. Hildebrand, global vp or customer engagement & commerce for SAP Hybris:
Hildebrand:

• theme: move beyond traditional CRM: look at entire customer journey
• you have to meet customer expectations for convenience, relevance, reliability, and in real-time.
• real lesson from Uber: customers upend markets, not companies; carry power of internet in their pocket; if you’re fighting alone, you have no chance of success;
• when London cabbies went on strike, Uber membership went up 850% in 3 days.
• “74% of execs. believe digital transformation is improving value for customers”
• must thinking beyond CRM: 2 of 3 companies don’t think their CRM doesn’t support their future needs for customer engagement.
• blend marketing & commerce.
• personalization is key to digital commerce.
• beyond service: customer served before, during & after buy; flawless field service. 53% abandon online purchase if they don’t be quick answers to questions.
• why no app from cable provider allowing you to get assistance Uber-style? Instead, hold on phone.
• One-to-one future is here.
• Omnichannel selling
• By 2020: 1 million fewer B2B sales reps (@Forrester)
• EY: enabled collaboration with 15,000 client partners
• “Engage your customers like never before:” commerce, marketing, service & sales.

Bob Porter, Pregis (protective packaging):

• liked ease of use with Hybris (vs. Salesforce)

Thalbauer (digital transformation of supply chain):

• end-consumer driven economy
• very related to IoT
• tech adoption accelerating
• biz model transformation
• instant notification if the equipment malfunctions
• change of business transformation
• disruption in every aspect of business:
  • customer-centric (demand sensing, omni-channel sales, same-day delivery)
  • individualized products (configured products, digitalized inventory, lot size of one)
  • resource scarcity (talent, sustainability, natural resources)
  • sharing economy (social networks, business networks, asset networks)
• sweet: combo of 3-D printing at warehouse & Uber-based model for final delivery.
• extended supply chain demo: sweet (literally): 3-D printing of chocolates at high-end stores! — wonderful example of IoT data-centric enterprise
• SAP increasing pace of innovation
  • fastest-growing planning solution in history
  • only live logistics platform in the market
  • product innovation platform re-defined
  • demand-driven manufacturing
  • digital assets.

Next up: Sacha Westermann, Port of Hamburg, on how it uses IoT to streamline operations, improve efficiency & reduce accidents through “smartPORT”:

• it’s very big (largest port in Germany), and very complex! Ships, rail (largest rail hub in Europe), trucking. 24/7.
• big emphasis on environment: need to reduce emissions, improve sustainability.
• can’t expand area, but must be able to handle more volume.
• key factor is connectivity between all parties.
• smartPORT includes energy & logistics.
• smart maintenance: use mobile to call up SAP order & create messages, take photos. Example of malfunction with a drawbridge. Technician got new button from stock, installed it, customers didn’t even know there was a problem.
• port monitor: digital map with all info to operate the harbor. Mobile version on iPad.
• SmartSwitch for rail: sensors on the switches to measure conditions. Automated data flow to maintenance company.
• dynamic info on traffic volumes: combines all real-time data on traffic. Detects available parking spaces. Created “PrePort Parking” as holding area for trucks that are early or late. Trucks park bumper-to-bumper for maximum efficiency.
• special traffic lights: cycle changes based on real-time traffic flow. Warning messages if pedestrians cross.
• smartROAD: smart sensing of the bridge-structural load — identifies interdependencies and to do predictive maintenance.
• Take aways:
  • good application requires lot of data
  • must share data
  • data privacy critical for confidence
  • everyone gets just info they need
  • more participants, higher the benefit for each
  • open interfaces basic
  • application must be self-explanatory

Next up: me!, on 4 Essential Truths of IoT & how that translates into strategy.

Mike Lackey, IoT Extended Supply Chain, SAP explaining their IoT strategy & direction, with emphasis on “driving customer value”:

• he’s using universe of 75 billion connected devices by 2022.
• case study: STILL, the smart lift truck from Germany. Forklift sold as service, based on weight of materials carried. They will communicate among themselves, M2M.
• “It is not about Things, it is about what the Things can do to radically transform business processes!”
• oil & gas: reducing spills. They worked with the company that made the platform that failed in Deep Horizon — hadn’t been maintained in years.
• Burbury: want to know exactly what you looked at, share the info among their stores. Creepy: invasion of privacy??
• UnderArmour: why do you have to wear a band — build sensors right into clothes.
• Hagleitner (I reported about them at last SAP event) provides supplies for corporate washrooms, etc. Paradigm shift: sensors let them know which dispensers need new materials. “big washroom data“
• applications: drive adoption with a few killer applications. Differentiate with “Thing to Outcome”
• cloud: leading cloud experience for customers and partners at lowest TCO
• platform: open big data platform. high-value services for SAP, customer & partner
• Kaeser Compressors also made paradigm shift: no longer sell air compressors, but air — must guarantee it works constantly. Million data points per compressor daily. Differentiates them from competitors.
• one tractor company now can recommend to farmers what they should plant based on data from sensors on the plows.
• Asset Intelligence Network: great example of data sharing for mutual advantage. To be released soon.
• Enables connected driving experience.
• SAP IoT Starter Kit can get you started.