SAP and Taulia at AFP 2023, San Diego

Last week, Taulia had the pleasure of attending the AFP Conference 2023 in San Diego, California. In collaboration with SAP, our team presented Taulia’s state-of-the-art technology and extensive cash flow expertise and even added an element of fun with a blackjack table.

As part of the industry leaders speaking at AFP, Thomas Mehlkopf, Head of Working Capital Management at SAP & Taulia, presented on how SAP is utilizing the Taulia platform to optimize their working capital in “Managing Economic Challenges with a Strong Working Capital Management Strategy”.

In case you weren’t able to catch it in person, here’s a snapshot of what Thomas had to say:

Amidst a challenging macroeconomic landscape, SAP is taking a fresh and innovative approach to achieve its objectives and address pressing economic hurdles.

The company is working towards achieving an inspiring vision to empower organizations to become intelligent and sustainable. This forward-thinking perspective is shaping their transformation into a true cloud company.

In order to achieve this, SAP is focussing on its working capital management, including an increased focus on commercial model changes, its cash conversion cycle, and an investor focus on free cash flow.

Not only does improving working capital management help when managing a transformational period, but it will also help SAP when dealing with the wider economic hurdles that we’ve all experienced through the past few years, including:

• Inflation and increasing interest rates
• Supply chain resiliency (not hyper scalers but SMBs)
• Ensuring deal pipeline

In line with this, SAP has set an ambitious goal of increasing the conversion of operating profit into free cash flow, aiming to raise it from 54% in 2022 to an impressive 65% by 2025, ultimately reaching 7.5 billion EUR in free cash flow.

In order to achieve this, SAP has three working capital initiatives to improve cash flow:

1. Harmonized working capital strategy, including standardized payment terms of 90d* from an average payment term of approx. 35d (*where legally possible)
2. Offer standardized payment terms for customers and the option to use sales financing if longer payment terms are needed to reduce current DSO of approx. 71d
3. Provide optionality to conduct trade receivables sales to accelerate cash flow in Q4 (2022: 0.9bn EUR)

Taulia became a key pillar in SAP’s journey to achieve these working capital targets. With 69% of SAP’s total spend coming from suppliers that were already registered on the Taulia platform, it was easily adoptable and could scale quickly. Taulia’s platform has helped streamline SAP operations with the added benefit of increased automation through integration into SAP S/4 and SAP Business Network.

Taulia and SAP so far…

Since SAP adopted Taulia as its early payment program, they’ve achieved the following:

• $3.3m spend accelerated
• $14.7k in discounts earned
• 437 suppliers enrolled, thereof 103 suppliers ESG-rated
• 8 payment currencies

Finally, Thomas shared his key drivers for success

1. Working capital is a team sport:
   
   Cross-collaboration between Treasury, Procurement, Credit Services, IT, and Process Management is key; joint KPIs and CFO sponsorship are even better.
   
2. Realistic business case:
   
   Use AI/ML and benchmarking capabilities to create a realistic business case based on your working capital goals.
   
3. Realize first benefits fast:
   
   Win champions fast who can convince potential detractors about the working capital project; for SAP, Taulia was live within 3 months to offer early payments to suppliers.

Our participation at AFP alongside SAP was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the power of our integrated solution to a broader industry audience. It’s exciting to share Taulia’s ever-evolving platform, and we look forward to sharing further innovations and partnerships in the future.

Find out more about how our customers are optimizing their working capital management strategy in our recent webinar with Deloitte.

Here’s what our Taulia team shared about the event:

I always enjoy how the attendees of AFP come eager and open to connect – networking, learning more about other companies, discovering best practices, discussing relevant industry topics, etc.

• Craig Goodman

This was my first AFP, and I found it to be a very well-run event. Our Booth was in a great position, and having Taulia and SAP together, along with the blackjack table, kept the crowds coming.

• Sarah Price Probert

At the booth, I always enjoy talking with a variety of people, from clients to colleagues. It’s a great networking event and, for Taulia, a chance for better name recognition.

• Mike Lomax

If you missed out on speaking to a Taulian at the event and want more information on how we can help your business accelerate your cash contact us today.