SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) recently announced that ERG, a leading European independent power producer in the renewables sector, has implemented SAP Ariba solutions to digitalize and unify its procurement operations.

Having been in business for more than 80 years, ERG shifted from oil to green energy in 2008 by producing electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and high-efficiency, low-environmental-impact cogenerative thermoelectric power plants.

Digital Procurement to Support ERG’s Cloud Transformation Objectives

ERG is adopting cloud-based technologies for a more flexible infrastructure with greater integration, better process efficiency, faster updating and lower management costs. ERG chose SAP Ariba solutions as part of a strategy to consolidate purchasing on a single platform, bringing the needs of various business functions together to share universal and timely information.

“After careful evaluation of available solutions, we selected SAP Ariba solutions for ease of integration with our existing SAP systems, and to offer our suppliers a single interface to connect and collaborate with our organization and our partners,” said Anna Campi, ERG’s head of procurement planning control and vendor management. “Since adopting the SAP Ariba solutions, we have seen significant savings over the previous solution. We have also improved our supplier qualification structure by product sector with SAP Ariba solutions providing a much more accurate and reliable vendor list.”

The SAP Ariba Sourcing and SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance solutions will enable ERG to collaborate with suppliers to help ensure alignment with its organizational principles and code of conduct. In particular, it will help ERG with its regular compliance assessments of strategic suppliers, which represent about 80 percent of the company’s purchases. By collaborating in real time, ERG can work to improve operating margins and reward strategic suppliers for compliance.

“Collaboration with suppliers could not be more important than it is right now, as companies focus on business continuity,” said Chad Crook, senior vice president and global head of Customer Engagement and Adoption, SAP Procurement Solutions. “With SAP Ariba solutions, ERG has a digitalized and simplified process for end-to-end spend management on a single platform and the ability to more effectively connect and collaborate with suppliers to achieve compliance and maintain a smooth flow of operations among its trading partners.”

ERG’s Commitment to Renewable Energy and Sustainability

ERG has been engaged in a continuous process of sustainability improvement. For the second consecutive year, it ranked among the top 50 most sustainable companies in the world, according to the Corporate Knights Global 100 Index, and is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. This initiative, and ERG’s objective to develop production and purchasing projects while improving end-to-end processes, has influenced its procurement. Following the company’s new green principles, ERG’s board recently approved a code of conduct for suppliers.