Our first PGGA interview with PLM-related software vendors was two years ago with SAP. At that time, Sustainability became more visible in corporate strategies, and regulations were imminent.

This time, Klaus Brettschneider and I want to learn what has happened related to Sustainability. Is there visible progress in their organizations and customer base? And what is hot now?

And we were positively surprised by a conversation going in many directions.

SAP

The interview was again with Darren West. Darren is the product expert for SAP’s Circular Economy solutions and this time, Stephan Fester supported him. Stephan is co-leading the SAP Global Circular Manufacturing Practice and, therefore, is well-connected to the field. Last year, in particular, working in discrete manufacturing and discussing circular manufacturing.

Thanks to the expertise of our guests, the discussion went in various directions, with circularity as the central theme.

We discussed the progress of the Responsible Design & Production module that was just launched two years ago. We discussed the Green Ledger and Carbon Accounting, of course, in the context of circular manufacturing.

But also, we discussed the Digital Product Passport. Catena-X, what is it, and what is it targeting?

We also discussed how to deal with the scarcity of materials and materials harvesting.   The interview could not be complete without mentioning AI.

Enjoy the 35-minute interview with Darren and Stephan on our YouTube channel.

The slides shown in this recording can be found here: PGGA talking again with SAP.

 

What we have learned

  • Regulations heavily push SAP customers and require adequate reporting tools, not only for finance and material use but also for sustainability KPIs
  • The Responsible Design & Production module launched two years ago is already in use with 60+ customers, showing the importance of having data-driven decision support for plastic packaging – to be extended to the product. Of course, as a PLM community, we are interested in understanding the next steps toward the product.
  • The insights from Stephan Fester on circular manufacturing can be a logical evolution of the linear product process, as Stephan’s image shows.
  • Great insights on Catena-X as an independent network for data sharing in the global network

 

Want to learn more?

Events and Shows:

Websites:

 

Conclusion

It was a great discussion with a company that is quite active in supporting its customers on a sustainable journey. The journey is complex and has many aspects, as Darren and Stephan shared in this dialogue. The good news is that SAP’s customers are actively implementing measures and processes – going circular is happening!

 

Join the PDSFORUM next month and join me to get inspired an participate in a Think Thank session on day 2 related to designing more sustainable products. Will we meet there?