Bayer MaterialScience Selects SAP to Improve Chemistry With Customers

BERLIN and LEVERKUSEN, Germany, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SAP AG today announced that Bayer MaterialScience, a division of Bayer AG and one of the world's largest producers of high-performance plastics, has selected the latest version of the SAP(R) Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application, SAP CRM 2007, to help enable its global sales force to deliver superior value to its customers. The simplicity of the user interface offered by SAP CRM 2007, combined with the value of an integrated business process platform were the key factors that led Bayer MaterialScience to select SAP solutions over competitive CRM vendors like Siebel and Salesforce.com. The announcement was made at SAPPHIRE(R) 2008, SAP's international customer conference, being held in Berlin, Germany, May 19 - 21.

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As part of an initiative to modernize its technology landscape, Bayer MaterialScience is currently replacing outdated legacy systems with standardized software, including SAP applications. The company will integrate the SAP CRM application into its existing SAP(R) Business Suite family of business applications, with the ultimate goal to lower costs and improve efficiencies. Currently, the software is being piloted in a three-month project and upon successful completion will be rolled out to employees worldwide.

"The look and feel of SAP CRM 2007 immediately grabbed our attention when we first saw the new application at an SAP event in March," said Kurt De Ruwe, CIO, Bayer MaterialScience. "Only two weeks later, we decided to implement SAP CRM in a pilot project. Once this project has been successfully completed, we plan to roll out the application to approximately 2,500 users throughout the company. Of these, 800 will access SAP CRM directly from their mobile devices."

The latest version of SAP CRM was launched in December 2007. (See December 4, 2007 announcement, titled "SAP Unveils Next-Generation Customer Relationship Management Solution.") It has been in unrestricted shipment since early March, two months ahead of schedule. Approximately 250 customers are currently implementing SAP CRM 2007 and many more have requested shipments. The application is also available with industry-specific functionality to help companies optimize their unique business process requirements and gain a competitive edge in their respective industries. At SAPPHIRE 2008 Berlin, demonstrations of SAP CRM 2007 will be available in a special area of the show, the CRM Village, located in Hall 1.

SAPPHIRE(R) 2008 Orlando and SAPPHIRE(R) 2008 Berlin

More than 15,000 customers, partners and technical experts are convening at SAPPHIRE 2008 to discover how SAP and its thriving partner ecosystem are delivering IT solutions that create value beyond the four walls of the enterprise, to create "business beyond boundaries." SAP's premier educational and networking event, SAPPHIRE is the one occasion where senior executives, business managers, and decision-makers can come together every year to explore how innovative business solutions foster long-term, profitable growth. SAPPHIRE(R) 2008 was held in Orlando, Florida, May 4-7, and is being held in Berlin, Germany, May 19-21, 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.sap.com/sapphire.

About SAP(R) Customer Relationship Management

SAP offers market-leading customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, based on an enterprise service-oriented architecture, that help companies drive new growth, maintain competitive agility and attain operational excellence through customer-centric processes. Delivering best-in-class front-office capabilities with enabling end-to-end, industry-specific processes, the SAP(R) CRM application enables customers to empower their teams, delight their customers and grow their business by driving rapid user adoption and enhanced productivity. SAP CRM is one of the core applications within the SAP(R) Business Suite that is built upon the SAP NetWeaver(R) platform. The software helps companies empower employees with the real-time information and analysis they need to gain customer insight, acquire new customers, boost customer loyalty and build lasting relationships.

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 47,800 customers (excludes customers from the acquisition of Business Objects) in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." (For more information, visit http://www.sap.com/)

(*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning and related applications.

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