GEA and SAP announce strategic partnership

Düsseldorf, May 14, 2020 - GEA and SAP today announced a strategic partnership which will drive forward GEA's digital transformation and fast-track the development of SAP's product portfolio for leading engineering, technology and industrial companies. The two companies have a longstanding history of fruitful collaboration. The strategic partnership will elevate this relationship to a new level and realize mutual benefits for both companies.

GEA has announced plans for the consolidation of its global process and ERP system landscape with the Global BPM and Global SAP programs at its Capital Markets Day on September 26, 2019 in London. The new partnership is intended not only to implement an unprecedented form of quality assurance and architecture co-creation, but will also be a supporting pillar of GEA's overall growth strategy. As a strategic partner, GEA will gain access to the entire portfolio of SAP products and will be particularly close to SAP's innovation cycles.

The partnership will support GEA at further accelerating its efforts to digitize the company and its business model. The ultimate aim is to implement one global ERP system, allowing GEA to establish full transparency on company data. This is the foundation for significantly simplifying, accelerating and harmonizing the company's business processes and thus leveraging further synergy potentials. The underlying state-of-the-art S/4HANA technology ensures optimal scalability due to cloud-based operations. Executive Sponsors of the partnership are Marcus A. Ketter and Thomas Saueressig, SAP Executive Board Member and lead SAP Product Engineering.

Marcus A. Ketter, CFO of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, is looking forward to engaging in the partnership with SAP: "By strategically partnering with SAP, we are tackling a major challenge for businesses on the path of accelerated digitalization: Dual transformation. This means harmonizing existing processes and system landscapes in the shortest possible time, while opening up new business areas through digital innovations. Together with SAP, we are creating one digital source of truth for our data and thus a decisive competitive advantage: all decision-makers worldwide always have the right data at hand and can react quickly. Simultaneously, we are collaborating with the market leader to develop best-in-class digital solutions for our core business."

Christian Niederhagemann, CIO of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, adds: "Together with SAP we want to bring GEA to the next chapter by using the latest state-of-the-art technology for our enterprise. We are looking forward to adopt SAP's leading Business Technology Platform which will enable us to build a global, future proof and powerful IT infrastructure for GEA."

"With the SAP solutions for digital transformation, we support the GEA on its way to becoming an intelligent company. Together, we are designing a process landscape with cloud-based applications that are based on modern, digital technologies," says Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE responsible for the SAP Product Engineering division. "The switch to SAP S/4HANA means more than a technological innovation for companies. It also gives customers the opportunity to redesign their business processes to simplify procedures for customers and employees and to establish new business models."

GEA and SAP will keep the public continuously informed about the partnership and important milestones as part of its regular communication activities.

Corporate Media & Press:
Marc Pönitz
Peter-Müller-Str. 12, 40468 Düsseldorf, Germany
Phone +49 211 9136-1500
[email protected]

About GEA
GEA is one of the largest suppliers for the food processing industry and of related industries that generated consolidated revenues of over EUR 4.9 billion in 2019. The international technology group specializes in machinery, and plants as well as process technology and components. GEA provides sustainable energy solutions for sophisticated production processes in various end-user markets and offers a comprehensive service portfolio. The group generates around 70 percent of its revenue in the food and beverages sector that enjoys long-term sustainable growth. As of December 31, 2019, the company employed about 18,500 people worldwide. The company is listed on the German MDAX (G1A, WKN 660 200), the STOXX^(R) Europe 600 Index as well as the DAX 50 ESG Index and selected MSCI Global Sustainability Indexes. Further information is available on the Internet at gea.com.

About SAP
As the Experience Company powered by the Intelligent Enterprise, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software, helping companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world's transaction revenue touches an SAP system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want - without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables more than 440,000 business and public customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.