SAP launches supply chain centre in Australia & NZ
Mon, 19th Oct 2026 (Today)
SAP has launched a Supply Chain Centre of Excellence in Australia and New Zealand, aimed at asset-intensive organisations across the region.
The centre is now operational as part of SAP's broader network of industry and functional specialists. It focuses on supply chain and asset management operations in sectors including energy, mining, the public sector, transportation, and oil and gas.
SAP said the regional team was created to help organisations move away from legacy systems and adopt cloud-based tools, automation, data analysis, and artificial intelligence across their operations. It builds on the company's existing supply chain management consulting practice in the region.
An IDC white paper cited by SAP found that 75% of survey respondents saw legacy drag as a key barrier to responding more effectively to disruption. The research also found that 58% of Chief Operating Officers said focusing on cost-efficiency at the expense of resilience would be a key challenge over the next 12 months.
According to SAP, the new centre includes more than 26 dedicated supply chain consultants. They are intended to support customers with planning, procurement, logistics, supplier integration, scheduling, and asset management, as well as broader digital operations projects.
Regional pressures
The launch comes as businesses in Australia and New Zealand face supply chain disruption, including constraints on major trading routes and pressure on critical resources. SAP positioned the initiative as a response to those operational challenges, particularly for organisations that rely on large physical assets and complex networks.
Angela Colantuono, President and Managing Director, SAP ANZ, said the region's operating environment had sharpened the need for resilience.
"Organisations across Australia and New Zealand are facing an unprecedented level of global disruption, from constraints on major trading routes to increasing pressure on critical resources," said Colantuono.
"Resilience is a competitive advantage. This Centre of Excellence aims to give customers and partners a practical way to connect systems, break down silos, and use real-time data and intelligence to anticipate disruption and respond faster," she said.
SAP said the centre will draw on its artificial intelligence tools for planning, manufacturing, and logistics. These include more than 70 AI agents designed to help organisations identify disruptions earlier, model scenarios faster, and shorten decision times.
The company also highlighted its Supply Chain Orchestration software, which it said can support transport rerouting and continuous simulation of transportation plans as operating conditions change. The centre will also help customers apply such tools across end-to-end supply chain processes.
Partner support
Alongside direct customer work, the centre is designed to work with SAP's partner network in Australia and New Zealand. SAP said this would expand delivery capacity and give partners access to specialist expertise for supply chain and asset management projects.
Sam Mani, Chief Partner Officer, SAP ANZ, said the unit would also play a governance and coordination role across customer programmes.
"The CoE enhances our ability to support partners in modernising their customers' supply chain and asset management operations by providing access to specialised SAP expertise when needed. It strengthens governance, improves collaboration, and delivers greater value for customers by aligning all stakeholders around a shared vision," said Mani.
The centre's scope includes helping organisations adopt digital operating models, improve access to real-time data and analytics, and shift from reactive maintenance to more planned and predictive interventions. SAP said this could include improving first-time fix rates through better asset health visibility and digital work execution.
Other focus areas include integrated planning and scheduling within and between organisations, as well as procurement, strategic sourcing, supplier integration, logistics, routing, working capital, and operating cost management.
The move adds a regional layer to SAP's broader push to position supply chain technology and artificial intelligence tools around operational resilience, rather than cost reduction alone. In Australia and New Zealand, where mining, energy, transport, and public infrastructure operators manage complex asset bases, that emphasis is likely to shape how SAP pitches transformation projects to customers and implementation partners.
For SAP, the launch also signals a broader local services commitment around supply chain work, with a dedicated team intended to shorten implementation times and help customers move from fragmented systems to more connected operating environments.