SAP Retail and SAP for Retail

At this point I find useful to explain the terms "SAP for Retail" and "SAP Retail", and to mention the different solutions that SAP offers to retailers. This will provide you with more context to understand better future posts.

SAP uses the terms "SAP for Retail" and "SAP Retail" with different meanings. "SAP for Retail" covers the entire SAP solution offering for the retail sector. According to SAP, "SAP for Retail" is an end-to-end set of solutions that supports merchandise management and planning, workforce management, point-of-sale data management, demand forecasting and replenishment, merchandise and assortment planning, master data management, and even radio frequency identification (RFID).

"SAP Retail" in contrast, which relates specifically to SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, is one of several solutions that is included in SAP's industry solution "SAP for Retail".

The solutions included in "SAP for Retail" are:

• SAP MDM (Master Data Management)
• SAP MAP (Merchandise and Assortment Planning): comprises Strategic Planning, Store and Merchandise Planning, Assortment Planning, Slow Seller Management, OTB (Open to Buy) Planning
• SAP Demand Management: is made of SAP Price Optimization, SAP Promotion Optimization and SAP Markdown Optimization. It was developed by a company called Khimetrics, acquired by SAP in 2006
• SAP Retail (SAP Enterprise Resource Planning -ERP- system): this is basically a SAP ECC system with enhancements for the retail industry
• SAP Global Trade Services
• SAP EWM (Extended Warehouse Management)
• SAP Forecast and Replenishment: was developed by a company called SAF AG which is currently being acquired by SAP
• SAP POS / SAP Enterprise POS: was developed by a company called Triversity, acquired by SAP in 2005
• SAP Retail Store
• SAP Workforce Management
• SAP CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Other SAP SCM (Supply Chaing Management) solutions that are useful for the retail sector are the following:

• SAP Transportation Management
• SAP Event Management
• SAP Supply Network Collaboration