CPO Rising’s Technology Round-Up returns today with an assortment of supply management technology news and updates from the past month to share with our community. If you are a sourcing, procurement, or spend management solution provider and you are continually innovating the way that procurement and supply chain leaders and practitioners drive value, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a note at editor at cporising dot com. Thanks, and enjoy!

Jaggaer Unveils Neural Network-Based Spend Data Classification Tool

Late last month, at the WeAreDevelopers Congress in Vienna, JAGGAER unveiled its neural network-based Automatic Spend Classification tool. It leverages elements of artificial intelligence (AI), namely natural language processing (NLP) and neural networks, to analyze text descriptions, product names, and product numbers within invoices and other documents. It uses its neural networks to resolve uncategorized/unclassified product names. The Automatic Spend Classification tool can then predict the European standard eCl@ss product classification and the US UNSPSC product classification. The North Carolina-based provider of source-to-settle solutions originally offered the Automatic Spend Classification tool as part of its eProcurement solution, but is now offering it as a standalone solution, and it can be integrated with any other Jaggaer solution.

Apttus Partners with Cloud Integrate on Quote-to-Cash in Europe

Late last month, Apttus, the California-based quote-to-cash, contract, and supplier management solutions provider, announced a partnership with Cloud Integrate, a Netherlands-based Salesforce integration consultancy, to bring greater quote-to-cash automation to European countries. Apttus, through its Professional Services Organization, will collaborate with Cloud Integrate in its digital transformation campaign, which kicks off in 2020, starting in Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and work its way across Europe.

SAP Ariba Partners with Givewith to Drive CSR, Sustainability Spend

Also last month, SAP Ariba, the California-based provider of source-to-settle business software and networks, announced a partnership with Givewith, a “social impact” solutions provider, to enable companies to drive greater corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability through their B2B transactions. The Givewith application is now available in the SAP App Center; both buyer and supplier organizations can use the app to advance their CSR and sustainability initiatives.

Buyers can subscribe to the app to analyze their CSR programs, then select from a range of non-profit organizations that align with their goals and values, and incorporate language into RFPs requesting that a percentage of a supplier’s profits for a particular good or service to be directed towards that non-profit. Likewise, suppliers can subscribe to the app to select a non-profit of their choosing and incorporate language into their proposals declaring that they will allocate a portion of their proceeds to support that non-profit. This kind of socially-conscious proposal language can be used to differentiate suppliers among their competitors.

Egencia Adds Machine Learning to Corporate Bookings Platform

Finally, Egencia, the business travel arm of Expedia, announced last month how its fleet of machine learning-enabled business travel management solutions has been performing with customers. Egencia’s Savings Finder for Air and Savings Finder for Hotels both incorporate machine learning algorithms that automatically scan air fares and hotel bookings to identify lower-cost options for business travelers for seven days after they have made their bookings. If the programs find lower-priced fares for the same ticket class and amenities, they automatically re-book the traveler, with no input or action needed from the traveler. Likewise, Egencia Smart Mix leverages machine learning algorithms to automatically scan a business traveler’s needs and preferences, as well as their company’s corporate travel policies, to provide them with tailored product and service offerings, including flights and hotels.

Egencia Smart Mix and Egencia Savings Finder for Air have been live since earlier this year, prompting Egencia to launch a pilot for Savings Finder for Hotels in the fourth quarter of 2019. Egencia officials are planning a general release for the first quarter of 2020. All three applications are or will be available in the Egencia Analytics Studio, Egencia’s native data analytics and visualization service.

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Egencia Innovates, Refreshes Business Travel Management Platform

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