Google & CMA CGM accelerate AI in shipping operations, SAP’s strong Q2 cloud results & more – PEX Vendor News

PEX Network’s weekly bulletin rounds up the latest industry vendor news including product releases/updates, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and leadership changes.

This week includes:

• Google and CMA CGM accelerate AI in shipping operations
• Accenture acquires Logic to enhance retail technology transformation capabilities
• SAP Q2 earnings reflect strong cloud performance
• Rockwell Automation appoints Christian Rothe as new CFO
• FIS streamlines small business loan processes with SMB Digital Lending launch
• Celonis appoints Grzegorz (Greg) Czajkowski as new EVP of engineering
• ibml adds generative AI and LLMs to IDP platform Cloud Capture

Google and CMA CGM accelerate AI in shipping operations

CMA CGM, a global leader in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, announced a new partnership with Google to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across global shipping operations. The new collaboration aims to revolutionize shipping by enhancing efficiency, responsiveness and adaptability to market fluctuations and disruptions, resulting in faster and more responsive customer service, according to a press release. CMA CGM will leverage Google’s AI solutions and insights to optimize vessel routes, container handling and inventory management to ensure efficient and timely delivery of goods while minimizing costs and carbon footprints, it added.

“I am pleased to announce this global partnership between the CMA CGM Group and Google to accelerate AI adoption across our operations. This collaboration aligns with our digital roadmap and investments, marking a crucial step in our transformation strategy,” said Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of CMA CGM.

READ: How BPM helps Maersk manage diverse processes

Accenture acquires Logic to enhance retail technology transformation capabilities

Accenture plans to acquire retail technology firm Logic to drive technology transformations for its global retail clients. Logic will bring approximately 800 professionals with specialized skills in retail-focused technical strategies to Accenture Technology, expanding Accenture’s retail capabilities with skills in core technologies and platforms as well as AI and generative AI, according to a press release.

“Today, all business strategies lead to technology,” commented Karthik Narain, group chief executive of technology at Accenture. “Companies will need to transform every part of their enterprise using cloud, data and AI to optimize operations and accelerate growth. Logic’s digital, data and cloud capabilities, coupled with its deep industry experience, will complement Accenture Technology’s capabilities and further expand our ability to deliver impactful results to our clients.”

READ: 10 digital transformation pitfalls and how to avoid them

SAP Q2 earnings reflect strong cloud performance

Multinational software provider SAP released its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024, reflecting strong cloud momentum. Its current cloud backlog grew by 28 percent and cloud revenue was up 25 percent, mainly driven by Cloud ERP Suite revenue, up 33 percent. Total revenue was up 10 percent, both at nominal and constant currencies, according to SAP.

“Our cloud growth momentum remained strong in Q2, with Business AI enabling many deals,” said CEO Christian Klein. “We continue to execute on our transformation with great discipline, leading to an increase in our operating profit ambition for 2025. At the same time, we continue to invest into our transformation to be the leader in Business AI. Given our progress and strong pipeline, we are confident to achieve accelerating topline growth through 2027.”

SAP also expanded its strategic partnership with Capgemini to help organizations address business-critical challenges through effective implementation of generative AI across key processes and functions such as HR, sales, procurement and sustainability.

Rockwell Automation appoints Christian Rothe as new CFO

Automation and digital transformation vendor Rockwell Automation appointed Christian Rothe as its new SVP and chief financial officer (CFO). Rothe will join the firm in August having spent the last 13 years at Graco Inc., an industrial company specializing in the development and manufacturing of fluid-handling systems and products.

“Christian brings a strong record of success leading finance and business teams, including a deep understanding of the manufacturing industry,” said Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation. “He will accelerate the execution of our plans to combine market-beating growth with expanded margins, in line with targets introduced last year.”

FIS streamlines small business loan processes with SMB Digital Lending launch

Financial technology vendor FIS launched the SMB Digital Lending solution to streamline and automate lending processes for financial institutions. Created in partnership with technology platform Lendio, the solution aims to reduce the barriers to funding for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), according to a press release. It provides automated decisioning and loan boarding by focusing on smaller borrowers, combining large-scale data science and machine learning with market-leading loan underwriting expertise, it added. The solution also uses embedded transaction analytics to generate a holistic view of borrower health, pre-qualify SMB depositors and target them with marketing and sales outreach to simultaneously help lenders generate additional revenue growth.

“FIS’ SMB Digital Lending solution is a game-changer for financial institutions and small businesses alike,” said Steve Sabin, SVP, division executive at FIS Lending. “By partnering with Lendio, we are leveraging our unmatched scale and reach in the banking industry plus Lendio’s advanced small business underwriting technology and empowering financial institutions to profitably serve their small business customers. The expansion of our digital banking capabilities illustrates FIS’ commitment to serving the entire money lifecycle – whether at rest, in motion or at work – and I look forward to seeing the positive impact the solution brings.”

READ: Ensuring OPEX in financial services in 2024

Celonis appoints Grzegorz (Greg) Czajkowski as new EVP of engineering

Leading process mining and process intelligence firm Celonis appointed Grzegorz (Greg) Czajkowski as its new EVP of engineering to oversee global engineering teams as it continues to advance its process intelligence platform. Prior to joining Celonis, Czajkowski served as EVP of engineering and support at Snowflake for five years, where he oversaw the worldwide engineering team responsible for developing and delivering the Snowflake Data Cloud.

“Greg’s impressive experience in engineering leadership and innovation makes him the perfect fit for us,” said Alex Rinke, co-founder and co-CEO at Celonis. “We are thrilled to welcome Greg into our team and look forward to the significant contributions he will bring in advancing our product development alongside fellow Celonauts, and driving transformative solutions for our customers. His expertise will be instrumental in ensuring we continue to lead the market and deliver unparalleled value.”

ibml adds generative AI and LLMs to IDP platform Cloud Capture

Document processing solutions vendor ibml announced the addition of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to its intelligent document processing (IDP) and process automation platform Cloud Capture. The update simplifies setup and improves out-of-the-box accuracy in classifying and extracting metadata from documents generated from any input source, according to a press release.

“Simplifying IDP capabilities with the transformative power of secure generative AI and LLMs powered by Microsoft Azure will help more organizations see a faster return on investment and adopt IDP to enable digital transformation of their document processes,” commented Susheel John, chief marketing officer (CMO) at ibml. “Combined with the benefits of a cloud-native platform that can scale in feature, functionality or volume, we’re providing a more comprehensive solution with process automation and document management solution that helps our customers easily adopt, grow and transform all incoming document processes on demand.”

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