Siemens and SAP join forces to create intelligent service and asset lifecycle management solutions

• Siemens and SAP have entered a new phase of strategic cooperation to provide new predictive services and collaborative asset management, as well as integrated enterprise solutions and project management solutions.

• The new cloud solution forms a closed loop between IT and OT systems through a model-based digital thread, connecting real-time business information, feedback and performance data throughout the life cycle of a product or asset.

Siemens Digital Industries Software and SAP recently announced that the two parties will further expand their cooperation and jointly create new service and asset lifecycle solutions. The new cooperation will first focus on discrete manufacturing. Siemens will provide SAP® Asset Intelligence Network solutions, SAP Asset Strategy and Performance Management applications, and SAP Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management solutions; while SAP will provide Siemens' Teamcenter® software service lifecycle management (SLM) solution portfolio to achieve an ecosystem of integrated service engineering and asset operations. The two parties plan to provide new cloud-based services to help industrial equipment manufacturers improve the operational efficiency of key assets, avoid unplanned downtime, and shorten design cycles in the process of executing asset engineering projects, maximize the business value of products and services/assets throughout the life cycle, and open up new collaborative processes between manufacturers and operators.

This collaboration is a continuation of the strategic cooperation announced by the two parties in July last year. The new solution launched this time can help industrial equipment manufacturers provide new services and business models for installed equipment, enabling owners and operators to use operational insights to improve asset utilization while maximizing safety and reducing risks.

Cedrik Neike, member of the Management Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens Digital Industries, said: "By closing the loop between IT and OT, Siemens can help industrial companies make decisions with greater confidence. This collaboration with SAP has enabled us to achieve a true digital thread that uses components from Siemens and SAP to integrate real-time operational data and virtual products with asset models to gain deep operational insights, thereby helping industrial equipment owners, operators and manufacturers accelerate digital transformation and improve asset efficiency based on new business models that cover performance and usage-based costs."

Companies engaged in the design, engineering, operation and service of industrial assets place operational efficiency as a top priority to avoid unplanned downtime while managing the complex relationship between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and asset operators. The new solution that Siemens and SAP plan to create will share service design content with operations as part of a closed-loop digital twin, and then feed it back to product design, so as to help partners in the network to achieve close collaboration and jointly plan and execute service operations for plants, fleets, equipment and factories.

“Siemens and SAP share a common vision for the future of industrial enterprises,” said Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board responsible for Product Engineering at SAP. “Together with Siemens, we can deliver a digital thread throughout production and supply chain, from product design to production and operation to maintenance, helping customers improve their overall business performance and return on assets. By leveraging cloud solutions such as SAP Asset Intelligence Network to enhance collaboration and information exchange, Siemens and SAP will work together to accelerate customers’ entry into Industry 4.0.”

The new Siemens solution will leverage the Siemens Xcelerator™ portfolio of software and services solutions, including Siemens’ Teamcenter® solutions, MindSphere® – Industrial IoT as a Service and Asset Performance Management solutions, Mendix™ low-code development platform and DataHub, as well as SAP Intelligent Asset Management and SAP Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management.

Siemens Digital Industrial Software is committed to driving the transformation of digital enterprises and realizing engineering, manufacturing and electronic design that meet future needs. The Siemens Xcelerator solution portfolio helps companies of all sizes create and fully utilize digital twins, bringing new insights, opportunities and levels of automation to organizations to promote innovation.