The challenges facing the Armed Forces are becoming increasingly complex. Todays environment is also changing at an ever-increasing rate and new pressures are emerging, such as increased demands, globalisation and new technology. Whats more, the armed forces have to be more and more flexible and efficient within existing budgets, and without compromising the quality of operations.

To help the armed forces and defence contractors success in this demanding environment, SAP has created SAP Aerospace and Defence a comprehensive integrated set of solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of aerospace and defence. SAP Aerospace and Defence enables organisations to control costs more closely, increase operational effectiveness and overall efficiency.

SAP Aerospace and Defence offers solutions to meet the needs of specific areas:

Military Logistics - a fully functional and integrated logistics solution including high quality management information and analysis tools. It enables the identification of areas where costs can be reduced, for example areas where effort is being duplicated, and planning routine maintenance so that waste is reduced. It enables spend to be monitored so that budgets can be freed up for spend in additional areas.

Defence Contract Management - the solution includes functions for contract and program management, cross-contract planning and supply chain management with contract pegging.

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul - this is an end-to-end MRO solution which provides functions such as configuration management for the entire product lifecycle, spares management, work execution and maintenance planning.

Engineering and project management - the solution offers functions such as integrated product lifecycle management, project management, product and process design, materials management and cost accounting.

SAP Aerospace and Defence complements SAP.com, SAPs suite of applications that supports core business activities. SAP.com enables organisations to:

Integrate and manage the supply chain - this helps the organisation to subcontract manufacturing, engineering, procurement and aftermarket operations as well as advance planning and forecasting.

Manage products and processes - the solution documents and maintains engineering and configuration information throughout a product or project lifecycle, giving up-to-date information when it is needed.

e-Procurement - this is an end-to-end solution for managing the entire purchasing cycle and conducting business-to-business procurement direct and indirect, ad-hoc and strategic.

Manage and control costs - this keeps close control of expenditure with real-time financial information.

Managing people - a range of human resources solutions give the flexibility to manage people working in many locations.

Participate in online marketplaces - this enables organisations to take advantage of both industry and private exchanges to collaborate with suppliers and subcontractors.

SAPs solution integrates all business processes and functions, provides an open system allowing for a range of technical architectures and databases and reduces risk by utilising proven COTS software.

You can find out more about SAPs solutions in the overview and White Paper below:

• SAP.com Defense Overview -Providing an Integrated Information & Execution System for Defense Organizations
• SAPs Defence White Paper