CERATIZIT & Soley Leverage SAP Technology for Sustainable Product Management

Date: October 21, 2025
Author: Jeanette Rohr

Overview

CERATIZIT Group, a leader in hard material solutions, and Soley GmbH have partnered to optimize sustainable product portfolio management using SAP technologies. Their collaboration earned nominations for the 2025 SAP Innovation Awards and won the Supply & Demand Chain Executive award, showcasing a successful integration of sustainability and profitability.

The Challenge: Managing a Massive, Complex Portfolio

CERATIZIT’s Cutting Tool Solutions division manages over 65,000 products, facing difficulties balancing economic goals with ecological sustainability. Key issues included:

• Lack of transparency in product performance and sustainability metrics.
• Time-consuming manual reporting hindering strategic decision-making.
• Limited insights into high-emission materials and suppliers, obstructing efficient phaseout of unsustainable products.

Klaus Lupfer, Product Lifecycle Manager at CERATIZIT, emphasized their commitment to sustainability and the critical value of integrating product carbon footprint data into portfolio decisions.

The Solution: Soley Product Mining Platform Powered by SAP

Munich-based Soley GmbH brought an AI-driven solution to this challenge through its Product Mining Platform, seamlessly integrated with SAP technologies:

• AI Advisor: Recommends precise sustainability actions, such as phasing out products to reduce carbon footprint without compromising margins.
• AI Assistant: Provides an intuitive, conversational interface for effortless analysis.
• AI Detective: Uncovers hidden patterns and strategic opportunities to enhance profitability and sustainability.

Technical Architecture

• Uses data from SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Warehouse.
• Employs SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) as the service layer.
• Integrates SAP Datasphere for data consolidation.
• Uses SAP Analytics Cloud for AI modeling and analytics.
• Utilizes SAP Databricks for intelligent data transformation and graph analytics for complex dependency analysis.

Ephraim Triemer of Soley noted that this approach enables companies in high-tech and manufacturing industries to move beyond ESG reporting toward actionable sustainability.

Impact & Business Outcomes

CERATIZIT incorporated its Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data alongside financial metrics to create a comprehensive digital twin of its portfolio.

Key Results within 9 Months:

• 87% of AI-suggested sustainability measures implemented.
• Over 30% reduction in end-of-life “ballast” products with negative carbon footprints.
• 100% transparency in sustainability data across all product levels.
• 10% increase in Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT).
• 75% improvement in delivery reliability and supply chain resilience.
• 40% reduction in inventory.
• Return on investment achieved in under 12 months.

Alexander Springer, CEO of Soley GmbH, highlighted the strategic advantage of identifying critical products to safeguard value chains proactively.

Strategic Leadership & Future Outlook

Dominik Metzger, recently appointed president and Chief Product Officer of SAP Supply Chain Management, emphasized the vision of autonomous supply chains powered by AI, real-time data, and predictive analytics to build resilience and sustainability.

His vision aligns with the demonstrated success of this partnership, validating that sustainability and profitability can coexist through innovative technology.

Conclusion

The collaboration between CERATIZIT, Soley, and SAP exemplifies how industrial companies can leverage AI-driven analytics and advanced SAP solutions to achieve measurable progress in sustainability without sacrificing economic performance. This partnership serves as a benchmark for other organizations aiming to integrate ecological stewardship with business efficiency.

Learn More

• Explore SAP Supply Chain Management innovations.
• Discover the Soley Product Mining Platform on the SAP Store.

Tags: AI, Carbon Footprint, SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP BTP, SAP Business Warehouse, SAP Databricks, SAP Innovation Awards, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Supply Chain Management

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