New Ride-Sharing App from SAP Helps Organizations Reduce Costs, Save Resources and Better Engage Employees

WALLDORF, Germany, April 29, 2013 /3BL Media/ - The long, solo commutes endured by many employees are costing them and their organizations in lost productivity, wasted resources and additional expenses. SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today introduced TwoGo by SAP®, which allows companies to effectively engage their employees in ride-sharing to work. This helps facilitate better networked and more productive employees. Similarly, companies can reduce costs for corporate fleets, parking infrastructure and travel expenses. Delivered over the cloud, TwoGo may be instantly rolled out across organizations, allowing employees an opportunity to be matched into carpools automatically and according to their individual preferences. Moreover, TwoGo features unique capabilities to help drive employee participation in a company’s ride-sharing program.

“TwoGo by SAP is another great example of how our innovations help the world run better. We’ve combined our mobile and cloud technologies into a carpooling solution to help provide immediate economic, environmental and social benefits to companies and their employees,” said Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer, SAP AG. “As such, we expect TwoGo to not only help people and businesses save money and greenhouse gas emissions, but to also connect people more closely with each other and with the company they work for. It has been designed around employees with one single objective in mind: create the most effective, intuitive and beautiful experience possible.”

Organizations committed to sustainable business practices are concerned with creating value while mitigating their environmental impact. TwoGo helps companies meet that goal simply and effectively. For example, the solution offers cost-efficiency opportunities to companies with corporate fleets, such as how to minimize maintenance costs and preserve vehicle resale value. It also supports companies looking for a way to make vanpooling more affordable and effective by seeking riders to find and regularly fill the van. Finally, TwoGo helps organizations demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by reducing carbon emissions and engaging employees in that mission.

For individuals, there are also significant benefits. In very large U.S. urban areas, the average commuter spends US $16 and 52 minutes going 32 miles round trip to work each day. TwoGo can help people save money and time. By carpooling, employees may recoup some of this lost productivity by encouraging networking and brainstorming on the road. In addition, TwoGo may create a more networked culture, helping employees to feel better informed and involved with their peers.

“At Thomas Cook, we see sustainability holistically, which means getting employees involved to help improve operational efficiency, save energy and cut waste,” said Dr. Julian Clemenz, head of sustainability management, Thomas Cook Central Europe. “TwoGo by SAP encourages employees to participate in reaching our goal to create a more sustainable future. As a member of the beta program and long-time SAP customer, we are happy to work with SAP to develop an application that helps us meet our sustainability targets, reduce costs for our company and employees and build a more social, connected company.”

To encourage wide-spread employee adoption, TwoGo can be used on various mobile devices, the Web as well as calendar applications. Once a company licenses the solution, employees can sign up online and enter ride-sharing preferences such as proximity, timing to and from work and willingness to leave the highway to pick up passengers. With some solutions, would-be carpoolers must go through lists to find the right partner. But with TwoGo, after preferences are entered, rides are instantly matched and communication is handled automatically via email or SMS. Moreover, TwoGo employs sophisticated algorithms designed to ensure that employees do not get stranded at work. To help locate desirable matches in an easy and clear way, TwoGo is powered by HERE, Nokia’s location cloud, which delivers one of the leading map and location experiences across multiple screens and operating systems.  

“We are excited to partner with SAP on this new venture that we anticipate will bring accurate and comprehensive global maps, traffic information and routing capabilities to enterprise customers,” said Christof Hellmis, vice president of Map Platform, Nokia. “We believe that location will be the new frontier of technology across industries, and with HERE we aim to provide the best map functionalities for every use case and customer. TwoGo is a particularly interesting service as it combines location, mobility and sustainability in an innovative way. Powered by HERE, TwoGo can be accessible to commuters everywhere and at any time.”

TwoGo is for companies of all sizes. To gain critical mass, organizations can decide to allow employees to carpool with people working at neighboring companies that use TwoGo. Unlike current solutions on the market, TwoGo works with any iCal-compatible corporate calendar application, such as Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes or Google. This enables users to create and change rides within the context of their daily work schedule. People can decide to use TwoGo on the Web in English, German, Spanish or French. It accommodates international time zones, maps and measurement units. The mobile app can also provide administrators with reports on employees’ commuting habits and usage trends. With an affordable annual subscription rate, it is easy and affordable for companies to deploy broadly.

Deployed internally at SAP since July 2011, SAP estimates TwoGo has generated more than US $5 million in value for the company, specifically by helping to:

• Save costs related to commuting to work; for example, reducing fuel consumption and maintenance costs and increasing the resell value of company cars
• Avoid expenses related to employee travel such as reimbursements for fuel, limo services or parking
• Increase networking among employees by matching employees into carpools more than 36,000 times and adding 2,200 additional days of networking time among employees
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by helping to eliminate 400,000 miles of driving and avoid 88 tons of greenhouse gases.

To learn more, watch a video: “Overview: TwoGo by SAP.” For more information, visit the SAP Newsroom.

About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 238,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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