It’s a logical next step for a growing business – expanding into a new country. Regardless of whether you represent a multinational company exploring fresh market opportunities in new regions or a smaller organization looking to take that first step to go global, you’ll undoubtedly face similar questions. Some of these can be answered by your legal and tax advisors, some by your company strategy. But what about your business software? Can it handle the requirements of multiple countries? What can you do to ensure your current software meets the demands of this new market?
What to consider when going global
While it’s impossible to give an exhaustive list of all the requirements a company may (or may not) face when expanding into a new country, here’s a brief look at two very important issues that always need to be considered:
Let’s start with the local tax law. To put it simply, your invoices have to show the correct tax amount and you must use the correct reporting formats. There may also be additional statutory reporting requirements with which to comply. Furthermore, in some countries, electronic invoicing is already (or soon to be) mandatory.
The next obvious point is language. Your invoices, your online shop, your reports all have to be translated into the local language to be accepted by the authorities (and, of course, your customers). And what about your employees? It would be incorrect to assume English is enough – you may be required to provide a translated version of your business software’s user interface.
If you don’t have the technology or the in-house expertise to deal with these challenges, what are the options available to you?
How SAP can help?
Imagine you had the tools to scale your business quickly and easily as you expand globally. Tools that could help you stay compliant, regardless of the location you are expanding into. Even better, imagine you had those tools at a low Total Cost of Ownership. Sounds like an ideal solution. But can something as complex as globalization requirements really be handled using “plug and play” solutions for enterprise software?
At SAP, we believe the answer is “yes.” SAP Globalization Services’ vision is to provide localization and translation as easy-to-consume business services that enable our customers to pursue their digital roadmap around the globe.
Where are we today?
SAP Globalization Services takes care of both “functional localization” (that is, the adaptation of the software to meet countries’ legal requirements) and linguistic localization. The functional localization services have been grouped together to form the "SAP Localization Hub." For our customers’ language needs, we have the "SAP Translation Hub".
Beta versions of SAP Translation Hub and the SAP Localization Hub tax service are available now for testing on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform. To find out more, click here.
These – and other services – are expected to be rolled out and released soon.
To ensure our offerings meet your needs, we are always looking for customers or partners who are interested in working with us to realize the greatest value add for their business.
If you are interested in getting involved or learning more about our new business services for country enablement, please feel free to contact us via SAPLocalizationHub@sap.com.
If you have any specific questions about the SAP Translation Hub you can also directly contact TranslationHub@sap.com
You can also check out these videos:
- SAP Translation Hub – Something for Developers
- Consuming SAP Translation Hub Services on SAP HANA Cloud Platform
- SAP Translation Hub – Something for Product Owners
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