SAP just ran its first Embodied AI Jam, bringing customers together with robotics teams to develop viable physical automation use cases in compressed timeframes. The format itself is interesting, but what caught our attention is what it signals about where SAP integration skills are heading.
Most SAP hiring conversations in the DACH region still treat AI as a software layer. Data pipelines, machine learning models, analytics dashboards. The Embodied AI push adds a different dimension: robots that interact with inventory, manufacturing lines, warehouse operations. These systems need people who understand both SAP’s data structures and the physical constraints of automation hardware.
We have started to see this emerge in searches for logistics and supply chain roles. A client in the automotive sector recently asked us for a supply chain architect with SAP S/4HANA experience who could also evaluate robotics vendors and integrate their systems into existing ERP workflows. Senior specifications across manufacturing and distribution companies now include similar requirements.
Hiring managers face a practical problem: robotics experience and deep SAP knowledge rarely sit in the same candidate. Engineers who have worked on physical automation tend to come from industrial backgrounds with limited exposure to enterprise software. SAP specialists typically stay within the ERP world. Companies that want to move on embodied AI will need to decide whether to train existing SAP teams on hardware integration or hire robotics engineers and teach them SAP.
For senior SAP professionals considering where to develop next, physical automation projects offer the most complex integration challenges in the market right now. The companies investing there pay accordingly for people who can work across both disciplines.
Prompted by reporting from SAP News Centre.