Hello Benga,
I started out looking for acronyms, and there are plenty of them out
there. But in this case, purchasing professionals use the term SAP to
refer to the leading vendor of software in their industry. The
company web site is:
http://www.sap.com
Here is the history of the company, quoted from their web site:
SAP is the world's leading provider of collaborative e-business
solutions. With 44,500 installations serving 10 million users at
17,500 organizations in 120 countries across the globe, SAP ranks as
the world's third-largest independent software provider.
SAP has been in the business of e-business for 30 years. Founded in
1972 by five former IBM systems engineers, SAP now employs more than
27,800 people in more than 50 countries.
The company began trading publicly in 1988. It is listed on several
stock exchanges, including the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New
York Stock Exchange, where it trades under the symbol "SAP."
The company is headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, with U.S.
operations headquarters located in Newtown Square, PA.
You can find this information by selecting "History" from the
company's home page. Additional information can be seen in the press
releases, normally toward the end of the piece.
Information referring to SAP can also be found on this purchasing
professionals' web site:
http://supplychain.ittoolbox.com/Documents/
Scroll towards the bottom of the page.
Under the header titled "Visit the ITtoolbox Knowledge Base for:"
select the link "SAP". This will lead you to a seemingly infinite
knowlege center related to SAP. For example, selecting "general SAP"
leads to discussion groups, forums, training and books.
One more lind I found mentioned SAP in an explanation of the
purchasing process and can be found here:
http://academic.uofs.edu/faculty/gramborw/sap/1030.htm
So, in short, SAP is the name of the German company that is the
leading supplier of purchasing software. I imagine the company may
stand for something also, but from your question I don't believe
that's what your after. It may stem from one of the information
technology acronyms listed at the web site below, or it may be some
clever combination of initials only the founders of the company can
decipher. I would imagine they may answer an email asking the origin
of the company name. Let me know if you want me to ask them.
http://www.ucc.ie/acronyms/
Type "SAP" into their search window, and scroll down alphabetically.
You will see several acronyms, several which are related to the
technology field and could account for the origin of the comany name.
Search terms used:
purchasing association acronyms SAP
"purchasing industry" glossaries
"purchasing industry" acronyms
We've both learned a lot on this one! |
