SAP added new functionality to its collection of cloud-based business services March 26 when it acquired privately held Fieldglass, provider of a service that enables enterprises to keep track of procuring and managing contingent labor and services.
Terms of the deal were not released by Frankfurt-based SAP, but the company did say it expected the transaction to close in the second quarter.
Chicago-based Fieldglass, which has 350 employees, has sold its service into more than 100 countries and has it translated into 16 languages. Fieldglass is the current vendor management system market leader in total revenue and global footprint, according to staffing industry analysts.
In 2013, Fieldglass marked its eighth consecutive year of profitability, adding 2 million new users in markets worldwide. Customers include GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto and Rio Tinto.
SAP will combine Fieldglass with the collaborative, network-based procurement capabilities of Ariba and the human resources expertise of SuccessFactors to give the parent company a platform businesses can use to manage their entire workforce — both temporary and permanent staff.
With freelance, project-based employment becoming more common across many business sectors, a reliable cloud-based service that can be accessed by secure mobile devices to keep track of staffing, workflow assignments, time cards, payments and other factors has become a desired commodity.
Contingent workforces are expected to grow by nearly 30 percent over the next three years, according to research by Ardent Partners.