I’m excited to share that SAP today launched Recalls Plus, the first mobile consumer app from SAP! Recalls Plus is a free iPhone app that enables busy parents to proactively monitor recalls of their children's products like strollers, cribs, baby formula, and car seats for greater safety and peace of mind.
Recalls Plus is available on iTunes in the US: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recalls-plus/id499200328
Now you might be asking, “If it’s a major recall, wouldn’t I find out about it from the media?” Possibly. But sometimes, the media covers a recall story only after people have been seriously injured by the recalled product. And there are hundreds of recalls that are not even covered by the media but might be highly relevant for you and your kids. For example, your kid might be allergic to milk or peanuts, and if a manufacturer recalls a food product for kids because it contains undeclared allergens, you would want to know about that right away.
I was surprised, actually shocked, a few days ago when I came across a story on ABC news about the popular Bumbo baby chair. ABC discovered that this baby chair was recalled nationwide by CPSC 5 years ago, but the same product was allowed to be sold on the market just a few weeks after with only a few more warning labels. Since then, this baby chair actually became more popular, and many children have fallen out of the chair and suffered serious injuries. If parents had Recalls Plus, they could have looked up the product before they purchased it to find a previous recall on the same product. For those who already have the Bumbo baby chair, they would have received relevant alerts.
You might also be wondering, “Why in the world is SAP, an enterprise software company, building consumer apps?” Great question. And here’s the reason why. With the proliferation of mobile apps and social media, we see an opportunity for companies in consumer-facing industries such as retail, CPG, telco, and utilities to engage their end consumers in new and exciting ways. Many of these leading companies run their enterprise systems on SAP. SAP has the unique opportunity not only to deliver innovative mobile apps that help these companies connect with their customers and build unprecedented levels of customer intimacy, but also to connect these apps to enterprise systems and deliver value no other company can offer.
So hope you’re excited about trying out the newly launched Recalls Plus app and the direction that SAP is taking with consumer apps. Download the Recalls Plus app and share your experience by commenting on the blog.
