Does SAP Commerce Cloud Work in China?

TLDR; SAP Commerce Cloud doesn’t work in China. E-commerce stores built with SAP Commerce Cloud load in 40+ seconds and customers can’t even complete a purchase. Many SAP Commerce Cloud sites are not even accessible in China. This article explains why SAP Commerce Cloud has poor performance in China and then provides you with the only solution to fix SAP Commerce Cloud that is fully compliant with the laws in mainland China.

In this article, we will walk you through some speed tests we conducted to determine if SAP Commerce Cloud works in China or not. Our staff conducted the tests in Shanghai (China Mainland) and Hong Kong (outside Mainland China) and we used 3rd party testing tools to ensure our tests weren’t biased.

By the end of this article, you should have a good understanding of SAP Commerce Cloud and if it works in Mainland China or not. Also, you can contact us to get a free speed test of your SAP site for China.

What is SAP Commerce Cloud?

SAP Commerce Cloud is a digital experience platform developed by SAP SE for creating new applications or extending existing applications in a secure cloud computing environment managed by SAP. The SAP Commerce Cloud integrates data and business processes.

SAP Commerce Cloud was named one of the top Digital Experiences by Forrester Wave in 2021.

Does SAP Commerce Cloud work in China?

The short answer is no.

Below is the long answer if you want to understand why:

1. SAP Commerce Cloud claims to have Global coverage for their service, but actually, China is not included as we’ll see below.

2. If your business doesn’t have any legal licenses for your site and content in China, it is operating illegally in China.

Luckily we have put together solutions to make your business and SAP Commerce Cloud sites work in China.

Don’t just take our word. Let’s look at some popular websites powered by SAP Commerce Cloud and see how well they work in China

How do we check if a website works in China or not?

There are two tests we need to perform to conclude if a website works in China.

1. How fast is the site in Mainland China?
2. Does the website operated by the business comply with the laws in China?

The second part of the test is a must for most businesses or organizations, not optional. If you are unsure why it’s a must, read Untold facts about ICP for China, and why you should get it.

Speed Tests Results

We picked 5 websites from SAP Commerce Cloud’s global enterprise customers and considered these websites to follow SAP’s best practices.

Then we follow the test questions mentioned earlier for each website and create a report with the following format:

1. A figure to see how fast the site performs across Mainland China.

This figure basically shows how fast the website loads across Mainland China (green = fast, red =slow)

2. A video to see the site’s performance in China visually.

We made a screen record of the website loading in Shanghai, China. This provides you with an intuitive way to see how fast the site visually loads and understand what people in China actually experience when they visit the website.

3. A yes-no check to see if the site complied with the laws in China.

If the site passes the legal check, it’s a green check. If it doesn’t pass, we will tell you why it doesn’t pass.

Now, let’s dive into the reports for each of the selected businesses using SAP to power their sites.

Kodak, www.kodak.com

The Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: KODK) is a global technology company providing industry-leading products and services for commercial print, packaging, publishing, manufacturing and entertainment.

From our speed test, people in China have difficulty viewing the images on Kodak’s website. (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Kodak’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does Kodak’s website comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not have an ICP license displayed at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

Finding if a website has an ICP license is pretty straightforward, just scroll to the bottom of the page, if you see a number like this (see below Nike’s websites for China), then the business behind the website has an ICP for China. If not, they don’t have it. You can check if your website has it or not.

Below is an example of Nike’s website in China, and its ICP number.

Similarly, we ran the same tests for the rest of the selected SAP user’s websites.

Porsche, www.shop.porsche.com

Porsche is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening them on Porsche’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Porsche’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does Porsche’s website comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

Moen, www.moen.com

Moen is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of sinks, faucets, and other plumbing products.

From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty opening Moen’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Moen’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does the Moen’s websites comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the international website does not have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

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FC Barcelona, www.store.fcbarcelona.com

Football Club (FC) Barcelona, commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça, is a professional football (soccer) club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.

From our speed test, people in China have difficulty viewing the images on FC Barcelona store’s website. (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses FC Barcelona’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does FC Barcelona’s websites comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the website does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

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Qantas Wine, www.wine.qantas.com

Qantas Wine is subsidiary of Qantas Airways Limited (QABSY). Qantas Airways is the largest airline in Australia by fleet size, international flights and international destinations.

From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Qantas Wine’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Qantas Wine’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does Qantas Wine’s website comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

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New Look, www.newlook.com

New Look is a British global fashion retailer with a chain of high street shops. It was founded in 1969. The chain sells womenswear, menswear, and clothing for teens.

From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening New Look’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red/orange/yellow means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses New Look’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does New Look’s website comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

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Fabory, www.fabory.com

Fabory manufactures and supplies bolts, nuts, washers, hexagon socket products, screws, and supplies hand, cutting, and electrical tools, world-wide.

From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Fabory’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Fabory’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does Fabory’s website comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

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Hansgrohe, www.hansgrohe.com

Hansgrohe SE is a German sanitary fittings manufacturer. It was founded by Hans Grohe in 1901, in Schiltach, Germany. Hansgrohe is one of the world’s largest shower head, hand shower and tap suppliers

From our speed test, many people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Hansgrohe’s website (that’s what the below figure means, grey means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Hansgrohe’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does Hansgrohe’s website comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

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Zale, www.zales.com

Zale Corporation is the largest operator of retail jewelry stores in the United States. Zale operates more than 2,300 retail locations–stores and mall kiosks–located in all 50 states, as well as in internationaly.

From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Zale’s website (that’s what the below figure means, orange/yellow means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Zale’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does Zale’s website comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

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Pearson, www.pearson.com

Pearson (PSO) is a British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England. It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s. It is the largest education company and was once the largest book publisher in the world.

From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Pearson’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red/orange/yellow means unable to display images).

Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Pearson’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:

Does Pearson Wine’s website comply with the laws in China?

No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.

If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.

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In short, if your business is going to China, make sure your website passes the two tests we mentioned above to have a fast speed of first load and good viewing and browsing quality for your users in China.

If you need help going to China, please contact us, we are happy to help.

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