ARCONDIS UPDATE No. 02|2018: The smarter solution

20_The smarter solution
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Selecting a company-specific approach primarily
depends on whether the SAP migration
is considered an IT project and handled
accordingly, or whether the company would
like to use the opportunity to optimize or
even completely redesign business processes.
One thing is certain: from a technological
standpoint, SAP ECC 6.0 and SAP S/4 HANA
are majorly different. This means, no matter
whether migration is pursued as an IT
project or with a more of a business-driven
approach, basic technical questions such as
the following have to be considered:
Transformation of the SAP system
landscape with data migration, implementation
of unicodes, introduction of the
new general ledger, migration to HANA
databases, etc.
Customer-specific SAP developments and
technical objects: Analysis of migratability
and required adaptations
User interfaces: Use and impact of FIORI
apps, including partial or complete replacement
of the SAP GUI
Reporting & analytics: Analysis and adaptation,
including supply of any available
data warehouse solutions
Verification of permissions and required
adaptations
Test, documentation and go-lives
Integration technologies and interface
topics
Add to this industry-specific topics resulting
due to migration of data models, the introduction
of the FIORI apps, etc.
In most cases, existing ERP platforms have
been in use for several decades and are
tailored very specifically to the customer’s
requirements. The result is a great deal
of “relics” in the form of customizations,
programming and a stock of legacy data.
Besides lacking or obsolete and incomplete
documentation, this also complicates maintenance
and makes a technical migration
difficult to plan and calculate. Extensive analysis,
as well as comprehensive and repeated
testing are therefore absolutely necessary.
Brownfield vs. Greenfield
Practical experience shows that some
customers initially lean towards the Brownfield
approach, but opt for Greenfield after
initial analyses for the reasons named above,
even if the project has an IT focus. Overall,
a Brownfield migration means significant
internal and external investments and high
resource usage. In comparison, the benefits
for business and IT are few, primarily the
actual cause for migration: maintenance by
SAP is guaranteed.
Customers taking a business-driven approach
for their SAP migration normally
begin with the Greenfield approach right
from the start. These companies specifically
opt for a “fresh start” and the opportunity
for major changes and transformation. Here,
the focus is on optimizing business process,
often based on best practice approaches,
and maybe even realigning the organization
and reevaluating added value in the business
departments and IT. Establishing a basis for
future digitalization while optimizing processes
for master data is often also an important
driver. Though the impulse for change initially
comes from IT, many companies choose this
long-term, organization-wide approach to
achieve major advantages on the business
and IT side.
Depending on the size, scope and approach,
we recommend realizing an organization-wide
transformation project. An
integral component for long-term, successful
transformation should be professional organizational
change management so a planned
migration reaches the target state involving
stakeholders.
Success factors in planning
These considerations make clear that the
“how” also has a major impact on the
“when.” Migration absolutely requires foresighted
budget and resource planning, as
in professional program and change management.
Even purely technical migrations
require a timeframe of several months, if not
years for all required steps including the right
resources (e.g.: external SAP specialists, key
users for tests, etc.).
The transformation approach also requires
preparations at the top management level,
as priority, commitment and sufficient resources
are essential to project success, and
have to be ensured by the top level.
Other critical success factors include:
Extensive involvement of the business
departments
Selecting the right external partners for
support in transformation and system
validation
Definition of a tailored validation strategy
In-depth clarification of technological dependencies
(with a transformation, the IT
landscape will change more dramatically
than with a pure migration)
Ensuring internal resources
Brownfield
Approach
Select the best available SAP system for the current
SAP landscape
Adapt to new processes and prepare as a template
Migrate technical data from the selected Brownfield
SAP
Migrate technical data from remaining SAP systems/
companies to the new template
Pros
Knowledge of SAP functions already exists
Reduced complexity in IT SAP landscape
Technical data migration instead of full system migration
Lower project risk thanks to existing interfaces and
integration
Cons
Technical upgrade to S/4 HANA required
Conserve current processes and IT SAP solution
(Brownfield)
Effort for existing customer-specific extensions
Less process optimization than use of existing processes
One winner, many losers
Professional organizational change
management tailored to the culture and
degree of maturity of the organization.
To avoid being hard-pressed for time, you
should begin planning and preparing your
“SAP transformation” or “SAP strategy” in
good time.
This includes ensuring the availability of qualified
internal, but also external resources.
In addition to technical resources, business
process know-how and expertise in implementing
quality and compliance requirements
also play a key role in transformation
projects in life sciences companies. Early
planning is essential, after all, all existing
SAP customers are facing a similar situation
and there is still time to transform a potential
risk into an opportunity for lasting transformation.
Successful migration to SAP
S/4 HANA – real-life cases
Switching to S/4 HANA can also offer advantages
to non-SAP customers, as illustrated
by the following practical example. In 2017,
ARCONDIS led an ERP evaluation project
for a medium-sized Swiss biotech firm. The
objective was to replace a combined inhouse
development and SME solution with
a modern ERP that would accompany the
company on its path towards growth.
Specialized in the life sciences industry,
ARCONDIS was entrusted with the selection
process, business analysis and requirements
management. After the evaluation was
complete, the customer opted for SAP S/4
HANA in combination with additional SAP
components, such as SuccessFactors for
human capital management and SAP Cloud
Platform integration to integrate cloud and
on-premise applications based on the transparent
decision matrix.
Greenfield
Approach
Design and set up a “best practice” template based
on standard processes and the latest technological
platform (S/4 HANA)
Migrate data from existing systems and companies to
new template
Pros
Basis for business process optimization and standardization
Forces discussion of new processes
Fosters creative thinking
Enables use of best practice processes and IT solutions
Enables changes to business processes
Reduced risk thanks to a lack of inherited burdens (e.g.
customer-specific developments, etc.)
Start with SAP Standard, the latest technology platform
Best use of available technology
Cons
Dependent on data migration strategy and tools: some
previous data may be lost
Requires all interfaces to be re-configured
In the end, it came down to:
A high degree of functional coverage,
especially in the area of country-specific
requirements
Architecture based on innovative in-memory
technology
Entire solution future-proof with regard to
digitalization, networking and mobility
User friendliness thanks to FIORI apps
and
Embedded reporting and analysis functions
Still in the care of ARCONDIS, the project is
now in the implementation phase and is set
for completion in autumn 2018.
When will you begin preparing for successful
migration? Feel free to contact us – we
will provide you with neutral consultation,
without SAP bias, so that your journey is
a success and you can benefit from the
results of a migration for the long term.
Andreas Jung