Novoferm: Towards a harmonised system landscape with SAP S/4HANA

13 companies across four different countries. All use SAP ECC – but each with different customisations that they have made to their system over the years.

With the end of support for SAP ECC approaching, it was clear to Novoferm: the move to SAP S/4HANA is not just a technical update, but an opportunity to harmonise their fragmented system landscape. The company, which manufactures doors, gates, frames and loading systems, therefore decided to carry out a preliminary study to identify the optimal path to SAP S/4HANA in collaboration with the SAP experts at GAMBIT.

“We had no doubt that the transition was necessary. To us, it even presented an opportunity,” says Thomas Hanzl, Head of ICT at Novoferm. “What we were unsure about was how to get the maximum amount of value out of the project without unnecessary risk. We lacked a sound basis for decision making that took our strategic and operational objectives into account.”

GAMBIT’s Roadmap programme has already proven successful for numerous companies across a wide range of industries. Over the course of six project phases, the consultants align the company’s objectives with the standards and functions of SAP S/4HANA, estimate the required timeframe and costs and identify potential risks. Finally, they make a recommendation that aligns with the company’s objectives and promises the greatest benefit. 

“This approach has been tried and tested many times and follows a precisely defined process,” says Project Manager Simone Sender del Castillo. “Since we incorporate numerous client parameters and the results of strategy interviews, the outcome is always precisely tailored to our clients’ specific challenges and starting points. To this end, we also examine business processes and legacy systems in detail.”

In Novoferm’s case, the results of the preliminary study showed that a Greenfield implementation was the most likely way to achieve the company’s strategic objectives. However, the complexity of the processes – for example, in the area of production – pointed towards a Brownfield conversion being the better alternative.

Whilst the Greenfield approach means implementing SAP S/4HANA based on the SAP Best Practices, a Brownfield conversion involves converting the old ECC system – including all data, processes and custom developments – to an SAP S/4HANA system. As a result, the ECC system’s complexity is largely retained.

“In some areas, such as finance and controlling, Novoferm’s systems align very closely with the SAP Best Practices. Implementing these processes via a Greenfield approach would be the ideal solution and would help ensure the system’s future viability,” says Simone Sender del Castillo. “Elsewhere, replacing Novoferm’s proprietary in-house developments – we call them ‘Z-pearls’ – would involve risks that should not be underestimated. In those areas, it may make more sense to migrate the existing processes.”

In addition to these findings, the results of the Roadmap programme also highlight the requirements Novoferm still needs to meet before the SAP S/4HANA project can begin. The preliminary study provides an overview of the necessary resources and prerequisite projects.

Although the final decision on the migration path has not yet been made, Novoferm has a timeline and a rough overview of the potential costs and risks for all possible scenarios. The key implementation objectives have also already been defined: a harmonised system landscape, greater adherence to the SAP standards, increased flexibility and improved data quality.

"We now have all the facts we need to make the best decision for Novoferm’s future system landscape,” says Thomas Hanzl. “That is exactly the foundation we needed.”