Leveraging the hybrid-agile SAP Activate methodology, SMS group remains at the forefront of innovation and benefits from advanced capabilities across multiple business areas through its partnership with NTT DATA Business Solutions.
Thanks to the SAP S/4HANA roadmap, we not only gained full transparency with respect to our IT architecture, but also had our applications checked for compatibility with SAP S/4HANA. That meant that we were well prepared for the greenfield implementation currently in process.
Company: SMS group
Industry: Engineering and Construction
Products: Plants for metallurgical industries processing steel, aluminum, copper, and other metals
Employees: approx. 14,000 (2020)
Sales: EUR 2.935 billion (2019)
Headquarters: Düsseldorf, Germany
Website: www.sms-group.com
SMS group and NTT DATA Business Solutions AG have been working as a successful team for over 10 years whenever driving innovation in IT was called for. Two companies pursuing a common goal: enabling customers to achieve sustainable success along the entire value chain. With this mission in mind, the supplier of plants for the processing of steel, aluminum, copper, and other metals had already chosen NTT DATA Business Solutions as a partner in 2013, paving the way for many successful joint IT projects.
The plant supplier had already started using SAP ERP before our partnership began. But a decision was soon made to enable other group locations around the world to benefit from the new solution. With a strong international team, the rollout of the application was managed successfully, taking into account local requirements in Russia and the USA. When it then came to the system merge for the group companies, SMS group once again turned to us. And rightly so, as both carve-out and merging of SAP systems demand outstanding IT expertise.
The market is constantly evolving, and so are the requirements for a modern system landscape. The existing processes were to be closely examined as part of an SAP ERP analysis. Scrutinizing the applications resulted in the identification of potentials and the following conclusion: The company’s systems and processes were already highly advanced, but the implementation of SAP S/4HANA could lead to even greater efficiency. To leave nothing to chance, SMS group then decided to utilize the SAP S/4HANA roadmap. Besides a value workshop, this includes a detailed conversion analysis and an Extended Custom Code Check. In addition to providing an insight into the complexity of the transition, the roadmap also checks whether the applications are compatible with SAP S/4HANA and determines which parts of the program need to be adapted. This was to provide the basis for deciding on the perfect transition scenario. Greenfield or brownfield – that was the question.
Considering the highly advanced state of system development, the choice of scenario was entirely up to SMS group. While it would have been possible to convert the system, intensive discussions resulted in a decision in favor of the greenfield scenario, bolstered by the corporate goals and the benefit of all processes undergoing a review. In close collaboration, we defined best practice processes in the SAP Solution Manager, largely in line with the standard system, before going on to establish these in the entire group.
The top management was impressed by an experiential workshop that included a demonstration on a live SAP S/4HANA system. With the upcoming implementation of the solution using the hybrid-agile SAP Activate methodology, SMS Group will be at the forefront of innovation and will quickly benefit from innovative functions in various business units. The ongoing implementation of the SAP Analytics Cloud will complement the system perfectly, providing a strong basis for the innovations of tomorrow.
Learn why the new implementation of SAP S/4HANA is your chance for establishing new business processes and making better usage of data.
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