Cloud done right: Family business switches to SAP Cloud ERP

A 20-year-old ERP system, highly customized processes, and a cloud solution that was anything but innovative – for battery manufacturer Banner, it was time for a generational change in IT. The goal: greater cost efficiency, less complexity, and easier access to data-driven decisions. In the search for a future-proof Cloud ERP, the choice fell on SAP S/4HANA.

NTT DATA Business Solutions | agosto 18, 2025 | 4 min. read

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Why Banner feels most at ease with SAP as a medium-sized company, why it chose the SAP Cloud ERP (public cloud ERP), and how NTT DATA Business Solutions impressed as an implementation partner.

Banner had been working with the Oxaion ERP system for almost two decades. Over the years, processes had been adapted again and again. Custom development had made the system highly complex and difficult to maintain. Although Banner had migrated to the provider’s cloud version a few years ago, the result remained unsuccessful. “Many functionalities were lost after the switch, and the manufacturer was unable to give us a convincing answer about what it was planning for the future of the product,” reports Banner CEO Werner Töpfl. Want to benefit from the latest technologies? Make AI-based and data-driven decisions? With this system, it remained a pipe dream for Banner.

Another reason for declaring the ERP changeover a top strategic project was the high degree of dependence on a small number of internal and external experts. Unlike global ERP brands, the old ERP system was not widely used, new employees had no prior knowledge of it, and many internal employees who had been familiar with the system since its introduction had long since left the organization. The external ecosystem of service providers was also limited, which posed a high risk to business continuity.

About the company

Banner GmbH is a leading European manufacturer of battery solutions and has received multiple awards. Founded in Vorarlberg, Austria, in 1937, the family-owned company has grown steadily and now employs around 750 people at 22 international locations. Sales in 2023 amounted to 302 million euros. Banner focuses on two key markets: Energy Solutions and Automotive.

In order to continue its growth path in the future, Banner is investing not only in product innovation and sustainable technologies, but also in process optimization and the modernization of its own IT infrastructure – as a basis for growth and competitive strength.

The switch to SAP Cloud ERP was a clear decision: as a medium-sized company, IT is not one of Banner’s core areas of expertise. Operation and maintenance were to be handled by the ERP provider, with automatic updates and further developments contributing to cost efficiency. Equally important for Banner was the ability to easily scale the system as needed.

The goal was to use top technology with minimal internal IT effort. This is something that can be easily achieved with a powerful cloud ERP system. Based on previous experience, Banner chose an established international provider with a large ecosystem of service providers. The requirements catalog reduced the list of potential candidates to a top 5, where SAP came out as the clear winner with S/4HANA.

Which ERP system is the right for your company? A compariosn of SAP, Microsoft and Oracle.

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Cost was a decisive factor for Banner: “SAP is considered expensive, but for us, this has not proven to be the case thanks to the public cloud approach,” emphasizes Werner Töpfl. The functions, service, and operating model were convincing.

Comprehensive automation would accelerate processes, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. AI-based real-time analyses create the basis for further savings, optimizations of the business model, and improved decision-making quality in potentially all areas of the company.

Banner decided to switch to the SAP Cloud ERP (public cloud ERP). With the GROW with SAP journey, the introduction of the SAP Cloud ERP can be completed within a few months. Although processes can not be customized to the same extent as in the SAP Cloud ERP Private, this fits in with Banner’s strategy. By returning processes to the standard, the company reduces complexity, which simplifies person-independent support and avoids additional costs. The total costs are lower overall than with the private cloud variant.

Skeptics fear security risks associated with the public cloud. For Banner, these concerns have long been disproved in practice. Although the data is hosted on the same physical infrastructure, it is stored separately. In addition, SAP’s security concept uses the latest technologies and meets high standards. It is much better than Banner could ever achieve on its own.

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NTT DATA Business Solutions: Headquartered in Bielefeld, Germany.

Once the decision to go with SAP had been made, the question of finding the right implementation partner came up. They needed to have extensive experience with SAP Cloud ERP and be able to show off reference projects for public cloud projects. Industry expertise was also a must-have for Banner, since process optimization was a key goal of the switch. NTT DATA Business Solutions met these requirements in all areas.

Unlike other providers, NTT DATA Business Solutions scored points with its internationality in German corporate management. Werner Töpfl: “Contract design is easier with a German partner. We also had the impression that NTT DATA Business Solutions, as a medium-sized partner, has shorter decision-making processes and is more flexible in responding to our needs. There was immediately a better understanding of our requirements.”

The project is being implemented by Banner in an interdisciplinary team consisting of its own employees, consultants from SAP, and NTT DATA Business Solutions, using the proven SAP Activate methodology.

Before the contract was signed, the possible scope of implementation was determined in scoping workshops as part of the “NTT DATA Customer Journey,” before the results were compared with SAP best practices and documented in SAP’s Digital Discovery Assessment Tool.

When the outdated processes were transformed into new, optimized processes, it became clear that the majority of requirements could be mapped in the standard system. There were only 23 additional requirements for 193 standard processes. The implementation of the core functions is planned first, with further optimizations to be carried out gradually during ongoing operations.

Lessons learned

Werner Töpfl’s tips for other companies looking to start their SAP Cloud ERP journey with a new system:

There are big differences between consulting firms: Not every SAP consultant is familiar with Cloud ERP! It’s worth investing time in evaluation and asking detailed questions.
Preparation is everything: Scoping workshops and the NTT DATA Customer Journey were milestones that gave us final clarity about the project. Documenting future best practice processes in the SAP Digital Discovery Assessment Tool is also one of the key elements of solid preparation.
Take your employees’ concerns seriously and involve internal teams early on in the process. This will lay the foundation for high acceptance of the new ERP system, which is a prerequisite for any productivity gains.
“SAP First”: A unified IT ecosystem allows us to maximize digital advantages. That’s why our goal is to map everything possible in SAP. We will gradually replace the currently integrated third-party applications with SAP products.