SAP S/4HANA Conversion: Enhancing Innovation & Sustainability at Bette

Design, quality, and sustainability: these are what the family company Bette has stood for since it was founded in 1952. Headquartered in the East-Westphalian town of Delbrück, Bette manufactures and sells an extensive product palette of high-quality, innovative bathroom fixtures ranging from sinks to bathtubs, complemented by professional advice. With the aim of extending the corporate values of innovation and sustainability to its internal IT processes, Bette decided as far back as 2001 to bring on board NTT DATA Business Solutions as a partner. In close collaboration, the conversion to SAP S/4HANA has now been realized successfully.

SAP S/4HANA Conversion in Brownfield Approach

There are two ways to execute the implementation of SAP S/4HANA. The key question is whether the aim is to perform a completely new system implementation in line with best practices (greenfield transition) or whether a purely technical conversion of the existing system (brownfield transition) is preferred. As Bette had created various validated IT processes in its organization over the years, which they wished to retain in the new solution, the implementation was carried out using the Brownfield Approach. Consequently, the legacy system SAP ECC 6.0 EHP 0 was converted directly into SAP S/4HANA. The release change and the migration to the HANA database were performed in a single step using the SAP Data Migration Option (DMO). Despite the challenge involved in adapting the customer’s in-house developments and existing processes for integration within the new solution, NTT DATA Business Solutions succeeded in realizing the project on time and in budget.

System Analysis for a Perfect Future Strategy

Before the brownfield transition, the existing system underwent a technical examination using the Extended Customer Code Check service. This included an analysis of compatibility with SAP S/4HANA and identification of the required adaptations in the program. At this point in the project, priorities for the conversion were set and cost estimates were produced. This enabled a schedule and a budget to be determined and agreed between the two parties. In the final transition analysis, potential opportunities and challenges were evaluated, resulting in recommendations for action for the required work packages. The tried and tested brownfield method facilitated an efficient and smooth conversion process, without having to change the validated state of the existing system.

Extension of the Digitalization Strategy

With SAP S/4HANA, Bette is well on the way to becoming an Intelligent Enterprise and benefits from the solution’s numerous advantages. These include the in-memory technology of the integrated database. It provides new real-time analysis options requiring less memory capacity and results in a reduction of the data footprint and therefore enhanced sustainability. After a successful go-live, the newly established, intelligent system landscape now excels through modern technologies, process stability, and effective functions. Bette is thus equipped for all business requirements and can broaden out its digitalization strategy. It was part of the company’s agenda to extend the strategy directly to subsidiary oxiegen GmbH upon successful completion of the project. Once again, the company relied on the expertise of NTT DATA Business Solutions, which implemented the SAP S/4HANA conversion in record time using the Brownfield Approach.