Winkelmann Group – SAP S/4HANA conversion and Managed Cloud Services

About Winkelmann Group:

Industry: Metal forming (automotive supplier, heating systems)
Products: Steel products for use in the automotive industry, the energy sector, and the aerospace industry
Number of employees: 4,400 (2024)
Headquarter: Ahlen (Westphalia)
Manufacturing locations: Poland, Türkiye, China, USA, Mexico
Website: www.winkelmann-group.com

With its three divisions of Automotive, Building + Industry, and Flowforming, Winkelmann Group is one of the leading metal forming companies, supplying renowned customers from highly diverse industries. Having evolved as a family business, Winkelmann operates with a focus on the long term, on innovation, and on flexibility, attaching great importance to sustainable management, customer satisfaction, high-quality products and, not least, IT processes. Winkelmann thus conducted a CX project in 2019 before going ahead with the migration of their existing SAP ECC system to SAP S/4HANA as the next crucial step in its digital transformation.

Project completed successfully within just 9 months by scheduled go-live date and within budget

Ahead of the actual migration, an SAP S/4HANA roadmap project was conducted to complete a comprehensive analysis of the existing system by way of a readiness check in order to identify any necessary adaptations and ensure a smooth migration. In parallel with the transition, Winkelmann introduced a new house currency, with Sybit (a part of NTT DATA Business Solutions) performing the adaptation of the C4C system. Further modifications were required for the new credit management, the new bonus processing, and storage location MRP. In addition, the SAP Fiori launchpad was implemented as hub solution for a modern user interface. There was also a need for a release change of the outdated HCM system. Working towards a set go-live deadline represented a great challenge. But with discipline, teamwork, and agility, the project was realized successfully on time and within budget in just 9 months. This achievement was made possible by the joint commitment of all those involved.

Keeping pace with technological progress with Managed Services and Business Analytics

The transition to SAP S/4HANA has made Winkelmann sustainably fit for the future. The company had already decided several years ago to use the Managed Cloud Services from NTT DATA Business Solutions for having its growing system landscape managed professionally. The systems are hosted in NTT DATA Business Solutions’ secure data centers. Winkelmann benefits from the provided servers, network technology, storage capacity, and IT experts’ know-how. This leaves the company free to use its internal resources for its day-to-day business activities. For its Business Analytics project, Winkelmann chose SAP BW/4HANA to realize a modern data warehousing solution. The integration with SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) resulted in a powerful platform for analysis and planning functions. Among other things, this provides support with financial planning, demand planning, and finance reporting (FI Reporting) as well as improving data availability and corporate decision-making.