SAP S/4HANA: From roadmap to global roll-out

Like many other globally operating companies, the Swiss company Landis+Gyr has an SAP ERP system landscape that has developed organically over time. The provider of energy management solutions uses six separate ECC systems for more than 30 operating sites worldwide, most of which have their own business processes.

To prepare for its transition to SAP S/4HANA, Landis+Gyr therefore commissioned the consultants from GAMBIT to develop a roadmap program at the end of 2021. The company hoped that this preliminary project for SAP S/4HANA would help them decide on the right path to SAP S/4HANA and answer key questions for top management.

SAP S/4HANA as a strategic project

"Although we started out as an IT project, we soon realized that a project to implement SAP S/4HANA using a greenfield approach is a strategic project that has to be driven by business," says Uwe Schubkegel, Head ERP Global Applications at Landis+Gyr. "Ultimately, it's about using the advantages of SAP S/4HANA on the basis of globally harmonized business processes in a way that benefits the entire company and moves it forward."

GAMBIT's roadmap program for Landis+Gyr followed a proven and standardized process model based on the SAP Activate methodology. GAMBIT has enhanced this SAP S/4HANA implementation framework for its customers by including additional content and functions.

A roadmap program can help companies to answer key questions that arise before migration. These include questions about the costs and effort associated with different migration approaches, the possible target system architecture, and the degree of fit with the SAP standard processes known as "SAP Best Practices."

Comparison of possible migration approaches

One of the main focus areas of the program for Landis+Gyr was the comparison of possible migration approaches. GAMBIT experts tested the suitability of the brownfield approach and of two greenfield variants including template design and global rollout: one variant with two rollout waves and one variant with four waves.

The results clearly showed that a greenfield implementation was the best way for Landis+Gyr to transition to SAP S/4HANA. Although a brownfield implementation could be completed much faster than either of the greenfield variants, a purely technical migration would have the disadvantage that processes and data could not be harmonized and standardized and that the ECC landscape would remain distributed.

"If you want to derive maximum benefit from SAP S/4HANA, you should check carefully whether a brownfield approach is in fact the best option, or whether it might cost you in the long run. You will still have the same pain points and inherited problems and you will compromise your future success because you do not have access to best practices, for example," says Fabian Wick, GAMBIT project manager and project lead for the project.

Greenfield implementation in four waves

In the case of Landis+Gyr, when the preliminary project was completed the GAMBIT experts recommended a greenfield implementation approach in four waves. The consultants determined that this variant offered the greatest advantages when factors such as the global implementation of the project across different time zones and the reduction of the risks associated with the changeover were taken into consideration.

The main aim of this implementation approach is to build a modern SAP S/4HANA system architecture that remains flexible in the long term – one that is based on the clean-core principle with SAP best practices, has harmonized processes, and serves as a basis for digital innovations and the further growth of the company.

"To implement the switch to SAP S/4HANA, we advised our partners at Landis+Gyr to ensure that the organization was optimally prepared before the start of the implementation and to implement the key project preparation measures," adds Fabian Wick, who acted as internal project lead at Landis+Gyr.

The "Prepare" measures

The "Prepare" measures implemented in 2023 included setting up the overall project organization, detailed resource planning, staffing, backfilling planning, and addressing the issue of governance by establishing the Process Change Advisory Board (PCAB).

Once the preparation phase and project setup had been completed, the implementation project was launched at the start of 2024 – once again with GAMBIT as the SAP partner. Landis+Gyr opted for the private cloud operating model and the managed cloud offering RISE with SAP.

"In the course of the implementation, we have been designing the global template for SAP S/4HANA since the beginning of 2024 and are initially rolling out the solution in the USA, Canada, and Mexico and for one sales location in Japan," explains Fabian Wick, GAMBIT project lead for the implementation project. Brazil, six countries in Asia including China, India, and Australia, then South Africa, and finally Europe and Germany are set to follow by 2029 in further waves of the global rollout.

Impressed by the strategic consulting approach

"We've made a start, and the implementation is now underway. Our partner GAMBIT has given us outstanding support so far and paved the way for us to achieve a modern SAP S/4HANA system architecture that will remain flexible in the long term. We were particularly impressed by GAMBIT's strategic consulting approach, which gives us a broader view of SAP S/4HANA's immense potential as a driver and enabler of digital transformation in companies like Landis+Gyr," explains Uwe Schubkegel.