Model conversion thanks to team play

Backaldrin, Austria's leading manufacturer of baking ingredients, combines the tradition of baking with state-of-the-art technology. The family-owned company also attaches great importance to quality and innovation in IT - and already took the initiative with regard to SAP S/4HANA in 2018.

Accompanied by INFORMATICS, Backaldrin participated in the S/4HANA Adoption Starter Programme. Here, the readiness check and the BSR report were implemented in 2019, the IT infrastructure was analysed and the path to the cloud was addressed. Based on the results of the programme, the decision was made for an on-prem conversion. Backaldrin's internal IT had already outlined a strategy for the conversion and defined the target architecture and target system landscape. Together with INFORMATICS, the roadmap was worked out, workshops defined and work packages put together. Backaldrin's IT remained in the project lead as an interface to the specialist department and with the conceptual and operational support of INFORMATICS.

COMMITMENT OF ALL DEPARTMENTS

In 2020, preliminary projects such as the conversion of the business partners were already implemented, and an initial workshop provided information about the innovations in SAP FI and New GL. Detailed project planning followed at the beginning of 2021, before switching to the new general ledger at ECC.
At the same time, the findings from the S/4HANA Pre-Check tools (ATC, Readiness Check, BSR) - which we also offer as a fixed-price package - were analyzed, the future use of modules such as EWM and TM was surveyed, and the changes in SAP SD were discussed. Standard solutions were to replace existing Z developments. All departments were continuously involved, recognized the added value of the changeover and were motivated to implement the innovative workflows that come with SAP Fiori for the users.

LEARNINGS FROM THE SANDBOX

The first sandbox was already implemented on the target hardware in July 2021. Numerous lessons learned from this are now being incorporated into the second in-house sandbox. For example, the downtime for the go-live can be significantly reduced by switching the operating system from Windows to Linux ahead of schedule.
In addition to the sophisticated project schedule and intensive preparation, the interaction of all those involved makes the conversion a prime example: Internal IT, all specialist departments and INFORMATICS as an external partner contribute their know-how with full commitment to each project step. The go-live is planned for April 2022 - in view of the well-rehearsed project team, this seems absolutely realistic.