SAP S/4HANA Go-Live at Lenzing Plastics
A perfect start to the new fiscal year with the migration to SAP S/4HANA.
Lenzing Plastics GmbH & Co KG (LPG for short) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of polyolefin and fluoropolymer products. Thanks to the seamless collaboration between LPG and INFORMATICS, as well as forward-looking planning and extensive testing, the migration to S/4HANA went off without a hitch.
LPG is no stranger to innovation-driven project management and proactive action. As a result, future IT projects were planned and scheduled well in advance. Back in 2018, based on the Readiness Check, LPG decided to implement a new S/4HANA system. “Established processes were transferred from the legacy system, and many aspects were rethought,” says Wolfgang Wiesmayr, SAP Senior Consultant at INFORMATICS. This decision—made due to historical legacy issues, technical necessities, and the desire for a future-proof system—requires early and detailed planning and the full commitment of both LPG and INFORMATICS. Close coordination—both internally at LPG between the various departments and with INFORMATICS—is essential to keeping such a project on track.
Meticulous preparation
Based on an S/4HANA sandbox, intensive workshops with key users began in late 2020. “We didn’t just discuss and test the new capabilities of SAP S/4HANA; we also developed new and adapted processes,” said Wiesmayr. The result was a fit/gap analysis—
—that charted the path forward toward an efficient ERP system. The iterative project approach allowed for many short test cycles, during which the highly motivated LPG key users, together with the INFORMATICS consultants, were able to put the new system through its paces.
“A successful SAP project requires a realistic vision, thorough planning, and close collaboration with the consultant.”
Harald Jell, Head of Logistics & SAP at Lenzing Plastics GmbH & Co KG and Project Manager.
Harald Jell here at the INFORMATICS SAPshots alongside Lenzing Plastics Managing Director Dr. Martin Schädle and INFORMATICS founder Otto Kitzmüller.
Smooth go-live
Another key issue was the migration of master data and “open” transaction data. “After an extensive data cleanup in the legacy system, the data was successfully transferred using the SAP Migration Cockpit,” explains Wiesmayr. Material master records, open SD orders, and G/L account balances—even the new business partners—were automatically created during the migration based on the customer and vendor master records. After successful migration and integration testing, the long-planned go-live date was finally set. The time had come at the turn of the year from 2022 to 2023. Thanks to highly prepared project teams on both sides, the go-live went off without a hitch.
Production at LPG resumed right on schedule on January 2, 2023, following the planned Christmas shutdown.
Dr. Martin Schädle, Managing Director of LPG, summed it up: “Timely planning with sufficient lead time, detailed preparation, closely coordinated efforts, and, above all, the active involvement of LPG’s key users were the keys to the project’s successful completion.”
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