Nic, what was your client’s challenge?

The client’s challenge was, as with so many clients, the use of lists. Really something from the previous generation of ERPs. Industry 3.0. Give me a list of, for example, outstanding orders and I will manage them. Then they spend fifteen minutes sifting through 100% of the orders, while the outstanding orders only make up 20% of them. What a waste of time. But the use of these lists is deeply ingrained. With this client too.

How did you approach this challenge?

We migrated the customer from SAP R/3 to the latest generation SAP S/4HANA. And that system works very differently. Proactively instead of reactively. And the customer really had to get used to that. The biggest challenge was mainly in the change management process for the customer. Learning to work differently. You no longer request lists to gain insight. No, you have a well-organised dashboard with all the information that is important for your role. You see those 20% of outstanding orders on a tile in red. You click on it and know which orders they are within two seconds. This saves you so much time and also prevents your production from coming to a standstill due to a lack of raw materials, for example. SAP S/4HANA gives you proactive insight into supply chain bottlenecks and you can act on that.

What was the result of this solution?

The result of this implementation was that the customer learned to manage its processes more effectively because SAP S/4HANA offers that intelligence. We were even able to get the most stubborn list-makers on board in the change process. And that is what I am most proud of.

Also abandoning all your lists?