CompanyEvonik
BranchChemistry
ProductsSpeciality Additives, Nutrition & Care, Smart Materials and Performance Materials
Number of employees33,106
Turnover12.2 bn. Euro
HeadquartersEssen, Germany
Challenges
Challenges
  • Go-Live in 3 phases (untypical for CIG migrations)
  • Switch to SAP S/4HANA
  • Embedding in a running SAP S/4HANA implementation programme
  • Many customer developments
Solutions
Solutions
  • SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle & Performance
  • SAP Ariba Sourcing
  • SAP Ariba Contracts
  • SAP Ariba Buying
  • Validate & Enrich for SAP Ariba Buying
  • SAP Ariba Commerce Automation
Advantages
Advantages
  • Improved Ariba integration by migrating to the current state of the art
  • Improved monitoring
  • Mapping Capabilities in the CIG
Why Apsolut
Why apsolut
  • Strong expertise in SAP Procurement and SAP Ariba
  • Open and transparent communication
  • International line-up
  • Flexible mode of operation

Phased Migration with ,Zero Defects’ in the Hypercare Phase!

It is a massive but atypical transformation that Evonik Industries’ purchasing department has undergone. Because while an integration migration from SAP Ariba CI9 to the Cloud Integration Gateway, CIG for short, is usually done as a ‘big bang’ project, this project was carried out in three phases:

  • In the first phase, the strategic Ariba modules of Sourcing, Contracts and Supplier Lifecycle and Performance (SLP) modules were migrated to the new integration technology.
  • In phase 2, the implementation followed for the Ariba modules Buying and Commerce Automation.
  • The final phase comprised the interface migration from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA and the go-live of the entire transformation programme.

The Ariba CIG migration was embedded in a complex S/4HANA implementation programme with numerous  custom developments. To minimise the complexity of the transformation and thus the risk, Evonik decided to implement it in phases. In this way, technical and process-related weaknesses could be identified and eliminated early on in the first two phases as part of test tracks.

Furthermore, in phases 1 and 2 additional optimisation potentials were disclosed and added to the project scope. The result: In phase 3 the project went live without any difficulties and in the subsequent hypercare phase not a single defect had to be dealt with!

A decisive key to success was the open and transparent cooperation between apsolut and Evonik employees from Germany and Spain, as Manuel Steffen, Project Officer Source-to-Pay at Evonik Industries, emphasises:

"Of course, we are immensely proud of how we implemented this complex transformation together. The always competent and more than punctual execution moved us to initiate a parallel project for partial process innovation in the ongoing project. Actually a no-go, but with apsolut no problem! With this positive experience, it was easy for us to initiate another project, which is currently being implemented. One thing remains to be said: Without the team around Bodo Hempelmann, this journey would definitely have been more difficult!”

NO postponements of milestones

24

Own developments tested and migrated

Implemented tools

SAP Ariba Cloud Integration Gateway
SAP Ariba Cloud Integration Gateway
Schnittstelle zu SAP S/4HANA
Schnittstelle zu SAP S/4HANA

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