Efficient SLO project through tool-based approach

Otto Bock Kunststoff manufactures plastics using polyurethane technology (PUR) and technical gels. The company was founded in 1953 and employs over 300 people.

Until the beginning of 2015, the associated organizational units Foam Plants (SSW) and Foam Systems (SSY) were mapped as separate company codes in the SAP system.

The processes were completely isolated from each other. The aim of the project was to merge the two divisions as a single legal entity, including in the SAP system landscape, to form the new company Otto Bock Kunststoff GmbH.

The globally active medical technology company relied on the SAP expertise of the Heidelberg-based consulting company cbs Corporate Business Solutions. This was also to take place retroactively to January 1, 2015.

After the transformation, the new company code should be mapped in the system as if it had already been posted to operationally since the beginning of the year. This also means that a complete financial year is available for reporting.

Fundamentally, the group of companies expected the transformation to generate synergies in terms of both employee flexibility and business process optimization. After all, both organizations use almost the same processes.

These were only presented in two different units. By merging them, Otto Bock would no longer have to carry out and manage these processes twice in future.

Harmonization

In order to merge, it was necessary for both divisions to use the same chart of accounts and controlling area as well as the same operating concern.

Harmonization was therefore unavoidable. In addition, the organizational units associated with the foam systems, such as the plant and sales organization, were to be moved 1:1 into the foam plants.

In the course of the merger, the cbs consultants in financial accounting planned to carry forward the balance by transfer posting at balance level and by transferring the open items at the beginning of the financial year.

The next step was to transfer the line items for the current financial year in detail. In a further project step, the SAP experts were also faced with the challenge of assigning the logistics objects to the new company code.

Identify deviating processes...

However, before the merger of the two divisions could be initiated, the divergent processes or even conflicts between the two organizations had to be precisely identified.

To this end, the project team carried out a detailed system analysis, which made it possible to precisely specify the data to be harmonized for the upcoming merger of the company codes.

The data scan was carried out according to the domains and organizational units to be changed and, in addition to finance and controlling, included almost all processes in the system in sales, materials management, production planning and control, maintenance and quality management.

The volume of data records to be recorded was correspondingly high: in finance and controlling, the SAP consultants scrutinized around 15 million data records; in logistics, a volume of 5 million had to be managed.

After completion of the design phase and accompanying process documentation, a total of three test cycles took place, one of which was an integration test and another an acceptance test.

Each test cycle consisted of a complete transformation of the test system with a subsequent test period. In this way, any errors or changed transformation requirements could be handled during the test period and made available by cbs for retesting either in the same or in the next test cycle.

All in all, this led to a reliable final schedule (cutover plan), on the basis of which the go-live could be tackled.

...and company codes merge

In mid-May 2015, the time had finally come: the actual SAP merger at the financial accounting and controlling level (SAP FI/CO) could begin. As part of the merger, the cbs consultants took over the FI/CO data for the current year and the entire history in logistics, including the restructuring of Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) as well as the chart of accounts and controlling area harmonization.

Among other things, an exact analysis of the master and transaction data to be converted on a process and technical level was essential for the success of the project. It was just as important to precisely document and extensively validate the entire project during and after the transformation.

Once the inventory had been completed, the necessary master and transaction data could be converted using the cbs ET Enterprise Transformer. With cbs ET, Otto Bock also benefited from comprehensive analysis functions to scan the corresponding Abap coding and variants of the SAP systems and to accurately determine fixed values stored in the coding, such as G/L accounts and company codes.

In addition, the associated minimally invasive approach meant that the effort involved in the project was reduced to a minimum. The cbs consultants were only on site for a few days during the conception of the project, and the actual merging and harmonization could take place remotely and almost without the involvement of Otto Bock.

The presence of the Heidelberg SAP specialists on site was only necessary again during the test phases. Thanks to the successful transformation of the formerly separate organizations, Otto Bock can ensure a cross-module document flow.

Another milestone in the project was the implementation of the Group's requirement to introduce profit center accounting. Otto Bock wanted to use the resulting analysis by profit center to achieve a clear allocation of profit distribution and thus create greater transparency and flexibility within the group of companies.

As the profit centers in the SAP infrastructure are primarily organized according to product groups, the cbs consultants had to take around ten million data records into account in order to enrich the existing master and transaction data in accordance with the profit center rules.

The profit center documents could then be generated retrospectively from the reporting date of 1 January 2015. This approach had a decisive advantage: by introducing its profit center accounting retrospectively at the beginning of the year, Otto Bock was able to evaluate the first year completely and comprehensively.

The project - from analysis to go-live - was carried out according to the M-cbs methodology developed by cbs. This is a holistic and consistent solution approach with which Otto Bock was able to comprehensively design and sustainably industrialize its project requirements.

The cbs ET Enterprise Transformer created the technical prerequisites for the application of this solution approach. This ensures a procedure that is precisely adapted to the specific customer situation and project type.

The chosen approach enabled the transformation project to be implemented consistently along a business, business process and problem-oriented methodology for all change requirements at Otto Bock.

Thanks to the minimally invasive approach taken by the project team, there were virtually no manual cutover steps and process interruptions during ongoing processes.

Another advantage of this methodology was the flexible approach: All FI/CO data for the current year and the entire history in logistics could be transferred without any problems.

In addition, the cbs ET Enterprise Transformer software enabled a precise restructuring of the CO-PA and a complete harmonization of the charts of accounts and controlling areas.

The associated business process optimization has convinced Otto Bock. The company is already planning its next project with the SAP consultants from Heidelberg.

In this project, the valuation classes in the material master are to be changed. The cbs ET Enterprise Transformer is to be used again for the comprehensive and smooth implementation.

Otto Bock Group

Otto Bock Kunststoff is a company of the Otto Bock Group - a medium-sized group based in Duderstadt, Germany. The group of companies includes Otto Bock HealthCare (medical technology), Otto Bock Kunststoff and Technogel (chemicals) as well as Sycor (information and communication technology). The company has sales and service companies in 51 countries and employs over 7,000 people worldwide.