User story: Successful S/4 go-live in the big bang

Blanc & Fischer employs around 8,000 people who generate an annual turnover of around 1.2 billion euros. The group of companies includes Blanco, the specialist for kitchen water systems, E.G.O., the component supplier for manufacturers of household appliances, and B.Pro, the producer of capital goods for commercial kitchens.

In order to derive the greatest possible added value from the S/4 transformation, Blanc & Fischer is combining this with extensive changes. The overarching transformation goal is the holistic digitalization of end-to-end business processes: from comprehensive standardization and harmonization activities in finance to the adaptation of logistics processes to establish sustainable efficiency gains. At the heart of the digital transformation are two S/4 transformations for the Group's largest operating groups, E.G.O. and Blanco.

Approach and procedure

Since the end of 2017, the professionals have been evaluating the transition to S/4. Blanc & Fischer chose a structured, selective approach to manage the S/4 transition and improve the Group's financial transparency and operational efficiency. "Our approach is to realize as much greenfield as possible. But ultimately, you also have to design it in such a way that it is feasible both technically and for the organization and the scope is realistic," explains Andreas Hohmann, Director and Head of SAP Applications. The project also had to be brought into line with other ongoing digitalization projects that have points of contact with the S/4 transformation.

Blanc & Fischer decided to re-implement the finance and controlling modules with cbs Corporate Business Solutions using a greenfield approach. With cbs One Finance, decisive building blocks were implemented, such as globally uniform cost accounting in a standardized controlling area (Global Controlling Area), a global chart of accounts (Unique Chart of Accounts), the new general ledger including document split and ledger solution, the new asset accounting (New Asset Accounting), the cost of sales method using global functional areas (Cost of Sales enabled by functional areas) and profit and loss accounting in the new margin analysis with parallel integrated group valuation.

Test phases and quality assurance

The go-live of the E.G.O. Group's S/4 platform took place over the Easter holidays in 2024 after a project duration of 2.5 years. "The team did a great job. That's how it should be. The go-live went off without a hitch," summarizes project manager Andreas Hohmann. One key to this was the in-depth preparations. As part of the integration tests, all processes, applications, interfaces, data and technical settings relevant to the S/4 project were tested before the go-live of the new productive system.

"Particularly during the first integration test, the aim is to find as many errors as possible that lead to defects. Throughout the test cycles, the quality will increase and the number of defects will decrease as defects are corrected. In the last test cycle, no or only minor faults should be found. The aim is to have a stable system immediately after go-live," explains Felix Kruse, Manager at cbs. The final user acceptance test phase served as a dress rehearsal and also helped to get users used to the new system and ensure smooth operation after go-live.

Success factors

A crucial aspect was the clearly defined schedule within the project and in the test phases. This included synchronizing the global teams and ensuring that key people were available during the critical phases. "Without a clear timeline of how we are going to proceed and what needs to be done by when, you will never get such a large project done," emphasizes Andreas Hohmann. Sophisticated change management ensured that clear communication and transparency were always in place.

Andreas Hohmann also emphasizes the joint collaboration: "We work together with cbs as equals. Everyone is passionate about their work, we have the goal in mind and together we do everything we can to make it work."

Result

The switch to S/4 brings considerable benefits for the customer. The new finance and controlling platform offers improved financial transparency and supports sound decision-making processes. In addition, the new S/4 platform creates a robust and scalable IT foundation that is ready to enable future technological advances, automation and process improvements.

The S/4 project of the Blanco Group, which also belongs to the Blanc & Fischer Group, is already running at full speed.

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