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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Markus Ortlieb, Director Global Procurement, ProMinent GmbH
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"Being able to design our purchasing processes flexibly, digitally and above all efficiently offers great added value. We will therefore continue to expand our system in the direction of SAP Ariba."

Armin Kaczmarek, Senior Vice President Corporate Purchasing, Vorwerk
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"When selecting our implementation partner, apsolut was able to prevail over internationally active competitors thanks to its excellent understanding of our requirements, openness in partnership, and great flexibility. Thanks to the very good cooperation with the apsolut team, we successfully completed the project and signed a support agreement for future developments."

Julia Graubner, Senior Procurement Project Manager, K+S
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"With apsolut, we have gained a partner who has implemented our requirements effectively and efficiently in the configuration of Ariba in a practical manner and in a breathtaking amount of time. The customer-oriented approach was one of the main reasons why we also chose apsolut for the implementation of SLP and Contract Management."

Frank Unfried, Director Digitalization Purchasing & Indirect Spend bei Pfleiderer
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„We were looking for a specific solution that did not exist yet. We didn’t want to compromise. So we looked for the right partner to model a flexible tool so that we could configure the specific processes ourselves. We used our expertise and creativity to make Squando our global supplier management tool.“

Ketylin Morello, Purchasing Strategy and Market Intelligence & Functional Product Owner for Squando, Schaeffler
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"A transformation program of this scale needs a strong internal team from Procurement and Internal IT, but of course also experienced and committed external partners. The most important aspect is that everyone then works together with passion and conviction towards the common goal. In addition to the strong know-how of the consulting implementation partner – in our case apsolut – a strong line of communication from the partner to the software supplier SAP is also necessary."

Martin Traxl, Head of Strategy & Digitalization, OMV

“For the new Ariba system, wewere able to onboard more than 1,400 users in three national subsidiaries with only little training effort. With regard to our Procurement processes, we have gained significant transparency and control.“

Jane Wanger, Global Procurement Systems & Support bei KSB
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„apsolut not only guided us through the project with the utmost professionalism and a proactive approach – the decisive factor was that apsolut enabled us to operate the new tool independently and to manage the next steps ourselves. apsolut’s employees quickly familiarised themselves with our system and processes, which made it easier for us to achieve the project goals within the given timeframe. I would also like to praise their flexibility in adapting to changes and their flexibility in implementation, with clear communication and excellent project management. We look forward to benefiting from this expertise more often.”

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All team members have done a great job, I have rarely worked so well with a consulting firm!"

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Tanja Sefrin, Project Manager, KUKA
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Shibu Palakalodil, Projektleiter SAP Ariba-Implementierung
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"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!”

Manuel Steffen, Project Officer Source-to-Pay, Evonik Industries
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‘We’re on the right track to being able to take full advantage of the potential that this transformation offers, as apsolut not only gives us the expertise that we need, but also has an incredibly agile and committed approach. apsolut no longer feels like an external partner to me, but more like an internal department, with whom I hope we can continue to work well into the future.’

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