From Strategy to Global Implementation Using the Example of Wärtsilä
SAP-driven, globally operating companies are under pressure: Historically grown landscapes, complex systems, high operating costs, and technical debt slow down innovation and delay the implementation of new business processes. At the same time, demands on security, compliance, and scalability are increasing. SAP’s strategic direction further intensifies this pressure to act, as innovations and new functionalities will primarily be delivered in the cloud in the future.
To ensure agility, efficiency, and sustainable growth, companies need a holistic approach that connects processes, data, and systems, enabling them to develop and consistently implement a future-proof cloud strategy.
Strategic Advantages of the Cloud
The cloud provides companies with the opportunity to make business processes more flexible, use data efficiently, and prepare their IT and business architecture for future requirements. Particularly important are the following aspects
- Future-proof platform: The IT architecture allows for the seamless integration of future technologies and business models.
- Global scalability: New regions or subsidiaries can be connected flexibly.
Rapid access to technologies: AI, advanced analytics, and IoT are seamlessly integrated into business processes. - Reduced data complexity: Companies can focus on business value instead of dealing with legacy issues.
- Security and compliance: Central governance ensures compliance with international standards.
- Optimized cost structures: Resources are used efficiently, and pay-as-you-go models reduce infrastructure costs.
A tailored data strategy helps companies successfully navigate cloud transformation. In this context, the Selective Data Transition (SDT) approach enables a fast, low-risk transformation, preserves relevant data histories, and creates a foundation for continuous innovation and sustainable growth.
Cloud Transformation in Practice: Wärtsilä
The global S/4HANA Cloud project of Wärtsilä, a leading company in the shipbuilding and energy sectors, demonstrates how a successful cloud transformation can be achieved.
Wärtsilä faced the challenge of modernizing its ERP system while simultaneously creating a stable foundation for future innovations. As part of a global S/4HANA Cloud transformation, 507 plants across 169 companies were migrated at the same time, with only 47 hours of downtime. The implementation was completed faster than planned, smoothly, and using a big bang approach.
The transformation was set up as a company-wide business program. Building on experience from previous initiatives, the S/4HANA program started in 2022 with clearly defined responsibilities and binding decision-making processes across all regions.
The implementation followed a structured phase logic of design, implementation, deployment, and hypercare. Within this structure, over 1,200 business processes were modeled and tested, with a strong focus on end-to-end scenarios and operational stability.
For the migration, Wärtsilä deliberately chose the Selective Data Transition approach: only relevant data was transferred, legacy burdens were left behind, key business processes were harmonized, and a clean-core strategy was implemented.
Sustainable Success at All Levels
The global S/4HANA Cloud transformation at Wärtsilä delivered tangible benefits for the company and its business processes:
- Faster Process Improvements: By taking a consistent step towards a Clean Core and standardization, processes could be made more efficient and innovations implemented more quickly.
- Better Control and Security: A redesigned authorization structure, aligned with job roles, significantly improved security and compliance.
- Accelerated Data-Driven Decisions: Selectively adopted and cleaned historical data enables informed analyses and quick, fact-based decisions.
- Enhanced Operational Insights: Integrated S/4HANA analytics and a customized data warehouse provide consistent reports and detailed evaluations.
- Optimized User Experience: The platform supports the adoption of the latest SAP features and promotes user acceptance.
Learnings and Recommendations
For companies planning a similar transformation, the following recommendations can be derived:
- Define objectives early: Clearly define at the outset where the transformation should lead in order to ensure consistency and confidence in decision-making across all regions and stakeholders.
- Ensure business continuity: Determine what needs to be achieved in the first step. Focus on stability and the move to S/4HANA before scaling innovations.
- Choose the go-live model deliberately: For strategic reasons, opt for a big-bang go-live. This creates speed, provides transparency, and avoids years of parallel systems.
- Make enablement and testing a success factor: Involve departments early on and conduct end-to-end testing across processes and regions. Acceptance, stability, and trust are not created at go-live, but through consistent preparation.
- Plan transformation as a continuous process: Do not view the go-live as an endpoint, but as a starting point for continuous optimization. This approach makes it possible to introduce innovations more quickly, realize efficiency potentials, and keep the organization adaptable in the long term.
The Path to the Future Leads via the Cloud
Wärtsilä’s project exemplifies how a strategically planned, selectively managed cloud transformation enables companies to design processes efficiently, increase agility, and make informed, data-driven decisions. At the same time, the organization is positioned for the future, able to respond quickly to market changes, continuously implement innovations, and secure long-term global competitiveness.
