ABB: Independently Streamlining Its Organizational Setup with SAP Landscape Transformation

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1 Picture Credit ABB, Zurich, Switzerland. Used with permission. ABB: Independently Streamlining Its Organizational Setup with SAP Landscape Transformation With operations in over 100 countries, ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB) is one of the largest engineering companies in the world. As part of a long-term goal to meet future strategic transformation requirements, ABB used SAP Landscape Transformation software to establish a strategic transformation expertise center. The software implementation merged two ABB business units.

2 Company ABB Headquarters Zurich, Switzerland Industry Industrial machinery and components Products and Services Power and automation technology and services Employees 145,000 Revenue US$38.9 billion Web Site BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION Objectives Create a streamlined organizational structure Align the SAP solution landscape with company structure Establish a strategic transformation expertise center Merge the two business units in Bulgaria Establish expertise in ABB s IT department for future transformations Minimize risk while maintaining business continuity High-quality conversion results through a standardized approach by the System Landscape Optimization group Creation of a factory approach for future transformations Coordination of a team at locations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Germany Benefits Reduction of time, cost, and effort to implement the company code merge Enhanced strategic expertise for future transformations Reduction of active company bank accounts due to merged cash management Harmonization of customer and vendor master data Read more Greater Business process efficiency 50% Reduction in database size 2 Business units merged SAP Landscape Transformation was the perfect tool for us. We were able to fulfill business requirements very quickly and execute our project smoothly. With coaching from SAP experts, we were able to run the project using only internal resources. Vaclav Svub, Head of the ERP Center, ABB 2 / 6

3 ABB: Power and productivity for a better world ABB is a global leader in power and automation technologies. The company s solutions improve the efficiency, productivity, and quality of its customers operations while minimizing environmental impact. Innovation is at the forefront of what ABB does, and many of the technologies that drive modern society were pioneered by ABB. ABB s business comprises five divisions that are organized in relation to the customers and industries they serve. Based in Zurich, the company employs 145,000 people and operates in approximately 100 countries. The firm s shares are traded on the stock exchanges of Zurich, Stockholm, and New York. >100 Countries where ABB has operations 3 / 6

4 Creating a transformation factory for a company code merge First, ABB selected a team to participate in a workshop and learn how to work with SAP Landscape Transformation software to achieve higher process flexibility. Specialists from the System Landscape Optimization group were later engaged to provide technical guidance and specific support. The initial meetings quickly confirmed for ABB that SAP offered the right software for the job. In order to be able to tackle future transformations on its own, ABB opted to build an in-house transformation expertise center to train and educate its IT department about the methodology and technology used by SAP Landscape Transformation. The ABB experts acquired transformation knowledge and successfully used their abilities by independently performing their first company code merge. The System Landscape Optimization group provided the necessary training and coaching. To streamline business processes, reduce costs, and simplify financial operations, ABB performed a company code merge for its two Bulgarian business units. The team installed SAP Landscape Transformation on ABB s global SAP Solution Manager to control, monitor, and execute the project. The team ran a virtual project with members located in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Switzerland, and Germany. The efforts of the multicultural team required significant coordination. To ensure consistency, the team performed two test cycles and a dress rehearsal. They then completed the complex conversion within a downtime of only 30 hours. The company code merge in our SAP solution landscape was a perfect project. We eliminated a lot of duplicated work and increased the efficiency of our processes. Tomas Nagy, Country Finance Officer for Bulgaria and Romania, ABB 4 / 6

5 Mastering complex harmonization requirements The technology and methodology in SAP Landscape Transformation enabled ABB to implement the merge quickly and with lower cost and effort while mitigating risk and maintaining business continuity. The approach by the SAP team, with its training and coaching sessions and expert-on-demand services, helped ABB establish a strategic transformation expertise center for further developing competence and technical knowledge. In cash management the merge allowed us to reduce the number of active company bank accounts, says Michaela Bednarova, ABB s shared accounting services manager in Bulgaria. The result was extremely satisfying and resulted in a more transparent cash management process and reduced the cost of bank charges. One of the greatest benefits for us was the harmonization of customer and vendor master data, says Bednarova. This helped us reduce our maintenance window and speed up the regular general ledger account reconciliation process. We re benefiting from safer and more transparent cash management processes and significant cost reduction of bank charges. Michaela Bednarova, Shared Accounting Services Manager Bulgaria, ABB 5 / 6

6 ABB Establishing further transformation competence I think the expertise we learned throughout this engagement with the System Landscape Optimization experts from SAP will be well invested in future ABB transformation projects, says Vaclav Svub, Head of the ERP Center at ABB. If we face technical issues in the future with SAP Landscape Transformation, we can always be sure that the SAP group will offer its expertise. Our team knows that coding problems will be solved in a minute. A lesson I share with my ABB colleagues is that having more professional engagement with SAP results in getting the right solution immediately. It s a great investment. Studio SAP 37203enUS (15/10) 6 / 6 Picture Credit ABB, Zurich, Switzerland. Used with permission.

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