System Security Through SAP Cloud Architecture
As part of its S/4HANA transformation, Alberdingk Boley is simultaneously transitioning from on-premises to the private cloud.
Alberdingk Boley GmbH is an independent, globally active medium-sized company with a tradition spanning more than 250 years. Its core business includes the production and marketing of water-based polyurethane, plastic, and adhesive dispersions, as well as natural oils derived from renewable raw materials. Across Europe, Alberdingk Boley is the largest producer of castor oil, linseed oil, and their derivatives, which are used in the printing ink, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. Alberdingk Boley stands for the highest product and service quality, technological innovation, a broad range of technologies, and sustainable thinking and action.
To establish a foundation for future innovation initiatives, Alberdingk Boley decided to migrate from on-premises to the private cloud in a single step as part of the transformation of its SAP ECC system to S/4HANA using a brownfield approach.
Unrestricted Production Operation after Go-live
Project Objectives
The goal of the project was to migrate the existing ECC system landscape to SAP S/4HANA using a brownfield approach. The system conversion and the transition from an on-premises SAP solution to the SAP Private Cloud were carried out in a single, integrated transformation step. At the same time, a future-proof technological foundation was established to efficiently implement further innovation initiatives and system integrations.
The transition from SAP ECC On-Premise to SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud presented several unexpected challenges. Thanks to careful preparation and the practical support provided by the CONSILIO team, these issues were resolved quickly and professionally, enabling a successful go-live.
Challenges
A key challenge of the project was to maintain the stability of both standard SAP and customer-specific production processes during the transformation without disrupting ongoing business operations. To achieve this, existing in-house developments, interfaces, and custom process adaptations had to be analyzed and evaluated for compatibility with SAP S/4HANA.
At the same time, identifying processes with optimization potential or that could be reverted to the SAP standard was challenging, as both technical dependencies and business requirements had to be taken into account. In addition, it was necessary to decide which optimizations should be implemented during the project and which should be implemented in a subsequent phase.
Partnership is Part of the Job
Key Project Benefits for Alberdingk Boley
- Strategic Foundation for Process Innovations and Further Optimizations
- Review and Implementation of Process Innovations and New Developments as Part of the S/4HANA Conversion
- System Security Through the SAP Cloud Architecture
Next Steps
- Runtime and process optimizations (including additional features to be incorporated into the standard system) that had initially been put on hold by various departments
- Migration of the HCM system to S/4
